Most of the time you will read my complaints about those no-heart humans existing in this world.
Earlier on, after I have posted an entry in my blog, I went to kapo on other people's blogs. And one of them is :-
mumsgather.blogspot.com
I do not know her at all, but I guess that's what blogs are for - for strangers around the world to read. The blogger is from our neighbouring country - Malaysia.
Anyway, as I read her blog, I came across an entry for a lady called SCB. And it really touches my heart to see many people coming together to try to help SCB recover from her coma.
Having said so, I recalled reading an article from Digital Life dated 29th August 2006 - Virtual Memories
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Extracted from The Straits Times : Digital Life supplement
LEUNG WAI-LENG pays her respects to gamers who mourn friends they have never seen in virtual funerals
Life comes full circle in the virtual world: People get married in games, and now they also hold funerals for their dearly departed.
As for Fayejin, she was a powerful level-60 troll mage in online game World Of WarCraft (WoW). And popular not just with her guild, Maledictions, but with players from other guilds as well.
Then, tragedy struck in real life. Young Fayejin died suddenly of a stroke in March.
With her online friends scattered around the world and her family's unwillingness to divulge personal details over the Internet, her gaming buddies thought of an in-game memorial as the only way they knew to pay her their respects.
Her friends planned to gather at her favourite spot in the game, Frostfire Hot Springs in Winterspring. A player with her account infomation would log on as her character while attendees would give their eulogies through their in-game avatars or characters.
A video of the proceedings would be recorded and presented to her family.
That was the plan. More on the twist, later.
Half a world away in China, a young girl nicknamed 'Snowly' died of exhaustion after playing the game for several days straight, according to the Xinhua news agency.
An established member of the Chinese WoW community, her in-game friends organised a funeral attended by more than 24 players, who knelt on a grassy plain as a eulogy was delivered.
Like in-game weddings, online game funerals are becoming a vicarious way for players to express real-world emotions for a friend they may have never met in person.
An organiser of Fayejin's funeral, Austin, 17, a student who plays a level-60 orc warlock, still receives messages from players as far away as Europe informing him of similar events.
The phenomenon has been around since Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) went global in 1996.
Local online games veteran, Mr Alex Toh, 29, who has played online games for nearly a decade, remembers attending a funeral for an American guildmate in Ultima Online, one of the first MMORPGs.
He was one of the guildmates who could not spare the time or money to fly to the wake in the United States.
Said Mr Toh: 'Having a memorial in the game is a good way for players around the world to grieve. Although it was virtual, the players took it seriously, wearing black and white and reminiscing about the player. Even after the event, the players kept wearing black and white for months.'
Said Austin: 'There is a person behind each character, and if people realise that, then they can understand that online memorials are very much like ones in real life.'
Agreed, said Mr Alex Mitchell, an instructor in the Communications and New Media programme at the National University of Singapore who is currently researching online games.
Said Mr Mitchell: 'As long as the people involved feel it is an appropriate way to go through the process of grieving for their friend and it works, the emotions are still valid.'
But there are always the louts. And back to Fayejin.
Unfortunately for Maledictions, the Frostfire Hot Springs, where her funeral was to have been held, was also a Player vs Player (PVP) zone. There, players are allowed to battle and kill each other.
Counting on the goodwill of the game's community, organisers posted details of the memorial on an online forum for the game's server, Illidan, and requested that the group not be disturbed.
The plea was promptly ignored. About 20 members from an opposing faction called Serenity Now, knowing full well that the mourners would be unarmed and unprepared, descended on the funeral party, killing most of Maledictions' members in the game.
A video of the massacre was later posted on YouTube, mocking outraged players who posted angry messages on online forums after the attack.
A member of Serenity Now, who gave his name as Matt, and who plays a Level 60 Priest in WoW: 'I wouldn't necessarily say it was right, but I wouldn't really say it was entirely wrong either.'
He continued: 'The mourners could have chosen to hold the funeral in a zone where they could not be attacked.'
It seems that the organisers had put too much faith in other players sharing their sentiments.
'We realised the funeral could be attacked, of course,' said Austin. 'We just thought that people would never do that.'
Mr Mitchell believes the problem stems from differing perceptions of the reality of online life.
'It was a clash between what was allowed by the game's rules and the unwritten social rules governing the behaviour of online communities,' he added.
'Social rules dictate that you should not disrupt a funeral, but in the game, the mourners were simply fair game for the crashers.'
***********************************************************************
I hadn't realise that WOW is so virtual to the extent that some gamers would actually talk while playing. Hubby is a computer gamer on WOW (an addict I would say). Only recently I found out from him that the voices I hear are the players' voice. To think that they are so willing to pay so much to make their voice heard, and I still think it's crazy for hubby to pay by Paypal every month for some kind of online game subcription?
The cheapo wife can only go on the cheaper way - by blogging on her complaints and ranting about her boring ah-soh life.
