Enjoy these articles and more in this ‘90s and thinking how exotic and new what experience the player is seeking: week’s The Escapist. these films, shows and comic books “fun and adventures” or “serious and were. Only in retrospect did I realize that realistic.” Cheers, I had been watching anime since I was a Girl Power, our issue on women and child! Casey Gatti gaming, has gone on to be the most- read issue in the magazine to date, and One difference, however, between those To the Editor: I loved your article by letters and response continue to trickle shows and shows such as Pokemon, Yu- John Tynes “The View From Here.” I was in. The often controversial topic of Gi Oh or Sailor Moon is that the shows in beginning to think that I was the only women and the attitudes toward the early ‘80s were never billed as person who thought this way, Nintendo them provides fodder for interesting Japanese, while the Japanese status of just doesn’t do anything for me debate. modern anime seems to be one of their anymore. The article made me laugh and big selling points. gave me a sense of not being alone in Not being ones to keep away from this world. So thank you guys! stirring the pot for too long, we are To the Editor: In the 11/11/05 “Otaku” Timothy Kleinert covering another contentious topic this issue of The Escapist, Shannon Drake John Vanderpool week: griefers. We invited several of our discusses the rise of Japanese culture in To the Editor: Sorry, but the article, writers to express thoughts on and the US, particularly the rise of anime and “The View from Here” was a bit too one- To The Editor: I am writing in response experiences with griefers and they had manga. sided if you ask me. I’m American and to Bonnie Ruberg’s excellent article in plenty to say. Dave Thomas contributed sometimes prefer games that are simple Girl Power. Her ideas and conclusions a piece on the greatest griefer in the While I agree that this movement has and fun than heavily realistic and online about female monsters were very realm of games – you have to read it to definitely come into its own over the last driven. With the success of the DS in fascinating. understand. Jim Rossignol stepped up five to 10 years, I wanted to point out America, it shows that gamers still care with a look at some of the greatest acts that this movement has been a long time about games that are inventive, abstract At one point in the article, Ms. Ruberg of grief in EVE Online, including an coming. Starting in the late ‘70s, but and (most importantly) simple. Most of asks: “So what route is left for truly infamous heist of over $10,000 of real- especially in the early to mid ‘80s, the those console titles come from Japan empowered female characters?” With world cash. And Mark Wallace told us of American mainstream saw the unless you venture out into the Mac/PC regards to this question, I would like to the day The Grid disappeared in Second introduction of a number of Japanese shareware market. My tastes for gaming point-out the recently released title Life. anime (Speed Racer, Robotech, Voltron, are a melting pot of genres and do not Gunstar Super Heroes for the Gameboy Thundercats, etc.) and other anime- weigh to one or the other. I play Advance. This game allows you to play inspired cartoons (Transformers, Go- everything from Metal Gear to Animal through as one of two protagonists, the bots, He-man, etc.). I remember Crossing. In the end, it truly depends on creatively named “Red” and “Blue,” on “discovering” anime and manga in the any of one three difficulty settings, the only showing skin is her face; she is another example of male dominance); or any “distinctively feminine traits,” yet I hence creating six possible paths simply androgynous. in Red we have the female lead that a do not doubt that my concepts of said through the game. I had finished the female could look up to: She is not a sex traits are a result of the culture I have game on easy and normal with both So, we have an androgynous female object, does not require saving and is grown up in. Finally, I believe that it characters before I bothered to flip heroine, which can be perceived in one equal to her male counterpart, at times would be impossible to give a character through the manual, at which point I of two ways: either the artist/developer even coming to his aid. distinct gender-specific traits without discovered that Red was, in fact, a has exerted control over Red’s femininity sexualizing them to some extent. woman (based on that last sentence it is and robbed her of it (assuming said However, there is another aspect to Red pretty obvious that I had always believed person is male this could be taken as yet that I have not yet mentioned: her Either way, when I play through the her to be male). I would like to put aside personality. Remember that I mistook game as Red now, I am aware that she the obvious discussion about my own Red for a male simply due to my own is in fact a she, and that does not gender-related prejudices and expectations of how men and women change anything. Except give me even expectations for a moment and consider look and behave in videogames. Red’s more respect for Treasure as a the character Red in light of the above- personality matches her color: she is developer. mentioned article. fiery, aggressive and passionate. She believes in what she is doing and is Jason Begy Ms. Ruberg outlines three possibilities for furious towards her opposition. Yet this female videogame characters in survival personality is equally androgynous, as it To the Editor: I would like to discuss a horror (I feel these categories can be is not distinctly male nor female. So the letter sent in by Jason Begy in response applied to any genre): damsels, heroines question remains: Has she been robbed to my own article, “Women Monsters and and monsters. In Gunstar Super Heroes, of her gender identity by having no Monstrous Women.” Red is clearly a heroine. However, she is distinctively female qualities, or is she quite different from the types of heroines the long sought-after respectable, Dear Jason: I think the overarching the author describes (sex objects meant powerful heroine? question you’re asking (i.e. whether to be subordinate to the male player). As gender neutrality is better than stated above, I would still believe Red to I am inclined to believe the latter, for a sexualized gender identity) is an be male had I not read the game’s few reasons. For one, she has many of important one, and your description of manual. It is not that Red has a distinctly the traits that, from what I have read, Gunstar Super Heroes’ “Red” offers an male appearance, but rather, she is un- women look for in a playable interesting example. feminized. Her clothes fit but are not character. Secondly, I believe that any tight, her breasts are unnoticeable, and sense of “gender identity” is largely It certainly seems that Red, as a woman culturally-imposed. Red does not have who is never labeled as such in game, is able to sidestep many of the complicated sex is, in effect, the same as hiding her reflects not just on female characters but gender roles discussed in “Women identity, or denying her of it all together. male characters as well, and, second, Monsters.” She is a strong, capable that maybe sexualizing isn’t bad. To heroine. At the same time, she avoids You mention that Red has positive, remove the sex around a woman is the possibility of becoming a victim of “masculine” traits, which women often literally to take away her sex. What we sadism and voyeurism on the part of seek out in a constructive female need to consider is how we can combine players since, for the most part, they do character. Yet, I would argue that not the power of a woman like Red, and the not realize they are playing/controlling a only do we need to keep in mind the sexual identity that prevails in so many woman. In these ways, she may seem to precarious foundation of our other female characters - how, in fact, set a positive model for female understandings of “masculine” and the one can be made to feed off the characters, ones who do not need to be “feminine” - as you note - but also our other. This, in my opinion, had only been monstrous in order to maintain respect understandings of “positive” and accomplished by those women who and avoid objectification. And as a fellow “negative,” “powerful” and “weak.” simultaneously inspire terror and redhead, I can certain empathize with a attraction: namely, female monsters. fellow “fiery,” “passionate” woman. Perhaps women do not need to take on manly qualities in order to become Bonnie Ruberg However, I would personally disagree worthwhile. Assimilation, in my opinion, with the concept of androgyny as ideal in is not the ideal. We shouldn’t have to representing women. It is, perhaps, the ignore the fact that women are different safest route, but it also circumvents the than men. Of course, this isn’t meant as issue. For us, as members of a modern a universalizing statement; every person Western culture and a male-centered has individual tastes, habits, qualities, community, gender etc. But to subsume femininity, whatever neutrality is never as simple as it may mean for a particular woman, into ambiguity. When we see a video game assumed masculinity, is to give up. character who has not been officially assigned a gender, we rarely consider “It would be impossible,” you point out, them to be androgynous figures. “to give a character distinct gender- Instead, as in your personal experience specific traits without sexualizing [her] with Red and Gunstar Super Heroes, we to a certain extent.” I don’t disagree with assume that they are male. Therefore, you. I would just add that, first of all, we not offering an indication of a character’s should consider how this statement Jack, I just want to say one thing: Don’t sue me.

I wouldn’t be your first. You’ve brought down the righteous hammer of justice on such varied personalities as , Rockstar and .

