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Second Life: Virtual Cash vs Real Currency
Szark
News ManagerMember Posts: 4,420
A UK panel is urging governments to start treating virtual currencies in the same manner as real life money to help combat fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. The panel follows similar moves to clamp down on virtual economies in the U.S., South Korea and other E.U. Countries.
SECOND LIFE, May 14 (Reuters) - Governments should apply real-world laws and regulations to virtual currencies in online worlds like Second Life to prevent potential money laundering, fraud and tax evasion, a report from a British advisory group said on Monday.
The Fraud Advisory Panel, set up by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said legal loopholes were exposing virtual world users to "a growing risk of theft and deception."
In recent months law enforcement and tax authorities have focused increasing attention on virtual worlds, including a U.S. Congressional probe into virtual world taxation, a German criminal investigation into child pornography in Second Life and a new South Korean law that cracks down on money transfers in online games.
While the report said the dangers were hypothetical at this point, it warned that people seeking to avoid law enforcement and tax authorities were likely to seek out loosely regulated online economies.
"My experience has been that fraudsters migrate to areas that are most vulnerable," said Steven Philippsohn, chairman of the panel's cybercrime working group. "(They) always benefit where countries are loosely regulated, and this is an environment that is unregulated all together."
Read the full article here.
Comments
But seriously, can't wait to see where this goes.
I don't even post on this website. I just have a random account just to have one, but I seriously have to put my two cents worth on this one.
This is the lamest thing I've ever heard, and whoever proposed this idea is as corrupt as the virtual worlds themselves. People kill people.
EDIT:
“Linden Lab and its servers are based in the United States. But when you start to get domains based in Belize and the Congo and such — that’s when it really gets messy.”
So what's based in Congo and Belize? Yeah, that's what I thought, nothing. Quit whining about money all you want is your cut, but you won't have it this time.
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I don't see it as lame at all.
Let's say someone fenced your credit card. Within moments, the perpatraitor buys currency from a character they fenced or acquired under an assumed name, paying for it with the stolen card. They transfer the money through three separate characters making game purchases with game currency, who then all cash out at different times. By the time the fraud on the credit card is reported, the fraud has been laundered.
Assuming you could break through privacy arrangements with the game where the laundering took place, and assuming the person whom the account is registered to is a real person, and assuming the real person the account is registered to committs the crime, how does one recoup the fraud, knowing that the accomplises could be in many different countries, some of which do not consider this to be fraud?
Simply put, real life property crime is being facilitated through virtual worlds, and in order to put a stop to the real life property crime, virtual assetts have to be recognized as real assetts. Now if virtual property is just like any other assett, then fairness dictates that it be treated like any other assett in terms of taxable income. I mean, if both the real estate speculator and the virtual estate speculator make the same amount of money dealing in estates for a given year, why does the real estate speculator make less after taxes, simply because its made of matter, and not binary code?
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
Define 'fenced.'
What your saying is credit card fraud. Taxing people for virtual property doesn't make sense. It IS binary code, period. Doesn't it make enough sense to p2p games? Let alone get taxed by the government?
I don't understand your response at all.
You can't illegally launder money in a virtual world, it's your money, just like everyone else has their own money. If you give some moron your credit card number whose fault is that?
The sale of virtual currency for real life cash is not illegal either. It is only against ToS, thus company can ban your account, blah blah take action. So if we take this to the next level and make it like real life... ummm, so we go to prison for years because we successfully found a way to make real currency via online economies established by players created by corporations/company's that allowed us too? (i.e. second life)
Now, the government is realizing that online gaming is becoming very important for our modern age. Millions and millions of people do it everywhere around the world.... whoever is behind this is trying to dip in to this multi-billion dollar industry.
Virtual property, and real life property should not be considered alike, it isn't. I guess I can't really input much more, about 4 years ago some kid killed himself over his everquest account, whatever. If they want to destroy let them destroy.
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I'm not sure what you are saying. If I steal your credit card information, use that information to buy virtual currency, and buy virtual items from my friends who then turn that money into cash, are you saying that shouldn't be illegal? Why does money laundering become alright when its done through a game?
