WOW as a terrorist communication tool

From Wired:

The American military and intelligence communities are increasingly worried that would-be bin Ladens might gather in a virtual world, to plan a real-life attack. But the spies haven't given many details, about how it might be done. Now, a Pentagon researcher has laid out how such a terror plot might unfold. The planning ground is World of Warcraft. The main target of this possibly nuclear strike: the White House.

There's been no public proof to date of terrorists hatching plots in virtual worlds. But online spaces like World of Warcraft are making some spooks, generals and Congressmen extremely nervous. They imagine terrorists rehearsing attacks in these worlds, just like the U.S. military trains with commercial shoot-em-up games. They worry that the massively multiplayer games make it incredibly easy to gather plotters from around the world. But, mostly, virtual worlds are nerve-wracking to spies because they're so hard to monitor. The accounts are pseudonymous. The access is global. The jargon is thick. And most of the spy agencies' employees aren't exactly level-70 shamans.

In a presentation late last week at the Director of National Intelligence Open Source Conference in Washington, Dr. Dwight Toavs, a professor at the Pentagon-funded National Defense University, gave a bit of a primer on virtual worlds to an audience largely ignorant about what happens in these online spaces. Then he launched into a scenario, to demonstrate how a meatspace plot might be hidden by in-game chatter.

In it, two World of Warcraft players discuss a raid on the "White Keep" inside the "Stonetalon Mountains." The major objective is to set off a "Dragon Fire spell" inside, and make off with "110 Gold and 234 Silver" in treasure. "No one will dance there for a hundred years after this spell is cast," one player, "war_monger," crows.

Except, in this case, the White Keep is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. "Dragon Fire" is an unconventional weapon. And "110 Gold and 234 Silver" tells the plotters how to align the game's map with one of Washington, D.C.

And here I thought using something like Vent or Teamspeak would be more condusive to planning.

Ashamed of your gaming habit?

From Gamespot UK:

Portland psychiatrist Dr. Jerald Block specialises in treating those who have a massively multiplayer online game problem.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, Block added to the argument that he put forward in an editorial in the American Journal of Psychiatry that 'Internet Addiction' should be a recognised term.

The good doctor believes that his clients are more ashamed of playing World of Warcraft than looking at pornographic images. He said, "Some people come in for trouble with Internet porn. But the computer gamers tend to be harder to treat. People feel a lot of shame around computer games. Whereas, it's socially acceptable to have a porn problem."

Regular Joes and many psychiatrists just don't understand the complex world of games or the jargon that goes with them, says Block. The struggle to reach level 70 is not understood, nor is being a member of a guild, or the mundanity of grinding.

He gave the example of a client who was a regular player of massively multiplayer online game EVE Online, and who after playing for years, had built up around $17,000 of virtual assets. Then another player took out a virtual contract on his life, and his character and assets were lost. Block said, "How does he describe that experience and have any of his friends understand it? It's so bizarre and otherworldly. In fact, it's so bizarre that many therapists don't want to go there."

So, excatly who is ashamed of looking at porn?

Deviants and online gaming

Several high-profile cases involving people who met playing online games have led experts to caution that such Web sites have a unique environment that could be a breeding ground for criminal minds.

Massively multiplayer online games — or MMOGs, as they're called — can foster more vulnerability than there might be on other virtual meeting spaces such as dating and social networking sites, where participants are inclined to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior from the start.

"When you're in a social situation like that — playing a game, having fun — you're comfortable with the people you're playing with," said cyber-stalking victim Jayne Hitchcock, president of Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA). "People are just not very careful. They lose all sense of reality and themselves."

Such conditions can lead participants to be more trusting of each other and less cautious. Players tend to be focused not on meeting each other, finding a love connection or promoting themselves, but on getting through the game, working as a team and concocting strategies to win. The pressure to make a good impression and project a certain persona is off.

"You're hiding behind a cloak of anonymity and false pretenses," said University of Baltimore criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross. "They force you to pick an alter ego."

"The majority of people who play these games don't fall victim to this sort of thing," said Ross. "They're either savvy, or they're very rule-bound."

Furthermore, most of those who participate are primarily interested in devising ways to advance, defeat the enemy and win, not prey on unsuspecting fellow gamers.

Because, heaven forbid you don't want to play a game to have a good time. Heck, there are games that simulate life, like the Sims. Every facet of life will have its oddballs. Me, I'm just in it for the loot.

Wow, a WOW laptop with an OW pricetag

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Choose your faction and plunk down $4500 cash ($5650 if you tweak the processor and RAM), and you've got the ultimate WOW gaming rig. At least, until this time next year. Darn that Moore's Law.

I AM MURLOC!

Click the above link for a HD version. But, YouTube will suffice for embedding. :)

John, WOW a$$hole

How'd they know? :P