DC Ethics & Morals

[elynne]

The thread about inbreeding reminded me of this subject, which I find fascinating. How do moral decision affect how you play DC, or not?

 

Obviously, the dragons we catch and breed in Dragon Cave are not real animals. There are lots of options to do things to these dragons that we would (I hope!) never consider doing to real animals, and in some cases we are even encouraged to do these things (neglecteds, vampires, and earthquake BSA, I'm looking at you!). And there are ways to play DC that are unfair to other people--viewbombing is the obvious suspect, but overbreeding commons and flooding the abandoned page with them or "hoarding" rares are questionable topics that come up in the forums occasionally.

 

Do you treat your dragons like they are completely real animals--no killing, no inbreeding, nothing that could endanger the lives of the eggs/hatchlings you're raising? Have you made the choice to do certain things--not breeding certain commons, or specifically breeding rares for gifts--for purely moral/ethical reasons? Have you found that those choices make playing more challenging?

Edited July 27, 2011 by elynne

[annageckos]

I don't think people realize how common inbreeding in in real life. Inbreeding is not inheritaly bad. By inbreeding select rats I now have rats that live a bit longer on average. It is when inbreeding is done indiscriminately that it can cause problems. That said, I do not inbreed my dragons. But I do have inbred on my scroll. I bite, but do not outright kill dragons. I do however have three zombies, but that is the only reason I would kill a dragon. I only drop eggs in the AP that I know people want, like reds, pinks and trios. I hate when people clog the AP with dragons they don't want, forcing others to take them.

[Disturbedchic]

I don't think people realize how common inbreeding in in real life. Inbreeding is not inheritaly bad. By inbreeding select rats I now have rats that live a bit longer on average. It is when inbreeding is done indiscriminately that it can cause problems.

This exactly. Inbreeding is the whole reason we have purebreeds of dogs, cats, horses and what have you. Without inbreeding, all the betta fish tail and color varities wouldn't exsist. Selective inbreeding is actually essential in the development of breeds and domestication.

 

I don't inbreed my dragons simply because they are not desirable on DC as a whole and I try not to breed overly common dragons simply because I want them picked up and raised. I'm really not opposed to much on the game as long as its within the rules though.

[Pink]

I have no morals when it comes to pixels.

With people, it is different, but that's another story.

 

Dude, what are you talking about?! If you could make a vampire out of a real creature, that would be just plain AWESOME.

I want a vampire kitty and a zombie horse now.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Pink

[Wookieinmashoo]

Without inbreeding, many animals would have gone extinct, including black-footed ferrets. I see the dragons as pixels and they don't apply to real world logic. I am fine with inbred or killed dragons/eggs.

I just don't like most messy lineages, because, well, they're messy.

[rubyshoes]

I have no "ethics or morals" were pixels are concerned. I just like collecting lots of pretty dragons. Lineages, long and messy or inbred, are fine by me as are CB. It doesn't matter to me. If it is a type of dragon I'm looking for, then I grab and keep it.

[OMGitsKairi]

I am a neglected experimenter, so I can say that I'm a bad egg mother at times, but

generally do not manually kill anything, unless it's a failed vamp bite. I also try not to

inbreed my dragons and choose not to collect inbreds. I think I've only intentionally

killed one once. Usually I'll just toss them back to the AP. I can't really explain why I

don't want them on my scroll, so it's just the way I operate.

[Kaini]

Hmmm... I guess I view my dragons as a little more than just pixels.. (me and my imagination)

 

I don't freeze my dragons, because somehow I find that cruel to the hatchlings (don't laugh, that's just me)

 

 

I don't kill my dragons, unless I'm making a zombie (and that made me feel bad when it failed)

 

I am trying to get a neglected, because they're beautiful, but luckily none of my experiments have died yet. The broken eggshell does make me sad, actually. And the message where a vampire kills an egg is just ... aw. It killed it.

 

So I generally don't use my vampires, especially now with biting being really dangerous.

 

 

I don't inbreed my dragons; I am very very careful about that. It's kind of EW to me when I find a dragon that has been bred with it's sister

I don't accept inbreds either, in trades. It sort of shows me the breeder has been careless (don't brick me! )

I have a few on my scroll frow when I was newer, but I don't release them because I've had them for so long - I'm attached lol.

 

So, the dragons are my precious pets actually. Call me crazy, but that's it for me

[Irys]

I haven't killed a dragon to get a Zombie. Yet. I might in the future.

I don't EQ eggs, mostly because I want them to hatch, so I'll be patient. I don't kill eggs for the same reason.

I do use the Bite BSA.

I personally try not to breed messy or massive lineages. (But this is in the eye of the beholder.)

 

As far as inbreeding them, I don't have an issue. Inbreeding helps amplify desirable genetic traits. It can also amplify negative genetic traits, if you are not paying attention.

 

Dragons on DC don't pass any genetic traits onto their offspring, so there are no traits (good or bad) to pass on. So I can never, ever, ever, create a baby dragon with "horrible birth defects" by inbreeding my dragons. The negative to inbreeding pixels is purely in peoples' heads at this point.

