Cheating is a form of lying. The central lie is that something was earned when it fact it was not, whether that something in an MMO is gold, or an item, or praise, or a win in pvp. At the heart of every cheat is that lie, "I deserve this."
The thing about lying is that it is like a virus, when you tell a lie it tends to multiply, and more lies have to be told to support the first lie, then lies have to be told to support the lies that supported the first lie, and on it goes. To quote Sir Walter Scott, "Oh what a tangled web we weave..."
The same can be said for cheating in MMO's, and in UO specifically. There is the first lie, "I deserve this", and then there are a series of lies which are told to support that lie. Some are told to justify the behaviour, or excuse it, some are told to avoid detection, and others are told to prevent others from doing anything to stop the behaviour.
Cheaters will lie to others, but the first person a cheater will lie to is himself. In celebration of this tangled web, I thought I'd post a list of the top ten lies that cheaters tell themselves, and others.
1. The central lie, the one I've already discussed, "I deserve this." The central lie is that the cheater has earned something which he has not.
2. "Everyone is doing it." How many times have I heard this out of cheaters mouths, or the mouths of those defending cheaters? I've lost count. The simple truth is, everyone is not doing it. There may be a lot of cheaters in UO, they may even be in the majority, but the truth is there are still a lot of honest people playing UO, that actually do follow the TOS, and who do not cheat.
3. "I have to cheat to compete." Another lie, as common as dirt. The truth is that you don't have to cheat to compete, there are many people who do quite well, who do not cheat. Those who don't cheat may be at a disadvantage, but saying you have to cheat to compete, is a lie. The simple truth is that if you don't cheat you improve your game relative to those who do cheat. It should be blindingly obvious, but in case it isn't, I'll say it anyway. You will be a better player if you choose not to cheat. I'm not talking about being "morally better", I'm talking about actually being better at the game.
4. "I'm just levelling the playing field." This really is just another version of lie number 3, but I have read it often enough, and heard it often enough, that it deserves it's own place. The truth is cheaters aren't trying to level the playing field, they are trying to "win".
5. "I'm not good enough." This is the lie that is implied every time someone cheats. It's the saddest of all the lies, and it isn't said out loud or put in writing, but it is what cheating implies. I'm not skilled enough, or smart enough to do well at the game without cheating.
6. "It's just a game!" Oh this is one of the whoppers. A real big one, and extremely common. My own personal integrity doesn't matter, because it's just a game. An entire book could be written debunking this lie, but the nut of it would be what a wise man once said, what you do in things that don't matter is a good indication of what you will do when things do matter.
I've posted about this elsewhere and I don't want to make this post any longer than it has to be, but the simple truth is the bad habits you learn in a safe, less meaningful context, such as a game, have a strange way of spilling over into contexts where the stakes are much higher.
7. "I'm not really cheating." Another one of the whoppers, and another one that you hear all the time. It is usually followed by another lie, "I'm not really cheating, I'm just..." And a couple of those will follow. The truth is if you are doing something that breaks the TOS to gain an advantage in game, you are cheating.
8. "I'm just exposing the flaws in the game!" This is usually preceded by the, "I'm not really cheating" lie. Yes you just duped 2 billion gold pieces worth of gold and items, and are selling it like mad for real $$, to expose the flaws in the game. This one is usually so ridiculous it isn't even worth commenting on, but I will anyway. The truth is if you find a bug, or an exploit, there are proper ways of dealing with that information. There is more than one option for bug reporting, and you can page a gm, and better yet, do both.
9. "The GM's/devs don't care, so why should I?" This is perhaps the hardest of the lies to answer. The truth is that the devs and the gm's do care, but it is also true that they haven't had, and don't have, the resources to police every pixel in the game, and often bugs and exploits are hard to replicate and/or take time to find a solution for. And I'm sure there have been bad apples among the devs and the GM's especially, who really haven't cared.
But there are only so many devs and GM's, and only so many hours in the day, and there are appropriate channels for reporting GM's that aren't doing their jobs, or are exploiting their position, in the very rare cases where this is an issue. And regardless of that, personal integrity does matter, and you can reread the response to lie number six if you like because it also applies here.
10. "I have to win." There are many lies implied by this lie, and a couple of them are terribly sad. "I have to win or nobody will love me." "I have to win or I won't love myself." But it is still a lie. Why do you have to win? Does your job depend on you beating Mr. X in pvp? Will your marriage fall apart if you don't have 1,000,000,000,000gp stowed away in your ten castles? Is having a hundred duped copies of Tangle going to prevent global warming?
Sure, you might be able to make some real $$ by cheating. And you could end up on the receiving end of a lawsuit, that has happened. Or you could end up with a criminal record. That has also happened.