Since you are a real lawyer with a real degree from a real law school, I figure you have the tools to go after me, too. But wouldn’t that just distract you from your war on videogames, your battle for decency? Anyway, I’m just trying to set the record straight here, say something about you that hasn’t been said before, say something that might make sense out of all the information published about you on the Internet. I just want to try and understand why you hate videogames so much. So, like you Jack, I’m just doing my thing, and you know, curiosity is my only vice. All Work and No Play… for all things historical. And by that, I Who is Jack Thompson? He calls himself mean I’m going to rely on the Wikipedia the “Miami attorney the video game a lot, even though I think some of it industry loves to hate - and with good might be wrong. This might sound like a reason.” The good reasons typically cited lazy compromise but I really think of it by the industry, when the industry does as good old booze-soaked journalism. choose to speak with a common voice, Sure, you can dip your sources from the which is never, runs like this: Jack sharp quote factories of the industry Thompson is a rabid game hater and just analysis and pundit pools. Or you can doesn’t get it. He is convinced that rely on the inside , nicotine- games make people do things like stained and world-weary. become snipers and rampaging high school students. He is combative and And what does my inside source have to humorless, and worse than that, he say? A lot, really. The man is a Florida- selectively uses facts to make his case to based medical malpractice lawyer. But impressionable journalists, like those his story is so fantastical at times, it that work for CNN. would be at home next to classic tales like “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Fortunately, if you want to know more about Jack, he’s not a particularly private Jack’s beanstalk is media attention, and man. He likes to go on television and his giant-killing forum is the courtroom. hate games, post to online forums and While he’s fired legal shots at such hate games, and send out the occasional massive targets as and Nintendo, open letter explaining why he hates he’s made most of his noise in the media games. He even has an autobiography making claims about videogames’ coming out which, we can only assume, harmfulness to youth and malicious provides a little more detail about why indifference in the game industry. And he hates games. along the way, he does things like accusing the Japanese of using games as He’s also got a growing entry in the a modern Pearl Harbor attack on Wikipedia, the weird mix of raw fact and American kids, demanding that scurrilous gossip we’ve come to refer to personally pull Rockstar product from the

Xbox and calling the FBI when someone send a letter to the Seattle Police makes a juvenile buddy icon depicting Department suggesting the PA guys him. Really, Jack does things your were harassing him. Most recently, grandma probably thinks sound activist gamers responded to Jack’s reasonable, but leaves the average threats against PA by urging the Florida scratching his head wondering bar to consider this as misconduct. why this guy has it out for games. And I haven’t been working on the story Jack Attack that long. Keeping track of Jack’s activities is like trying to document an evening of binge You can pick up the phone and call Jack. drinking for an entire fraternity on a lost His phone number is on his website. Just weekend in Vegas. You can make some don’t expect much. If you’re lucky, you’ll general observations about “Mai Tai’s get his answering machine. Leave a here. Barf there.” But you’re really just message, if you like, but unless, I dipping your toe into the raging river. suppose, you are CNN or , he won’t call you back. If you’re lucky, Jack Since I started to work on my Really Big will pick up the phone with a gruff, flat, Jack Thompson story, he has: been “Hello.” You won’t get a, “Jack denounced by the National Institute on Thompson, Attorney at law. How may I Media and the Family; denounced them help you and may Sam and Dan Houser back; announced a contest to build a burn a million years in hell for bringing satirical game based on a gamer who into the world.” goes on a rampage and kills a lot of Instead you get a short cautious people; had a couple of developers make conversation along the lines of, “Who are the game; reneged on his offer to pay you, what do you want?” - the sort of $10,000 to a charity if the game was stuff Neo kept asking in the Matrix. If built, which led the fine fellows at Penny Jack warms up to you, he might even Arcade to respond by writing a $10,000 divulge his email address with a plea to check to charity to cover Jack’s original “Not share it with anyone,” since he’s promise and then sell “I Hate Jack been getting a lot of death threats. If Thompson” t-shirts, which led Jack to you are not lucky, he’ll brush you off as a fanboy looking for a pound of flesh with point. It’s that he seems to get them get a cameo in Silence of the Lambs III. Jack calls Doug Lowenstein, the head of an, “I’m too busy to talk now.” What’s wrong just enough to make his point. Tell the world that Bush is in the pocket the videogame industry’s primary trade frustrating is whether you get happy And that’s why, even though gamers of the oil industry and it doesn’t matter group the Electronic Software Jack or mad Jack on the line seems to be righteously dismiss Jack as some square whether it is true or not. It just sounds Association, the Goebbels of the game a lottery. Every time I tried to arrange who’s not hip to what the kids are doing, plausible. industry, it stings. an interview with him, it seemed like a the rest of the world sees Jack as a guy different Jack had answered the phone. in a nice suit who just might have a This is a tactic that Jack seems to Because, if nothing else, Jack knows how point. understand well. He once called Janet to hurt. And he seems to like it. Which Both Jack’s seem to agree, however, Reno a closeted lesbian and that hurt makes him appear a lot like the talking to the gaming press wasn’t the And I wonder if this is actually his because, well, honestly, would a straight frustrated 13-year-old boys in Everquest best way to advance his cause. Better, I technique. woman wear her hair like that? When who have nothing better to do than build guess, to spend time on television getting the facts wrong (like claiming If you want to hurt someone, I mean characters in The Sims come equipped really hurt them, don’t make up with pubic hair and genitals) and stirring outrageous lies. Tell lies that are so close up concern in parents already too busy to the truth that they might be true, or lazy to just sit down in front of the even if they are completely made up. Tell PS2 long enough to see what their kids the world that George Bush has that kid are, in fact, playing. Mikey from the Life commercials tied up in the White House basement and no one But what bothers me isn’t that Jack gets can take it seriously. Our president may things wrong in the name of making a be many things, but he’s not going to

Every time I tried to arrange an interview with him, it seemed like a different Jack had answered the phone. up characters to level 8,000, and then books, papers, people in a nice his frontier of weirdness, were not just even better when you can tag some spend day after day annoying people in conversation at a party - the Disturber intellectual anarchists; they were, well, chump up close with a sticky grenade. If such a monumental manner that we had will come around and make a mess out Disturbers of the first order. you can pistol whip another guy to to give the behavior its own name: of it. death, that’s just artistry. Griefing. And I’m starting to think that maybe, Some people even turn this into an art. this is really the center of Jack My studied conclusion about games and The psychology of the griefer is pretty Thompson. I think, deep in his bones, violence is that games make us wild and simple. When nothing else in the world is I know a guy who corresponded with Jack likes flipping the Monopoly board crazy and bloodthirsty, but just for a under your control, why not spend your Charles Manson, was friends with Church over just to see the colorful confetti of controlled period of time in front of the remaining vital energy pissing people of Satan founder Anton LeVey and has a play money flying through the air. screen. And from what I can gather, off? If you can’t build something up, tear fencing set said to be owned by former Because it sure seems like Jack just unless you are already in desperate need it down. A smoking crater is at least as American Nazi party founder George doesn’t want anyone to have any fun. of a daily Halloween bucket of meds, this noticeable as the nice building that once Lincoln Rockwell. exposure to violent material doesn’t Manhunt leave you with any lingering urge to I wanted to talk to Thompson for the harm your fellow man. simple reason that as a gamer and free speech advocate, I’m supposed to hate Still, like Jack, I’m not a social scientist, Jack Thompson. And that sounds like the a cognitive scientist or even a doctor of sort of challenge any free-thinking love. So I assume that Jack does what I intellectual would jump at. Besides, for do - scrape around for facts and stood in its place. If nothing else, people A fellow writer, a rotund and omnivorous all I know, he may be on to something. opinions, try to figure out what is true will know you are there. At least they will thinker who was liberal to the bone and and bother people with your opinions at care about you, even if it is just to take as perceptive as a Geiger Counter once What we know for sure, when it comes cocktail parties. Only I suspect that Jack the time to hate you. said of my pal, “He’s an intellectual to videogames and violence, is that we looks at the entire internet as his cocktail anarchist; he’s not happy unless other don’t know enough. Games certainly party. And griefing doesn’t just happen in the people are unhappy.” What’s funny is have not spawned any apocalypse of game world. I’ve heard these people that this guy, my friend with the violence. Then again, I’m not sure we What fascinates me the most about Jack aptly described as “sh** disturbers” for interesting taste in pen pals, associates should run around saying games have no is that the power relationships are all the simple reason that some people - a and memorabilia, was still connected to effect at all. Of course they do. I don’t screwed up, sort of the way they are in a fortunately small fraction of a fraction of a basic form of order. He was not a play 2 for the pleasure of being Quentin Tarantino movie. In most real the population - can’t leave well enough Disturber. The people he found bored. I like it because it is fun to blow life situations, someone is in charge and alone. If there is a neat pile of anything - amazingly on the edge, further out than someone away with a sniper rifle. It’s someone else has to go along with things. Cops pull you over and you say, Personal injury law? Bankruptcy? Divorce order against some crazed fan. That’s The difference between Bowser and Jack “Yes officer, no officer.” And even if you mediation? the standard of having attained the top is more than a spiked turtle shell and a go to court, you say, “Yes your honor, no in pop culture. And Jack is a reminder malevolent laugh. Bowser exists for the your honor.” Tarantino’s films always Nope. Everyone who likes to stir things that the videogame industry is big game; Jack exists in spite of the game. seem to end up in some sort of a up needs something to stir. And Jack enough and important enough and cool Like the online griefer, the contradiction Mexican Standoff between people that needs the videogame industry to rise to enough for someone to hate. is that when someone makes ending fun love each other, and want the same the occasion. Don’t you have to wonder the focus of their fun, then it’s only a things, but don’t trust each other and what it’s like being Jack? He brought Just as Bowser had to rise to the matter of time until there is no fun for might be too criminally insane to know legal action against Howard “I used to be challenge of foil and villain for Mario anyone. And that’s no fun at all. the difference. This sort of sums up the the king of media,” Stern and 2 “Didn’t once Donkey Kong was co-opted into a Russian and U.S. Cold War policy of they use a naughty word in a rap song big, furry good guy, gaming needs an David Thomas is the founder of the “mutually assured destruction,” and how 20 years ago?” Live Crew? Jack needs ever present bad guy boss. Through International Game Journalists just about anyone feels about their games and, strangely enough, games confrontation, we can see what matters, Association. He also provides mother-in-law. need Jack. what it all means, where it all ends up. commentary and criticism at buzzcut.com. And so it is with Jack. Because his dirty No celebrity has really made it until they secret is out there for everyone to see. either been Punk’d or get a restraining Jack Thompson needs the videogame industry. Without Rockstar and nutty child assassins, what would Jack do? It was not a good day for the virtual world. It was the next-to-last Sunday in October, a day before a major new patch for Second Life, a 3-D online environment that boasts 70,000 residents in the same, non-sharded world. It might have been a day like any other – except for the small spherical object one resident added to the stock of user- created content that makes Second Life almost unique among virtual worlds.

