Six Picture

An Apology to Becky, Holly, Jessica, and Chloe

First and foremost, I want to extend my personal apology for what happened at the costume contest.  You've all seen my post, so you hopefully understand what was going through my head at the time, but just as the extenuating circumstances of second-degree murder don't change the fact that there's a killer and a corpse, the circumstances of that night don't negate the fact that I was in the wrong and I hurt you.  For that, I am deeply sorry.

Second, I would like to apologize that this apology is so late.  I should have sent you this months ago, and whether it was cowardice, pride, or the inability to let go of my own anger, the fact is I was wrong to not reach out earlier.  For that, I am also sorry.

Third, I would like to apologize for the firestorm my post prompted.  To say I had no idea how big my post was going to get is a rather substantial understatement, and it was certainly never my intention to start a Tumblr war. (I don't even have a Tumblr account, so I'm not even sure who originally posted the screenshots of my Facebook post.)  It was written as a Facebook post to share with my friends, so when they saw the episode they would understand some of the backstory and why I hadn't really been able to say anything about that night.

I used to write for WoW Insider, and even given their popularity, I never had much readership, but I know from personal experience just how frustrating it is to be attacked on the internet.  And I also know that apologizing for spilled milk doesn't put it back in the bottle.  It is however the least I can do.  I am sorry for the pain and frustration I have caused and prompted over the last few days.

Becky -- I'm glad to hear that your eyes are better.  I've had LASIK after frustrations with contacts, so I know how scary it can be to have one's eyes not working right.  I hope your move to Maine isn't too painful; my sister and I moved across the country as kids and can testify it's not exactly fun.  Best of luck in your new adventures!

Holly and Jessica -- we really appreciate how willing you've been to support us.  Obviously, we didn't get off on the right foot together, but your willingness to defend us has really defused any residual anger we had.  It's hard, damn hard sometimes, to step back and look at a charged situation from someone else's point of view, and your willingness to do that for us really helped us do that for you.  I hope Crabcat can continue to build awesome things!

Chloe -- I want to apologize specifically for the comments made to you during our group hug.  When you and Holly and Jessica came down the hall to talk to us, we assumed that it was an attempt to draw us into another fight for the camera.  When nothing like that happened, we assumed it was an attempt to film a feel-good reconciliation scene to make for a pat reality TV ending.  As no polite, camera-friendly way to say "Please stop talking to us so we can go home" came to mind through our tired, hungry, adrenaline-soaked brains, my sister suggested a group hug so we could have an excuse to end the conversation, and to have cover from the camera to make it clear that the conversation was over.  We were wrong to assume that you were only talking to us for the camera's benefit and our response to your olive branch was rude.  We are sorry, and wish you the best of luck.

Amy Schley, Femme Six

My fellow Doctors want to echo my apology and agree with these sentiments.

Love, Heather AKA Eleven AKA itmightbehere

Tina Noire AKA Femme Four *offers jelly baby*

With my sincerest apologies and admiration for all the work you do, Hillary (Femme Three)

T.A.C. AKA Femme Eight

Femme Ten

Love and Gratitude, Meg AKA Femme 5 / YvesAdele

Abby and Future Whovian Cohen (Femme Nine and her fetus)

Laurel (Femme Two)

(More Doctors' thoughts may be forthcoming.)

My Life as a Villain of Cosplay

Tonight, I make my TV debut.  Sadly, it is not as a candidate for office, an attorney with a high profile case, or even as a businesswoman explaining the importance of high quality shoes.  No, I get to grace the small screen as a reality show villain on "Heroes of Cosplay." (Syfy, 10 Eastern)

For the uninitiated, "cosplay" is the act of dressing up as one's favorite characters from anime, comics, movies, or television shows.  This generally happens at themed conventions, and most of these conventions have masquerades or contests to showcase the best costumes of the convention.  A few cosplayers have been able to leverage winning at these conventions into internet fame, and from there into their own businesses and careers as costume judges and corporate modeling.

