| Author | 
		Message | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Atma
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Dragoon
			 
			
				Joined: Apr 29 2010
			 
			
				Location: Cincinnati, OH
			 
			
				Posts: 2450
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			UsaSatsui
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: The White Rabbit
			 
			
				Joined: May 25 2008
			 
			
				Location: Hiding
			 
			
				Posts: 7565
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				I liked the heist at #7.  Makes me wonder how the target felt.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Alowishus
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Aug 04 2009
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Posts: 2515
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				The #1 is fucking hilarious.
 
 
That man is a hero.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Thorton02
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Mar 13 2009
			 
			
				Location: Arlington
			 
			
				Posts: 467
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				This was great.  I remember reading about the UO fiasco.  LOL @ Second Life.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 No, I don't think I will fuck Stummies.   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			GPFontaine
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Dec 06 2007
			 
			
				Location: Connecticut
			 
			
				Posts: 11244
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				I remember both of the WoW ones.  I had a friend playing on the server with the funeral.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		    | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Drew Linky
		
		 
		
			
				Wizard
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Jun 12 2009
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Posts: 4209
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				That was fucking fantastic. And I've heard of the WoW epidemic, that's crazy shit.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 https://discord.gg/homestuck is where you can find me literally 99% of the time. Stop on by if you feel like it, we're a nice crowd.   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		    | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			The Opponent
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Forum Battle WINNER
			 
			
				Joined: Feb 24 2010
			 
			
				Location: The Danger Zone
			 
			
				Posts: 3495
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				I wonder if people can get arrested for larceny in a video game environment, or if that "all investment involves risk" clause would precedence.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 I'm not a bad enough dude, but I am an edgy little shit. I'll do what I can.   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		    | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Syd Lexia
		
		 
		
			
				Site Admin
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Pop Culture Junkie
			 
			
				Joined: Jul 30 2005
			 
			
				Location: Wakefield, MA
			 
			
				Posts: 24886
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				The assassination of Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) was not without precedent. Lord British is near invincible in most Ultima games, but players have always attempted to find creative ways to kill him.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		      | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			UsaSatsui
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: The White Rabbit
			 
			
				Joined: May 25 2008
			 
			
				Location: Hiding
			 
			
				Posts: 7565
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				
| The-Excel wrote: | 
 
| I wonder if people can get arrested for larceny in a video game environment, or if that "all investment involves risk" clause would precedence. | 
 
 
It's a grey area no court wants to touch with a 49 1/2 foot pole, I'm sure.  
 
I know Blizzard goes out of its way to declare that the virtual assets within a game have no value, but the sheer number of people who sell WOW gold for money is a compelling case otherwise (for something to have value, you simply need people willing to pay for it).  Things are a bit more clear-cut when you have things like a guy hacking your account and taking all your gold (that's a few other crimes on top of the potential theft).  But, when stealing is a built-in part of the game, like it seems to be in this EVE Online game, I have no freaking clue what the legality of it would be.
 
Seeing as how this banker guy defrauded people, and did so to gain something that clearly has value (it can be assigned a real monetary value, at least), I can see some hotshot lawyer making a case for fraud and larceny.  I have no idea whether or not it would get anywhere, but it passes the laugh test.
				  
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Atma
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Dragoon
			 
			
				Joined: Apr 29 2010
			 
			
				Location: Cincinnati, OH
			 
			
				Posts: 2450
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				
| The-Excel wrote: | 
 
| I wonder if people can get arrested for larceny in a video game environment, or if that "all investment involves risk" clause would precedence. | 
 
 
http://www.cracked.com/article_15657_a-world-warcraft-world-10-ways-online-gaming-will-change-future.html?wa_user1=3&wa_user2=Tech&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=recommended
A different cracked article from 07' but they also ponder the idea as well.
 
| Quote: | 
 
3. Someone will go to jail for stealing a Bonebiter.
 
 
You may have heard about a guy who recently was convicted of murdering a man during a dispute over a rare, valuable sword. That sword that was not made of metal or anything solid, but rather of 1s and 0s inside a computer hundreds of miles away. It was a sword he had won in the MMORPG Legend of Mir 3.
 
 
Insane, right? I mean, let's say our friend John has his Bonebiter (one of countless powerful weapons in WoW) and a man steals it somehow. Should the thief be convicted of a crime and punished in the real world? Did you snort with laughter at that question? Why?
 
