My Tiny Life Crime and Passion in a Virtual World

by Dibbell, Julian

• ISBN13: 9780805036268
• ISBN10: 0805036261
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-20
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks

Summary

Being a true account of the infamous Mr. Bungle and of the author's journey, in consequence thereof, to the heart of a half-real world called LambdaMoo. From In Cold Blood to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, readers have been gripped by the novelistic rering of eccentric communities torn apart by violent crime. Julian Dibbell's reporting of the "Mr. Bungle" rape case first appeared as the cover story in The Village Voice. Since that time it has become a cause ceacute;legrave;bre, cited as a landmark case in numerous books and articles and a source of less discussion on the Internet. That's because the scene of the crime was a "Multi-User Domain," an electronic "salon" where Internet junkies have created their own interactive fantasy realm. In a "place" where race, ger, and identity are infinitely malleable, the addictive denizens had thought they'd escaped all traditional cultural and moral limits. Yet Mr. Bungle's primal transgression challenged all their illusions, confronting even this electronic utopia with the same issues of order and social norms that humanity has faced since the Stone Age. When this fantasy imbroglio threatens Dibbell's actual marriage, we see how the virtual world at once mirrors and mocks real life.

Author Biography

Julian Dibbell is an editor at the The Village Voice, where he writes a column on cyberculture. He has written about music and computer culture for many publications, including Time, Spin, Mademoiselle, and Request. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	ix
PALO ALTO, OCTOBER 1994	5	(28)
1. A Rape in Cyberspace (Or TINYSOCIETY, and How to Make One)	11	(22)
NEW YORK CITY, DECEMBER 1994	33	(40)
2. The Scarlet Balloon (Or TINYGEOGRAPHY, a Long View and an Overview)	39	(34)
DELAWARE GAP NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, JULY 1994	73	(46)
3. The Purple Guest (Or TINYLAW, and Its Discontents)	79	(40)
NEW YORK CITY, JULY 1994	119	(36)
4. Samantha, Among Others (Or TINYGENDER, a Love Story)	125	(30)
NEW YORK CITY, JULY 1994	155	(34)
5. How Did My Garden Grow (Or TINYECONOMICS, Theoretical and Applied)	161	(28)
NEW YORK CITY, AUGUST 1994	189	(40)
6. The Schmoo Wars (Or TINYHISTORY, and the Ways a Programmer May Shape It)	195	(34)
NEW YORK CITY, AUGUST 1994	229	(38)
7. S* (Or TINYSEX, in the Author's Experience)	235	(32)
NEW YORK CITY, SEPTEMBER 1994	267	(40)
8. Toad Minnie (Or TINYLIFE, and How It Ends)	273	(34)
SOMEWHERE IN THE HILLS NEAR PALO ALTO, OCTOBER 1994	307	(12)
Epilogue	319	(16)
Acknowledgments	335