Specifying consistency requirements for massively multi-user virtual environments

In this paper we discuss that the specific consistency and latency requirements of world state updates in Massively Multi-User Virtual Environments (MMVEs) are determined by several characteristic factors of the virtual world, i.e. their Interaction Context. As this context is highly application-dependent, MMVE developers require a simple specification scheme which allows them to specify these requirements for their specific Interaction Contexts. In this paper we present such a scheme, which we believe represents an important step towards dynamic and flexible consistency management for MMVEs.