[Air-L] any publications on viewer or client use?

[katie vizenor]

Hi,

I am looking for any publications that might have to do with why Virtual
World residents or VW residents might choose different clients or viewers,
as they are called in the SL community.

Here is why I ask: I am conducting work in Second Life among a very
committed group of mentors/disability/education communities. I notice a lot
of debate about what viewer is the best and there hase been some
disagreement in the ranks when one group decides to support a certain
viewer/client.

SL has a number of clients that residents can choose from. Some apparently
are better for artists/machinima filmmakers, others are for sex roleplay.
This multiplicity of viewers seems more common in user content created
worlds then in more game based worlds, but maybe I am wrong here.

I am interested in any lists of viewers or any insight into the presence or
absence of this in other worlds. I am even more interested in any
discussion or literature that talks about the social/cultural/community
consequences of the decision to use one or another.

I hope this is clear.

Thanks so much!

Katie Vizenor, MA, MLS
PhD Candidate, SUNY-Buffalo, Anthropology