Should I feel bad about this?

[kandrathe]

Hmmm, I have mixed feelings about the morality of trading for what might be dups. Certainly the primary immorality exists in knowingly creating the dup, and continuing to use a dup if it is detectable.

The problem I see with things like SOJS is that it would be like if there were only a limited release (say 100) $3 bills, and then they were counterfeited a thousand times over. If you accept a $3 bill, is it wrong if you cannot tell the difference even though the odds are you have one of the counterfeits. First one would expect the (Secret Service, or Blizzard) to swoop in and remove the $3 bill from circulation. And, you would expect any honest citizen or merchant to refuse to honor any $3 bill as it has obviously been compromised.

On the other side, in good faith you exchanged 3 dollars worth of goods or services for the $3 bill. The $3 bill is in effect only a paper marker taken on faith as worth 3 dollars. You would certainly have the compulsion to turn around and use the $3 bill in another transaction.

So in Diablo terms, if you trade 20 chips for Natalya's mark, even though it is in your favor, you seem to be contributing to the devaluation of the item. But, if you exchanged some item of equivalent value then you are maintaining the market price. Now of course with a flood of counterfeits, the market becomes saturated and anyone who wants one has one, then the price drops, and drops, and drops.

Lately, the realms economies have been acting more like that of a country with a failed government, with no sense of monetary control. What we need is a strong benevolent dictatorship to do some CD key banning.

So, IMO, we need more intervention from Blizzard, and we need more morality in merchants. Neither will probably happen, intervening would cost time and money, and as for the merchants, they have already shown their spots, and are not likely to change them.