[MUD-Dev] Are eBay sales more than just a fad?

[Dave Rickey]

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Freeman <skeptack at antisocial.com>
>
>I think there are two seperate issues.  One is players selling items to
>other players.  The other is the company/operator selling items to players.
>
>Maybe because you're a game company and not an online auction site, eBay
>can handle these things better than you can?  I don't think that fighting
>the inevitable is a valuable use of time.  If players are going to buy and
>sell houses in UO for real money, then I think OSI should provide the
>auction and transfer mechanism.  It'd cut down on fraud, OSI would make the
>money instead of eBay making it, etc.  Question is if there would be enough
>use of this "feature" for it to pay for itself.

    It costs virtually nothing, and it would probably dramatically increase
the number of transactions.  As the game operator, OSI could provide a
virtual escrow that would greatly increase confidence in the process.
>
>What do people sell in AC?  Anything?  Or does the built-in Allegiatwink
>system satisfy their desire for kewl things?

    Nope, they sell items, pyreals, and characters, just like EQ.  Not as
many, but there's not as many people playing AC, either.
>
>I don't think the average customer is really all that stupid, either.  They
>might be able to figure out eventually that even though game X and game Y
>both cost $10 per month, you have to spend another $500 buying items to
>succeed in game X, whereas game Y *just* costs the $10 per month.
>
    Like they can figure out that once you know the stats for a given M:TG
card, you don't actually need the card, just a piece of paper the right size
and shape?

    My real concern is what happens when the law intrudes.  Imagine the
following scenarios:

A) Badguy hacks your account, logs into your characters, transfers all of
your items to his mules and then puts them up for auction in real-world
dollars.

B) Badguy exploits a house break-in bug, takes all of the things out of your
house, and puts them up for auction.

C) Badguy tricks you into letting him into your house, kills you, loots you
and your house, and puts the stuff up for auction.

D) Using intended game mechanics, Badguy breaks down your door, kills you,
takes all of your stuff, puts it up for auction.

    Remember, in all four scenarios Badguy is making real-world money at
your expense.  Right now, only A would be seen as a violation of law, but as
the computer crime of "unauthorized access", not as theft.  If taking
virtual stuff ever *is* defined and prosecuted as theft, what are the
chances the courts will make distinctions between these scenarios?  Hell,
there's room for disagreement among *gamers* as to where in that spectrum to
draw the line and call it theft.

    Let's assume that they've gone at least as far as defining B as theft.
What consequences does this have on game design?  What steps will we have to
take to ensure a valid trail of evidence to prove that Badguy's *player*
stole this stuff?  *Can* we?  What if we can't, who is liable for the
victim's loss?

    If taking things in a virtual context is theft, what happens when Joe
Player gets the UberSword, puts it up for auction, and suddenly a time warp
makes the time period he gained it in "didn't happen"?  Do we now owe Joe
Player the value of the sword?

    What if a bug introduces hundreds of UberSwords, and the one he has
crashes in real-dollar value before he can sell it.  Can he sue for the
loss?

     I'm not arguing any more whether real-dollar values on this "stuff" is
a good or a bad thing, we're past that now, the players have already decided
it does have value and we can't stop them.  Sooner or later, the courts and
the legislatures are going to take notice.  If we don't anticipate them,
they're going to make arbitrary decisions without understanding what they're
dealing with.  Well, they'll probably do that anyway, but maybe we can steer
them a bit if we get ahead of the curve.

--Dave Rickey




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