<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites --> <!--X-From-R13: "Dlna Bnynpvb" <ecnynpvbNirenag.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 16:22:54 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 0abc01bfa408$f22703c0$ba9713ce@verant.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: multipart/alternative --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its p</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:rpalacio@verant.com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00186.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00190.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00426.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00193.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00187">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00187">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00187">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: "Ryan Palacio" <<A HREF="mailto:rpalacio#verant,com">rpalacio#verant,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 15:54:51 -0700</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <TABLE><TR><TD BGCOLOR="#ffffff" STYLE="background-color: #ffffff; "> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>F. Randall Farmer wrote:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Comments? Any EQ guys wanna share some thoughts? :-)<BR><BR>Disclaimer: The following represents my own personal opinion and in no way<BR>reflects the opinion of Verant Interactive, 989 Studios, and/or Sony Online<BR>Entertainment.<BR><BR> Even as the OOC sale of items, characters, and/or information is frowned<BR>upon (or "illegal") on most MUDs, EQ (or any other _persistent_ online game<BR>with transferable goods) must take the same, if not a more strict, stance.<BR>The ramifications of directly, or indirectly, condoning or ignoring this<BR>issue puts the viability and longevity of the game at risk. When money is<BR>involved, the anti-social nature of people becomes more predominant.<BR>Camping, kill-stealing, fraud, harassment, and numerous other types of<BR>problematic behaviors become more acceptable, even to those with a distaste<BR>for such action, when the trade-off involves increasing their RL personal<BR>wealth. Additionally, the gross anonymity of the environment can create a<BR>perception that the potential consequences are less effective/meaningful.<BR>Such behavior is not tolerated in RL due to RL consequences that _directly_<BR>affect the offender: fines, jail, social exile, etc etc. The only per se<BR>consequence is the banning of their account and the loss of any financial<BR>investment made up to that point. If the monetary gain via "forbidden"<BR>behavior is greater than the penalty, then the offender still comes out<BR>ahead with a net gain (positive reinforcement) for negative action. The<BR>guilt/empathy for the negatively affected party is irrelevant.<BR><BR> Noting that this negative action (negative from the vantage of everyone<BR>_but_ the offender) provides positive reinforcement, the developers must<BR>evaluate the repercussions of this behavior on the overall game (or<BR>profitability, if a commercial venture). If the actions of one person<BR>negatively affects multiple people (potentially causing them to become<BR>frustrated and cancel their account), then it is in the best interest of the<BR>developer to REMOVE the malignant person(s) by any means necessary,<BR>including (if necessary) banning of BOTH seller and buyer, and legal action<BR>against the facilitator of the sale/transfer of goods and funds (eBay, other<BR>auction sites, or any other "convenient" means of connecting seller and<BR>buyer).<BR><BR> Now for those still dwelling on design "flaws" that magnify the problem,<BR>let me state that they only _magnify_ the underlying issues which are a<BR>mere matter of psychology and "human nature". Although design IN-GAME can<BR>curb this type of negative behavior, or at least help alleviate some of the<BR>symptoms, the problem still exists and the only way to effectively stomp it<BR>out is to remove the facilitator/middleman. It was noted recently in the<BR>"online economics" thread that if people view a trade as potentially risky<BR>and there is no middleman with a strong reputation for "fairness", the<BR>potential trades will shrink tremendously. It is _IMPOSSIBLE_ to eradicate<BR>the root of the problem (short of removing all "trade" from a game), but it<BR>is still within the hands of the developers to minimize the overall issue.<BR><BR>~Ryan Palacio<BR>EQ/EQ:ROK Game Designer<BR>Verant Interactive<BR></DIV></FONT> </TD></TR></TABLE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00193" HREF="msg00193.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> maddog@best.com</li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00186.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Re: Family, was characters per account</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00190.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00426.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00193.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00187"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00187"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>RE: [MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00380" HREF="msg00380.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items</A></strong>, Schubert, Damion <a href="mailto:dschubert@origin.ea.com">dschubert@origin.ea.com</a>, Mon 17 Apr 2000, 20:17 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00424" HREF="msg00424.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items</A></strong>, Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services <a href="mailto:Paul.Schwanz@east.sun.com">Paul.Schwanz@east.sun.com</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 19:48 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00416" HREF="msg00416.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items</A></strong>, Kian Wilcox <a href="mailto:Kian_Wilcox@concordacademy.org">Kian_Wilcox@concordacademy.org</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 19:48 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00426" HREF="msg00426.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] banning the sale of items</A></strong>, Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services <a href="mailto:Paul.Schwanz@east.sun.com">Paul.Schwanz@east.sun.com</a>, Tue 18 Apr 2000, 19:49 GMT </LI> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00187" HREF="msg00187.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</A></strong>, Ryan Palacio <a href="mailto:rpalacio@verant.com">rpalacio@verant.com</a>, Tue 11 Apr 2000, 23:22 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00193" HREF="msg00193.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</A></strong>, maddog <a href="mailto:maddog@best.com">maddog@best.com</a>, Wed 12 Apr 2000, 01:24 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00196" HREF="msg00196.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its populargaming sites</A></strong>, Wes Connell <a href="mailto:wconnell@skotos.net">wconnell@skotos.net</a>, Wed 12 Apr 2000, 04:04 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00212" HREF="msg00212.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</A></strong>, Frank Crowell <a href="mailto:maddog@maddog.com">maddog@maddog.com</a>, Wed 12 Apr 2000, 05:50 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00201" HREF="msg00201.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</A></strong>, Ryan Palacio <a href="mailto:rpalacio@verant.com">rpalacio@verant.com</a>, Wed 12 Apr 2000, 04:05 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>