I've had a few doubts about academics and technology for some time - actually, they're inability to delineate between content and how the message is transmitted.

It's not only academics that are to blame. The general trivialisation of news down to entertainment is endemic and global.

I'm not sure that the writer is on solid ground re Hume. Hume was trying to create a verifiable proof for the existence (material) of reality and ended up in skepticism.

I agree that there's heaps of hype about multi-online games (my son plays them) and avatars but there always was hype about new technologies. The sin of it is that they're so mindless - more than TV? Beats me. The avatars look immature but I'm sure the games developers are reaping in the dollars.

For my money Malcolm King is to be congratulated for being the one brave enough to shout out loud that the emperor has no clothes...virtual or otherwise.

"The online world of carnival is the world of entertainment and gratification. It is not the place for serious dialogue."

So by your thinking, I'm not even suppose to take your post as "serious dialog". This was entertainment? instant gratification? not worthy of academia?

By your own thinking, you justed wasted your own time. Well, unless this was all for fun, not worth thought, having no educational purpose. I doubt you had that in mind if I interpret your tone correctly.

The Federal Court has found that Telstra misled customers about the coverage of its Next G mobile network. Telstra told porkies about it being total coverage.

Ditto with some of the spin re Virtual Worlds. My son bought shares on the bourse in Second Life. No problems about that but who is the legislative watchdog or regulator?

One small thing that King didn't mention was that people who make money out of product sales or shares are liable for tax - aren't they?

It's great to see post-modernists get taken down a peg. Excellent article.

Oh such an academic reading of the virtual worlds of today. The author has obviously not even logged into second life, let alone taken the time to explore, interact with its citizens or even build . Sneering down your nose at something you don't know about or have no experience of, exposes the writer as the pedagogue and self serving "academic' that he lambasts. Get real..go in, interact, learn. Then maybe I may take your opinion with the grain of salt that is lacking in his little diatribe.