Missing MMO Gamer's Family Turns to Jack Thompson
Missing MMO Gamer's Family Turns to Jack Thompson
January 16, 2007
According to a report on KARE-11 News in Minnesota, a 20-year-old MMO player by the name of Jacob Prybl (left) went missing more than a week ago.His parents have now expressed concerns that his disappearance may be related to his play of an unspecified online game.
Debbie Prybl said of her son:
He was eating less. He was so consumed by the computer he couldn't get off to eat.
Jacob's father, Joe Prybl, added:
He would interact with people on the game, socialize with them, talk through his headset. Over time he just became more and more engrossed in (gaming). It's seductive... we don't know which way to turn.
Controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson was also interviewed for the KARE-11 report. A Thompson press release says the Prybls have enlisted his help in trying to find their son.
Comments
Who are the MCP and why would they kidnap someone at random? That doesn't make sense. What does make sense is that JT is a bum and is up to no good. His intentions aren't good.
The MCP kidnapped him.
No, it's true.. Jack is not 'evil'. No one really is, not even the real Neo Nazi's.
He's an egoistic flophead though, with an opinion the size of seattle. His beliefs are out of touch with reality, and his train of thought is at best delusional.
That, however, doesn't make him 'evil'. It makes him an idiot, that's what.
I don't know what that has to do with anything here. The issue is that Jack Thompson is "HELPING" a family to find their lost relative who is a gamer. That doesn't sound right somehow and I think that he is up to no good here.
People have quit their jobs over fishing, so the medium involved is completely irrelevant, what I'm more interested in was why nothing was done sooner.
Jack won't look for the missing person, he'll only be lookingt for excuses, that's all he's ever relied on.
He's not just a Lawyer! But a JUDGE in the making AND A P.I!
Before you know it he'll be an astronaught in space! :D
I can smell hypocrisy....not to bring up bad memories but remember how he has no remorse for that gamer who committed suicude?
What in gods name is going to make Jack Thompson truely care about finding their Gamer Child.
This is just shit waiting to hit the fan....no...a blender with no top on.
I know he's going to some how turn this all into some anti-game thing.
So he spends all his money playing, never gets off to eat, but manages to walk away in order to leave the house for a week?
Seems rather odd. What, did his parents take his internet away? Or did he go meet someone he met online?
Either way, it sounds like the kid has some issues, and I seriously doubt the game is to blame.
Unfortunately it's more likely he was mugged and killed, or committed suicide than that. A mugger doesn't care about your life, just the contents of your wallet, and depression can drive a person really far down without them seeking help.
Fortunately, hanging with friends is a bit more likely than being kidnapped. At 20 years old he doesn't really make for an attractive target for luring off somewhere it would be easy to grab.
As for running away, well since he's over 18, if the cops do find him, and determine to his satisfaction that he's where he is of his own will, there really isn't anything they can do to get him to go home or even talk with his parents.
As for the parents themselves, my guess is that in their worry, they started flailing around for an expert to ask for help. And since Jack likes to bill himself as an expert on what games will cause people to do, they latched onto him.
Unfortunately Jack's contribution is likely going to be pushing for dead ends to be looked at, and pushing for suing everyone in sight if the guy isn't found.
Anyway, JT doesnt have any love for the gamer world, because of all the backlash on him (and his own immature responses brought it on). But it is no where near as close as that to a neo nazi. If the games you favor are sports games, Pokemon, and whatever else qualifies as non "harmful" by his criteria, he could care a less. He is not an anti gamer, nor does he actually belive games in GENERAL harm people. Anti-gamers are people who believe ALL video games are harmful and tend to generalize a lot more about people who play games (all male kids who lack literacy skills or something).
I didn't mean to call him a Neo Nazi directly. It was an analogy and I think his hatred for gamers is the same as a Neo Nazi's hatred for Jews. I didn't mean that he is a Neo Nazi.
@ Kincyr
Even though I meant it as an analogy, you're absolutely right.
