I like the hearts - you can fit 12 whole lines of text in them, and use preview to let others see the message. While some are upset that they are account bound, one benefit is that it reduces the chance of them being abused for nefarious reasons. And, of course, the GMs will be able to tell exactly which account programmed obscene stuff, since someone can't claim "oops, I just picked it up - I didn't know what was recorded on it before I played it." Because if it's not targeted on the player, then the player has to have been the owner. And, if it WAS targeted on the player, then it could be considered harassment by the character who gave it to them.
Heck, they could be used, creatively, as the UO equivalent of leaving the horse's head in bed with someone, for PvP guilds, factions, etc. Though that would be more like an Aztec mafia message than a Sicilian one.....
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