Student held over online mugging

[Charles]

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4165880.stm .

[buntine]

I remember reading a story in a similar vein, in which one player was murdered (in real life) by another because he stole something from him in an online video game.

Interesting stuff.

Regards.

[Charles]

What's interesting here is that what was stolen only exists online.

[buntine]

Indeed. Unfortunately, the line between fiction and reality was blurred long ago...

[PeOfEo]

that is hawt. :P

[Ben Rogers]

I second the hawtness. However, I don't think a country's laws should be able to govern a fictitious world. It's stupid-crazy, like pancakes.

[Stephen Philbin]

Aye. I remember the other story about the murder. See what happens when you put games (other than Chess) on PC's!

And... "Hawt"?

[PeOfEo]

hawt = hot = sexy

They should be able to get him on some sort of digital theft / piracy / hacking charge. Because that is digital media and it belongs to the other user, correct? Just like my mp3s belong to record labels and I may or may not have payed for those. If I were not paying for them they could prosecute me for 'stealing' something that is not tangable.

[theuedimaster]

Them holding the student makes sense, if the things in the game are sold for actual money, stealing them would be stealing something of actual value.