What about if you broker a sale in Lindendollars for heroin or kiddie porn? How can the law prosecute for selling narcotics, or selling child pornography, when buying transactions in game currency aren't considered real transactions?
Yet according to the article, this is exactly what is happening. Financial and legal institutions don't recognize game wealth as real wealth. Because they don't recognize game wealth as real wealth, people are using game currency to broker transactions that would be considered illegal if done through any other medium of exchange.
But here's the problem. When financial and legal institutions recognize game wealth as real wealth, it falls under the same laws as real income. Otherwise, you could theoretically buy a car for 25,000 dollars from a dealer, buy 25,000 dollars worth of Everquest currency, have the dealer and customer log into Everquest, transfer the game currency, and not have to pay sales tax on the car.
We all know that people are making Lindendollars by selling property in Second Life. Some are converting these Lindendollars into cash, and making significant amounts of income doing so. Now if it were any other legal income, you'd have to declare it. So why shouldn't the person who sells Lindendollars have to declare it just like everyone else? Is it because selling Lindendollars for cash isn't a recognizable transaction? If it isn't a recognizable transaction, then selling child pornography with online currency isn't a recognizable transaction either (which is exactly why they do it with online currency, apparently). If it is a recognizable transaction, then why can the person who sells electronic software pings get away without having to pay tax, when I can't, because I sell real things?
We seem to want to recognize online sales as legitimate means of exchange and wealth generation. We feel virtual property is real property. Yet the proof of whether or not its real and legitimate is if we declare it as real and legitimate income. Since I don't see anyone lining up at H&R Block to put it down as a real assett, I guess we are just fine with it being a shady, underhanded business with no legal standing or protection. And when black markets come about that are under the legal and financial radar, organized crime is soon to follow, because they can traffic their business through there with impunity.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
I understand exactly what your saying =D
Yes, no matter what kind of transaction, if a credit card is stolen said person should be prosecuted accordingly.
As for the currency, my point may be unclear. Anybody can sign up to play second life, thus anybody has equal opportunity to gain lindendollars, depending on how much time is put in or whatnot. So if someone isn't happy selling real life real estate, why don't they just sign up for second life? I mean, I just don't see why you have to tax the players in the real life. If there's hacking or whatever I mean that's illegal, but that's also a different story.
True on the car example as well.... so are they just saying they want to patch all the loop holes? Nothing is free? I guess nothing is free. Ebay taxes, paypal taxes.... might as well just tax players.
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Kill this option, and you have a game that is not linked with the real world that is full of crime and other stuff that should have nothing to do with the game world.
just my 1/2c
Not only do we have to put up with their political fiascos in everyday life, listening to them tell us "what's best for us," now they want to gain control of some part of the digital worlds. Why? because it's the one place they havn't been able to control our lives. They are afraid of us waking up and remembering what life is really about, and then they'll start to lose control over us.
Yes, scams happen, but it's a GAME, an escape. Either poloticians are getting big bucks for this movement, or they just want their fifteen minutes of fame.
Top Ten Most Misused Words/Phrases in MMO Industry...
It's because of people like you repeating the mantra: "it's a game... it's a game... it's a game..."
Obviously the generation that plays GTA and other types of violent games, where you can, on screen, have sex with virtual AIs and kill and maim people, shooting them or slicing them to see their guts spilled over the 3D environment... all that's allowed... it's supposed to be fun... they're, after all, just games, right?
The problem is that Second Life is not a game and never was intended to be one — no matter how many people log in every day, and yell "it's a game, it's a game, it's a game" 24 hours a day. It's a virtual environment with real people, no matter how much you wish to ignore that and tell all your friends and family that these are not real people with real feelings — or, of you accept they are real, you assume (and tell others to assume) that they're just in Second Life "because it's a game" and it's all right to cheat, exploit, or insult them. It's all fun. We all want to have fun in Second Life. It's not serious — so everything is allowed.
