My guild leaders are from Saudi Arabia and Syria. What more do you need to know?
----
In truth though, I'd suspect terroists are very unlikely to have much success in WoW. If there's one thing fantasy teaches people, it's that the world isn't a rigidly defined box that follows a strict set of rules. There are other ways of perceiving things whether it be Tauren mysticism, undead plotting, or Dwarven practicality. This kind of thing is anathema to terroism, which relies on spreading the gospel that there is only one right way of thinking, and that all other ways should be destroyed.
It's also highly likely that people playing WoW will come into regular contact with people from many different countries and backgrounds. Hardly something that would encourage extremism and prejudice (unless it's against the horde!).
However, it's possible there may be individuals with mental illness playing WoW who use it to further escape from established social norms. It's not entirely inconceivable to me that there may be proto-serial killers out there. The question would be - how the hell would you detect them given how weirdly, obsessively, selfishly and violently the general WoW population can sometimes behave.
I look at this as the government's attempt to see if terrorist groups are using online games to communicate with each other.
Good communication is important for any group, terrorist and otherwise, and part of the war on terror is the attempt to monitor and disrupt communications.
As we all know, US gov't routinely taps phones, monitors radio and the general internet. Its only natural that they would finally realize that online games make easy communication for people from all over the world and therefore might be used by terrorist organizations hoping to remain unmonitored.
So I don't feel the idea is as outlandish as some of the rest of you do, as they said, its only a study to see if there possibly is some connection.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Good points on most everyone who posted so far, but let me add that there is another dimension that you are missing. Said "Terrorist" won't play wow to recruit and promote their cause, but they would use wow to meet each other from around the world in a neatly made chat room. They could chat in /tells and not in the open, but you might be thinking why not just goto a place like a real chat room, well those places are most likely heavily monitored already and I'm 100% sure that all Jihadist websites are monitored also.
However, wow remains monitored free and a perfect place to conduct their meetings. They could care less what wow is or how much fun they could have their instead of killing others. Anyways, this who topic could be expanded to other genre's such as other forums, even places like porn sites or sales sights like ebay or craigslist.
Edit: I forgot to add that the more people think this is silly, the more the "Terrorist" will think it's a good idea.
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
Online games are a great way of communicating with people.
No one is listening in.
VOIP providers and telephone operators are all required by Law to make their equipment accessable to eavesdropping. My mobile phone can be set to silently transmit by remote control.
Every single one of my emails is already monitored by my government, and every web page gets mirrored and archived in San Jose.
So I don't feel the idea is as outlandish as some of the rest of you do, as they said, its only a study to see if there possibly is some connection.
Suddenly EvE online receives a large number of new subscriptions from the middle east.
If I was a terrorist using WoW to communicate, and I heard about this study, I'd just subscribe to some other game.
There are so many ways to communicate over the internet that any attempt to monitor communication is ultimately doomed. Even if they managed to create a system that monitored every chat protocol/game in existance, it would only take a computer science student an afternoon to write another one.
a place where it'll be impossible to keep logs on your few errands.
a place where it's easy to come in contact with pretty much anyone from around the world.
a place where it's easy to diguise yourself into a certain personality at your wish. (mixes to blending in).
Yeah a mmorpg would be a perfect place for organisations to make deals/shipments/trades/meetings easily, add in code talking and it do be as good as 100% impossible to filter it, and gain access to your secrets.
most crowded mmorpg atm, with many different kinds of personality = WoW.
If i had a network that needed certain easily contacting, it would also be through something as unthinkable as this, alot easier than just sitting in a crowded palce talking about the weather and presidents in code language, where you can't just look like anyone else and blend 100% in with ease.
I look at this as the government's attempt to see if terrorist groups are using online games to communicate with each other. Good communication is important for any group, terrorist and otherwise, and part of the war on terror is the attempt to monitor and disrupt communications. As we all know, US gov't routinely taps phones, monitors radio and the general internet. Its only natural that they would finally realize that online games make easy communication for people from all over the world and therefore might be used by terrorist organizations hoping to remain unmonitored. So I don't feel the idea is as outlandish as some of the rest of you do, as they said, its only a study to see if there possibly is some connection.
Well said, but I still question if this is the best use of resources in a war that needs to be fought much better than it currently is.....IMHO.
I was going to write something stupid here but then I thought about it a while and thought to myself, there is nothing more stupid than this. question? So how can you tell if your team/ guild member/s are CIA or al-Qadea agents?.....
ask them for pics if they got a can of oil shoved thier rear end and a G. W. Bush tattoo on thier arms then they are obviously not in Osama's entourage.
It's amazing how easily a headline can twist a story.
Notice the complete absence in that document of any suggestion that they would be searching for terrorists in WoW, or even online games in general.
The fact that anyone could write such an article, and people would believe it, is a perfect example of how the Bush administration conned the American people into invading Iraq through misleading representation of "facts".
