Anthropology Research - FAU Thesis (Michael Perez [yes that is my name])

This is a brief paragraph of my research topic.
Feel free to critique and even heavily bash with intellectual jargon.

Main source of theoretical standing is Tom Boellstorff's Rethinking Digital Anthropology. (Chapter 2 from book entitled Digital Anthropology)
Link: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~tboellst/bio/Rethinking.pdf

"I will take a close look at the belief system, social, “family,” and political structure of a large and active video game community that primarily functions within massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). Most online gaming communities that are influential, well-known, and competitive expect, if not require, players to regularly schedule gaming time in order to join and maintain membership. The goal of my ethnography is to create a comprehensive, yet detailed, ethnographic account of a rare type of gaming community that is open to any player without the requirement of a time or skill commitment, but still maintains a great amount of influence and prowess within and outside the game. This project will allow for the exploration of a rare kind of stable and active online gaming community, and will test and further the understanding of the indexical relationship between the virtual and the physical. More specifically, the research will explore how an existing model from the physical plane was modified by the gaming community I am studying and was used as the basis for creating and maintaining a gaming community that would fill a cultural niche in the virtual space."

Thanks for reading.
I would be glad to answer any questions and greatly appreciate any advise (I would love references that try to dispute his claims).

I guess I forgot to mention that this is the research that I intend to carry out here in the family. 

Can you put it into layman's terms? And can you put what you would like from us? I'm a bit confused lol =)

One thing that I would consider is the reference of the connection between the online (digital, virtual) life and the physical life of Dasein (see Being and Time by Heidegger for the definition of Dasein). The level on inter-connectivity between the physical and online worlds should be taken into consideration. What level of within-the-world versus in-the-world Dasein uses to delineate any difference between the physical and online (a 0.0 to 1.0 continuum as I would use to define the threshold). The level at which Dasein gives others the "benefit of the doubt" on being real is important. Also the viewpoint of Dasein on Dasein's "level of cybernetic interface" (the amount in which you are connected to your devices and the internet) should be taken and considered when evaluating anything Dasein does or says.

Also Boellstorff's (and others') need for definition of digital seems to speak to an older modality, I knew when the word digital was used the were referring to online interactions and communities. We humans, as tool makers, have developed a new tool that allows for new form of community and interaction. Does this advancement of tools of communication really need a new term to define it? Is it just an extension of community and/or a new way of developing/altering culture?

Just some things to think about there. I have a BA in Anthropology with a minor in Philosophy, my emphasis is in Medical Anthropology. But hopefully I gave you some food for thought though.

The "indexical relationship" between the virtual space and the physical space is an idea that implies that virtual communities are constantly mirroring and affecting communities in the physical space and vice-versa. In other words, the physical and virtual are constantly affecting each other at a rapid pace.
This is opposite to a persistent idea that the virtual and the physical are "melding;" That they exist to solely to compliment each other and it will continue to move in that direction.
I believe that there are two separate types of communities when it comes to the online: online communities populated by people in the physical world vs. "real" communities assisted by internet structures. In other words, the virtual and the physical are separate, but constantly interacting.

I want to try to prove this by showing how the adopted the Celtic mythology (which exists outside the virtual) and modified it to create and maintain this community. I believe this proves there is interchange between both spaces (virtual and physical) instead of melding. 

As of right now I just wanted to post this so everyone in the family could read.
I will be conducting voluntary and anonymous interviews and such later (when I get approval from the IRB). 

I hope this makes it sound simpler... if it does not I can try again, let me know.

I thought you were meaning how the family and clan (Anthropology definition) structures were used to maintain Gaiscioch.

Ah the IRB causing hassles for human research since 1974. ;)

IRB is Institutional Review Board for those who didn't know.

Heidegger's Dasein is definitely intriguing. It is possible that it would help differentiate online based communities vs. online assisted communities (as I call them). Will definitely look into it.

I am definitely looking at family, clan and hierarchical structure. I am particularly interested with the process of joining, moving through the ranks, and obtaining senior-ship and authority. I think this is the backbone that keeps the family powerful, because only those that are dedicated and interested in the positions are placed as leaders.

