Opinions on Dateline NBC Everquest story

[mountaineer]

Curious in what gamers thought about the piece on people becoming addicted to online games. The story showed numerous people who's personal lives are suffering from their addictions. One boy even commited suicide while playing a game called Ever Quest. Where does the responsiblility lie? On the user, or does the game manufacturer have some amount of liabity?
Seems to me that with almost any other addiction, the supplier is treated harsher than the user: the prostitute over the Sex Addict, The Bookie as opposed to the gambler, the Pusher to the Junkie, etc. (almost all of my examples are illegal).
Im not really sure what I think, just wanted your take on it.

[Nuclear Krusader]

The responsibility lies completely on the user. Same as with tobacco, the decision to smoke is yours only.

Many people takes games too seriously. It's just a hobby and they turn it into a way of life. And this happens not only with games but with almost everything in life.

My personal definition of drug is this: A drug is everything that creates addiction and that you use to escape from reality. Not only dope and alcohol are drugs; games, work and sports can be too. I know many workaholic persons who use their jobs to escape from the problems in their homes.

Now, parents play an elemental role in this. So, the responsibility lies on them too.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Here's a very good article about Everquest and the games obsession.

http://www.pcgamer.com/columns/alter...01-07-26e.html

[Prew]

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? To say that playing a video game can 'cause' a mental disorder, is really a stretch of reality that only a liberal would understand.

[Werewolfdaddy]

There is a very real movement in the country to make us all victims, whether we are or not. It's this kind of atmosphere that allows an obese man to sue mcdonalds for selling him food. It's not Mcdonald's fault he can't quit eating. An old lady sued and won, because she claimed that her coffee was hot. Someone needs to beat that old lady with a shoe. It's because of people like her, that make it hard for the rest of us to live on our own terms. A month ago, I was at Subway and wanted a cookie. I was so stoke, because the cookies had just come out of the oven, but the clerk told me that it was company policy that they can't serve cookies for thirty minutes after they finish cooking.
He said they couldn't risk a lawsuit and if I sued, he would get fired. His manager backed up the story.
The problem goes way deeper than than, though. This atmosphere gives way to reactionary laws being rushed through congress and the senate. The cops have the right to pull you over for not wearing your seatbelt in Tennessee, For Not Wearing Your Seatbelt! How ludicrous is that? But, these kinds of laws are easy to pass, if everyone thinks that they are in danger of being victimized.

[morriswindgate]

It's a problem with the 60's bunch that they always have to be against something or they are not happy. And I was from the 60's.
In addition the News Media (also ran by 60s' types) is always putting out theroy as fact. So one 60s' type idiot doctor of XXXX has one patient that he prescribes enough anti - depressant drugs to kill a horse, goes out and kills himself in front of a computer with Unreal running on it, then appears on TV (his 15 minutes of fame) to state that it is his theroy that computer games can lead to death. The little reporterette then finishes the interview with, "There you have it, a connection which links computer games to death." Next day all over the media is the headlines "Video Games playing causes death!" Congress then wants to pass laws and teachers start eaching this as fact in schools. Protesters hold a rally in front of ID software. And more and more doctors and legal types show up oin TV to support this theroy.
This has been the same way it happened with the Rain Forest, Global Warming, Ozone Hole, Genetically alter foods, Irradiation, Nuclear power, smoking, and everything else you always hear about.