My Response to 48 Hours

Last Friday, the CBS News Magazine 48 Hours broadcast a story about Everquest as part of a show about addiction. This broadcast showed such a serious lack of journalistic integrity and left so many questions unanswered that I feel compelled to respond. Clearly, in this case true journalism was set aside, and CBS instead came up with what they thought was a juicy premise and then manufactured the facts to fit, purposefully ignoring the multitude of other facts that repudiated their predetermined storyline. In doing so, they insulted and belittled the hundreds of thousands of us who play and enjoy online games and have no difficulty integrating our hobby into our regular daily lives. (I’m including the DAoC site in this editorial because there is no doubt that had they focused on that game, their premise would have remained the same). The title of their show was “Addiction”, so let me start with the word itself. All too often our media adopts a viable scientific or medical term and warps it far beyond its original meaning to the point where the term loses all actual meaning. Addiction is one of those terms. I am sorry, but Everquest is not addictive. Neither is eating, working, having sex, or any of the myriad other activities our press loves to call addictive. To call Everquest addictive is an insult to the many people out there who are struggling to overcome the many serious and valid debilitating addictions in our world. An addictive substance is something you need, not want, and no matter how you look at it, nobody needs to play Everquest. Playing Everquest is definitely a lot of fun, and some may prefer playing it to doing any of the other activities life may offer, even to the point of ignoring things society deems important. This is not an addiction, but rather a lack of self control. A man sweating with the anguish of withdrawal from his normal dose of heroin is addicted and in need to help to kick his habit. His body needs that heroin. A man who plays Everquest to the point where he ignores his family, job and life is simply out of control. He may want to keep playing the game, but he does not need it. There is a difference. CBS’s premise that this is some sort of evil game that sucks the mind out of its players and causes them to lose control of their lives is simply ridiculous. If someone loses control of his life, it is likely that he would have found some other way to do it even if he did not find Everquest. It makes for a juicy headline, but really is tabloid journalism at its worst. Even more tabloid journalism was the presentation itself. Is there any doubt that 48 Hours interviewed hundreds of people and kept rejecting person after person for being too normal or because the game did not have any negative impact on their lives before picking their eventual subjects? Even the player they eventually did decide to film hardly supported their premise, although they used every trick in their book to make it seem that he did. It’s obvious they had no intention of presenting an unbiased article and routinely rejected anything that contradicted the story they wanted to make. They instead wanted to shock the viewer and make him believe that there are hundreds of thousands of mentally unstable gaming addicts playing this online video game who are probably just steps away from killing themselves and who knows how many others. Obviously the CBS motto is to never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The player they finally chose to interview was a doctor who played Everquest about 20 hours a week. He seemed to be a fairly normal person with a normal family life. They obviously chose him because his wife complained that she wished that he spent less time playing Everquest and more time with his family. The implication was clear that this was an otherwise good and normal man hopelessly corrupted by this evil game. Funny, but I saw something else. Here is a man who manages to hold down a high pressure job, is a loving husband, properly raises his children and provides for his family. Yet CBS wants to excoriate him for stealing 20 hours a week of private time for himself, because he does it playing a video game and, quite frankly, they think that’s weird. They showed him sitting there fighting something in the game and then zoomed in to the reporter so that she could arch her eyebrows and look properly horrified that anyone would be silly enough to waste his time on something like that. “Look”, she said, “he even has trouble looking away from the screen when I’m talking to him”. Oh if only he hadn’t met this evil game, he would surely be the perfect husband and father. Let me add something up here. CBS sports is a very profitable part of their network. Watching two Sunday NFL games takes a good 7 hours. A single college game on Saturday is another 3 ½ hours and there are games on all day long. Add in a couple baseball, basketball or hockey games during the week and you can easily add up to 20 hours watching sports on TV for just your average sports fan. A dedicated sports fan would of course go much higher than that. I’m guessing if that was his hobby, 48 Hours would have never come knocking at his door. “Man ignores family to watch football” does not make as tantalizing a headline as “Man becomes addicted to evil video game”. I don’t see CBS urging their sports division to put a warning label at the bottom of every football game warning that watching sports can be addictive and cause you to spend time away from your family. His wife should be glad he is not going out to the bars every night with his friends like