Electronic Arts terminates the account of one Peter Ludlow, "an unabashed muckraker" in The Sims online world of Alphaville. Members of the community react, strongly.

... more than simply a source of entertainment, they are also a gateway to a complex social network that takes on a life of its own.

Sherry Turkle: "Part of the original reason people went to these games was for a sense of time out. But as these spaces get more integrated with real life the kind of boundaries people want are still being negotiated."