Internet Science Journal
Looks like a good place to submit my final paper for my methods class =)
Here is their mission statement:

The International Journal of Internet Science (IJIS) is a forum for publication of research in the social and behavioral sciences. It welcomes articles on empirical findings, methodology, and theory in the field of Internet Science. Especially welcome is theory-guided empirical research. Some topics of interest for the readership of IJIS areMethodological issues in Internet surveysMethodological issues in Internet-based experimentsThe Internet and social networks (online and/or offline)Problems of cooperation and trust in online interactionOnline groups, online communities, and virtual teamsSocial and psychological impact of the InternetThe digital divideThe Internet and organizationsThe Internet, science, and academic communicationKnowledge exchange and knowledge management in online settingsE-Learning and i-learningE-Health and i-healthE-Government, e-Voting, and e-DemocracyComputer-mediated communicationSampling approaches with the help of the Internet

Unless...
I write my final paper as a hypertext... not sure if that would fit in the theme of cinema, video games and interactive fiction... as it would be interactive theory. Could be easier than implementing a web design (because I have to think about layout and content, whereas with the hypertext version, layout is more pre-determined).

Multi-Media Projects
As the days tick by, I have been thinking about my final project for the Cinema, video games and interactive fiction course I am taking. I already have my topic as I have posted quite some time ago, but now, I am looking at how I will present it. Being a 'sociologist', I usually write traditional, theory based papers.

Given that I have a large contemporary theory paper to write (on blogging as confession a la Foucault) and a lenghty methodology paper (exploring the multitude of methods currently being used in Game Studies), I am eager to step outside of the box.

So, in the spirit of multi-media, I have come up with a great (I hope) idea for presenting my final work. The goal of the assignment is to explore how I have learned to play FFX-2, and how I 'learn' or understand my film (NBC). I am thinking of handing in a cd-rom with a offline 'website' design with links to different 'chapters' of my assignment. I am thinking big right now, with film clips of play, self and film; blog entries and chat discussions. Tie this all together with voice over and text and I might have a hit on my hands ...

Now to execute it - ideas are always the easy part!

Second Person
The second installement of an anthology that started with First Person, Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media looks like some very interesting reads from 'game designers, writers, artists and game studies scholars.

Links
I have been torn about adding to my links section lately. In discussing the content of the gamecode blog, we tried to determine how much is enough and how many is too much. The goal is to point other people to spaces that I find interesting or relative to the things I talk about here (when I actually post). But as my time online expands, so has my links section. So when do i stop? There is a point where there can simply be too much and therefore don't get looked at at all. (Terra Nova and grandtextauto's links section are good case in points - and yes, I will let you go to my link/blog section to get to them ;o) ).

Anyways, all this to say that I have recently made some additions, so check it out.

International Academic Censorship
And the good ole US of A. I was perplexed to read this over at jill/txt. I guess this type of censorship is in the name of 'homeland security'? Although the author states that the content of the research is not political but on the topic of geography etc. this makes me think of a question my contemporary theory professor raised at the beginning of the semester - are all actions political? Is simply being a citizen of one country or another a political issue? And what does this mean in the grander scheme of the international intellectual community? I am saddened that knowledge is being filtered by location of birth. (Although very sadly, not surprised)

Freedom of Speech, Intellectual Freedom and Trolls Online
After following a very long thread over at terra nova much like I would follow any soap opera, I have been thinking about our right to post whatever we want, anywhere we want, whenever we want in the big bad world of the blogosphere.

Terra nova, for all those who know or who are interested, is a public forum where academics, industry and other like minded people discuss game/internet/virtual world related material. State of the industry, social and developmental issues and the like. Most who post, if not all, are gamers/vw participants in some way, shape or form - lending a bit of street cred to their commentaries. Threads of disagreements are usually cordial, bearing some form of 'professional' or 'academic' tone of devil's advocate-ness and whatnot. But the above-mentioned thread has reached a point of silliness I have never seen before. . Not that those who normally participate/comment on the blog have reached a level of silliness, but someone with a starkingly opposing (and perhaps stubborn-headed) opinion has come in and posted like a madman countering every comment and criticism posted by the other members.


In the beginning, it was entertaining - to see how the 'hive mind' that is terra nova defended their position and countered the criticisms from the critic. But, no matter what was posted, the posts continued in a long winded "you fools are blinded by the shining of the ivory of your tower" spiel that has bordered on the verge of being just too much.

In a world where everyone has an opinion, and we openly welcome public commentary on our thoughts (by blogging publically) how much is too much. What (if there is) is the difference between freedom of speech, intellectual freedom and trolling? When is it ok to say 'nuff is enough already - get out of my sandbox and go pee in your own?"