This thesis is an ethnographic look at the player communities inside of the setting of digital online games in the MMORPG genre. The goal of this work is introducing MMORPG as an interesting and vibrant field for anthropological research. Another goal is an inquiry into player raiding communities in the game World of Warcraft. Thesis is researching questions of what is motivating players to join into guilds, how are they staying together and why do they fall apart. Research was conducted through methods of participant observation inside of the game's virtual environment, interviews with players, and the Internet space formed around the game was also observed. Whole research was conducted online. Key words: MMORPG, digital ethnography, digital anthropology, guilds, World of Warcraft

The Influence of On-line Identity from the World of Damokles on Everydayness Abstract The doctoral thesis focuses on on-line world Damokles and its users. It investigates how their on-line identity influences their everyday off-line life. It also focuses on the way the social ties and networks are created among its users and how on-line community is constructed. I especially focus on the mutual impact of on-line and off-line activities of Damokles users. I based the research on qualitative methodology, especially engaged observation of members of Damokles community in the on-line realm as well as during their off-line activities; informal, semi-structured dialogues with the members of the community; and analysis and interpretation of texts from the world Damokles and about the world Damokles. I classify my work under the new anthropological sub- discipline, cyberanthropology, which studied humans and changes of human existence in the context of modern computer information and communication technologies (Soukup 2009, 138). I also deal with the specifics of this anthropological sub- discipline and issues connected with research in the on-line realm. Key words: cyberanthropology, on-line worlds, everydayness, on- line community, ethnography, time, identity

The Influence of On-line Identity from the World of Damokles on Everydayness Abstract The doctoral thesis focuses on on-line world Damokles and its users. It investigates how their on-line identity influences their everyday off-line life. It also focuses on the way the social ties and networks are created among its users and how on-line community is constructed. I especially focus on the mutual impact of on-line and off-line activities of Damokles users. I based the research on qualitative methodology, especially engaged observation of members of Damokles community in the on-line realm as well as during their off-line activities; informal, semi-structured dialogues with the members of the community; and analysis and interpretation of texts from the world Damokles and about the world Damokles. I classify my work under the new anthropological sub- discipline, cyberanthropology, which studied humans and changes of human existence in the context of modern computer information and communication technologies (Soukup 2009, 138). I also deal with the specifics of this anthropological sub- discipline and issues connected with research in the on-line realm. Key words: cyberanthropology, on-line worlds, everydayness, on- line community, ethnography, time, identity