many other men and women and that he instead found a way to blow off steam that keeps him at home and available when she needs him and that comes at a relatively small cost. She was never asked, but would any of us be surprised to find out that the wife who is complaining so much about her husband’s game playing spends far more than 20 hours a week watching television or shopping. I would think just about anyone spends at least 20 hours a week on personal projects and hobbies. Playing golf, sports, television, reading, and shopping are a few obvious examples of activities people spend long hours at, but there are plenty of others. Of course that wouldn’t fit into CBS’s concept for the show, so those facts simply got ignored. Besides, they want to make him look weird, not normal, and pointing that out would simply remind people that this isn’t really all that odd after all. He’s playing a video game, so there must be something wrong with him. This is after all a tabloid and not a real news show. 48 Hours also interviewed Ben Stein about his son’s Everquest playing. I guess this was to show that even pseudo-celebrities like him are not immune to this scourge. (If they wanted to interview a celebrity, why not a real one who actually plays Everquest like Curt Schilling? – Oh yeah, Curt would have told them they were full of it and blown a hole in their whole false and demeaning premise). Am I the only one struck by Mr. Stein’s method of stopping his son from playing EQ? He sent him off to a boarding school where, according to Mr. Stein, they did not allow games like that to be played. After a stint of time away from Everquest, and not coincidentally away from his parents, he was suddenly cured. (and I’m glad we were spared the manufactured scenes of his son lying in bed at the boarding house, body shaking and sweating profusely, and mewing pitifully about “just one more orc, please just one more”). Well, Ben, why didn’t you just not allow those games at your house? If your son is playing video games to what you consider an excess, maybe you should just put your foot down and pull the plug on his computer. If he instead spent his time downloading online porn, would you have let him do that for a while until you finally threw up your hands and sent him off to a porn-free school somewhere? Who is the problem here? The teenager who plays a game to excess, or for that matter does anything to excess, or the parent who allows it? Sorry Ben, but don’t blame the manufacturer of a game for your bad parenting. Finally, there is poor Mrs. Woolley. It must be terrible to lose a son, and we all feel sympathy for her. But eventually she is going to have to face up to the fact that Everquest did not have anything to do with it. Shawn was a troubled and mentally disturbed child and had been so for all of his life. Something was bound to set him off eventually. Maybe it was indeed something that happened to him in the game. Everquest is after all populated with real people, and the inability to interact with people seemed to be at the root of his mental illness. It really could have been just about anything that brought about his suicide. The unfortunate fact in life is that sometimes bad things happen and there’s not much we can do about it. Blaming Everquest for her son’s death probably makes Mrs. Woolley feel better and gives her an outlet for her grief, and you know what? I really have no problem with that. Let her deal with her grief in whatever manner she wishes. What is wrong is for a news outlet like CBS to exploit her grief for the sake of their ratings. And make no mistake that this is pure exploitation on their part. “Satanic Video game convinces man to commit suicide” was just too good a headline for them to resist. The tabloid journalists who make up the 48 Hours staff must have truly started salivating when they thought that one up. So they hauled their cameras into that poor woman’s living room and helped feed her delusion so that they could broadcast it to the rest of the world and sell a lot of commercials. Frankly, this part makes me sicker than any other part of their story. Manufacturing facts to make up a false story you hope will bring big ratings makes you a poor journalist, but exploiting a mother’s suffering and grief from the death of her son for those ratings makes you a poor human being. The journalists who made their trek to the Woolley residence to get their juicy video game murder story were simply parasites feeding on that poor woman’s grief and delusions. I’d like to think that Susan Spencer, the journalist who did this story, has a little more trouble sleeping a night because of her actions, but unfortunately I doubt it bothers her in the least. It is sad to see that the network of the great Walter Cronkite has sunk to such depths. I had always thought journalism was about facts first and story second. Yet CBS managed to do an entire story on the supposedly addictive and evil nature of this game without displaying a single fact to prove it and by ignoring the many facts that disprove it. In the end they made fun of something they know nothing about, exploited something that should be pitied instead, and succeeded in nothing more than insulting the hundreds of thousands of people who consider playing Everquest and other video games a normal, healthy and enjoyable part of their lives. For what it’s worth, they also lost my respect and viewer ship. If you wish to contact CBS about this show, here is the contact information: 48 Hours 524 West 57th St. New York, NY 10019 E-MAIL: 48hours@cbsnews.com. PHONE: (212) 975-3247
Tags: General, News

