Of all the stories that come out of EVE Online's colossal sandbox, it's the tales of criminality and dirty dealings that grab our attention the most. Thefts...
More information on Eve Online scams
Keni

blake kathryn


Love Begins
YOU ARE THE REASON
AnasAbdin
d e v o n

@theartofmadeline
occasionally subtle

â

izzy's playlists!

Jules of Nature
Xuebing Du
Sweet Seals For You, Always

JVL
Game of Thrones Daily

romaâ
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
seen from Saudi Arabia

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from TĂźrkiye

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
@hannahyoungblog
Of all the stories that come out of EVE Online's colossal sandbox, it's the tales of criminality and dirty dealings that grab our attention the most. Thefts...
More information on Eve Online scams

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Social Gaming - Are rules meant to be broken?
Social gaming - I readily admit that I possess limited expertise when it comes to participating in online games, and understanding the complexities of digital gaming communities. Â Yet despite my lack of personal experience I appreciate that social media platforms such as Facebook has intensified the âpullâ of virtual world engagement by creating a digital environment for personal entertainment, camaraderie, connectedness, and escapism for multiplayer online gaming. Â These are all positive aspects of social media engagement, but as Iâve discovered during my research on digital communities there are also counterproductive activities, and behaviour that are associated with online networks and communities.
[Source: Pixabay.com, deep web, dark web, darkness]
An interesting observation by Banbridge (2010, p.6) is the realisation that âmultiplayer online gaming produces new cultures, social norms, and communication mechanismsâ. Â For instance, team formation in real world environments require elements of trust, cohesion, and collaboration to achieve common goals, notably in a framework that is governed by established rules and etiquette. Â In contrast, online gaming team formation, or recruiting may desire similar team characteristics, but the sociocultural framework is influenced, in part, by player demographics such as age, gender, geographic location, group hierarchy status, and the creation of rules that donât always follow real world norms (Losup et al. 2014, p. 37). Â
[Source: Google Images, gamingrule.tumblr.com]
Of course, there are formal codes of play, and engagement rules outlined by game developers and publishers, in player licence agreements where harassment, vilification, and offensive behaviour can evoke bans, but as stated by de Zwart & Humphreys (2014, p 80) âsome players expect such laws to be suspended within the game spaceâ. Â Perhaps this player expectation is not unreasonable given the aggressive, belligerent, and antagonistic nature of some massively multiple online role playing games (MMORPG). Â For example, EVE Online is as much about exploring a science fiction universe, and engaging in combat manoeuvres, as it is about exploiting the perceived psychological weaknesses of your adversary (Suzor & Woodford 2013, p. 5). Â I donât condone detrimental forms of online behaviour in social gaming but enforcing strict codes of conduct remains problematic.
[Source: Google Images, Eveonline.com]
Reference List
Bainbridge, W 2010, Online Multiplayer Games, Morgan & Claypool Publishers, EBL ebook library.
de Zwart, M, Humphreys, S 2014, âWeek 10â, The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space, Learning Material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, 10 December, viewed 27 January 2016.
Eveonline.com, Google Images [Image], viewed 26 January 2015, <<https://www.googleimages.com/search/eveonline>
Gamingrule.tumblr.com.au, Google Images [Image], viewed 27 January 2015, <<https://www.googleimages.com/search/gaming_rules>
Losup, A, de Bovenkamp, R, Shen, S, Jia, A, Kuipers, F 2014, analysing Implicit Social Networks in Multiplayer Online Games, IEEE Internet Computing, EBSCOhost
Pixabay.com, digital image, viewed 27 January 2016, <https://pixabay.com/en/deep web, dark web, darkness>
Suzor, N, Woodford, D 2013, Evaluating Consent and Legitimacy amongst Shifting Community Norms: an EVE Online Case Study, Learning Material on Blackboard, Swinburne University of Technology, 10 December, viewed 27 January 2016.
Very interesting blog post! The social gaming world is a whole new world to me, and I canât believe how serious they take the rules on these games (and how often these rules are broken!)
