My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World

My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World by Dibbell, Julian. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780805036268.

Being a true account of the infamous Mr. Bungle and of the authors 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 Dibbells 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 célèbre, cited as a landmark case in numerous books and articles and a source of less discussion on the Internet. Thats 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 theyd escaped all traditional cultural and moral limits. Yet Mr. Bungles 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 Dibbells actual marriage, we see how the virtual world at once mirrors and mocks real life.