Naladi
From what I've read, I've seen legitimate points raised on both sides of the fence. That is, when the people on either side of the fence haven't descended into mud-slinging and name-calling, which I've seen an abundance of from both sides. From people who spend money being called stupid cash-cows to people who don't spend money/don't spend as much money being called butthurt freeloaders, it's been everywhere lately.
I can see the desirability for rewarding large cash spenders on Gaia, as a way to encourage people to keep spending money here to keep the site going, and to give other users who don't necessarily spend money on here more of an incentive to do so. I see the benefit and potential of such a program, but I also understand user's frustrations with how the club is currently being carried out.
The abundance of $100+ items in Club Verge combined with the relatively small amount of less expensive items in the shop gives users the impression, whether or not its true, that they aren't being rewarded but are being taken advantage of because they have shown that they can spend $100 or more on the site. Also, I've heard that the increase of price of the animated halo from the $10 that the original one was available for to the $25 that the recolor is selling for, has given them a similar impression.
The increase in prices in Club Verge in order to preserve MP value and keep the supply low has been a large bone of contention that I've seen. Even after getting in the club, some users feel as if they're being alienated because they belong to a middle category of people who spend $100 on Gaia annually but cannot afford to spend enough on Gaia in the span of a single month to be able to afford any of the exclusive items offered in the shop as a reward. It would probably be beneficial to have some items in Club Verge that are available at usual La Victoire prices, so that everyone in the club can have a reasonable expectation of being able to get something out of the club even if their budget is only the $100 a year that allowed them to gain entrance into the club. Coupon and discount programs for Club Verge members is another great idea that I heard that all Club Verge members would be able to take advantage of regardless of their relative budgets.
These are just a few things that I've seen, and my opinion as a non-member of Club Verge looking at the issue. But I did want to say, thank you for making this thread and openly discussing these matters with us, Sisky. I know tempers are running a bit high on both sides at the moment, but I truly believe that the only reason people feel so passionately about the issue is because we all genuinely care about the site.
I think it's best just to annoy the "mud slinging" and "name calling" as you will always have those that are immature on Gaia, nothing really changes there. Whenever a debate or sorts goes on there are bound to be people who take it over the top.
I do agree with you on many points on your second paragraph, Club Verge is an amazing idea - it should have given people incentive to buy to gain access to the club and should make those people who already support the site feel in some sort of way special and "wanted" by Gaia. These people who feel wanted will probably want to keep at it and support Gaia more.
Although the idea was good the implementation wasn't on par. But needless to say they're still working on improving it. They will add more features and edit others, and soon the idea will possibly work. There is one major flaw in this idea though. Elitism.
The more nice features you lend to a certain type of user, the more the other users will feel neglected. To balance this you could release features for everyone the same time you do for those who are in the other catagory. This will make people feel less neglected.
But peoples mentality of being neglected since they're not special will affect how well you can carry out a plan like this.
If you add more special features to club verge, the bigger and better they are the more normal users will get upset by the fact they cannot use those features.
It's just a risky thing really.
But I'm sure after many improvements Gaia will be able to fix this mess.
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