Watch Mojo looks at the top Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs), posted July 23rd 2014.
The games look so confusing and full on!
Blog Post #8: Let The Games Begin
I never would have considered myself to be a gamer. Iâve never been into Call of Duty, Fallout or Massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft and Eve Online. The popularity of social games has risen, creating networks and profiting from social media sites such as Facebook, the digital gaming community has expanded to include players of Zyngaâs FarmVille and Kingâs Candy Crush; games which I too, have fallen victim too. Has online gaming become more socially acceptable?Â
Eve Online is a MMORPG set in space - players explore galaxies, fights battles, build and destroy empires and participate in economic warfare. According to Eve Online player, Jestertrek, there are 21,000 concurrent players, having reached peaks of approximately 36,000 players in the past (Martin, 2015). Players can interact, socialise and communicate in fan forums as well as with the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) to contribute to game management.  CSM is a player-elected representative board who relays player concerns, statistics and suggests implementation of change to the game developers - CCP (Crowd Control Productions).Â
In 1938, Johan Huizinga introduced the analogy of the magic circle, proposing that events within the gaming world are âquarantined from the âreal worldââ (de Zwart & Humphreys, 2014, p.91). Are social games and MMORPGs blurring the line between real world and gaming? The magic circle suggests that in the gaming world, everyday rules and morally acceptable conduct are altered for virtual space.
Players must accept the EULA (End User License Agreement) before commencing. Within the gaming world murder, theft and abusive language are key to the role playing, gaming experience, with players harassing others to maintain dominance and seize control of property. However, âabusive, defamatory, ethically or racially offensive, harassing, harmful hateful, obscene, offensive, sexually explicit, threatening or vulgar languageâ is a violation of the  terms of service (de Zwart & Humphreys, 2014, p.80).Â
The Mittani - CSM member and Goonswarm Alliance leader, received a thirty-day ban left the council following his inappropriate behaviour at the March 2012 EVE Fanfest. The presentation at the Alliance Panel was streamed live, discussing how an anonymous player was being repeatedly harassed and killed, scammed out of his in-game currency (InterStellar Kredits), believing he would be protected. In a chat forum the player announced he was divorced; suggesting suicidal tendencies. Alex Gianturco (The Mittani) then revealed the players in-game name,  for those who âwant to make the guy kill himselfâ (de Zwart & Humphreys, 2014, p.88). He later apologised for breaching the EULA and terms of service. Gianturcoâs address was leaked, receiving rape threats against his wife (de Zwart & Humphreys, 2014, p.91). Is this response justified?Â
The Mittaniâs 2012 Fanfest case demonstrates how âout-of-game behavior can be punished through in-game sanctionsâ (de Zwart & Humphreys, 2014, p.88).Â
Lefebvre, E 2012, The Mittani gets hit with ban and resigns in wake of EVE Online controversy, engadget, 28th March, viewed 28/01/2016 <http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/28/the-mittani-gets-hit-with-ban-and-resigns-in-wake-of-eve-online/>
Eve Online 2003, Council of Stellar Management, Evelopedia, viewed 28/01/2016 <https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Council_of_Stellar_Management>
Martin, M 2015, âEVE Onlineâs player count drops to lowest since 2008â, VG247, 29th June, viewed 29/01/2016 <https://www.vg247.com/2015/06/29/eve-onlines-player-count-drops-to-lowest-since-2008/>
de Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014,â The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Onlineâ, Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99.
The Mitten 2012, 27th March, Apology on Eve Online discussion forum, viewed 29/01/2016 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â <https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=86980>
Very interesting argument you have discussed. I personally dislike MMOPGS, as they can easily turn into a huge addiction for someone, where they lose touch with their own life!
MMOG - World of Warcraft

