Woodbury University's Inworld Logo
Woodbury University is a university in Burbank, California, as well as group in Second Life run by students and faculty of that university's School of Media, Culture & Design. It is supervised by Dr. Edward Clift, Associate Professor and Chair of Communication at Woodbury University[1].
Woodbury University established a virtual campus in Second Life in 2006. The campus was described as a "free and open place where avatars can express themselves in a loosely moderated environment". The membership of the group comprised nearly 600 people by April 2010, some of whom were affiliated with the real life university and some of whom were not. The group attracted controversy, facing accusations of participating in griefing by controversial SL blogger Prokofy Neva from 2007 onwards[2]. In July 2007, the Woodbury University campus was destroyed by Linden Lab[3][4]. The university subsequently leased new sims through Brautigan & Tuck Holdings (BNT), but following the bankruptcy of BNT in October 2009, their three sims were lost. A week later, they bought the new sim of Soviet Woodbury, to which three additional sims (Feted Inner Sandbox, Estonia and Animation) were later added. They included educational spaces designed mostly by students, including a mock representation of the former Soviet Union and a replica of the Berlin Wall. Woodbury University and related groups and persons also owned land in other sims including Ravenglass and Furness.
A substantial community of members of internet subcultures relating to Something Awful and 4chan have adopted Woodbury as their Second Life hangout. In response to Prokofy Neva accusing them of being communists, the group adopted a Soviet theme.
Pre-4chan[]
The Woodbury University group was founded in January of 2007 by Azzu Manga, an alt of real life Woodbury student Tizzers Foxchase. "Virtual Worlds" was offered as a 300-level communications course taught by Dr. Edward Clift. Following the creation of the group, Woodbury was offered a free 4096 parcel in the sim of Campus North as part of Linden's educational outreach program.
The Virtual Worlds class quickly outgrew the free 1 acre parcel, and in February of 2007 a full sim was purchased through Linden's educational discount program.
Virtual Worlds Class - Spring of 2007
2010 Banning[]
On 20 April 2010, both the Woodbury University group and the four sims owned by Woodbury University, as well as additional group land holdings and sims and parcels owned by some of its members, were deleted or confiscated by Linden Lab, while the accounts of the upper management of the group were banned. The ban was covered by media like The Chronicle of Higher Education[5] and US News & World Report[6]. Dr. Clift told The Chronicle of Higher Education that Woodbury University's virtual campus "did not conform to what Linden Lab wanted a campus to be".
Linden Lab banned the following accounts, most of whom were estate owners and estate managers of the Woodbury University sims[7]:
April 20, 2010
Woodbury University Estate after the ban
- Tizzy Teardrop
- The Hyx
- CrawlingIn Meskin
- At0m0 Beerbaum
- Katelyn Manamiko
- MC Fizgig
- EstaEs Sparta
- Silent Hush
- Joanna Falmer
- Scout Detritus
- Hydrogen2 Oxygen
The Woodbury University Estate on April 8th 2010
- Kiddoh Korobase
- Merato Zilz
- Asylum Inaka
- Doctor Yootz
April 21, 2010
- Phausk Claven
- Nidol Slazar
April 23, 2010
- Meif Ling
- Nizyu Nyoki
May 22, 2010
- Mullet Handsohn