The most powerful lies are at least partly true, and it is true, "It's just a game." It's true that "It's just a game" and you don't have to win. Winning at this game isn't going to make you a better father or mother, or help you do better in university, or improve your job performance. On the other hand, the lessons you learn playing a game without breaking the rules, might actually help you in your "real life" - lessons like perseverance, patience, and how to work for and save for something you really want.
edit: I've added a couple more to my increasingly inappropriately named "Top Ten List" from posts further down. Many others have offered good ideas, these are just some other ones that I've added.
11. "The game is going to die if something is done about cheating." This is another one I've read in many forms, many times on this forum and elsewhere. "If all the cheaters are banned, no one will be left playing the game!" This really is just another version of lie number 2. "If no one can cheat, no one will want to play the game anymore."
The simple truth is that games where cheating is under control, and cheaters are dealt with effectively, do better and attract more clients, while games with an out of control cheating problem, do worse, and drive clients away.
How many people stopped playing Diablo II, or refused to buy it in the first place because of the problems that game had with cheating? And the same can be said for UO. Only it is worse with UO because it is a subscription based game, and when a subscription is cancelled, EA loses money.
I can guarantee you that far more have left the game because of cheating than have stayed, or picked up the game because they could cheat. And in fact I would say the number of people who have maintained their subscription specifically because they could cheat, or have opened a subscription specifically because they could cheat is minuscule compared to the number that have cancelled their subscriptions specifically because of cheating, or have refused to purchase the game in the first place specifically because of the problems UO has with cheating.
And I can also guarantee you that those who have opened a subscription, or maintained a subscription specifically because they could cheat, have done far more damage, and cost EA far more money, than they have payed in subscription fees - and we are likely talking six figure multiples here.
When you examine it the lie is so obvious it goes beyond being ridiculous.
12. "I'm not hurting anyone." In one form this is just a version of, "It's just a game", but there's a lot more to it than that. When you cheat you teach your children, or the children of other people that rules aren't important, and if you get away with it, you teach them that there are no consequences for breaking the rules. You may be able to separate what you are doing in game from what happens in your "real life", but I can assure you, children do not easily make that distinction. Cheating distorts the economy of an MMO and devalues the game play of honest clients. Cheating drives honest clients away in many ways, one of those ways is the frustration of consistently losing in pvp to a cheater.
And one of the most damaging effects of an out of control cheating problem is false accusations. In a situation where there is an out of control cheating problem it becomes very hard to tell the cheaters from the honest players, and anyone who is successful is automatically the object of suspicion. This is another way that cheating devalues the game play of honest clients.
*Special thanks to Lady Flame a.k.a. Spirit for her help with this post.*
The thing about lying is that it is like a virus, when you tell a lie it tends to multiply, and more lies have to be told to support the first lie, then lies have to be told to support the lies that supported the first lie, and on it goes. To quote Sir Walter Scott, "Oh what a tangled web we weave..."
The same can be said for cheating in MMO's, and in UO specifically. There is the first lie, "I deserve this", and then there are a series of lies which are told to support that lie. Some are told to justify the behaviour, or excuse it, some are told to avoid detection, and others are told to prevent others from doing anything to stop the behaviour.
Cheaters will lie to others, but the first person a cheater will lie to is himself. In celebration of this tangled web, I thought I'd post a list of the top ten lies that cheaters tell themselves, and others.
1. The central lie, the one I've already discussed, "I deserve this." The central lie is that the cheater has earned something which he has not.
2. "Everyone is doing it." How many times have I heard this out of cheaters mouths, or the mouths of those defending cheaters? I've lost count. The simple truth is, everyone is not doing it. There may be a lot of cheaters in UO, they may even be in the majority, but the truth is there are still a lot of honest people playing UO, that actually do follow the TOS, and who do not cheat.
3. "I have to cheat to compete." Another lie, as common as dirt. The truth is that you don't have to cheat to compete, there are many people who do quite well, who do not cheat. Those who don't cheat may be at a disadvantage, but saying you have to cheat to compete, is a lie. The simple truth is that if you don't cheat you improve your game relative to those who do cheat. It should be blindingly obvious, but in case it isn't, I'll say it anyway. You will be a better player if you choose not to cheat. I'm not talking about being "morally better", I'm talking about actually being better at the game.
4. "I'm just levelling the playing field." This really is just another version of lie number 3, but I have read it often enough, and heard it often enough, that it deserves it's own place. The truth is cheaters aren't trying to level the playing field, they are trying to "win".
5. "I'm not good enough." This is the lie that is implied every time someone cheats. It's the saddest of all the lies, and it isn't said out loud or put in writing, but it is what cheating implies. I'm not skilled enough, or smart enough to do well at the game without cheating.
6. "It's just a game!" Oh this is one of the whoppers. A real big one, and extremely common. My own personal integrity doesn't matter, because it's just a game. An entire book could be written debunking this lie, but the nut of it would be what a wise man once said, what you do in things that don't matter is a good indication of what you will do when things do matter.
