Drama Mamas: Hacking a friend's account Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server.
It was really hard to choose from the many dramalicious emails we got this week. So much drama, so little time. I'm happy we have so many topics to choose from, but sad that so many of you have to go through so many dramafied situations. This one really did stick out as pretty dramarific, however. Dramarily! Drama- lama ding dong! Dramastified. OK, I'm drama-done. Turn the page for all the dramaness. Your friend probably knows you are the one who did this to him. From what you said, you left a trail a mile wide. If you are lucky, he won't report you to Blizzard, his parents, the law, etc. If he decides to continue this oneupmanship and is just as unethical as you are, then expect an attack on your identity as well. If you are a minor, I recommend going to your parents, confessing what you did and asking their advice. Make use of that safety net while you have it. As far as whether you should tell him, well, I'm at a loss. Maybe Lisa has some answers there. Drama Mama Lisa: It's probably a good thing that you put each other on /ignore -- because now you'll have to talk to one another in person, as you should have done in the first place.
Let's make the facts perfectly clear: It's up to the recipient of a gift to decide whether or not to return it, should the relationship go sour. In this case, the gold and ore now clearly belong to your friend. By breaking into his account and taking them back, you stole his property. Your friend's poor behavior (taunting you in chat and so on) does not excuse your actions. He did not "make" you hack his account and steal from him. This was entirely your decision and responsibility. You've escalated a simple online spat between friends into multiple illegal acts. Those three points should answer your question about whether or not you should have hacked into his email and WoW account and then stolen the items you wish you hadn't given away.
As for whether or not you should confess to him ... I suspect you already realize that you've crossed lines that should never have been crossed, and I'm betting (hoping?) you wish you could take back all those rash actions. Obviously, your friend will figure out that the hacker was you. You'll be lucky if he doesn't report you to every authority he can. Time to man up. Give him a call on the phone or in person. (Don't email; your online shenanigans have caused enough trouble already, don't you think?) You need to come face to face with your friend and this situation before it blows up any worse than it already has.
Drama Buster of the Week: And now it's time for a public service announcement. As you can see, your account (WoW, email, etc.) is only as secure as the people who know your pertinent data. Don't tell anyone (except perhaps your parents if you are a minor) your password for anything. Also, don't use secret questions that have answers that are easily figured out. If the secret question choices are limited to publicly available information, the best thing to do is to make that another password. What is your mother's maiden name? Y3RM0M What is your pet's name? B1T3M3 Note: Security questions are usually not case-sensitive, so changing case won't help here. Keep your secret question password to yourself, but feel free to use it on all secret questions for all kinds of accounts. It's an extra layer of protection that will keep your online identity that much safer. Also, get an authenticator (mobile or keyfob), please. That tiny extra step adds a lot of extra security.