Comments

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Entertainment v. Journalism
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:42 PM Rating: Decent
It is not surprising that "48 Hours" used enticing advertisements and provocative reporting to present their topic du jour. Reporting of that nature is meant to be entertainment not journalism. To categorize it as news is demeaning to objective reporters and serious journalists everywhere. Having compared so-called "news" reports on matters of which I was personally familiar, I am saddened to say that this type of "journalism" occurs constantly.

A bit of unsolicited advise to those put off by the piece ... don't sweat it, practically no one that really matters in your life actually believes everything they hear.

Having fun despite what the media says ...
My 2cp
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:38 PM Rating: Default
I think i could sit here for 20 hours just replying to all the input post here but then i would be called addicted =) I will say this.. Hats off to allakhazam. I get sick and tired of all the pop ups but this artical was a very well done bit. I do agree with the many that eve EQ can be addictive to a point but not the the degree that CBS mad it sound. I sent CBS a e-mail telling them my feelings as well as set my yahoo IM to show this link for others to click on and read.

Chears to all. Great input =)
Some thoughts
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:27 PM Rating: Decent
Remember, that this is 48 Hours we're taling about here. Shock TV. The kind of television that says "Thousands of kinds of Mold are lurking in YOUR house right NOW and will KILL YOU. Film at 11"
48 Hours is designed to grab attention. And it has done so, as one can gather by some of the responses here. I don't think anyone here can actually say that they were at all surprised at what CBS had to say. Hoping for fair and impartial reporting from Shock TV is akin to hoping to strike it rich by panning for gold in your own shower. Not bloody likely.
There are those who do escew real life for EQ. To excess sometimes. But we must also remember that any activity used as an escape can lead us into that trap. Drinking, drugs, sex, street racing, violence, canoeing, skydiving, basketweaving, underwater bee-bee stacking, anything at all can be taken too far. I wager that any pasttime that 48 Hours pointed its camera at and made a one-sided short for Shock TV audiences, would garner the exact same reaction from those who beleived in it.
We're not alone in our indignation folks. We're just the victim of the week.
What's really more of a concern here, is the alienation that some feel when their loved ones turn away from their family and friends for something as cold and impersonal as a machine (regardless of the level of interactivity involved). It hurts when the person you love and care about turns to a machine and some strangers from across the globe for comfort when things get difficult, rather than talk to you.
Remember also, that games like EQ are a relatively new phenomenom, and there are going to some who are threatened by it. I'm not talking about other entertainment mediums, paranoid anti-tech zealots, and bitter sociopaths who enjoy making others unhappy. I'm talking about ordinary people here. Not everyone loves EQ, or games like it. EQ and its ilk are not for everyone, and the allure is hard for some to understand. As EQ enthusiasts, we need to understand that, and be compassionate for those who do not see what EQ may hold for us. We may see great battles and high adventures with fast friends and allies. But all they see is us, preferring to be with a machine and some strangers seen only as figures on a monitor. Try to remember that if you can.
This is the letter I sent to 48 hours
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:23 PM Rating: Decent
I was appalled by your lack of both journalism and professionalism in this show, especially regarding the "Everquest" segment. They are hundreds of thousands of people who play "Everquest", and most of them lead healthy normal lives. The fact that you took such a small percentage of the "Everquest" playing population and blew it up to seem as though this is the normal behavior for a majority of people who play this game, shows how much of a trash tabloid you really have become. I find it hard to believe that a network such as CBS with such a strong journalism past would allow itself to be lowered to this level. Unfortunately it appears that CBS is going the way of other tabloids, and playing to the lowest common denominator of society, and is more intent on ratings than facts. In the past, I had regarded CBS news shows as informative, but I now know better. If you can misconstrue the "Addiction" show examples in this manner, I am going to have to assume you treat all of your news stories with such little regard for the truth and discount them as so much trash.



