The Raise of the Robots in Virtual Worlds: A Comparison and a Framework for Investigating Bots in Social Networks Sites and MMOGs
Bots are computer programs that automate activities for the human user. While benign bots are widely diffused over the Internet, Virtual Worlds such as Social Network Sites and Massively Multiplayer Online Games are affected by bots that have malicious intents, causing harms, disruptions and illegal activities. Given the diffusion and problems caused by malicious bots in Virtual Worlds, it becomes relevant: (1) to investigate the phenomenon and develop conceptual tools to capture the problem and (2) to conduct this investigation using a comparative perspective for Social Network Sites and Massively Multiplayer Online Games.