You guys are so damn cheap. Don8 GoldGen $$$

[Winter Equinox]

I was actually wondering the exact same thing!
But then again, I guess gaia was "gracious" enough to give $1000.
They could of just had the event and not donated...
We're probably even lucky they're telling us an amount they're donating. In previous games I've played they make it so that they never said the exact amount. They didn't even give an idea of the amount, just said, "Donating to Charities" basically.

[SawMyLimbs]

Doing the math, it'd take about at least $4500 USD from us the consumer to generate enough gold to reach a 60trillion goal. Considering they already earned that much money from us buying GC and spending it on cash shop items, they shouldn't be asking so much from us for a mere $1000

[Kuratine]

I think they should have at least named the charities on the kickstarter if they were really trying their best to help, there would have been people who might have wanted to donate directly. I do appreciate that they are giving any at all.

But I also agree that $250 increments is tiny. You only need to sell 25 999gcash items to get $250. A lot of limited quantity items get sold out, such as a $7 gcash item with 799 quanitity sold out means gaia made $5593 just from one item. That's over five times the amount they are donating.

honestly the best way would have been using a suggestion earlier in the thread, sell 2003 halo for $1000 with all (or even partial) to charity.

For perspective, an average family of 4-5 needs $200 a month for food. $1000 can feed just 5 families for a month. It helps, but that is so little for such a large company. A call for users to donate to their local shelter or food bank would have a lot of impact, but they didn't take the opportunity.

[x_Bella Luna_xx]

O.T.L.

Other than the miniscule amount they're offering, what also bothers me is this part of the announcement:

Quote:

We'll be using 100% of the virtual funds collected from this Kickstarter to give real life support to these local charity organizations

100% of the virtual funds? You mean the Gaia Gold that you claim has no cash value whatsoever? So, basically, no matter how much is "donated" to this "kickstarter", you'll be donating exactly nothing beyond the $1000? Gosh, how f***ing generous of you, Gaia...

THIS.

[Scarlet Heart Goblin]

Kuratine

I think they should have at least named the charities on the kickstarter if they were really trying their best to help, there would have been people who might have wanted to donate directly. I do appreciate that they are giving any at all.

But I also agree that $250 increments is tiny. You only need to sell 25 999gcash items to get $250. A lot of limited quantity items get sold out, such as a $7 gcash item with 799 quanitity sold out means gaia made $5593 just from one item. That's over five times the amount they are donating.

honestly the best way would have been using a suggestion earlier in the thread, sell 2003 halo for $1000 with all (or even partial) to charity.

For perspective, an average family of 4-5 needs $200 a month for food. $1000 can feed just 5 families for a month. It helps, but that is so little for such a large company. A call for users to donate to their local shelter or food bank would have a lot of impact, but they didn't take the opportunity.

Except they did:

Quote:

We'll be using 100% of the virtual funds collected from this Kickstarter to give real life support to these local charity organizations:

• Second Harvest Food Bank - of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
• San Jose Family Services
• Toys for Tots

(the link to that announcement can be found right on the kickstarter page by clicking "more details" )

They also sent out a staff alert earlier today with picture proof that they've already bought and donated enough food to make anywhere from 98-500 meals towards the first charity listed, for anyone who may have doubted whether they would actually go through with it.

[AngelinARosebed]

I'm not going to argue about this being a gold trap or whether Gaia's motives are pure or dubious. Because frankly? It doesn't really matter.

Whether they can afford more than a thousand or not, whether this is a gold trap or not, whether this is for the tax deductions or not, I can promise you the people who are on the receiving end of their donations are not going to care one lick about any of those things.

For instance, their donations to Second Harvest will likely be purchased by local food pantries in their area. Judging from the pictures of the amounts of food, that will be enough for roughly nine to twelve families. Maybe one or two more or less. The types of food are the essential staples that basically every food pantry gives away.

