4 ms·

They are victims. Ask your girlfriend where, if at all, she draws the moral line. I'm not a saint but I wouldn't be able to justify that to myself.

by Paul_S 10y ago

IanDrake 10y ago
Hmm, I would draw the line at adults spending their own money however they legally pleased. It's not moral to dictate how another's earnings should be spent. That's the opposite of moral.
- anc84 10y ago
  Exploiting psychological flaws in humans might be legal but is horrifyingly immoral and unethical.
- ap22213 10y ago
  With some exceptions, right? Friends and family? Neighbors? I would certainly intervene if my loved ones became addicts. I'd also interven if it indirectly affected me (e.g. higher crime, more homelessness, loss of property value, etc).
- zelos 10y ago
  Gambling is a pretty highly regulated industry in most jurisdictions because it exploits psychological flaws in humans. We're not perfectly logical decision making machines.
selckin 10y ago
There are quite a few people making ungodly amounts of money. Many of these games market specifically to get those whales. That 5K/month could be 0.01% of their income
- paulddraper 10y ago
  I agree with you, but very, very few people make $600 million/yr.
  - selckin 10y ago
    just made up a number for dramatic effect. 50k a month is plenty to be able to effort this. Heck i know a few twitch.tv streamers that makes that much money
- the_af 10y ago
  > There are quite a few people making ungodly amounts of money. Many of these games market specifically to get those whales. I remember reading somewhere (maybe even here on HN!) that a lot of the big spenders actually cannot afford it and aren't wealthy. I think it was in a recent article about the shady tactics the developers of these pseudo-games employ. Note: the same can be said about good old-fashioned gambling indeed.
ronald_raygun 10y ago
I think that if you hide how much they are actually spending it is very unethical. But if there is a clear price on what you do, then by all means. Back when I used to play LOL alot (3-4 games/day), I spend probably 200-300$ on skins. Not because it made the game better or that I derived that value from the skin, but because I valued the game and wanted to support it.

They are victims. Ask your girlfriend where, if at all, she draws the moral line. I'm not a saint but I wouldn't be able to justify that to myself.

by Paul_S 10y ago

They are victims. Ask your girlfriend where, if at all, she draws the moral line. I'm not a saint but I wouldn't be able to justify that to myself.

IanDrake 10y ago

Hmm, I would draw the line at adults spending their own money however they legally pleased. It's not moral to dictate how another's earnings should be spent. That's the opposite of moral.

anc84 10y ago
Exploiting psychological flaws in humans might be legal but is horrifyingly immoral and unethical.
ap22213 10y ago
With some exceptions, right? Friends and family? Neighbors? I would certainly intervene if my loved ones became addicts. I'd also interven if it indirectly affected me (e.g. higher crime, more homelessness, loss of property value, etc).
zelos 10y ago
Gambling is a pretty highly regulated industry in most jurisdictions because it exploits psychological flaws in humans. We're not perfectly logical decision making machines.

selckin 10y ago

There are quite a few people making ungodly amounts of money. Many of these games market specifically to get those whales. That 5K/month could be 0.01% of their income

paulddraper 10y ago
I agree with you, but very, very few people make $600 million/yr.
- selckin 10y ago
  just made up a number for dramatic effect. 50k a month is plenty to be able to effort this. Heck i know a few twitch.tv streamers that makes that much money
the_af 10y ago
> There are quite a few people making ungodly amounts of money. Many of these games market specifically to get those whales. I remember reading somewhere (maybe even here on HN!) that a lot of the big spenders actually cannot afford it and aren't wealthy. I think it was in a recent article about the shady tactics the developers of these pseudo-games employ. Note: the same can be said about good old-fashioned gambling indeed.

ronald_raygun 10y ago

I think that if you hide how much they are actually spending it is very unethical. But if there is a clear price on what you do, then by all means. Back when I used to play LOL alot (3-4 games/day), I spend probably 200-300$ on skins. Not because it made the game better or that I derived that value from the skin, but because I valued the game and wanted to support it.