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To Kill An Avatar

Posted by simoniker on from the wabbit-upset-at-being-neglected dept.

Thanks to Legalaffairs.org for their new article called 'To Kill An Avatar', discussing lawmaking in online worlds. Although this is an often-explored subject, some interesting examples come up, such as a case in which "..an avatar [in virtual world There] put up a 'For Sale' sign in front of a house that he didn't own.. the scam artist collected some serious Therebucks (the currency of There) before the creators of the world discovered what was afoot and took corrective action." The article concludes without much hope of resolution: "You could make a virtual world without the possibility of crime - but it would probably be about as dynamic as Pong or Tetris.. by creating virtual lives, investments, and freedoms, we create the conditions for virtual crime."

4 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. It's time... by fm6 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...to bring back virtual flogging!

  2. Divine Intervention over petty larceny? by Dr.+Photo · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...before the creators of the world discovered what was afoot and took corrective action.

    Now that's what I call a full-service Universe! :)

  3. Rule Number One by bigsteve@dstc · · Score: 3, Funny

    No lawyers

  4. The PEOPLES court by August_zero · · Score: 3, Funny

    Online liability, what a scary idea.

    What if every punk on Counter Strike could have charges pressed on them for acting like a complete git?
    "LOLZ I 0\/\/|) j00!"
    "Oh you think so? BAM! eat Subpoena 1337 boy! your going jail!"
    "|\|00000000! "

    --
    On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?