One particularly strange form of Internet-enabled community is the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, or MMORG. These are games where many people log into a central server to play as characters in on ongoing, shared story. The idea is not necessarily new to the Internet. As soon as universities began getting Internet access, it was natural for these games to materialize.

The form has definitely evolved from the plain text-based multi-user dungeons of the past to realistic 3D worlds created by the biggest game companies. In these virtual worlds, players develop their characters and acquire property.

The logical consequence to the right to own property, is a market to trade in that property. Certainly there are in-game markets, but there are also markets in the real world for virtual property. A quick search on eBay, for example, shows an hour to go on an auction for an EverQuest character and all her belongings--for upwards of $600. In another auction 250 gold pieces in the game is going for about $50. The seller says, "All Transactions done face-to-face in game."

This brings us to today's amazing development--virtual civil rights. What happens when an overwhelming authority violates your right? Just as in the real world, you gather a crowd and you protest. Just such an incident occurred in the new World of Warcraft game. Over a hundred virtual people massed on a single server to protest a change to the rules.

The authorities put down the uprising by kicking the players off the server and punishing them with a temporary ban from playing. But before they did, pro-authority players began attacking the protesters. Multiple accounts of the incident are detailed on the Web, including video footage. One player blogged, "These screenshots are worth a ban". Another blogger called it "The Gnome Tea Party." (The protesters all appeared as gnomes).

Though not as dangerous as the real thing, the philisophical implications are nearly as fascinating.