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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Games / International Iran: For the Horde

Posted by Sam Machkovech on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 12:50 PM

Just got finished reading this analysis of Iran's government-run firewall. Based on his measurements of inbound/outbound traffic types, the author came to a conclusion:

While the rapidly evolving Iranian firewall has blocked web, video and most forms of interactive communication, not all Internet applications appear impacted. Interestingly, game protocols like xbox and World of Warcraft show little evidence of government manipulation.

Good to know some people are hiding out from the madness with their level 80 shamans. Are World of Warcraft or Xbox Live already being employed as the next great means of covert communication, with Iranians telling their stories through crowded chat-logs full of gold-farming requests? Or are these measurements moot, merely proving that Iran's gamers have consistently hidden in their homes, plugged into the addictive ignorance of self-entertainment both before and after the election?

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How does one say "meh" in Iran?

Posted by Ackham wonders on June 23, 2009 at 12:56 PM

@1: With your mouth.

Posted by Baconcat on June 23, 2009 at 12:57 PM

Like Kondo from World War Z?

Posted by tabletop_joe on June 23, 2009 at 1:10 PM

They're playing Prince of Persia, der.

Posted by bud on June 23, 2009 at 1:11 PM

The most important question is: Are they still able to receive ads for fake viagra, low-cost mortgages, and nigerian bank schemes?

Posted by Urgutha Forka on June 23, 2009 at 1:14 PM

See also: NedaNet, a "network of hackers formed to support the democratic revolution in Iran. [NedaNet's] mission is to help the Iranian people by setting up networks of proxy severs, anonymizers, and any other appropriate technologies that can enable them to communicate and organize -- a network beyond the censorship or control of the Iranian regime". As of a few days ago, the public face of this project is Eric S. Raymond.

Posted by Phil M on June 23, 2009 at 1:17 PM

so, basically, you're saying they could hack Barrens chat and Trade chat to lead the revolution?

Cool.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on June 23, 2009 at 1:52 PM

Is this like or unlike that theme in Cory Doctorow's Little Brother?

Posted by Amelia on June 23, 2009 at 2:38 PM

Second the Little Brother reference. Interesting possibilities.

Posted by M3 on June 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM

Or they are using the in game voice and text chat to communicate with people outside of Iran?

Posted by Spot on June 23, 2009 at 4:27 PM

Would Iranian Xbox and WoW-ers even be aware a revolution was occurring?

Posted by Y.F. Redux on June 23, 2009 at 4:57 PM

It is truly a great day for democracy when I can be called a noob faggot in Farsi.

Posted by laterite on June 23, 2009 at 5:45 PM

If WoW gets blocked, all the gaming nerds will join the revolution.

Posted by I have always been... east coaster on June 23, 2009 at 6:42 PM

This is a huge, huge loophole. Speaking as a gamer, (EQII, not WoW) these games feature rich chat clients, including voice chat options. Twitter is of course available with battery powered mobile devices, but the character limit cuts down on the information which can be passed along. MMORPGs offer a much richer environment for communication, but of course users will be limited to those with moderate to high end gear and a stable internet connection and electricity.

I recall back in the final dark days of the Bush administration, there was some chatter coming out of the Department of Homeland Security (and for the life of me, I can't find the reference - I might have heard it on NPR) that there was concern that MMORPGs could be used as communication hubs for terrorists. There was much humor about the need to eavesdrop on raidchat...

Posted by malwae on June 24, 2009 at 5:38 AM