The boy who killed himself was an unfortunate incident. But in no way was that directly related to the game. The mother herself even said that she "thought" it was because of something in the game, yet she has no proof or facts that this is the case. On top of that, you completely suppress many other factors that surrounded this boy’s life. First of all, he was a mentally unstable person to begin with, so why did he have a gun? Also, if he had been "addicted" to something else, such as swimming or watching CBS on TV, would you have included that in the show for addiction? My guess is that you wouldn’t have because it does not make as scandalous a story. No one made him play that game. And if fact, I put most of the blame on the mother. She knew her son had mental instability problems. And in knowing this she should have been more precautionary about limiting her son's playing time if it was becoming a problem and taking other measures like making sure he didn't have a gun.



In today's society people are too quick to put the blame on others. Whenever they have a problem, it is never their fault. If someone is letting a game "ruin" their life, I would say that they need to show some self control and grow up and recognize what their true priorities are. These individuals who let something get out of control and run their life need to look inwards first and not take the easy way out of the "blame game". Unfortunately it appears that CBS is willing to cater to this scourge as long as it helps the ratings, regardless of what harm it can do to our society.



Even if CBS truly believes that the game is wrong and is causing an unhealthy addiction to the players, you could have done some real research and, dare I say it, journalism, by doing a thorough investigation instead of taking a couple of examples and trying to leverage them to pull on people's heart strings. First you would have to qualify what exactly you were defining as an unhealthy addiction. Then you could have determined what the true percentage of players fall under this category. Then you could have gone even farther and compared this addiction rate to truly addictive things such as drugs and alcohol which are physical addictions, or other non-physical addictive things such as watching TV or shopping. But you failed to do any of that probably because then people could have made an informed decision for themselves, and you wouldn't want that because then CBS wouldn't be able to hype the show using scare tactics. Regrettably, it appears demonizing and finger pointing is much easier and then true reporting for CBS and 48 hours.


Jason Norch
EQ...all that's right with the world!
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:18 PM Rating: Default
Let's face it, folks, we have another Pat Pulling on our hands.

Not everyone should play this game. Only those with enough common sense to know the difference between fantasy and reality. That makes, oh, I don't know, about 95% of the world's population. But the media just love to focus on that wacky 5%, don't they?

I started playing about a month ago. According to CB$, I am now a junkie. Even though I play on the weekends, about three hours at a time, I am a junkie; CB$ says so. Even though I have no problem setting camp and going on with my life, I am glued to my computer 24/7; CB$ says so. I have many non-EQ friends with whom I socialize on a regular basis, yet I shun them all, according to a mis-informed news program. Even though I am starting to make some incredible people on Norrath, and that we work together for a common good in the game and we help each other whenever we can, we are potentially evil?

So, even though I am not an addict, the mere fact that I play EQ must make me an addict. In the immortal words of the great philosophers of our time... are they for real?

What next, we can't play gin rummy because it could lead to a drinking problem? Give me a break!

I totally agree with Allakhazam on this. This is a game, a wonderful experience, but a game, nonetheless. If the Disciples of Bristlebane start hanging out in the airport with booklets and sample CD-ROM, then I'll worry. But for now, let's just play the game as it is meant to be played...with a spirit of fun and cameraderie that has made it truly an on-line community.

And I hope David Letterman jumps ship to ABC.