I am also really interested on finding out how much, if at all, the values that are drawn from the mythology and family structure affect the success of this virtual/gaming community. I think both are definitely related to the success, but I have to find out from Fog (and others that was around during its foundation) about the process for establishing the family and how it came to be what it is today.

In other words, YES you are correct... I am also interested in family and clan structure.

Fascinating stuff... I know the Celtic tradition is what drew me into the family - but the family structure is what keeps me here - and enjoying it - which is wholly established and maintained by Fog, even though he draws on his elders.  Without his dedication I would hate to think where the family would be or in actuality - wouldn't be.

Ooh!!

If I underestand correctly, I would love to see how online communities work with different people from different culture, how to avoid clashes and problems with the translation, what's appropiate in one culture might be a huge no no in another culture.

"...ethnographic account of a rare type of gaming community that is open to any player without the requirement of a time or skill commitment, but still maintains a great amount of influence and prowess within and outside the game."

While this statement may be true, it is a misrepresentation.  Gaiscioch requires a much greater commitment of time and skill from the leadership than any other guild I have ever experienced. 

I wouldn't call it a misrepresentation Fym, it is true when Gaiscioch is taken as a whole. While there are members (the elders) who make greater commitments they are a small portion of the population that does not represent the general population (what would be called statistical outliers). The statistical outliers are at the far ends of the normal curve. Also, in formal logic you are using a logical fallacy (which is, in this case, using the specific to disprove the general), logical fallacies seem to be logical and correct but are in fact not correct logic ("the math doesn't add up") when analyzed.

"I believe that there are two separate types of communities when it comes to the online: online communities populated by people in the physical world vs. "real" communities assisted by internet structures. In other words, the virtual and the physical are separate, but constantly interacting."

I think one has to consider the psychology of individuals in this statement though, in general I believe there are two types of people on the internet; asshats and genuine people.  Were Gaiscioch not comprised, and more attractive to, genuine people who actually care about their communities, their games, etc., then it would not be as long standing.  I have unfortunately watched many online communities (guilds, forums, etc.) die because they fail to properly market for this distinction...

There also seems to be a large distinction in the individuals minds regarding technological communication (which I find rather interesting.)  Take my mother for example; she recently retired and moved out of state.  Now my Mother and I are very close and when she lived here it was common practice that we would talk on the phone at a minimum every other day to "catch up," we also had dinner at least once a week to "catch up."  Of course none of that is feasible anymore, but that is beside the point...  What I find intriguing about my mother is that while talking on the phone is acceptable as "keeping in touch" she finds texting to be "too impersonal."  Somewhere in her mind there is a huge difference within the same piece of technology (her cellphone) that "I" cannot grasp because I happen to see texting, chatting on the computer, email, speaking on the phone, and even speaking in person as interchangeable.  It is also amusing that my Mother finds distinction between snail mail and email; email is impersonal, but snail mail (which she actually prints up using the computer) is far more acceptable...  

To Morigana:
For me it was the other way around actually. From looking at the rank structure and progression I knew that the leadership had to be strong and reliable. A weak leadership would never succeed with a structure that allows anyone to join; it would simply be chaos. After joining, I realized how much the Celtic mythology really affected the interactions and disputes. It is incredible how quickly disputes are resolved after people are reminded of the family etiquette and rules with a small sentence (i.e. "blades out, guys"), which I see as derived from the Celtic theme (intentionally or otherwise). Normally, paragraphs about respect an such are dismissed by most, but in here they stick with people. That is amazing.

To Kitty:
Yes, that would be very interesting indeed. However, that would take a lot more investigating.... and I really want to finish my M.A. soon.... So... I'm leaving that for later.

To Fym:
While khy0te is correct about the leadership being statistical outliers, I am simply stating that it is "NOT REQUIRED" for membership. It is obviously preferred for any member, but it is not something the family looks at when you join. Instead they look at the way you behave and converse with others in the family; the leadership wants to attract personable individuals instead of just "hardcore" competitive players. This is what makes it most unique from other guilds that are "powerful and influential;" at least this is the way I see it.

