nu.kanga.list.mud-dev

21819: RE: [MUD-Dev] First use of "avatar"?

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Travis Casey

> Raph asked if it had been used in a VR context before that -- the
> first is definitely a VR context (as I said, not a
> *computer-generated* VR, but a VR).  The second may or may not be
> considered a VR context -- see, for example, the old paper "Is
> Unix a MUD?"
 
> And if we are talking about it in relation to SF, it needs to be
> talked about beyond the VR context -- consider, for example, Poul
> Anderson's book _The Avatar_.

The specific citation they are looking for is its use as a VR
avatar, a representative of a person in virtual space, which leaves
the Anderson book out. They seem to think this usage originated in
SF, and that it specifically originated in Snow Crash. The Hindu
(and original!) definition is almost certainly out of bounds for
their purposes. I fired off an email to the listed contact with some
inquiries--we'll see what comes of it.

-Raph
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