Submission + - First They Got Sick, Then They Moved Into a Virtual Utopia (backchannel.com)
mirandakatz writes: At one point not too long ago, futurists believed that Second Life was the final frontier of social media. Today, the platform is well past its peak—but it continues to host a thriving community of people with disabilities, who are able to live in Second Life in ways they cannot offline. At Backchannel, Kristen French embeds in one such community on "Virtual Ability Island," and offers up a gloriously detailed look at the utopia its residents are creating for themselves. She writes, "For many disabled residents, who may spend 12 hours a day or more in Second Life, the most important moments and relationships of their lives happen inside the virtual world. For them, the fevered fantasies of a decade ago have become reality: Second Life is where they live."