____________________________________________ im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good
Makes perfect sense why molten core has a boss that plants bombs on you now. Actually this explains the sudden focus on arena, team building for real life PVP.
Notice the complete absence in that document of any suggestion that they would be searching for terrorists in WoW, or even online games in general.
Actually, I don't think the article stretches things much at all. It just skips a little of the reasoning needed to make things absolutely crystal clear...
The CIA is an intelligence gathering organisation. It's mandate is to gather data to defend the US against threats. Many members of the US government perceive the current major threat as terrorism...
If the CIA isn't looking for things such as terrorism in online games then this study lies outside of it's mandate.
Our economy is going into the toilet. Our military is being wasted in police actions around the globe. We spread our forces thin, underequip and underpay our military. Our rights to privacy are being curtailed as the government spies on our emails, phone conversations, etc. Our right to own property has recently been impeached by new eminent domain laws that strip land owners of their rights. Our infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. Less people getting married, babies out of wedlock, crime and drug use on the rise. Inexcuseable mortality rates among infants, poor healthcare system...
We lack leadership. We lack heroes. We lack the morale high ground that we once stood for.
And the only way to stop this steady decline is for the CIA to get accounts in WOW to pawn all the terrorists in pvp.
Terrorist wouldnt be playing Wow or use Wow. The only thing they would try to do is actually blow up Blizzard.
I mean if a muslim saw these half naked elves they would probably faint or give up on religion and start waking it. If anything we need to put in more nudity in these games to keep the terrorists out actually.
MORE TITTIES MORE VAGINAS MORE SEX IN GAME FIGHT TERRO
Timothy McVeigh actually trained and recruited from a popular MUD game back in the early nineties. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that UO and EQ were training grounds for the attack on September 11. I'm glad the government is cracking down on this out of control problem we have. Its a good thing they are still handing out food stamps in the ghetto, so they can still afford all that weed and booze.
ANN(Azeroth News Network): We are recieving reports that a griffon has apparently hit the Great Forge this day. We switch now to Spanksalot, who is live on the scene
Spanksalot: It seems that the griffon did indeed stray off course and hit the Great Forge. (Another griffon slams into the great forge) OMG DUDE LOOKIT another griffon Just hit the Great Forge! There is molten metal being splashed all over.
Rezmequick: Its a conspiracy. These were remote controlled griffons and this was a dev staged event.
And it goes on from there.
Lothor Crestingwalker Corbantis SWG Vet Subbed 7-19-03 Cancelled various times I hate the NGE
Comments
hes hiding in ragefire chasm
hes hiding in ragefire chasm
no he is hiding in dead mines. hehehe
This would make a good SNL skit. Terroist using WoW to communicate then getting hooked on WoW becoming hard core Raiders.
I'm a terroist. I must be.
My guild leaders are from Saudi Arabia and Syria. What more do you need to know?
----
In truth though, I'd suspect terroists are very unlikely to have much success in WoW. If there's one thing fantasy teaches people, it's that the world isn't a rigidly defined box that follows a strict set of rules. There are other ways of perceiving things whether it be Tauren mysticism, undead plotting, or Dwarven practicality. This kind of thing is anathema to terroism, which relies on spreading the gospel that there is only one right way of thinking, and that all other ways should be destroyed.
It's also highly likely that people playing WoW will come into regular contact with people from many different countries and backgrounds. Hardly something that would encourage extremism and prejudice (unless it's against the horde!).
However, it's possible there may be individuals with mental illness playing WoW who use it to further escape from established social norms. It's not entirely inconceivable to me that there may be proto-serial killers out there. The question would be - how the hell would you detect them given how weirdly, obsessively, selfishly and violently the general WoW population can sometimes behave.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
Who is sewing the seed of....
FUD?
I look at this as the government's attempt to see if terrorist groups are using online games to communicate with each other.
Good communication is important for any group, terrorist and otherwise, and part of the war on terror is the attempt to monitor and disrupt communications.
As we all know, US gov't routinely taps phones, monitors radio and the general internet. Its only natural that they would finally realize that online games make easy communication for people from all over the world and therefore might be used by terrorist organizations hoping to remain unmonitored.
So I don't feel the idea is as outlandish as some of the rest of you do, as they said, its only a study to see if there possibly is some connection.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I doubt their religion lets them play games, they might realize the truth...
You know it, the best way to realize your dreams is waking up and start moving, never lose hope and always keep up.
Good points on most everyone who posted so far, but let me add that there is another dimension that you are missing. Said "Terrorist" won't play wow to recruit and promote their cause, but they would use wow to meet each other from around the world in a neatly made chat room. They could chat in /tells and not in the open, but you might be thinking why not just goto a place like a real chat room, well those places are most likely heavily monitored already and I'm 100% sure that all Jihadist websites are monitored also.
However, wow remains monitored free and a perfect place to conduct their meetings. They could care less what wow is or how much fun they could have their instead of killing others. Anyways, this who topic could be expanded to other genre's such as other forums, even places like porn sites or sales sights like ebay or craigslist.
