Of the things I learned while studying anthropology, the one that stuck most was to always pay attention to that which stands out. Unexpected behavior, words that surprise you. The one thing that most caught my attention since I have been studying the (virtual) community of people that share an interest in virtualisation, is the use of religion-related words to describe virtualisation-related topics.
Words like guru, evangelist, high priests, cardinals, belief, followers, gospel, VMware-ism, atheist and disciples were all used several times in my (virtual or physical) presence. That struck me, since I had never before associated software with something ’soft’ like religion. I had always thought of it as scientific: mathematical, logical, measurable, and not as emotional, spiritual and intuitive. But hey, if they say so, and keep saying it, there has got to be something more to it right? I have divided these religion-related words into two groups: the ones that describe certain categories of people (guru, evangelist, high priest, cardinal, follower, atheist and disciple) and the ones that point at virtualisation as a whole (belief, gospel and VMware-ism ).
A ‘guru’ is someone that has in between 20,001 and 50,000 points (credited by other members for answering their questions) at the VMware community forum. The term is also sometimes used in a more general way, to describe someone with a high level of virtualisation knowledge, but this use of the word is less common. An ‘evangelist’ was described to me as ‘a subject matter expert, someone who uses and understands virtualisation and spreads the word ‘. This title can be self proclaimed, an official job-title or bestowed on you by community members. It is not as clearly defined as the term ‘guru’, but every member of the community knows equally well what is meant by it.
The phrases ‘the high priests of VMware knowledge’ and ‘the cardinals of VMware’ were uttered in the context of the vExpert -awards. These were handed out for the first time this year by VMware to 300 people ‘chosen on the basis of the contributions they had made to the community of VMware and virtualization users in 2008′. ‘Priest’ and ‘cardinal’ do not point to any official forum status or role in the community, but were used in a more symbolic way to express the exclusivity of this new group within the virtualisation community. Like with ‘guru’, it is very clear who is a vExpert and who is not (although there arose a rather fierce discussion right after the list was publicized, since many people had expected ‘vExpert’ to be much more exclusive title than it turned out to be). ‘Evangelist’ can be used in a more flexible way, as I will point out below.
The term ‘followers’ was mainly used in its Twitter-meaning. You become someone’s follower on Twitter by actively signing up to a person’s Tweets (short text messages). By doing so you indicate that you are interested in what this person has to say and you wish to know what she/he is doing, and/or you reciprocate being followed by someone. Following-in-return  is not obligatory, and especially people who already have many followers often choose not to automatically follow their followers in return. In a conversation I had during dinner, Twitter followers were referred to as ‘your own little religious cult’.
Whereas the religious connotation of ‘followers’ is not always self-evident, ‘disciples’ and ‘gospel’ can hardly be understood in any other way. Have a look at this twittered conversation:
D to J: (…)How do you become an “Evangelist”? Tough qualifications? Cushy job?
H to D: Just read/spread the gospel. 
D to H: So maybe we are all evangelists then?
H to D: I would think so, we’re all disciples. Oh wait, I’m an atheist. Pondering.
J to D: Actually & 2 others in EMEA have “evangelist” title. Rest of us are self-appointed – spreading the Good Word!
D to J: Thanks for clearing that up J- yes, most of us all are converted to “VMware-ism” and “spreading the word” It was good for a
D to H: Perhaps to be an evangelist, you must have been one of those TV-preachers who converted to “VMware-ism”
Imagine the rush I felt when discovering this anthropological goldmine on a regular Tuesday . What most caught my attention in this text was the use of the word ‘VMware-ism’. Before I read this, I had only observed secondary clues to my theory that this software product could be looked upon  as a religious system. But here it was, given a name by its very disciples: VMware-ism. By conjugating the name in this way, it is placed along the same lines as other world-religions like Buddhism, Catholicism or Hinduism (I even found mention of ‘Microsoft-ism’ on the VMware communities forum, but I understand my readers wouldn’t appreciate me foul mouthing like that). VMware thus becomes a conviction: it provides a meaningful set of values and beliefs, a guide to keep her disciples on the righteous path in the jungle of software. As one disciple put it: ‘It’s their passion, they believe in it’.
So yes, initially I was quite surprised to find that there is a soft side to software after all. Well defined guru’s, evangelists to spread the gospel, slightly sarcastic high priests and cardinals and a whole bunch of followers and disciples of a full grown religion. In the end, I guess it makes sense that a group so closely knit has a religion of its own. A common belief in ‘the Good Word’ to create a stronger community than just a cluster of loose individuals that work with the same product. The classic anthropological justification for religious belief: the binding of the members of a community. Or to say it as Tolkien did:
‘One V to rule them all, one V to find them, one V to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.’ (quote from ‘The Vellowship of the V’)