Everyone Ban CBS, because that's all you see-B.S.

Xhushia
Teir'Dal Rogue Level 11 on MithMarr
RE: EQ...all that's right with the world!
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:28 PM Rating: Default
Whoops! I meant "make some incredible friends" or "meet some incredible people" You see how See-B.S. has me flustered?!!?!

Xhushia
CBS simply needed a victum
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:15 PM Rating: Default
CBS's 48hours and other "news" networks keep themsleves popular by constantly dissing everything that doesn't support them. It will be other networks, gaming systems, heck anything that causes them to lose viewers. EQ was the latest victum. I think they were completly off and displayed a form of Devil worship rather then a fun and entertaining game.Good-bye CSI, the one good program they had.I refuse to suopport anything so wrong.
gota luv em
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:14 PM Rating: Default
How many housewives watch 6 hours of soaps a day, how many children play nintendo 6 hours a day,
How many t.v. shows are worth 2 hours a day?

Not the news, that's fer sure

At least we are not shooting people at school, think abou it


Omnigar Derhandsomeone
31 troll shaman
The Seventh hammer
Gratz Allakhazam on a great post!
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:13 PM Rating: Good
I could not agree more with allakhazam on this post CBS is a libral media just like most news media Shawn the guy the killed him self played EQ on the Rathe server the server i play on. Now some of my EQ friends said the new him that he was a nice guy allways helping peeps ect. To say that this guy killed him self over this game is 100% false this game is not addictive for 1 should know i have played EQ for 2 years i have a lvl 53 shadow knight on the rathe server sure i play this game ever chanse i get but it is not additive i know i quit EQ for 6 months back in the year 2000 i was 35 at that time my gear was so so and it seemed i would never get to 60 much less 50 so i stopped playing. If this game is that addictive i couldnt have stopped playing but i did, some say addiction is a part of the mind but it is all how weak u are the weak minded always fall first. sure drugs are addictive they control the mind and increase the flow of certain fluids to the brain making it a "high" and quiting can be difficult but as a person that has played Everquest as long as i have and have had 1st hand data about this guy from my EQ wife and her friends this guy must have had other probs beside i know for a fact that he was suffering from depression did CBS mention that NOOOOOO! they would never do that, that might blow there whole evil online game theory out of the water. The idea of a man or women coming home and playing eq for 20 hours a week is not that long at all that is 4 hours a day NOT ENCLUDING WEEKENDS i know i spend more than that a week playing. For the media to report this way sickens me i say F#ck em if they ever played EQ for 20 hours a week they would enjoy it just like the rest of us who log on and spend time to lvl are char from 1 - 65 this game will always live on not threw addiction but threw the "FUN" of the game.

53 SK
Rathe sever

WTG allakhazam 1 post can change the way people think
(show my post and what allakhzam wrote to all the people that belive CBS is right and see what they say then)
aaaccckkk
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:08 PM Rating: Decent
the servers are still down. i think that i am about to have a fit. gotta have my fix..gotta have my fix..gotta have my fix.


hehe hehe hehe
Addiction
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:08 PM Rating: Default

Everquest is a VERY addictive game. You do have the NEED to play. To say you do not is very hypocritical. How many of you have not attended an important event or not slept to just kill that one last mob, 3 hours later.

To say EQ is not addictive is plain blasphemy.

As for the rest, they do go overboard. I'm not saying 48 hours is in the right, but EQ is addictive, and without proper supervision, can be dangerous to some people.

Social interaction is a NORMAL part of the human being.

