still trying to open the subject.
Kevin shrugged. ‘Dude, we have arguments about all kinds of things. It’s healthy.’
‘I’m interested to hear the points.’
Kevin was silent.
‘We can’t stop people doing it,’ said Andrei.
‘That doesn’t mean you should encourage it.’
‘It’s not an argument about what we can and can’t stop,’ said Kevin impatiently. ‘Look, why do we have to tell you about this? It happened before you came. We had a discussion, we agreed on a policy. I don’t see why we have to put the case to you like you’re some kind of judge.’
‘I’m not judging anything. I’m just interested.’
‘Whatever.’
There was silence.
‘Why do you say it’s not an argument about what you can stop?’ said Chris. ‘I would have thought that’s exactly what it is.’
Kevin sighed. He shook his head for a moment, then looked at Chris. ‘It’s a philosophical argument, Chris. OK? If people choose to behave like that in cyberspace, who are we to stop them? Who are we to say it’s wrong? Cyberspace isn’t physical space. Different space – different rules.’
‘I thought the idea behind Fishbowll was Deep Connectedness between people.’
‘And what if pseudonymity facilitates that?’ riposted Kevin. ‘You get more Deep Connectedness.’
‘False Deep Connectedness.’
‘Why? What’s false about it? What would be false would be to try to force someone to do things in a way that you prescribe. They won’t do it. Therefore you’ll have less Deep Connectedness.’
‘So it’s better to have more Deep Connectedness, if some of it’s false, than less Deep Connectedness, if it’s all true?’
‘I don’t see the distinction,’ said Kevin. ‘Dude, I told you, I don’t think there’s such a thing as this false Deep Connectedness you talk about. That’s a false dichotomy. It’s your construct and I dispute it. The connection between me, as Tonya, and the other shark swimmers, if you want an example, was real. I was interested in shark swimming, I learned, I contributed, I developed, and maybe I helped them develop. Where’s the falsity?’
‘You had to make Tonya disappear.’
‘Because someone wanted to take that personality from the cyber world – where she existed – into the physical world. Is that my fault? It’s like taking a fish out of water. We have two worlds on this planet, water and air, and very few creatures can live in both of them. Well, in human cultures, we now have two worlds as well, the physical and the cyber. Some people are amphibians. Some choose not to be.’
‘I’m not sure I buy the analogy.’
Kevin stabbed at his noodles. ‘I’m not trying to sell it to you.’
‘What do you think, Andrei?’ said Chris.
‘Dude, we had the conversation!’ Noodles flew out of Kevin’s mouth. ‘This was before you. It doesn’t concern you. We had the conversation and we decided what we were doing. We’re not reopening it.’
Chris waited a moment. ‘Andrei?’
Kevin rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
‘I think Kevin has a good point,’ said Andrei. ‘The way the cyber world develops isn’t set in stone. Social networking sites took a step forward towards Deep Connectedness. With Fisbbowll, I think we’re taking another step forward and we’re getting to a much deeper, more meaningful level. But to do that, we have to have a broad conceptualization of what Deep Connectedness might mean. We need to be inclusive. We need to offer as much as we can. Because what Deep Connectedness looks like when it fully develops – what the players in that world look like – I think that’s something the cyber world itself will have to choose. It may look different in different places. It may look different on Fishbowll compared to some other site. That’s because people would be using Fishbowll and other sites for different aspects of Deep Connectedness, which is totally cool. So, philosophically, I agree with Kevin. The cyber world will evolve as suits it best, just like the physical world. There’ll be things that don’t work and therefore disappear – evolutionary dead ends, if you will – and things that do work and survive. I don’t know that it won’t be, but I hope Fishbowll isn’t a dead end. What I am pretty sure I do know is that the best way to make it one is if we sit here deciding how everything’s got to be. That decision has to come from the users.’ Andrei glanced at Kevin. Then he shrugged. ‘That’s my perspective.’
‘I don’t disagree with it,’ said Chris. ‘I don’t disagree with what either of you have said. Kevin, the distinction I drew between true