Adorned with an image of the G-Man from the Half-Life FPS games, the object had soon rezzed a copy of itself, and then there were two, floating side by side, low above the landscape of one of the 1,000-plus servers that make up the Grid that is Second Life. A moment later, each of those had replicated again, and there were four. Soon after that, there were eight, and then there were 16. Like the cell division that marks the beginning of life, the exponential growth continued. The spheres multiplied, overflowing the boundaries of the server in which they’d started and spilling over into neighboring regions, then into the regions that bounded those.

Eventually, according to some reports, there were 5.4 billion of them.

Who knows how long it took or what the exact sequence of events was, whether the servers went down one by one or spectacularly crashed out all at once. But by some point on that Sunday, they had all winked out. All of them. Second Life was no more.

Second Life gives its residents a great deal of freedom. They can create not only fantasy castles and other marvels, but scripted objects that can interact with each other, with avatars and with applications outside the virtual world as well. From time to time, an ambitious builder or scripter may overreach his or her talents. Create a linked chain of objects that need to be manipulated by SL’s physics engine and you can strain a server’s resources to the breaking point. Accidents will happen in such a world. Servers will crash. What kind of “accident” hit Second Life weeks that the full extent of the damage DNA. So, to prevent such attacks in the on October 23, though, is open to would be known. future, Linden Lab coded new limitations interpretation. Was it an “accident” that into the function that passes inventory the self-replicating objects had been That’s a figure that will be difficult to from one object to another, making it named GriefSpawn by their creator? Was calculate, though, for the GriefSpawn impossible to do so unless the objects it mere coincidence that this creative attack has had lasting effects, effects you’d created were located on land you mind was a member of a Second Life that go beyond whatever immediate owned. The change slipped in just under group long renowned for its destruction and business loss was the wire for the new release. And by inflammatory builds and harassment of caused. The code-meisters over at Monday, residents were outraged. other residents? Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, were obviously not very happy This was virtual homeland security at its Signs point to “no,” that what happened campers on GriefSpawn day. But they finest. One resident had crashed the on the day the Grid disappeared was not must have been relieved that it came Grid; all 70,000 of them now had their an accident at all, but the most effective the day before a major patch, for they hands tied. Many of the most robust denial-of-service attack Second Life had took the opportunity to sneak a change builds (SL slang for artifacts created by ever seen, one that came from within into Second Life’s new version that was residents) and business applications in the world itself. designed to prevent such attacks in the Second Life had relied on the transfer future. ability to work anywhere in the virtual Residents, needless to say, were world. Now you could play around with dismayed. Many of them spend hours a To many residents, however, the cure such functions in your backyard, but that day there; for some it is a full-time job. was worse that the disease. was about it. To protect against future Though there’s no comparison in terms attacks, the new release actually rolled of loss of life and other damages, having To create a self-replicating object on the back functionality. And not just any Second Life flooded with GriefSpawn scale of the GriefSpawn that crashed all functionality, but one of the key features spheres was a bit like having your city of Second Life, it’s necessary to have the that had allowed Second Life to become, flooded by a hurricane: Businesses were parent object give a copy of the forced to close, residents were forced to replication script to the children it evacuate and it would not be for days or creates – like cells passing along their for a great many people, the only virtual Fortunately, those laws were reversed But to make such a place truly doesn’t eliminate the threat, it simply world that matters. soon after they were put into place. In fascinating and vibrant, much more must raises the risks associated with this case, popular outcry had its effect. be possible there than simply the committing murder. The perpetrator was punished too, of But if they’d stayed on the books much creation of shiny dream palaces. In fact, course, reportedly given a permanent longer, the world of Second Life might more must be possible than the creation Murder, of course, is something most ban by Linden Lab. But there’s almost no have been in for far greater losses than of only the fine, attractive or even people would agree should be eliminated doubt he or she will be back. A borrowed any caused by the occasional griefer’s tediously dull things that many residents from the world, if only it were possible. credit card and a new IP address is all it global attack. add to the Grid. Real life works the same But incarceration is also possible under would take. Perhaps they’ve learned way, after all. It may be possible to build the physics of our world. Most people their lesson, perhaps not. But the gods Second Life stands or falls on what it’s a briefcase bomb, but that doesn’t mean wouldn’t want to change this, as it’s one had spoken, the new laws had been possible to create there. The Grid it enriches society. of the threats we use to convince people passed down. contains almost no content created by not to do things like commit murder. It’s the company that runs it. Linden Lab What’s different about cyberspace is that a tool of social engineering that makes provides only a landscape (and the men and women behind the code our society a comfortable place to live. sometimes not even that); the residents control the physics of their worlds. The But if Joe Psychopath next door were to effectively constitute the largest content- avatars of Second Life are free to fly lock away your attractive neighbor down creation team in existence, and one that around at will. But a few keystrokes on the street, it wouldn’t be called pays for the privilege. In return they the part of the coders would change incarceration, it would be called garner fun, fame and, in not a few cases, that. Until late October, the physics of kidnapping. If you could change the fortune. Second Life allowed object-to-object physics of our world, would you want to transfers. Because of a crime, those get rid of jails just so you could get rid of physics were briefly changed. kidnappers?

