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Blizzard Sued By South Carolina Inmate
Benjamin Duranske writes "Jonathan Lee Riches, an inmate in South Carolina famous for filing long, handwritten, rambling screeds against celebrities, politicians, and even buildings, has filed a third-party motion in Federal Court in Arizona in the MDY v. Blizzard botting case claiming that Blizzard's World of Warcraft 'caused Riches mind to live in a virtual universe, where Riches explored the landscape committing identity theft and fighting cybermonster rival hacker gangs. Riches was addicted to video games and lost touch with reality because of defendants. This caused Riches to commit fraud to buy defendants video games. Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job, Riches mind became a living video game.'"
Check out this recent lawsuit and its defendents:
George W Bush, Richard B. Cheney, Condeleza Rice, Donald H Rumsfeld, John W Snow, Unknown Authors, Carlos M Gutierrez, Michael O Leavitt, Elaine Chao, Stephen L Johnson, Margaret Spellings, Samuel W Bodman, Norman Y Mineta, Hillary Rodham Clinton, James Hoffa, www.GOOGLE.com, Benedict, XVI, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jerry West, www.ACCUWEATHER.com, Usama Bin Laden, William Gates, Hugo Chavez, John Deere, Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party, Island Def Jam Music Group, Roc-A Fella Records, Shawn Carter, Queen of England, Jo Anne B Barnhart, Steven Spielberg, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc, Japan's Nikkei Stock Exchange, Gambino, Three Mile Island, Kofi Annaan, Tony Danza, Islamic Republic of Iran, Don King Productions Inc, Paris Hilton, Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witness, Jose Padilla, University of Miami, Geico Insurance, Vienna Convention, Matt Drudge, Marion Blakey, Consulate General of Nigeria, The Salvation Army, Jewish State of "Israel", John E Potter, Soledad O'Brien, Miles O'Brien, Magna Carta, Tsunami victims, Alan Greenspan, American Red Cross, Mark Emerson, Jessica Alba, Sirius Satellite Radio, Charles Moose, Dalai Lama, Houston Chronicle, Al Qaeda Islamic Army, Fruit of A-Loom, American Civil Liberties Union, Out-Back Steakhouse, Donald J Trump, Chris Berman, Vatican, The, Shawn John Combs, Michael Brown, Vincent K McMahon, Taliban, The, Richard M Daley, Meals on Wheels, John Grisham, Columbine High School, Ariel Sharon, United Parcel Service, Tara Reid, Black Entertainment Television Inc, Saddam Hussein, Jewish Workers, Brad Pitt, Jack Welch, Elizabeth Smart, George E Pataki, Charlie Sheen, Surgeon General, The, Vladimir Putin, Oliver North, George Orwell, www.ASKJEEVES.com, Sean O'Keefe, Various Buddhist Monks, www.SECUREDPARTY.com, I Lewis Libby, Warren Buffett, Sierra Club, John D Negroponte, Christina Applegate, Jewish Mossad, National Vanguard Books, Air and Space Museum, Christopher Reeves, Gale A Norton, Halliburton Company, Kellogg Brown & Root, John Walsh, Mein Kampf, City of Crawford Texas, John P Abizaid, Venus Williams, www.DEFCON.org, John Dudas, Medieval Times, International Trade Commission, Anna Nichole Smith, United States Marine Corps, William F Buckley, Denny's, Brotherhood of the Snake, Larry King, Charles E Schumer, Rastafarian Natives, Spencer Abraham, Rollingstone Magazine, Monogram Bank of Georgia, Grace Jones, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, Planet Hollywood, Joseph H Boardman, Marshall Bruce Mathers, III, Uliminati,Founder Adam Weishaupt, The Apollo Theater, David W Anderson, Assistant Secretary For Indian Affairs, Jason Society, Wu Tang Clan, Wu-Wear Inc, Philip Purcell, CEO Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Nordic Gods, Presidental Emergency Operation Center, Screen Actors Guild Inc, R James Nicholson, New York Stock Exchange Inc, The Da Vinci Code, Moorish Science Temple of America, Sears Tower, Mike Tyson, Native American Fish Society, Holocaust Survivors, Byzantine Republic Army, Dennis Hopper, Mt. Rushmore, Barbara Walters, First Presbyterian Church, Gordan R Sullivan, Yellow Cab Company, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, Michael Savage, Dennis Hastert, Green Bay's Lambeau Field, Slobodan Milosevic, Pizza Hut, King James Bible, Scott Peterson, Department of Housing and Urban Affiars, Smithsonian Institute, Robert C Bonner, Ming Dynasty, Ray Nagin, Barry Bonds, Thomas J Ridge, Jenna Bush, Gangs in Hong Kong, United Methodist Church, European Union, Porter Goss, Harrah's Las Vegas Inc, Grand Wizard of Ku Klux Klan, General Motors, Christopher Cox, Proctor & Gamble, Jewish Synagogue's, www.ebay.com, Knights of Malta, A
My work here is dung.
