Obviously online communities like World of Warcraft, Ultima, etc. are technically games. They're fun, full of magical creatures, and largely involve going on adventures to kill hidious monsters and collect treasure. But, as the article states, when you attach real-world monetary value to that sweet new battleaxe, your pile of Gold, or your ability to summon ice storms, things get sticky.

Logically, when you are in a competetive situation in which the outcome will determine whether or not your wallet has the potential to grow fatter or not - you're gambling. Now I fully understand that many, if not most players of these games don't give a hoot about how much they could pawn their enchanted Orc helmets for, but then again, those folks probably wouldn't be as concerned about cheaters (it would amount to just another part of the game). But there are obviously plenty of folks out there who do make bank after selling leveled-up characters, or worse, stealing other people's loot.

If you are at all concerned about dollars, its technically gambling, not gaming. I have no problem with gambling. But usually, there are very strict rules in place and an army of security to keep people in line and the cheaters out. That isn't what happens in online gaming, primarily because the creators figured that most players would play for fun, and not mix the real and fake economies. Thus, my advice; play for fun, not for profit, and consider cheaters just another in-game enemy to tangle with.

Slaughter the goldfarmers!

Now I fully understand that many, if not most players of these games don't give a hoot about how much they could pawn their enchanted Orc helmets for, but then again, those folks probably wouldn't be as concerned about cheaters (it would amount to just another part of the game).

No, that's where you're very, very wrong. WoW players hate the gold farmers not because they're driving down the price of Orc helmets, but because they allow the dreaded noob to buy a character as powerful as the one they spent months levelling and accumulating magical gear for. As with any online geekfest, the players who have been around a while consider themselves superior to the noobs, who should know their place. The gold farmers are cheapening something much more valuable to them than money: their social status in the game.

In a way it's pretty sad. If the game involved any real skills, as opposed to phony ones associated with character levels and magical accoutrements, there would be no way for noobs to buy their way in. You can't buy skills in chess, poker, etc. These guys spend hours and hours, night after night (about 500 hours of game play is required to reach level 70) accumulating completely phony skills and powers.

Well, not really. Most WoW gamers truly despise gold farmers merely because they're sick of having their chat interfaces spammed with advertisements for gold-selling services. Before Blizzard finally implemented more stringent measures and some capabilities for players to shut down the spam, it was to the point where it was getting impossible to play or hold a conversation. Since the implementation, I haven't seen many complaints regarding gold farmers, and haven't heard as much about people going off to slaughter farmers. Why? Because they're not as much of an annoyance, I think.

Despising "ebayers" (which means that a person bought their character, in the game sense) is an entirely different context, and comes from two principles:

a) it's really annoying to find out a person you've considered a friend/acquaintance is suddenly an entirely new person and doesn't know you anymore (because probably half of character sales are by legitimate players who get sick of the game), and

b) it's really annoying to go to all the trouble of finding a group, only to get yourself slaughtered because one of the people in that group hasn't the faintest clue how to play their character.

Incidentally, there is skill involved, as there is with any video game... choosing the right thing to do at any given time, understanding how the game works, etc. Someone who has bought their character will not be able to compete with characters of that level range without a lot of practice. Are they "phony skills and powers"? Sure. So's the ability to capture a chess piece. In any game, be it a video game, board game, or even sports game to some extent (without "phony powers" that come from foul rules in basketball, it would be simple enough to punch the opposing team member in the face, making it easy to shoot a basket) you're dealing with a non-real application of power, but that's not really the point, is it. The point is entertainment. I play World of Warcraft. Some people sit around and watch television. I have no illusions regarding any status the game should bring me outside of the world of the game, any more than someone who watches 24 shoudl have illusions about knowing how to track down terrorists.

Granted I do get more knitting done when I watch 24. *shrug*

In a way it's pretty sad. If the game involved any real skills, as opposed to phony ones associated with character levels and magical accoutrements, there would be no way for noobs to buy their way in. You can't buy skills in chess, poker, etc. These guys spend hours and hours, night after night (about 500 hours of game play is required to reach level 70) accumulating completely phony skills and powers.

Goodness, you do sound like some one who's gotten the "L2Pnoob" tell once or twice.

You can't buy skills in chess or poker, but you can buy your way into tournaments, etc. And no matter how good your gear is, if you don't know what you're doing you'll soon get blacklisted from instance groups and continually get slaughtered in pvp. Come to think of it, the skills used in chess or poker (which you seem to think more legitimate) are very similar to the ones used by seasoned WoW players. Those "phony skills and powers" could very easily be compared to knights, rooks, pawns, and the queen (which should be nerfed imo. ha!).