Whilst the Arab Spring highlighted the potential for social media to underpin largescale social movements, the last few years have seen many and varied movements emerge online.  Most of these have fulminated in the public sphere, but a recent study from the University of East Anglia (UEA) highlights how virtual worlds can also provide a fertile breeding ground for social movements.

The research focused on the World of Warcraft (WoW) game, and how a LGBT guild was created within the game.  The researchers were interested in how the members of the guild played in comparison to other guilds, especially as it was specifically created to better service the LGBT community.

The group was the largest of its kind on the platform, with around 7,800 members and 15,000 characters in it.  The group held a number of events during the game that were analogous to those held in the real world, including a dance party and even a Pride parade.  It also had it’s own website with discussion forums.

The group not only utilized features of the game for their activities, but also worked together to help navigate various changes made to the game, such as when the virtual landscape was modified across part of the parade route.

“This study provides some practical examples of how virtual worlds can act as a safe haven for social movements or to create awareness, for example about for LGBT issues, within a broader gaming community,” the researchers say. “Many group members came from countries that do not support LGBT rights, so this was a safe space for them.”

Community management

The researchers believe that the group is a good example of how communities can shape how the world works for them, even without explicit involvement from the developers of the platform.  To do so successfully however requires a detailed understanding of the features and limitations of each world.

“Social movements also need to be aware of the type of virtual world they might use, for example a social virtual world, or a gaming virtual world, as depending on the type, different limitations or affordances might impact the movement,” the authors say.

Similar communities have emerged on WoW for various political and environmental causes, and the authors believe that the implications are relevant regardless of the cause being pursued.

“Different online communities could use these ideas, look at how the technology can be shaped for their causes. For organisations which operate within virtual worlds, these findings begin to shed light on the issues faced, and suggests that they need to be willing to evolve if they want to continue operating in these environments, which may constantly be changing,” they say.