Inflation is good for us

I am gainfully employed:

Yes. And I work hard for the money.	36.2%	[ 51 ]
Nope.	63.8%	[ 90 ]
Total Votes:			[ 141 ]

[Cosette Rozenn de Bourbon]

Sir Black Tea

You're making pretty big assumptions that this is "good" when a) not everybody wants to / has the budget for items and would rather just make gold for free, and b) not everybody is from the US and can use minimum wage and available jobs to pay for entertainment like Gaia. I personally would rather save my money than waste it on a website with such an uncertain future. Having paying money be the only option for enjoying this website isn't the best.

Paying cash isn't the only option. People tend to assume that all users should have equal opportunity for all forms of enjoyment. Dressing your avatar with items is only one form of enjoyment on this site. There is inequality in this area since cash enables quicker access to new items, but it doesn't mean you can't enjoy it without cash.

[Astra the Fae]

I really don't get why people keep saying that "things need to be equal for everyone" in the thread. Things have never been equal to new users. Never. Ever. Whether it was just getting the monthly collectibles by donating each month or the start of the cash shop. New users were at a disadvantage to begin with whether it was at the items being at 10k, 100k, 1 mil, 2 mil, 5 mil, etc.

Things are already easier than what they were in 2004 and 2008. There are a lot of options that available to people however it requires patience and perseverance. Seriously you even have guilds like The Gaian Job Center that help out new users daily. But no let's forget all of that hard work those people put into and claim it's so "hard". How do you know if you never tried?

I've been that user that actually tried everything to make it towards the goal of wishlist items especially during the inflation of 08. I never once gave up on an item on any of the accounts I started. I did the games, I farmed Towns, I played zOMG and the games. I even vended the game items or sold them in the exchange items. I didn't give up on questing because it was too hard. I gave up on the community because of how they acted and reacted to things.

Anyway, cash shop items and MCs are always going to be hard to obtain. That's a given for any site that uses a cash shop model. However the difference is that Gaia has a large enough community for members to pitch in which some are doing. The inflation isn't really hard to manage if you know how to work around things and don't buy the most expensive item. Instead of people saving up to get that one item they should be saving up so that they have enough left over to do whatever. Now is the inflation good? Eh? Depends on the person really. I just don't like people taking an item whether it's been newly released or not and selling it for 300million. There comes a point and I think people are violating a lot of ethics and what not in doing that. But..that's just my opinion.

And as far as gold being useless because of the inflation; it's a matter of opinion. Subjective opinion. Beginners are going to find ways to make Gaia fun regardless of the state of a fictional economy and I think instead of throwing a b***h fit over it we should show them how to find those other ways. And if that's an impossible goal to reach then people should take a break from Gaia.

[hornworts]

Cosette Rozenn de Bourbon

Sir Black Tea

You're making pretty big assumptions that this is "good" when a) not everybody wants to / has the budget for items and would rather just make gold for free, and b) not everybody is from the US and can use minimum wage and available jobs to pay for entertainment like Gaia. I personally would rather save my money than waste it on a website with such an uncertain future. Having paying money be the only option for enjoying this website isn't the best.

Paying cash isn't the only option. People tend to assume that all users should have equal opportunity for all forms of enjoyment. Dressing your avatar with items is only one form of enjoyment on this site. There is inequality in this area since cash enables quicker access to new items, but it doesn't mean you can't enjoy it without cash.

But as others have pointed out as items rapidly inflate and gold continues to lose value while the only gold payouts that match up with today's prices (read: in the millions/billions), paying cash will become the only option. For new users, paying is the only option. You can't buy a large majority of items today just from posting alone.

[Andromeda Phoenix]

I get what you're saying, but only partially agree. When I see Gaia updating features myself and other users wanted to see updated for over 5 years now, then I'll call this business tactic of theirs...good for us. For example, there's no excuse for why they can make 3 new games from scratch, but won't touch any of the old ones, features which Gaia's flash dev himself said would require to be reworked on from scratch in order to update. Or update guilds instead of spending their time making an adult forum site where we get to see some of Gaia's staff acting like retarded fools or something. All the gold in world, and time and money saved buying GC instead of grinding, doesn't mean anything if I'm bored out of my mind. For more users than we think, a good chunk of the fun in Gaia is in that grind and the community aspects that comes along with it. So I'd have to say overall it's good for Gaia, not so much us.

[x_gokai-okuzuko_x]

Er... Just because something is good for them as a money-making corporation doesn't automatically make it good for the userbase. neutral

[Stargaziey]

I'll say there is some flaw to your logic. You see, before I came back from my hiatus, I would buy cash. Lots of it. $100 per month was pretty standard for me. After I came back I discovered that Gaia (or at least their new management) decided that selling gold for cash was a good idea. Undermining every single attempt they made in the past to prevent hyper-inflation.

