6 Hunting the Leviathan: MMOs and Loot

In MMOs such as World of Warcraft there are certain social norms/conventions concerning the distribution of items or “loot” when players form groups and kill creatures that drop items. There is a need or greed based system in place that is supposed to regulate the distribution of items. If the group plays on the need based system, group members that have the greatest need for the item, receive the item. The alternative system is greed based where everyone in the party “rolls” dice and whoever is the highest roller receives the item regardless of who in the group might need the item. In theory, this system works if everyone comes to an agreement on the system being used and respects the distribution. However, this system fails when the accepted social norms/conventions are broken. When someone breaks the norm and takes loot for themselves regardless of the system that is in place and without democratic decision from the group, it is called “ninjaing” the item. This term was adopted because of the method in which the players were taking items, usually by quickly and secretively taking the item and then logging out, leaving the party, or using their “hearthstone” to get back to a remote town of their predetermined choice. So the individual gets the loot they want when they want it. Why doesn’t everyone ninja items then? This is where the Leviathan comes in to play.

The Leviathan is the power that enforces our adherence to society’s norms and standards (Hancock Lecture, 2007). It exists in both face to face and computer mediated communication. In this case, the leviathan is enforcing social norms in a computer mediated context. The GM (game masters) in World of Warcraft have the ability to contact the person that “ninjaed” the item if a complaint is submitted and in certain circumstances, the item can be removed from the players possession and redistributed to the group. Breaking this social norm also builds harmful reputations that result in guilds and other players disassociating themselves from the accused player. Players that have been known to “ninja” items are far less likely to be able to find a group to go into a raid instance with or be able to join a guild for fear that they will break the norm again and important items will not be distributed to the group fairly. Conformity to the social norm is influenced by the desire to advance in the game, be accepted, and to prevent being banned from participation.

My other comments:
Comm 245 Blue: 6.1: OMG WTF H4X!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
Comm 245 Blue: 6- The Leviathan at Yahoo! Answers