At first I giggled in glee, thinking of the new shiny battleship I would surely purchase, or perhaps the shiny mods I would acquire for my new Redeemer.
But, curiosity overcame me and I just had to see who it was that made such a mistake. It was, in fact, no one I have heard of or remember flying with. But, he is a long standing member of a corporation I have been friends with a long time, and allied with for years with in militia.
So, the question is, should I give the ISK back to him?
On one hand, I do not know him. He may associate with a corp I once knew, but for all I know he could be an Amarrian spy. So, perhaps I should simply be content in my good fortune. And go on a shopping spree...
On the other hand, I have many friends in this corporation. He could be an alt of a long time comrade, or someone who simply fought in another time zone for many of the same things I once fought for. After all, I can't pretend to need the ISK, and good friends are much harder to come by then money.
He wrote me a mail. Not really to ask for ISK back but to acknowledge that he probably would never see it again. This is EVE, after all. We are all cut throats and pirates.
Or are we? What would you do?
Halve it. Ease the burn but still teach a lesson.
ReplyDeleteReturn it unconditionally. I feel as if you'll get a gift from the pilot in return for your generosity. Also, you'll become a legend for that player. Priceless.
ReplyDeleteThey'll learn nothing other than their mistakes will be forgiven and simply go on to make another until someone shows them the consequences of their actions.
DeleteYou're assuming that they have something to learn from what could easily be a market misclick. Every marketeer adds a few digits by accident once in a while.
DeleteKeep it. The lesson is more valuable than the isk. I show mercy only to newbs, sometimes. Cold and harsh.
ReplyDeleteSend it back as fitted rifters?
ReplyDeleteKeep it: I've made that mistake before and never for a moment expected my money to be returned yet it taught me to pay very close attention to what I'm doing.
ReplyDeleteThis is great. It's like decision time on the dialogue wheel in a SP RPG... but with real people. (Oh right, EVE is a MMO RPG.) Taking any recent Bioware game, what you should do depends on who you're trying to romance and which choice they'd approve more.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of sending it back to him in the form of fitted ships! or at least half of it as fitted ships.
ReplyDeleteIf he was nice about it in the mail I'd send it back. If he was a jerk about it, demanding or making threats then screw him, don't even respond.
ReplyDeleteGive it back, then gank him, and primary him every time you are flying against him in a fleet.
ReplyDeleteI'd delay my decision but write an entertaining blog post about it. =)
ReplyDeleteWell if he asked nice and you don't need the isk you could return some or all of it.
ReplyDeleteOr you could think about how wealthy you are and how rich he is and consider who will put the isk to best use.
I am going to assume you will return at least 600m because you don't really seem the kind of person who would keep the money. On the other hand, giving the money back is not necessarily the 'right' choice. Don't let ethics empty your wallet.
What would Gevlon do?
Reset that blue and change sides!
Well, well... very nice decision you have to make. But I cannot offer advice. :) I have been on both sides - I made mistake typing one zero too many in sell order and someone bought it. I really cant remember if i returned ISK to that person. He never mailed me though. :) On the other hand, I bought humble cyno generator for 1.5B... but never asked for return... :)
ReplyDeleteJust be nice and give it back at least partially.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about "teaching a lesson" is bullshit.
Everyone not a moron learned his lesson the second he/she realized the mistake (and a moron won't learn even if you keep it).
Those mistakes happen to everyone interacting with the market and if he/she i's not flithy rich you can make him/her very happy.
I am amused that this post has gathered more comments than any in recent memory. That's what makes eve so awesome. Every moment of every day you make moral an ethical decisions that impact other people.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would give it back but I'm too nice. Alternatively, donate it to to the Angel Project or another benevolent organization.
I have and would return it, it's just the way I roll it's like selling a nubie ship, you take great glee that you sold one for 1misk then realize that the guy you sold it to is a 2 day old player who has no idea that he could have gotten one by just docking up. It's an extension of Wheatons's Law to me.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't need it, I'd give it back. I've been burned by that same problem in the past, and now that I'm not hurting for isk, I'd look at it as an opportunity to make someone's day.
ReplyDeleteBut tomorrow, I might actually suggest using the isk to buy ships to torment the guy, just to put an exclamation point on the lesson.
Depends on the day. I'm feeling charitable today.
I'd keep it. I've made mistakes like this myself and never once thought to ask for the money back. It's the market equivalent of undocking in a shiny, forgetting to online/turn on hardeners, and getting blown up. I definitely would not gloat or try to emphasize any lesson, but neither would I give it back (okay, well, I might give some back, perhaps as much as 10%, but only if the email was civil).
ReplyDeleteHis message to you is essentially asking for it back, by saying that "We are all cut throats and pirates." is him trying to guilt you into giving the ISK back with a message something like "not all of us are"
ReplyDeleteI would still maybe give half back, the lesson needs to be learnt but it would take some of the sting out but still leaving it as an expensive mistake.
I would give back half and put the other half into The Angel Project. Then send him a mail thanking him for his donation with a link to what the Angel project is about.
ReplyDeleteDepends on how much 640Mil is for you.
ReplyDeleteI make on average 3-4 Bil/month. I'd give it back because being nice would be worth more to me than less than a week's ISK.
OTOH, if it were 6Bil instead of 640Mil, personally I'd probably keep it.
TL;DR: keep it if it's a good chunk of ISK for you, give it back if you don't care much
I'd give it back. It clearly was a mistake, and goodwill is worth a lot in New Eden. Besides, how long does it really take to earn 600 million ISK on your own? It's not really that big a windfall, is it?
ReplyDeleteKeep the ISK. You set the price for a governed result. Caveat emptor victor Rex.
ReplyDeleteCaveat emptor
ReplyDeleteI would give it all back regardless of who needs it most. The people who shine in EVE are the ones who stand head and shoulders about the people who merely seek to conform the cold, hard universe of New Eden. Keep it and be one of the crowd; give it back and become a legend (to a small number of people who hear what you did).
ReplyDelete