Worlds.com = Selfishness

A semi-serious statement. If you are going to brag consistantly about how awesome you are at a game, going on about how much better you are then other people (E.G. myself), please, PLEASE, shut up unless you play the game on something other then "Very easy".

• 88. I am finally beginning to run low on "100 facts about myself". I hate Australian 50c pieces. They're too bulky, take up too much room in the wallet.

http://www.massively.com/2008/12/29/worlds-com-files-suit-against-ncsoft-for-patent-infringement/

http://www.massively.com/2008/12/30/the-patent-that-stole-christmas/

If you're a nerd, by now you no doubt have heard about this. Normally I try to avoid tackling the more serious factors of nerdom, but this needs a friggin' look-see.

Worlds.com have filed patents for "Scalable virtual world client-server chat system" and "System and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space". For those of you who do not know what this means, it refers to EVERY method of chatting that occurs in a graphically created environment. Things like YIM or AIM will be safe, but World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, or any other MMO are potentially at risk.

Potentially? They ARE at risk. NCsoft, the owner of City of Heroes, has now got a suit filed against them.

As the second link I posted states, they need some kind of ruling that their patent is valid before they law suit begins in earnest. However, seeing as the patent was approved in the first god-damned place, it doesn't seem impossible to imagine it getting past that stage. The patent was allowed through, simply, because it was decided by someone who DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE APPROVING. I can't imagine this being any different in the courts. Once the patent is approved by the courts, however, it has genuine legal heft, and it won't look good for NCSoft.

I just did some reading up about "Worlds.com" and what they offer. It is sadly inadequate for anything other then "A chat browser with pictures". What they are doing now is, unfortunately, a sad reflection on them as people. This is not a patent anyone with any knowledge of 'virtual worlds' could have entered innocently. I can see no alternative but it being an entirely calculated move. We all know there are a group of businessmen(/women) within the business world who are after any sneaky trick to make money at the expense of others (the only difference is that some people think this group is larger or smaller then other people think).

At no point could this patent and then lawsuit have been filed for the purpose of "protecting intellectual property", it was entirely devised as a money-making scheme at the expense of the customer.

I can only think of one possible good aspect of this. If we're lucky, there will be some inter-company co-operation. I would not be surprised if Blizzard and one or two other big MMO companies assisted with NCsoft's legal fees. After all, once it's hit NCsoft, they're ALL potential targets, and I doubt Worlds.com will stop there.