Date: 2003-04-23 10:43 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public Mood: contemplative Music: Bikini Kill and Joan Jett -- Rebel Girl

Reading the daily digests distributed by Everquest Widows has become as compelling as the game itself.

This morning, one participant asked about the possibility of hiring a virtual assassin to eliminate an addicted spouse's character."Could some super expert EQ player make another player's in-game life a living hell, where this one player keeps killing the other player?" asked the participant.

Other members of the mailing list chimed in to note that this would be impossible because most servers make it impossible for players to kill other players. Even on the player vs. player (PVP) servers, it is likely that Verant would intervene to stop such behavior. Another respondent warned against deleting an addict's character or "playing havoc with their virtual world."

Some of these testimonials are deeply touching, and it is clear that some people have abandoned the real world in favor of the game. Yet I am skeptical of those who suggest that MMORPG's are uniquely addictive. I know couples who watch between twenty and thirty hours of television each week. Why is addiction to television considered to be more socially acceptable? Is it because it is a shared addiction?