Simply put, a MUD user is in complete control of his or her identity and can exist simultaneously in several MUDs with a different identity in each. Turkle s arguments for the decentred and fluid aspects of MUD identity are sound, but I take issue with her claim that they are a radically new phenomenon. The decentred and fluid aspects are not new, they are an exaggeration of pre-existing conditions. They appear to be new phenomena because prior to the development of MUDs the characteristics ascribed to the MUD identity went unnoticed. On the Golden Compass MOO alone, I have encountered player avatars in the form of dragons and telepathic wolves.
MUDs allow people to exert total conscious control over all aspects of their identity.
The range of possible identities is no different than in the physical world. All the examples of personal transformation Turkle gives can be accomplished in the real world. The obese can be made slender through the use of liposuction. The beautiful can be made plain with unflattering makeup, a bad haircut and ugly clothes. The nerdy can be made sophisticated by learning how.