For those of us who live infront of a screen (as I find myself doing some weeks), they do. A six hours raid with your friends sometimes wins in front of grabbing the same friends and going out. And even when the latter occurs, the narrative still won't leave the sphere of the virtual, as I sometimes bitterly noticed (in translation, we're nerds but some people really do need to change the subject from those damn blood elves, unless I make them eat this ashtray).
Virtual worlds go beyond simple narrative or [religious] rituals. You're not listening to the story, you're creating it or living one that has already been created for you.
As with most things virtual, the borderlines are tad blurry. In traditional contexts, the community precedes the ritual, be it religious, narrative or otherwise, with ad hoc groups being the minority. In MMO space, the community is sometimes formed for the single purpose of the experience but then might move to a radically different plane. Entire guilds change the game they're playing with far more ease than a group of villagers might choose to go to a different church for an yearly procession.
Of course, there are levels upon levels for this. There's the micro-community (your small group of friends), then your guild, then the total number of people playing a game on the same server as you, all the people playing the game and all the people who have played it and now play similar games and ..and I'll stop now. For any of those examples, things shift fast. I have people on my ICQ list I haven't spoken with in years. I don't even remember who they are, for the most part. I could however safely assume that at some point, we had some enjoyable conversations and we were part of the same community, going through the same "ritual".
(To ramble even further, IM lists like mine are examples of anti-rituals. Me and the people on my list with similar lists share the ritual of "not talking to each other because I can't remember who the hell these guys are".)
These are just stray thoughts. Can virtual communities share experiences in such a manner as to make them equal or better than their real world counter parts? I don't know. It depends on which moment of the day you ask this to me. The article mentions Leroy Jenkins. Will he end up as the default example of a jester/court fool? I for one, welcome our new overlords of (if you get this overlords thing, shut down your computer now)...
What do you want to talk about today Ancient Greek or Ancient Geek?
Incoherently yours,
Alex
PS: Sure virtual communities may seem safer, as you only have to share what you choose to about yourself (and can walk away whenever) but then again, you can't see the look on people's eyes when they see your amazing hand in online poker. Ya know?
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