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Douglas Walter Reid Jr.

English 101
Professor Alicia Bolton
October 19, 2014
A Strange Path to Prison
Alex Weisss Should Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing? argues that the court
system should not take action upon gamers for virtual theft. Weiss is responding to a ruling made
by the Dutch Supreme Court in which a teenage boy was convicted for stealing items which
dont actually exist. The young gamer stole two virtual items from another player online in a
game called Runescape. The game Runescape is a free massively multiplayer online video
game. The items in which the defendant stole were an amulet and a shield. Weiss argues that this
ruling makes no sense and that it contradicts the point of these online multiplayer video games.
He uses personal experiences with online video games similar to Runescape to create credibility
and knowledge of the issue. I agree with Weisss argument that gamers should not be prosecuted
for virtual stealing because it makes no logical sense and contradicts the point of these games.
First off, convicting a teenage gamer of virtual theft makes no logical sense. I agree with
Weiss in saying that this ruling is absolutely crazy because the items which were stolen in the
massively multiplayer online video game, Runescape, had no real economic value. Weiss argues
that It places too much value on the time people spent playing video games. Video games are
not work or investments for which people should be compensated; they are escapism (727). In
saying this, he is referring to video games as an escape from reality, something which should be
done strictly for fun and enjoyment. However, the court is not looking at video games in this
way, and is looking at the matter of virtual theft a little more seriously. Weiss uses personal

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experiences to back up his argument in saying that he has been a member of the online video
game world and has also been a virtual thief himself. By giving these personal experiences to
show that he knows what he is talking about in his argument, he builds credibility for his
reasoning, making what he has to say more influential. I too have my own personal experiences
with online virtual theft, except I was the one who was stolen from. In my middle school years, I
played an online multiplayer game, similar to Runescape, called Paradise Pirates. In the game,
the player controls a character and completes quests, travels, and battles with other players for
experience points to level up. The goal of the game is to basically be the best player you can be,
and to do that, you must reach the highest level and gain the best equipment and weapons for
your character. Completing the quests, leveling up, and achieving these unique items in the game
take lots of time and do not come easily. In the process of doing all this in the game, the main
goal is to just have fun, which I did. However, after reaching a very high level with my character
and earning one of the best weapons in the game, I became a victim of a virtual thief. Another
player stole my weapon that I had worked so hard to obtain by raiding my ship. Although this
weapon had no economic value in real life, like the items stolen by the teenage Dutch gamer, it
had a great value to me because of the effort I put into earning it. In saying this, I cannot imagine
the person who stole the weapon from me be convicted in the real world because it makes no
logical sense; this was a virtual problem which should be solved online. Convicting the guy who
stole from me in this online video game would just be out of line since the item he stole was not
tangible, and I did not actually purchase or acquire the item in the real world. I knew that this
video game had no real effect on my life in reality, so the only logical option in that situation is
to deal with it and get over it. Instead, I looked at the real reason I played this game in the first
place, and that was for escapism, like Weiss states in his argument.

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Secondly, the courts ruling contradicts the point of these games. As Weiss continues to
argue that convicting a gamer of virtual theft shouldnt be done, he explains that these games
are centered on virtual theft, and that it is one of the things inside the game which brings
satisfaction to the player. He then goes on to compare Runescape to a similar and more wellknown game, World of Warcraft, (WoW). Weiss states that WoW has a very strict policy
against scamming, thievery, and even harsh language; violators can be banned, and victims lost
goods are refunded. The developers of Runescape, however, didnt explicitly state that the thief
couldnt do what he did, nor did they refund the victim his item (728). Weisss argument here
is that the teenage Dutch gamer, being convicted in court for virtually stealing another players
items, technically did not break any of the games rules. Just like my personal experience in
Paradise Pirates, the thief who stole from me did not break any of the games rules stating that
he could not steal. In fact, the whole reason people play Paradise Pirates is to raid other
players ships, steal, and to have fun. However, in this situation, the court is contradicting the
point of the game by convicting this young gamer of something in which the game allows and
does not regulate against. Weiss summarizes his thoughts on the issue by saying, So here, we
have a real world court attempting to punish someone for behavior permitted within the realm.
The real and virtual laws conflict, and it seems unfair to penalize the teenager for this (729). In
actuality, this issue should not be resolved in the court since it is not a real world problem, but
instead in the game and with the developers of Runescape.
In conclusion, the Dutch Supreme Court is wrong in convicting the teenage gamer for
virtually stealing items online. Weisss argument, from another gamers point of view, does a
good job of pointing out how this ruling made by the court makes no sense logically and

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contradicts one of the main points of this game. Overall, some issues should stay within the
gaming world and should not be dealt with in reality and with the law.

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Works Cited
Weiss, Alex. Should Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing? The Norton Field Guide to
Writing with Readings and Handbook. 3rd ed. Ed. Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly
Goggin, and Francine Weinberg. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 727-729.
Print.