Online Communities Have Positive Effect

eToychest has the results from a three year study, showing the effect of online gaming communities. Overall, the study found, such communities have beneficial results. From the article: "'Our study shows that the online gaming communities are complex and highly developed, acting as training grounds for the transition from school to work' Nic continues: 'When playing, gamers are undergoing a complex process of work related learning - learning how to cope with work scenarios - which is far removed from the traditionally held negative view of gaming. Put simply, these games have a central - and positive - role to play in the development and education of young people.'"

Comments

Commander Obvious strikes again.

[PFI_Optix]

Am I the only one not surprised that when you put a group of people in an entertaining environment with common goals, they develop a positive social structure that emphasizes cooperation and just generally being a good sport?

I mean, seriously. This has been documented plenty of times in real life, is it really all that astounding that people behave the same way in multiplayer games?

Re:Commander Obvious strikes again.

[voice_of_all_reason]

Am I the only one not surprised that when you put a group of people in an entertaining environment with common goals, they develop a positive social structure that emphasizes cooperation and just generally being a good sport?

If by "positive social structure" you mean "abusing any and all methods, intentional or cheat-wise, to con/deceive/insult/steal from other players for the sheer thrill", then yeah.

Re:Commander Obvious strikes again.

[GospelHead821]

I don't think that this is as obvious as you think. Conventional wisdom holds that in online environments, people behave much more selfishly and with less regard for the wellbeing of others than they would in real life. It wouldn't have surprised me, for example, if this study had revealed that online gaming encourages only the bare-minimum of cooperation with players constantly wary of the motives of the other players. In fact, I am always pleasantly surprised when I run into other players who treat cooperation and team building as real goals of the experience, rather than as necessary evils.

Actually interesting

[Puhase]

I never really considered this idea of "work enviroment" related training and how MMO's can foster develope of these skills. Imagine how many times in school your teachers gave you a ridiculous group project simply because they wanted to teach kids how to function in a results-based enviroment as a group. There are alot of skills you learn in an MMO group: leadership, listening, adapting to change based on observation of other's actions, conflict resolution, etc. that are nice to have when you step into that deep, cold, void of the real world. Obviously they are not saying that everyone learns these skills, but I can definatly see that the challenges set before players do foster such ideas.

Re:Actually interesting

[CFTM]

In high school, I was obsessed with a MUD called Arctic and introduced a bunch of my friends to the game. I enjoyed various aspects of it, probably most of all the ability to step outside my boring everyday life and be something extraordinary, but the most interesting aspect of it was the social engineering that occured. Eventually my whole group of friends got drawn in, and they probably all blame me for not getting laid in high school but that is besides the point; one of my friends latched on to the game not to enter a fantasy world but to use it as a test bed for human manipulation.

For him, the game was a test bed where he could determine what sorts triggers and levers people have and then see how he could manipulate them to his own end (no surprise that he loved "The Prince" when he read it). I came to appreciate the same things he did later on in my experience, although I never been the manipulating type. It's fascinating though, there are extraordinary leadership opportunities to be learned in these games a person need only the fortitude to deal with morons.

transition from school to work?

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

"Our study shows that the online gaming communities are complex and highly developed, acting as training grounds for the transition from school to work."

When the players went to work, however, they had to adjust to the fact that other characters' names were pinned to their chests rather than displayed in floating letters above their head. Also, the /dance macro is harder than it looks out here.

In Other News...

[Rapter09]

... Talking to other people is socializing! The shocking story tonight on News at 6.

Work related learning, check your scenario first

[eltoyoboyo]

"When playing, gamers are undergoing a complex process of 'work related learning' - learning how to cope with work scenarios -..."

Much like school itself, online community games are social situations. And many of us conduct business through electronic communications such as phones, chats, and e-mail. I could see how being able to resolve conflicts and forge alliances remotely could be an advantage in the real world work environment.

However, playing first person shooting games 3 hours a day with your eventual career being a postal employee working in a sorting facility may not be constructive "work related learning".

Socializing Practice

[bob65]

So the article basically says: "Socializing with others provides good training and practice for socializing with others". I know some researchers have to conduct null studies like this to pay their bills and stuff, but is anyone really interested in this?

This is especially true in the game ATITD2

[Lordpidey]

The MMOG called A Tale In the Desert 2 has an especialy unique social structure due to the game not being based on combat, but rather on cooperation to advance society.

Take for example the test of friendship, to pass it (IIRC), you must bury money in the presence of 10 people (who you trust), thus those people know where the money is, and could dig it up and steal it, and you would never know who did it, unless you caught them in the act (unlikely). If the money is still there after a week, you pass the test. Think about that social structure ;)

Don't Forget

[Azarael]

Gaming communities give you great experience on how to deal with lots of potential aspects of a workplace. Ego driven flame wars, megalomaniacs, juvenile tantrums and control freak superiors are a few that come to mind.

Playing.... learning.

[Spy der Mann]

Does anyone who has seen Animal Planet find a coincidence? When animals play they're training their survival skills. Children play with toys and learn about their environment. Humans are "social animals", so games which imply cooperation in a society are (inadvertedly) training people for today's jobs.