PostBadge tag to show // FeedBurner FeedFlare. // ------------------------- // FeedBurner account and feed required. // Sign up at http://feedburner.com //================================================ class module_feedflare { function init(){ global $gregarious; $gregarious->add_settings ( array ( 'feedburner_url' => '' ) ); $gregarious->add_page ( 'FeedFlare', 'modules/feed-flare/icn_Flare.png', 'page_feedflare();', 'feedFlare' ); } function postbadge_tags(){ return array ( array ( 'tag' => '%FLARE%', 'replacewith' => 'feed_flare("",false)' ), ); } function update_info(){ return 100; } } //------------------------------------------ // TEMPlATE TAGS //------------------------------------------ function feed_flare($settings = '', $echo = true){ global $wp_query; $post = $wp_query->post; $sets = array('postID' => $post->ID, 'before' => '', 'after' => 'Gregarious FeedFlare', 'force' => 0 ); grab_sets($settings, $sets); if ( !$sets['force'] && hideOnID($sets['postID']) ){ return ''; } if( !$path = _get_feedburner_url() ) return ''; if( substr( $path, -1 ) == '/' ){ $path = substr( $path, 0, strlen( $path ) -1 ); } $path = str_replace ( 'feedburner.com/', 'feedburner.com/~s/', $path ); $path .= '?i='.get_permalink($sets['postID']); $result = $sets['before'] . "" . $sets['after']; if($echo) echo $result; else return $result; } function _get_feedburner_url(){ $feedurl = greg_get_option( 'feedburner_url' ); if ( $feedurl ){ return attribute_escape($feedurl); } else { $feedburner_settings = get_option('feedburner_settings'); if( is_array($feedburner_settings) && ($feedurl = $feedburner_settings['feedburner_url']) ) { return attribute_escape($feedurl); } else { return false; } } } //------------------------------------------ // OPTIONS PAGE //------------------------------------------ function page_feedflare(){ $feedurl = _get_feedburner_url(); ?> Law in Vitrual Worlds Part II at spencerb.net
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Law in Vitrual Worlds Part II

Published on March 16, 2008 in Games, Law, Politics and Technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Somehow, yet again, I have fallen out of the blogosphere. It is interesting how life has a way of doing that to everyone I know who has a blog that does not make their living (or some of it) from blogging.

Anyway, the last post considered how law will intervene in virtual worlds, specifically video game based worlds. Initially, to me it seemed that the game should just be a game and work itself out. If anything, as financial incentives enter the picture that will be a check on people’s actions.

I started thinking about how many games require a monthly fee be paid to participate. This financial investment month after month is justified by the constantly changing and updating nature of the game. Maintaing the virtual world and the server it runs on is paramount to having a gaming experience at all. More over, it seems that part of this fee is to set up a healthy gaming experience. That is why there are corporate employees playing the position (adopted from paper and pencil RPGs) ‘Game Master’. If people are experiencing detrimental effects as a result of playing the game, should the Game Master be responsible to intervene? I think the month to month investment necessitates an affirmative answer. I am fairly certain that it is not part of the Terms of Agreement, but I think the results speak to this. Abusive character names, guilds/clans, and offensive language all result in a ban on one’s account. This tells me that it is an issue taken seriously as a result of companies wanting to provide a high quality and healthy experience.

As video games have become more popular it seems like the government has always wanted to intervene at some point. Now the ESRB rating system is fairly widespread and some retailers are preventing the sales of certain games to minors. As content becomes increasingly interactive the future role of government may be a guiding force the same way it has been for ratings and retailers. Demanding game providers take proactive actions to foster a healthy gaming experience may be the future. It seems like they are already doing that now, but I am certain some politicians will want to add their stamp of approval and pass a bill with their name on it.

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  1. Law and Virtual Words Part I
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