And that’s where things get tricky. Real- Because in a sense, that’s how Linden world crimes, of course, don’t lead to Lab chose to deal with the GriefSpawn. changes in the physical laws of the world The criminal laws of Second Life haven’t in which we live. They lead to changes in changed; global attacks were strictly a the civil and criminal laws. That’s why we no-no before October 23 and they have such laws, because “bad” things remain against the “rules” today. But are possible. Criminalizing murder rather than put more cops on the street or find a better way to register and ban game. Second Life’s 7,000-word Terms Spaight, I serve as Editorial Director, individual users, the company chose to of Service document (about three times we’ve been covering these guys for eliminate a good in order to eliminate as long as this article) contains all the months. an evil. same caveats as that of any game company’s: Although users retain the IP That they inhabit Second Life only means It should be said here that the code- rights to their creations, Linden Lab or their griefing takes the form of their wrangling team at Linden Lab is looking anyone else on the Grid can use those world: They define themselves by what for a fix that would result in the best of creations as they see fit. LL can kick you they build. Highlights include apparent all possible worlds, i.e., that would allow out or delete your stuff “for any reason attempts to drive neighboring the good while still eliminating the evil. or no reason.” And the Terms of Service landowners off their land, builds But that’s not the point. Because no and Community Standards, the featuring huge and enormous matter how foolproof the physics of your documents that effectively constitute the detached penises, a model of the World world are, there will always be a way to civil, criminal and constitutional laws of Trade Center in flames (complete with grief it. Ask any coder and they will tell the world, change so often and with so Death Star added for effect), harassment you the same thing: There is no little notice that it’s impossible to know of other groups in Second Life, a graphic application without a bug, and no exactly where you stand at any given depiction of a murdered prostitute, and security system without a crack in it. The moment. As a virtual world, Second Life back in July, a client hack that gave limited time and resources of a is the coolest thing going. As a country, them access to the private scripts and development team simply can’t compete it sucks. objects that run many of Second Life’s with the nearly unlimited curiosity and businesses. commitment of those who hope to find Any other country would have seen the those bugs and cracks. And once found, GriefSpawn coming long before it hit. Given that it was widely known that of course, someone will eventually The griefer in question had been crashing the Grid would not be all that exploit them, whether your physics likes associated with a group in Second Life hard, how could you not have seen the it or not. long known for its startling builds and its GriefSpawn coming? troubling antics. Refugees from the Philip Rosedale, the founder and CEO of forums at SomethingAwful.com, the W- What Linden Lab should have done about Linden Lab, says he is not building a Hat group is also filled with creative and it is a different question. No one wants game, he is “building a country.” If so, it talented people. But their activities over to live in a police state, even a virtual is at this point a country whose citizens the past year have put them at or near one. But a state with no policing is have no voice, and which is run the top of the chronic griefer squad. At almost as bad. Code may be law, as suspiciously as if it were, in fact, a the Second Life Herald, where, as Walker Lawrence Lessig points out, but law is not the same as enforcement, and to looks like an online country, developing Meanwhile, the Grid continues to grow. Mark Wallace can be found on the web expect the code to be not just the law of from that. Or will policing the world be And let’s hope it continues. In many at Walkering.com. His book with Peter an online world, but the police force as left in the hands of its residents? If so, respects, Second Life is, in fact, the only Ludlow, Only A Game: Online Worlds well, is to put too great a burden on Linden Lab will have to make clear what virtual world that matters. The fact that and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew designers and programmers, and to limit is ban-able and what is not - they will you can create something that can make Too Much, will be published by O’Reilly what’s possible in cyberspace. have to make laws that go beyond the the Grid disappear for a day is only in 2006. code, or allow their residents to do the evidence of how much freedom its Second Life is in an interesting position. same. Already, vigilante groups have residents have – or did, until late With no competitive structure, it’s not sprung up that seek to punish avatars October. Striking a balance between really a game. With no line between they perceive as criminal; the problem freedom and restraint will be difficult creators and consumers, it’s not really a is, their techniques usually amount to there; but then, it’s difficult in any development platform. With no real laws little more than griefing the griefers, and country. Here’s hoping Second Life can and no government, it’s not really a many of them get banned, too. manage it with a minimum of grief. country. And even if it were all these things at once, it would still have to find Letting residents affect each other’s some better definition of all these pieces reputation through the kind of rating and how they fit together if it’s to avoid system found on eBay will only go so far. the kind of two-steps-forward, one-step- Bad reputations don’t bother the W-Hats back moments - like the nerfing of or the Something Awful goons; bad object-to-object transfers - that have reputations are their lifeblood. At some marked its development thus far. point, enforcement is needed, enforcement of laws that are stable and Perhaps we should thank the W-Hats, clearly laid out for all to see, including in though. Perhaps it’s people like them their application, and hopefully with who will push Second Life’s society to substantive input from the people those take shape. Where griefers are laws are meant to govern. That may be a concerned, the question is, where will lot to ask of a virtual world, but if Philip Linden Lab draw the line? And, perhaps Rosedale is serious about building a more importantly, how? Will the code country - and it often looks like he’s not, remain law, and the enforcement remain other than for marketing purposes - at the whim of SL’s administrators? It’s that’s the kind of thing that will have to hard to see a robust world, one that happen. The griefer is a player of malign intentions. They will hurt, humiliate and dishevel the average gamer through bending and breaking the rules of online games. But their activities are hardly extraordinary. Indeed, they only exist at all because of normal, human urges, albeit the ugly and reprehensible ones. They want glory, gain or just to partake in a malignant joy at the misfortune of others. But does griefing always mean overcoming the rules of a game? Can the intentions of the griefer be satisfied by something totally within the bounds of a game?

One game in which players are particularly cruel to each other is EVE Online. While naturally player vs. player (PvP) focused, its intricate economics emphasize the way in which malignant human impulses can find their way into a game-world. People will do anything for money, even virtual money, especially when it involves the challenge of emptying the wallets of unwitting players. Usually the gaming griefer is a lone chump, but in EVE the troublemakers might well be a group of intelligent, patient folk, as my later examples will illustrate.

Of course, online gaming has long brought out a tribal instinct in players; they band together looking for friends or fights, or even looking to pick on the vulnerable.

Many players will go out of their way to avoid what Ultima’s Richard Garriott calls “non- consensual conflict”; while for others the whole point of online gaming is to test their mettle - and that of their allies - against human opponents. Games like Second Life, in which almost all activities are non-adversarial, work hard to discourage conflict on all levels. For those players who want to play with people, but have no interest in playing against people, the idea of personal conflict is troubling. Most gamers have been disposed to this people harder than any deathmatch loss. The scammer revealed that he and a pacifist attitude at one time or another, It’s more sophisticated and more friend had proposed an open business and who can blame us? I, for example, satisfying than the most elegant venture to purchase blueprints from found being slaughtered by a higher- Counter-Strike maneuver. It’s malicious, which one of EVE’s most expensive and level enemy in World of Warcraft’s PvP but lacks the base stupidity of team coveted battleships could be built. They needlessly unpleasant. It left no room for killers or campers. It’s the smartest kind played on the innocence of gamers, retribution, and hammering a junior of player griefing currently imaginable. acting as if this kind of venture was a gnome just to expunge some frustration It’s the scam. matter that was regularly enjoyed by was more grief than my conscience could EVE’s savvy players. Their investment handle. So I moved to a non-PvP server, Most games aren’t quite complex or was supposed to give rise to an in-game where my adventurous dwarf has been realistic enough to allow scams to take happily unmolested by matters of guilt place, but EVE Online’s multifarious or bullying ever since. galaxy, which hosts player-run corporations and a sophisticated market- But there’s always the other possibility: driven economy (with all the functions We look for trouble. This is where my and utilities that such operations entail) EVE-playing personality appears. I want regularly suffers the machinations of the battles, double-edged conflict. scheming ne’er-do-wells.

This attitude is perhaps more common to Many gamers have now heard of “The gamers, who want to play to win against Great Scam,” which was one of the other human beings, be it in Warcraft, earliest examples of how EVE Online’s Battlefield or a game of internet mah- game mechanics gave way to a massive jong. It’s easy to find this kind of conflict rip off. The infamous 15,000 word article online. Most games are built around documented how two players were able ideals of direct competition: rankings, hi- to accumulate both the trust and the score tables, winners and losers. We’ve cash of a lot of other, more gullible all been there, and liked it or not. players, simply by playing the kind of confidence tricks that investors rely upon But then there is another kind conflict, in the real world market. subtler than that of the battlehammer or the bazooka. It’s something that can hit manufacturing venture which would the unwary, like pricing scams. It’s make everyone involved rather wealthy; harder to fall for now, with recently- paying back loans and generating profits installed big red numbers telling you for those who gave up their money, when a purchase isn’t a good deal, but according to the amount invested. yes, I’ve accidentally bought a shuttle for seven million instead of seven This all sounds familiar, rather thousand credits. When you’re in a rush, straightforward, just as all business do you always count the zeroes? It was a scams should. But actually producing hell of a blow to my skinny wallet, and ships in EVE takes some work, and that simpler scammer must have been instead of going into business the two laughing. scammers simply shut up shop and made off with the cash. Just as with “The Great Scam,” there was no way to take it back. EVE provides no Having transferred the money and safety net for your mistakes. The same placed their trust in these virtual is true of the actions of corporation business proposals, the investors thieves, those sly folk who join realized that they had been duped, but corporations (the EVE equivalent of could do nothing to rescue their lost guilds) and then steal from communal capital. The scam tolled 480 million ISK resources, potentially looting items that (EVE’s currency), which is almost $1,000 have taken months to accrue. Their in meatspace money. actions are entirely within the mechanics of the game, and will always be so. The Their investors were left with nothing lesson seems to be: This is a game in and, because they’d willingly parted with which there are other people, and you the money through no fault of the game never know how far you can trust them… itself, they had no recourse but to make impotent threats of revenge. Grief As such, there’s been another even more indeed. profound example of the potential of EVE’s game mechanics leading directly to Of course there are other, lesser tricks player grief, one that has inspired awe that EVE players can perform to dupe wherever the story has been told. Compared to this awesome venture “The crude and difficult matter of waging war corporation, and just another member of and assets, an amount that, if taken at Great Scam” is positively miniscule, a and killing the mark by martial means The Guiding Hand. When the time was current eBay exchange rates for EVE’s mere trifle amid the majesty ofEVE ’s alone. Instead, the Guiding Hand right, The Guiding Hand ambushed their virtual currency to real cash, comes in at greatest takedown. This is more than a infiltrated the Ubiqua Seraph to the quarry in space, claimed the bounty, and a staggering $16,500. scam, and to refer to it as such only highest level, taking 12 months to pillaged the corporate coffers. What had diminishes the scale of its achievement. ingratiate themselves with the originally seemed like a large sum was Ubiqua Seraph was far from destroyed, corporation and gain access to its but a fraction of what The Guiding Hand but it’s impossible to gauge the Revealed with a flourish on theEve extensive resources. plot would actually claim. psychological impact of such a brutal Online forums, the attack by the Guiding strike on the players behind Ubiqua Hand Social Club on one of Eve’s Like the 1930s FBI infiltrators who The mark lost her near-priceless Seraph itself. Could they ever trust other wealthier corporations, Ubiqua Seraph, organized the Communist party meetings battleship, one of a number of limited online gamers again? was a masterstroke of patience and in which suspected conspirators were to edition objects that the developers cunning. Initially, the Guiding Hand, who be arrested, the Guiding Hand’s own dropped into the game. She also saw the All of which begs the question: Are these had previously set themselves up as influence on the CEO of Ubiqua Seraph assets of her corporation, which she and devastating events really just acts of committed assassins, had been hired to arranged the time and place of her her corp-mates had worked for 18 griefing, or just smart play? assassinate the CEO of Ubiqua Seraph, doom. Not only did they schedule the months to accrue, ransacked by Guiding and were to be paid handsomely for the trap, but the executioner was to be a Hand infiltrators. The Guiding Hand Both the scam and assassination take task. Their method, though, was not the fellow colleague, a director of her own members who devastated Ubiqua Seraph place within the spirit of the game, which took some 30 billion ISK in game money is one of ultra-capitalist competition and faction-warfare, and yet they cause the maximum hurt and upset to the players who’ve been victimized. They were organized and executed entirely within the game mechanics (with the odd real- life phone call), and as such, did nothing to abuse the economic or combative systems the developers installed. The Guiding Hand and their like might as well have been seen as just another guild full of dedicated roleplayers, just playing along with the game. Or are they the worst kind of griefers? Perhaps they war, scam or personal carelessness, you could be both. are literally wasting their time. You destroy part of what they have chosen to “The Great Scam” and The Guiding Hand invest: their lives. It’s a brutal fact, but takedown were massive betrayals of then what other game can be said to trust that, potentially, had real-world provide such thrilling risks, and such financial impact. extremes of gaming possibility?

