There are at least a few micronations that have popped up in the Facebook groups that are not merely "online-only", but they only claim real estate in the game Minecraft. Here's my thoughts on that...
First, Slabovia sort of started as an online micronation - specifically, in a forum on a bulletin board system back in the 1980s. We've since built up somewhat of a real-world presence, but we haven't forgotten our roots. In fact, the silver in our flag (below) pays homage to cyberspace and our roots there.
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| The silver bar in the middle of Slabovia's flag symbolizes our origin in "cyberspace" |
Second, I'm reminded of the "Uncensored Library" which is a repository in Minecraft of banned articles from countries that don't have complete freedom of the press, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Accessing the library is done by either downloading a map from the Minecraft website, or by connecting to the library's Minecraft server. So, there can certainly be value in online-only infrastructure.
I'm also reminded of the novel Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson, 1992), which features both physical micronations called "distributed republics" (franchised, no less!) and a virtual world called the "Metaverse" which reportedly inspired both "Active Worlds" and "Second Life". If you haven't read Snow Crash, I recommend it (although it does have some fairly graphic violence, sexual content, etc., so isn't for younger audiences).
So, given all of the above, it might come as no real surprise that I have no inherent objection to a Minecraft-based micronation per se, although I do think that their citizens should find time to get off the computer and do things together in the real world, if only to form lasting bonds of real friendship.
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