Virtual Lovin'

NOTE: This article contains satire and is not to be taken seriously.

Most have probably heard of Second Life, a (stupid) game where (crazy) people can meet (online) and waste hours talking about their goth hobbies. Now, I'm all for multiplayer roleplaying games, and, I must admit, they are a great hobby of mine, but this 3D chatroom stuff just churns up the cauldron of stupidity to the point where it overflows onto the rest of us.

Case in point, some are concerned over the ability for those in games such as Second Life to "cyber" (that is, play out sexual acts) without restrictions. Apparently, some woman has been emotionally traumatized after her Second Life character was raped. There have also been problems with two adults, one with a child character and one with an adult character, performing virtual intercourse; something that is banned in many countries under anti-pedophilia laws. The way I see it, if someone is bothered by what happens online, they can damn well go away. That's what makes the virtual world so great; you can do whatever you want, because people don't have to be offended. For those who don't understand this concept, I took the liberty of making a quick diagram.



Now, if someone is bothered by what someone tries to push on them, they can tell them no, contact an administrator for harassment, or simply "teleport" away or close the game window. Ditto with any other application. Although I personally don't agree with things such as pedophilia, if these two guys want to play it out virtually, where no one is actually being harmed (that is, no emotional damage is being inflicted upon some child), I see no reason why they can't get their rocks off the same as if it was someone who had a fetish for screwing a talking daisy. To arrest people who let their fantasies fly free in cyberspace is just stupid, because it's difficult and pointless (on the other hand, things like To Catch a Predator are a good way to stop those who are brave enough to break the law in real life).

Furthermore, some are complaining about so-called "muggers", who, in World of Warcraft, form a virtual bandit gang that, through one form or another, steals items from other players, only to turn around and sell them, for real money, to others. Now, this is a more touchy subject, but I would say that, as a whole, what is in the game is safe, as long as it doesn't bring chaos to the real world. In this case, they're just playing a game that happens to allow them to steal items from other characters. Those characters who were stolen from could either contact a GM (Game Manager) and complain that they were griefed (that is, set upon by a griefer, or one who tips the game unfairly to their advantage without a care of spoiling the game's fun for others), and thus get said items returned (or so I assume). Even if such were not possible, it seems to me that such items as were stolen could always be collected anew, and if there was financial benefit to be had, well, those who were stolen from are simply chumps for not having tried to do so first.

If it remains in-game, leave it there. It's just a friggin' game!

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