It’s the breaking of unstated trust This is a line in the sand: between between allies that represents the griefing for its own stupid sake, as deepest injury, however. The Guiding something that can be switched off and Hand infiltrators, in particular, had lied ignored, and the kind of grasping through their teeth and manipulated malevolence in gaming that leads to other players for over a year. It real, financial consequences. With virtual demonstrated that in spite of cash, comes virtual responsibility, and all appearances, no one in the Eve game the greed and cunning associated with it. world could be trusted, especially if they The events we’ve outlined throw those were playing the game as it was meant facts into sharp relief, and reveal a new to be played. age online of economic exploits. Could these scammers represent a new breed What do the developers of CCP do when of griefer? A smarter, sharper creature people agonize on forums and petition for the massively multiplayer age? As their losses in these scams and humorist Spike Milligan so dryly schemes? Very little. They know that, in observed: “Money can’t buy you friends, essence, this is what it’s all about: but it can buy you a better class of people interacting. And wherever they do enemy.” that, however they do that, they end up causing some grief. Jim Rossignol is a writer and editor based in the South West of England. He Perhaps this is the most exciting aspect writes about videogames, fiction and of EVE: It is a genuinely cruel game. If science. you destroy people’s resources, either by The wind gently blew the fronds of the Foulborne. I was eager to explore golden savannah and they bowed to me beyond Night Elven lands and this as if in greeting. Having left the deep seemed like just the excuse I needed. To green forests behind me, the openness be honest, I’d had this quest in my log of the grasslands was as refreshing as since I was level 25 and now that I was the breeze on my green-gray skin. My 29, I figured this mage would go down long ears pricked up to hear the sounds pretty fast. of small mammals and birds chirping a high-pitched greeting. Far off, I heard a The slopes of Dreadmist jutted up in metallic crash and was reminded that front of me and I began walking up a although this land was beautiful, it was spur. About halfway up, a big red alien and dangerous. I could convince number flashed on my screen. A large myself that the sharp scent in the air cat appeared behind me and continued was the fetid pile of lion dung rotting a slashing at me. Bigger and redder few yards to my left but it could very numbers appeared above my head. I well be the scent of a blood furied Orc’s tried to throw some Pain on my attacker, sweat. Nevertheless, I gripped my staff but my cloth armor was ripped to shreds tightly, bundled my robes about me and before I could even blast his mind once. trudged softly ahead, scanning the I expired on the slopes of an alien horizon ahead for both Orcs and dung mountain without much resistance. heaps. My attacker shapeshifted into a huge My destination was Dreadmist Peak. The Tauren, whose name was emblazoned in mountain was not far from the border of red above his head. It read, “Hellacow” Ashenvale, where I had to sneak around (name changed to protect the asshole). the Orc outpost. Sentinel Starstrike had He was way above my level, the skull in commissioned me to slay an undead my target frame told me he was at least summoner by the name of Sarilus 39, but probably much higher. Before I could release my spirit to the nearest cake for him to catch up to me, kill me anything, after a few minutes. Any time graveyard (wherever that was) I read and spit on my corpse. not advancing my character in some those dreaded orange letters in my chat way is wasted time. log. Hellacow, a wonderful, immersive My experience is not unique. Many have name by the way, had the gall to spit on been corpse-camped in Azeroth. But I decided to contact the Tauren druid my corpse. when the preceding story happened to who terrorized me and ask him what was my priest alt, I began to wonder. Who going through his mind while he was I’ve been ganked before. Playing on a would do such a thing? What kind of a murdering my priest. But this wasn’t PvP server in World of Warcraft is going person would spend over an hour really all that easy. As I mentioned, I to get you ganked, no question. What causing another player such agonizing play on a PvP server (Sargeras), and happened next went beyond mere boredom and grief? There was no chance Blizzard doesn’t let you create characters ganking. I was killed a total of 19 times for advancement for him in any way. on both teams. I couldn’t just roll up a over the next hour-and-a-half by this The PvP ranking system does not give Horde toon and whisper the offending Tauren druid and whatever low-level any rewards for killing a character so far Tauren. I could buy another copy of the Horde he could recruit. Despite the long below his level. He received no loot. He game, create a new account and do so, corpse run, I made a sport of it. Even at did not gain any experience points. We but that wasn’t really cost effective. full health and mana, I couldn’t get his were not in a battleground where he Luckily, I had a friend who hadn’t yet health below 75% and he often never let could receive benefit from winning the made a character on Sargeras, and I me get fully healed before backstabbing board. I could not understand why asked if I could use his account. After me out of stealth mode. Trying to get anyone would do what he did. (I’m promising that I wouldn’t make him look away by rezzing in shadows and healing calling Hellacow a “he” because the like an “asshat,” he let me roll up an myself didn’t work. Neither did rezzing avatar was a Tauren male model, and Undead rogue (everyone else has one, and running. The openness of the girls don’t exist on the internet.) As a why not me?) and see if Hellacow was Barrens was beautiful, but it left me player, I could not imagine spending an online. nowhere to hide. Plus, a druid with travel hour terrorizing lowbies. I would get form and me without a mount made it bored and move on to questing, leveling, I won’t bore you with the details of ME- Do you remember killing a Night Elf HIM- Too many NE on this server, imo leveling up Dominian in Silverpine while preist over and over and over again? HIM- You all need to die waiting for the tool to log into the game. HIM- That you HIM- Maybe, idk (Ironically enough, I put his name on my ME- yep ME- Ok, listen, you got no rewards from “friends list” so that I received a warning HIM- No way killing me because I was gray, why do it? when he signed on.) I actually got up to ME- Way HIM- It was fun level seven before I heard the fateful HIM- What do you want ME- It’s fun to terrorize people? ding. Here follows my chat with ME- I want to ask you a few questions. HIM- Dood it’s part of the game Hellacow: HIM- About what HIM- My guildie was leveling an alt ME- About why you decided to camp me around there ME- Hi there for so long. HIM- We had fun killing you little priest. HIM- ? HIM- Dude this is pvp ME- What fun? I died in two seconds ME- You don’t know me ME- Yeah… everytime HIM- Who R U? ME- There’s nothing wrong with killing HIM- Lol ME- I’m the guy you camped yesterday. me. ME- Youdidn’t even let me heal HIM- What? HIM- Go back to care bear server if you HIM- You healed sometimes want ME- When I was hiding in the bushes ME- Once HIM- I saw you HIM- You were in the barrens HIM- You name was red HIM- Alliance shouldn’t be there ME- It almost worked ME- But you did it for over an hour HIM- You could have signed off HIM- So ME- So you enjoyed killing me, who had ME- What made you want to do that? no chance against a 60 and his friends? Didn’t you get bored? HIM- Hell yeah. HIM- you were so funny thining you HIM- Howd you get this character/ no could get away cross-faction I thought HIM- I had to keep kiling you ME- Did you think about what fun it was ME- Because I was running away, you for me? camped me? ME- Friends account. HIM- Plus, I hate night elves HIM- Fun for you? ME- If I had stayed still, you wouldn’t ME- Have you ever been camped like have killed me so many times? that/ HIM- Happens all the time. Not so HIM- Dood it’s part of the game people into pathological liars and much now but bfore I was 60 thieves, but rather, courageous knights ME- Did you like it? As with any MMOG, the basis of the and brave warriors whose motives are HIM- No but now it’s pay back World of Warcraft is your interactions benevolent.” I’m glad to see that such ME- Ah, you were enacting revenge on with other players. These can be great research exists but I wish I had my character for perceived wrongs experiences, like “5-manning” something to back up how many asshats against you? This is the proverbial Gnomeregan with a pick up group that I seem to encounter online on a daily gauntlet we all must run through in doesn’t actually suck. Or they can make basis. order to have played the game you want to rip your hair out, like successfully and reched 60? running that same instance with a tool HIM- You were in the barrens HIM- ? for a priest who fears every mob and HIM- Alliance shouldn’t be there ME- Neer mind. doesn’t heal (happened to me last week). It’s the same as dealing with This is a little easier to understand. The That’s about all I could get out of the people in real life. I don’t like the people PvP dynamic of WoW is that there are bastard. He actually had more to say who beg for money from me on the two opposing factions which are always than I expected. Hellacow could have street, but I can’t change their behavior. at war. A Horde character should kill an been like, “you SuxXoR!” and put me on There is nothing in the game’s mechanics Alliance character whenever they see his ignore list, much to my chagrin. I to prevent Hellacow from repeatedly each other and vice versa. “One kill is a should be thankful that he even killing me, so I can’t really fault him for ‘friendly’ bashing. I hate Alliance, so I kill remembered me and could form basic playing the same game that I am. He them. ‘Hate’ is part of the game... I sentences. He actually touched on quite just plays it in a different way than I do, don’t actually hate the person behind a few points that I want to look at more albeit an incredibly frustrating and the character. They are just my in-game closely. I also spent some time getting annoying way, but since when has the enemies,” said Jord (Illidan) but I think other players thoughts on this just to internet brought out the best in people? Turonyen from the Graffe Forums said it make sure my own feelings on the best, “They are horde [sic] and they subject weren’t totally skewed by my The Daedulus Project, a comprehensive must be eradicated. They shouldn’t be recent encounter in the Barrens. For the compilation of MMOG research, actually allowed to stroll around in contested record, I’m defining griefing as killing has data which refutes the misconception areas like they own the place.” any character so far below the offender’s that people are more vicious online than level as to reap no benefits and/or off. “The internet does indeed allow I chose to play on a PvP server and I repeatedly killing the same character as people to feel less inhibited, but as [this don’t regret that choice. It is always they resurrect (camping). data] suggests, the internet doesn’t turn exciting to venture into contested zones, looking over your back for any Horde good as people who play a less common bloody nose or wasting an hour rezzing that may be swooping down on you. It’s race, like Tauren. I am not trying to my Night Elf priest. I didn’t want to log, not a namby-pamby normal server which equate griefing in a videogame to racism letting him know that he had beaten me. would protect me from being ganked, (well, maybe a little) but there are I continued to fight, even though I knew but neither is it a roleplaying server dangerous undertones in this kind of it was pointless. In retrospect, I should where people’s Troll priests are acted out thinking. Committing violence (if griefing have taken Jord’s advice in this situation, in game. can be considered violence) because “Take a break! Don’t rez! Walk back to they feel empowered by a crusade to rid your body and then go make yourself a But as Hellacow and the others point the world of one race is freaking scary snack. Take a nap. Do whatever makes out, there exists a form of roleplaying when you think about it. you happy. It’s break time! The campers even on the PvP servers. I, a Night Elf are just standing there, eagerly watching from the Alliance, was in Horde territory But then there are the (perceived) their screens, whilst you’re relaxing, and should be punished for being there. righteous reasons we can make up. As eating, drinking or perhaps making love It is a kind of artistic justice meted out Ringo Flinthammer (Silver Hand) stated: to your wife. In my opinion, it’s the best by a 13-year-old in Tauren’s clothing. “The only people … below my own level remedy.” Wise words, especially the part that I don’t get honor for that I’ve killed about the sex. HIM- Plus, I hate night elves have been folks who killed an Alliance quest NPC. Those NPCs were worth HIM- No but now it’s pay back Griefers often make up a reason to do nothing to them, and they were doing it what they do. They have their agenda just to be obnoxious. So they can spend I understand the revenge motivation and if anything screws with it, they must some time in the penalty box.” more than anything else Hellacow cited. do what they can to rectify the situation. I admit to killing Horde toons more In this case, an irrational hatred of one HIM- You could have signed off frequently if I had been ganked recently. imaginary race in an imaginary world And if a lower-level character comes up leads Hellacow to grief me. This behavior This is perhaps more descriptive of my to me and “/spits” and “/farts,” I have no isn’t surprising as much as it is character than Hellacow’s. They say the problem teaching him a lesson. This frighteningly consistent with history. best way to beat a bully is to ignore him. goes for camping too, as Caheen Human nature is such that we have I was told that so many times growing (Deathwing) explains, “There’s also the prejudices based on appearances. The up that it was a kind of mantra. But camping in retaliation for being camped. perception that there are too many Night something never let me just take the Being able to break out of a ‘getting Elves leads to the assertion that the abuse and move on. I always had to camped’ situation will then make me people who play that race are not as fight back, no matter if I ended up with a camp the original offender for a time.” But the constant revenge as a level 60 and glens of the Barrens on the way much. But this time I was prepared. I character on those beneath your level is back to my lifeless form. stood there, my fingers poised over my a little too extreme. Does Hellacow see hotkeys, ready to press them in the himself as a senior fraternity member Throughout the journey I had hatched correct, invincible sequence which would hazing the pledges? I hated those guys the best conceivable strategy for bring me certain victory. in college and I hate them in World of defeating Hellacow. Having employed Warcraft, too. The revenge motivation is various sequences of healing myself, Minutes passed on the grassy knoll in the ultimately faulty because inevitably, the casting offensive spells and buffing Barrens. Nothing happened. victim would want to wreak the same myself, I believe I stumbled upon a novel havoc and thus begins an unending way of exacting the heaviest amounts of It seemed my adversary, my nemesis for circuit of transgressions and griefing. But damage while keeping myself from being the past hour, had deserted the battle. perhaps that is Hellacow’s goal all along. hit with whatever the druid would throw Hellacow, I was now sure, had finally at me. This was it. This time I would grown bored of me as prey and moved The shades of gray and white flickered defeat this cow bastard and break free on. As I gained more energy from my before my lifeless corpse. As a sparkling from his corpse-camping grasp. I resurrection and scanned the horizon for wisp, I had just completed the now- positioned my ghost in a strategically any Horde, I reflected on the last hour memorized journey through the oases appropriate location and cautiously and 29 minutes. This was the ultimate pressed the accept button on the mockery, I decided, of griefing inWoW . resurrection dialog box. At the end of the match, one combatant is forced to just leave. There is no game I reappeared in the material world, mechanic to say that you won or lost, between Dreadmist Peak and the oasis like in the battlegrounds. directly to the south. A glow surrounded me as I cast a Power Word: Fortitude on In the end, there is just no point. myself and immediately felt healthier. I turned left and right, then finally all Greg Tito is a playwright and standup around, with my staff brandished before comic residing in Brooklyn, NY. He is me and a Mind Blast spell on lips. For the currently splitting time between World of moment, I didn’t see anyone near me. Warcraft, a new D&D 3rd edition Hellacow had tried this tactic before, campaign and finishing one of his many appearing out of stealth in cat form and uncompleted writing projects. slashing me before I could do very A Tale in the Desert’s (ATITD) legal This is how Mafia was born, a character was Knightmare, a long time ATITD encase his mine, and build them complex system is an in-depth, flexible tool that whose name would be recorded in ATITD player who has always been a critic of enough so that no one could actually allows players to create laws and affect history as one of the most notorious the legal system and how it is used. “I’ve mine in the area…. We were planning on the game. Laws can be used to ban griefers of Tale 1. (ATITD is one of the known for a long time that the legal using this to create as much lag in that players, change names, award titles, few MMOGs with a start and an end - system is a flawed design. One of those area as possible.” The Mafia players also restrict accesses and for many other when the game is finished, it starts flaws is that the laws that are band aids planned to grief those who interacted purposes. The game’s developers impose over.) In truth, the character was [sic] are usually [passed] while the ones and traded with Khepry, creating a sort only a few restrictions: They allow originally created to counter Khepry, a with real meat fail.” of embargo, but they had not yet nothing that will alter the ending of the character played by a GM for an in game decided how. game or any of the “Tests” required to event - at the time, the players didn’t After some consideration, Knightmare reach the ending, nothing impossible to know that Khepry was any more than a and two other players banded together “I wasn’t interested in running around code (for obvious reasons), and nothing greedy, lucky player. Khepry had “found” and created the character Mafia. and griefing half of Egypt.” Knightmare that makes the game overly easy the only source of magnesium in Egypt “[Khepry] wouldn’t share, we knew that came up with Mafia for the purpose of (dubbed the “IWantaPony veto”). and carefully monopolized the area with sharing would help all of Egypt; I took it aiding Egypt — with or without the other mines, charging exorbitant prices for the upon myself to make him share using players’ consent. “Mafia was going to be But for some reason, this feature is crucial material. any means necessary.” a strong-armed way of getting things rarely used to make laws to deal with done that Egypt needed done.” But griefers. Many players approached Khepry, asking Knightmare’s plan was simple, if not things didn’t go as planned. One of the him to share the magnesium. Many honorable: “We were going to build other two Mafia players decided that players were turned away. Among them several sculptures that would completely Egypt needed a challenge to make a law over; Mafia was no longer a vigilante, and the players, and his legacy and his rather than a vehicle to go around it. but instead a villain. players remained in the game long after the character was gone. While the sculpture plan was in the Player #2 issues a challenge to Egypt: works, Mafia Player #2 decided that “Make an actual law to take care of Knightmare was not even ashamed of Mafia could be used for other purposes. griefers instead of just banning me” - or what he had done. In fact, at Tale 1’s In an effort to “let people know we’re Band-Aiding the situation, as Knightmare Amnesty (a confessions event that is serious,” Player #2 emptied over 250 would call it. Alas, the challenge went held at the end of each Tale) Knightmare kitchens belonging to the Nileside Café, unanswered, and Mafia was banned via revealed the identity of two out of the a non-profit player-created organization conventional “Band-Aid” methods. By three Mafia players - the third chose to designed to help players raise their this point, Knightmare had pulled out of remain anonymous. Gastronomy rating above 250. When the deal: “It wasn’t something I wanted Knightmare found out, he knew it was to be involved with at that point.” We’ll never know whether Knightmare’s method of fighting griefer with griefer Mafia is an unusual case among griefers. would have worked. But the very fact Your average griefer plays to hurt, not that Mafia was created “for the good of help, and lasts a week or two at most on the game” says something about Mafia’s average. Mafia, on the other hand, was creators and sponsors’ mindsets. Like a created with the intent to help the game government coup, Knightmare and his team were willing to defy the game’s built-in democracy and set up their own secret police. They were willing to do what they felt needed doing with or without public backing. Their motivations were pure, but in the history books of ATITD, the name of Mafia will always go down as a griefer.