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
MMOG - Eve Online
Are social games unhealthy for an avid gamer?
We all enjoy an escape from reality from time to time. Letâs face it, work, schooling and drama filled relationships can drain us. This has led to parts of society getting involved in the gaming world, in particular, the fad of social games. It is an escape that sends you into an alternative reality. It feels fun and exciting, but is it healthy? Is the violence featured in World of Warcraft, Eve Online and other violent social games fueling the gamers for real life violence?
Eve Online, a violent massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), based upon spaceships, has been known to have players participating in scam or theft within the game (de Zwart & Humpreys 2014, p. 77; Drain 2010). This has been so severe, that in reality, the game should be banned (Drain 2010). There has been countless Eve online scams that have occurred, where some of the scams have been labelled as âThe ISK Doubling Scamâ or the âContract scamâ (Worldshatter 2015). These scams are based upon outsmarting the gamers, where their minds have been played (Worldshatter 2015). In addition, Eve Online has encountered fraud, corporate raiding and ponzi schemes as well (de Zwart & Humpreys 2014, p. 78). It sounds to me like the constant usage of this game is making people lose touch with reality, where they can break the rules in virtual world, with real world consequences.
Furthermore, should social violent games be banned altogether? The debate of violence in social games contributing to real life violence is very serious and should be taken under high consideration. Eve Online experiences 10 people blowing up a minute, which showcases the violence these gamers experience (de Zwart & Humpreys 2014, p. 77). World of Warcraft has been known to have effects of a drug addiction to the gamer, without the use of drugs, which leads the gamer at risk of being violent in real life (Independent 2008). Without these social violent games, gamers would not have the seed of violence planted into their minds, and therefore, violence in society would decrease. Sounds like a terrific idea, which unfortunately would be difficult to implement. However, the rate of hacking and scams amongst these games need to drastically drop. Itâs a shame more people arenât gravitated to innocent social games, such as Farmville.
References
de Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014,' The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-78.
Drain, B 2011, Biggest EVE Online scam ever recorded nets over a trillion ISK, Engadget, viewed 7 February 2016,
<http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/12/biggest-eve-online-scam-ever-recorded-nets-over-a-trillion-isk/>.
Drain, B 2012, EVE Evolved: Top ten ganks, scams, heists and events, Engadget, viewed 30 January 2016,
<http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/28/eve-evolved-top-ten-ganks-scams-heists-and-events/>.
Drain, B 2010, Eve Online player steals $45,000 worth of ISK in massive investment scam, Engadget, viewed 30 January 2016,
<http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/11/eve-online-player-steals-45-000-worth-of-isk-in-massive-investm/>.
Independent 2008, Is World of Warcraft just mindless violence?, Independent, viewed 30 January 2016,
<http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/is-world-of-warcraft-just-mindless-violence-1024311.html>.
Worldshatter 2015, A new playerâs guide to Eveâs most common scams, The Mittani Dot Com, viewed 30 January 2016,
<https://www.themittani.com/features/new-players-guide-eves-most-common-scams?nopaging=1>.
Images
Eve Online n.d., âEve Onlineâ [image], Real Life Science Fiction, Eve Online, viewed 30 January 2016,
<http://www.eveonline.com/>.
Franznick, K 2007, âWorld of Warcraftâ [image], Participatory Design in World of Warcraft, Blink, viewed 30 January 2016,
<https://blinkux.com/blog/participatory-design-world-warcraft/>.
Oscar Selfie Â
Maurice Levy CEO for global advertising and marketing company, Publicis Groupe valued the 2014 Oscar selfie at approximately $800 million - $1 billion with Ellenâs tweet reaching 37 million people across the world.Â
The power of social media
I remember feeling amazed when this photo was released! It just shows the power of the selfie. A very appropriate upload to your blog!
Published January 29th, 2014 by The Chainsmokers
The lyrics illustrate just how self-conscious people have become, altering their self-presentation to achieve likes and approval from their online peers:
âCan you guys help me pick a filter? I donât know if I should go with XX Pro or Valencia I wanna look tan What should my caption be? I want to be clever How about âLivinâ with my bitches, Hashtag LIVEâ I only got 10 likes in the last 5 minutes Do you think I should take it down? LET ME TAKE ANOTHER SELFIEâ
Although videos such as these make fun of selfies, visual imaging has become central to social media. Selfies have contributed in bringing about new forms of communication, public intimacy, self-presentation, as well as interactions, networking and rapport with people, by sharing the experiences with others.
I think its an interesting point you made regarding selfies creating people to be self-conscious. I do think its very sad that people need to rely on a filter to feel confident with the selfie they just took!

