1.0The Escapisthttps://www.escapistmagazine.comJulianne Capps Legacy Authorhttps://www.escapistmagazine.com/author/andraste/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="ZcXoG72tA9"><a href="https://www.escapistmagazine.com/its-a-small-virtual-world-2/">It’s a Small, Virtual World</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.escapistmagazine.com/its-a-small-virtual-world-2/embed/#?secret=ZcXoG72tA9" width="600" height="338" title="“It’s a Small, Virtual World” — The Escapist" data-secret="ZcXoG72tA9" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),l=0;l<n.length;l++)n[l].style.display="none";for(l=0;l<i.length;l++)if(r=i[l],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=d.createElement("a"),a=d.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,!o.test(a.protocol));else if(a.host===s.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> Virtual worlds have been rolling about the collective imagination for years. But where did they come from, and, more importantly, where are they going? Some of the first virtual worlds are early IRC chat rooms and MUDs. While these served to ignite the minds of those not daunted by these newfangled computers, they never really enjoyed mainstream acceptance, or really acknowledgement. The general public’s first glimmer of the possibilities of a virtual existence came with the AOL chat room culture taking the net by storm, creating little corners in which people could discuss anything from mashed potato recipes to the […]