User:Healspersecond

I am a research assistant in the University of Washington’s Community Data Science Collective. I study human-computer interactions in online communities and massive multiplayer online games. I completed my BA with a double major in Communications and Social Sciences at the University of Washington in 2015. I'm a prospective grad student and will begin my journey as a doctoral student in Fall 2018.

I’m fascinated by the online organizational groups that are formed in online, team-based games. These groups, from guilds in World of Warcraft to professional teams in League of Legends, often resemble real world organizations, and it is my goal as a researcher to identify, analyze, and describe their unique organizational and communication systems and how these groups react to issues and social phenomenon. I’m also interested in how online communities manage newcomers and what systems are successful in socializing them into community norms. I’ve participated in tons of online communities throughout parts of my life, but I’ve been a gamer forever. Aside from studying online communities and gaming, I love trying new food (as long as its vegetarian) and listening to (and sometimes producing) new electronic music. I live with my fiancée and two ridiculous cats in downtown Seattle.