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Ready or not, itâs time to take selfie sticks seriously. Good Morning America dubbed them the Holiday Gift of the Year. TIME listed them among the Best Inv
The phenomenon of selfies, led to the creation of selfie sticks!
The Selfie Phenomenon, a New Form of Communication
The selfie has taken over the 21st century, and now I struggle to remember a time when it didnât exist. It has taken over all forms of social media, where it is now highly common to find a selfie as a profile picture. The selfie was also the foundation for the app, Snapchat, which is based upon sending a photo with a caption, which can only be viewed for a certain amount of time. Selfies have turned into an everyday phenomenon, which has set the atmosphere for the digital communities.
Selfies have turned into a worldwide sensation, where everyone from politicians, to celebrities, to astronauts are getting involved in the craze. Kim Kardashian, known for uploading her fair share of selfies to social media, released a book dedicated to selfies, named Selfish (Stern 2015). Is this really all just an action of feeling vain? I have been face to face with hundreds of selfies on social media, where it was obvious some males and females just like the way they look. However, as the selfie has evolved, it has become so much more then showing off good looks, but a way to communicate feelings, an activity or a place. Hence why this phenomenon has been a global success, where a large part of society is getting involved. Moreover, selfies have created imaging communities, which is the communication we have through images on our media devices (Hjorth 2011, p. 51). It is clear to me that selfies have had an enormous impact on society.
Furthermore, I often consider selfies the glue that keeps social media together. Without selfies, Snapchat might not exist, and Instagram, Facebook and Twitter would be lacking in personalised content. Snapchat has become successful from their image messaging idea, which lead the app to drastically grow from 10 million in 2012, to 100 million in 2015 (Piwek & Joinson 2016, p. 358). Perhaps the selfie is gaining these apps further financial income. Selfies showcase your identity on social media, and has been a vital contribution to the social networks since the start. Snapchat has even included selfie lenses to their app, where certain animation filters appear, but only when you are taking a selfie (Constine 2015). In my opinion, it sounds like Snapchat is using the phenomenon of selfies and letting it shape their app, which is most likely the main reason why Snapchat has become so successful.
References
Constine, J 2015, âSnapchat Starts Charging $0.99 For 3 Replays, Adds Face effect âLensesââ, Â TechCrunch.
Hauser, S 2015, What the Selfie Stick Revolution Means for Marketers, Livefyre Blog, viewed 24 January 2016,
<http://blog.livefyre.com/selfie-stick-revolution-means-marketers/>.
Hjorth, L 2011, âMobile spectres of intimacy: the gendered role of mobile technologies in love â past, present and futureâ, in R, Ling & S, Campbell (eds) The Mobile Communication Research Series: Volume II, Mobile Communication: Bringing Us Together or Tearing Us Apart? Transaction Books Edison, NJ, pp. 51.
Keepin it Karl 2015, 25 Most Dangerous Selfies Ever!, 12 February, viewed 24 January 2016,
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_aPgPq6hMM>.
Piwek, L & Joinaon, A 2016, âWhat do they snapchat about?â Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging serviceâ, Computers in Human Behaviour, vol. 54, no. 10, p. 358.
Stern, C 2015, Keep them to yourselfie! Kim Kardashianâs selfie book, Selfish, sells just 32,000 copies in three months, Daily Mail Australia, viewed 24 January 2016,
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3185027/Keep-yourselfie-Kim-Kardashian-s-selfie-book-Selfish-sells-just-32-000-copies-three-months-despite-reality-star-boasting-41-4-million-Instagram-followers.html>.
Image
LaSane, A 2015, âKim Kardashian West: Selfishâ [image], Gilt Has an Exclusive Limited-Edition Version of Kim Kardashianâs Selfie Book Dropping Today, Complex, viewed 24 January 2016,
<http://au.complex.com/style/2015/04/kim-kardashian-selfie-book-gilt-limited-edition-version>.
In a rush to share information and find the Boston bombing suspects, news outlets and amateur Internet detectives showed the best and worst of social media in a few whirlwind days.
A very fascinating read! It really touched on the area I spoke about in my blog regarding this topic. Need to be careful about believing every piece of information we read on social media!
A Changing World - The Crowdsourcing Phenomenon
No where has social media had a bigger, more distinct impact than the phenomenon of crowdsourcing. A real-time, socially driven wave of thoughts, opinions and news can flood across the digital community, providing a source of information rich in diversity, clarity and, often first hand encounters.
As we have already discovered, a broad based definition of crowdsourcing is probably best put as âthe practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliersâ (Merriam Webster Online 2014).
The concept of people informing people, growing an intertwined web of information, analysis and opinion on major topics, such as major natural disasters or, in more recent times the deaths of celebrities like David Bowie or Alan Rickman means that a digital community gives its citizenry the chance to shape and delivery the news themselves in whichever way they see fit or, in whichever way they believe the particular digital community to which they belong will be at its most receptive.
As we saw with the birth and growth of the âRandom Hacks of Kindness Australiaâ or RHoK group, a self-described âpart of a global community of technologists and changemakers who are hacking for goodâ, the idea that the crowd at large can source from itself a group of people dedicated to acts of kindness and virtuosity is a testament in itself to the strength of ideology and sense of community that can be developed in the digital world when a topic or issue drives significant community involvement and societal thinking.
It is, of course no surprise that the same people with a strong will toward community service and acts of kindness in the real, tangible world would continue to exhibit those traits in a strictly digital sense as well. People have long been, on a whole, charitable beyond what could be expected. From buying raffle tickets to dropping a few dollars into a buskerâs hat, people tend to be inherently on the side of helping out a fellow citizen in need.
As digital communities have grown, they have begun to better represent the populous of the physical world, in all their strengths and weaknesses. Last week we looked at weaknesses like bullying and how they have transitioned into the digital age, but now, in essence, through the concept of crowdsourcing, weâre looking directly at the more positive aspects of the digital citizenry.
This thought, that, through crowdsourcing we are given an opportunity to participate in real-world events in real time is a staggeringly beautiful thought. Not so long ago, if a disaster took place somewhere in the world, in a far-flung corner of the world some distance from you, you would rely solely on the nightly news or the morning newspapers for any tidbits of information or scraps of news coming through.
Nowadays, thanks to the accessibility and ease of the digital world, members of the digital community who are in much closer proximity to a disaster, event or just about anything of interest can post images, thoughts, comments and video footage of what is happening, in real time for the ease of consumption anywhere around the world.
It really is a thought-provoking and stunningly simple concept that has become a social norm in the digital community.
You have displayed a fantastic understanding of crowdsourcing through a number of interesting paragraphs! Great job.

