I think I want to give VRChat my first and only five-star rating largely out of principle. I've only spent roughly 20 hours ingame so far, and half of that time was spent pirating an entire HBO series in a media world.

I'm an anthropology student who just downloaded the game in 2022 but I am utterly fascinated with the social interactions that occur here.

Freshman year of college I did a small ethnographic project on social interations within Town of Salem's game chat, and I really regret that I hadn't studied VRChat instead. There was one world I went to where you spawn on a train that moves forever, and there were two people sitting on top who were edating. I could basically hear their whole conversation. They must have been aware, but they didn't seem to mind. My friends and I also explored a virtual art museum, while our artist friend gave an explanation of the famous pieces.

There are so many interesting layers to peel back when it comes to people watching. And if you don't want to do that, you can always just pirate an entire TV series, because it's way too easy to do that.

VRChat isn't my favorite game, not by a longshot. I don't even own a VR headset, I play this game in desktop mode. But I've never explored a virtual space with more childlike wonder than when I wander the nooks and crannies of this game's many worlds. Meta and Mark Zuckerberg could never accomplish creating a space like this. While VRChat worlds contain a couple semi-ironic and easy to ignore advertisment posters, and creator bulletins thanking loyal patrons, Meta is creating a sterile, work-friendly environment backed with tv ads promoting virtual Jon Batiste tshirts and NFTs. VRChat isn't necessarily a videogame, but its association with Steam, Oculus, and gaming as a whole works as a natural gatekeeper from corporate takeover. Of course, this skews the playerbase in an unfavorable direction (creepy gamers can flood certain spaces) but the silver lining remains: VRChat is a virtual space largely untainted by the real world. As a result, exploring the game is captivating.

TL;DR: I pirated all of HBO's The White Lotus within a week on VRChat. If anything, get it to do that.

So I'm a classically trained violist, and I've been playing since I was around 9. Yanny vs Laurel really helped me grow as a musician because it was when I first understood ear training and aural skills. Upon first hearing the sound, my inclination was Yanny. I was a kid surrounded by the company of other kids, and I played an instrument with a semi-high register. It was only natural that I heard Yanny. But it was brought to my attention by my friend who played double bass that he heard Laurel. I decided to listen for the lower register, and there it was, clear as day! It was a really powerful moment for me and it really goes to show how two things can be true at the same time. Have a blessed day, everyone.