Even when you're ripping off others for thousands of US dollars (one day, it might even be more than that), that's also all right. People join a game. If they "play" it wrongly, and are cheated out of a thousand US dollars here and there — well, it's their fault, really, isn't it? After all, some play better than others (read: some are con artists, professional frauds and cheats, or very good at running "protection" and "extorsion" services). So if you aren't "good at playing" (ie. if you're not "good" at defrauding others), you should stop playing, right?
These are just preposterous excuses — sometimes made up to convince just yourself, but more than often to justify your immoral and illegal acts in front of others.
I find this attitude very, very dangerous. And the worst bit is the group mentality — should I say mob mentality? — that convinces themselves and others with similar interests that you can break the law (any law) "because it's a game and we're supposed to have fun with it". Ask yourself what the victims of these acts are thinking. And perhaps you can understand why the media is covering the sudden interest of many governments and regulatory entities to take a look at what goes on inside Second Life, as the vast majority of its users are well aware that this is anything but a game, but are constantly being threatened by the "gamers" who irrationally and very wrongly "believe" they can justify all their illegal acts by claiming it is a game.
Get a grip on reality, guys. Calling Second Life a game will not protect you any more. Forget that excuse, it's as worthless as any murderer claiming in court that they didn't know that a shot from a weapon could actually kill people, since they thought it was all faked on the movies, and they were only "playing" anyway, they didn't want to kill anyone... continuing to insist that Second Life is "just a game" will not avoid the authorities to knock at your door. It's time to accept the responsibilities of your acts; start to do that voluntarily, while you still have a chance, because if you don't, someone (the authorities) will do it for you.
"I'm not building a game. I'm building a new country."
-- Philip "Linden" Rosedale, interview to Wired, 2004-05-08
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So there are about US$1.5M transacted every day in SL. Some of it goes for virtual property, clothes, whatever. Some goes for services or entertainment. People are making full time incomes there.
If I'm a graphic designer in Brazil making US$4,000 per month on fashions, art, music in SL, or if I'm making something like that for escort services or running a gaming parlor (the FBI doesn't allow them to be called "casinos" in SL anymore...!
So yes, we're not talking about Korean game gold farmers or something here. We're talking about real businesses that are transacting seven figures a day in real dollars in what some folks are calling the first truly international currency. And every time someone calls the $L (linden dollar) that, the Linden folks cringe and say, "No, don't call it real money!"
But it's real money. I know some few people who are pulling in four figures a month in real dollars in SL, and companies that are paying five and six figures to get their business presence developed. Linden promotes SL not as a game, but as a virtual world that is the successor to the Web, and a lot of companies are buying in.
If someone pays me for something in SL, I can pull it out in real dollars *very much* according to the TOS. SL is an engine of commerce, and the regulatory context for SL and for other similar environments is going to challenge the perceived sovereignty and borders of a lot of nations who want to regulate commerce over the Net.
It gets even odder for countries who want to enforce local laws (like Germany's child porn laws, which say that two avatars, 35 and 45 years of age as players, can't have pixel sex while looking like a teen and an older guy -- or like France's laws against sale of Nazi memorabilia as they apply to player-made clothing in SL, or maybe Thailand will block SL if there are in-world protests against their King, or....).
As we speak, two Spanish political parties, both of which have presences in SL, are feuding -- committing virtual "terrorist acts" in SL. It's getting RL press from Reuters internationally (did I mention that Reuters has a bureau there? Check out http://secondlife.reuters.com/).
Did I mention that Sweden (you know, the country, not someone pretending to be Swedish) opened a freakin' *embassy* in SL? (Mostly, I suspect, to get press for Swedish tourism, but they call it an embassy).
SL is a game, just like the web is a game. It's mostly entertainment. It involves a lot of commerce. It involves a lot of stuff that folks would like to regulate but really can't, effectively. And it makes folks who think about sovereign borders for regulation *insane*.
And that's what you're seeing in this article.
People who play SL (myself included) will tell you that it's a game that focuses on relationships, and involves real feelings and commitments among the "residents." Some of those commitments are friendships, romances -- some are more like guilds -- some are more like business partners. I have certainly seen guilds that involved all of those dimensions, but most SLers don't see your average MMO as anything but a video game with inconsequential chat. And for some SLers, SL is just a very resource intensive chat system with customizable avatars. But there's more to it.
