RMT, ICANN and XIN NET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

[kyuven]

SE could just ban China from accessing the NA/EU servers. The Chinese have their own servers after all.

This does nothing, as they just use VPNs or other means of accessing foreign IP addresses to access servers. Even legitimate players do this.

Yeah, let's let government censor even more what they want. This same line of thinking got American's the Patriot Act and now Canadians Bill C51. The terrorizers gonna all get us.

Also cyber crime is still illegal.

I think more of a real problem is a lack of jurisdictions. Cyber crime is illegal in a large number of countries...which is why criminals either don't operate out of or use IP addresses from outside those countries.
Sometimes it's not a matter of a criminal being able to be found and caught, it's a question of there being no law to prosecute them under.
I'm as against police states as the next guy, but the law really needs to catch up to technology.

[Reokudo]

This does nothing, as they just use VPNs or other means of accessing foreign IP addresses to access servers. Even legitimate players do this.

EME, TERA's NA publisher did this back when I played. There wasn't a single RMT there. (This being before cash shop and the F2P change.) So that did work for them.

[KisaiTenshi]

EME, TERA's NA publisher did this back when I played. There wasn't a single RMT there. (This being before cash shop and the F2P change.) So that did work for them.

That's because their free trial accounts were blocked from sending messages of any kind. Once they went F2P, the RMT came back.

If we treated RMT like we treated Childporn, we'd see it disappear pretty darn quick. RMT might actually be more dangerous since it could be laundering funds for crime or terrorism. We, as the player of the game, don't know what RMT is doing, but the fact that they continue to operate suggests that it's organized crime in China and not just a bunch of nerds in china doing it to make a few bucks.

[polyphonica]

That's because their free trial accounts were blocked from sending messages of any kind. Once they went F2P, the RMT came back.

No there still isn't any RMT chat spam to this day, but there's no need because cash shop items can already be traded for in-game currency. There's no profit to be made by RMT companies, since players wouldn't bother to risk going to third-party sites.

Of course, I don't think this solution would be considered preferable either.

[kyuven]

No there still isn't any RMT chat spam to this day, but there's no need because cash shop items can already be traded for in-game currency. There's no profit to be made by RMT companies, since players wouldn't bother to risk going to third-party sites.

This. Games that employ systems that allow you to buy monthly subscriptions with in-game currency or trade cash shop items for currency have little to deal with in the way of RMT because there's literally no market for them. Why risk your account when you can do it legitimately with no risk?
It does carry with it some pluses and minuses, of course. Personally I don't care either way, but the option of being able to earn your monthly subscription through in-game means would certainly be an attractive prospect to many people, and the added benefit of being a means to get rid of RMTers once and for all would be nice.

[Darra]

If we treated RMT like we treated Childporn, we'd see it disappear pretty darn quick. RMT might actually be more dangerous since it could be laundering funds for crime or terrorism. We, as the player of the game, don't know what RMT is doing, but the fact that they continue to operate suggests that it's organized crime in China and not just a bunch of nerds in china doing it to make a few bucks.

Ugh, this person clearly listens to too many moronic arguments from politicians. "Could be funding terrorism", it could also be funding someone's college tuition fees, or you know, their shopping bill each week. Are you that desperate to get your twisted sense of morality shoved down other people's throats that you're going to start implying a perfectly legal and legitimate business could be something that funds terrorism? Or saying it should be treated like child porn? RMT is at its core a CIVIL issue, it's a contract dispute, stop trying to convince others that it's destroying society and should be an actual crime.

Oh, and for the record, just because a company is legitimate, like SE for example, doesn't mean they themselves aren't funding terrorism or criminal gangs, how naive of you.

[Alistaire]

That's because their free trial accounts were blocked from sending messages of any kind. Once they went F2P, the RMT came back.

If we treated RMT like we treated Childporn, we'd see it disappear pretty darn quick. RMT might actually be more dangerous since it could be laundering funds for crime or terrorism. We, as the player of the game, don't know what RMT is doing, but the fact that they continue to operate suggests that it's organized crime in China and not just a bunch of nerds in china doing it to make a few bucks.

This has to be the best troll ever; my faith in humanity can't go low enough otherwise.