[OT] I have a right to sell my virtual items, damn it!!!

[Maddenus2]

rights of individual Vs big CO

I'm in two minds over this.

I play eq a lot

Now i believe that a person should have the right to do as they wish within their REAL life. Even if that includes selling an account with an online game, if people want to buy a premade chr why not.

But from experianced there is nothing more annoying than an Ebaby. ( term for 60th lvl newbies) They spoil the experiance of playing because they have never learned the basic social skills necessary, the basic etiquette of the game and ask just plain DUMB questions and expect everything to come to them at a whatever they think is right. they ruin peoples playing experiances causing death, stealing kills, experiance, cash and items. Because they either lack the social skills or are just plain selfish. this is a detriment to the other players enjoyment especially those who have spent years developing their chrs the hard way. To protect those players, Verant, mythic etc have as part of their terms and conditions that the accounts are not sold.

Now if Ebabys had not been a pain in the arse this would not proberly have happend, but they are and it has.

I applaud the people in attempting to fight the restrictions on public rights and the unequal legal power of the institution Vs the individual but how else will you "police" the ebabys.

 

[Frostmarrow]

Re: rights of individual Vs big CO

But from experianced there is nothing more annoying than an Ebaby. ( term for 60th lvl newbies) They spoil the experiance of playing because they have never learned the basic social skills necessary, the basic etiquette of the game and ask just plain DUMB questions and expect everything to come to them at a whatever they think is right. they ruin peoples playing experiances causing death, stealing kills, experiance, cash and items. Because they either lack the social skills or are just plain selfish. this is a detriment to the other players enjoyment especially those who have spent years developing their chrs the hard way. To protect those players, Verant, mythic etc have as part of their terms and conditions that the accounts are not sold.

I'm sure that ebabies are annoying. However, being annoying is not a crime. You can't rule that selling an account is illegal because the buyer might be a moron.

 

[Zappo]

Frostmarrow, I partially agree. 70 years after the death of the (last surviving) author is way, way too much. But one month? Not a chance, not by far. That's so incredibly unfair that it is in the realm of science fiction.

In my opinion, an author loses the right to his work when what the society did to the work becomes more important than the work itself. When the original work is no longer representative of the society it originated in. When, in other words, the product has made its time. It doesn't take a century. I think 20 years would be fair. After that, the product is history, and noone owns history, not even those who make it.

 

[Zappo]

And, you can't rule that selling an account is illegal because the buyer is a moron, but you can rule that it is illegal if it violates the TOA.

 

[Krug]

CNET report

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-832347.html


Sony has been one of the most aggressive game companies in restricting outside sales, insisting that all material related to its game "EverQuest" belongs to the company. It has shut down numerous "EverQuest"-related auctions on eBay and Yahoo.

"EverQuest" items and characters continue to be sold on smaller auction sites, however. Edward Castronova, associate professor of economics at California State University at Fullerton, recently completed a study of the "EverQuest" economy.

Based on a review of thousands of completed auctions for "EverQuest" items and in-game currency, he concluded that players collectively produce annual gross "exports" of more than $5 million. If the game's fictional universe of Norrath were a country, its per-capita gross national product would be $2,266--making it the 77th richest country on Earth and ranking it between Russia and Bulgaria.

Castronova said the trading outside the game is inevitable because prices set in the in-game barter system don't match players' expectations, resulting in high "transaction costs" that spur players to look elsewhere. The upshot is a Cuban-style system where a moribund official economy is overshadowed by a vigorous underground economy based on U.S. dollars.

"It's absolutely supply and demand at work," Castronova said. "I don't think they (Sony representatives) realize they're confronting the same problems that have confronted real-world policy makers for years. When the government becomes so powerful it can control an entire economic system, how do you do that fairly?"



Interesting analysis... frankly I think it's dumb to pay money for characters, but hey it's their money!

 

[DMaple]

Problem I see is that usually you never actually buy software. You by a licence to use the sotware.

If they actually sold you the software then it would have to work, and therefore it wouldn't need to be patched or have any bugs, etc.

Since you don't own the software you can't re-sell it legally. How this applies to virtual items or 'saved games' I don't know.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Frostmarrow, I partially agree. 70 years after the death of the (last surviving) author is way, way too much. But one month? Not a chance, not by far. That's so incredibly unfair that it is in the realm of science fiction.

Well, it recently got worse. Pressure from business prompted the U.S. Congress to extent copyright protection to 95 years. I don't know how this affects other countries.

Apparently, Disney hasn't made enough money off of Mickey Mouse (created circa 1928). I think the old law was 75 years; now it's 95, so the Rat has 20 more years of protection. I'm sure lots of companies and trade group pushed for the change; Disney is just the one example I can think of right now.

Anyone want to bet, that in about 15 years they'll extend it again?

 

[Tsyr]

Actualy, as long as you play the game, you have no right to do anything at all related to the game that Mythic doesn't say you do. Every time you play the game, you agree to abide by their terms and restrictions so long as you are on their servers. Remember, the "character" exists on hardware they own. If they choose to not allow you to sell such data, thems the breaks.

It's sorta like if you rent a storage locker and use it to store something (live animals, dead bodies, what not) that was against the terms of the rental agreement. They have every right to then kick you out, because you are only being leased the space under their terms. Same with your character.

 

[Ristamar]

Actualy, as long as you play the game, you have no right to do anything at all related to the game that Mythic doesn't say you do. Every time you play the game, you agree to abide by their terms and restrictions so long as you are on their servers. Remember, the "character" exists on hardware they own. If they choose to not allow you to sell such data, thems the breaks.

It's sorta like if you rent a storage locker and use it to store something (live animals, dead bodies, what not) that was against the terms of the rental agreement. They have every right to then kick you out, because you are only being leased the space under their terms. Same with your character.

Very true, Tsyr, you make an excellent point.... though that still doesn't change the fact that they're money grubbing bastards.

 

[CrusaderX]

The whole concept of selling virtual characters and items from an online RPG is yet another reason why Neverwinter Nights is going to be so great.

Nobody can ever have "more" than another player in NWN, since anyone can easily whip up any character or item in the NWN toolset. Uber characters are pointless when everyone has the power to duplicate them with ease.