Kelkun
(60 of pretty much any class in the game, Retired)
RE: Addiction
# Oct 21 2002 at 3:15 PM Rating: Default
LOL you couldn't be more wrong, and I doubt you'll find anyone on this board was dosen't realize that. Everquest is not addictive, its FUN. People don't have to play, they really WANT to play because its fun. Name one person who dosen't sometimes (If not every ngiht)go home after work and veg out in front of the TV 5 hours a night. Are they addicted? NO. Fact is, you gotta do something. That's life, and technology has brought us to the point where machines do most of our needed things for us, giving us many many hours of blessed free time. Can someone become addicted to EQ? NO. They can play it way more than they should, and they can ignore their family, But that's because their family just isn't is fun as EQ for them... Not because EQ is addictive. Its a game, and people have always lpayed a lot of games. If pulled quite a few all nighters playing basketball with my friends on the weekends, and never had as much fun as raiding Vindi or Umbral. And that's really what this boils down to.

Chernunos, 55 Druid, E'ci Server
Addiction smiction...
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:08 PM Rating: Decent
Whether or not Everquest poses the threat of possible psychological addiction is not the issue. This is all simply a matter of taking responsibility for one's life by enjoying things in moderation. There are many potentially addictive substances and forms of entertainment in the world: drugs, alcohol, TV, games, sex, food, just about anything. It's every person's responsibility to control his or her own life and not allow any one thing to take control of their lives. In today's society, everyone wants to blame everyone else for everything, people sue cigarette companies after spending 40 years voluntarily poisoning their lungs, obese people sue fast food companies for allegedly making them fat. Parents of mentally unstable children blame video games for any bad things their kids might do. No one wants to take any responsibility for themselves anymore, it's all about passing the buck.

Everquest is a wonderful form of entertainment, but like everything else, requires self-control to properly integrate it into one's life. But hey, let's please the "news" media and get rid of all the things that make life worth living. Then there won't be any more problems with addiction. Woot!
My Thoughts
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:07 PM Rating: Default
To truly post my thoughts I had to think long and hard on it,here is the result.We cannot blindly say this game is not addictive because we all know that is not true..it is addictive because it is fun and entertaining..it keeps us occupied for the brief span of time we have to play it.My biggest dissappointment was the lack of an Objectionable View.To say that Mrs Woolley's son commited Suicide because of EverQuest is just plain ignorance.The fact came through loud and clear when she said her Son had a history of mental illness.If his computer would have been logged on to CNN News or something of that nature would it then have been the fault of CNN News?If her son had a history of spending too much time on EQ should she not have taken a stronger stand against his playing?I had gathered that He had been playing EQ even before he moved out of the house.It is sad that a mother can feel so much quilt over how her Son turned out that she cannot face the issue head on,instead she must find someone to blame.I am sorry your son is not longer with you Mrs Woolley...it is a shame when anyones life is cut tragicaly short..but you cannot blame a computer game for the issues your son had.
Editorial
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:04 PM Rating: Default
Nothing more to say other than I agree with those here.
Calm down a little guys....
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:03 PM Rating: Decent
Here's the comparison that sprung to mind when they got to the point about Shawn and his suicide: dating. How many teens/adults have ended their lives over the inability to function properly with their peers, and not be able to interact in social situations. Are they going to ban dating in highschool? No. Why? Because it happens all the time. Its a fact of life today that so many people grow up in screwed up families or have a form of mental defeciency (i hate to say it that way, buts its the most acurate phrase I could come up with) that you hear about so many teen suicides from this and that, we are begining to tune it out. It happens. But it's never been linked to a game like EQ before, and theres the red flag.
Shawns death, while VERY tragic (as soon as we think someoen killing them self for ANY reason is just trivial, we need to re-evaluate out points of view) did serve to open up a new venue for discussion about the 'safety' of gaming. Anyone remember the kids who died while copy-cating the highway scene from the movie "The Program"? Remember how 'evil and irresponsible' the filmmakers were said to be to include something like that in a film? Wheres that mentality now? What happened is that people took a step back, after the initial shock, and realizes, wow, those kids were just dumb. Its going to be the same here. Once the MMORPG field branches out into Star Wars, you just watch the praises flow in. People tend to think of dragons and spellcasters as inheritantly demonic, and that image sticks in peoples minds. Once we shift over to the "Force" and flying starships alot of this predisposition towards 'evil' subject matter will dissipate.
So, basicly, dont get so worked up over all this 48 Hours nonsence...its just some poorly informed people cashing in on a touchy subject, and we arent heading anywhere we need to worry about.
to CBS
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:03 PM Rating: Decent
I am writing to inform you that you have totally lost all respect on my part.

