Note: despite my seemingly jocular usage of memes in this post, the text is a 99% serious argument. The 1% would be the jokes inserted here and there. You’ll spot them.

In defending their actions, hackers and dupers have a tendency to pull logical and factual fallacies out of various bodily orifices in order to justify their actions. People then accept these explanations and spread them, fully unaware of the fact that the statements are blatantly false and have no base in reality.

This post’s purpose (much like many of my other Basil posts’ purposes) is to spread knowledge and thereby empower the common player. If you have any points you’d like me to argue about, feel welcome to share.

1. Hackers’/Dupers’ activities are 100% A-OK because NO ONE is legitimate.

This is a stupid argument (as are most of these), but it’s one of the most commonly cited, so I’ll begin with this.

Before I begin the rebuttal or refutation or what have you, let’s provide some context. Let’s say Bob is arguing that dupers and hackers are bad, while Tom is supporting the hackers and dupers.

Bob: Dupers are bad because insert your choice of a valid reason here that addresses dupers’ or hackers’ illegitimacy.

Tom: Actually, dupers aren’t so bad because no players are legitimate. You might be questioning this statement, so let’s take a look at the Terms of Service that you agreed to when signing up for a Nexon account. KSing is against the ToS. Most, if not all, Maplers have KSed in their careers, so they’re illegit. Oh, what’s this? Cursing is also against the ToS! I’m fairly certain you’ve cursed in game as well. Oh, and your IGN BobTheKing violates the “does not include a rank or title” section of the ToS, so you’re obviously illegit. Also, I’m fairly certain that you’re in possession of some mesos that came into the game via illegitimate means, and you’ve probably used some duped scrolls in some way. Obviously you’re illegitimate. So stop being a hypocrite and criticizing dupers for being illegitimate, because you’re obviously illegitimate as well!

Seems convincing? Well, let me provide a real life parallel. Jack is arguing that homicidal maniacs are bad, while John is arguing that homicidal maniacs aren’t so bad.

Jack: Homicidal maniacs are bad because insert your choice of a valid reason here that addresses homicidal maniacs’ tendencies to break the law.

John: Actually, homicidal maniacs aren’t so bad because no one, or almost no one, has gone through their life without breaking at least one law before. You might be questioning this statement, so let’s take a look at some commonplace laws that you’ve almost definitely broken before. You’ve probably jaywalked before, which is illegal, by the way. Oh, you have a driver’s license? PSHAW, you’ve probably driven people under the age of 20 before you got your year! Oh, you’ve also probably sped before. So obviously, it’s very hypocritical of you to be criticizing homicidal maniacs for breaking the law, because you’ve also broken the law before!

So, after reading both examples, does that argument even make sense anymore? No, no it doesn’t. That’s because there is not a single reason that supports the idea that using a duped White Scroll or GM Scroll or what have you automatically makes you as bad as a duper or hacker.

Sure, someone who uses such duped scrolls or items or KSes or whatever is illegit, but there are different levels of legitimacy, just like there are different levels of criminality. Why do you think that Nexon’s listed punishments for different activities of varying illegitimacy are different? Why do you think that punishments for different crimes are different? It’s not like someone who speeds on a highway is going to get the same punishment as a dude who murders sixteen pregnant women with a chainsaw.

There is no absolute black-and-white when it comes to legitimacy. There are people that deliberately damage the game and its economy through their quest for self-gain, and then there are people that are caught up in all of this and can’t tell what scrolls are legitimate and what aren’t.

2. Duping and hacking are OK because Nexon doesn’t care.

I’m not going to contest whether or not Nexon cares about all the crap that goes on in their game, because frankly, it really doesn’t seem like they care. Or, rather, Nexon doesn’t seem to care about the state of their game until it starts hitting their revenue.

What I will contest is the idea that just because certain things aren’t regulated, they have no significance.

Before I do that, however, I’d like to point out that legitimacy as far as not duping and hacking is a huge concern for many guilds (and therefore players), if not Nexon – most guilds’ rules shamelessly state “NO HACKING.”

Anyways, the examples I’m going to show you will sound familiar if you’ve taken a US History course, and especially familiar if you’re taking the AP US History test on Friday.

So you know when the Midwest opened up way back when in the 1800s? Cowboy country, boomtowns, no police to enforce the law?

Yeah, the law existed in those places. But there was no (or very few) policemen that could actually enforce the law to a reasonable degree.

Did that mean that killing someone was OK? Did that mean that stealing something from a local store was OK? Hell no. Just because something isn’t regulated does not at all mean that the activity is fine to do.

Here’s another example if you’re not convinced: slavery.

Slavery, as I’m sure you know, was pretty commonplace in the Southern states of the US in the pre-Civil War era. Heck, unlike hacking or duping, it was perfectly fine by law! And by “fine by law,” I mean slavery was recognized as a perfectly legitimate institution and runaway slaves would be caught and returned to their owners (theoretically, anyways). Anyone helping a slave to freedom could be punished by law.

Did the fact that slavery was protected by law mean it was morally solid? Hell no.

3. Duping is good for the economy.

Every time I hear or see this argument brought up, I’m caught between the compulsions of strangling the nearest person or smashing my head against my desk repeatedly so I become a drooling vegetable who won’t be bothered by such idiotic statements.

First problem with this statement: what the hell does “good” mean?