Riches isn't rich anymore, he's poor!
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
after I found out there may be a space-pirate-ass-kicking chick with a lazer and a "screw attack" out there, I couldn't stop masturbating.
Monstar L
This belongs in stupidpeople.slashdot.org, attentionwhores.slashdot.org, or the catch-all idle.slashdot.org, not games.slashdot.org.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Can a judge just say "fuck off already" to this kind of crap?
Right - and LittleBigPlanet made me paint my friends with ducks and flowers.
Can the judge sue Riches for being driven from having to read such drivel?
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
its amazing the continuing trend of folks using the 'my mind was warped by the normalisation and glamour of violence in video games and horror films' but these same people have sufficiently strong minds to not succumb to the continuous deluge of advertising thrust upon us every day. in the 90's we had advertising everywhere, the sidewalk, the urinals, the sky, but NEVER in our dreams
I'd like to sue the game Dead or Alive. I can no longer perform sexually unless my girlfriend wears tight clothes and high kicks me repeatedly in the groin.
South Carloina >/quote>
Where is THIS place?
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Personally I'm against the death penalty as I think its state sanctioned murder. I do however believe in the right to self-defence and therefore I'd say that this is where the courts should be able to use the death penalty, as a punishment to those who waste their time with ridiculous lawsuits.
Imagine the scene.
Judge: Trivial lawsuit, I'm finding for the plantiff, awarding him costs and sentencing you to death for wasting my time
Its the self-defence of the justice system and would I think stop these cases very quickly. Especially if the appeal was only allowed to consider if the case was a complete waste of time.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Now we can get back to the quality stories that Slashdot is known for.
Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job
So he's suing because he'd prefer to play the game than have a legit job? There are tons of things I'd rather do than my job, and my job isn't even all that bad. But here at work, I'd rather be watching a movie than doing my job. Yet here I am, at work.
... posting on Slashdot. Can I sue Slashdot for being more interesting than my job?
I'm starting to think that Riches must be related to Jack Thompson...
Jonathan Lee Riches filed a third-party motion claiming that Blizzard's World of Warcraft "caused Riches mind to live in a virtual universe, where Riches explored the landscape committing identity theft. Riches was addicted to video games and lost touch with reality because of defendants. Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job, Riches mind became a living video game."
Is the occasional apostrophe too much to ask for??
It should probably be a class action...
Not that I think it should...
I feel sorry for the guy. He should be in a psychiatric ward, not a prison.
Given his history when would he have been not in jail and playing the game in the last 4 years?
He gets out in 2012. I could not find the date he was committed.
"Riches has court cases in Pennsylvania dating back to 1996. In 1996 he was arrested for a bomb threat to Conestoga High School."
can't judge fine him for legal system abuse ?
The world belongs to those who get up early. - I'm far from being the king of Earth then
Wouldn't he have to go to virtual court first then get it moved up to a court in reality?
http://www.instantrimshot.com/
Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
see if he comes back normal.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Unfortunately, I don't think any state besides California has a vexatious litigant status.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
It's a hell of a drug.
This is a sig. It is like every other sig in the world, except that it is mine, and it is different.
....does something crazy. Big deal. Why is this even on /.? Oh, I see, it marginally relates to video games. News? No. For nerds? Maybe. Stuff that matters? Not remotely. Epic fail.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
If a Florida judge can bar Jack Thompson from filing without a real lawyer doing it for him, certainly one can order this loon to stop filing without a real lawyer too. If he's already in prison, he is probably destitute, so then the trick becomes assigning a pro-bono lawyer every time he gets a bug up his ass about something. Of course, IANAL so maybe (probably) in civil court you are not entitled to a lawyer, so what happens when a judge effectively bars a poor person from seeking legal redress because he can't file a grievance?
stupid "it's been 15 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment" filter. I get why there is a limit, but why is it .gt.5 minutes? What is the minimum time?
World of Warcraft Release date 2004-11-23
JLR was convicted of fraud in 2004 and incarcerated.
I can't find a date on it but unlikely he was caught and convicted between Nov 23 and the end of the year.
His release date is 2012-03-23. And he was sentenced to 8 years.
Have a nice day!
Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job
Wait... people in prison get to play Warcraft all day? Gee... that sounds like a deal
He is just telling you what those fat-cats at Blizzard don't want you to know! This has got a chance! Go, go crazy prison dude!
I should sue /. for forcing me to live in a fantasy universe where my input is considered, alternately, funny, insightful or merely overrated.
The CB App. What's your 20?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice_theory Yes, sometimes (read: most of the time) if you commit a crime it IS your fault.
This is a stolen sig.
Law needs more humor, and this guy has produced dozens, if not hundreds of these wonderful lawsuits. Maybe he is trying to atone for his crimes by trying to improve society by making judges laugh?
"Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job"
Amazing...if I chose to use something of my own free will, it is suddenly the manufacturers fault for creating the product and myself ruining my life because I cannot exercise restraint/self control?
He is miserable because he is in jail, who knows if he's just insane or actually thinks he can make some money but whatever. If this doesn't get thrown out of court I might move to another country.
the inmate has attempted to join the suit even though his presence is not requested or required by the plaintiff or defendant. He can do this under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(b), however the judge will quickly dismiss it because FRCP 24(b)1b requires that his claim shares a common question of law or fact as the main case.
"MINUTE entry before Judge Harry D. Leinenweber : It has come to the Court's attention that the docketing department of the Clerk's Office is still inputing the names of the hundreds of defendants named in this action. This action was dismissed on 8/17/07 for failure to state a claim, and the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal on 10/31/07 for failure to pay the required docketing fee. It is a waste of judicial resources for the Clerk's Office to continue adding these names to a closed case that the Court determined was delusional in its order of 8/17/07. The Clerk is therefore directed to cease adding the defendants' names to this docket. As this is an internal housekeeping matter, the Clerk is directed not to send notice of this order to Plaintiff. No notice to be mailed (gcy, )"
In Liberty, Rene
If he wants to sue Blizzard at least sue them for a real crime, like the warcraft reputation system.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Sad as it sounds, I bet this isn't too far from really what goes on in the clowns head.
Judging from his past litigation, it DOES look like this idiot lives in an alternate universe.
--Toll_Free
Magnificent.
Playing WoW is keeping him from working? In jail? SHould this man even have access to a computer considering his history of suing anybody or anything?
Don't know about the status angle, but when I took my current job, my old company brought up their non compete clause. My current firm's counsel called their attempts to block me from taking the new job, vexatious. This was in Virginia, they did stop harassing me shortly after receiving the letter.
A quick google search turned up several cases where people in Virginia were found to be vexatious litigants, but I haven't found the statute.
Florida seems to have one though.
Now he'll sue /. for slander, for posting this article.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"If you don't smoke Tarrytons, fuck you!"
and
"Carl's Jr... Fuck you! I'm eating!"
Mess not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.
They tried that but the virtual courtroom was repeatedly invaded by swarms of giant flying penises.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
The guy is clearly an attention whore who's trying to get all the media coverage he can for stupid lawsuits... Why don't we just ignore him and dismiss all cases he'd ever bring up?
Heck, isn't there a law for uselessly costing the state money?
Who said lawsuit claims have to make any sense to be valid? Another lesson learned!
Do not trust this signature.
Seriously, the guy is delusional. Insane. A nutter. Crazy. Over the rainbow. Bars in the window. Truly gone fishing. Out to lunch.
He's apeshit mad, barmy, batty, berserk, bonkers, cracked, crazed, cuckoo, daft, delirious, demented, deranged, dingy, dippy, erratic, flaky, flipped, flipped out, freaked out, fruity, idiotic, kooky, lunatic, mad, maniacal, mental, moonstruck, nutty as fruitcake, of unsound mind, out of his tree, psycho, he's round the bend, a schizo, a screwball, he has a screw loose, silly, touched, unbalanced, unglued, unhinged, unzipped, wacky.
(yes, much was copied and pasted from thesaurus.com)
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
He's just another individual who chose to do something and now can't deal with the consequences of his choice and actions.
Taking responsibility for your own actions appears to be something that more and more people cannot or will not do, not when it's easier to try and find someone else to blame for your own stupidity.
Who is general failure, and why is he reading my hard drive?
"Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job, Riches mind became a living video game" It sounds like he got off light compared to some WOW addicts I've read about :)
The Murlocks, they can drive a man to commit the most vicious of crimes!
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my Father! Prepare to die!
He's going to Disneyland! :D
Please tell me how I can find the part about the Norse Gods in some legal finding computer thingy !!
This has got to be infinitely quotable....
music lover since 1969
He must have a lawyer as a cellmate.
