Kara Winters
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- Posted: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 17:58:32 +0000
KanauCin
So, I'm posting to disagree with this thread. Let me clear a few things before I get into it. I'm in no way affiliated with Gaia staff, am being paid by them, or have any interest if GC stays or not. With that out of the way, let me make a few points.
A website costs money to run. You need to pay the domain holder for the .com, you need to pay for utilities if you run the server, or pay for the server access so they can pay their utilities.
Employees at Gaia need to be paid. From people who respond to tickets, to marketing, artists, website designers, etc. Assuming they receive fair wage for these positions, entry level cost for each person should be about 40k/year.
Just like any other company, they want to make more than what they're spending. Why? Because that money gets used to grow the site with research and development to help the site grow and the company keep solvent.
Do you need to spend GC to use the site? No. It's free to use. People who do use it are not gaining any more access to the site then you are by not spending money. They only get digital media that, in the end, isn't worth anything more than having aesthetic changes to your character.
Does this make gold worth less than normal? Yes, and this part could and maybe should be fixed. How? Inserting items worth gold only may drive the economy up. Also, inserting deals that make people want to spend more GC also make gold go up. How? Someone spends GC to buy an item. They turn around and sell that item for gold. Now that they have that gold, there is less gold on the market, which makes the value of gold go up, as there is less of it to have. They later get bored of the item, it has gone down in value because more of them have been bought, so they sell it at less than what they bought it for. More gold is lost because of that, which increases the value of gold since now there is less of it. Mind you I'm no expert on economics, but this is generally why GC can be a good thing for gold.
Do you like using the site? Does it provide something to you? If not, then why are you here? If you think the site is in danger, the answer is to support the site. Which means donating, or spending money to see that the site has a future. If you don't think the site has a future because they're running campaigns to try and stabilize the economy... I'm not sure what to tell you other than the points I've made already.
In the end, the more people who do spend GC, the more this site grows and will become better. Does Gaia or any business running with them have to promise that they'll use any money you spend to grow this site..? No. That's when you have to ask: Is what I'm spending money on worth it for me..? If not, don't spend money and either use the site normally, or find a different hobby. In life, if someone gives you something, you give them something in return. Gaia is giving you a place to post and be free to chat. They're not asking for anything in return. They only ask that if you like this, support them with GC.
A website costs money to run. You need to pay the domain holder for the .com, you need to pay for utilities if you run the server, or pay for the server access so they can pay their utilities.
Employees at Gaia need to be paid. From people who respond to tickets, to marketing, artists, website designers, etc. Assuming they receive fair wage for these positions, entry level cost for each person should be about 40k/year.
Just like any other company, they want to make more than what they're spending. Why? Because that money gets used to grow the site with research and development to help the site grow and the company keep solvent.
Do you need to spend GC to use the site? No. It's free to use. People who do use it are not gaining any more access to the site then you are by not spending money. They only get digital media that, in the end, isn't worth anything more than having aesthetic changes to your character.
Does this make gold worth less than normal? Yes, and this part could and maybe should be fixed. How? Inserting items worth gold only may drive the economy up. Also, inserting deals that make people want to spend more GC also make gold go up. How? Someone spends GC to buy an item. They turn around and sell that item for gold. Now that they have that gold, there is less gold on the market, which makes the value of gold go up, as there is less of it to have. They later get bored of the item, it has gone down in value because more of them have been bought, so they sell it at less than what they bought it for. More gold is lost because of that, which increases the value of gold since now there is less of it. Mind you I'm no expert on economics, but this is generally why GC can be a good thing for gold.
Do you like using the site? Does it provide something to you? If not, then why are you here? If you think the site is in danger, the answer is to support the site. Which means donating, or spending money to see that the site has a future. If you don't think the site has a future because they're running campaigns to try and stabilize the economy... I'm not sure what to tell you other than the points I've made already.
In the end, the more people who do spend GC, the more this site grows and will become better. Does Gaia or any business running with them have to promise that they'll use any money you spend to grow this site..? No. That's when you have to ask: Is what I'm spending money on worth it for me..? If not, don't spend money and either use the site normally, or find a different hobby. In life, if someone gives you something, you give them something in return. Gaia is giving you a place to post and be free to chat. They're not asking for anything in return. They only ask that if you like this, support them with GC.
The sad thing is, I use to agree with that sentiment completely. Look, no one is going to deny, Gaia is a business, and as a business they need to make money in order to the site to continue on as it has. A lot of us in this thread had supported Gaia at one point or another, because we understood to have this site continue to grow, it needs money to run. Anyone growing up with Gaia for the past decade or so understands this.
The problem isn't the GC, it is how the GC system is currently being used. For a lot of us who haven't left the site, despite our complaints, haven't left because we've been here for years and we truly love the site. This is where our friendships came from, and as oldies, frankly most of us who have been here for longer than five years and spent at least a bit of real money on this site is well off enough that we could pay the MP if we wanted to.
However, it doesn't remove the fact that Gaia's business practices, their push towards marketing, the increase in the need for GC and the constant inflation which makes it impossible not to buy something to get ahead isn't good for getting new users. Yes, they need us to support them, but they also need new users to support them as well. Especially as older users leave the site due to life rather than Gaia.
I completely understand that Gaia is a business, and if I like it I should support it, but you know what. I'm here because I've been here for a long time, I no longer trust or like Gaia enough to support the site. The business practices of the last few weeks have been incredibly questionable (the so called discounts on certain gold gens), and the fact that there are a lot of gold gens has less than impressed me.
The amount of ads in the announcements is just ridiculous, and while site does need money to survive. The fact there is more "stuff" in the cash shop than there has been in probably all the years that shop has existed is telling and worrisome. There has also been a larger focus on that, than any site wide event that doesn't include gold donations.
The list for me of things Gaia no longer cares about is very long, but you know it could be the changing times. Either way, there is something to be said about not spending GC, because it is the only way to tell Gaia you're displeased, money talks.
Tired as hell from this site, it used to be fun. It used to be frustrating(in a good way) to earn gold. Now... I'm just really bloody bored and annoyed. I feel sorry for the poor buggers that have joined up in the last few months or are joining up now. Well almost thanks to the (add friends for shed loads of cash!) crap they advertise now.
