Discussion on Communication in Second Life!

Tuesday we met at LnL's Lounge to talk about the topic "What?! I'll mute you... - Communication in SL!" (great picture London prepared for the blog! Thank you, thank you!!). Communication in general and especially in SL, with its constraints and limitations, is one of the most fascinating issues! This was a very interesting and lively discussion! Again a great group and a lot of interesting opinions. Everyone thought that communication in SL is complex, not to say difficult! Anonimity seems to open the door to a more informal speech which for many reasons create misunderstandings. For non-native speakers of the language that is being spoken in a particular moment/location, have an added difficulty when verbal language is the main means of communication. On non-verbal communication, the group agreed that gestures and emoting help make things clearer. There is a lot of "noise" in the communication flow in SL. For example, IMing, notices, the use of voice by people we are not talking to, group chats. The group thought all this information was positive but that it demanded an extra effort from all of us. To end the discussion, the group suggested ways of improving communication in Second Life: listening before speaking, being respectful, using full sentences (for example for those who are not native-speakers or those less used to all the abbreviations that are common in SL/online), being empathic, kind and understanding. As a conclusion, communication is absolutely vital for all social interaction. Giving a bit of thought to the way we say things in SL might be the difference between a stressful catastrophe and making sure all sides are being heard and understood. :) Drop by LnL next Tuesday at 2pm SLT to discuss a new topic!