My consideration of CBS has always been high, thinking that you carefully investigated all facts, putting together solid news stories to keep the general public well informed. I trusted you. Since your "news" story on Everquest, I have learned that you do not care enough about the facts to make sure of a solid report on a subject.

I am an ordinary person. I work as a computer graphics artist. I am devoted to my family. They love me. I love them, and spend my time with them. I enjoy various recreational and athletic activities. I have an excellent social life. I also enjoy spending quite a fair amount of time playing Everquest, including playing with members of my family.

Being an active member of my community, I have helped people through addictions. I am Totally Outraged that you could Minimize the Pain and Anguish these people go through to get over their addictions by calling Everquest an addiction. Outraged! If you have ever seen a person go through withdrawal, you could never call a pleasant evening activity like Everquest an addiction.

CBS will never have the same respect in my eyes. Perhaps someday you will decide that the facts are more important than sensationalism. I may be convinced eventually that you have changed your ways. But I suspect that process will take a Long Long time. The one who is not reliable in Small things, is certainly Not reliable in matters of global importance.

I implore you to return to the facts. Restore your reputation as being a reliable reporter of news.

Nemuel
57th Enchanter

Luclin
Helpful not hurtful
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:03 PM Rating: Decent
I like the fact that the eqworld is there and it is just that fact ....that might have kept me from doing something Stupid. 2 years ago when my Engagement ended abruptly and in a BAD way i was lost and really was spinning loosely on the edge, had it not been for the fact that my EQ Friends not only were there for me in game but reached out with personal e-mails i might have ended up in worse conditions, so Addiction isnt the problem its one of denying responsibility for one's own life and the choices you make while travelling thru it. Good thing in Eqland all ya gotta do is wait a few minutes, if things go badly, but good thing there is such a place where we can all go and find a whole other world. To date i am happily enjoying my life both in and OUTSIDE of Norrath.Now all of you stay here and read posts so the login servers will stop being Congested!!!! :)
Would you....
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:02 PM Rating: Decent
32 posts
get a Catheder from some doc who was up all night playing EQ? When I do that my eyes make a scratching noise when I blink and I can't see so well. I would not be too syched about him treating me. IMHO That dude had a problem, if I had 2 daughters I would have at least wait till they go to sleep, sometimes. But it's his life, his decisions, and I have my own... isn't this America?

I also think that EQ can be addictive, and I know the more I play the more I want to play but ya know what? I control it because I have the self control and was taught what is most important in life by a good family and good friends. My parents yanked the power on my Nintendo plenty of time.

My favorite asanine comment was Ben Stein saying "If sony had a heart they wouldn't make this game". How close minded and niave can you be to say such a thing. He'll get a lot of support from me in the future. More like a kick in the @#$.

I wish they would have showed more of the Fan Faire and seen some more costumes and showed all the strangers getting together in two short days and working together solving problems in the Quests and having genuine, innocent, f-u-n. A very social atmosphere where people from all walks of life got together without judgement where everyone enjoyed meeting each other and had one common interest - one common hobby. Even my wife who doesn't play EQ came and enjoyed hereself some (even if she had no idea what the hell I was talking about most the time).

But then again I guess that would have refuted the whole premise of their spin on EQ as a mind numbing, devil worshipping, drug.

Well, enough from me... CBS will hear from me, for sure. Keep up the Good work Allakhazam!!!

Zalgen Goldenhammer
Dwarven Warrior of the 51st Circle
Terris-Thule
CBS sux arse!!
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:00 PM Rating: Default
And WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! heh
CBS doesn't like the competition
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:58 PM Rating: Default
I think I am like many. I play after work and after household and family responsibilities, for about 2 hours each night from about 9pm to 11pm. I used to stare at the TV during this time period, "prime time", as millions of adults and kids done have for about the last fourty years. I now often go weeks without watching TV because I find Everquest to be a more rewarding use of my personal time.