"Heroes of Cosplay" follows one of the most famous, Yaya Han, and a group of her friends as they attend five different conventions.  They planned to show six conventions over the six episodes, but only five would agree to filming, leaving Planet Comicon in Kansas City to pick up two episodes.  One episode would focus on the solo competition and the second would focus on the skit-required group competition (made up from whole cloth by the tv show).  It's worth noting that only one of these conventions -- Anime Matsuri in Houston TX -- had any noteworthy cosplay competition or prizes before agreeing to allow filming.  For example, Planet Comicon gave out approximately $300 in 2012.  The show subsidized the approximately $5000 handed out as prizes at Planet Comicon in 2013.

Here's where I come in.  Last year, my sister talked me into attending Planet Comicon 2012.  With about $50 (most of it spent on the hat!), we created a Fifth Doctor (of Doctor Who) costume for me to coordinate with my sister's Fourth Doctor costume and her K-9 robot dog.  We made the minor mistake of standing in front of the convention's TARDIS, where the throngs of other attendees kept us posing for pictures for a couple hours.  While there, we met two girls cosplaying as the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors.  The four of us decided to be one of the entries into the group cosplay competition that day, and we joked that next year we would do all Eleven Doctors.  

After a thousand hours or so of sewing, crocheting, and fabricating (and what felt like just as many hours of networking to find other women the right size), we were able to form our group.  My sister created velvet frock coats, satin vests, cravats, a question-mark umbrella handle, and my magnificent Eighteenth Century ballgown done in the colors of the Sixth Doctor's outlandish costume.  We arrived at the convention and went to sign up for the masquerade, only to discover that not only were we required to agree to be on the show, but also that we had to do a skit.  In speaking to other entrants, we realized that no one had been aware of this requirement, and that in fact the skit requirement had been added only a day before the competition.  We, like our fellow competitors, frantically threw a skit together. (We show up at 30:08 into the video.)

The actual masquerade was an exercise in humiliation and frustration.  We went first, which allowed us to see how miserably outclassed all the locals were by the "heroes."  They had gigantic props, soundtracks with prerecorded dialog, light cues, grips, and smoke effects.  One group had cosplayers who owned their own production company and had done a gig for Guillermo del Toro; the other had Yaya Han herself, who boldly came out of "retirement" from competing at cons to compete at a con with no professional/ amateur split.  The only local group that was able to put together a decent performance was a group of fairies who also dance at the local Renaissance Festival.  We sat there in stunned anger.  We'd been told there was a race, and so we had trained to run, only to discover that our competition was driving Ferraris.

During the judges' deliberation, we were told by the "Heroes" staff that we needed to leave the audience and go behind the show curtain.  Through a gap in the curtains, I saw one of the audience members -- also cosplaying as a Tenth Doctor as about 40 other people did -- stand up, yell "I love all of your costumes except the Syfy plants!" and walk out of the auditorium. A cheer rose up from the crowd -- or at least what was left of the crowd, as most people had gone home after being so frustrated with the show.  We joined it.  We were tired, and hungry, and frustrated that a dream that had started out so wonderfully had been overrun by people competing in our con for no other reason than they needed a place to film their "heroes." 

It was at this point that things got even worse.  One of the "heroes" began to screech at us.  "How dare you!  I spent $2000 of my own money flying this here!"  I'll admit it -- I lost my temper, and this seemed like my only chance to have any of these "heroes" actually listen to me.  Yelling, I tried to explain this was the only chance most of us get to go to a convention, and since we can only afford to compete once or so a year, it means a lot to us.  I didn't think to add that only one of us Eleven even makes $2000 in a month.  More screaming followed so I turned my back.  My sister, the former teacher and so more used to handling screaming girls, helped gather us out of the backstage and when the "heroes" swore at her and tried to get her to respond, she just repeated, "We're done here."

Back in the auditorium for the awards ceremony, we sat in sullen silence, trying not to even look at the direction of the "heroes."  We were staying out of good sportsmanship, with no expectation of getting anything.  We did notice the judges though -- particularly how a Syfy producer went up to the judges table, said something, and when he left one judge's face had an especially sour look.  They finally began to announce the awards.  "For craftsmanship, the award goes to ... Doctor Who!" We exploded.  We hugged each other, we hugged the other local competitors -- a win for any of us locals was a win for all of us.  In fact, we were so busy hugging each other that the MC had to remind us to send someone on stage to collect the award.

