I think that the identity issue that is prevalent in the online social communities today, especially the trend of “identity tourism” described by Lisa Nakamura, is both progressive and damaging to the search for defining online identity within the community as a whole. The first and most obvious issue to deal with is the issue of gender. In programs like LambdaMOO, gender if finite and is not an optional choice is making an online identity. While there are two other options besides male and female, these options are selected by few because declaring a non-standard gender is often grounds for criticism and speculation into online identity. By making gender an integral part of the online identity, LambdaMOO limits identity choices and grounds part of the online identity in reality. My experiences with Habbo, another similar website that is the subject of my term paper, takes a different, yet still rocky path toward identification with gender. During my first experience with Habbo as a young teenager, Habbo used relatively strict guild lines on gender identification. When creating a character, the only choices are male and female, and once the selection had been made, there could be no change. Now however, gender is an option that can be changed. While the issue of identity in Habbo also is limited by the need for an appearance in the Habbo world, gender is still grounded in real terms.

Another key issue that comes up is race. Defining race is only optional in LambdaMOO. It falls under the text space used to describe a character in all terms, including personality, specific physical traits and any other information the user wishes to share. One popular option is not displaying a race, thus preserving the freedom of an online identity. However, this choice on race “is actually an illusion. This is because the choice not to mention race does in fact constitute a choice – in the absence of racial description, all players are assumed to be white” (Nakamura 228) Because of this assumption within the system of LambdaMOO, identity must still be grounded in real life terms. While race can be purposely unemphasized, behind every character within the world of LambdaMOO there is still the assumption of real life anchored identity. But also is not peaceful in LambdaMOO when it comes to race. Nakamura points out that, “Players who elect to describe themselves in racial terms, as Asian, African American, Latino, or other members of oppressed and marginalized minorities, are often seen as engaging in a form of hostile performance, since they introduce what many consider a real life ‘divisive issue’ into the phantasmic world of cybernetic textual interaction. Any one pressing the issue of race is turned into the “sacrificial lamb” (233)

One trend that contradicts this hostility toward race identification is the trend of “identity surfing”. Players will often play as characters that do not match their identity. Nakamura uses the examples of some of the Asian characters adopted by people in LambdaMOO. Some people have argued that identity surfing actually helps with the online identity and even identity in real life as it helps make diversity online more prevalent and gives people a look into the identity of someone different then themselves. This idea however is fatally flawed because of how identity surfing/identity tourism is actually implemented in the online world. Nakamura points out that any benefits gained through an Asian perspective is negated because, “the fact that the personae chosen are overwhelmingly Asian stereotypes blocks this possibility by reinforcing these stereotypes.” (229) Such stereotyping is so bad that “The idea of the non-stereotyped Asian male identity is so seldom enacted in LambdaMOO that’s its absence can only be read as a symptom of suppression” (229).

Identity in online social sites has remained an issue of freedom and escaping the social bounds of real life. However, in its current implementation, the online identity does more harm than good because, in the case of LambdaMOO, it limits gender choices and breaks down race into assumed states and stereotypes, and punishes anyone who tries to challenge the status quo.