4 ms·

I used play Eve-Online, a game renowned for scamming and bad behaviour. In-game and on the forums scammers would often defend their behavior stating Eve was jus

I used play Eve-Online, a game renowned for scamming and bad behaviour. In-game and on the forums scammers would often defend their behavior stating Eve was just a game, an outlet to explore the bad side of themselves - to 'be the bad guy'. Then I heard about scamming groups who would invite potential marks into a 'bonus room' on voice chat, where the player was promised treasures and in-game money if they won. After listening to one of these 'bonus rooms' it became patently obvious that some of these scammers were utter vicious bullies and this was more than a game to them. Once the target joined the voice chat a bunch of the scammers friends would join also to goad and laugh; the targets were belittled, manipulated and often became distressed. Sometimes they would be asked to perform humiliating tasks to win back the money they had lost (sometimes you could even hear their own children in the room).

FreezerburnV 10y ago
I feel somewhat compelled to defend EVE here. While it's true that those people do exist (as they do in any community), I would say by and large the majority of people who take on a 'cut throat' persona are keeping that persona only within the game. I've heard time and again about people who blow up other people's ships for fun finding out that the person they just blew up was someone who had only just started playing, and would send them some money and a nice note. Or when something awful happens to a person in real life, the community will offer their condolences. There's even a well-known in-game chat channel that is dedicated to helping people who are depressed and having suicidal thoughts. So yes, the bully scammers exist, but I think that compared to any other MMO, a greater percentage of the community actually cares about others. Doesn't change the fact that they will blow your ship up given half a chance though :P

FreezerburnV 10y ago

I feel somewhat compelled to defend EVE here. While it's true that those people do exist (as they do in any community), I would say by and large the majority of people who take on a 'cut throat' persona are keeping that persona only within the game. I've heard time and again about people who blow up other people's ships for fun finding out that the person they just blew up was someone who had only just started playing, and would send them some money and a nice note. Or when something awful happens to a person in real life, the community will offer their condolences. There's even a well-known in-game chat channel that is dedicated to helping people who are depressed and having suicidal thoughts. So yes, the bully scammers exist, but I think that compared to any other MMO, a greater percentage of the community actually cares about others. Doesn't change the fact that they will blow your ship up given half a chance though :P