But we couldn't leave yet -- the show wanted us to get in the confessional room to get our side of the drama.  Realizing that far from a documentary, we were dealing with an exploitative reality show, my sister refused to comment.  I don't think I've ever seen someone so angry at someone else's calm.  We filed down the hall to collect our belongings stashed on the con floor (as no one had expected the competition to last two hours past when the con floor closed.)  After dealing with security, we began to pack the superfluous costume pieces when three of the "heroes" with camera in tow confronted us.  Again we let my sister take the lead of deflating the drama and not letting the "friendly chat" devolve into the catfight the "heroes" kept trying to steer it into.

It is one thing to know that reality shows are manipulatively edited, and quite another to be turned into a reality show villain.  From early reviews I've seen, the show tries to make it look like we were heckling them throughout the show, that we picked on the girls and stole "their" prize.  I will say, I'm sorry I yelled at the "heroes."  I'm sorry I gave them any footage for this show.  I'm even sorry that we competed at all, even if it meant waiting another year to see our dream come true -- when it comes to reality shows, the only winning move truly is not to play. 

At the same time, when one sits down to a honest game of poker only to realize that one is against a couple of card sharks with a stacked deck, one's anger at the unfairness is not quenched by the exultation of beating the card sharks at their own game.  I make no apologies for being angry at "Heroes of Cosplay," 51 Minds for producing it, Syfy for airing it, and Yaya Han and all her other "heroes" for being part of something so sleazy.

Edit 9/20: I have posted an apology to Becky, Holly, Jessica, and Chloe here: http://wow-lawbringer.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-apology-to-becky-holly-jessica-and.html

Changes

As you have probably noticed, I'm no longer working for WoW.com or the WoW Insider. The good news is that I'm still around, monitoring the cases and laws that shape the World of Warcraft experience. I will still be posting, though perhaps a bit more irregularly as I try to balance my responsibilities as my family's breadwinner in my work as a patent law intern with those of being a good wife, sister, church-member, and raiding resto shaman. You can still follow me on Twitter @wowlawbringer and email me question or comments lawbringerjd@aol.com.

Stay tuned for my analysis of the breaking case of Vernor v. Autodesk and what it may suggest is in MDY v. Blizzard's future.

I am NOT a Blizzard Stooge

Everyday, I wake up, stagger over to the couch, and check my email. All the comments left on my columns are mailed to me; this makes monitoring what people think of the Lawbringer much easier, as I don't have to constantly read through old columns to check for anything new. The last few morning, I've woken up to see comments like these:

Waitaminute, so she is coughing out her professor's material in class?

Ms. Schley, it would help us all if you disclosed what appears to be a "conflict of interest". Your bio lists your employment with a firm as a clerk; exactly what firm, and exactly what type of employment? Your opinions were never qualified as directly related to Blizzard's own legal positions, and you did not disclose your rather close contact with a member of their legal team. In the future it will help those reading your opinions, if these sources of obvious motivation are provided -- in advance.

Where to begin? Let's start with noting where this idea that I'm getting lectured by Blizzard's legal team originated. When I discussed contract law in Europe, I made the following comment:

(As my Intellectual Property professor, an associate at the law firm that represents Blizzard, put it: question marks and exclamation points have no place in a contract.)

I'm taking a class in Intellectual Property Licensing, (note there is a missing word in the quote -- whoops) which teaches how to write contracts like End User License Agreements. The adjunct professor teaching the class is an associate for Sonnenschein, Nath, and Rosenthal, a well respected firm of 700 lawyers in 14 offices around the US and in Europe. Blizzard Entertainment is one of the firm's many clients. None of Blizzard's work is done in the Kansas City office. My professor has never worked on any Blizzard related business. My professor has never told me anything about any part of Blizzard's legal issues. In fact, during the few outside of class discussion we've had, I've been informing her of Blizzard's legal strategy.

