Being There Together

Ralph Schroeder is a senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. His publications include Possible Worlds: The Social Dynamic of Virtual Reality Technology (1996) and Rethinking Science, Technology and Social Change (2007). He has also edited The Social Life of Avatars (2002) and co-edited Avatars at Work and Play (2006).

The widespread use of social networking and social media, coupled with advances in rendering technologies and the ubiquity of computer networks have sparked a renewed interest in online virtual environments. Ecological and green issues force us to think again about the cost of meeting face-to-face, and the potential alternatives. In this book Schroeder maps out the current state-of-play for virtual environments drawing a nuanced picture of where we are, how wegot here, and where we are going next. This is a must read for those of us interested in how we communicate now and in the future. Tim Regan, MicrosoftMany readers will be familiar with Ralph's previous edited books which have served as important points of reference for researchers in the field of multi-user virtual environments. In this new book, Ralph gives a detailed overview of MUVE technologies and their social implications, and gives a compelling account of where these technologies are leading. The issue that Ralph highlights, how we ourselves are represented in the MUVE, is one of critical importance to the wide-spread acceptance of next-generation telepresence technologies. -Anthony Steed University College London"Ralph Schroeder has been at the center of research on telepresence for more than a decade. In the current book he takes his unique historical perspective and looks ahead to how new media will change the fundamental processes of social interaction." Jeremy Bailenson, Stanford University

• PrefaceAbbreviations UsedList of Figures and Tables 1. Virtual Environments and the Changing Landscape of Information and Communication Technologies- Definitions and Overview- The Development of Shared Virtual Environments Technology- Two Technological End-States2. The Varieties of Experiences of Being There Together- The Range of MUVE Settings- The Range of Experiences in MUVEs- The Components of MUVE Experiences- The Phenomenology of MUVE Experiences in Context3. Avatars, Online Spaces, and Social Interaction- Virtual Spaces- Avatar Appearance and Realism4. Collaboration in Immersive and Non-Immersive Spaces- Distributed Work - Distributed Research - Distributed Collaboration- Tasks, Collaboration, and Systems - Long-term Collaboration5. Social Life in Online Worlds- The History of Virtual Worlds- Roles and Frames- Governance, Economies and Trust in Virtual Worlds- Limits of Online Worlds, Limits of Offline Perceptions6. Communication- Modalities of Communication in SVEs- Common Ground in Immersive and Non-Immersive Spaces- Language Encounters in SVEs- Text versus Voice, Videoconferences versus MUVEs, Face-to-Face versus Online7. Research Uses of MUVEs- The Variety of Research Uses of MUVEs- Analysis of Small Group Interaction8. Ethical and Social Issues in MUVEs- Research Ethics- Ethical and Social Issues in MUVEs9. MUVEs and other Technologies for Being There Together- Other Technologies for Being There Together- Multiple Modalities, Multiple Networks10. The Future of Being There Together- MUVEs as an End-State- The Future of Two End-States