 

I don't tend to inbreed, mostly because it doesn't fit my personal breeding goals. But I have some inbreds I've "rescued," and they don't bother me.

[Ookami11]

I usually treat my dragons as what they are - pixels. However, I refuse to earthquake as it would completely screw me over if I had traded for a really good egg then have it end up killed. And the ones I spent forever trying to get will be treated better than the others.

 

I try not to inbreed, but will if it creates a very pretty lineage as that is usually the point of inbreeding, on here and in real life.

 

I will go on a messy lineage purge, as soon as I can replace those that have them. Except for the ones I've become attached to.( my first thunder and her son, etc.)

 

I have yet to try neglected/zombie experiments, though one day I hope to. x3

 

I only freeze when I need that certain stage of hatchling and I used to do it because the dragon gendered wrong. (I know better now. *looks at 2nd gen frozen black ;w;*)

[Sir Barton]

I have no morals when it comes to my dragons. That said the only dragons I've killed were five last Halloween trying for a zombie that never turned (so I'll most likely be killing five more this year) and the rare times I've used my vampires to try to get a vamp to gift to someone. In general I don't bite eggs because I don't want to risk having the egg slot blocked up for 24 hours with a broken shell. This is the same reason that I don't use Earthquake.

I have a neglected and was very lucky that I since I managed that on my second try and neither the attempt before or after him died.

 

As far as inbreeding goes, I selectively inbreed. I don't think many people realize just how much work goes into a inbred lineage. I have one lineage that has been stalled for over a year now because they either won't give me an egg or it's the wrong breed. It's extremely frustrating but when it works right it's really rewarding. Today I was finally able to get this guy's parents to give me a magi egg. Now I have to hope he and his sister get along.

[dustpuppy]

My objection to inbreeding is that it turns the lineages into bluff pagages. "Ooooh look what an interesting long lineage, I wonder whose dragons I'll discover, what fun names people came up with, and... oh. It's just the same few dragons over and over again. Boooring ."

As for morals in regards to killing and so on... of course nothing's real and no one gets hurt, but pretending that the dragons are real is part of the fun for me, so random killing because they aren't real would spoil the suspension of disbelief for me.

[Bonjourno!]

If a dragon has a long lineage, I usually don't breed it for fear of inbreeding, but if it's for a project that isn't going to leave your scroll for any reason I'm fine with it . I don't viewbomb people if I'm mad at them, I wouldn't want that done to me . I don't use earthquake, but I am a victim of killing eggs for ND and vampires . Whoo-hoo post 200 !

Edited July 27, 2011 by Bonjourno!

[ghb523]

I have no morals when it comes to pixels.

With people, it is different, but that's another story.

 

Dude, what are you talking about?! If you could make a vampire out of a real creature, that would be just plain AWESOME.

I want a vampire kitty and a zombie horse now.

I agree with this too

 

Also, why not make yourself a ****ing vampire! I mean, a vamp kitten would be nice, but it might try to eat you.

[elynne]

My curiosity is specifically about whether people make choices about how they play DC for basically moral or ethical reasons.

 

I don't use Earthquake because I don't like taking the chance that it'll kill my eggs. When that happens and an egg dies, I feel disappointed that I won't get to raise it to a dragon; but I also feel -bad-, like I'm a bad person for killing that egg, at least a little bit. Which is odd because when I bite an egg with a vampire and the egg dies, I -don't- feel bad.

 

I have a few caveborn desirable breeds, but I always hesitate before breeding them with other caveborns of overpopulated breeds, like whiptails or dorsals. On the one hand, if the desireable one breeds true, I'll have a second-generation egg to trade; on the other hand, if the overpopulated one breeds true, I'll be abandoning another whiptail to the abandoned page. I try very hard to catch at least somewhat desireable breeds in the cave, or ones that I know I'll be willing to keep their offspring. That's an ethical choice for me, because I remember the days (weeks!) when it was nearly impossible to get -any- eggs from the cave because the AP was constantly full of unwanted eggs. That's also why I now have an army of blacks, which I find kind of hilarious; I liked them, so I took in and raised a lot of them when they were constantly blocking the AP, and now they're so sought-after that I've seen people offering to trade metallics for blacks!

[MysticTiger]

I think my decisions are all based on the mindset that,I (or someone else) took the time to grow these dragons, so why would I ruin that?

 

I wouldn't kill a dragon. I just wouldn't. If I took the time to raise it from an egg into a hatchling and then into an adult dragon just to kill it in the end, I would probably hit myself for doing so. It sat on my scroll and took up a space I could have been using for another dragon. If I didn't want it, I would abandon it. And I don't breed dragons to abandon or give to someone else unless they have a desirable breeding lineage for this reason as well. I don't look down on the people who kill their eggs. It's their choice, after all. However, I don't agree with it when there's the option of releasing/abandoning the dragon on the same page as killing it.

