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<H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Sony to ban sale of online characters from its popular gaming sites</H1>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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