Rape? - Dibbell

I found the article, A Rape in Cyberspace by Julian Dibbell to be very interesting. The article talks about a certain incident that goes on in the LamdaMOO community. A LamdaMOO character, Mr. Bungle raped two other LamdaMOO members, Legba and Starsinger. He would say obscene comments to the users, for example, “He made Legba eat his/her own pubic hair. That he caused Starsinger to violate herself with a piece of kitchen cutlery.” As Mr. Bungle laughed, Lebga and Starsinger didn’t find it a joke and they let affect them emotionally in real life. There are many people that question what the repercussions should be for Mr. Bungle. There are a plethora of different view points, if Mr. Bungle should get punished for his actions. The WIRED commentary talks about the different between rape in real and virtual worlds.
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/sexdrive/2007/05/sexdrive_0504

This incident showed how people get attached to their avatar emotionally. Although, they are not this person in real life and they are not actually physically getting violated, emotionally they are. The fact that Legba and Starsinger got raped in the living room by another avatar is diminishing. I personally think it’s disgusting that some college student finds it entertaining to go online and say sexual comment to others especially when it gets to the point where someone is being harassed online. The people that are using MUDS have to do into the virtual community knowing that people can say horrific comments just like the real world however, I still don’t think it measures up to an actual rape.

The article, Virtual Rape Is Traumatic, but Is It a Crime?, talks about if virtual rape is actually a crime and should be reported. In the article it said, “I have a hard time calling it "rape," or believing it's a matter for the police. No matter how disturbed you are by a brutal sexual attack online, you cannot equate it to shivering in a hospital with an assailant's sweat or other excretions still damp on your body.” I completely agree with this comment, I would call it sexual harassment because I believe that rape is something that can only happen in real life. In Dibbells article, the two characters Legba and Starsinger never actually was being physically hurt which then affected them mentally. They also never attempted to sign off and log in as another character, something that they could have easily done. They decided to find a way to get Mr. Bungle back, which was completely their choice. In the end, I believe that there is no reason why something virtual online should be called rape. I also think people need to understand that their character is completely made up and so was Mr. Bungles. I tend to agree with the Wired commentary saying, “It's a shitty thing to do to someone. But it's not a crime.”