Anonymity in MMOs

Teen "kidnapped" by World of Warcraft playmate

Well well well...let the games begin.

I admit, I've occassionally played a girl character in World of Warcraft. If I'm going to level a character for several weeks, at least I want to look at something interesting. Big deal. It's an option, I take it. There is no inherent problem there...but it sets one up...

I also play on an RP server (Lacierda on Steamwheedle Cartel, holla), and that's a server where players give their avatars personality and speak in character. Nerdiest of the nerdy, my goodness. It's a step under Live-Action Roleplay on the nerd scale, but extremely rewarding and fun for building in-game interaction when the usual gameplay consists of "Go kill X amount of Y for Z" This ALSO is not a problem, not at all! It's fun and very light hearted...unless...

There are people online that take things too far. "Toons" as they're called (people's avatars) tend to represent them in the game world a little more than usual, and some people developing emotional bonds between toons will fall victim to falling into an emotional bond with the player behind the avatar, or vice versa. Someone you play with may sound great, play well and suddenly your in game characters are having wild and rompy in-game ugly-bumping. This represents a problem, because anonymity MUST be broken by this point. Playing a girl character but are actually a man? People need to know. How old are you? At this point, people need to know. It's no longer able to be kept secret.

My parents have a very wary opinion of the internet in general. My mother usually assumed WoW was only a place for old perverts to prey on young, supple flesh. Stories like this in the news tend to support that, and paint the games in negative light. Extremely negative. I'm pretty much sure if it doesn't make a lot of money or involve someone dying/screwing outside of the game, the news doesn't care.

Looking up a little bit, I project the fact I'm a guy, if I'm playing a girl. I didn't always speak in character (in fact, I rarely do when playing as a girl toon), but I at least give people the courtesy of them knowing that I'm doing so. I don't play girls on RP servers, and haven't for over a year, so it's kinda moot for me, but plenty still do. I can't count on my hands how many times I've been adventuring for levels and suddenly the girl in the party says she's "brb my wife just got home". It's not really a big deal, it's just jarring.

Anonymity is one reason games like MMOs make a great escape. They allow you to your own level of comfort, to become someone else for a bit. It's escapism, it's simulated reality in a fantasy world but it's damn fun. When that protective barrier is dropped, suddenly the truth can fracture normally stable minds. Double anonymity (lying about who you really are behind the toon) is a common problem. It's likely the man in the story above didn't know the girl was 14 years old, or she thought he was younger. People straight up lie sometimes, and bad things happen. She's lucky she's okay. I personally think she ran away from home. Unfortunately for him, transporting across state lines and taking 14 year old girls on "let's run away, in the name of Love!" trips ends with jail time.

It is the players responsibility in a virtual world to represent themselves however they choose as a character in the world, but they should make it their courtesy to represent their out-of-game selves as honestly as they can safely allow. I know this is an impossible reality, honestly. People want to keep three lives: Private, Public, and Online. I can be Giuseppe to my family, Joe to my friends and Lacierda to my guild and never mix them. If you ever do mix them, honesty will come into play, and it's dishonesty that leads to negative opinion of our sacred ability: to become someone else, suspend reality for an hour or two, and enjoy a game.

By the way, the guy's license plate read "OMGROFL"
I'd normally give him props for it, but kidnapping 14-year old girls makes me HULK SMASH! angry.