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I find it hard to believe that drugs or alcohol were not invovled in some form here.
Oh, I can see it happening. So far, I've had one acquaintance who's played online MMORPG's to the point of losing his fiancé, 2 roommates, his university slot, his waistline and then his cleanliness. The only thing he was accomplishing was 16+ hours of the game a day and "experiments" in his kitchen with rotten rice.
While that may be the extreme (as well as the idiots in this story), I've had other closer friends (including one of the said roomates) who have lost semesters or at the very least lost contact with friends over months at a time because of WoW. It's really easy to get dragged into playing for a long time and blocking out the world around you.
I agree, but I think there was more involved here than just bad parenting and video game addiction. Probably not drugs(given the chemicals released by the brain while playing video games, they're an easy stand-in for drugs), but people who get addicted are often trying to self-medicate for emotional problems. If they had no family or support structure(given the state of the kids, probably not), they would have been at greater risk.
None of this would excuse ignoring their children, but it would help explain it. It's hard to treat a problem without understanding the root cause.
Honestly, table top gaming of any kind should never be clumped into video games. D&D has a completely different play style on the table top that doesn't fuel this type of screen addiction.
I would go after this reporter if I were WotC.
For what? They were playing D&D Online, which is a WotC property, and is a "format" of D&D.
The reporter said nothing that would hold up as defemation.
So the reporter left out that it was DDO, not the pen and paper version. Most people seem to think regular D&D is a WoW type game anyway.
You go after that reporter and all you're gonna get is court costs.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Having just bought Civ 3 and not updated anything online, I understand the addiction, just not the neglect. (I work and bathe regularly thank you very much). I'm much more comfortable interacting through a firewall (there's a reason my logo is a hermit, after all)
I think the judge should have banned them from games, but hope and pray they get the help they need.
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Some of us are secure enough in our identity to use our real names.My brother lived next to a guy who got cranially warped by WoW. Before the Warcrack he had an almost 6 figure job, a house, and a knockout wife. Then he got hooked quit the job and everything else to pay more. After 6 months or so the wife kicked him out and filed for divorce. Last we knew he had found an apartment and was selling Characters, gear, etc from warcrack in order to pay the rent support for his addiction.
Bottom line "People are freaking crazy!"
Yes, I include myself in that statement just not to that degree.
*blinks*
And WoW isn't even that good...
Wow. What a bunch of losers. Chained to there computers. No social life. All the people they care about only known to them as a bunch of whacked out avatars.
* clicks refresh *
Anyone out there?
Heathy?
Nameless?
Jal?
Sebastian?
So ... lonely ...
Amen!!!!
or 5,000,000 other aliases
You must be talking aout monkey boy.
or 5,000,000 other aliases
:P I never post serious stuff under my aliases, like some I could name *cough cough*
It smacks of the same sort of elitism that causes 1e or 2e players to scoff at newer editions as "not D&D".What about 3e players? I know for a fact that there are 3e players that scoff at 4e as "not D&D"
Since you consciously excluded them, I reason that you don' think them elitist for thinking that, and that you, in consequence agree!
I just didn't think they were worth mentioning. That's all.
:P I never post serious stuff under my aliases, like some I could name *cough cough*You must be talking aout monkey boy.
or 5,000,000 other aliases
Who are you talking about? I want to know so i can flame them!
Oh my goodness, will you stop with the edition crap.
Never, it must go on to keep the balance of order.
Some of us are secure enough in our identity to use our real names.
<shrug>
For me, it's pretty much the same reason I don't have a blog/FaceBook/MySpace/etc. page. As an active duty military member who works on computer networks and holds a security clearance, it makes me harder to target for espionage.
As an IT professional, the amount of information that can be gathered about someone from public records and Internet searches can be pretty scary. Once the information is out there, anyone with a computer and a modicum of knowledge can find it. There are cases of espionage where the operative used data gathered from Internet sources to help target an individual (interests, hobbies, family, friends, personal history, etc.). There have also been cases of people losing/being denied jobs because of what they posted to social networking sites, blogs, or their personal web-page.
Some of us are secure enough in our identity to use our real names.<shrug>
For me, it's pretty much the same reason I don't have a blog/FaceBook/MySpace/etc. page. As an active duty military member who works on computer networks and holds a security clearance, it makes me harder to target for espionage.
As an IT professional, the amount of information that can be gathered about someone from public records and Internet searches can be pretty scary. Once the information is out there, anyone with a computer and a modicum of knowledge can find it. There have been cases of people losing/being denied jobs because of what they posted to social networking sites, blogs, or their personal web-page. There are also cases of espionage where the operative used data gathered from Internet sources to help target an individual (interests, hobbies, family, friends, personal history, etc.).
See...now you got me all paranoid that "Big Brother" is going to get me.
See...now you got me all paranoid that "Big Brother" is going to get me.
It's not "Big Brother" that you need to worry about. Anyone with the know-how and Internet access can find out a tremendous amount of information about you, especially if you have a page on a social networking site, a blog, or a personal web page.