Regardless of whatever Gaia's intentions are, it isn't going to cheapen their donation to those people who are on the receiving end of it. If anything, it's going to mean a lot to them, because they'll be able to feed their families. (Or in the case of Toys for Tots - they'll be able to give their child a present for Christmas. I'm unsure what they're donating to Family services, so I won't address that one.)

I honestly don't care what their intentions are. If they're less than pure, than that's on them. It won't change the fact that the items they're giving away are going to make a difference to somebody.

[AishiSo]

AngelinARosebed

I'm not going to argue about this being a gold trap or whether Gaia's motives are pure or dubious. Because frankly? It doesn't really matter.

Whether they can afford more than a thousand or not, whether this is a gold trap or not, whether this is for the tax deductions or not, I can promise you the people who are on the receiving end of their donations are not going to care one lick about any of those things.

For instance, their donations to Second Harvest will likely be purchased by local food pantries in their area. Judging from the pictures of the amounts of food, that will be enough for roughly nine to twelve families. Maybe one or two more or less. The types of food are the essential staples that basically every food pantry gives away.

Regardless of whatever Gaia's intentions are, it isn't going to cheapen their donation to those people who are on the receiving end of it. If anything, it's going to mean a lot to them, because they'll be able to feed their families. (Or in the case of Toys for Tots - they'll be able to give their child a present for Christmas. I'm unsure what they're donating to Family services, so I won't address that one.)

I honestly don't care what their intentions are. If they're less than pure, than that's on them. It won't change the fact that the items they're giving away are going to make a difference to somebody.

You took those words right out of my mouth.
Amazing how something positive like a charity donation can cause such a negative stir.

[I have a tissue]

AishiSo

I have a tissue

AishiSo

But that makes the complaints even worse, because the staff (not millionairs I believe) want to do something good. They probably donate as much as they can - so critising an amount is not nice. I would even call it offensive, but that might be a too strong of a word.

And my opinion still stands - kickstarter with gold gives the community a sense of inclusion - people without IRL money can participate and the levels are resonable, so even those without a lot of gold can win the awards (apart from the Gold Ticket one - it shouldn't be too cheap).

No one is forced to buy GGs - if someone does that to donate, it's that person's problem not exactly the staff's fault.

It's staff's fault for putting out an excessively unnecessary kickstarter where the profits from it are not going to charity as they have disclosed so far. We shouldn't have to buy Gaia's Gold Generators to feel "included" when nothing outside of that $1000 was initially going to be given. That's just disgusting and takes away from the whole idea that this is good will toward men.

Further, as a small business owner, I give more than $1000 at the holidays. Gaia is at least 5x my size, and they have given $10k in the past. This reeks of bullshit and a lack of foresight into how it will affect their PR. This is not as "charitable" as what you may want to think. It's not like we are paying that gold to send the CEO to a soup kitchen to cook on Christmas Day.

If you find it so great then please do me a favor and go make your own thread praising the decision to take advantage of their members. You're not invalidating anything that I've said, here.

I don't understand this aversion you seem to have towards discussion. I have no problem with people who disagree with me. I had a thread about trashing all items where people (including you) came to express their disagreement, and I don't remember asking anyone to stop posting or go start their own threads.
Because that's discussion.

Please, make up your mind - once you say it's the staff donating, then you criticise the amount saying that the company can give more - so which version is it? Staff or company? Because I am pretty sure that the staff can't just dish out $10000 out of their pockets just to appease the tough crowd.

I won't spam SF with "Thank you" thread, I am just expressing my opinion, that is different from yours without resorting to insults. It's a civil conversation. But if you don't want to have it, then that's ok. I'll leave.

But my opinion still stands - I think what they are doing is nice.

The "aversion" comes from the fact I politely asked you to leave if you are not going to respect my opinion, nor have I insulted you in the least. Though it seems I have to be blunt and tell you that nothing you have stated has invalidated anything I've had to say. You won't change my mind.



They've had a whole lot more to offer in the past with a whole lot less strings attached. If people find it "nice" that they are being taken for a ride for a measly $1000 that had to have been already set aside for charity that didn't need user involvement for it to magically get from Gaia to the charity then that's their choice.