I couldn't have said that better myself. Just like Hitler was trying to censor Judaism, Thompson is trying to censor gaming. Interestingly enough, they both claimed to do it in the name of God.
yes, the MGS incident..it was on this site (back in the LJ days) a while back when he used to post here a lot. Jack wasn't gloating, he was being quite insensitive about the whole thing, saying the kid brought it on himself playing MGS (which he seemed to blame more of its theme than the actual violence). And of course said a few sly remarks about the crowd here in relation to that (he is just that way).
Jack is not EVIL. He just has a warped sense of what is right and wrong, and has an even warped sense on what to do about it. Comparing him to a Neo Nazi is silly. Jack doesnt want to kill anyone, or even hurt anybody here or anywhere.
Aw yeah.
JT was more than apothetic about the gamer's death, he was actually GLOATING about it. He wrote a lengthy letter to the gamer's friends about how he died because he didn't "embrace Christ" and shit. He also made sure to go on a tirade about gaming being "mastabutory behavior".
If memory serves, I think that might have been one of the final straws that led to JTs ban from GP...
Jacob actually sounds pretty normal for his age bracket and interests. I came down on my kid (not hard, just enough to be a nagging parent) a few times when he was that old for spending too much time on video games. Of course he then turned it into a career (following in my own footsteps).
I'm more concerned that Jacbob is living at home with mommy and daddy and being dropped off at college than I am that he's spending too much time (and money) on video games. He could easily be spending it all on fantasy sports, pimping his ride, doing controlled substances, or watching endless amounts of TiVo'd television -- things that young males in his age bracket have a tendency to do.
It may be that the issue here has more to do with parents who haven't stopped treating their live-at-home adult son like a 14-year-old child. Jacob could be finally flexing his independence, and fearing a reassertion of overprotective control on his life, has chosen not to get into contact with his parents as a way of self protection.
If I called the police every time one of my adult children didn't call me for a week or more at a time, they'd put a block on my phone number.
BTW Jack Thompson ... evolve with society, OK? The Internet is becoming the way people communicate. We share ideas, we make friends, we even find marriage partners that way.
And like real life, it's not without risk.
But, that doesn't mean we need protecting from it.
Ugh, thanks KARE11 for your worthless news. This is as awful as the morning clip they ran about dead puppies which ruined my morning commute.
*hide behind couch*
Hear me out....
Assume for a moment that these parents are clueless about how to reach the game community but are just aware enough (possibly from reading up on how to try and ‘understand’ their son’s obsession) to know that Jack Thompson is a media whore.
Would this many gamer websites be talking about their son if they hired some private eye to look for him? No. He wouldn't even be on our radar.
By taking advantage of Jack Thompson's notoriety, these parents have managed to reach a media stream that targets a large number of people in the gaming community. Thus they are getting his name and picture out to exactly the group of people that might know where this kid is.
Now, admittedly, they’d make more progress if they released the kid’s in game name and the name of the game he was playing but that is information they which they might not know.
Also, the guy is 20- legally an adult (probably a huge dork if his parents still rule him). I don't see how anti-game legislation would help here either.
What if we find porn on his computer? Will news stories read that Jenna Jameson came and kidnapped him? Or would be it more acceptable to us as a society if he was slowly being sucked into the world of online porn versus the world of online games?
There is ALWAYS more to these cases than first meets the eye. The young man's game obsession is one flashing red light. I'm sure there were others, noticed or not.
2. Jack thompson doesn't know squat so he's simply going to blame it on the publisher
3. you suck at parenting for not forcing him to get off you wusses.
I choose to give the parents the benefit of the doubt, until they sue. They might be just grasping at straws, because the police really can't help with a 20 year old - he's an adult.
@Jabr
We can hope for the best case scenario. I'd say the Burning Crusade scenario is very plausible, I know several people taking off work this week.
Or the bestest case - he met a girl. Go lil buddy!
Normally suicides have certain patterns, notes, phone calls, etc. This doesn't seem to fit that bill, from the little info we have.
But really, it's just as likely he got mugged and they haven't found the body. Pure speculation.
All we can say, FOR SURE, is that Jack Thompson will be of NO assistance in finding the young man. All he will do is muddy the waters with anti-game rhetoric, and file the lawsuit IF the worst happens. Look, I'm not discounting the fact that this guy MIGHT have been a game-addict, and this MIGHT have led to this disappearance. But seriously, Thompson only serves to narrow the 'case' into what he knows.
