Re: Part 2: System Structure

[Pierre THIERRY]

Scribit Marcus Brinkmann dies 15/05/2006 hora 15:35:
> But you are talking about the people providing competitions, while I
> am talking about people playing games.
> 
> Competitions and games are two very different things.

Indeed. We're only talking about competition here.

> Without even investigating into these issues, I know from news reports
> about one person killed by playing Starcraft and one person killed by
> playing Everquest (another committed suicide).

There have been many more deaths in theatre, or role-playing games. Do
you suggest that we stop playing roles on stage or around a table? I do
believe that MMORPG have a very addictive nature and can become
dangerous, but your argument is bullshit.

It's the kind of argument I had to fight when promoting role-playing
games in France. We had psychiatrists to look into this issue: they
think that these kind of deaths don't prove anything really about the
context. They only prove that these people had problems (distinction
between reality and fantasy, deep unsatisfaction with their lives,
etc.). At most, the context (the activity, being a game or theatre or
anything similar) can make the problem appear faster than it would
without.

This is a problem of method here. One case never proved anything.
Proportion and statistical evidence can be considered a proof. Drugs do
kill too many people to be safely considered a sensible leisure. That
doesn't apply to MMORPG for now, for what I know.

> There has also been at least one murder over online game "property."

And many more, in proportion, about sex. Should we forbid sex?

> So, no, it is not at all obvious to me that we should support this.
> In fact, I am quite convinced that personally, I do not want to
> support this.

But that's a very personal judgment, with no obvious link with GNU
philosophy. You're free, then, to make no effort to help actively to
support computer competition, but it's no reason for the Hurd to avoid
supporting it.

Alternatively,
Nowhere man
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