WOW. What an online community...

World of Warcraft is perhaps the world’s largest online, gaming community ever. It has grown rapidly over the years and its ‘population’ is even the size of small countries, like Denmark. World of Warcraft or WOW as commonly phrased is completely dependent on the internet. Without an internet connection, you cannot play the game, or in other words, you cannot become a part of that online community. This is one reason in particular why this online community differs from an offline community. When it comes to the internet, different rules and methods of communication come into play. Anonymous users cause players to be cautious of whom they interact and trade items with. Security is a major concern for players. WOW is an extremely time consuming game, and players do not want their precious accounts hacked into. Finally, communication. Since people cannot physically see who you are and how you behave, it is your responsibility to portray yourself in a way that will improve your reputation to others. People will trust you this way and find you to be a valuable asset in the game.

I am a member of the World of Warcraft community because I interact online with other people from around the world, but more importantly and personally, I am a member of a guild with my close friends from home. According to Wikipedia a guild is, a group of players who regularly play together in a particular (or various different) multiplayer games. These range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. Internet communication technology allows us to talk with one another and carry on our goals. It also strengthens our social ties within the group.

When my friends and I talk online we basically use AIM and the chat provided to us by the game itself. AIM is used primarily to make plans and designate a time when our guild should meet. It is fast, easy and convenient for us to use. Once we are all logged into WOW, we use the chat functions that naturally are designed with the game. Just like AIM, we have all grown accustomed to this function and we use it as though it were second nature. As discussed in my last blog, we all use pseudonyms to distinguish ourselves. Pseudonyms are especially important in online communities because they give others a sense of who we are, or how we want others to think we are. Jan Fernback and Brad Thompson state, “The structural process that is associated with community is communication. Without communication there can be no action to organize social relations. The intimate nature of this relationship is best illustrated in the words community and communications.” To sum this up, community and communication go hand in hand. My guild would not function if I was not able to organize times for my friends and I to meet and carry out its necessary functions. It is only when our meetings and activities are successful that our social friendships can grow. If we do not have a mutual agreement to complete a task then our social relationships and guild will not grow. A comparative example would be a company trying to expand. In order for that company to grow and be prosperous everyone in it must work together and communicate their thoughts and ideas. If there are people that are not being heard or are not contributing to the company, the company’s desire to expand will fail because there is a discrepancy between communication and completing the desired action.

Online communities vary from offline communities because of the different host of rules that accompany the internet. The people you interact with are people you will most likely never see in your life. However, through the use of Internet communication technology, it is important to build an online reputation that is positive so that other people in the online community can regard you as a trustworthy source. This helps to contribute to a positive online experience.

References

Guild. (2007, March 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:08, March 18, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guild&oldid=115256474

Fernback, J and Brad Thompson. (1995). Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html