Only a lawyer could come up with this shit.......
What sort of thing grants alcohol distilleries immunity from lawsuits leveling similar charges? It might simply be a warning label? WoW has notes like that in the manual (and tips on the loading screens).
Riches chose World of Warcraft over working a legit job
If this works I'm going to quit my job to masturbate all the time. Then I will sue the Govt and the Porn industries of the world for causing me to quit my job and for the horrible calluses I would develop from constant fapping.
But it's being caused by reading /.
No. He's just aware of the special secret underwear supplier for commando teams.
It's all about the information. And what we do with it.
Unfortunately, I don't think any state besides California has a vexatious litigant status.
We have such laws in Australia. In this case, the action deemed most appropriate would probably be the standard two-syllable filing: "Shurrup (+elbow to teeth)"
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
I'm No LegalBot, etc.
I don't know how trained this guy really is given the quality of his motion, so this might really work.
Write a specialized ChatterLaw bot that carefully signals to real justices that what it produces is not meant to stand as real law. ("Pursuant to 163 Sec. 242 P3..." which means "Ignore everything below this sentence.")
Then it can just randomly shuffle prior legal opinions into glorious Walls O' Law. Then bill it as a service which costs less than an actual proceding, and file it under Placebo Effect.
Medical/Law Crossover!!
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
This man was clearly wronged. I suggest that we all write to the court, asking in polite terms that this defendant be awarded the sum of 1 million gold for his pain and stupidity, er suffering!
You can be "competent to commit fraud" if you know "this is a bad thing but it is fun". You could be completely out in the post-twilight zone in other respects.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Most Appropriate tag I've seen on slashdot in a while: "Loser"
No, no. They'll settle by providing 3 days free play, THEN banning his account.
For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
I see this idea is not popular here, but still...
If a dealer sells someone LSD and claims it's just a game (for the mind), then suing the seller wouldn't be that incredible. That, of course, if the experience is bad and leads to the person committing something under the influence or as a consequence of using the drug.
The altered states of consciousness, which the video games create, are quite immersive and can easily suck all the player's senses into the virtual world.
I have friends who are addicted to WOW and they have friends who are even more addicted (as in.. playing non-stop for months, losing jobs, ignoring health and hygiene, etc).
You could say that it was not Blizzard's intention to create a game as addictive as illegal drugs, but actually, it was :), otherwise they would lose the 'addictive dollar'.
They don't sell the 'substance', they sell the 'mental state generator', which releases the 'substance' in the gamer's brain, to which 'substance' the gamer can become addicted.
True for many other games, as well (like Counter Strike or other MMOGs).
So, although he's hardly going to win the case (which could mean disaster for Blizzard, because thousands others are going to sue), I think there are some valid points to consider in his case.
But how do you tell the difference between a nutsoid Ret Pally and a "normal" one? I can't.
It was nigh impossible for me to keep from falling over laughing when I read the summary. Didn't even need to read the article. Attention-seeker or not, this is pretty goddamn funny.
/.
Thanks,
Apart from all the jokes, some of which are even funny, I think it a bit sad on several levels. It seems to me that he is clearly schizophrenic - he certainly acts as if he has paranoid delusions - so he shouldn't even be in prison, but in a mental institution. Prison is for punishing people, certainly in America, and punishing a mentally ill guy is simply an expensive exercise in pointlessness.
I also think it is quite sad that people still, nowadays, enjoy being cruel to those unfortunate enough to suffer from mental illness. It it reminiscent of the time not too long ago when we had freak shows and people would go and look at the inmates of the local asylum for a good ol' laugh; we really should try to develop beyond that kind of heartless and callous attitudes.
You do the crime, you do the time, moron. Don't use the game as a crutch to try to weasel your way out of it.
Now I will have to shit in the backyard, you insensitive clod...and sift through it!
*I think I guffawed my dentures down my throat*
Egahds, this will eventually pass.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
Now days, everything is imported from China/Taiwan, Pakistan, and assembled in Mexico.
"Have Sharpie(tm), will travel!" works here. (any permanent marker will do) Remove any labels, and you're good to go!
Hell, go for broke, and use a loincloth that you have crafted yourself!
*recommend the 'Groucho Glasses' disguise in addition to the loincloth for best results.*
'Going Commando',(as a meaningful term) ended with the Vietnam conflict; hippies have been doing it for decades. (apply applicable puns as needed/wanted)
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
And here I was going for +5, Funny as in a-complete-waste-of-the-court-clerk's-time. Sigh.
In Liberty, Rene