I really hope this family hires a professional PI, preferably ex law enforcement, with good reputation. If they are truly worried.
Really though, he's 20. I dissappeared in New York for a week with a girlfriend once. Didn't call home once. Wasn't quite 21 and went to bars! *gasp* I acted like a 20 year old! I hope this is true for Jacob . . .
Also, can someone give me some details on something? I heard that JT was totally apathetic and unfeeling towards the friends/family of a gamer that commited suicide. I'd like to know a little more about that, please.
I think we'll need to wait and hear what Jack has to say about this to see what's going on here. I can't really imagine how he's going to help, why do you need a lawyer to find some kid? Is Jack responsible for the whole MMO connection here? Jack claims to be an expert on "the effexcts violent games have on young children", so did he just throw "MMO addiction" in there as well? His position seems to be "games are bad, look at me!" Jack seems to be the only one benefiting from this whole thing.
It is quite interesting that the family hired a lawyer. Maybe they hired JT because they killed their kid since he wouldn't stop playing video games and make his bed. So, I have no doubt we'll be seeing all the "Video Games Killed My Kid" articles popping up and the publishers of several MMO games being sued, even though they had nothing to do with it.
The parents will use all the money they win from those cases to pay their own legal fees.
As 4 the Dallas Egbert thing I know Tom hanks started in a movie about it. I think it was Mazes and monsters.
As for him getting up and just leaving well I have done that many times. I get annoyed at my family and just leave. Hell I disappeard for months. For all we know this may not having anything to do with games as at all. All we know he is gamer with overprotective parents. We dont know if games played a factor for his disappearence. Its just believed to be one of da reasons.
I wouldnt believe that he spent 2k $ on the mmo alone, I spend a lot on my visa and my parents think its all related to mmo ( which only 20$ of it a month is ). And by them going to JT for help makes me firmly believe they have no clue what their son is spending the money on.
I really hope he met a girl or is spending over a week at someones place laning.
Either way JT was the worst move by far! wish the kid the best.
Like others have said, Jack is going to find some way to milk this situation for publicity and to further his agenda. That is just very wrong.
-Auto
The Burning Crusade theory might make sense if it came out last week, but he's been gone for a week already and it only just came out today (I'm personally planning to get it myself as soon as I get off work...provided there are any copies left!)
I'm with you guys, though. I'm hoping for the best and that what really happened is he left to meet a girl and they're screwing like rabbits now. Boy, wouldn't that make JT look ridiculous!
Second, to mock: Anyone else feel a Fox after-school cartoon/live action show coming based on the crazy antics of Jack Thompson, lawyer by day/PI by night, as he tracks video game criminals by digitizing himself and his friends, the Latchkey Kids?
I actually live in minneapolis/MN and a friend who had watched this on the news the previous night told me about this so I looked up the article pretty much right before I checked game politics. (daily internetz routine)
That being said im fucking embarrased for my state... I can't believe they hired jack for this.. the kid could have been jumped, who knows.
Or the person who disrepects those who've committed suicide, just to push a personal agenda. Or who uses the tragedies of families and communitties just to push an agenda.
How hard is he actually helping to find out the truth? Not very.
The story showed images of online video games. But no where did ANYONE specifically state WHAT online game he played, what his ID might be, or even SUGGEST that anyone in the online community, who most likely knew him, contact them or the authorities with any information. After all, if he played any particular game for any time, he'd most likely be a part of a group or multiple groups. Even the news story admitted he TALKED to others online. Playing that much time, he must have opened himself up to.
So what would you do do if you were the person the parents came to?
Go on TV and verbally abuse the entire community, including those who may actually have an idea of what he was thinking before he left?
Or would you:
(1) Without being publically insulting and malicious, legally file to obtain cell phone records (did anyone catch the bit about that in the interview) and online game records necessary to find out who he had contact with, etc etc (both cell phone companies and online companies protect identity information to keep casual investigations by unknown people from obtaining private information, so just file for the info).
(2) Go to online communities where he may have been, begging for information from people who had contact with him. You want to find him? Beg if you have to. What's more important? Finding the guy or your pride?
