Cheating at video games

[superdave1984]

Norcent, get a lawyer.
Can video game cheating be prevented? - Yahoo! News

And another take...
Video Game Cheating Leads to Lawsuit : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech
Video Game Cheating Leads to Lawsuit
Tue Oct 2, 2007 12:00PM EDT
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A watershed legal case is getting underway after an online video game player found himself banned from the system after being accused of cheating. He's suing the game creator for $8,000.

The part of this story I find most amusing is that he was allegedly cheating at Second Life, a "game" which really has no levels or points system and would seem impossible to "cheat" at. Turns out he was cheating in the process whereby land is auctioned to SL residents. Also funny: The guy who's suing is a lawyer.

While on the surface this suit might seem completely frivolous (and I'm sure Second Life creator Linden Lab has terms of service that outlaw cheating of this sort) it will nonetheless be interesting to see how it plays out. Is the lawyer due compensation for money and time invested in playing the game before his account was suspended? What if he can show evidence that he had not cheated to amass at least some of his online fortune? Could he have a legitimate claim that he is owed restitution?

As much as I loathe cheating in online games (you know who you are!), I also fear the knee-jerk reactions of gaming companies that are all too quick to terminate accounts and confiscate all virtual belongings on suspicion alone. For those who might defend Linden Lab, imagine the real world analogue: You get busted cheating in a poker game one time, and the cops take away your house and all your possessions, with no trial or due process involved. You can see how the guy filing this lawsuit might be a bit peeved...

Rest assured, I'm not defending cheating. Because cheaters never win, and winners never cheat. That's a fact. But it might be time to think about a resolution system for online gaming systems that doles out punishments that better fit the crime, especially in "economic" universes like Second Life. If nothing else, a more public punishment system (something like an electronic pillory of shame) might better dissuade others from following the scum in their cheating ways.

 

[veedubfreak]

This is why you accept terms of use. If he had read those terms, im guessing it says somewhere in there that they can ban you for any reason they wish and all virtual property belongs to the company. Yet another reason i hate lawyers.

 

[Jorsoft]

This is why you accept terms of use. If he had read those terms, im guessing it says somewhere in there that they can ban you for any reason they wish and all virtual property belongs to the company. Yet another reason i hate lawyers.

Yep. Nuf said!

 

[SYL\X/3K]

A watershed legal case is getting underway after an online video game player found himself banned from the system after being accused of cheating. He's suing the game creator for $8,000.

wtf.. .

 

[Drewser]

wtf.. .

WTF^2

 

[peterhuang913]

WTF^2

WTF^3

But seriously, who even reads the TOA?

 

[yosa]

If pain and suffering extended to online games, I'd be rich, I get owned more than I like; in the eyes of the law, you would have to prove youre property was damaged or you suffered damage, I doubt 8,000 constitues any damages he can prove on acount of physicall or mentall, he can however get his money back.

 

[Wildside]

i never read the terms of use, TOO LONG lol.