We are in the midst of an entertainment revolution (CBS' 48 Hours is clearly entertainment, not news or educational programing)with hundreds of thousands, if not already millions of people playing on line games like Everquest instead of watching TV every night. CBS knows this and they don't like the competition.

caution
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:58 PM Rating: Default
i would just like to mention to everyone posting taht if cbs reacts to al of or messages and decides to come to this thread to see what we are saying. they will find one to the posts that is in the worst language to air so please refrain form usinig symbols to display what everyone knows to be a profanity

binasi archer lvl 43 ranger of knights honor
xegony server
Something to remember
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:56 PM Rating: Decent
While I missed the show (didn't even know about it beforehand) I have heard about it from numerous friends who do not play the game and thought of me when it started...
Aside from the obvious scramble for ratings that this show demonstrated, there is one factor that seems to have been missed in the posts above (and in the show itself).
The issue is not the time involved or the fact that we "ignore" our loved ones while we play. It is the fact that unlike modeling, reading, playing video games or watching TV, you CAN NOT just get up, save the game and walk away at any time. This is an INTERACTIVE game, with thousands of people on with you ever time. You're likely in a group or raid, getting ready or in the midst of taking down the big baddy and it is at times like this when the loved ones get frustrated. The "I just need 5 more minutes" always turns into 15-30 just because of the dynamics of trying to get 6-50 people to cooperate to take down one computer generated beasty. (I now get asked if I'm talking in EQ time or real time 8) )I know this is an issue with my GF because she knows it's not fair to the others I'm with if in the middle of a raid I sasy "sorry guys, gotta run". That said, if I ever had to run, I'd simply let my character die on the spot and worry about sorting out the issues at a later time. But many people, including my friends, do not necessarily understand this. Had 48 hours looked into the interactive aspect of the game they might have understood some of the reasons for this "addictive behaviour" that we sometimes demonstrate.
You get the same response from a kid out playing basketball with his friends when called in for dinner for example. He wants "five more minutes". He does not want to leave the game and his friends in the middle of something fun.

/end rant

BTW I'm have a healthy (overly sometimes) social life with my GF and friends, play D&D once a week, paint and build models and work full time. AND I manage to squeeze in many hours of EQ or other computer games in there too! Don't see a problem here!! Do you?!

Murmullo Delbosque
Pathfinder of the Blessed Tunare of the 54th Season
Tunare Server



Edited, Mon Oct 21 14:42:50 2002
if ya missed it
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:56 PM Rating: Excellent
If you did not get to see 1 sided story here is a link www.unknowndomains.com/Movies/CBS.wmv

Just what did they pay Jerry for that interview that screemed setup?
Am I bad? =P
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:45 PM Rating: Default
Anybody else watch this while playing EQ?
RE: Am I bad? =P
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:02 PM Rating: Default
It's more than likely the only people that DID watch this were EQ players. :P
RE: Am I bad? =P
# Oct 21 2002 at 2:34 PM Rating: Decent
Not quite true. :) My wife watched, but only because I play. She watched with her sister and mother and, although she can't read Allakhazam's post, she would agree with it. She even told me when I talked to her the next day that the kid who killed himself was already messed up and that it wasn't very fair. She has watched me play and has seen my brother and a RL friend play, so she knows what she is talking about.
mmmm...addiction
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:45 PM Rating: Decent
Very nice response. I was gonna post something about it but I think you said it way better than I ever could
Does this say anything?
# Oct 21 2002 at 1:45 PM Rating: Default
Hmm... I couldn't help but notice that the largest gap between posts was 6 minutes, every one of them supporting Allakhazam's view. What does this say about CBS to you? /grin

I can /grin if I want to, but just because I do, it doesn't make EQ an addiction. It just proves that others who play understand the concept of emotes...
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