In the last couple of years, a few games in the internet have gotten me addicted. But never in the same intensity as MMORPGs like RF Online (RF) and Perfect World (PW). It's a good thing I have partially kicked the addiction or I would never have had the time to go to class or to actually get any work done.
However, having visited an old favorite hangout in Perfect World, I came across an interesting conversation or more accurately called argument in the World Chat. Two gamers were fighting over a transaction that went bad. It appears that they were supposed to trade for some materials but one of them had not received the promised goods.
It got me thinking that these MMORPG or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games are really microcosms of society and that if there are thieves or "manduragas" here then it stands to reason that there would be scoundrels and scalawags in that world as well. However, how do you police a system such as PW or RF.
I decided to follow up on the posted world chat and see how the other character would be penalized for the fraud. Here the crim law maxim that flight indicates guilt seems to be controlling as the other gamer decided to teleport or "port" out of the vicinity.
It's a good thing that in that system, there are game managers (GMs) who are sort of a police and judge at the same time. I talked to the agrieved party (online ambulance chasing?) and we decided to report the scalawag to the GM.
Two days later, he messaged me on facebook and said that the other guys account was suspended and apparently because of the report we had filed, the GM looked at his past activities and found that he was a "scammer" who preyed on lowbies or low level characters who seldom reported such acts.
It seems that this is such an efficient system for a game but you have to wonder...does due process apply to the online world?
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