(3) Go on TV, tell what you can about him and beg for people to contact you also.
(4) Anything else you can to find your son, whether he is safe and sound or otherwise.
Which action do you think will get you closer to finding him?
nightwng2000
NW2K Software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_tunnel_incident
@squigs
That's the line of thinking a detective would have. Jack would never turn to a game for help, even if it was for someone else's sake. He puts his crusade before the well-being of his 'explotations of the week.'
He's taking this poor family for a ride, using their grief to promote himself. He's a very sick man.
Didn't WoW's Burning Crusade just come out? I wonder if he went to a guild LAN party to play it for a week straight?
Not having a car doesn't mean he can't drive. It could mean he's spent all his money on computer stuff or in-game upgrades and his parents aren't hard-assed enough to make him catch the bus. ("But Mom, I'll miss my class!")
As regards checking out his recent websites, etc, it sounds as though his parents may not know how to go about that.
The problem here isn't the "kid" going "missing", it's overprotective parents that can't tell when their child is an adult, and overreacting because of it.
It's always possible that they approached JT [i]because[/i] he is a lawyer... there are people out there that would care more about suing and getting the money from Blizzard than actually finding the kid. Again, I don't want to assume that these people are like that but it would explain hiring a lawyer instead of a P.I.
In a less conspiracy-ish tone, many people who become game addicts do so to escape from a life that they don't like into a world that accepts them. It is possible that this kid found something in WoW that he wanted to be a part of, like a cult, or eloped with some Tauren chick. These are not the fault of Blizzard so a lawyer would have no case. Or maybe he found something non-WoW related and these parents are chasing a red herring.
Or maybe, just maybe, Blizzard kidnapped him and is now subjecting him to stress tests of "World of Warcraft II: Mo' Loot, Mo' Problems"
No matter what the case is, I would think that even JT knows there is no case here.
Dear lord, this sprials into levels of stupid never thought possible. Hire the police, for god sake!
He prolly just took some pals on an instance run...he'll be hearthing back soon.
The words "fail utterly" come to mind.
Dallas Egbert made Dungeons & Dragons famous and paved the way for the popularity of fantasy-themed gaming (like WoW) today.
In 1979 William Dear tried to build his career as a private investigator and author on the Dallas Egbert tragedy. In a like manner, JT is using this young man's family, as he has used the families of other victims in the past, to further his own agenda. They simply ending up becoming additional victims.
Chances are that whether this young man has chosen to disappear or has become the victim of something more sinister, the games he played will have nothing to do with that disappearance.
Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.
On the other hand, that teen helping the police on MMOs was trying to catch child molestors, not guys who kidnap 20-year-olds...
There are several outcomes:
-worst case: he lost something important in-game and left to go find someplace to kill himself
-best case: he's getting laid by the girl he met online
His only likely reason to leave, since his parents hadn't cut him off or anything, would be to go meet someone. Possibly a fellow guild member.
If he's anything like my neice, he likely walked to the bus depot, bought a ticket, and hopped on, without telling anyone anything. Next thing you know he's in Texas and having a great time with his new friend, and is calling to ask for bus fare home...
Does anyone have a link to this press release?
Now, what if none of his online group were known to the parents? What if they don't know the name of his guild? What if they don't know how to find his character name(s) on his computer?
Assuming he's the reclusive type, the interesting point here is that there are two groups of people involved. One is the people he sees on a day to day basis but probably doesn't talk to much. They don't know what's going on with him and want to know where he is. The second is his online friends, who he talks to for hours a day and would know (in some detail at least) of any plans he had, what was going through his mind recently, and ultimately might know where he is. But the first group know his real name and real picture, while the second group know his online nicks and avatars. Neither has a very good way of getting in touch with the other.
You've seen his picture now and know his name, but you could talk to him tonight in Everquest and be none the wiser.
I wouldn't say they don't have a valid concern. He did vanish from his parents' place without saying where he's going, didn't seem to take anything of significance with him, and they haven't heard from him in over a week.
He is allowed to do things like that, but it would at least be polite to say he was stepping out for a bit...
