Ka Jolo

I recommend EVE-Online. It has a monthly fee, but you can try it free for 14 days, and later on you could pay your subscription with in-world assets. https://www.eveonline.com/. This is a space-based MMORPG, but it is very loosely structured and described by many as a "sandbox" game, where the players determine the content. I am one of the many who has chosen the life of (space) piracy: engaging in (mostly non-consensual) player-versus-player combat, and extorting ransoms from them in lieu of destroying their ships, or destroying their ships and looting their wreckage. It's a lot of fun. You can read my blog about it at http://eve-pirate.blogspot.de/. Ka Jolo

I've been playing EVE for almost a year now, and love it (played Ever Quest right up until I tried EVE). My character is Ka Jolo, and I'm a pirate. I have a little over nine million skill points at this time. Check out my blog at http://eve-pirate.blogspot.de/.

Why would someone pay so much real money for something that "exists only in a game"? Why do people pay so much for such things as domain names, web hosts, etc. that exist only on the Internet? Last year I made over US$1,000 in Second Life (http://secondlife.com/). It's a "game" that's not a game--it has no storyline, no plot, etc. It's simply a huge "sandbox" sort of application. It is free to play. People can buy second life "land," build virtual constructions on their land, design clothes for their avatar, script objects to do stuff, etc. It is important to note that Second Life currency is legally freely convertible; Linden Labs will buy or sell their currency, they allow third parties to exchange the currency, and they allow people to sell Second Life items on eBay, etc. They literally grant intellectual property rights to the creators of in-world content. So...some people are good at graphic design; they design "textures" which they upload to the game, and then use and sell those textures to others for use in modifying the appearance of avatars, clothing, items, buildings, terrain, etc. Some people are good programmers; they program bots or movements or sounds to animate avatars, objects, etc. In the past there were casinos where people could gamble (banned when real life taxing authorities got involved) and brothels where one could view and participate in cyber-you-know-what. There have been banks and stock exchanges, malls, marinas, airports...all kinds of stuff. Now, realize that any stable in-world presence is tied to a location--to "a piece of land." Think of that land as a website--only instead of putting up a two-dimensional web page, you can put up a three-dimensional build. Instead of a flash player, imagine a TV that plays flash files. Instead of a political web page with position papers, imagine a platform with a podium and "personal" appearances by the candidate. Avatars can communicate with one another by text or speech. The amount of resources a user has available for his "build" depends on the number of square meters of land he owns; a small plot of land allows a certain number of objects, while a large plot of land allows more. In a sense, Second Life "land" represents real-life server resources. Hopefully, you can see how "players" would desire this virtual land. Linden Labs constantly is creating new land, and releasing it by auction in large tracts. The auction winners pay real cash for their land, and can then do whatever they wish with it. Some use it for themselves, but it is more common to sub-divide the tracts into smaller lots for re-sale to others; those buyers may use the land for a few months, then re-sale it in turn. Last year Linden Labs fell behind in releasing new land; as they waited for more servers to be delivered and installed, the supply of new land dwindled. At the same time, Second Life was getting a lot of media attention and new players were signing up in record numbers; the demand for new land spiked. I, along with many others, took advantage of this situation by buying land from people who wanted to sell fast and re-selling it--at very nice margins--to others who wanted to buy fast. One Second Life land baron was at one time worth over US$1,000,000 in assets; she now employs a staff to help in managing her Second Life real-estate business. (Since then supply and demand have reached a balance that has really narrowed profit margins in real estate.) Bottom line: consider that what exists "only in a game" may actually have a real-life incarnation in terms of computer hardware, internet bandwidth, and support, and that people may have any number of reasons to pay for those resources. Jolo

I am a fan of online education. There are obvious advantages to online education: people can attend schools that are geographically distant, they can take classes at a pace and schedule convenient for them, universities can control and standardize course content, professors can be absent, etc. Of course, there are also weaknesses of online education versus traditional education models.Many traditional classes are not very creative; students sit in chairs and take notes while professors lecture. Occasionally some students (often just a small subset of the class) may ask questions or offer comments. The students read from textbooks outside of class, take tests, and may have other assignments to turn in. Certainly none of this is lost in a quality online program.In the school where I taught online, the lectures were recorded on video, and notes were provided; these resources were available as many times as the students desired, whenever they desired them. ALL students were graded on their course participation, meaning everyone was motivated to engage in the discussions (e.g. make forum posts). Books were mailed to the students, tests were administered online, etc.Many have seen "networking" as a weakness of online courses, but I disagree. Just because we have a new medium of communication (the Internet) that does not mean meaningful, personal communication does not take place. In the past people communicated intimately via letters, then by telephone; now we use the Internet. I personally know a dozen couples who met and got to know each other on the Internet enough to meet in RL and eventually marry. Why shouldn't relationships formed online be valuable and helpful later in life? I have RL friends I met through online BBS or forums, and often they are of a higher "quality" than ones I first meet face-to-face. Why? Face-to-face, my meetings are often random; I have no control over who I'll meet. On the Internet, though, I've become acquainted with authors of books or articles I've enjoyed, leaders of institutions I've contacted, etc.Online education (a form of distance education) may not be the best choice for everybody, but it's definitely "good."

There are many legitimate online education opportunities, from fully-accredited colleges and universities. For example, consider http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/. I am a former professor at Hope International University, and taught courses both in traditional classes and online. Be aware that you are not likely to get a tuition break when earning a diploma from an accredited school. (Unfortunately, I do not believe HIU offers a degree in IT.) Jolo