Posting because I have a 2 hour break and nothing else to do

I remembered hearing my friends talking about PKers back in primary when they all played Runescape but never found out what they were until that reading explained it. I also remembered how pissed off they were about them since they were all relatively new to the game, pretty much demonstrating even more of what they said in the reading about people losing interest in the games as a result. It also reminded me of the World of Warcraft South Park episode where that one guy killed everyone in the game and they ended up having to kill boars in order to level up.

What they're doing isn't formally banned but seems to be against an unwritten gamers code. Just like camping, which was the only way I ever got kills in Counter-Strike (and one of the reasons why I never play that game anymore.) Each game has its own set of unwritten rules which is based around ensuring everyone enjoys their gaming experience. The way everyone conducts themselves according to this code demonstrates the existence of a separate culture created by video games. Sometimes it seems cult-like, like when there are clans.

This unwritten gamers code always has enforcers, who ensure no-one breaks it. Some are in-game, like the aforementioned Pk hunters while others are outside the game, like admins on servers who kick players who cheat or don't play properly. They are responsible for ensuring the game is fair and so that everyone keeps playing. As far as I know, these enforcers aren't usually affiliated with the game creators (correct me if i'm wrong.) It's amazing how formalized gaming etiquette has become.

Later on some of these friends actually ended up becoming "Chinese farmers", collecting runescape gold, ores etc in order to make a real world profit on TradeMe. I didn't realize though that there were actual businesses dedicated to that practice in the real world. Clearly they crumbled to the competition though because all of them gave up after a while.