Laura Genender is a Staff Writer for MMORPG.com, and is also an Editor for Prima Strategy Guides. Experts are likening the government’s response to the Monroe Doctrine, which was written in the Producer early 1800s to forbid all European states from Jonathan Hayter Internet Monroe Doctrine Engenders expanding further into the Western hemisphere. Executive Editor Controversy Julianne Greer Layout Artist ICANN is the privately run group that literally runs Department of Homeland Security Chimes in Jessica Fielhauer the internet. Every website, server and domain on Sony Root Kit Controversy Contributing Editors ultimately exists in one of their databases. ICANN Stewart Baker, the Department of Homeland Joseph Blancato Lead Web Developer was set up in the late ‘90s to help keep the Security’s assistant secretary for policy, has chimed JR Sutich Whitney Butts internet, well, interconnected with itself. Without a in on Sony’s creation of anti-piracy software that governing body, numerous countries, most notably secretly installs itself to users’ PCs when they play Copy Editor IT Director Brazil, China and Malaysia, are likely to create their affected CDs, saying: Wendy Beasley Jason Smith own, smaller versions of the internet hidden behind an iron curtain of firewalls. ”There’s been a lot of publicity recently about Research Manager Publisher tactics used in pursuing protection for music and Nova Barlow Alexander Macris The fact ICANN ultimately answers to Washington, DVD CDs in which questions have been raised and Washington alone, has a lot of countries up in about whether the protection measures install Contributors Associate Publishers arms over what that might ultimately lead to. hidden files on peoples’ computers that even the Shannon Drake Jerry Godwin They’re calling for the organization to give up its system administrators can’t find.” Laura Genender Gregory Lincoln control and cede it to an organization not yet Jim Rossignol created by the UN, a request the federal Perhaps resulting from Baker’s comments, Sony Dave Thomas Director of Advertising government has disregarded recently. has opted to stop bundling the software with their Greg Tito Susan Briglia audio CDs. Allen Varney Mark Wallace Chairman of Themis Group Thomas S. Kurz

