Ethics in gaming

I do believe that the virtual community can help foster ethical behavior and bring people together. Too often people get caught up in differences between themselves and someone else- (he's not cool, she's not pretty, etc) without seeing them for who they are- a human being just like us.

Because games are played using avatars, people can't make judgments about other gamers as readily, because their true identity is hidden.

Also, because we are in the virtual world and our identity in the game is not identifiable, we might be more willing to help people. It is a curious commentary on our culture that we are sometimes unwilling to help others in real life, yet online we are more likely to lend a helping hand.

Rules in these games also encourage ethical behaviors among players, so yes, I would say that ethical behaviors are taught by gaming networks.