14 DAY TRIAL // After the disputed election results and massive anti-establishment demonstrations that have drawn the attention of the entire world, the streets of Teheran and other big Iranian cities are quieter now as the government reacted with violence, dissuading protesters from taking to the streets. A similar blockade was initiated against the means of communication that enabled news, images and video to leave Iran and reach audiences all over the world.
The Iranian establishment has put together a firewall solution that seems to be very good at blocking most interactive communication, web sites and video sharing but the same firewall appears to be pretty much non interested in the communication channels that can spring up in MMOs and other online games.
An analysis by Craig Labovitz of the Core, picked up by GamePolitics, shows how the firewall has evolved and how “covert channels” could be implemented in MMOs. He also notices that the communication protocols offered by Xbox Live Gold are not restricted in any way.
It might just be a temporary lapse in the firewall or proof that the Iranian government does not see videogame chat channels as being a real threat.
World of Warcraft and the Xbox Live service from Microsoft might be less than suitable channels for organizing protests and making political statements but it should be easy enough for technology savvy Iranian protesters to use them as a way of offering proxy solutions and the limited information that can then be used to set up other communication channels.
The recent events in Iran and the Moldavian protests a few months back were both dubbed “Twitter Revolutions.” Who knows, maybe in the future, there will also be a revolution labeled “MMO-powered” or “Xbox Live-enabled.” The revolution will not be televised, it will be game-driven.