"Ah," you charming detractors might be thinking, "maybe you aren't learning anything from said professor, but you are conflicted because you're slanting your analysis in hopes of getting a better grade." Let me note several facts:

1. My prof is a working parent and busy associate who doesn't have time to read gaming blogs.
2. The class is blind graded, so even if the prof read my column, sucking up would have no effect.
3. My grade in IP Licensing is the best grade I've gotten in law school, minimizing any need to suck up.
4. I wrote much of this same analysis of the legal issues involved with gold farming in my dissertation, which was finished before I ever stepped foot in IP Licensing.

As for my employment: I work for a small firm in Kansas City whose main client is General Motors. I draft patents for various ways of integrating shape memory alloys into vehicles. I suppose that makes me conflicted because my boss went to law school with my prof, but frankly, the idea that 1) my prof would check my blog, 2) find my tone worthy of informing my boss, 3) notify my boss I'm writing about one of my prof's clients, 4) prompting my boss to change the way he treats me, and thus 5) I slant my tone to make the two of them happy is ludicrous.

I will admit, I may be somewhat biased towards Blizzard, but it is NOT because of some second hand connection between myself and their legal team. Any bias I have is because of my fundamental beliefs. I believe in the freedom of contract -- if you don't like what a EULA says, you shouldn't have signed it. I also am a strong believer in property rights: real property, personal property, and intellectual property. Even if I disagree with the terms and some provisions of the patent, copyright, and trademark laws, I still strongly believe in the importance of recognizing that property. Finally, I also strongly believe in the importance of the rule of law. Even laws I don't like, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act or the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, should be respected and obeyed. (I'm also all for using the political process to get such idiotic laws repealed.) Thus, when Blizzard is sued by MDY for having the temerity to request MDY to stop facilitating subscribers' EULA/TOU violations and copyright infringement, I'm inclined to side with the people not breaking the law.

Perhaps this means I'm too biased to speak to anything about Blizzard. I don't think so, and my employers don't seem to think so either. But for those convinced, I will add a final thought. Given that Blizzard wins its lawsuits against botters and private realm providers, perhaps reality also is biased towards Blizzard.

The Tax Man Cometh

What do you mean, my taxes are not prepared?

Greetings from the Lawbringer! It's mid-April, which means beautiful weather here in Kansas City, frantic studying for my last round of law school finals, my church's triannual world conference, and tax season. In an attempt to be seasonally appropriate for our American readers while incorporating that whole World of Warcraft bit, I'll be describing how to report any income to the IRS you have received by selling gold or power-leveling services.

First, I must make a confession -- I HATE tax law. I was required to take a class in federal tax law by my law school, and I spent those hours laughing at my professor's really bad jokes and writing short stories about a zombie tax attorney. (I remain eternally thankful to my professor for giving an open note, open book, multiple choice final.) Suffice it to say, take any comments in this column with a grain of salt, preferably one big enough for a graduation party's worth of margaritas.

So you've decided to sell gold or power-leveling. We've already discussed how it's against the End User License Agreement and Terms of Use and may even be a felony under the recent interpretations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. But having done so anyway, you need to know that you are still liable for that income under the tax laws.

Taxes for a Self-Employed Gold Seller

We'll start by noting that you are required by law to report all income. Any income you make selling gold or power leveling will likely be considered self-employment. (If you are somehow working for a company paying you to sell gold, they should give you a W-2 and this won't be your problem.) As most US gold sellers appear to be hard core gamers making a little money on the side, this is self-employment.

The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. This is 12.4% of old, widowed, and disabled people tax (aka Social Security) for the first $106,800 of your yearly net income and 2.9% of poor sick people tax (aka Medicare) for all your net income. In addition to self-employment taxes, you are required to pay regular federal income taxes (and state income taxes too, if you don't live the nine states awesome enough to not have state income taxes.) These numbers are readily available, but the most likely numbers to apply are those for single taxpayer. A single guy will owe 10% on the first $8,350 and then 15% on what's left up to $33,950.

