Mobs Move Into Sims Online Power Vacuum

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a San Jose Mercury News report discussing the rise of racketeering in The Sims Online. According to one of the afflicted, "[other players] ..show up at your house and they request protection money. `You have to pay me 100,000 simolians if you don't want your house torn down.' It's technically harassment." The reasons for this and other extreme in-game behaviors are also discussed: "Sometimes, [organized gangs] are a sign that the game lacks enough interesting elements to engage the players - so they create their own drama. More often, it means players are so attached that they invest the time to exploit its rules."

Comments

Someone explain, please

[truffle]

Like many people I bought and played the Simms Online for about a week and then deleted it.

Reading this article, which doesn't include any game mechanics at all, I'm left wondering:
- How do you tear down someone's house
- What other in game tactics to Griefers and the Mob use against other players
- How do you rip out someone's heart (thought this feature is now disabled)

The Simms is such an incredibly stupid game, my immediate instict is that this article blows this incredibly out of proportion.