We know they are out there. They have to be right? There are people who are buying gold and since we can't run virtual witch hunts very effectively we have to sit in suspicion and wait. Who are these people and do we play with them? Is one a guildmate? Stephen Johnson from G4's The Feed puts a face to this dark habit by relieving his deepest secret; he has purchased gold in World of Warcraft.

It is here that I made the decision that forever marked me as an enemy of Mark Jacobs, painting my soul with the scarlet “G” of the gold-buyer. I decided it made sense to transmute 10 dollars or so of real world wealth into fake game wealth, like the alchemists of old changing lead into gold. My thinking (God help me) was that by dropping a tiny amount of actual money, I could pass up grinding, an occupation I despised, and thus avoid hours of “work” in- game. I work very hard in my actual life, and I put away as much money into savings as I can, so I naively figured that when I’m playing a game, I needn’t be worried about making prudent financial decisions.

So clouded was I with a twisted desire for a mount, I never considered the earth-shaking moral ramifications of the transgression I was about to commit.

I shudder now to think of my own depravity. Yes, I pulled out a credit card. Yes, I visited eBay. Yes, I connected with the dreaded Chinese gold farming mafia. Yes, I found a gold auction. I gave them the digits, and received my ill-gotten booty. All with none of my guild-mates being any the wiser.

Read more of this confession of a WoW gold buyer!