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See...now you got me all paranoid that "Big Brother" is going to get me.It's not "Big Brother" that you need to worry about. Anyone with the know-how and Internet access can find out a tremendous amount of information about you, especially if you have a page on a social networking site, a blog, or a personal web page.
Well then, I guess I'm hosed all around!!! YAY ME!!!!!
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Some of us are secure enough in our identity to use our real names.<shrug>
For me, it's pretty much the same reason I don't have a blog/FaceBook/MySpace/etc. page. As an active duty military member who works on computer networks and holds a security clearance, it makes me harder to target for espionage.
Yeah, I can see that. Back when I was an SP I would have taken the same precautions. My comment was more an inside joke with Tarren than anything. Didn't mean to offend anyone.
Well then, I guess I'm hosed all around!!! YAY ME!!!!!See...now you got me all paranoid that "Big Brother" is going to get me.It's not "Big Brother" that you need to worry about. Anyone with the know-how and Internet access can find out a tremendous amount of information about you, especially if you have a page on a social networking site, a blog, or a personal web page.
Probably not.
Unless you have some embarrassing incidents immortalized on your FaceBook/MySpace (like a getting drunk and flashing people at Spring Break or Mardi Gras) and then want to work for a company in a position that could reflect on their reputation (i.e., a lawyer in a law firm, which I believe was one of the cases where someone was denied a job) or want to work for a government agency or government contractor (which usually requires a security clearance), it's usually only a concern when dealing with Identity Theft. Derogatory statements about employers also tend to be something that will come back to bite you.
Just remember once something is posted, you have no control over how long it will persist (in one form or another), whether it will "go viral," or who may eventually have access to it.
Yeah, I can see that. Back when I was an SP I would have taken the same precautions. My comment was more an inside joke with Tarren than anything. Didn't mean to offend anyone.Some of us are secure enough in our identity to use our real names.<shrug>
For me, it's pretty much the same reason I don't have a blog/FaceBook/MySpace/etc. page. As an active duty military member who works on computer networks and holds a security clearance, it makes me harder to target for espionage.
I'm not offended. I just wanted to put out that there may be reasons other than the stereotype of anonymous insecurity to not use your real name.
Anyway, getting back on topic, addictions come in many forms. Beyond the basic substance addictions (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, drugs; also sugar, for Eskimos), there are many activity addictions: gambling, computer games, sex, and TV to name a few. In all cases, addiction will have detrimental effects on the individual with the addiction, to include the physical effects of the substances, monetary cost, lost time, etc. The more severe the addiction, the more severe the resulting detrimental effects.
What's most disturbing to me in the initial post is the parents' neglect of their children that resulted from their addiction. Granted, denial is usually a contributing factor in addiction ("The first step is to admit the problem"), but placing the needs of their children below their gaming time is truly despicable.
The next most disturbing is the media blame shifting from the individual behaviors to D&D in general; not that I expect better, after Columbine being blamed on Doom/GTA and Marilyn Manson (or the whole anti-D&D crusade in the '80's). Lazy reporting and sensationalism are the rule, not the exception, today.
Some snippets of Dragonchess Player's previous posts on this thread:
For me, it's (EDIT: "it" meaning using an alias) pretty much the same reason I don't have a blog/FaceBook/MySpace/etc. page. As an active duty military member who works on computer networks and holds a security clearance, it makes me harder to target for espionage.
As an IT professional, the amount of information that can be gathered about someone from public records and Internet searches can be pretty scary. Once the information is out there, anyone with a computer and a modicum of knowledge can find it. There are cases of espionage where the operative used data gathered from Internet sources to help target an individual (interests, hobbies, family, friends, personal history, etc.). There have also been cases of people losing/being denied jobs because of what they posted to social networking sites, blogs, or their personal web-page.
...Anyone with the know-how and Internet access can find out a tremendous amount of information about you, especially if you have a page on a social networking site, a blog, or a personal web page.
...Unless you have some embarrassing incidents immortalized on your FaceBook/MySpace (like a getting drunk and flashing people at Spring Break or Mardi Gras) and then want to work for a company in a position that could reflect on their reputation (i.e., a lawyer in a law firm, which I believe was one of the cases where someone was denied a job) or want to work for a government agency or government contractor (which usually requires a security clearance), it's usually only a concern when dealing with Identity Theft. Derogatory statements about employers also tend to be something that will come back to bite you.
Just remember once something is posted, you have no control over how long it will persist (in one form or another), whether it will "go viral," or who may eventually have access to it.
Dragonchess Player, your messages were a real eye-opener for me. I'm half inclined to start a new thread, posting the snippets above. Some naive people, like myself, ought to read this stuff.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Some snippets of Dragonchess Player's previous posts on this thread:I am always exceptionally careful because I seem to be the only person in the world with my name. Any search with my first and last name in quotes will come up with about 20 results, all of which are actually me.
Searching for me reveals...
A couple of baseball players
A former member of the Mickey Mouse Club (I've had fun with that one)
A Salon. (Really?)
A Banker
A Master Seargent
it doesn't help that I have an evil twin in Columbus, same name same DOB.