Edit: I forgot to add that the more people think this is silly, the more the "Terrorist" will think it's a good idea.
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
Online games are a great way of communicating with people.
No one is listening in.
VOIP providers and telephone operators are all required by Law to make their equipment accessable to eavesdropping. My mobile phone can be set to silently transmit by remote control.
Every single one of my emails is already monitored by my government, and every web page gets mirrored and archived in San Jose.
If I was a criminal, I'd use games.
Suddenly EvE online receives a large number of new subscriptions from the middle east.
If I was a terrorist using WoW to communicate, and I heard about this study, I'd just subscribe to some other game.
There are so many ways to communicate over the internet that any attempt to monitor communication is ultimately doomed. Even if they managed to create a system that monitored every chat protocol/game in existance, it would only take a computer science student an afternoon to write another one.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
perfect place to be unnoticed?
in a crowded place.
in a place where you can easily blend in.
a place where it'll be impossible to keep logs on your few errands.
a place where it's easy to come in contact with pretty much anyone from around the world.
a place where it's easy to diguise yourself into a certain personality at your wish. (mixes to blending in).
Yeah a mmorpg would be a perfect place for organisations to make deals/shipments/trades/meetings easily, add in code talking and it do be as good as 100% impossible to filter it, and gain access to your secrets.
most crowded mmorpg atm, with many different kinds of personality = WoW.
If i had a network that needed certain easily contacting, it would also be through something as unthinkable as this, alot easier than just sitting in a crowded palce talking about the weather and presidents in code language, where you can't just look like anyone else and blend 100% in with ease.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
They are recruitment games for Hezbollah, modelled on America's Army.
The end boss in Special Forces is Ariel Sharon.
Well said, but I still question if this is the best use of resources in a war that needs to be fought much better than it currently is.....IMHO.
Hmm do they play aliiance or horde?
ask them for pics if they got a can of oil shoved thier rear end and a G. W. Bush tattoo on thier arms then they are obviously not in Osama's entourage.
It's amazing how easily a headline can twist a story.
Notice the complete absence in that document of any suggestion that they would be searching for terrorists in WoW, or even online games in general.
The fact that anyone could write such an article, and people would believe it, is a perfect example of how the Bush administration conned the American people into invading Iraq through misleading representation of "facts".
____________________________________________
im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good
Makes perfect sense why molten core has a boss that plants bombs on you now. Actually this explains the sudden focus on arena, team building for real life PVP.
Actually, I don't think the article stretches things much at all. It just skips a little of the reasoning needed to make things absolutely crystal clear...
The CIA is an intelligence gathering organisation. It's mandate is to gather data to defend the US against threats. Many members of the US government perceive the current major threat as terrorism...
If the CIA isn't looking for things such as terrorism in online games then this study lies outside of it's mandate.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
America is in decline.
Our economy is going into the toilet. Our military is being wasted in police actions around the globe. We spread our forces thin, underequip and underpay our military. Our rights to privacy are being curtailed as the government spies on our emails, phone conversations, etc. Our right to own property has recently been impeached by new eminent domain laws that strip land owners of their rights. Our infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. Less people getting married, babies out of wedlock, crime and drug use on the rise. Inexcuseable mortality rates among infants, poor healthcare system...
We lack leadership. We lack heroes. We lack the morale high ground that we once stood for.
And the only way to stop this steady decline is for the CIA to get accounts in WOW to pawn all the terrorists in pvp.
Terrorist wouldnt be playing Wow or use Wow. The only thing they would try to do is actually blow up Blizzard.
I mean if a muslim saw these half naked elves they would probably faint or give up on religion and start waking it. If anything we need to put in more nudity in these games to keep the terrorists out actually.
MORE TITTIES MORE VAGINAS MORE SEX IN GAME FIGHT TERRO
Timothy McVeigh actually trained and recruited from a popular MUD game back in the early nineties. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that UO and EQ were training grounds for the attack on September 11. I'm glad the government is cracking down on this out of control problem we have. Its a good thing they are still handing out food stamps in the ghetto, so they can still afford all that weed and booze.
if there is a game they should monitor is flight simulator how u think they learn how to fly and not land
ANN(Azeroth News Network): We are recieving reports that a griffon has apparently hit the Great Forge this day. We switch now to Spanksalot, who is live on the scene
Spanksalot: It seems that the griffon did indeed stray off course and hit the Great Forge. (Another griffon slams into the great forge) OMG DUDE LOOKIT another griffon Just hit the Great Forge! There is molten metal being splashed all over.
Rezmequick: Its a conspiracy. These were remote controlled griffons and this was a dev staged event.
And it goes on from there.
Lothor Crestingwalker
Corbantis
SWG Vet
Subbed 7-19-03
Cancelled various times
I hate the NGE
Do I have to say any more?
Futilez - Mature MMORPG Community
Correcting people since birth.