A Story About A Tree
Encyclopedia
A Story About A Tree is a short essay
and an epitaph
written by Raph Koster
, regarding the alleged death
of a LegendMUD
player named Karyn. The essay raises the subject of inter-human relationships in virtual world
s, particularly the loss of friends, concluding that these are not "just games". The case, having caused a massive uproar in the MUD's community, is used as a paradigm
to the human ability to grieve for imaginary people as well as the aspect of death in Internet-based friendships. The existence of a real Karyn has since been disproved.
. Her particular emphasis in the MUD was on role-playing and being somebody else. Shortly after joining, she created a personal website, displaying the pictures claimed as being her own, and founded a Guild
named the Norse Traders. Some time later, her frequent visits to the virtual world ceased, resulting in the stagnation and eventual decrease of guild morale. Two month past her disappearance, Karyn's website displayed a letter from her parents and a news article in Norwegian
. It was soon common knowledge on LegendMUD that Karyn died in a traffic accident, whilst test-driving a Porsche 911
.
The news of Karyn's fate, and therefore the fate of a popular member and leader of an influential guild in LegendMUD, quickly spread throughout the community through message boards and the official newsletter
. The players soon began pilgrimage
s to a "Garden of Remembrance" constructed in memory of the beloved member. The game's code
was adjusted to enable pilgrims to leave permanent remembrance cards below a little tree bearing a brass plaque reading "In Memory of Karyn whose kindness and companionship will always be missed".
As later proven by journalist Tracy Spaight and virtual worlds researcher Richard Bartle
, Karyn's supposed real self
, as described on her website, was an invented persona
. Spaight's investigation, driven by Bartle's suspicions of Karyn's existence, discovered that the University of Oslo
had no records of student deaths in road accidents during the respective time frame. Spaight also found that the person in the photographs of Karyn was a contestant in the Miss Norway
contest; however, the contestant had never heard of LegendMUD. The story was later published in Tracy Spaight's report for Salon.com
.
. The 'death' demonstrated that people can develop feelings for each other via the virtual world medium, thus experiencing real emotions about somebody they've never met, even an entirely fictional persona. A Story About A Tree is considered as a major counterargument
against the "it's just a game" point of view on virtual worlds. Furthermore, it showcased that while being a very real object of grief to one party, it can indeed remain just a game for another.
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
and an epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
written by Raph Koster
Raph Koster
Raphael "Raph" Koster is an American entrepreneur, game designer, and author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of Ultima Online and the creative director behind Star Wars Galaxies...
, regarding the alleged death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
of a LegendMUD
LegendMUD
LegendMUD is a historically significant, award-winning MUD founded by a group of friends including virtual world designer Raph Koster. It opened publicly on February 14, 1994...
player named Karyn. The essay raises the subject of inter-human relationships in virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
s, particularly the loss of friends, concluding that these are not "just games". The case, having caused a massive uproar in the MUD's community, is used as a paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
to the human ability to grieve for imaginary people as well as the aspect of death in Internet-based friendships. The existence of a real Karyn has since been disproved.
Synopsis
Karyn had first logged into LegendMUD in autumn of 1996. She claimed that the name of her avatar was also her real name, and to be a Miss Norway 1995 finalist and law student in the University of OsloUniversity of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
. Her particular emphasis in the MUD was on role-playing and being somebody else. Shortly after joining, she created a personal website, displaying the pictures claimed as being her own, and founded a Guild
Clan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
named the Norse Traders. Some time later, her frequent visits to the virtual world ceased, resulting in the stagnation and eventual decrease of guild morale. Two month past her disappearance, Karyn's website displayed a letter from her parents and a news article in Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
. It was soon common knowledge on LegendMUD that Karyn died in a traffic accident, whilst test-driving a Porsche 911
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
.
The news of Karyn's fate, and therefore the fate of a popular member and leader of an influential guild in LegendMUD, quickly spread throughout the community through message boards and the official newsletter
Newsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
. The players soon began pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
s to a "Garden of Remembrance" constructed in memory of the beloved member. The game's code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
was adjusted to enable pilgrims to leave permanent remembrance cards below a little tree bearing a brass plaque reading "In Memory of Karyn whose kindness and companionship will always be missed".
As later proven by journalist Tracy Spaight and virtual worlds researcher Richard Bartle
Richard Bartle
Richard Allan Bartle is a British writer, professor and game researcher, best known for being the co-creator of MUD1 and the author of the seminal Designing Virtual Worlds. He is one of the pioneers of the massively multiplayer online game industry.-Life and career:Bartle received a Ph.D...
, Karyn's supposed real self
Real self
The Real self theory in politics and philosophy proposes that people often have a private "real will" , that is different from their public "expressed will".-References:...
, as described on her website, was an invented persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
. Spaight's investigation, driven by Bartle's suspicions of Karyn's existence, discovered that the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
had no records of student deaths in road accidents during the respective time frame. Spaight also found that the person in the photographs of Karyn was a contestant in the Miss Norway
Miss Norway
Miss Norway is the name used to identify Norway's representatives to international beauty pageants.-History:Currently, Norway has two national beauty pageants:...
contest; however, the contestant had never heard of LegendMUD. The story was later published in Tracy Spaight's report for Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
.
Impact
The 'Karyn incident', albeit not unique in nature, is considered to be a key event in the development of virtual worlds' ethics, similar to A Rape in CyberspaceA Rape in Cyberspace
"A Rape in Cyberspace, or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society" is an article written by freelance journalist Julian Dibbell and first published in The Village Voice in 1993...
. The 'death' demonstrated that people can develop feelings for each other via the virtual world medium, thus experiencing real emotions about somebody they've never met, even an entirely fictional persona. A Story About A Tree is considered as a major counterargument
Counterargument
In reasoning and argument mapping, a counterargument, also known as a rebuttal, is an objection to an objection. A counterargument can be used to rebut an objection to a premise, a main contention or a lemma...
against the "it's just a game" point of view on virtual worlds. Furthermore, it showcased that while being a very real object of grief to one party, it can indeed remain just a game for another.