Writing

I’ve been following the curious story of a woman in Japan who has been arrested for ‘virtual murder’ after she killed a character, her cyber husband, in an online game (to clarify, no real persons were harmed in the writing of this column). The game, “Maple Story”, like many others, Continue Reading

I’ve been an infrequent Shetlink dipper into-er over recent weeks due to commitments in the ‘real’ world, but on a recent sojourn through the forums one discussion in particular enticed my attention, entitled “The need for Shetlink” The inaugural salvo from the malcontent individual who initiated the discussion was “As Continue Reading

Shopping has always been one of my least preferred pursuits (due evolutionary reasons. I read in a journal that entering a shop triggers the male self preservatory ‘fight or flight’ response) and I didn’t pay much heed to recent discussions on the Shetlink forum on the subject of the ever Continue Reading

Shetlink has just celebrated its second birthday, and as it toddles into the terrible twos I’d like to thank the moderators who have baby sat the forum for the past 2 years. This merry band of moderators are the five volunteers responsible for keeping discussions on track, and have powers Continue Reading

Shetlanders are a fairly liberal bunch in my experience (liberal with both peerie and muckle Ls), but the anonymity of Internet forum opinion spoutery seems to bring out a bloodthirsty side in some Shetlink members. During recent discussions on criminality and the punishment of baddies, I was surprised to see Continue Reading

When my flatmate came in from work to find me still sitting in my underpants after an all day Internet binge, I had an epiphany. Maybe I spend too much time online? I started to use the Internet regularly about 3 years ago, mainly to check emails and do a Continue Reading