Filing

Because the US is a pay-as-you-go system, you may be responsible for making quarterly estimated tax payments. To estimate how much you should have paid last year (or should be paying this year), fill out this worksheet. If you expect to owe $1000 or more for the year's taxes, you'll need to make your quarterly payments, or you'll get slapped with $100 failure to make payments fine. You'll need to make $6,205 to owe $1000 or more in taxes, so it may be a legitimate concern.

Even if you aren't required to make quarterly payments, you are required to file a return by April 15 if you net more than $400 in a single year. As a sole proprietor of your gold selling business, you should fill out Schedule C-EZ, if you've made less than $5000. If not, prepare to whip out your calculator and slog through Schedule C which comes with its very ownInstruction Manual. This is in addition to the 1040 or 1040EZ that you have to file.

How Much?

Now for the question we all want to ask -- how much will this cost me? Answer: it depends. (Tip for aspiring law students: nearly every question you are ever asked in law school can be answered this way. To pass though, you'll need to explain why.) For the average Joe, you'll be paying the 15.3% unemployment [self employment] tax no matter how much you make, unless somehow your gold selling revenue is over $106,800. In which case, we need to talk. :)

If you earn less than $5,700 as a single person, you'll owe no Federal income taxes, as the standard deduction will bring your taxable income down to zero, and only $872.10 in self employment taxes. Keep in mind -- these numbers aren't taking into account the millions of deductions and tax credits and other behavioral modification incentives known as the rest of tax code. Have a house? Different answer. Qualify as dependent for your parents? Different answer. Drive a hybrid vehicle? Different answer. If the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee can't figure out this stuff, you certainly shouldn't look to me for definite answers.

Deductions

I should note that the income numbers in question are "net" numbers, meaning that various deductions can be made to reduce the taxable income. This where the possible illegality of gold selling comes into consideration. Recall that under the government's interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in US v. Drew violating the Terms of Use of a website is a crime. The judge ruled under normal circumstances it wasn't, but that violations for money, such as gold selling, may be felonious under the law. Now, normal costs of running a business are deductible, even for businesses involved in illegal activities, Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S. 687, except where allowing them would sharply frustrate national policy. Examples of the latter include bribes, kickbacks, and expenses related to selling illegal drugs, the last being specifically prohibited as taxable deductions by 26 USC 280E. Yes, strippers can deduct the cost of their implants and junkyard owners the cost of cat food for strays, but drug dealers can't deduct the costs of related to selling cocaine. What a country.

Might the costs involved with selling online goods -- internet service, game subscription, computer or electricity -- be considered "sharply frustrating" to public policy? I seriously doubt it, though I could see an attempt to argue gold selling as such in order to demand a heavier fine in addition to the jail time prescribed for the felony. A number of states have levied sales taxes on marijuana for a similar reason.

Bartering

Some of you may be thinking, "I don't have to worry about this; I power level or sell gold, but only to my buddies in exchange for a TV or a Starbucks(tm) run." One cannot escape income taxes by simply not transacting in cash -- you have received something of value for your service, and so you technically owe income and self employment tax off the fair market value of that beer run. Again, you don't have to file if it's less than $400 of net income.

Foreigners

I was not able to get any good information about whether a non-resident non-citizen operating over the internet might have any US tax liability. (Read, awesome professor mentioned above didn't know and the irs.gov site didn't have it in an obvious place.) So the Chinese gold farmers are probably safe from Uncle Sam, though I'm sure Uncle Mao wants his cut.

Well, I hope this has been an interesting investigation into a weird little intersection of law and Warcraft. Stay tuned next week, when we begin a new series on copyright law.


This column is provided for your entertainment and is not legal advice. If you have a real legal issue, contact a real lawyer. If you are interested in law school or just want to shoot the breeze, email me at lawbringerjd@aol.com or tweet me @wowlawbringer.

Not a gold selling site

You clicked on the link, didn't you? You thought it would be cute to click on the link, even though the column said you would get a keylogger when you went there.

This is why your inbox is full of spam and your account gets hacked, guys.