 

I absolutely hate Viewbombing and would never do that to someone, even someone I hated. But, at the same time, I can't stand people who whine about being viewbombed. If you're paranoid about Viewbombing, then fog your eggs. I shouldn't have to hear about how you want to burn the scroll of the person who attacked you because you were too lazy to fog your own eggs. And half the time, it's actually because the person in question listed their eggs on hatch sites as soon as the egg was born, thus killing it. But, they blame their ignorance on viewbombing. :/

 

AP Floods... Well, I can't say much because i'm guilty of that. In my defense, I flooded the AP with Purples when the Fertility BSA came out. I flooded with a purpose. LOL

 

Rare hording bothers me a lot. Not because someone is hording. But, because the ratios are set so that the more people hoard, the less there are for other people. It shouldn't be programmed this way. It should be set by breeding per scroll. Like, the more you have, the harder they will be to breed. However, the Cave AP would still be set to a ratio where they're rare, but not next to impossible. Because, there's Rare Dragons and then there's OMG I can't get one for four years because the ratios are like 1 in every 10000000. x_x

Edited July 28, 2011 by MysticTiger

[Pink]

I agree with this too

 

Also, why not make yourself a ****ing vampire! I mean, a vamp kitten would be nice, but it might try to eat you.

Yeah, but a kitten trying to eat you is almost cute. 'Sides, I don't see a kitten-vamp doing a lot of damage, do you?

 

Back on topic. I don't collect inbreds unless they're water walkers. It's not for any moral reasons really, except for that I breed randomly sometimes and if I'm going to gift the egg, I want it to have a nice lineage.

It's not a moral, and it's not ethics, it's just my perfectionism coming into play.

Inbred water walkers are my specialty because I just love... the troll-ish-ness of it.

<3

 

 

[RheaZen]

Bahahahahahahaha no.

 

I have my own rules for my scroll, breeding, etc. for special projects and such, but morals? Ethics? Noooooo.

[Chandler87]

I once bred a mother and son by accident so I killed the egg because I didn't want to spread inbreeding. That doesn't reflect real-life actions given a similar situation.

[Merenwen]

I simply follow my own 'rules'

 

I don't inbreed and do not care for inbred

think the line looks ugly with the same names over and over

I went through a time awhile back when I released all my inbred adult dragons

(before trophy and renaming) I do wish I'd have kept them and just renamed them IB yadayada as I'd have a whole lot more dragons now

 

I personally rather CB, but like the dorkface, thuwed etc lines and when lucky enough to catch a clean one, I keep the line going as best I can, always abandoning the egg to AP for the next person to have one.

 

When I breed I like it to be PB and second gen. But breed my long (clean) lines of golds and silvers.

 

I don't like to kill them, I did kill for a zombie (almost 2 yrs ago now) and I felt that twinge of slight guilt when I saw that message for the first time, really TJ, thanks for that LOL.

 

I don't use EQ because I don't want to have that dead egg clog up a perfectly good egg spot. EQ hardly ever works for me, and I do it when there is big hole in egg and it has either no effect of kills them so stopped.

 

I don't bite anymore{/I]. Too many kills of late and like above, I want my egg slot. When biting was good, I bit a lot.

 

Not so much morals, just personal preference.

[Red Mare]

I try really hard to not bred anything inbred (Tj's and Dorkface are the ones I get in trouble with) , and I always treat my dragons like real animals. Can't help it!

[Vocalia]

I see dragons like a living being (mainly since I spend DAYS to take care of them and because I get attached very easily to anything resembling a creature) and treat them as such. I don't kill them, I don't abandon them and I don't freeze hatchlings. I don't breed inbreeds since I'm not a big fan of breeding projects except one I planned with my CB sunstone and moonstone dragons. Still, I take inbreed eggs and hatchlings and raise them to adulthood.

[thiefofhearts]

ethics insofar as dragon cave is concerned?

 

well if someone gives me something i take care of it. i don't retrade it, or kill it, etc. i think that's probably the biggest ethical dilemma faced here, lol

 

as far as practices go, I cannot stand when people mass breed their scrolls and clog the AP, especially with breeds they know will sit there for a while, like spitfires, purple dorsals, pebbles, etc. you never see them mass breed pinks, nebulas, or dragons people actually want to pick up =/

[Xocowolf]

I avoid inbreeding. I have retired my inbred Splits from breeding (when Rename kicked in, I gave 'em the name "Hapsburg" to differentiate).

 

When Splits, Geodes and Nebulas were rare in the Cave, I used to breed-to-release — kind of a "share the love" tactic.

 

I was never fast enough to catch a rare, but if I ever did and it turned out to be a trade, I would have given it back. Now that Teleport has pretty much made that a non-issue, I'm kind of proud to claim I've never ninja'ed a Gold or Silver out from under anyone's nose

[nekodiscord]

as far as practices go, I cannot stand when people mass breed their scrolls and clog the AP, especially with breeds they know will sit there for a while, like spitfires, purple dorsals, pebbles, etc. you never see them mass breed pinks, nebulas, or dragons people actually want to pick up =/

That is one of my biggest peeves with DC...It happened the other night right before midnight and clogged the AP for over an hour.... >.<