It's not charitable to their userbase, and something Gaia has sucked for the last two years. Just because it's veiled by a good cause doesn't make an economy-breaking feature any less negative for their site and negative against their members. It still comes with the same consequences of buying into it as every other Kickstart before it.

I'm not patting them on the back for something that they are well aware jerks their members around and hyper-inflates prices on the Marketplace to Zimbabwe-ridiculous levels. They are well aware that these things are a problem and a gigantic reason why a lot of people do not trust their business.



Again, if you find it that nice then go make your own thread. It's only spamming in the forum when it's not feedback.

[I have a tissue]

AngelinARosebed

I'm not going to argue about this being a gold trap or whether Gaia's motives are pure or dubious. Because frankly? It doesn't really matter.

Whether they can afford more than a thousand or not, whether this is a gold trap or not, whether this is for the tax deductions or not, I can promise you the people who are on the receiving end of their donations are not going to care one lick about any of those things.

For instance, their donations to Second Harvest will likely be purchased by local food pantries in their area. Judging from the pictures of the amounts of food, that will be enough for roughly nine to twelve families. Maybe one or two more or less. The types of food are the essential staples that basically every food pantry gives away.

Regardless of whatever Gaia's intentions are, it isn't going to cheapen their donation to those people who are on the receiving end of it. If anything, it's going to mean a lot to them, because they'll be able to feed their families. (Or in the case of Toys for Tots - they'll be able to give their child a present for Christmas. I'm unsure what they're donating to Family services, so I won't address that one.)

I honestly don't care what their intentions are. If they're less than pure, than that's on them. It won't change the fact that the items they're giving away are going to make a difference to somebody.

And no matter how much is put into this Kickstarter, the "virtual funds" have no cash value by their own label.

It's sad that they are willing to do good things for others IRL but can't do it for their home base- it just shows how second-rate they feel their members are no matter how much they contribute. It's one of the more hypocritical actions they've ever partaken in.

[AngelinARosebed]

I have a tissue

AngelinARosebed

I'm not going to argue about this being a gold trap or whether Gaia's motives are pure or dubious. Because frankly? It doesn't really matter.

Whether they can afford more than a thousand or not, whether this is a gold trap or not, whether this is for the tax deductions or not, I can promise you the people who are on the receiving end of their donations are not going to care one lick about any of those things.

For instance, their donations to Second Harvest will likely be purchased by local food pantries in their area. Judging from the pictures of the amounts of food, that will be enough for roughly nine to twelve families. Maybe one or two more or less. The types of food are the essential staples that basically every food pantry gives away.

Regardless of whatever Gaia's intentions are, it isn't going to cheapen their donation to those people who are on the receiving end of it. If anything, it's going to mean a lot to them, because they'll be able to feed their families. (Or in the case of Toys for Tots - they'll be able to give their child a present for Christmas. I'm unsure what they're donating to Family services, so I won't address that one.)

I honestly don't care what their intentions are. If they're less than pure, than that's on them. It won't change the fact that the items they're giving away are going to make a difference to somebody.

And no matter how much is put into this Kickstarter, the "virtual funds" have no cash value by their own label.

It's sad that they are willing to do good things for others IRL but can't do it for their home base- it just shows how second-rate they feel their members are no matter how much they contribute. It's one of the more hypocritical actions they've ever partaken in.

Well, I guess that's where we differ, then. I, personally, am really glad they used a kickstart vs. a GC item. I like the fact I can give some of my gold, which holds no cash value, and have it benefit someone in the real world. You don't have to feel the same, I can respect that you hold a different opinion. A lot of people feel the same way I do, though, and I think it's just very discourteous to dismiss and/or try to invalidate their opinion.

I guess we also differ in opinion on the state of this site as well. I don't especially like a lot of things they have done to it, but neither do I think this site is the awful place many in SF think it is. I can see some of the little things Gaia has done that have been improvements for overall user experience.

I'm not going to argue anything with you, though. You're free to think or feel however you want. I just personally don't share your views, so I'll agree to disagree and take my leave here. I genuinely hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas, and that you have a good rest of your day.

