Mixing up your own feelings with your character's feelings.

[cantrlady]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27337812/?GT1=43001

Interesting article on a woman actually getting arrested for killing her online in- game ex-husband's character.

[NaruShadow]

lol wow. It's kinda ridiculous that they would press those charges when he GAVE her his log on info. Further more, it's better that she killed his character rather than him, I mean maybe I'm naive, but I would prefer my own life to my characters.

Apart from that little rant, it's funny how when you play a game enough, you really can grow attached to you characters. Especially in Cantr.

[Tangential]

"illegal access onto a computer and manipulating electronic data" o_O what illegal access onto a computer? Maybe this is just.. a me thing, but I find this charge completely ridiculous.

[NaruShadow]

Yea agreed. I mean it states in the article the the guy gave his password and username to the lady. If he was that protective of his character, he could've easily changed the password.

[joo]

I've met some characters in Cantr who exhibit behaviour relevant to the title of this thread. People coming from games like Runescape where what somebody says represents the player's attitude, not the character (who has no attitude, only skills and items).

I've had to explain twice to new players that I'm not being rude to them in RL, and gave them a link to the wiki. Which, don't get me wrong, is definitely a good thing since the players came back having learned something, and it also means that new players are still joining and actively playing characters.

[SekoETC]

I've shared my password with wichita when my Internet connection was damn slow and one of my characters had to drop something but I couldn't load down the inventory list to find it. Later I asked him would he ever consider deleting my account if he got very mad at me and he said no. So I haven't changed my password because I trust him. And then again, he has database access so if he really wanted to kill my characters, he could do it anyway. XD

People who are absorbed in roleplay tend to get emotionally involved with their characters. One would have to be quite a robot not to feel anything if their favorite character gets killed and they could do nothing to stop it. If they don't feel a thing then this character never truly lived. It's only a problem when sharing your character's emotions makes you attack players, either through their characters or directly.

[Sunni Daez]

If I read the website correctly... Secondlife costs real money to play..if you want to play the good parts... maybe thats part of why he was so mad..then again, maybe she is the one who paid for it in the first place? ... it still is not right for her to be sent to jail for it and he is warped to press the charges. Maybe he made an on line relationship which he wants to persue.. hence dumping her.. So much is not known in this case at all...

*laughs* This is really a funny part of justice? Warped as it may be.

[Doug R.]

As funny and ridiculous as this is, the fact that he gave her his password does not give her the right to do as she pleases.

Think about it. If you gave your friend the key to your house, and then came back and found the place robbed and smashed up with their fingerprints all over the place, I'm certain you would press charges - and they would stick.

Society and innovation outpace law, so I'm sure the charges against her sound dumb or ill-suited because that's all that exists to charge her with. Cases like this will push lawmakers to start considering the legal status of virtual property, much as they have in the last decade concerning pets.

[NaruShadow]

Think about it. If you gave your friend the key to your house, and then came back and found the place robbed and smashed up with their fingerprints all over the place, I'm certain you would press charges - and they would stick.

The only charge there would be destruction of property though and perhaps theft. But not breaking and entering because you granted them access to your home. This woman is being handed a ridiculous charge though in my eyes. He gave her access to his account, if he didn't want her to do anything to it he should have changed his password. If I were the judge I would laugh in his face.

[Dudel]

She's guilty of being a ***** and should go to jail. What she' actually charged with is irrelavent.

The story does sound and is absurd but she should be punished for her actions.

IC and OOC should be as seperate as possible. I would be sad if one of my Cantr carries died tho, I would not take it personally in any way, but I'd be upset thats for sure.

[NaruShadow]

Why should she be punished though? I mean say I gave Seko or someone my log in info for Cantr, and then they got mad at me and went and got some of my chars killed or deleted my account. Yea I'd be totally bummed, but I wouldn't go off and sue them for it. It just doesn't make sense. If you give someone your password, it's by your choice, and therefore any damage they cause to your account is technically your fault.

[*Wiro]

Wow. I did A LOT of "Crimes" according to this.

[Rebma]

I do agree with NaruShadow, if you give out your password, I'm sorry but its your own doing. Some people are immature enough to manipulate online information, not only in games, but in other online communities. I've given my passwords to things like msn to some people, and I know bloody well its risking a lot if anything ever goes wrong. If I don't want people f****** with my stuff, I'll change the password.

In regards to confusing your own emotions with your charris, I think the key to that is using your reactions to what you see in game to determine what your charri says, but still being able to differentiate and see that its not real.

As much as I still get mad when someone locks my charri up for no reason lol *shakes fist*

[wichita]

It's just a game, but it is still often symbolic for how we carry ourselves in things that really matter. It's a plague of the internet, the anonymity it brings allows us to forget that we are still interacting with people. Some use that to forget how to behave civilly and decently. After all, they are just words and avatars displayed on screen - not actual people with real lives and feelings and stress, right?

Over time it is easy for that behavior to bleed into our "real life" interactions with people. I use quotes, because there should be no distinction between how we treat people in "Cantr life" (meaning the forums, your characters can behave pretty much as they like) and how we treat people off the forum and chat.

Rambling and totally uncool of me, I know. But I'm pushing 30 and read literature from the public library for fun, so I try to pretend to be wise and philosophical and stuff.

[Dudel]

Why should she be punished though? I mean say I gave Seko or someone my log in info for Cantr, and then they got mad at me and went and got some of my chars killed or deleted my account. Yea I'd be totally bummed, but I wouldn't go off and sue them for it. It just doesn't make sense. If you give someone your password, it's by your choice, and therefore any damage they cause to your account is technically your fault.

I did not say the man in this story wasn't a complete moron. I did say that the woman should not have done what she did and be punished accordingly.

I also said that the artical was absurd. How could she be charged with anything really? There is no law that even covers useing information given to you by your IC or RL wife. (That I know of) I think its more like an IC domestic disturbance, and should be coverd by the GM of the realm or w/e. Basicly I think the woman should have her account band/removed and then she reimburse the guy with RL moola. Thats my entire thought on the subject. (For now)