[MUD-Dev] Re: Black Snow Revisited

[Jon Lambert]

Norman Short wrote:
 
> I just came across this thread, since I've been too busy to read
> everything the list has been sending lately. But frankly I'm
> amazed.  I think you game company people have your head in the
> clouds ignoring reality.

The reality is that many of us running games can delete, ban,
torture, harass, slay, toad or annoy anyone logging into our game
servers for any reason whatsoever, and "you" players can't do a damn
thing about it except log off and leave.  The problem is the players
we would do this to, and it is a small minority BTW, aren't able to
grasp that reality very readily since they've been spoon-fed a lot
of rights tripe.

Disclaimer: There are indeed a few of us who are particularly
sadistic and probably would be out torturing cats if we didn't run
muds.

I don't believe I'm the only one who has banned players for
activities that have occurred completely outside of the realm of the
game and on player's "own time". (Or may or may not have occurred as
the player(s) only claimed so).

Game companies on the other hand have a couple Federal and State
laws to worry about that come into play when accepting money for a
service.  Mostly financial.  Those laws are not nearly as
"politically" restrictive as some of those on the list have stated
(or more likely, wish).  They of course like to be perceived as
friendly, tolerant, liberal and PC as it's right good business
policy and practices even though it ain't law by any means.

I could certainly envision a successful pay-for-play service being
run on model of MIST (according to Lorry) and not running afoul of
any legal dangers as long as they were quite careful about refunding
balances of moneys paid ahead by players for services that through
admin capriciousness they may not receive.

The problem is that "they", these game company peeps or whomever you
are referring, are simply making a mythical mountain out of a
frivolous molehill of a case.  Well what I have read here on Mud-dev
that is. This Black Snow thing isn't going to generate any ground
breaking case law about who owns what in cyberspace, copyrights or
what not, nor concerning what is virtual or real.  In that sense,
their collective musings and heads are too inflated.  I can't really
blame them for making it into a Scopes monkey trial as it's
certainly more interesting to talk about.  ;-)

The basic issue is financial.  Corporations unlike private
individuals have to retain lawyers by law to defend a suit.  Their
bottom line is thin (generally speaking) and a string of even
frivolous suits could knock them out of business, and/or otherwise
ruin their viability in many ways.  Not because the cases have any
merit at all, but because they have to divert precious capital to
attend to them.  In that sense they DO have some legitimate
concerns. :-(

The people running this Black Snow deal are very much analogous to
the dregs and scumbags who flood my e-mail box every day with get
rich quick scams and chain letters.  What's going to fun is when
State and/or Federal DAs start receiving and pursuing complaints
made by players against Black Snow.  Black Snow is indeed flirting
on the edges where criminal fraud might well come into play.

--
--* Jon A. Lambert - TychoMUD        Email:jlsysinc at ix.netcom.com *--
--* Mud Server Developer's Page <http://tychomud.home.netcom.com> *--
--* If I had known it was harmless, I would have killed it myself.*--

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