Actually, the drug argument is the first thing that popped into my head. Can't beat supply and demand, so legalize and tax.

I'm not sure what you're talking about. If I wanted to buy a +40 jillion sword of epic wanking for WoW, I could go to any number of sites, and pay cash for that. I could do it *right now*. I could buy Diablo 2 items *right now*.

It is true Blizzard sells pets and crap like that for cash, but it is not true that they are selling anything different now. They're providing a cash auction house where PLAYERS can sell stuff to OTHER PLAYERS for money. In short, they're targeting the third party sites that sell items. That's it.

If Blizzard *themselves* were selling weapons or armor or something that they created, then yes, I would agree. This is just bringing the player-to-player exchanges that have been around since forever in-house.

Eh. If I was going to have to deal with a bunch of cash, I'd charge a fee too. It's a huge pain in the ass. They'll need new staff, and they'll have to pay fees, etc, etc.

All they're doing is hosting a player auction house, where items can be bought from players by players for cash. They're not selling items themselves.

Your point would be more valid if there weren't dozens of services that do the exact same thing already. I see this as Blizzard making a virtue of necessity: if people are going to sell their rare items, then why not facilitate that?

Nobody is making you play.

Zero?

Emails in the comment header.

People still buy porn?

Weird.

My kingdom for mod points.

My thoughts exactly. It would only be a burden if you had to update the old records.

That being said, however, I'm sure that shit is hardcoded all over the damn place.

This is a common tactic to use against news organizations. Chances are, they're going to have to pay copy costs for each page as well...I think federal law caps the cost at $.25 per page. Joy.

I'm guessing you're a fan...In fact, you may actually be her, judging by your meticulous grammar and extraordinary vocabulary.

Why don't you check the revision history? Find on page? Really?

No. Look, there are a lot of annoying things about the USPS, but it has only one real problem: it has to deliver to EVERY PLACE IN THE US. When you compare to FedEx or UPS, you miss the point. They go hub to hub, and they don't deliver to low population areas, more less support offices there.

If they cut back to more profitable services, they'd be well in the black, but their "mission" (which is dictated by the govt) precludes this, so there are problems.