Virtual Gnome Police Crack Down on Spammer Hucksters in 'EverQuest'
When playing massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, the typical player must spend tens, if not hundreds, of hours fully developing his character, earning a significant amount of in-game currency, and obtaining powerful, rare items and weapons. This often lengthy grind has encouraged some players to buy virtual items and characters from others, via real money transactions -- an act that is explicitly banned in almost all MMO end-user license agreements. Making matters worse for both players and publishers, these virtual salesmen spam other players so much that it sometimes discourages honest gamers from playing, thus depriving publishers of a game's requisite monthly fees.
To help combat this illegal spamming, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), a game publisher that runs such MMOs as 'EverQuest' and 'Star Wars Galaxies,' has formed the Norathian Underground Gnome Investigation Team. (Norath is the name of the fictional universe in which 'EverQuest' takes place.) According to Reuters, this nine-member group roams the various virtual worlds, finds spammers and their associates, and permanently bans their online accounts.
The team has already closed nearly 300,000 accounts since its founding, though many challenges still remain. Brad Wilcox, director of customer support at SOE, had this to say about the spammers: "A lot of them are offshore. It's very difficult to stop somebody that's in another country, particularly one where the laws aren't friendly to the United States and it can be very challenging." [From: Reuters]
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