Arelios wrote:
I'd have to say that, at least getting half of the money back rather than just making 15,000 is at least a little bit better.
However, wtf? It was obviously a mistake. The person who did it is not in question, because, undoubtedly, the first person who had seen that Harness in the bazaar and had any clue what it was really worth would have jumped on that. It comes back to what other people said though, once it has been realized that the seller had apparently made a mistake in placing the item in his bazaar for that amount, it really just comes down to morals.
It doesn't mean a damn thing how many people you've helped in the course of time you played. That doesn't mean that occasionally you have license to take something like that from someone who obviously, and admittedly, made a mistake. On top of that, as I previously stated, 7.5mil back is a much nicer cut than the 15,000gil slap in the face that would have otherwise remained the deal. Nevertheless, they're now splitting a 15mil item as 50/50 when one half of that never did anything at all to earn it.
A decent portion of you applaud like "Oooh nice, he's being alright about it and giving him *half of the money he worked his *** off for* back". Doesn't work for me. It was a mistake. It's a game. Just let the guy enjoy what he's decided to make into his past-time and give him the money back. It's what I'd do and I'm pretty sure it's what anyone with any remote sense of pride or even common decency would do.
To be at a point where you have no problem taking 7.5mil that you didn't do a damn thing, except run by a bazaar at the right time, for is just plain low. It may be less than the previous 15mil that had been made into a profit, but it doesn't change the fact that all you did was have the nerve to take advantage of an honest mistake made by someone who worked a lot harder for that money than you. It sort of proves that you're either desperate for money or slightly off enough to actually believe that you're in the right about it.
I'm not involved in the situation as far as it actually happening goes, but I am aware Rage bragged about this harness to a friend of mine as though it was something he had actually earned, which he most certainly had not. It wasn't a very bright mistake that Sharpshooter made, not at all, but it doesn't justify what Rage did in the slightest. Buying it is one thing. Choosing not to return it upon learning that it was an accident is another.
I'm just going to go with the idea that, regardless of how much you've done for other people, you are not, in any way, now free to profit off of another player's mistake. It's really rather pathetic to do so. If you want 15mil, take a few weeks off and farm it. 7.5 is about two, maybe not even if you do well. Have some dignity, or maybe even some morals, and just give the poor guy a full refund.
Is it ethical for multiple HNM LS to MPK each other for 15+ hours trying to kill Fafnir (this actually happened on Fairy at least once so it is true)?
Is it ethical for LSes to repeatedly MPK gilsellers that claim Serket, Roc, etc?
Is it ethical for players to charge large fees to newer players for required quests, such as Genkai and AF?
Is it ethical for players to call in Power Levelers, even if they are partied up with new players that are still learning the game?
Is it ethical for many HNM LSes out there to have personal friends of the leaders benefit first, with others having to wait far behind them?
Is it ethical to personally attack players that have an underleveled sub/wrong sub/bad gear, even if they did nothing to actually provoke other people?
If you want a highly ethical online game, FFXI ain't it nowadays.