Cretara LeGalet
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Posted - 2011.01.24 04:04:00 -
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I always wondered if the people in Eve who scam others, cheat others, take advantage of other players (especially the ones they befriend), and generally behave badly in game do so because they feel they have been treated badly in real life. Now I am not talking about 0.0 PvP, ganking players at a gate camp in low sec, or doing other things that are within the bounds of "the game." I am concerned with those people who sit in Jita and other trade hubs spamming local with their scams and rip-offs, those players who purposefully get to know another player, befriend that player, then stab them in the back when they fully gain their trust. And other things that people would consider morally wrong in real life.
A lot of you have stated "it is just a game", or "As long as it is within the EULA, who cares", or other such nonsense as though it is somehow OK to do something online you would not do in real life. Granted, Eve is a game. And the mechanics do allow for these types of activities. An old Chinese proverbs says "Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one." And Abraham Lincoln is responsible for this quote "I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day."
It is easy to take the low road and say, well it's not against the rules of the game, or it's just an internet friendship. Then you can excuse your behavior as just some justified action in a game of internet spaceships and digital currency.
I may not always be the easiest person to get along with. I am opinionated, I am stubborn, and I am not afraid of speaking my mind, but I do so knowing that I am not betraying those who I share the Eve universe with. They may be internet friends, internet acquaintances, or complete strangers, but they are still people. For those of you who feel it is OK to take advantage of people under these circumstances, I do not judge you. You were, or are, probably the person nobody likes, the outcast, the butt of everyone else's jokes. You are most likely compensating for your own pain and hurt by taking advantage of others. And you probably feel justified in doing so. Of course, some of you just may have no moral compass at all.
It is a game. The mechanics of the game allow this behavior. Heck, the mechanics of life allow for this behavior. But real life society is usually much more quick to judge and condemn than the Eve society. And what does that say about the Eve society?
As to the original question of what is morally acceptable behavior in Eve, I think people know whether their actions are morally acceptable or not. The real question is, is Eve structured in such a way to allow and encourage MORALLY UNACCEPTABLE behavior?
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