"I study a wide range of situations in which group members gain by cooperating but where a temptation to behave selfishly exists, examining the factors that encourage or discourage the emergence of cooperation, community, and [yada yada]. My recent work has concentrated on studies of online communities"

These are the aspects of Dr. Peter Kollock's 'areas of research' that interest me.

He taught a course called 'The Sociology of Cyberspace' in 2003. The curriculum is worth a glance, I think. Sociology of Cyberspace <www.sscnet.ucla.edu>

Week 8 and 9 of the class dealt with 'Graphical Worlds.' A required weekly activity was to 'Spend time in the multiplayer online world you’ve selected' and 'Post notes on the Field Notes Board.'

So BAZ's art students possibly won't be only denizens of academia making use of Gridcosm for course credit.