Different methods of scamming and theft also demonstrate forms of power and control. In these cases, griefers derive pleasure from gaining control over the possessions of unwilling victims.
My character once owned a house in UO. I was experiencing particularly bad lag and a player (there was open PvP) who had a faster connection took everything in my house, killed my character then also taunted me about how much gold his character made off my things. At that time, the game was transitioning a new method for owning homes and anyone with a key (he also stole the house key off my corpse) could claim the house. He tried to do so but luckily, since the house was purchased by me, I got it in the end. I promptly moved it elsewhere. This experience made me HATE PvP and griefers in general and made me actually cry. [UO, F, 47]
i have been playing ultima for over 4 years now and i still remember the devastation i felt at being scammed of all the money i had been saving to buy my first house. i had been playing for around 6 mths and someone offered to sell me a house for all the money i had, as i had spent most of the previous 6 mths levelling my char i had not really been exposed to certain sections of the MMORPG community and naturally trusted the other guy. he of coarse took my money and disappeared. i was so upset i immediately cancelled my account....only to return at a later date. [UO, M, 37]
In fact, what becomes clear is that many griefers seem to prefer subtle forms of domination rather than overt forms such as player-killing. After all, the more devious and cunning the act, the more pleasure it provides. Now, griefers will gloat once the act succeeds, but the most devious acts typically require the most subtlety and planning. It is easy to kill someone. It is much harder to trick someone into willingly handing over all their gold.
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