Volume 1, Issue 19, © 2005. The Escapist is published weekly by Themis Group, Inc. Produced in the United States of America. To contact the editors please email [email protected]. For a free subscription to The Escapist in PDF format please view www.escapistmagazine.com I pull the pin on the grenade, fling it It didn’t take much for the jerk side to down, watch it explode and repeat until seduce me. I was a psychology major. I’m dead. I chuckle to myself. Half my Human behavior fascinates me. When I team is on the ground around me, met my first team killer inCounterStrike sprawled in circles around the spawn. - and I don’t mean the guy who The chat begins to flow in, a black rain of accidentally plugs a few teammates, I hate and human misery. mean the guy who sets out to make his team cry - I didn’t pull away. I am the “OMG U TK” monkey that touches the monolith. I “dude cut it out that’s not f**kin funny” picked up a stick and poked at team “Vote this asshole off the team!” killing (TKing). I had to find out what CounterStrike player treats the game was behind it. I peered into the abyss, with the seriousness of open heart Does it stop me? Hardly. I feed on and the abyss peered back and surgery. Damaging my team is a rare misery like the pink ooze in Ghostbusters whispered about how fun it was to make treat. The misguided server admin turns II. The next round, I have enough for a people scream and gnash their teeth. I on friendly fire, seeking “authenticity” decent gun. I purchase it and whirl like a agreed. and hoping everyone will behave. I dervish as the round begins. High caliber don’t. CounterStrike means nothing to rifle rounds penetrate just about all the Understanding the griefer mindset me. It’s a way to unwind after work, a members of my team and the voice-chat begins with this: We don’t take the game way to kill a few hours before I go on wailing of my fifteen-year-old teammates seriously at all. It continues with this: with my day. makes me smile. We’re all dead for It’s fun because you react. Lastly: We do about three minutes, until the counter- it because we’re jerks and like to laugh For the CS players I run into, though, it terrorists wipe out our wounded at you. I am the fly that kamikazes into is their day. They know the specs on all survivors and keep us from our fiendish your soup. I am the reason you can’t the weapons and probably know how the goal. Maybe I’m some kind of freedom have nice things. game guns compare with the real thing. fighter? Nah, I’m just a jerk on the They act like they invented tactics internet. Griefing your own team inCounterStrike because they discovered cover and think is fun because your average “Rush Right!!!” is a sophisticated strategy on a par with Patton and Lee. In art form. It also increased my urges to an entertainment sphere infested with screw with people. Angry chat messages hormonal teenagers and internet tough just don’t hold the thrill of listening to a guys, CS sinks deeper. CounterStrike is guy’s voice getting higher and higher, infested with overly serious teenagers, quivering with righteous indignation, drawling guys who like guns too much threatening my mother and myself. I will and people who take things way too keep pushing until I get kicked or until I seriously. And me. hit tears, tears of pure comedic gold.

And since I was the jerk on the server, If I make you cry, you’ve made my day. the advent of voice chat was a boon to Listening to a man brought to tears by a me. I’d played CS for a long while, but video game is a story I’ll tell to all my when I could actually hear the voices of friends. Just knowing that somewhere those I’d TKed, their adenoidal voices out there is an angst-ridden adolescent raging with adolescent fury, is when I slumping against his keyboard crying blossomed. I got to listen to smack talk tears of rage because of me gives me a and high-pitched yelping, and I acquired charge. Crying over a video game a whole new avenue into messing with means you need to step back and realize people’s lives. Dropping a grenade into you’re in too deep. Put down the my team’s spawn isn’t particularly funny, controller and the keyboard and realign but doing it while blasting “Banana your life for a second. I’m not a movie, a Phone” turned griefing into a multimedia poem, a TV show or even a good story in a good video game. If I make you cry, I’m a jerk on the internet. Millionaire playboy Shannon Drake lives you’ve made my day. a life on the run surrounded by Japanese schoolgirls and video games. He also writes about anime and games for WarCry. Individualist anarchism, a political philosophy hundreds of years old, has now been conclusively discredited by massively multiplayer online games. These cyber- societies give players anonymity and freedom, and what happens? Five percent of them start attacking, disrupting or harassing their fellow players, sowing chaos and misery for absolutely no reason. Without social hierarchy, regulation and punishment, these griefers would behave the same way in real life. Mutualism and utilitarian principles would break down – or anyway, all the victims would waste their lives airing their grievances in online forums. Therefore, individualist anarchy can never work.

