the Virtual World from SnowCrash, or a more general conception of the same thing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse

My interest is heavily oriented toward multi-user Virtual ThinkingSpace.

2021 thoughts

Why would people go there?

Shaan Puri: The metaverse is the moment in time where our digital life is worth more to us than our physical life.

• note that the worse your IRL is, the more attractive the metaverse becomes
• Romeen Sheth: this will increase extremistan

To play a computer game

For real-time socializing

For real-time entertainment with the friends you have for those previous activities.

To create things/experiences for your friends.

To create things/experiences for money.

An enabling environment for flourishing: Making up your own games with friends.
Creating music/art/code, alone and with others. (Some will pay to experience/use.)
Create a mutual-aid DAO....

Concerns: theme park, advertising, monoculture. ..

Open Metaverse?

Open Metaverse Interoperability group - any actual players involved? https://omigroup.org https://www.w3.org/community/metaverse-interop/

old notes: 2004-2006

Metaweb link

The Metaverse Roadmap group hoped (2006) to define a process of getting to a widespread MetaVerse implementation.

• they have a wiki for drafting their document

ActiveWorlds is a "big" player here. (Ron Britvich, Alpha World, Worlds Inc) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Worlds

• still active 2020!