In regard to #3, @Dracae's "Shades of Gray" (http://www.tip.it/runescape/times/view/1116-shades-of-gray) -- I can give you a pair of reasons why people become addicted to games, and are reasons usually bonded together with each other due to how they can happen... Accessibility and Stress. :geek: Just for a bottom-of-the-barrel example, say someone is doing something, anything, but it happens to be something that eventually stresses them out. Maybe having a nightmare while sleeping? I have no idea. The problem is, people can wake up stressed out by the nightmares they've had, or just from something entirely else they've been doing. They need something that they can get to quickly, something accessible and easy to launch. Worse, they might have to put up with a situation where they don't have many options, say from dealing with a computer admin (which could even be a parent) who makes it nigh-impossible to load and play something that interests them but requires an installer to be run first. Unfortunately, they fall short because the admin themself doesn't normally have an interest/inclination to play the particular style of game that interests the person who wants to have it installed to be playable. This renders that person with having to use a browser with plugins like Java/Flash/etc. to get at something they can actually play, especially if they're looking for (or even feel like they need) something multiplayer where they can honestly enjoy a good time with other people, and feel like their stress is an iceberg that's melting away. Eventually, that can bring some people to games like RuneScape, but even then I admit that only works to an extent as some won't have an interest for that type of game. :? The basic point is, the person feels squeezed for any chance of finding anything that lets them rid themself of the stress that's disrupting their normal line of thought and mental function, and it drives them to find some kind of outlet. Sadly, some people go mentally insane if they're pushed too far for too long, and that lands up affecting how they'll interact with everyone else. :( ~D. V. "I hope more people come back with possible extra answers to your article... I'll be looking forward to reading them." Devnull [Late edits by post author due to a glitch from starting a post with an "@" symbol...]