Today I read the article, A Rape in Cyberspace by Julian Dibbell. I must say that it was a really intense and thought provoking piece. Dibbell relays the story of a virtual world on the internet in which players can create their characters, spaces, etc. People that used the software became extremely drawn into the game and things that occurred in the virtual world started to have real psychological impact on the participants.
Because of this, things started to get heavy when a player used “voodoo doll” codes to force other characters to perform sexual actions on his character. These two characters were “cyber-raped.” One might think that it is really screwed up that it happened but easy to recover from – after all it didn’t really happen. However, the victims of the situation did not find it so easy to forget. When talking to one of the “cyber-raped” women some time after it happened, she broke down into a fit of tears and vengeful rage. She definitely suffered from some serious psychological effects and thought that something should be done to punish the perpetrator.
This article raises a lot of questions about just how serious the effects of machines and computers can actually have on us. These people were really hurt—not physically, but psychologically. In regards to real life rape, the psychological effects are often more damaging than the physical ones. This makes me think that sometime in the future cyber-crimes may be punishable by law. I think it will definitely be a battle between privacy rules and protecting of people’s rights. And one must ask the inevitable question – if that sadistic person had the gall to commit cyber rape then it is probably a deep, dark, fantasy; could it translate into a real life situation?
shestheonesl said
The incident in question is not and cannot be legally considered rape of any sort, and the suggestion is no more than sensationalism and hack journalism.
While I agree that real feelings were hurt, and that the victims may have had a case for harassment, it is highly unlikely that any court would have ruled in their favor. At the time, the game had no ToS in place that forbade the activities of the accused, though they do now, and the victims themselves can be compared to puppets, avatars created by and controlled by real people whose real names and real lives remained secret and apart from the game and the accused.
Pretty hard to make a case for any criminal wrongdoing, let alone one as serious as rape, and a clear case of irresponsible journalism, but the real lesson here is a simple one: it’s just a game and when it ceases to be fun anymore, it’s time to uninstall it and move on. Wouldn’t it be nice if real victims had that power.
Nicole said
I agree. As a girl that plays alot of online games, I have come across plenty of perverts that have no shame in living out their sexual fantasies while hunched over a keyboard. In these types of online harassment, it is best to just uninstall the game to avoid being bothered.
brauns83 said
Yes, I completely agree with both of you that this act cannot be compared in any way to rape but I can’t help but wonder if “cyber-crime” might actually acqire charges in the distant future as I feel that government has been enstating more and more crazy laws that seem completely unconstitutional and privacy invading.
shestheonesl said
Cybercrime is real now and many people have been charged and convicted of it for many years now. Everything from industrial espionage, email hoaxes, internet bullying, hacking, and downloading of music and movies have been tried and won in courts of law.
While I agree that some charges are outrageous and no more than nuisance suits, others, such as the case where the teenaged girl hung herself over online bullying or the creators/disseminators of destructive viruses, have merit and should be prosecuted.
The government has a duty to make laws that will protect the majority of its citizens, and as far as personal privacy goes, in the words of Sun Microsystems CEO, Scott McNealy more than a decade ago, ‘You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.’
I actually think the constitution needs a major overhaul, but that’s for another time and place heheh.
Nicole said
Now that I think about it…the internet has become such a large part of our society that maybe these types of harassment really should be taken very seriously, and possibly be taken to court. I think it does depend on the circumstances, but I agree with you, shestheonesl, that the case of the girl hanging herself should have serious consequences. It makes it difficult when no one is sure what should be let go and what should be taken into deeper consideration. Although the internet is one of our greatest gifts, at times it seems to also be one of our biggest burdens…this piece of technology is perfect for sexual predators to have another way to get to their victims. Gahhh, it’s all too much!
Dagny Taggart said
Yeah, of course the key difference between the girl who killed herself and the case in the original post is that the bullied girl’s real identity was known and targeted, whereas the alleged cyber-rape victim remained an alt, a character in a game.
I’m a gamer girl too btw – cheers!
Dagny Taggart said
Oops, I linked to this from my email – I’m shestheonesl…*smile*