Why real-life avatars are scary

Hey guess what? Being anonymous makes people jerks. Don't believe it? Just ask John Gabriel at Penny Arcade. Still don't believe it?

"When we submitted John Gabriel's Greater Internet F**kwad Theory, we were not aware that it already had proponents in centers of higher learning. Except, when they talk about it, they call it The Impact of Anonymity on Disinhibitive Behavior Through Computer-Mediated Communication. Same thing, though."

So there's some understandable trepidation about attempting to reproduce this experience by bringing it to real life. It's called the Avatar Machine, "which replicates the aesthetics and visuals of third person gaming, allowing the user to view themselves as a virtual character in real space via a head mounted interface."

Here's what's worrying: "The system potentially allows for a diminished sense of social responsibility, and could lead the user to demonstrate behaviors normally reserved for the gaming environment."

Or to put it another way, do you really want all the selfish rambling, ad hominem attacks, and nerd rage from the Internet infecting the real world?

Didn't think so.