 
The victim worked many hours to "earn" the object. The victim used it daily and depended on it. He derived happiness and satisfaction from it. So why shouldn't depriving him of it be punishable by law? If you say, "but it's just something he used in a game," I'll say that golf is also just a game. Want to see what happens to me when I steal a new set of golf clubs?
 
 
If you say, "but the Bonebiter doesn't even exist," I'll say it exists in exactly the same way that the songs and software I download off Bittorrent exist. And yet, stealing them is a crime. The only difference is that when I steal a song, nobody else is deprived of the song. When that guy stole John's Bonebiter, he was left unarmed and forced to go find a replacement. That theft actually hurts more, not less.
 
 
So when will we start to see laws prohibiting the theft and misuse of game-world objects? As soon as members of the gaming generation become lawmakers, that's when. | 
 
 
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Syd Lexia
		
		 
		
			
				Site Admin
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Pop Culture Junkie
			 
			
				Joined: Jul 30 2005
			 
			
				Location: Wakefield, MA
			 
			
				Posts: 24886
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				You know, companies freeze the accounts of people who abuse their games. I have a better idea. How about virtual jail. How about you can still log into your account, only you're in jail. And every so often, stuff happens that makes it look like you might get out of jail, you know, to get you to keep logging in and wasting hours of your life trying to find a way to get your Level 80 character out of jail. But no, you're never actually going to get out. Also, other players can visit you in jail and taunt you.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		      | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Slayer1
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Title: ,,!,, for you know who
			 
			
				Joined: Sep 23 2008
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Posts: 4274
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				
| Syd Lexia wrote: | 
 
| You know, companies freeze the accounts of people who abuse their games. I have a better idea. How about virtual jail. How about you can still log into your account, only you're in jail. And every so often, stuff happens that makes it look like you might get out of jail, you know, to get you to keep logging in and wasting hours of your life trying to find a way to get your Level 80 character out of jail. But no, you're never actually going to get out. Also, other players can visit you in jail and taunt you. | 
 
 
Before it became the bastardized version it is today, GRAAL Online used to have that as a form of punisment, only you'd be in there for a week and you could get out by taking a "Quiz", which was the player guidelines in order.
				  
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Greg the White
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Apr 09 2008
			 
			
				Location: Pennsylvania
			 
			
				Posts: 3112
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				I love #1, adds some fucking color to the EVE Online snoozefest, and it's the closest the world will ever get to a real supervillain.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 So here's to you Mrs. Robinson. People love you more- oh, nevermind.   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Black Zarak
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Big Coffin Hunter
			 
			
				Joined: Feb 01 2006
			 
			
				Location: Phyrexia
			 
			
				Posts: 4098
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				Hahaha, my old assistant manager played EVE and he told me some of the corporate shadiness that goes down, but #1 is king. The fact that he put a bounty on his own head, that man is a super villain in fact.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				  
REVIEWS, LEGOS, NONSENSE Check out Zarak's Barracks!
"Let that be a lesson to you, your family and everyone you've ever known..."
 
"Thanks to denial, I'm immortal!"   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		    | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Syd Lexia
		
		 
		
			
				Site Admin
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Pop Culture Junkie
			 
			
				Joined: Jul 30 2005
			 
			
				Location: Wakefield, MA
			 
			
				Posts: 24886
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				Wait! Better idea.
 
 
How about an MMORPG where if you violate the TOS, they use their software to send threatening letters to the FBI and local law enforcement from your IP while you're playing the game?
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		      | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			NotEnoughGolds
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Feb 16 2010
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Posts: 130
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				Favorite quote so far:
 
 
If MMORPG players were around when God said, "Let their be light" they'd have called the light gay, and plunged the universe back into darkness by squatting their nutsacks over it.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Pandajuice
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: The Power of Grayskull
			 
			
				Joined: Oct 30 2008
			 
			
				Location: US and UK
			 
			
				Posts: 2649
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				
| Syd Lexia wrote: | 
 
| You know, companies freeze the accounts of people who abuse their games. I have a better idea. How about virtual jail. How about you can still log into your account, only you're in jail. And every so often, stuff happens that makes it look like you might get out of jail, you know, to get you to keep logging in and wasting hours of your life trying to find a way to get your Level 80 character out of jail. But no, you're never actually going to get out. Also, other players can visit you in jail and taunt you. | 
 
 
Ultima Online has/had a jail that GMs would put bad players into for a certain amount of time. I used to work as a counselor for UO and had to do it sometimes. It was always great fun to explain to the person that their account wasn't banned persay as they could still log in, but they would be stuck in a jail cell for a week.
				  
