ATTW Bulletin

Technical Communication, the journal of the Society for Technical Communication is pleased to announce a special edition on the use, design, possibilities, and research questions related to virtual worlds as they are, and might be, used in technical communication contexts.

Description

Virtual worlds, those online spaces where users navigate, collaborate, and socialize in three dimensions using avatars, have joined mainstream media, such as the World Wide Web, as a method for delivering technical information to users. For example, on 15 May 2007, IBM opened a “business center” in the virtual world Second Life that is staffed around the clock by employees from different countries who offer technical support to users, enable collaborations, and provide sales information. Similarly, in late May 2007 the Swedish government opened a virtual embassy in Second Life to provide information on the country as well as information on real world consular services. Because large-scale use of virtual worlds for instrumental, non-gaming purposes is still in its infancy, technical communicators have an opportunity to influence how their organizations develop and deploy virtual worlds.

This special issue of Technical Communi cation will examine the implications of virtual worlds, including massively-multiplayer games, as a new method of delivering information to users and building user communities. This special issue will investigate how these spaces should be constructed, what new research questions arise from presenting information in virtual worlds, and how virtual spaces change the relationships of users to each other and to the information they seek.

Possible Topics for this Special Issue

Ideas this special issue wishes to examine for virtual worlds include:

New models for information design
Navigation complications and way-finding
Social networking and informal communication networks as a method of information delivery
Massively-multiplayer games as informational and instructional spaces
Usability and user-centered design issues
Expanded roles for experience and sensorial design models
Methods for testing, validating, and ensuring user satisfaction
Patterns and styles of virtual collaboration
Ethical issues associated with operating in virtual worlds

To that end, we welcome proposals for articles addressing these or related topics.

Types of Submissions
We welcome original research related to virtual worlds and massively-multiplayer games; case studies and reports on experiences; experiments of assessment methodologies; theoretical investigations; opinion pieces; literature reviews and annotated bibliographies; and tips or best practices for implementing virtual worlds in instrumental contexts.

Schedule

15 December 2007 500-word proposal
15 March 2008 Draft manuscript
15 June 2008 Final manuscript
November 2008 Publication date

Send proposals by e-mail to sean@clemson.edu . All proposals and papers will be peer-reviewed.

Contact Information

If you have questions about a proposal idea or if you wish to be considered as a proposal or a manuscript reviewer for this special issue, please contact Sean Williams at the e-mail address above, by phone at +1 (864) 656-2156, by instant message to sdw8892, or in Second Life, “Omalley Qinan.”