Gaia is not pay to play. It has never claimed to be. Yet, what you're saying is that the inflation they're creating is making it pay to play & that's ok because they need the money.

I understand they're a business & they need the money, Gaia has done donation items since their infancy. Money has always come into Gaia & only increased over the years. The cash shop increased this more, but with reasonable prices & releases.

I knew that Gaia was not booming business. They have features that get rushed or ignored because they didn't have the money for staff. This was why I supported a site I enjoyed.

But now you cannot tell me, with the prices in the CS & the way they're shoving cash items in our faces faster than bunnies make babies that they're not making money hand over fist. Yet, other than MORE items released in the cash shop, I see no other improvements to the site.

You know what I do see? A crappy knock off 18+ site they created while this one falls apart on outdated infrastructure.

I'm not giving my money to a site with practices like that. So no, the flaw in your assumption is that the inflation does not encourage me to buy cash. All it does is remind me that I keep hoping like a fool for a glimpse of the past Gaia & all I can see are d**k pics on tentacl. emotion_donotwant

[Cosette Rozenn de Bourbon]

Sir Black Tea

...

Again, this takes one area of Gaia and makes a blanket for the whole site. Like sooo much of this site is free. If you don't care about having the "hip" items all the time, then cash is wholly irrelevant.

[Madam Zaafira]

Cosette Rozenn de Bourbon

Gather round children, yous gonna learn something today.... cool

So I was skipping around Gaia today, trying to reacquaint myself with everything since I've been gone for like a year and I was investigating this month's monthly collectibles to see if I want one. This is when I had my epiphany....

My first reaction was "ASKJSF!!! How can a monthly collectible be like 100 mill!" Then I saw that cute little star at the top. You know the one that tells you, "This item can be bought from monthly collectibles for only $2.50." And I was like, hell, I'll just buy it, $2,50 is like nothing! I spend more at Starbucks.

There, that reaction right there, is why Gaia has no desire to curb inflation. Which, most people are treating as established fact.... But, if you don't ...You see, as much as we (well most of us) all love Gaia, they are a corporation, and a corporation's first duty is to its shareholders to maximize profit (If you don't agree go read this United States Supreme Court Case and then post how you don't believe that's true. Go on, I'll wait.) The reaction I just had is what they want us to have. Because the bigger the gold sticker shock, the bigger the drive to GIVE THEM MONEY. Which, uh, is a really awesome thing from their perspective.

And, from our perspective, it's a really awesome thing. Yes, I know, I blaspheme. But follow my logic here, if you're over 13 in most states you can work. Federal minimum wage is like $7 or so. So if you work just about fifteen minutes you can buy yourself a monthly collectible. To get enough gold to do so... would take a lot longer than fifteen minutes unless your a marketplace wizard. You see for most of us, being given the option to buy decreases grind and increases our profitability i.e. if I work fifteen minutes I get one item, if I spend an hour getting it for free on Gaia, I've lost that opportunity to earn $7 and only gotten something worth $2.50. You actually wind up losing $4.50 if you play the game "for free."

Edit: I am making and recongize I am making the following assumptions about the majority userbase: (1) they do not have concerns like paying for life essentials due to age, as this page is marketed to 13+; and (2) they live in the United States (or UK or Australia, etc) since the website is in English.

TLDR: Gaia makes bank because inflation forces us to buy things, which is good for them AND US. Yeah, I know crazy.

Discuss!

you make a valid argument, times and business in america has changed compared to years ago so in a way your supporting facts do embellish your statement well

[Cosette Rozenn de Bourbon]

Stargaziey

I'm not giving my money to a site with practices like that. So no, the flaw in your assumption is that the inflation does not encourage me to buy cash. All it does is remind me that I keep hoping like a fool for a glimpse of the past Gaia & all I can see are d**k pics on tentacl. emotion_donotwant

Part and parcel with the "making money hand over fist" is that Gaia, as a corporation, is going to cater to that part of the userbase because they make them the money.

That being said, there are some clear benefits from the cash flow they receive that benefit everyone e.g. rehired artists and new games. Just because they aren't doing everything that everyone wants doesn't mean they're terrible people. Sadly, they are a company and this isn't a democracy where everyone's desires get taken into consideration.

[Soulfulness]

The only thing this site has taught me is that I shouldn't spend money on it.

[DYRL]

WHAT?
HUH?
What is this witchcraft you speak of?! Why thats the most convoluted nonsenses I've heard since my Auntie Ray told me they put a man on the moon!

