<s>
Social	O
interactions	O
in	O
MMORPGS	B-Protocol
take	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
in-game	O
communication	O
,	O
virtual	O
behaviors	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
interpersonal	O
and	O
group	O
relationships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
massive	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
(	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
cooperation	O
between	O
players	O
to	O
accomplish	O
difficult	O
tasks	O
is	O
often	O
an	O
integral	O
mechanic	O
of	O
gameplay	O
,	O
and	O
organized	O
groups	O
of	O
players	O
,	O
often	O
called	O
guilds	O
,	O
clans	O
,	O
or	O
factions	O
,	O
emerge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MMORPG	B-Protocol
players	O
take	O
on	O
an	O
avatar	B-Application
,	O
a	O
humanoid	O
graphical	O
representation	O
of	O
themselves	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
usually	O
have	O
great	O
latitude	O
in	O
designing	O
the	O
physical	O
appearance	O
,	O
gender	O
,	O
and	O
race	O
of	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
scholar	O
Nick	B-Application
Yee	I-Application
classifies	O
avatars	B-Application
into	O
two	O
categories	O
,	O
a	O
projection	O
or	O
idealization	O
of	O
one	O
's	O
identity	O
or	O
an	O
experiment	O
with	O
a	O
new	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
avatar	B-Application
,	O
as	O
a	O
representation	O
of	O
the	O
self	O
,	O
creates	O
the	O
first	O
impression	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
means	O
of	O
communicating	O
with	O
other	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Communication	O
between	O
players	O
typically	O
takes	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
typed	O
chat	O
and	O
the	O
animated	O
gestures	O
and	O
expressions	O
of	O
the	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
study	O
by	O
Nicholas	O
Yee	O
,	O
titled	O
The	O
Psychology	O
of	O
Massively	B-Protocol
Multi-User	I-Protocol
Online	O
Role-Playing	O
Games	O
:	O
Motivations	O
,	O
Emotional	O
Investment	O
,	O
Relationships	O
and	O
Problematic	O
Usage	O
,	O
found	O
that	O
combat-oriented	O
collaborations	O
can	O
become	O
very	O
complex	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
many	O
real	O
world	O
situations	O
,	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
users	O
can	O
choose	O
team	O
members	O
and	O
find	O
like-minded	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
one	O
survey	O
,	O
39.4	O
%	O
of	O
males	O
and	O
53.3	O
%	O
of	O
females	O
felt	O
that	O
their	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
companions	O
were	O
comparable	O
to	O
or	O
even	O
better	O
than	O
their	O
real	O
world	O
friends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
some	O
,	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
can	O
provide	O
valuable	O
lessons	O
that	O
then	O
can	O
be	O
applied	O
to	O
the	O
outside	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
study	O
performed	O
by	O
Nick	B-Application
Yee	I-Application
,	O
39.4	O
%	O
of	O
male	O
respondents	O
and	O
53.3	O
%	O
of	O
female	O
respondents	O
rated	O
their	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
friends	O
as	O
comparable	O
or	O
better	O
than	O
their	O
material	O
world	O
friends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MMORPG	B-Protocol
's	O
also	O
rely	O
on	O
fantastic	O
metaphors	O
and	O
cultural	O
myths	O
,	O
including	O
ideas	O
of	O
chivalric	O
romance	O
,	O
that	O
encourage	O
idealization	O
of	O
persons	O
and	O
relationships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
avatars	B-Application
are	O
capable	O
of	O
only	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
human	O
gestures	O
and	O
expressions	O
miscommunication	O
or	O
slippages	O
in	O
coordination	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Nicholas	O
Yee	O
,	O
15.7	O
%	O
of	O
male	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
players	O
and	O
5.1	O
%	O
of	O
female	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
players	O
physically	O
dated	O
someone	O
they	O
met	O
in	O
an	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
,	O
players	O
can	O
choose	O
what	O
type	O
of	O
character	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
play	O
and	O
design	O
their	O
appearance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Anonymity	O
may	O
encourage	O
deviance	O
from	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
objectives	O
and	O
the	O
group	O
's	O
decisions	O
,	O
as	O
most	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
players	O
feel	O
safe	O
from	O
repercussions	O
in	O
the	O
material	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
players	O
of	O
both	O
genders	O
find	O
themselves	O
gender-switching	O
while	O
creating	O
an	O
online	O
avatar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
gender	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
studies	O
show	O
that	O
players	O
tend	O
to	O
adhere	O
to	O
the	O
gender	O
roles	O
of	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
's	O
gender	O
and	O
even	O
purposefully	O
choose	O
to	O
be	O
that	O
gender	O
because	O
of	O
how	O
it	O
changes	O
the	O
way	O
they	O
are	O
treated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
function	O
as	O
communication	O
platforms	O
not	O
unlike	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
the	O
CIA	O
expressed	O
worries	O
about	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
as	O
a	O
secret	O
communications	O
channel	O
for	O
terrorists	O
.	O
</s>
