Police investigate whether "rape" in online video game is a criminal offense or not

[thumpsky]

Originally Posted by foxnews

A Web site in which users travel through a virtual world in the guise of an invented character is under police investigation over claims of online sexual abuse.

Police in Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands are considering whether users of "Second Life" may be committing a crime if their character — known as an avatar — sexually assaults or stalks another.

Some users of the site claim they are so emotionally involved that attacks on "their" avatars leave them traumatized and upset. They term the experience "online rape."

linky



From what I gather it's something like World of Warcraft, but take away the fantasy and the "game" aspect of it.

Now add in furries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by thumpsky

linky



From what I gather it's something like World of Warcraft, but take away the fantasy and the "game" aspect of it.

Now add in furries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

Goddamn, I love this decade.

[86Dude]

I can't afford that damn game.

[grimrebuke]

Yes, it should be, but the punishment should be that the perpetrator's avatar is locked in a virtual jail with other criminals and that person can not create a new avatar, they have to play the jailed one until it is released.

[thumpsky]

Originally Posted by grimrebuke

Yes, it should be, but the punishment should be that the perpetrator's avatar is locked in a virtual jail with other criminals and that person can not create a new avatar, they have to play the jailed one until it is released.

that's a cyber punishment, not a criminal one

[grimrebuke]

Originally Posted by thumpsky

that's a cyber punishment, not a criminal one

If the premise is that the actions of an avatar against another avatar caused harm to the owner of the second avatar, then I submit that the punishment to the perpetrator's avatar would also have the effect of causing punishment to the perpetrator. If punishing the avatar isn't really punishing the person, then attacking the avatar is not really attacking the person.

[EMTrue]

Ridiculous. Isn't that the game you use real money to buy in game money?

[oki]

yea you can change it into dollars. its pretty populair here, some people apperently take it too seriously, but there are actually people who have become real life millionairs though Second life... but most just go there for the virtual sex stuff I think. you get a few bucks when you sign up, and for teh rest, its completely open what you do, buy houses start a disco or sex club, beg for money, whatever.

[thumpsky]

oki touched my cyber bumbum

[fat mike]

he's always doing that

[thumpsky]

he said that's what i get for acting sexy

[Shandril105]

OMG I have seen it all now.

Its becoming more and more now that people can not distinguish fantasy from reality. Stupidity at it's finest.

[thumpsky]

[fat mike]

funny

[Betrade]

If people are so stupid that they can't seperate a game from reality, they shouldn't play the game.

Being traumatized by an online "rape" shows an extreme lack of perception of reality, and if people believe it is reality, we're in trouble.

After the age of about 6, children can normally distinguish fantasy from reality, and if adults can't, then they should seek professional help and abstain from playing "traumatic" games.

[NJ Refugee]

Don't Police have better things to do than worry about what people do during on-line games ... like, say, real-life crimes ?!?!?

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by NJ Refugee

Don't Police have better things to do than worry about what people do during on-line games ... like, say, real-life crimes ?!?!?

Short answer: Yes.

Police also have better things to do than deal with drunken couples who feel the need to punctuate their most recent arguments with real or imagined complaints of abuse.

But that never stops anyone, either.

[NJ Refugee]

But that never stops anyone, either.

Yeah. Unfortunately, human stupidity knows no bounds. It is indeed infinite.

[86Dude]

Originally Posted by TGRR

Short answer: Yes.

Police also have better things to do than deal with drunken couples who feel the need to punctuate their most recent arguments with real or imagined complaints of abuse.

But that never stops anyone, either.

Around here any call of domestic disturbance has to have someone incarcerated by law whether or not the disturbance was real or resulted in any threat or bodily injury whatsoever. Someone calls the cops, someone gets arrested and gets printed, and then usually let go without charges but the real goal is just to get prints and a free look inside the house.

[Swappy]

I can see someone getting charged and convicted, now a registered sex offender...explaining it, I raped a half man/half goat with my tree-imp/dwarf character in such and such game....