Everquest Suicide and Lawsuit

[enrious]

Second, the tobacco companies aren't being sued by people who couldn't read a label...they're being sued more by folks who started smoking before labels were even introduced. They're also being sued by states that have to pay the medical bills for all the citizens who are now dying on their medicare programs. The medical situation in this country is radically different than it was when my father started smoking in 1955 or so. And again, Phillip Morris and other companies specifically did everything they could to bury any information about the negative effects of smoking. They showed a long history of suppresion of facts, denial and total disregard for their customer base. Does this render smokers blameless? Certainly not...but the example ain't that simple.
[/B]

Your analysis of the McDonalds case seems identical to a wisp of memory from the Monte Cook chat...

Anyway, I thought one of the other allegations made towards the tobacco companies was that they were intentionally increasing the addictive qualities of their products without anyone the wiser.

Regarding the EverCrack situation. I'm sorry, but people commit suicide everyday. The family often tries to latch onto external reasons but that's natural.

EQ is simply the scapegoat.

 

[Negative Zero]

...It is a game, yes, but the relationships are quite real. ... Betrayal hurts just as much online as it does in person. ...

very, very good point Tsyr. all too often people tend to think of life online as not "real." like someone i met (online) said to me, people see the implied anonymity of online personas as an excuse to let their real sleves out and can therefore be more authentic than "real-life" interactions. personally i see no significant difference to meeting someone online through a chat room, message board or even an online personal than to meeting some stranger in a bar or convention or even on a plane.

often, people with similar interests frequent the same online venues, giving them at least one thing in common, and a starting ground for conversation. the people who try to detract from the significance of it are at best ignorant or misinformed, or perhaps, simply in denial.

 

[Negative Zero]

Guess we should start sueing God next, for creating real life, because of all the friends who betray us there too. NTM, it's addicting to play 'real life'.

tru dat!!! i for one am addicted. i can't imagine life without living!

 

[Voneth]

It's a strange world.

Before I got cynical, I would simply say that the mother's agnst and hurt was being displaced on Sony. But I've heard that the mother who was a "police consultant" on DND created a whole career off her son's death. I also have a divorced friend who's been told by his ex-wife the only reason she wanted custody was for his money, not the children.

There are Black Widows, Tommy, there are.

So how many years has EQ gone on? How may accounts? And now we have our first related suicide by a unbalanced man who was warned several times and was know to ignore the previous incidences that caused him a medical emergency. I'd say those are betting odds that the game is safer than other things in our daily life.

 

[Number47]

Just to be contrary, I have to say that the actual reading of the entire article is pretty harmless. There are a couple lines, said by a lawyer, about EverQuest itself being bad. Mostly the article was about how this guy had problems, how some people escape into online games and how the mother was looking for answers regarding he son's death. I think it is in very poor taste those people who say that she is greedy. Have you ever lost a loved one, especially in such a traumatic way? She talks about how she simply want some information from her son's account. She actually seems pretty knowledgable about the game, and doesn't say one word that is deragatory.

Additional comment: I personally would love to see some of these tobacco CEO's actually tried for murder. Civil suits mean nothing to corporations, because all costs are passed onto consumers. Do you really think that any executive is going to lose any personal money for deciding that killing people for money with cigarettes is a good thing? (Obviously, I am talking about those guilty of actual conspiracy, but there is more than enough evidence of that). It's one thing to produce a dangerous product and warn people, it's quite another to try to bury the dangers, destroy evidence, pay off politicians and secretly increase addictiveness. Can anyone explain to me why these actions should not be construed as conspiracy to commit murder?

 

[Nightfall]

Well there goes the Everquest d20 idea...

 

[Impeesa]

This just in: Young boy plays games, turns out completely normal; experts scramble for explanation, parents blamed.

--Impeesa--

 

[Arravis]

EQ is the devil, I knew it! Maybe this will draw some heat off of murderer's, rapists, serial-killers, and multi-billion dollar corporations screwing everyone over. Yes! That's what we need!! BURN!!! EQ is the root of evil! Forget responsability for yourself... it's all EQ's fault! Hahaha!

Sorry, had to get it out... whew, I feel much better.

Actually, I met my girlfriend on EQ and we're happy as clams
... though we don't play anymore, lol.

-Arravis

 

[Corporate Dog]

First, the McDonald's case. The issue had nothing to do with the coffee, per se. The coffee wasn't 'hot'. The coffee caused 3rd-degree burns. That's far in excess of hot. This was done for expediency's sake on the part of McDonalds, so that you're coffee would stay hot for a longer period of time.

Thus far, you are correct.

The victim didn't know this (nor was it reasonable for her to assume that said coffee would be delivered in a potentially dangerous form), spilled the drink and was injured.

Here's where you're so wrong, it's funny.

The woman purchased her coffee at a drive-thru window. After driving off, she proceeded to put the cup of coffee BETWEEN HER LEGS.

Now, whether your coffee is regular hot, or super-nova third-degree burn causing hot, it's still going to hurt when spilled on you. Most people of average intelligence would realize this, in addition to the fact that styrofoam cups aren't known for their structural integrity, and the fact that ones' thighs aren't made for holding things.

She asked McDonald's to pay her medical bill, which was a mere few hundred dollars. McDonald's instead decided to try and flog her with a legal bashing.

Where are you getting your information from? What sort of lawsuit could (or would) McDonald's POSSIBLY bring against her in this instance? McDonald's didn't go after her... if anything, she might've tried to get them to pay her medical bills, they said, "No." and THEN she sued.

Regards,
Corporate Dog

 

[William Ronald]

Games, like anything else, can be used as a scapegoat for a larger problem. Clearly this individual had severe mental illness.

Mentally ill people who become obsessively attached to something are going to have problems. I have seen police reports of people who kill because they believe that God has told them to do so. This does not make me want to blame organized religion in general.

I think the real issue here is mental illness. It is very poorly understood in the U.S. People tend to attach a horrific stigma to the mentally ill. Perhaps it is not to surprising then that people try to blame something else for the suffering of their loved ones.

I doubt this lawsuit will succeed. However, people who do have severe emotional problems can become obsessed with any number of things. In the end, I believe it was mental illness and not a game that caused this young man's death.

While I mourn with a mother for the loss of her son, I believe she is wrongfully attributing his death to a game. Mental illness seems to be the true culprit here. People have become obsessed over religion, sports, and literature. To quote Shakespeare: "The fault lies not in the stars, but in ourselves."