I've posted about this elsewhere and I don't want to make this post any longer than it has to be, but the simple truth is the bad habits you learn in a safe, less meaningful context, such as a game, have a strange way of spilling over into contexts where the stakes are much higher.
7. "I'm not really cheating." Another one of the whoppers, and another one that you hear all the time. It is usually followed by another lie, "I'm not really cheating, I'm just..." And a couple of those will follow. The truth is if you are doing something that breaks the TOS to gain an advantage in game, you are cheating.
8. "I'm just exposing the flaws in the game!" This is usually preceded by the, "I'm not really cheating" lie. Yes you just duped 2 billion gold pieces worth of gold and items, and are selling it like mad for real $$, to expose the flaws in the game. This one is usually so ridiculous it isn't even worth commenting on, but I will anyway. The truth is if you find a bug, or an exploit, there are proper ways of dealing with that information. There is more than one option for bug reporting, and you can page a gm, and better yet, do both.
9. "The GM's/devs don't care, so why should I?" This is perhaps the hardest of the lies to answer. The truth is that the devs and the gm's do care, but it is also true that they haven't had, and don't have, the resources to police every pixel in the game, and often bugs and exploits are hard to replicate and/or take time to find a solution for. And I'm sure there have been bad apples among the devs and the GM's especially, who really haven't cared.
But there are only so many devs and GM's, and only so many hours in the day, and there are appropriate channels for reporting GM's that aren't doing their jobs, or are exploiting their position, in the very rare cases where this is an issue. And regardless of that, personal integrity does matter, and you can reread the response to lie number six if you like because it also applies here.
10. "I have to win." There are many lies implied by this lie, and a couple of them are terribly sad. "I have to win or nobody will love me." "I have to win or I won't love myself." But it is still a lie. Why do you have to win? Does your job depend on you beating Mr. X in pvp? Will your marriage fall apart if you don't have 1,000,000,000,000gp stowed away in your ten castles? Is having a hundred duped copies of Tangle going to prevent global warming?
Sure, you might be able to make some real $$ by cheating. And you could end up on the receiving end of a lawsuit, that has happened. Or you could end up with a criminal record. That has also happened.
The most powerful lies are at least partly true, and it is true, "It's just a game." It's true that "It's just a game" and you don't have to win. Winning at this game isn't going to make you a better father or mother, or help you do better in university, or improve your job performance. On the other hand, the lessons you learn playing a game without breaking the rules, might actually help you in your "real life" - lessons like perseverance, patience, and how to work for and save for something you really want.
edit: I've added a couple more to my increasingly inappropriately named "Top Ten List" from posts further down. Many others have offered good ideas, these are just some other ones that I've added.
11. "The game is going to die if something is done about cheating." This is another one I've read in many forms, many times on this forum and elsewhere. "If all the cheaters are banned, no one will be left playing the game!" This really is just another version of lie number 2. "If no one can cheat, no one will want to play the game anymore."
The simple truth is that games where cheating is under control, and cheaters are dealt with effectively, do better and attract more clients, while games with an out of control cheating problem, do worse, and drive clients away.
How many people stopped playing Diablo II, or refused to buy it in the first place because of the problems that game had with cheating? And the same can be said for UO. Only it is worse with UO because it is a subscription based game, and when a subscription is cancelled, EA loses money.
I can guarantee you that far more have left the game because of cheating than have stayed, or picked up the game because they could cheat. And in fact I would say the number of people who have maintained their subscription specifically because they could cheat, or have opened a subscription specifically because they could cheat is minuscule compared to the number that have cancelled their subscriptions specifically because of cheating, or have refused to purchase the game in the first place specifically because of the problems UO has with cheating.
And I can also guarantee you that those who have opened a subscription, or maintained a subscription specifically because they could cheat, have done far more damage, and cost EA far more money, than they have payed in subscription fees - and we are likely talking six figure multiples here.
When you examine it the lie is so obvious it goes beyond being ridiculous.
12. "I'm not hurting anyone." In one form this is just a version of, "It's just a game", but there's a lot more to it than that. When you cheat you teach your children, or the children of other people that rules aren't important, and if you get away with it, you teach them that there are no consequences for breaking the rules. You may be able to separate what you are doing in game from what happens in your "real life", but I can assure you, children do not easily make that distinction. Cheating distorts the economy of an MMO and devalues the game play of honest clients. Cheating drives honest clients away in many ways, one of those ways is the frustration of consistently losing in pvp to a cheater.
And one of the most damaging effects of an out of control cheating problem is false accusations. In a situation where there is an out of control cheating problem it becomes very hard to tell the cheaters from the honest players, and anyone who is successful is automatically the object of suspicion. This is another way that cheating devalues the game play of honest clients.
*Special thanks to Lady Flame a.k.a. Spirit for her help with this post.*
