title: Sharing tips with strangers: exploiting gift culture in computer gaming.
abstract: The aim of this study was to look at motivations behind altruistic behavior in virtual communities by studying the sharing of game tips by experienced gamers. We examine several possible motivations (pure altruism, generalized reciprocity, and reputation) and qualitatively analyze tip types in terms of usefulness, visibility, and skill level. We found that in games that do not support a "performance stage" for skill demonstration, players often share game tips as a strategy to attract attention. To a certain degree, reciprocity can be used to explain small favor exchanges, but earning social reputation is often a much stronger motivating factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. ctsun@cis.nctu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Chuen-Tsai
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Holin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chheng Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000533:Altruism; D003142:Communication; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012056:Reinforcement, Social; D012381:Role Playing; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012930:Social Dominance; D013624:Taiwan; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*