Virtual Policy ‘08

As many TN readers know I’ve recently formed a think tank to look at public policy issues and virtual worlds, it’s called the Virtual Policy Network (tVPN). The point of it is to bring together academics, industry and policy makers in local, regional and global dialog.

As part of the usual thinky tanky things tVPN is creating and supporting a range of conferences and is kicking of a number of research projects.

And so to the point of this post: I wanted to make TN readers aware of a possibly the first UK based conference focused purely on public policy and virtual worlds. Snappily titled Virtual Policy the event is on the 22nd & 23rd of July in London at the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s (BERR) conference center. BERR are co-sponsors of the event and it’s quite inspiring to have a central government department so involved in debates over virtual worlds.

Here is the event sign up page: virtualpolicy08.eventbrite.com

The event features some of your TN favorites such as Richard Bartle, Bryan Camp oh and me; as well as a number of Europeans that might not be so familiar such as lawyers David Naylor of Field Fisher Waterhouse in the UK and Dr. Andreas Lober of Schulte Riesenkampff in Germany.

I can’t bring myself to do a pure promo post though. What interests me about this event is that much of the debate about virtual worlds that one sees in academia, at least, has been driven by the US. This means that North American issues, rhetoric and sensibilities have been given primacy. Hosting an event in the UK should help to flush out those areas where Europeans either don’t think an issue is important or have a very different framing of it.

What do TN readers think the main points of departure are going to be?

Comments

[Neils Clark]

1.

I'm actually pretty curious as to regulatory differences for game effects. In China and Vietnam now you've got the government attempting different strategies for cutting off players after they've played X hours. Contrast that with the US, where thus far it appears to be a coin of political currency, more a "join me, faithful lemmings! we must quash these games!" Rather than, "hey, this Jack Thompson guy makes a lot of sense."

I know that the government of Greece in particular has a unique past with regard to "games." I'm pretty curious, though, where else you guys see the more macro regulatory possibilities.

[Neils Clark]

2.

Just to clarify the lemmings/thompson comment, I'm talking more to the perception of gov't action versus regulation that impinges gameplay, respectively.