Frankly, I play SL in the same way I might belong to a chamber of commerce. It's a networking tool for me - that doesn't prevent me from enjoying the heck out of the friends I have there and partying with them too. And I play LOTRO for fun, because it *doesn't* relate to anything approaching real life concerns (money, people who know what my RL is like, whatever).
But yes, you should read a little more about the game (ghod knows, not on this site -- try the Reuters feed) before you think it's just another gold farming issue.
Yrs,
Shava
Enjoy these times in Second Life. It won't last. The paradox that is Second Life, and the irony of it is that when it starts to resemble real life, it loses its fundamental appeal that its a second life. Given that there is no real incentive to act in the public interest there, its not only going to resemble reality too much to act as a break from it, but all the worst aspects of reality.
Which only makes the rank'n'file user think, "real life is so much better than this fictional nightmare of indiffedrence where money and popularity are the only things of any substance." Then they will go. And when they go, the Sweedish Embassy goes as well, alongside Abercrombie & Fitch, etc.
The appeal of Second Life is that there is some truth to be found in there. A truth that we are all seeking, but cannot find in the flimsy facade modern life has become. Yet all I see there is that its even more false than the falsity we are living within. So why not just make our real lives better? After all, what we do away from the screens doesn't all just cease to exist the moment Linden Labs decides to shut it off.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
I think second life has the interesting potential for an avenue of money laundering. Say you have some cash in one country that you want moved into another with out attracting too much attention. if you could buy currency with US dollars then sell in euros you could move money past borders without the usual legal problems. even if the transactions cost you 10%-20% I think that might be an acceptable cost of business for organized crime.
the typical problem with moving money across countries involves physical transportation or use of estabilished and regulated money transfer services. if you transfer more than $5,000 you have to provide information that is reported to the feds. You are also not supposed to take more than something like $10,000 across the border. moving goods such as diamonds can also cause you problems at customs.
IF you can reliably buy and sell currency in two or more countries then second life is an excellent way to move cash. I think it will be nearly impossible for federal governments to regulate this kind of transaction. I have no idea how you could do this in a way that wouldn't be game breaking.
just some random thoughts,
andy
Everything that Gwyneth said makes complete sense and is the undoubted truth.
You're a fool if you can't see that Second Life has become much more than a "game."
Everything that Gwyneth said makes complete sense and is the undoubted truth.
You're a fool if you can't see that Second Life has become much more than a "game."
Obviously you didn't read Gwynth's post correctly and you're jumping on that bandwagon to defend someone with an almost feminen sounding name.
Read it again, you'll realize he was DEFENDING the fact that these "Second Lives" are just games.
Well currently, in the USA you have to report your income for income taxes. No new laws have to be created for that. If it can be shown that in game currency (items too) is worth some real world money, then a world of problems will open up.
New laws will be coming for enforcement. IRS is seeing $$$ out of this. Don't doubt that this will be coming one day.
Nice, this will force Second Life and Project Entriopia to do give up on steal people's real money cash, and force them to go to virtual currency where we can find a job and earn it... and finding jobs are now easy to do once this hits!
Point 1: They ARE legally obligated to report it as income [in the US] - just as waiters, etc are obligated to declare tips.
Point 2: Very true. However, the very real downside is that IF virtual property is to be taxed/regulated as real property, THEN MMOs would have to tax all player trades, and worse, could NEVER shut down a game without paying the player for the lost property. If such a law were to go into effect on 1 Sep, all MMOs would cease operation on 31 Aug. I'm pretty sure there have already been lawsuits against companies that have shut down games [I know cite it or it didn't happen - anybody got the research for this? I'll try Gamasutra; I think that's where I read it back when DAoC was just starting] - the lawsuits went the companies way because 1. they own the "assets" per the EULA and 2. the premise that the players somehow "added value" was denied.
Dangerous territory - we need lawmakers who play games, that understand games [and economics]. Again, I'm only speaking of US law, I don't know about the rest of the world...
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
andy
Everything that Gwyneth said makes complete sense and is the undoubted truth.