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
People are showing solidarity any way they can
More information on the pray for Paris hashtag, as seen on my most recent blog.
The Downfall of Social Media Crowdsourcing Within a Crisis
Crowdsourcing within social media has become more evident, as crisis situations increase. It has been considered as a useful platform to source information from users within a crisis (Johnson 2013, p. 51). This has become beneficial as users are often the first to post information regarding a crisis, and elements such as the hashtag has become a highly effective search engine on social media. However, how credible is this information that is being crowdsourced? As much as I applaud social media for enabling us this effective tool, I can only question the negative aspects and the impact they have on crowdsourcing.
Moreover, the media has always been a great platform to receive information through regarding a crisis, as we can guarantee it is the most reliable source. However since crowdsourcing has been birthed, the media has been overtaken with information that could potentially be false. This can be a concern, due to a crisis usually being the time society needs the accurate information, as lives could be at risk. Crisis information is most effective when sorted by a gatekeeper (such as a journalist), who sorts through and prepares the information for the media (Victoria441 2013). Furthermore, crowdsourcing then creates gatewatching instead, where users source information for themselves from social media (Victoria441 2013). As social media is a large platform, we are too much at risk of sourcing information from a fake account, and therefore we need to make sure we are also referring to official emergency services and media accounts for accurate information (Bruns et al 2012). Within a time of crisis it is vital that as a society, we are aware of the exact events that take place, who has been harmed and how we can we assist.
Furthermore, I have personally found that crisis crowdsourcing usually creates a hype over one crisis, when another major crisis is also happening. This starts up controversy amongst social media users, and often offends people who are in the region of another big crisis that receives very little social media attention. For instance, during the Paris attacks in 2015, a pray for Paris hashtag went viral, which lead to global support, however there were also attacks happening in Beirut and Baghdad during the same time (Laurent 2015; Mckernan 2015). The other attacks received noticeably less support and very little crowdsourcing. This diminishes potential help that those crises could have received. As a society, we should not be selective in the crisis that we crowdsource, but unfortunately this is not the case.
References
Bruns, A, Burgess, J, Crawford, K & Shaw, F 2012, #qldfloods and @QPSMedia: Crisis Communication on Twitter in the 2011 South East Queensland Floods, Arc Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, pp. 9, viewed 17 January 2016,
<http://www.cci.edu.au/floodsreport.pdf>.
Johnson, N 2013, âCrowdsourcingâ, Choice Reviews Online, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 51.
Laurent, O 2015, 70 Million People Shared Their Prayers for Paris on Instagram This Weekend, TIME, viewed 17 January 2016,
<http://time.com/4114288/paris-instagram/>.
Mckernan, B 2015, Beirut, Baghdad and Paris: how 24 hours of Isis terror unfolded around the world, i100 from Independent, viewed 17 January 2016,
<http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/beirut-baghdad-and-paris-how-24-hours-of-isis-terror-unfolded-around-the-world--ZkWjxFkREFe>.
Mills, J 2015, Paris attacks: Outpouring of support on Twitter as people #prayforparis and say they are #notafraid, Metro, viewed 17 January 2016,
<http://metro.co.uk/2015/11/14/paris-attacks-outpouring-of-support-on-twitter-as-people-prayforparis-and-say-they-are-notafraid-5501045/>.
Victoria441 2013, Gatekeeping vs Gatewatching in the Media, Media and Marketing, viewed 17 January 2016,
<https://mangosrj.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/gatekeeping-vs-gatewatching-in-the-media/>.
Image
Belosic, J 2013, âCrowdsourcingâ [image], 3 Unconventional Ways to Boost Your Facebook Engagement, Social Media Examiner, viewed 17 January 2016,
<http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/tag/crowdsourcing/>.