OBJECTION! Jack would make a horrable Phoenix Wright, he dosn't have the hair for it.
It is very sad, and the poor kid might be seriously hurt or something, however somehow I am not so confident that Jack can help them very much.
....unless Rockstar kidnapped him I guess.
It is true that online games can be addictive. In extreme cases, this can be harmful. There might be connection. But it could be completely unrelated. His disappearance might have nothing to do with the game.
Find out what his name was online. Find out who he talked to. Ask some of the people in the game if they know anything. Clearly these are the people he talked to.
Seriously, though, the parents made a huge mistake hiring the Metropolitian Moron of Miami, who has, to my knowledge, zero private investigation training(and zero lawyer ability, but that's another discussion).
All he'll do is grandstand and do nothing to help find the 20-year old, instead choosing to promote himself. They were better off asking America's Most Wanted or something.
In all seriousness, as has been said above, I can't see what JT can do to help. If they are after a frivilous lawsuit, sure, but locating a missing person? Er... no.
I'd keep an eye on this story though Dennis. Usually kidnappings and such are as a result of family member or friends of the family. While this may actually be a case of someone on a game entrapping this kid, don't rule out the more usual and obvious.
Also the guy is 20 years old. He can go where he damn well pleases. Kind of an ass for taking off like that and not telling anybody though.
In short, I do not see a problem. Except for the parents. The way they act, I'd be surprised if he wasn't just trying to get the hell away from them.
Seriously, maybe they Themselves should have checked up on their son now and again...
Thompson may not be a P.I., but he is obviously willing and eager to blame the video game industry and file a lawsuit if-and-when it does turn-out something tragic has happened to the guy. They're probably hoping to get a settlement and you can't expect just any lawyer to fight a frivolous case against a billion-dollar industry.
Anyway, I hope the kid is OK. He's prolly camping out at a friends for a Burning Crusade release marathon. I can hope it's that simple, but details are scarce.
Either that or he's schizo and his parents genuinely think he's run-away to join a guild and slay dragons.
But since this is in Minnesota and not in Miami, I'm quite sure he doesn't have the relationships required to make a positive contribution in the case. And he most certainly does NOT have the relationships with FBI.
I just don't see anything good come out of this to the family. Unless, of course, they want to file a few "strategic" (read: gold-digging) lawsuits against gaming companies. Thumper is real good at that.
People need to stop looking at the news to tell them what to think. The news should report data for us to process, unfortunately it stopped doing just that a long time ago. Ratings come before purpose.
-All a person can do is think for himself
Speaking of contempt, isn't he going to jail yet?!
The update is the only new part which states:
"Update: SPOnG has heard back from Jack Thompson. His response reads: "We have found his son. He is with gamers in Illinois. I was right.""
I started a number of comments about John Bruce's obvious bigotry, but I'll let his use of the word "gamer" (as someone would use a derogatory term to refer people of certain races, sexual orientations, religions, etc) be the evidence of his dishonor and lack of ethics.
After all, we haven't heard the guy's side of the story, without manipulation from John Bruce and others.
For all we know, he went there willingly and John Bruce is upset because HE wasn't consulted as to whether the guy should have been allowed to go or not.
nightwng2000
NW2K software
http://news.spong.com/article/11528
nightwng2000
NW2K Software
I'm sorry, but tragedy or not they're not exempt from criticism. Their son is 20, living at home, and according to them never leaves his house except for school and work, and plays video games obsessively. He disappears and their course of action is to hire a sociopathic anti video-game lawyer and to go on television and cry about the evils of video games? Even if they couldn't do anything to help their son in spite of the warning signs, even if they just didn't have the sense to, going to the press and parading a scapegoat about isn't going to do anything to help them in this situation either.
I've read through most of the posts in this huge board, and most of the people don't exactly seem to be insulting either this guy or his parents. Most of them actually seem to hope that he is getting some or lanning with his buddies. A few people have made some rather uncalled for remarks on his parents, but many of the posts that mention the parents really criticize, not them, but their choic of calling in JT. Of these many posts, many of them are not insulting the parents. I agree with you that insulting the victim or his parents is pointless, and I'm sure that most of the people on this board would ag