I pray for SCB's speedy recovery.
Earlier on, after I have posted an entry in my blog, I went to kapo on other people's blogs. And one of them is :-
mumsgather.blogspot.com
I do not know her at all, but I guess that's what blogs are for - for strangers around the world to read. The blogger is from our neighbouring country - Malaysia.
Anyway, as I read her blog, I came across an entry for a lady called SCB. And it really touches my heart to see many people coming together to try to help SCB recover from her coma.
Having said so, I recalled reading an article from Digital Life dated 29th August 2006 - Virtual Memories
**********************************************************************************************
Extracted from The Straits Times : Digital Life supplement
LEUNG WAI-LENG pays her respects to gamers who mourn friends they have never seen in virtual funerals
Life comes full circle in the virtual world: People get married in games, and now they also hold funerals for their dearly departed.
As for Fayejin, she was a powerful level-60 troll mage in online game World Of WarCraft (WoW). And popular not just with her guild, Maledictions, but with players from other guilds as well.
Then, tragedy struck in real life. Young Fayejin died suddenly of a stroke in March.
With her online friends scattered around the world and her family's unwillingness to divulge personal details over the Internet, her gaming buddies thought of an in-game memorial as the only way they knew to pay her their respects.
Her friends planned to gather at her favourite spot in the game, Frostfire Hot Springs in Winterspring. A player with her account infomation would log on as her character while attendees would give their eulogies through their in-game avatars or characters.
A video of the proceedings would be recorded and presented to her family.
That was the plan. More on the twist, later.
Half a world away in China, a young girl nicknamed 'Snowly' died of exhaustion after playing the game for several days straight, according to the Xinhua news agency.
An established member of the Chinese WoW community, her in-game friends organised a funeral attended by more than 24 players, who knelt on a grassy plain as a eulogy was delivered.
Like in-game weddings, online game funerals are becoming a vicarious way for players to express real-world emotions for a friend they may have never met in person.
An organiser of Fayejin's funeral, Austin, 17, a student who plays a level-60 orc warlock, still receives messages from players as far away as Europe informing him of similar events.
The phenomenon has been around since Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) went global in 1996.
Local online games veteran, Mr Alex Toh, 29, who has played online games for nearly a decade, remembers attending a funeral for an American guildmate in Ultima Online, one of the first MMORPGs.
He was one of the guildmates who could not spare the time or money to fly to the wake in the United States.
Said Mr Toh: 'Having a memorial in the game is a good way for players around the world to grieve. Although it was virtual, the players took it seriously, wearing black and white and reminiscing about the player. Even after the event, the players kept wearing black and white for months.'
Said Austin: 'There is a person behind each character, and if people realise that, then they can understand that online memorials are very much like ones in real life.'
Agreed, said Mr Alex Mitchell, an instructor in the Communications and New Media programme at the National University of Singapore who is currently researching online games.
Said Mr Mitchell: 'As long as the people involved feel it is an appropriate way to go through the process of grieving for their friend and it works, the emotions are still valid.'
But there are always the louts. And back to Fayejin.
Unfortunately for Maledictions, the Frostfire Hot Springs, where her funeral was to have been held, was also a Player vs Player (PVP) zone. There, players are allowed to battle and kill each other.
Counting on the goodwill of the game's community, organisers posted details of the memorial on an online forum for the game's server, Illidan, and requested that the group not be disturbed.
The plea was promptly ignored. About 20 members from an opposing faction called Serenity Now, knowing full well that the mourners would be unarmed and unprepared, descended on the funeral party, killing most of Maledictions' members in the game.
A video of the massacre was later posted on YouTube, mocking outraged players who posted angry messages on online forums after the attack.
A member of Serenity Now, who gave his name as Matt, and who plays a Level 60 Priest in WoW: 'I wouldn't necessarily say it was right, but I wouldn't really say it was entirely wrong either.'
He continued: 'The mourners could have chosen to hold the funeral in a zone where they could not be attacked.'
It seems that the organisers had put too much faith in other players sharing their sentiments.
'We realised the funeral could be attacked, of course,' said Austin. 'We just thought that people would never do that.'
Mr Mitchell believes the problem stems from differing perceptions of the reality of online life.
'It was a clash between what was allowed by the game's rules and the unwritten social rules governing the behaviour of online communities,' he added.
'Social rules dictate that you should not disrupt a funeral, but in the game, the mourners were simply fair game for the crashers.'
***********************************************************************
I hadn't realise that WOW is so virtual to the extent that some gamers would actually talk while playing. Hubby is a computer gamer on WOW (an addict I would say). Only recently I found out from him that the voices I hear are the players' voice. To think that they are so willing to pay so much to make their voice heard, and I still think it's crazy for hubby to pay by Paypal every month for some kind of online game subcription?
The cheapo wife can only go on the cheaper way - by blogging on her complaints and ranting about her boring ah-soh life.
I pray for SCB's speedy recovery.
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