“Rule no.3: Never raid with pants on.” : An Anthropological Study of Communication, Co-Operation and Friendship in the ’Virtual’ World of Warcraft

Sammanfattning: The significance of technology and technological devices in the modern western society is steadily expanding, and affecting how the consumers of these products interact with one another. Both through these devices, but also how they interact without them the importance of studying these forms of interaction is therefore of rising significance. This thesis explores the world of online-gaming in order to map out how the players use, and are affected by the virtual aspects of the platform they use to create and reproduce their social bonds with one another. By analysing the relationship between the virtual and the actual it is possible to shed light on the potentials as well as the limits of online communication. The thesis purpose is to add to a deeper understanding within the anthropological discipline for interpersonal interaction within the frames of virtual spaces. The research has been conducted through a qualitative ethnographic field study with a guild of players who interact through the game World of Warcraft. This thesis will show that there is a strong interaction between the virtual worlds and the actual world. Thus it is possible for events that occurred in either space to affect the player.