Stop playing online games NOW!

least it was stating facts of id theft and malicious wrong doings and not the act of 'virtual murder' like some tabloids would do

if it was the case of her avatar went up to his avatar and she went stabby stabby and was subsequently arrested then yes something would be wrong with that picture
robbing an online character of gold is one thing (and not the real bullying start from the other article just all in game) using their atm card to withdraw cash is another

atleast you dont get the RSPCA on your case for neglecting your catz/dogz/petz or tamagotchii, least not whilst they are devoid of AI, in the future who knows

Ross C

A bit misleading really. She illegally logged into someone elses computer and deleted something. I wouldn't be too happy if someone did that, even my GF. It's not like she was jailed for online murder.

Though, one wonders when this will become law.

She used someone elses account to do it which is technically ID theft.

She used her husbands account to kill her husbands character. Doesn't take much to assume he didn't hide his credentials from her.

#10

A woman has been arrested in Japan after she allegedly killed her virtual husband in a popular video game.

Virtual husband

She was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to Sapporo - where her "husband", a 33-year-old office worker lives.

again virtual husband
thats a long treck for a long distance relationship if you ask me and ive no idea how far that is without looking at the back of an aa road map

its not like a real marrage splitting up and one half deciding to cancel the others WoW account

#11

LOL, that is ridiculous. She's clearly in the wrong but 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine are pretty hefty penalties for killing someone's online game persona. At most she should have to pay for the game access fees he racked up to level up his character (if that even exist in Maple Story).

#12

i dont think its for the 'killing' its the fraudulant access to his account
what if she fleesed his bank account instead, would 5 years and $5k been TOO much?

#13

No a hacking a real bank account and a killing an online game character are two very different offenses.

big10p

#14

what if she fleesed his bank account instead, would 5 years and $5k been TOO much?

Pointless question, she didn't do that.

#15

Virtual husband

With virtual husbands come virtual credentials. My point stands.

#16

The woman, a piano teacher, is in jail in Sapporo waiting to learn if she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

my question still stands
she could have deleted his inventory
gone around making homophobic/racist statements
anything she liked with the other players character

as i said this isnt about 'virtual murder' its about 'hacking' ID theft and a few other more tangable real world crimes
so instead of 'killing' his character, which might have just been a case of 'please cancel my subscription to your game', what if she gained access to his bank account?
and as they were not a 'real' couple and perhaps never met in the real world and living 1000km away, knowing which bank he used would probably never crop up in the online conversations
but if she had more know how and could 'sus it out' and do it, then would 5 years and or $5k be too much

as i said, its more akin to canceling someone elses WoW account than anything else
some electronic communication laws are kinda stupid and linked too closely to more serious real world crimes

having your account fleesed online is more preferable to someone comming up to you at the hole in the wall with a knife, least you stand a better chance of getting your money back and also dont have the trauma of a physical attack

edit:

She was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to Sapporo - where her "husband", a 33-year-old office worker lives.

i was curious about the distance, so i google maped the distance between where i live and where my brother lives, and thats 1/3 the distance, so she and her 'husband' live 3x the distance away from each other than myself and my brother (cambridge and manchester UK)
or basically just shy of landsend to john o' groats

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr=Landsend,+St+Teath,+Bodmin+PL30,+United+Kingdom&daddr=john+o+groats&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=6.567421,18.28125&ie=UTF8&z=4

#17

Well, this is Japan. I mean they do take gaming way more seriously than the rest of the world.

D4NM4N

#18

Whats the big deal? She has not been charged with "virtual murder" at all.

she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

Hacking is hacking, you -could- get a similar sentence in the uk or us for illegally accessing a system via unauthorized account use and causing damage, wether it be a bank, hotmail or a game system.

GfK

#19

she faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

But if I'd put that, nobody would have bothered to look.

D4NM4N

#20

lol :D

You are as bad as the media ;P

Rob Cummings

#21

Thou Shalt Not Share your Account Details.

#22

just tell me your mothers maiden name and the name of your first pet

Digital Anime

#23

Why not sentence her to 5 years "virtual" jail for that crime...?

Hope they won't catch me for mass murder.... Played Unreal Tournament 3 last week.....

#24

which might

Key words there ...

She didn't access bank records and she didn't slant his real life character.

She should be punished but they should punish her for what this really is, a minor pain in the butt. Years ago my sister erased my Legend of Zelda save game just after I conquered a really difficult part. Should she have faced prison? I don't think so. It's a game and all this woman really did was waste some of his play time.

She should pay a civil settlement in the amount of the subscription fees for his game time at most. I hate it when courts try to make examples of people. That's what this is, a deterrent for other would be account hackers. She should pay for what she destroyed and that's all.

I don't think people should do what she did but 5 years in prison is insane. That's a real criminal's punishment. This girl used poor judgment and everything she destroyed is completely reconcilable. The service provider could give the man his character back and then maybe the most she'd have to pay is the employee time it would take to fill in the fields of a database, less than an hour's pay.

For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. If they push on her with more force than a reaction dictates then it will just let out somewhere else in the system.

#25

this girl used poor judgment

she's in her 40's ;)

valid points about which type of court it should have been heard on and what she REALLY should pay
perhaps they do see it in the same basket as stealing from someone elses online bank account and other more serious crimes

Lumooja

#26

I'm playing a full fire spec mage in WoW. All I need is a game-wide fire AE nuke now :)

#27

She should pay for what she destroyed and that's all.

I agree, jail is too much, but she should be charged more than what you say. What she destroyed + subscription fees taken to get him at that point + his time spent investing in his character/whatever in $/hour + food, clothing and shelter costs for this period... basically everything he spent money on while 'working' on his character.