256A Reading Response #7
This is a response to a principle in Ge Wang’s book Artful Design:
“Principle 7.7: A little anonymity can go a long way” (pg. 363)
Digital spaces have the opportunity to lighten the weight of identity performance. A space where you don’t have to perform (musically or otherwise) like you’re expected. While musical expression is generally freer from, for example, gender roles and norms when compared to other past times and professions, it is definitely not free. Allowing users a space to perform anonymously is also creating a space for them to perform “identity-less”, or rather, with an ambiguous identity that they are in control of. Not only does this create a safe(r) space for identity exploration, but it subtly allows identity performance to be a game mechanic, to be part of the performance!
The unfortunate side of anonymity is how often it can allow malice to spread. Perhaps through some combination of masculinity, anonymity, and hyper-competition, a lot of e-sport and online gaming communities are cyber cesspools. It is interesting to maybe not the online spaces where that is maybe less true. Interactions that are confined and limited, such as the set responses in a game like Hearthstone, eliminate the option to curse, but players continue to find creative ways to make even the standard set responses and emojis feel quite abrasive. Slower games like Minecraft and Animal Crossing seem to have communities that don’t spend large chunks of time cursing at each other. Perhaps the player base, and by extension the game design, create an atmosphere where that is not desired? Or perhaps it’s this slowness in the games that makes that style of abrasive play not fun? Twitch and Discord have a “slow mode” which prevents users from sending more than 1 message in an allotted period of time. This not only prevents them from spamming the chat with nonsense, but perhaps invites a small moment of reflection to look at the rest of the chat, look at the message you’re itching to send, and decide whether it is in fact that funny before sending it out into the digital ether.
“Principle 7.7: A little anonymity can go a long way” (pg. 363)
Digital spaces have the opportunity to lighten the weight of identity performance. A space where you don’t have to perform (musically or otherwise) like you’re expected. While musical expression is generally freer from, for example, gender roles and norms when compared to other past times and professions, it is definitely not free. Allowing users a space to perform anonymously is also creating a space for them to perform “identity-less”, or rather, with an ambiguous identity that they are in control of. Not only does this create a safe(r) space for identity exploration, but it subtly allows identity performance to be a game mechanic, to be part of the performance!
The unfortunate side of anonymity is how often it can allow malice to spread. Perhaps through some combination of masculinity, anonymity, and hyper-competition, a lot of e-sport and online gaming communities are cyber cesspools. It is interesting to maybe not the online spaces where that is maybe less true. Interactions that are confined and limited, such as the set responses in a game like Hearthstone, eliminate the option to curse, but players continue to find creative ways to make even the standard set responses and emojis feel quite abrasive. Slower games like Minecraft and Animal Crossing seem to have communities that don’t spend large chunks of time cursing at each other. Perhaps the player base, and by extension the game design, create an atmosphere where that is not desired? Or perhaps it’s this slowness in the games that makes that style of abrasive play not fun? Twitch and Discord have a “slow mode” which prevents users from sending more than 1 message in an allotted period of time. This not only prevents them from spamming the chat with nonsense, but perhaps invites a small moment of reflection to look at the rest of the chat, look at the message you’re itching to send, and decide whether it is in fact that funny before sending it out into the digital ether.
