A slime-filled sewer deep beneath a city may seem like a strange place to hold a conference, but none of the participants seemed to mind. I was co-hosting the first scientific conference (1) held in Azeroth, the virtual world inhabited by millions who play the game World of Warcraft (WoW), and a lively discussion was under way about how to promote data sharing. Virtual worlds such as Azeroth are a treasure trove for psychological, social, and economic research (2). The atmosphere was casual and animated, like the conversations that happen between lectures at a good scientific meeting. But at this conference, the chat was happening on the computer monitors
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