“Good” is a value word, meaning its definition changes from individual to individual – this word is so broad that there are, and I am not kidding, forty-one definitions of it on the dictionary.com iPod app. You can ask one person what a “good” economy is, and they can answer, “A good economy is an economy where distribution of wealth is equal.” You can ask another person who might possibly say, “A good economy is an economy where there is no competition in between businesses.” Good is based on opinion.

So, the first thing you must do when using the word “good” in any context is either freaking define it in a way that isn’t overly broad and therefore eliminate a somewhat satisfactory amount of ambiguity or make the definition clear from context. Most of the time, it’s apparent that when someone says “duping is good for the economy,” it is meant to be synonymous with “duping is beneficial for the players of this game.” (Feel free to provide another replacement definition for me to address if there is sufficient evidence behind your claim.)

What’s funny is that this is completely wrong and shows that dupers who try to throw this around, despite being intimately involved with the economy, in reality have no actual understanding of it.

How so? You think that duped things deflating in price is beneficial for the players of the game? Yeah, sure, in that one specific area of those duped items, but what about in other areas?

But before I start on the more logical part of this rebuttal, let me point out that the “duping is good” argument has never actually meant that dupers are philanthropists or philmaplerists. It’s just an excuse to continue doing what they’re doing; do you really think they’d stop once they realized that duping is bad? HA!

Let’s continue.

First off, duping causes massive fluctuations in market prices for almost everything. Did you know White Scrolls used to be 300 million mesos each? Did you know that once upon a time, the nx:meso ratio used to be 1:20? Heck, it was even 1:5 at one point! And then, because of the opening of MTS in El Nido, which had a ludicrously large amount of MTSable duped GM scrolls, it jumped up from a cozy 1:30~50 to 1:100~110 (300m+ zhelms anyone?). It was, quite honestly, insane. If you think that erratically changing prices are at all beneficial for the economy, seriously, go take an IQ test, since I suspect that ol’ Dubya may be smarter than you.

Secondly, here’s the million dollar question: What effect has duping had on legit players who are trying to actually make money?

And here’s the answer: A negative effect. Duping has made it much harder for Maplers to make money, and also a hell of a lot harder for Maplers to get by without money.

Tell me, my very benevolent dupers, how does duping at all benefit Maplers when they don’t have money to spend on the items that you so very kindly made cheaper?

It doesn’t.

I’m going to go off on a tangent here and mention another effect of duping and hacking, but it’s not so much economic as social.

Because of a result of the duping of all those EE hacked equips, we saw the emergence of something we’ve always seen but never noticed as prominently. What I’m talking is about e-thugs. People who just slap on a craven and automatically think they’re the hottest shit in the game. You know what I mean. Nowadays it’s all about those $1,800 Skittle NL set users.

4. You’re just jealous. If you could hack or dupe, you’d do it too!

Anyone who says this in defense or hackers or dupers automatically assumes two things: access to hacks is very restrictive, and that anyone who could hack or dupe would do it.

Both are incorrect.

Obtaining access to a hacking program is, in reality, extremely easy. Whip out your credit card, head to the best known hacking site, and bam! You’ve got yourself a monthly subscription, friend! It’s so easy even a caveman with a credit card could do it! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

And yet, despite the ease with which anyone can hack or dupe, many don’t. Why? There are many reasons, including a belief in personal moral integrity, a desire to play the game the way it was intended to be played (without third party programs), and not being oblivious to the overall state of the game.

Whipping this argument around is extremely obnoxious and one of the most idiotic things you can do.

5. It’s just a game, you shouldn’t take it so seriously.

What’s funny about this particular argument is that people tend to resort to it when all other arguments have been refuted. Like other arguments on this post, this conception displays an obvious lack of thought behind it.

So, explain how MapleStory is “just a game.” Why do I demand such a thing? Because it’s clearly not.

It’s a lifestyle. People go home, boot up their computer, and play MapleStory.

It’s a community. Behind those pixels on your screen are actual people, believe it or not! Companies People are people too!

It’s a business. Hackers and dupers make money from this game. So do Nexon and extreme merchants.

It’s an investment. People invest money for a chance of having some fun.

I’m probably going to get a lot of flames for this, but Maple is essentially an extension of real life. How so? You’re you. Whether offline or online, you’re you. Everyone is themselves, no matter the appearance of their pixels. Your personality is expressed through your actions and through the keystrokes on your keyboard. Clumsy? Heh, you’ll probably die a lot.

What often accompanies “it’s just a game” is “games exist so you can have fun.” Well, this is a personal thing, and I’m sure many will disagree with me on this, but having fun at the expense of someone else’s fun… that’s just not something I find very enticing.

Duping and hacking may enhance your gaming experience, but it sure as hell doesn’t enhance others’. Maybe that’s the real issue with the social aspect of MapleStory as it is nowadays – too many people KS others, too many people d/c hack others, too many people dupe and hack and KS and do whatever for their own good, not caring about the repercussions of these actions on other people.

6. Dupers and hackers are nice people.

This will be the last point I will address in this post. This, in and of itself, is unique in that it has substance, unlike the other points. For all we know, the dupers and hackers in question are actually nice people.

Not unlike numbers one through five, however, this point is a logical fallacy. How so?

In absolutely no way does it relate to any arguments that this has ever been brought up in. The discussion is about dupers’ and hackers’ effects on the game, not their personalities. In case you’re unaware of the term, this is called a “straw man” fallacy because you’re refuting a nonexistent point.

There is zero doubt that there are dupers and hackers with nice personalities, but does that change the fact that they’ve had huge negative impacts on the game? No.