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When Is a Con Not a Con?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ethical-dilemmas-of-modern-life dept.

From the journals, here's some food for thought: Does a "crime" committed in an alternate world have any ramifications in the "real" world? Case in point is this article from the Gamers With Jobs site outlining the exploits of one Dentara Rask, a character in CCP's Eve Online massively multiplayer online world. According to the the article, Dentara Rask ran a Ponzi scheme within the game, amassing a large amount of on-line wealth (700 billion ISK), and then bragging about it. The question is posed: since a Ponzi scheme in real life is a punishable criminal offense, what about when it happens in a MMORPG? Assuming there are no rules within the game environment to prevent this, how would you go about punishing someone in the real world for something they did in an artificial one? And can they be punished?

3 of 441 comments (clear)

  1. Jack thompson, is that you? by Saven+Marek · · Score: 0, Redundant

    > how would you go about punishing someone in the real world for
    > something they did in an artificial one? And can they be punished?

    Jack Thompson, this is a very transparent ruse. And no, no matter how much you have against grand theft auto, no you cannot have people punished for stealing cars in a game. Sorry.

  2. It is just a game. by MrRuslan · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Get over it I say.

  3. Re:Cheating in video games by TubeSteak · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Monopoly money is worth real money, just like casino chips.

    You can buy it direct from Hasbro or (unlike casinos) print out your own.
    It isn't worth that much, but it is still worth real world cash.

    My reasoning is that everyone who is playing agreed to certain rules. None of those rules preclude scamming. So why isn't scamming is a legitimate form of play?

    Except these online currencies end up being worth real money, do they not?
    Well... kind of.

    Selling ISK for real cash is a violation of the TOS... which would make that action 'illegal' or at the bare minimum, a contract violation.

    My point is that you can't exactly go to a Judge and claim the stolen currency has any real world value, since any value it has is derived from 'illegal' actions in the first place.
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