Friday, April 8, 2005
Put Down My Dragon Saber And No One Gets Hurt!
Posted by Jon Westfall in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 01:01 PM
"BEIJING (Reuters) - A Shanghai online game player stabbed to death a competitor who sold his cyber-sword, the China Daily said Wednesday, creating a dilemma in China where no law exists for the ownership of virtual weapons. Qiu Chengwei, 41, stabbed competitor Zhu Caoyuan repeatedly in the chest after he was told Zhu had sold his "dragon saber," used in the popular online game, "Legend of Mir 3," the newspaper said a Shanghai court was told Tuesday."
Virtual property seems like something we all take for granted. Think about it: If you engage in any kind of recreational online game where objects or points are collected, you have some virtual possessions you've probably worked hard to gain (Even if its just a spot on the "top scores" board) and would be annoyed if lost. But if someone took your dragon saber or changed your name to theirs on the score board, is it a crime legally? Probably not. Should this change?
Virtual property seems like something we all take for granted. Think about it: If you engage in any kind of recreational online game where objects or points are collected, you have some virtual possessions you've probably worked hard to gain (Even if its just a spot on the "top scores" board) and would be annoyed if lost. But if someone took your dragon saber or changed your name to theirs on the score board, is it a crime legally? Probably not. Should this change?
