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The Essence of Collective Effervescence: a Neo THE ESSENCE OF COLLECTIVE EFFERVESCENCE: A NEO-DURKHEIMIAN CONCEPT IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD by MICHAEL W. TRASK Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) Acadia University Fall Graduation, 2014 © by MICHAEL W. TRASK, 2014 This thesis by MICHAEL W. TRASK was defended successfully in an oral examination on September 4th, 2014. ________________________________ Dr. Rachel Brickner, Chair ________________________________ Dr. Jacques Goulet, External Reader ________________________________ Dr. Anthony Thomson, Internal Reader ________________________________ Dr Ann Marie Powers, Supervisor _________________________________ Dr. Zelda Abramson, Head/Director (Acting) This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Sociology). ............................................................... ii I, MICHAEL W. TRASK, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. _________________________________ Author ________________________________ Supervisor _________________________________ Date iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my wife and boys for being a remarkable source of inspiration and of understanding through this process. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Ann Marie Powers and Dr. Tony Thomson for their remarkable insight, for being my academic parents, and for their advice. I would also like to thank the people who took part in the research process, without you this wouldn't have happened. iv Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... IV ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. VII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS ....................................................................................... 6 INTERVIEWS ................................................................................................................................... 6 MMORPG'S ................................................................................................................................ 10 VIRTUAL INTO THE REAL ............................................................................................................. 13 HISTORY ...................................................................................................................................... 15 STARTING OUT ............................................................................................................................ 17 AVATAR CREATION ..................................................................................................................... 18 VIRTUAL LAW ............................................................................................................................. 21 FIRST DAY IN MMORPG ............................................................................................................ 22 PROGRESSION .............................................................................................................................. 24 DYING.......................................................................................................................................... 25 SOLO ............................................................................................................................................ 26 GROUPING ................................................................................................................................... 27 THE GUILD .................................................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL LITERATURE ....................................................................... 29 COMMUNITY ................................................................................................................................ 29 SOLIDARITY ................................................................................................................................. 41 SOCIAL ACTION ........................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 4: RITUAL ................................................................................................................. 49 RITUAL ........................................................................................................................................ 49 DURKHEIM ................................................................................................................................... 50 GOFFMAN .................................................................................................................................... 51 v COLLINS ...................................................................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER 5: RAIDING .............................................................................................................. 57 CHAPTER 6: ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 60 COMMUNITY ................................................................................................................................ 60 SOLIDARITY ................................................................................................................................. 64 SOCIAL ACTION ........................................................................................................................... 66 RITUAL ........................................................................................................................................ 68 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 74 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................... 78 APPENDIX: SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................................................. 80 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 81 vi Abstract In Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG), the raid is a ritual carried out by a group of individuals called a guild, all within the confines of a virtual world. In most cases, clear boundaries are drawn to separate the members of one group from the larger community; in some cases, however, the lines between “us and them” blur, allowing guilds to compete for the sacred items or the prestige of progression. Successful raids bring forth feelings of achievement, solidarity, and anticipation of the next raid. An unsuccessful raid leaves its participants with feelings of uncertainty about their role within this setting. When players make mistakes, these are quickly corrected during raids by leaders who coordinate the event. Although the social action within the ritual of these communities takes place in a virtual setting, it elicits real feelings within its participants; yet limited academic research has gone into this unique and new form of computer-mediated ritual. Users from across the world interact through computerized means. While this interaction is not face to face, this new frontier appears to facilitate the creation of strong communities and solidarity within its membership. This thesis will examine whether Durkheim’s concept of collective effervescence is present in this virtual world to create such communities. vii Chapter 1: Introduction For the past decade, the virtual worlds of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, or MMORPG, have taken the world by surprise, and MMORPG has become one of the most successful genres within the video game industry. There are currently over 20 million active subscriptions within the world of MMORPGs, with dozens of active environments to explore (Geel 2013). The recent release of Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria expansion sold 2.7 million copies within the first week of its release and now claims over 10 million subscriptions (Blizzard Entertainment 2012). The unique difference between MMORPGs and other video game genres is that MMORPGs contain persistent virtual environments with which users interact through an avatar. These virtual worlds are described as “synthetic worlds” by Edward Castronova (2005:11), who sees them as “an expansive, world-like, large-group environment made by humans, for humans, and which is maintained, recorded, and rendered by a computer.” These vast, expansive virtual environments allow users to congregate from all across the globe and participate together in the solving, in a sense, of complex puzzles. This coming together is achieved through the creation of an online community, composed of “guilds” or “clans,” which facilitate the group membership online. Although I have actively participated within MMORPG since 2000, and rely on the experience I have
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