You're a fool if you can't see that Second Life has become much more than a "game."
Obviously you didn't read Gwynth's post correctly and you're jumping on that bandwagon to defend someone with an almost feminen sounding name.
Read it again, you'll realize he was DEFENDING the fact that these "Second Lives" are just games.
First of all, I read the post in it's entirety.
Secondly, I didn't say that Second Life wasn't a game, but that it was also much more than just a regular online mmo considering that game currency-to-real currency transfer is involved. Also, please enlighten me as to how many other "games" you've played that had strip clubs and casino's present. Not many, I'm sure....
I'd also like to point out that arguing with someone like you is most likely pointless, since you had to bring something as petty as gender into this. I don't care if it had been written by a yak alpha male , I still would have agreed. If someone's gender means that much to you than you're obviously still in the child-like mentality phase, and won't be able to properly comprehend anything you read.
So in essence all game money can have a real world value and most likely does even if the game company themselves disallow it. (They would have to do some extreme moderating of in game transactions to make it discounted) which would mean an increase in running costs and a significant increase in gaming fees. This would overall kill the mmo market in my opinion as right now it is popular because it is a easily accessable and cost-effective source of entertainment.
Now in the instance of SL and PE a special area should be created. As is said before these are not "games" they are virtual worlds. SL has proven that by ruining the fun of a game it used to be. Before all the greed and land sharks jumped on SL was interesting and fun. Now it's a commerce driven enviroment and even LL has approached it like this by setting up their own L$ exchange system. In doing so they changed it from a "game" to a "virtual world".
How is it different then your average person who sells a product online via a website? They may not be creating a tangible product, but it is still a product. So i would say tax away, if people are willing to spend real cash to purchase what they consider worthy products in an online enviroment then they should be ready to pay the taxes for it just as if they were going out and buying a movie, cd, game. I mean afterall the "products" in this virtual world do not provide anything more then extra entertainment correct?
Hopefully law makers will see it like this and instead of creating an open-ended law to tax all online exchanges they will direct it towards "virtual worlds" of which allow and encourage the exchange of currency. Unfortuantly as most everyone knows the government does not like to work this way and will over-do this so keep it pushed and i can almost guarantee we will see the destruction of mmo's as we know them to be and all thanks to the people who felt the need to do nothing more then sit at home in a "virtual world" to make money as opposed to getting a real job and the entertainment companies that encouraged this.
To clarify i am agaisnt the creation of any law that taxes what could be deemed as "virtual currency" mostly because it is too broad. However, i believe that we could and should tax transactions in a "virtual world". I look at it this way... Games like WoW,EQ 2, Vanguard, etc... are still just games, but something like SL is more like a 3d representation of the world wide web in which it provides means for many individuals to create their own market and sell their products.
Right now what's stopping a company from selling you a product in SL instead of RL charging you LindenDollars that equal the value of the product and you not having to pay tax on it? This may not look it, but if let go can easily hurt our REAL economy and therefore needs to be addressed. [Leave my games alone and let the greedy "virtual worlders" pay their dues]
Just my 2 cents. (tired so probably last post i make on this topic, i just saw it and had to say something tho hopefully it helps some people on the fence get a better view of the topic as a whole. Atleast i think it would! haha) Happy Gaming!
Edit: In my haste to end this long post i realized that my point may not be manifested very well so here goes. My point is instead of argueing about whether not to tax "virtual money" we need to come to a complete understanding with great precision as to what "virtual money" is to be considered and apply that knowledge before letting anyone put a tax on it. Otherwise we may very well be killing the very thing we enjoy (True online games) by inadvertantly pushing a tax upon them and/or their customer base. There i believe that sums it up in a nutshell what my intention of this post is.
To this replier it is quite obvious you look at the government as some type of "thug" and are easily angered at the mention of them doing their jobs. On the other hand you also have these same taxes to thank for many privileges that i am sure you enjoy weekly if not everyday. Among them the biggest being whatever national government that protects you from being overrun by true "thugs" while the government may have it's faults and certainly there are some very shady people in it the tax system itself is what keeps countries alive.