[SawMyLimbs]

What I don't like is the way they've made it feel like the consumer's responsibility. If you don't donate up to 60trillion gold, they won't donate a full $1000 to charity (as if they don't earn enough to donate that regardless). Like somehow we're at fault or not generous enough if we don't make it reach that marker. It's really sad. I'm glad they're donating anything at all, don't get me wrong, but the responsibility should not be put on Gaians to make sure they donate a full $1000 when they earn more than enough in profit.

[mill glitch]

DYRL

mill glitch

I'm not ok with forcing people to dump their gold into a gold sink just to get the company to give out $1000 to charity let alone less than that if we don't dump enough. And on top of that they have it set up to profit from it. Not cool Gaia. Not cool at all.

How do they profit from this. How?

Unless you can prove that people donating are buying GG to fuel this kickstarter, you really have nothing to go on about

And no one is being "forced" to do this gold sink. As far as I can tell, half the people here refused to donated even 1g to it. Are they being "forced" to donate?

They aren't forcing anyone to donate but they do have a massive jump from the second to last tier for that sought after golden ticket. They know people want them so they put it there with the only way to get that gold is through buying things in the cash shop. That's how its set up to make profit. If it will work on not depends on the numbers after but that doesn't change the fact that all the elements are there.

[Disciple of Sakura]

SawMyLimbs

What I don't like is the way they've made it feel like the consumer's responsibility. If you don't donate up to 60trillion gold, they won't donate a full $1000 to charity (as if they don't earn enough to donate that regardless). Like somehow we're at fault or not generous enough if we don't make it reach that marker. It's really sad. I'm glad they're donating anything at all, don't get me wrong, but the responsibility should not be put on Gaians to make sure they donate a full $1000 when they earn more than enough in profit.

This is a particularly valid criticism, and I think is really at the heart of the matter. It would be one thing if there was a "base-line" value and our participation raised the number to a higher level. But instead it feels more like the donation is being held hostage, necessitating our participation, and because of the framing of the event, the payout seems especially disappointing.

I did pour gold into the kickstarter, because I do support the idea of charity and I don't mind getting some pixels out of it, but this is almost guaranteed to make Gaia more money than they donate (since most kickstarters generate cash for them via GGs), so it leaves a worse taste in my mouth.

[SawMyLimbs]

Disciple of Sakura

SawMyLimbs

What I don't like is the way they've made it feel like the consumer's responsibility. If you don't donate up to 60trillion gold, they won't donate a full $1000 to charity (as if they don't earn enough to donate that regardless). Like somehow we're at fault or not generous enough if we don't make it reach that marker. It's really sad. I'm glad they're donating anything at all, don't get me wrong, but the responsibility should not be put on Gaians to make sure they donate a full $1000 when they earn more than enough in profit.

This is a particularly valid criticism, and I think is really at the heart of the matter. It would be one thing if there was a "base-line" value and our participation raised the number to a higher level. But instead it feels more like the donation is being held hostage, necessitating our participation, and because of the framing of the event, the payout seems especially disappointing.

I did pour gold into the kickstarter, because I do support the idea of charity and I don't mind getting some pixels out of it, but this is almost guaranteed to make Gaia more money than they donate (since most kickstarters generate cash for them via GGs), so it leaves a worse taste in my mouth.

Exactly, $1000 should've been the donation to start and could potentially raise the amount to $2000 with the assistance of Gaians. That way no one would feel obligated to donate or guilty if they did not. Did I participate? Yes, of course. I am all for charity and gave what I could. Is there any way of me ever being able to afford donating 100billion to their charity? Not a chance. I'd personally rather take that kind of money and donate it in actual dollars somewhere. The reality is the only way to generate that amount of gold is as you said, through GC and cash shop items; consumer spends money to spend even more money. That's their motto, it seems.

[SuccuViv]

I doubt a charity will be "only 1000$?", if you want more money to go to charity, donate directly to the charity C: you do have control over what you do.