~~~
It seems that, in every server, there is
a scammer. The question is, why would they take away the most precious element,
trust, for a mere pixels?
If you look in the dictionary, scam is defined as ‘a
dishonest plan, usually to get money.’ However, in Animal Jam, it would be
defined as a ‘dishonest plan to get rares or betas’. The words ‘scamming’ and ‘scammer’
stem from that word. We define ‘scamming’ as a verb ‘to carry out the dishonest
plan (scam)’ and ‘scammer’ as ‘the person who carries out the dishonest plan ‘scam’.
Now that we have clearly defined the meanings, we can
get on to the ‘why’ part.
Why
do they scam? I speculate the reason is because of greed. They want the
rares/betas for themselves. Let’s face it, all humans are selfish. We all want
the best for ourselves, and if we see something that some else has, we get
envious. Envy is defined as ‘feeling
of discontent
or covetousness
with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc’. The
feeling can have a positive or negative affect on your actions.
The positive and negative effect comes from
motivation. Motivation drives you forward to achieve what you want. However,
this leads to a fork in the path. You can either work hard and honestly to
achieve that dream item, or you can cheat and deceive others. After all, they
all have the same result in the end, right? Wrong. Though you have the same
item, the feelings you create/have are different. If you work hard for the
item, and you finally get it, you feel exhilarated. You feel like you’ve
climbed the highest mountain and made it all the way to the tippy top. You feel
like all the hard work has paid off, all the setbacks you have encountered were
worth it.
But if you got the item dishonestly, you will not
feel the emotions I have described. Sure, you might feel happy about it, but
you do not experience your work being paid off, and guilt is still lurking in
the corner. Scammers think that this way is a ‘short cut’ up the mountain. But
this ‘short cut’ is filled with brambles, thorns, steep cliffs, and most
importantly, guilt.
We humans have many feelings, and guilt is one of
them. However, guilt and shame are different (to make this clear, here are 2
sentences I have found that define them; ‘I feel shame for who I am’ and ‘I
feel guilt for what I did’. Everyone has felt guilt in their lives, whether it
is stealing candy from the candy jar, watching TV when you’re not supposed to,
etc. But wait! Isn’t Animal Jam a virtual world? Virtual worlds simply don’t
exist in real life! So why do all those scammers break someone’s heart for
those meager pixels? Haven’t they heard that trust is easy to take, but near
impossible to gain (that rhymes)? That’s one great mystery there. I don’t
think having the most rare item on AJ get you straight A’s on your report card,
or land you a job. This sounds illogical here. But to be fair, let’s try to
think of it from the scammers’ point of view.
To them, having the rarest item is EVERYTHING. They
probably think of it all day and night, fascinated by the dreams they think
they will achieve. I know y’all viewers are thinking, ‘why don’t they use the
darn trading system like everyone else?! It’s there for a reason!’ Heh, at this
point I’ll have a barrage of scammers exclaiming things like, ‘I don’t have the
betas/rares to trade for it!’ etc, but that is NO excuse for cheating someone
out like that. Everyone else can get by with the trading system, so why can’t
they? Well, to be blunt, scammers are ‘addicted’ to Animal Jam. It’s not like a
drug addiction, but it’s almost the same. Your dreams are enraptured by the
game, and your senses are snared in. It’s like you’re glued to the computer,
unable to leave, because, oh look, a wolf party is coming on in a hour! How
about I stay awhile? I know there are others who are also ‘addicted’ to Animal
Jam but they aren’t like scammers. Because the scammers know they are doing the
wrong thing, but they can’t help it. Almost like their self-control flew out
the window, and thoughts of betas flew in.
After all of that talk, I have thought about the
reasons of why scammers scam.
1. Popularity/Media.
Look at all those famous jammers out there,
Snowyclaw, Wolffeycat, Wootmoo, Wisteriamoon, Libertyy, Julian2, etc. They’re
all wearing the coolest/rarest items on Animal Jam. Adorned in spikes, worns,
and betas, they are the role models for the other jammers that wish to be
famous. One might think that having the rarest items might not get you the most
viewers, but that is not always the case. Other players look up to them and try
to be like them. As they say, ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’.
Having good blogs and excellent videos can make you popular, but since all of
the ‘famous’ players have betas and rares, this implies the fact that ‘to be
popular, you must have tons of rares’.
2. Pressure
This is also like the media factor. Your (online, not
real life) friends are wearing rares and betas, and you’re left wearing the
common items. You feel uncomfortable as you sit down to chat with them in Jamaa
Township. I don’t fit in with them, you think as you admire their spikes
and headdresses. What can I do? I don’t have rare enough items to trade for
one of those headdresses… although… you let your eyes wander over the
screen. A player catches your eye, and they are wearing a spike. “Trust me for
this spike! I don’t accept!” The wolf sings, and immediately, the yellow
trading symbol hangs over his head. Curious, you wait and watch. After a few
more minutes, you see the wolf chanting, “Last 10 seconds! Miss Prettylily is
winning!” Glancing over to the tiger named Miss Prettylily, you notice that she
isn’t wearing much items, only a head flower and a couple of Rare Item Monday
rares. A few achievements are plastered on her player card. Interesting… Suddenly,
your attention is jerked away by an artic wolf. She is sobbing, crying:
“Scammer! He scammed me of my rare purple headdress and worn!” An idea begins
creep into your mind, a twinge of guilt as it begins to develop. You try to
brush away the guilt, thinking, it's for the best, right? At least I can fit
in…
I don't think I need to extend the rest of the scenario
for you to know what’s going to happen.
3. Enraptured
These are the types of scammers who are the scariest,
in my opinion. They scam for the pure enjoyment of it. They enjoy cheating
others out of their items, delighting in being ‘smarter than them’. One might
say these scammers are heartless, or to be blunt, psychopaths (psychopaths are
people who can’t feel emotion, but I’m sure there aren’t a lot of people like
that in the word, or on AJ for that matter).
To conclude what I’ve just written in a simpler
format, I shall use an analogy:
AJ – real world
Scammers – thieves
Rares/betas – gold/money/gems
AJHQ – police
Jammers – people/citizens
SWS and other scam-catching agencies/individuals –
volunteer police
Before, the thieves were just ordinary people. But
they were driven by greed to get gold/money/gems, so they devised a plan, a
scam. Since the police aren’t patrolling 24/7, the thieves take advantage and
begin to grow bolder, stealing in ‘broad daylight’ (<- advertising publicly).
Many citizens notice this, and since the police don’t really care/have time,
they begin to form volunteer police societies/officers. But because the
volunteer police do not have the ‘legal right’ to send the thieves to jail,
they can only create awareness. And because the thieves are aware that only the
official police can stop them, they think that the volunteer police are not a
threat. What they don’t realize is, education/awareness is a very powerful
factor. The more the citizens are alerted to these thieves, the less valuables
will be stolen.
I can conclude this post in many ways, but I have
chosen a rhyme and a quote to end this. Before I do that, I would like your
feedback, questions or comments on this post.
Signing off,
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