[quote="Ranma Tardis":gri0rolo]Oh it is just a story about how police go online as underage children trying to lure perverts into visiting with them so they can be arrested, put on trial, convicted, and sent to jail. I wonder if the police change the evidence to ensure conviction. Just another day in the land of the fee. What is so interesting about this type of story? I think it is entrapment and against the constitution. Wonder what tactic they will do next to increase the arrest numbers?
Lesson; never meet in real life the people you meet on the internet. If someone tries to sell or provide an illegal offer run do not walk to get away from them![/quote:gri0rolo]Did you actually read the article before posting this?
It's actually about how one SL resident alleges she was cheated out of US$180 worth of Linden dollars and then how the police reacted when she reported the crime. The article goes on to describe Second Life, and the kind of activity that takes place within it, quite well without all of the 'Gee-whizz, you can make thousands of dollars here' hyperbole. I thought it was one of the most balanced articles I've read on Second Life in a long time.
The people they quote are sensible too, pointing out that SL's one million users is dwarfed by MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft and social networking sites such as MySpace. Nancy Baym sounds like someone who should *always* be interviewed for bringing some rational common sense to the discussion. I rarely see anyone remind everyone in these kind of discussions that it's perfectly reasonable for virtual goods to have value and that the division between 'real life' and our 'virtual lives' is often a false one.