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Atma
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Dragoon
			 
			
				Joined: Apr 29 2010
			 
			
				Location: Cincinnati, OH
			 
			
				Posts: 2450
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				Didn't know you were a UO GM Panda, cool stuff.
 
 
I'm playing on a Free Shard of UO right now, and they sort of have a jail system.
 
 
If your a murderer and a Paladin (sort of the player police if you will) kills you, you go to jail until someone breaks you out, or you get your ass out through a long maze.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Alowishus
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				
			 
			
				Joined: Aug 04 2009
			 
			
				
			 
			
				Posts: 2515
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				
| Syd Lexia wrote: | 
 
| You know, companies freeze the accounts of people who abuse their games. I have a better idea. How about virtual jail. How about you can still log into your account, only you're in jail. And every so often, stuff happens that makes it look like you might get out of jail, you know, to get you to keep logging in and wasting hours of your life trying to find a way to get your Level 80 character out of jail. But no, you're never actually going to get out. Also, other players can visit you in jail and taunt you. | 
 
 
The question is: Is it really abuse?
 
The whole idea of the first one was the creation of a corporation within the game. The people in the game intrusted their money to him. It's their stupidity.
 
Now you could say that is still fraud even with their corporation system which is true. If this was really life he would be arrested. The thing is he bought a giant spaceship, put a bounty on his own head and roams space.
 
Which is sort of similar to real life. All he is waiting for is someone to catch him out in the game - and if someone kills his giant spaceship he bought - it's still a part of the game.
 
It's a difficult point to get across: basically he is justified to do it within the game as the effect of the theft is basically reversible if people kill him. It's still a part of the game.
				  
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			The Opponent
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Forum Battle WINNER
			 
			
				Joined: Feb 24 2010
			 
			
				Location: The Danger Zone
			 
			
				Posts: 3495
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				I was asking because the article treated EVE Online assets like they were as good as real money. If people can lose real dollars to what amounts to corporate crime in the real world, I'd like to know if there were any repercussions other than bans/jail time/etc. in-game.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 I'm not a bad enough dude, but I am an edgy little shit. I'll do what I can.   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		    | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			SoldierHawk
		
		 
		
			
				Moderator
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: Warrior-Poet
			 
			
				Joined: Jan 15 2009
			 
			
				Location: San Diego, CA
			 
			
				Posts: 6113
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				Ahh, I read this the other day. This is one of my favorite Cracked articles in a while. 
 
 
The only one that really, truly pissed me off at first was the WoW Funeral, but this article explained a lot of stuff I hadn't been aware of. It sounded more like it was an attempt at attention whoring than it was genuinely honoring the person.
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				   
| William Shakespeare wrote: | 
 
| Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. | 
 
   | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		     | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			UsaSatsui
		
		 
		
			
				
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: The White Rabbit
			 
			
				Joined: May 25 2008
			 
			
				Location: Hiding
			 
			
				Posts: 7565
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				
| The-Excel wrote: | 
 
| I was asking because the article treated EVE Online assets like they were as good as real money. If people can lose real dollars to what amounts to corporate crime in the real world, I'd like to know if there were any repercussions other than bans/jail time/etc. in-game. | 
 
 
Nope.  As I mentioned, the companies that run online games declate the virtual assets to have no cash value - people just buy and sell them on ebay and the like anyways, usually doing so against the TOS of the game.  The article was just equating the value of the virtual currency to its value on the real-world market.
				  
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		   | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		
		
			
			Douche McCallister
		
		 
		
			
				Moderator
			 
			
				
			 
			
			
				Title: DOO-SHAY
			 
			
				Joined: Jan 26 2007
			 
			
				Location: Private Areas
			 
			
				Posts: 5672
			 
		
		 
		 | 
		
		
		
			
				
				 
				
				I love that he stole all the money bought an expensive ship and put a bounty on his own head.  I also loved that the "Creator" was killed   
				 
				 | 
			 
			
				 | 
			 
		 
		 | 
	
	
		    | 
	
	
		
		 
		 | 
	
	
		| 
		
		 |