To Mystriss:
You are correct. Gaiscioch has been very successful at attracting what you call genuine online gamers.
My question to you is what do you think attracts and keeps them here? 
I have my reservations about this (although you can probably deduce them by reading everything I've written here), but I would like to hear what you think.

You are also correct about how different people think of each of those as a different level of connection. (i.e. Speaking on the phone is transferable, but texting is not). However, this is currently out of my immediate subject because it is far to personal. I am already assuming that most active members that consider themselves part of the family think of text chatting and online-only interactions as transferable with physical interactions (or at least satisfactorily comparable). What you are mentioning would be a study determining why some people would not consider the Gaiscioch a "real" community. I am sadly not concerned with that right now...

I found the last part (printing up email to send as "acceptable" mail) VERY FUNNY. However, I will offer you what I think might be the reasoning for this:
Mail offers a very visible attempt of making a connection with someone. You have to spend money that is visible to the recipient (50 cents on shipping, 25cents on envelope and paper). We (U.S.) place a lot of value on money; thus, spending VISIBLE money to talk to someone demonstrates your "greater than normal" desire to speak to someone.
Meanwhile, email has very little visible contribution. Yes, you had to spend time writing it, but its is the same for the mail. You also have to pay for internet, which might come down to a similar amount as a mail for a lengthy email, but this money is not visible to the recipient. 
Most people who prefer mail might tell you something like:
"it is the gesture that counts."
What is the gesture? ;)

Ah yeah sorry did not mean to derail there, I get started yapping and I can go on and on... and on...

Anyway, what attracts them?... That is a good question, I could argue that they join because Gaiscioch usually is a force on the server, with enough members, and enough good leadership, to actually make a difference.  I could argue that they are friendly, wonderful people who care about the game as well as their members, of all skill levels.  I think these core values and benefits make people stick around as well; Gaiscioch is not a 'guild' it is a 'family' - some folks may just 'use it', join then disappear when they lose interest in w/e game, but then there's the majority, the ones who know a great thing when they see it, they care about it, they stick with it, nurture it so to speak.  Gaiscioch doesn't fall apart because those members won't let it, they don't want to lose it - and I can't blame them one bit for that sentiment.

For me, it all boils down to the fact that I can respect Fog's leadership (no easy feat) and the guild's focus aligns well with 'my' personal beliefs in games.  My first 'life' in Warhammer Online was on a seriously elitist server.  I was the only one willing to stand up to the arrogant elitist guilds; fighting them constantly to allow pugs (Pick up Groups) to join on fort takes, to allow them into cities, basically to allow 'everyone' to play end game on said server.  I know that without enough people servers get shut down, I know that bad rap servers die...  Anyway, it took a couple more WAR 'lives' for me to find Fog and Gaiscioch, but now they're pretty much stuck with my stain of approval ;) 

I apologize for the delayed response was pretty busy (still am really... but... oh well). I think you nailed the gist of what makes the family attractive to people. This quot in particular caught my attention "Gaiscioch doesn't fall apart because those members won't let it, they don't want to lose it." I think it demonstrates how voluntary your participation is, yet a lot of members really give it their all. This is impressive and I think that is the main building block for this community. While in other guilds people are committed by "requirement," here new members see the VOLUNTARY commitment of the leadership and players. I believe that is what makes the family thrive.

Well planned website, organized and structured ranking systems, Celtic themes and values are extremely helpful as well, but all of those are seen as further proof of the voluntary commitment of its leaders. This tells new members that the leadership KNOWS this is a good place to be. 
Again I am speculating at best, but I am extremely interested in the formation and maintenance of this community and speculating is the best I can do right now.

Thank you all for responding. I do not want you to think that your feedback was useless because I turned it down. In fact a lot of this was extremely helpful for me already. I hope I will be able to address everyone of the subjects I was you mentioned, but it is difficult to fit all of that in a M.A. Thesis and graduate in a timely manner. Anyway, thanks for reading and providing input. Wish me luck with my advisers and if you have any other input do not hesitate to contact me or post it here :).