Some snippets of Dragonchess Player's previous posts on this thread:I am always exceptionally careful because I seem to be the only person in the world with my name. Any search with my first and last name in quotes will come up with about 20 results, all of which are actually me.
I get the same if you do a search with the way I spell my name in actual quotes. Probably not nearly as exact as what you have but you'll find my stuff and it will be me...
...and then you can read my rambling essay like posts...all of them...it will take you a long, long, time, anyone who goes through all that work just to steal my identity is going to find that they were very poorly compensated for all their hard work.
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Some snippets of Dragonchess Player's previous posts on this thread:I am always exceptionally careful because I seem to be the only person in the world with my name. Any search with my first and last name in quotes will come up with about 20 results, all of which are actually me.Searching for me reveals...
I did a similar search and found:
A porcelin scuplter
A psychic artist
A professor at Temple Uiversity
A member of the Aberdeen Kansas city council
A global export company
A roofing company owner in Fresno
A deceased doctor in Seattle
An author on a book for Rugby refs
and one of the perpetrators of the Gitchie Manitou massacre in 1973 which ironically is the year I was born.
Wow. There are more of me than I thought was possible. Apparently there are a lot of FreeholdDMs who are authors, doctors, and one that is on the board at Morgan Stanley. Time to hit myself up for a loan!
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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Hmph...if you arn't drawing numbered chits from a cup then your doing it wrong.Ink? Back in my day we had a little white crayon. Have you ever tried coloring in heiroglyphic covered dice with a little white crayon?
If you never had to ink your dice yourself, you don't know "back in the day."
I cut octagons, decagons and hexagons out of cereal boxes and speared them with cocktail sticks. Now, that's old-skool, man!
Dragonchess Player, your messages were a real eye-opener for me....
"This is the land we live in/These are the hands we're given"
As someone who works with computer networks, I deal with information security concepts on a regular basis. I also follow the news on cyber-crimes, data mining techniques, etc.
What I posted were things that are possible, if someone with the know-how and the motivation takes the time to do so. How likely that it will happen is something else, but considering human nature, someone with a grudge and computer skills could start trying to dig up dirt to get you in trouble (or even try to set you up for humiliation, like the mother in that bizarre cyber-bullying case that drove a girl to suicide). If it's on the Internet, then it will be found if someone looks hard enough.
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I have no problem believing that there were no drugs or alchohol involved. Addictions take many forms, heck have you ever watched the show hoarders. Its a show about people who for whatever reason are addicted to hoarding stuff. These people live in filth and swallor but can't throw anything away because they might need it some day (you know that rhinestone machine that's been in the box 8 years without being touched), or it has memories (you know that you haven't thought of in 20 years while it's sat in a box, but you know nostalgia). The only time they clean is when forced by some outside force. You watch that show and you'll see how easy it is to become addicted without drugs or alchohol.
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Addictions take many forms, heck have you ever watched the show hoarders. Its a show about people who for whatever reason are addicted to hoarding stuff. These people live in filth and swallor but can't throw anything away because they might need it some day (you know that rhinestone machine that's been in the box 8 years without being touched), or it has memories (you know that you haven't thought of in 20 years while it's sat in a box, but you know nostalgia).
For some people in that situation it is a matter of how they were raised. My grandpaents, while being very tidy about it, were hoarders. It was a result of their formative years being during the Great Depression when they truely nevr did know when they might need something. You might need the old magazines and newspapers to start your wood burning stove if the power went out, you might need those old clothes if you lost your job and couldn't afford to buy new ones, etc. Many people who grew up in tat situation then passed those traits on to their children, who passed them on to their children, who are passing them on to their children. It is a vicious cycle and one that goes unnoticed often times because it often does not leave visible signs like abuse or neglect does.
Addictions take many forms, heck have you ever watched the show hoarders. Its a show about people who for whatever reason are addicted to hoarding stuff. These people live in filth and swallor but can't throw anything away because they might need it some day (you know that rhinestone machine that's been in the box 8 years without being touched), or it has memories (you know that you haven't thought of in 20 years while it's sat in a box, but you know nostalgia).For some people in that situation it is a matter of how they were raised. My grandpaents, while being very tidy about it, were hoarders. It was a result of their formative years being during the Great Depression when they truely nevr did know when they might need something. You might need the old magazines and newspapers to start your wood burning stove if the power went out, you might need those old clothes if you lost your job and couldn't afford to buy new ones, etc. Many people who grew up in tat situation then passed those traits on to their children, who passed them on to their children, who are passing them on to their children. It is a vicious cycle and one that goes unnoticed often times because it often does not leave visible signs like abuse or neglect does.
I have several people like that on my caseload...it's not fun dealing with them, getting them to go through their stuff and actually throw something out that they won't retrieve from the same garbage can(or the one outside our building) within 15 minutes to an hour when your back is turned. The hardest thing I think is trying to explain to concept of germs or that some of their habits might be making them more sick. Unfortunately the people who do this also have some degree of developmental disability, which makes it all the more challenging. *sigh* work.