In the early 1990s, Lynn Cherny spent much of her time in the MUD – not mired inwet earth, but actively exploring “Multi-User Dungeons.” These “fictionaluniverses with a focus on role-playing,” as they are defined in the Introduction, enablegroups of Internet-connected individuals to assemble in cyberspace, communicating by way ofsequentially typed text. Later, as a doctoral student in linguistics at Stanford, Cherny decided tostudy ethnographically – that is, from the perspective of one methodically anddispassionately observing a different race – the expressive practices of those habituallyusing this strange new modality.