I am adding a few snippets from the original document. by Michael Heim
Snippet 1 describes the move from a user using a tool to the user creating new tools to fashion their own reality which is readily apparent to most in virtual worlds.
The attention of the user is not focused on ‘this tool out here.’ Rather, the attention is wrapped by a fluid medium that calls for participatory involvement. As the user configures and customizes software tools, the tools themselves cease to be ‘designed tools’ and become increasingly ‘tools for designing.’ The user applies the flexibility of software tailored to the task at hand. The subject of knowledge (the user) and the object studied tend to merge through usage and customization. Through deepening involvement, the participant fades out as a ‘user’ or detached tool-wielder and increasingly adapts to the environment as participant. The environment becomes ‘my own.’
Snippet 2 was from a section that was interesting (and news) to me. How a group's conversation and interactions changed in the virtual worlds depending on the virtual environment they were in. The "atmospherics" of the place.
Many aspects of flow affect events in the CyberForum. The impact of flow on the events first became apparent when the Forum ran up against stops or blockages in the flow. These blocks became a problem to be solved by the team. Over time, the team found ways to re-establish flow in problem areas, which then confirmed the initial intuition that this or that aspect of virtual environments held important issues of flow. This paper looks at four aspects of flow:
- flow of words with visuals
- flow of atmospherics
- flow of group dynamics
- flow of virtual with physical architecture (avatecture)