Write a five-page evaluative or definitional essay drawing on your experiences in the MU* of your choice. This assignment presents several writing and research challenges. First, you must form a hypothesis about MU* interaction, and frame this hypothesis as an evaluative or definitional question. For example: Is X-MOO a community? Is X-MOO a game? Are participants in X-MOO citizens? Are wizards of X-MOO gods/tyrants/democratic rulers? Is toading murder? Are friends made on a MU* true friends? Is spending hours every day in a MU* part of a healthy social life?
Next, you must select a MU* in which to explore your hypothesis. You may select any MU*, but select carefully: you want to choose a MU* in which you will be able to gather plenty of data regarding your hypothesis. Choose an active, established MU* that offers you appropriate opportunities to ask questions and learn about the environment. You may have to try out more than one MU* before finding the right one for you.
Research and Sources
You must spend at least ten hours interacting in the MU* of your choice. Your MU* interaction will make up the bulk of your research (so don't grumble too much). How you divide this time (ten hours all in a row or two hours a day) is pretty much up to you, but you may get a more accurate picture of the MU* environment if you visit more than once. You will be asked to save transcripts of all your MU* activities and use them as source materials.
In addition to your MU* transcripts, you will need to use two other sources (traditional or electronic) as evidence to back up your claims.
Making and Supporting Your Claim
You may change your mind about your hypothesis once you get involved in your research. Be prepared to be flexible. You must frame your claim in one of the following formats:
If definitional,
X is or is not a Y because of reasons A,B, C.
If evaluative,
X is or is not a good/suitable/healthy/productive/etc. Y because of A, B, C.
Your task when writing your essay will be to use your MU* experience and outside evidence to (1) support the criteria you have put forward for Y and (2) show how X satisfies those criteria.