Originally by: Trooper Rogue

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The most interesting point I've found in this thread is the perceived difference between "in game" and RL. The fact is that it's an illusion. In RL - we choose to play video games. I don't transport myself to some alternate reality when I sit down to play EVE - I'm there, in my spare 'real life' time, sitting with a cuppa and a ciggie, and playing Internet Spaceships.

It's not that I take the game too seriously at all - it IS just a game - but it is also a real life pursuit. No different to any of my other hobbies. It takes an investment of time and also money (in terms of the subscription and also in the fact that, being self-employed, I view my time as worth something financially, even my spare time).

This is what makes EVE such an exciting universe - there's the potential for tangible loss. I've tried other MMOs that don't punish you for dying, and they're simply tedious grind-fests.

There's also the fact that ISK has a real monetary value. I'm not talking about RMT, I'm talking about the fact that people fund their accounts through the PLEX system (and before that in the forums through secure GTC sales).

So let's consider the scammer. I'd presume that most scammers fund their accounts with PLEX. And let's say that the scammer scams someone out of a couple of PLEX worth of ISK, who also funds their play through PLEX bought with ISK earned from 'legitimate' means (i.e. through 'hard work' in-game).

Simply put, the scammer will then force that player to go and spend real money on his sub. In other words he's stolen about $35 from him. It's theft, plain and simple.

Now I'm not condemning anyone for that - if they want to be a thief then that's entirely up to them - but I am condemning them for not recognising that, and trying to dress it up in excuses about 'gameplay styles' and sandbox 'rules'.

If you scam, you're a thief. Not a thief 'in-game' - you're just a thief. And as we all know, thieves are the scum of the earth.

If you're fine with that then bravo, but at least have the balls to admit to at least yourself the truth of what you are, and not live in a state of denial. That just makes you a thief AND a wimp... or simply a sociopath.

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