Don’t believe it? Look at some of society’s many, many non-gaming equivalents of online griefers. Couple Breakers operative abandons the spouse and vanishes. between 1900 and 1907, of whom one died. You know how in City of Heroes, some guy will Dump your girlfriend, lose your husband, drive Health officials tracked her by the trail of beg to join your team, and as soon as he does, away that mistress or fire that longtime victims and apprehended her, though she he teleports you into some nearby solid employee. It costs about $100,000 – a fought them vigorously with fists and a fork. object? The closest equivalent in Japan are bargain! the wakaresaseya (“couple breakers”) - The NYC Health Department confined separators for hire, professional destroyers of Founded in the early 1990s by private Typhoid Mary against her will to North relationships. Want to divorce your spouse detective Kiyoshi Hiwatashi, the Brother Island in the East River. She without paying a lot of alimony? Hire an wakaresaseya business skyrocketed after sued in 1909, and in 1910 the Health operative from Office Shadow or Lady’s Secret a 2001 TV drama about a glamourous Commissioner released her on the Service to seduce the spouse, make her (or young breaker. Half of Japan’s 2,000 condition she never work as a cook. him) fall in love with the operative, and sue detective firms started engineering Mallon agreed, but apparently couldn’t you for divorce. Then, the job done, the freedom from unwanted partners. find a decent job outside the kitchen. By 2002, a backlash rose amid rumors of After five years, she changed her name yakuza (mob) connections. The largest to Brown and resumed work as a cook. private detective trade associations She infected 25 more people (two banned couple-breaker services. Now, deaths). The Health Department many of the same agencies offer confined her again to North Brother for fukuenya (“professionals who restore the rest of her life, 23 years. She died of relations”) services. People who pneumonia. previously hired a firm to split off a troublesome partner started hiring the Mallon wasn’t the only typhoid carrier same firm to get them back together known in her time, nor even the with the same partners. And you thought deadliest; Tony Labella caused 122 your love life was screwed up... infections and five deaths. Mallon also wasn’t the only carrier to break her Disease Carriers promise not to work in food; Irish immigrant Mary Mallon (1869 -1938), AKA restaurateur Alphonse Cotils kept “Typhoid Mary,” was the first recognized carrier working after being informed of his of typhoid fever. She worked in New York City contagion. So though Typhoid Mary is as, oh god oh god, a household cook. Immune history’s most notorious disease vector, to the disease herself, she infected 22 people she’s just one example. Then there’s all Real World Grief

those World of Warcraft players who his self-serving autobiography, Life Plus tried hard to contract the corrupted- 99 Years . He moved to Puerto Rico and blood plague and then rushed back to worked as a hospital technician. He died the nearest city to spread it around... in 1971, aged 66.

Thrill Killers The Columbine of its time, the murder Leopold and Loeb weren’t even close to the inspired novels, plays and movies, the first PKers (player killers), but they were best of which is probably Alfred among the most notorious murderers of the Hitchcock’s Rope. Wonder if some 20th Century. current griefer will attain so much notoriety he gets tipped for Hollywood? Nathan Leopold, Jr. (1904 – 1971) and Richard Loeb (1905 – 1936) were a couple of Wiki Vandals rich 19-year-old Chicago college students who Compared to couple-breakers, disease thought they were criminal masterminds. For carriers, murderers and spies, the pencil-neck kicks, they spent months planning a “perfect idiots who deface Wiki pages are as crime,” kidnapping and murder. On May 21, lightweight as you get. But there’s a lot more of 1924, Leopold and Loeb abducted and the Wiki vandals; nobody knows how many, murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks, a friend but search on “Wiki vandal” to glimpse a of Loeb’s kid brother. The perfect crime rapidly widespread discussion. Some junior vandals fell apart, and the two masterminds were try replacing pages with ; after quickly caught. In prison they reveled in their grownup users revert their edits, the kids get media notoriety. bored and leave. More pernicious sociopaths introduce subtle errors into benign articles, Superstar attorney Clarence Darrow, the which can go for long stretches without “Old Lion,” defended the two in their correction. 1924 trial. He kept them from hanging on the gallows, but the judge sentenced The practical guard against this graffiti- each to life plus 99 years. A prisoner spraying is sign-ins, e-mail validations, attacked and killed Loeb in 1936. and a whole security apparatus. But Leopold was paroled in 1958 after 33 diehard Wiki proponents, the net’s years in prison; in that year he published version of utopian community zealots, the time horizon is short or when others’ actions cannot be clearly observed – in other words, when you’re playing basically any major online roleplaying game. These environments are a sociopath’s playgrounds. say this undermines the Wiki ideal, the spirit of community. So we’re inherently, provably screwed. How, then, do we handle vandals online? And More... The only workable solution to date has Agents provocateur, mafiosi, mercenaries, been a fearless no-tolerance policy of serial killers, rapists, junkies, confidence banning griefers from the game. This in artists, spammers spammers spammers, itself shows the fragility of online society codependent spouses, man-eating tigers, – the Ban Hammer is both the ultimate kindergarteners and today’s biggest griefer.... and only weapon. The trouble is, banning just drives the griefer to a different game, where he continues his dubious Well, duh. career. We should have a more nuanced solution. Why We’re Hosed and What to Do About It One alternative that’s fun to contemplate Last month Robert Aumann shared with is vigilantism: Post griefers’ credit card Thomas Schelling the 2005 Nobel Prize info and let aggrieved players take care in Economics for their work in of matters themselves. Their problem- mathematical game theory. Aumann, 75, solving abilities are rich and various. teaches at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work concerns whether George Hayduke (“The Master of cooperation increases if games are Revenge”) has made a whole career of continually repeated. Aumann proved telling victims how to get even – though, mathematically that cooperation is less as Hayduke will be the first to tell you, likely when there are many participants, he writes for entertainment purposes when interactions are infrequent, when only! His dozens of books include, well, Get Even, as well as Revenge is Sweet, Terms of Service permitted the company Righteous Revenge, Screw Unto Others, to share your interchangeable Grief Up Yours and a couple of treatises on Profile with other companies, players’ pistol silencers. (I once found a site that complaints against you might follow you formerly offered Hayduke’s books as from game to game like a criminal pirated .PDFs, but had removed them record. Games could allow griefers, but after “a request” from Hayduke. Man, of automatically red-flag them. Online all the people in the world to steal game communities could then adopt from...) social practices older than laws, and perhaps more effective: shunning and But even aside from hair-whitening legal even ostracism. issues, this is no answer. Vigilantes, though they start as a solution, always Couple breakers have been around a become the problem. In fact, the line decade, and disease carriers have only between vigilantism and griefing exists been recognized for a century or so. But only in the vigilante’s own mind. many forms of griefing are as old as humanity. But online worlds have new ...the line between So must online communities resort to tools at hand, and need not resort to the the old standby: police, laws and established legalisms of meatspace vigilantism and punishment? Are we just repeating the society. Game worlds can become the settlement of the Wild West? laboratories for new social systems, griefing exists only which may turn out to work – why not? – Maybe not – or at least, not only that. As in wider areas of a networked society. in the vigilante's networks grow to encompass more of It’s worth a try. Let’s give it a shot. our lives, we’ll develop routine access to people’s records of past behavior. We Allen Varney designed the PARANOIA own mind. could imagine a Griefer Standard, a paper-and-dice roleplaying game (2004 defined data format game companies edition) and has contributed to computer might adopt to identify and characterize games from Sony Online, Origin, griefing players. These players, after all, Interplay, and Looking Glass. cost these companies a lot of money in support calls from victims. If a game’s do an honest day’s work of bringing Allen Varney, “Real World Grief” news to the world. All right, I confess to total comic-book geekhood in naming Vandal Savage Julianne Greer, Executive Editor (http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/ Each week we ask a question of our staff and featured writers to learn a little bit Definitely Maleficent from Disney’s vandal.html), the immortal supervillain about them and gain some insight into where they are coming from. This week’s “Sleeping Beauty.” She was so in DC Comics. He started the Illuminati, question is: delightfully dark as the self-proclaimed ruled Egypt, hung out with Charlemagne, “Mistress of All Evil” and made quite an and has outsmarted lots of superheroes, impression on my very young mind, from just because he’s seen it all and done her name to her horned headdress. And everything. I don’t hold with his whole the fact she turns into a fire-breathing world-conquest shtick, but otherwise, dragon, on top of being an evil fairy, just what a wish-fulfillment fantasy! takes the cake.

Shannon Drake, “Jerk on JR Sutich, Contributing Editor the Internet” Boba Fett. He was more of a bad ass at Darth Vader, for going from “I am all that age 8 than Anakin ever was. He was is evil in the galaxy” to whiny such a badass, that no one even had to teenybopper. use his name in The Empire Strikes Back. Vader this, Vader that, whatever. Laura Genender, “Griefing for the Tell you what, at the end of Return of the Greater Good” Jedi, only one of the two is still alive, Captain Hook. I was a huge Peter Pan and it’s not Darth Noooooooo! fan when I was little, and even to this day I feel wrong wearing red. Mark Wallace, “The Day the Grid Disappeared” Joe Blancato, Contributing Editor For Crimes Against Journalism, Jayson Hannibal Lecter any day of the week, Blair heads my most-wanted list, for and twice on Sunday. lying to millions of readers and making life harder for everyone who’s trying to