Stakeholder Analysis of Governing Documents for Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are governed not only by the source code used to develop the world, but also by civil code documents that establish a governance structure that constrains the interactions of users of the virtual world and regulates relationships among stakeholders of the virtual world. Justin M. Grimes, Paul T. Jaeger and Kenneth R. Fleischmann analyze the interplay among the governing documents of World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, Lineage II, EverQuest II, Second Life, and There in Obfuscatocracy: A Stakeholder Analysis of Governing Documents for Virtual Worlds (First Monday, Sept. 2008). The authors offer a set of policy recommendations and considerations to facilitate the development of governing documents that more democratically and equally serve the needs and rights of all stakeholders in virtual worlds. [JH]