Without it you would most likely be forced into slave labor where you would have to work for free because nobody could afford to pay you or even worst the dictator demands a new foot stool. Whilst you may be quick to judge the current system and bash it down you may very well think about what you have and appreciate it as many others wish they could. Whether you want to believe it or not the USA is a great place to live especially when compared to many smaller nations and guess what? Taxes have helped create and maintain that.
As for the person "playing on emotions" using the child pornography reference. I cannot say for sure if that was their intention or not, but child pornography is a serious issue that is on the rise and no matter if that was the persons intention or not it is not something to be easily tossed aside as this is a very likely venue for those perverted societal rejects to manipulate into a profit on child porn industry and should be very thoroughly looked at.
A tax doing this? Not necessarily, but laws made to harshen internet crimes from anything to hacking with 3rd party programs (including self made ones) to child porn. Unfortunately they will need funding to create task forces to enforce those laws and do you think they will draw that from the road tax funds? Not likely; they will need to create an online tax to help with that in my opinion and if it helps keep the WWW clear of people who think the anonymity of the internet will protect them from prosecution. Then i am all for it.
Now please keep in mind i am not trying to bash you or your post, i am trying to help educate based upon my knowledge and experience which of course is not the end all of everything nor 100% accurate all the time
To this replier it is quite obvious you look at the government as some type of "thug" and are easily angered at the mention of them doing their jobs. On the other hand you also have these same taxes to thank for many privileges that i am sure you enjoy weekly if not everyday. Among them the biggest being whatever national government that protects you from being overrun by true "thugs" while the government may have it's faults and certainly there are some very shady people in it the tax system itself is what keeps countries alive.
**
I used the word "thug" for a reason...What else is one to call those who use intimidation, threats and
coercion to achieve their agenda? As for any "protection" a government might provide, it is
entirely secondary to its main function...Rewarding its friends, and punishing its "enemies". But
I do agree with your above...taxes are the life blood of the state...Just like any vampire.
**
Without it you would most likely be forced into slave labor where you would have to work for free because nobody could afford to pay you or even worst the dictator demands a new foot stool. Whilst you may be quick to judge the current system and bash it down you may very well think about what you have and appreciate it as many others wish they could. Whether you want to believe it or not the USA is a great place to live especially when compared to many smaller nations and guess what? Taxes have helped create and maintain that.
**
Ah yes..The typical collectivist catch phrases. It seems the US managed to survive rather well,
before the advent of general taxation...Look at its history prior to the establishment of such.
As for our once great republic, one has only to point to the DHS, and all of its sub units,
and ask oneself what the Founders generation would have done to those who even
attempted to establish such, to know how far we have moved from the principles
that once made our country great.
**
As for the person "playing on emotions" using the child pornography reference. I cannot say for sure if that was their intention or not, but child pornography is a serious issue that is on the rise and no matter if that was the persons intention or not it is not something to be easily tossed aside as this is a very likely venue for those perverted societal rejects to manipulate into a profit on child porn industry and should be very thoroughly looked at.
**
Yes it is serious...Which adds to its value as method of emotional manipulation. As for it being "on
the rise" is that a matter of reality, or an artifact of increased observation, or a useful fabrication?
**
A tax doing this? Not necessarily, but laws made to harshen internet crimes from anything to hacking with 3rd party programs (including self made ones) to child porn. Unfortunately they will need funding to create task forces to enforce those laws and do you think they will draw that from the road tax funds? Not likely; they will need to create an online tax to help with that in my opinion and if it helps keep the WWW clear of people who think the anonymity of the internet will protect them from prosecution. Then i am all for it.
**
No doubt. All too many people are "all for it" when it comes to government "doing some thing about
that!"...Without of course paying attention to what the results are likely to be. I invite you to
study the history of governments intentions, and the consequences of its actions. Two entirely
different matters.
**
Now please keep in mind i am not trying to bash you or your post, i am trying to help educate based upon my knowledge and experience which of course is not the end all of everything nor 100% accurate all the time
**
My goal is also to help educate..But the method required depends on the subject, and also
the audience. Mocking those who so richly deserve such, has its purpose.