User Interaction in a Second Life Chat

The aim of this study is to better understand how Second Life (SL) users interact in the integrated chat. This study consists of a content analysis informed by Gee's (2014) approach to discourse analysis within a social constructivist and interpretivist framework. Specifically, Gee's (2014) tools were used to code users' instant messages (IMs) in the Second Life chat. The findings revealed patterns that primarily employed the following interaction moves: seeking, sharing, confirming, and commenting. Users enacted these interaction moves in ways that reflected their knowledge construction, understanding, and experiences in SL content creation. Clear, accurate, and relevant information were essential aspects to accomplish their goals. Thus, the use of synchronous IMs in connection with differences in SL knowledge and skills, as revealed in the interaction moves, are factors that trigger and shape users' interactions. Finally, due to the limitations of this study, further research is needed to conduct a discourse analysis in its full scope, as well as to perform an in-depth investigation of the interaction moves across different groups in SL.