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One of my favorite HN comments of all time [0] suggested that MMO's provide plentiful means of covertly communicating: >MMO's are packed with possible communic

by dmux 4y ago

One of my favorite HN comments of all time [0] suggested that MMO's provide plentiful means of covertly communicating: >MMO's are packed with possible communication channels in addition to chat. Ever wonder if that annoying gnome in the auction hall is jumping in morse code? Could signals be sent with bids? Could a character's inventory contents be arranged to leave a message to someone else who shares the login info? Is that nonsense coming from what you presume to be a bot-controlled gold-farming crew really nonsense? When a game goes to great lengths to simulate a world, the possibilities for covert communication are nearly limitless! [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6874143 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6874143

bmn__ 4y ago
> MMO's provide plentiful means of covertly communicating This is a plot device in <http://enwp.org/Little_Brother_%28Doctorow_novel%29 http://enwp.org/Little_Brother_%28Doctorow_novel%29>.
- skippyboxedhero 4y ago
  Also in the film Four Lions where terrorists use an online game to communicate (basically an unbranded Club Penguin). Wouldn't particularly recommend watching the film (it isn't bad, it is just depressing...which is the aim) but the media coverage of this does suggest it is occurring.
  - plugin-baby 4y ago
    > Wouldn't particularly recommend watching the film (it isn't bad, it is just depressing...which is the aim) It’s a comedy, I don’t think it aims to depress.
  - spott 4y ago
    Also in the first season of the Jack Ryan show (which only bears a very passing resemblance to Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, but has good action)
PartiallyTyped 4y ago
Reminds me of this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/14/why-the-paris-isis-terrorists-used-ps4-to-plan-attacks https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/14/why-the-p... > The hunt for those responsible (eight terrorists were killed Saturday night, but accomplices may still be at large) led to a number of raids in nearby Brussels. Belgian federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon has said outright that the PS4 is used by ISIS agents to communicate, and was selected due to the fact that it’s notoriously hard to monitor. “PlayStation 4 is even more difficult to keep track of than WhatsApp,” he said.
- red-iron-pine 4y ago
  Are they not subpoening Facebook?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
autoexec 4y ago
Thanks to Snowden we know that the NSA is monitoring MMOs. I wouldn't doubt if the FBI wasn't watching over online games too especially the ones targeting kids like fortnite and roblox

by dmux 4y ago

bmn__ 4y ago

> MMO's provide plentiful means of covertly communicating This is a plot device in <http://enwp.org/Little_Brother_%28Doctorow_novel%29 http://enwp.org/Little_Brother_%28Doctorow_novel%29>.

skippyboxedhero 4y ago
Also in the film Four Lions where terrorists use an online game to communicate (basically an unbranded Club Penguin). Wouldn't particularly recommend watching the film (it isn't bad, it is just depressing...which is the aim) but the media coverage of this does suggest it is occurring.
- plugin-baby 4y ago
  > Wouldn't particularly recommend watching the film (it isn't bad, it is just depressing...which is the aim) It’s a comedy, I don’t think it aims to depress.
- spott 4y ago
  Also in the first season of the Jack Ryan show (which only bears a very passing resemblance to Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, but has good action)

PartiallyTyped 4y ago

Reminds me of this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/14/why-the-paris-isis-terrorists-used-ps4-to-plan-attacks https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/11/14/why-the-p... > The hunt for those responsible (eight terrorists were killed Saturday night, but accomplices may still be at large) led to a number of raids in nearby Brussels. Belgian federal home affairs minister Jan Jambon has said outright that the PS4 is used by ISIS agents to communicate, and was selected due to the fact that it’s notoriously hard to monitor. “PlayStation 4 is even more difficult to keep track of than WhatsApp,” he said.

red-iron-pine 4y ago
Are they not subpoening Facebook?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

autoexec 4y ago

Thanks to Snowden we know that the NSA is monitoring MMOs. I wouldn't doubt if the FBI wasn't watching over online games too especially the ones targeting kids like fortnite and roblox