Thank you! Thank you for saying what which has never been said before, and most certainly never on a daily biased rolleyes .

[Einrick]

Cosette Rozenn de Bourbon

Gather round children, yous gonna learn something today.... cool

So I was skipping around Gaia today, trying to reacquaint myself with everything since I've been gone for like a year and I was investigating this month's monthly collectibles to see if I want one. This is when I had my epiphany....

My first reaction was "ASKJSF!!! How can a monthly collectible be like 100 mill!" Then I saw that cute little star at the top. You know the one that tells you, "This item can be bought from monthly collectibles for only $2.50." And I was like, hell, I'll just buy it, $2,50 is like nothing! I spend more at Starbucks.

There, that reaction right there, is why Gaia has no desire to curb inflation. Which, most people are treating as established fact.... But, if you don't ...You see, as much as we (well most of us) all love Gaia, they are a corporation, and a corporation's first duty is to its shareholders to maximize profit (If you don't agree go read this United States Supreme Court Case and then post how you don't believe that's true. Go on, I'll wait.) The reaction I just had is what they want us to have. Because the bigger the gold sticker shock, the bigger the drive to GIVE THEM MONEY. Which, uh, is a really awesome thing from their perspective.

And, from our perspective, it's a really awesome thing. Yes, I know, I blaspheme. But follow my logic here, if you're over 13 in most states you can work. Federal minimum wage is like $7 or so. So if you work just about fifteen minutes you can buy yourself a monthly collectible. To get enough gold to do so... would take a lot longer than fifteen minutes unless your a marketplace wizard. You see for most of us, being given the option to buy decreases grind and increases our profitability i.e. if I work fifteen minutes I get one item, if I spend an hour getting it for free on Gaia, I've lost that opportunity to earn $7 and only gotten something worth $2.50. You actually wind up losing $4.50 if you play the game "for free."

Edit: I am making and recongize I am making the following assumptions about the majority userbase: (1) they do not have concerns like paying for life essentials due to age, as this page is marketed to 13+; and (2) they live in the United States (or UK or Australia, etc) since the website is in English.

TLDR: Gaia makes bank because inflation forces us to buy things, which is good for them AND US. Yeah, I know crazy.

Discuss!

You have failed to explain how this is beneficial to ME, since that was your original claim. After all, without the inflation, I was still able to purchase the same monthly collectable for the same $2.50. While last year that $2.50 would give me only 100k rather than 100M today, the amount of buying power has not increased. I could purchase that MC and sell it for gold on the marketplace, but the other items I could purchase with is roughly the same. [1]

Furthermore, this is a discussion for why cash shop purchases are beneficial. This does not discuss inflation, why inflation has a positive impact, or why the much higher recent inflation has a much greater impact. At one point, you could work fifteen minutes at a job or play games fifteen minutes on Gaia and have roughly the same amount of gold. About a year ago, fifteen minutes at a job might be equal to a few hours on Gaia. Now, fifteen minutes at a job is equal to six years on Gaia, and that assumes no additional inflation. This is not a benefit to me. This is an elimination of options, which is very specifically NOT a benefit.


[1] Actually, the items that I could purchase is not the same. Obviously, I can purchase far more gold store items with 100M than I could with 100k. However, items from recent RIGs are less common because more people are buying gold generators over RIGs. This makes RIG items, especially rare RIG options, less common and thus more expensive overall. My buying power per dollar today for these items has dropped when compared to last year.

[xx I met my fate xx]

Yeah, sorry if I don't want to spend even 5$ on pixels when that's pretty much an entire meal for my son. I can buy him a new pair of shoes for that or an outfit.

I have priorities and spending real money on Gaia is not one of them.

[Starshine]

Actually, what's good for Gaia IS NOT neccessarily good for us consumers. I really don't know why you think that.

It's like saying Walmart trippling their annual income is great for all shoppers.

You are asuming that gaia is spending the money back on gaia online, when it's obvious they made the adult sister site tentacl.com

The only part of Gaia that gets updates are things related to avatars. Take a look at the inventory arranger, guild, mini games, etc. Nothing has changed, and no one is working on them.

[Belethiel]

It is not good because they are ruining an old, useful feature. People who are poor or unwilling to spend money on pixels can't buy items from the cash shop. I am both of those things.

If they want to make money, they should release more cool items, or something with premium play that is still highly enjoyable without premium options.

And how is them making more money good if we never see anything new on this site again? What if they do another thing that had no demand instead of updating Towns 2 or giving us the pet system? (instead of doing that, we got Rococo and animal avatars instead of Towns 2 updates and the pet system, and the loyalty shop was delayed.)