This paper explores the ways the commercialization of multiuser environments is posing particular challenges to user autonomy and authorship. With ever broadening definitions of intellectual property rights the status of cultural and symbolic artifacts as products of collaborative efforts becomes increasingly problematized. In the case of virtual environments - such as massive multiplayer online role-play games – where users develop identities, bodies (avatars) and communities the stakes are quite high. This analysis draws on several case studies to raise questions about the status of culture and authorship in these games.

This article was updated and revised for inclusion in my book Play Between Worlds (MIT Press, 2006). I have actually pulled it from my own site since I would prefer folks refer to the most recent handling. Just fyi :)