Believe it or not, we are training a generation that will be expected to
conduct themselves as professionals in avatar. As the SciCentr user
community grows, we have the opportunity to address Avatar Netiquette in
a positive way. Every school and community center already has a code of
ethical online behavior; most require students to read and sign a
commitment before they go online. Even so, youth can be tempted to test
the limits in this new environment. Being in avatar in a chat
environment can present unexpected issues and encounters. Please
encourage your students to tell you if they are unconfortable with
someone's communication or behavior.
Handling Incidents
If you or your students experience inappropriate behavior, your best
solution is to ignore the offender. You can "mute" their avatar to
prevent any further text coming through and walk or fly away from them.
It is the challenge of coaches and mentors to deal with behavior
problems within teams. In general, a quick response from a coach or
mentor will shut down the behavior.
All text communication in CUni is logged. Chat visible to a user is
generally saved on the user's computer, and its availability depends
on your computer lab policy (check with your IT staff). We also retain
copies of chat and whisper communication. If you
need a log from us, we will edit it for privacy before providing it,
in order to protect the identities of the students.
Incidents have occurred between members of different teams in public
worlds. If one of your team members has a negative encounter, please
contact our staff and provide as much information as possible. We will
do our best to ensure that the adults responsible for the offender are
informed and will work with everyone to find an appropriate resolution
if necessary.
IBM Virtual World Guidelines
Appropriate avatar behavior is an issue for today's workplace that will
only become more important in our global economy. Please review the
guidelines that IBM uses for their employees, who spend an increasing
amount of work time in virtual worlds.
