Virtual Mugging = Real Prison

[Dark Nation]

http://games.slashdot.org/games/05/08/18/1529229.shtml?tid=123&tid=10

:odd:

Bannable offense, definitely. But jail?

[MacWeirdo42]

I don't understand. If it's against the rules, then why does the game allow one player to beat up and rob another? Frankly, I think the idea of making real money from an online game is ridiculous, but you know, whatever. I mean, geez, I can't believe anyone would actually spend hard-earned cash on a "sword of ultimate power" for their in-game character. All in all, it's just downright strange, and I don't know what to make of it.

[Brasel]

I can see the court case.

"So, Mr. Wakasaki, you beat up ZeldaLuver13 and stole his Sword of Infinite Wisdom. Is this true?"

What a world we live in.

[AtmaWeapon]

I think one of the /. nerds did a good job of explaining why a jail term is not necessarily extreme.

Allow me to expand his analogy a little.

Suppose you are playing poker in a casino. The idea is you are risking some of your money in the hopes that you will gain money. If you cheat, you are in a way stealing money, since others' chances are now diminished. Cheating in a casino will get you thrown in jail.

Now, Lineage II is a game as well. For a monthly fee and a little bit of time, you play the game in the hopes of obtaining items that are powerful. These items have a real-world monetary value to many people and also cost the monthly fee to obtain and keep. In a way, you are gambling and the items are your chips.

What this man was doing would be analogous to a man in a casino taking chips from others, then trading them for cash.

However, there are problems with the casino analogy. First, casino chips are a tangible good and few people would argue that stealing a poker chip is theft. Even though the player was mugging other players, the game's rules allowed this behavior so one can assume there should be no real-world consequences for this action. A good point to make in support of this claim is to ask the question, "When I kill a man in Grand Theft Auto, should I be charged with murder?"

However, it is also understandable how such actions could result in prison. As I stated, obtaining rare items in MMORPGs often requires large time and money investments. This difficulty in obtaining the items is what leads people to pay large real money prices for accounts and items. Many people would rather pay $100 for a strong sword instead of spending 15 hours fighting a dangerous mob over and over again in the hopes of getting a rare drop.

Now, part of the normal game mechanics allows a character to kill another character and loot the corpse. Some players understand this is a normal part of the game and don't complain when they get killed (thought most spend the next 3 hours pissing and moaning about how unfair it was). In this case, nothing outside of the rules of the game has happened and I feel there should be no consequences for the action.

HOWEVER, the man in question was using a bot to mug his victims. I'm not familiar with combat in Lineage II, but if the article is correct the bot gave this man a very large advantage over his opponents. Additionally, using a bot is completely against the rules of the game. Many MMORPGs discourage or even forbid the sale of items for monetary value, so this may be another offense.

Therefore, I believe the justification for sending the man to jail stems from the fact that he willingly broke the rules of the game with the intent to gain items from other players and sell them for real money. I'm not certain if I entirely agree with it, but I do understand the idea. It is an interesting case, because this man did cheat at a game to obtain money, something that would have put him in jail in a casino for sure. However, his theft was of non-tangible goods with no declared monetary value through a system that rewards such theft, so the issue is complicated.

[Orion]

I can see it now. GameSharks will become black market commodities. Player's Guide will have to be smuggled in from other countries. Que horror!

[Master Ghaleon]

Ban his account and give back the items to the players. Problem solved

[Darth Marsden]

Maybe, but I doubt that would really deter others from trying the same thing. A jail sentance, however short (and I guess it shouldn't be too long) is a much more effective way of getting people to avoid trying it. As in "You break the rules like this, you're going to be somebody's bitch for a week".

I support the arrest, but only because it involved a combination of things that go against the rules. AtmaWeapon did a very capable job of elaborating on someone elses analogy which, I believe, roughly sums up how I feel about the subject.

EDIT: Skimming further down the linked page, there was also this argument, which I believe makes sense.


First we start with the idea that even if something is not "physical" or "material", it can still have a monetary value (see "proprietary software", a "patented idea" or even "money" which is nothing more than a number).

Then you have a definition of fraud that goes something like "using unethical means to deprive someone of something of value".

Then you have a rule (in the form of an EULA) that explicitely says bots are not allowed.

Put the three together : He used a bot (thus breaking the rules) in an unethical fashion with the purpose of depriving other players from articles that have monetary value.

The guy commited fraud. Fraud is a (real-world) crime. Therefore the guy commited a crime.

[bonegolem]

I've heard this story. I wouldn't spend stacks of cash for a virtual weapon. Even if it had ultimate power. Online RPGs aren't my thing anyway.

Either they should let it slide because it's a GAME and you shouldn't buy a virtual weapon without thinking some bot is going to beat you up and take it, or they should ban him and give back the weapons.

There's no lawsuit required. If we let stuff like this go to court we'll have people suing fellow warlords for breaking their peace treaties on Warcraft, arrests of prostitution and murder for Grand Theft Auto, and so on.

What if NPCs get so smart that they start suing the gamers for their offenses?

[Ganonator]

It would be shear irony if somebody bought said ultimate sword on eBay, had it in game, and this guy stole it back, unknowing.

Then who'd be the bitch?

[AtmaWeapon]

At some point the courts need to establish whether goods in online games can be treated as possessions and thus when the rules are broken theft can be claimed. I can understand why it should be so and why it should not be so, but I really don't know which one I believe is right and proper.

[MottZilla]

I say screw both of them. It's retarded to sell game items/characters for real money. I have no pity for any of them. Morons. ;p