The Virtual Construction of Legality: ‘Griefing’ and Normative Order in Second Life

Eric M. Fink[Click here for author details]

This article examines the construction of legality in a virtual world, seeking to under-stand how informal social order emerges as residents construct meaning around interpersonal conflicts and interact on the basis of such meaning. ‘Griefing’, a form of disruptive behavior common to virtual worlds, provides a lens through which to in-vestigate emergent social norms and boundaries in the virtual world of Second Life. Identifying and distinguishing rhetorical frames in Second Life residents’ under-standings of and responses to griefing, the study aims to elucidate the social meaning of griefing and its place in the construction and maintenance of social order.

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Associate Professor, Elon University School of Law, Greensboro, North Carolina.

This research was conducted pursuant to Elon University IRB approval No. 09-004.

Thanks to Dr Burcu S Bakioglu of Indiana University, Professor James Grimmelman of New York Law School, and my colleagues at Elon Law, for their comments on the manuscript.

Thanks also to Elon Law students Emily Monnig (J.D. 2010) and Marina Emery (J.D. anticipated 2012), for their research assistance. All errors and opinions are those of the author.

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