Mindset
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Dear creators, admins, and decision-makers of Gaia:
I object to the concept of soulbound "status" items. Please re-evaluate this philosophy.
To explain to any users who may not have heard of the term, here's the definition of a status item:
Apparently the creators have always had the idea that some items should be unique to a user's achievements. Fishing trophies and helms, Art Arena medals... they wanted people to be proud of having them. And I understand Lanzer and the other creators being shocked that people would give their rewards away to those who didn't earn those achievements. They were initially unable to do anything about that -- but now with the introduction of soulbonding, they can enforce this untradability of rewards.
This is a very... interesting thought, a debatable philosophical concept, but as someone who loves Gaia, I fundamentally disagree with it. I loved the freedom Gaia gave their users, letting us trade items between accounts, transferring something unwanted to someone who wants it. Even an Angelic Halo, originally a gift to altruistic donators who didn't expect a reward, could be gifted to someone else or sold or strived for. (And yes, it is possible, if highly unlikely, I know of several users who achieved this "ultimate market victory".)
Now, I love the idea of Badges as expressed via zOMG, or other virtual rewards. I love fulfilling quests, getting that little note in my log, the little trumpet of victory.
But when it comes to actual items... Gaians don't want frozen "status" items. We like items to use and to share and to make our avatars look good. Sometimes we even want to get a little compensation, especially if we spent several hours or days or years to acquire the item. And when a culture like Gaia, which has gone for 6 years with this freedom of trading, of sharing, encounters something we can't move... not to a cosplay mule that would look better with the item, not to a friend who desperately wants it... it's a shock to the system.
I understand that the anniversary sash is supposed to be a unique gift to you in particular. Thank you very much, it's lovely. But the idea that I can't move my other account's sash to the account I actually use... it's like a kick in the face, snatching the gift out of reach... heck, not out of reach, removing it entirely from the universe, because it is impossible to achieve. And for those who miss this anniversary party, who would have loved to be on and celebrate with Gaia, but were unfortunately elsewhere? They will never be able to receive this gift. No matter what you do, you can't strive for it, you can't win it. You have it or you don't and there is no possible change to this situation.
Really, it's not the dates, or the colors, or the fact that it's a sash, or anything like that. I don't even want this item in particular anymore. It's just the whole philosophy -- I simply feel that soulbonding gifts and rewards does not make them a "status item", it makes them a monkey's paw, an albatross around your neck, ashes in your mouth when you thought you tasted victory.
I just... I don't understand how the creators and dreamers behind this site could so fundamentally misunderstand the way the userbase thinks about our items. Be so blind to what motivates their users. It's completely anathema to me. It's incredibly depressing and upsetting.
Please don't take this as a demand, or any sort of entitlement... you are the creators, you are the masters of this site, it's your philosophy that decides how Gaia continues. This is simply a plea for you to look at this concept of soulbound "status items", and look at the way your users react to them, and how your users are motivated to achieve, and please... rethink it.
Happy birthday, Gaia. Thank you, creators, admins, devs, artists, for all the work you have done. I truly appreciate it. But please don't let this event, this "gift", be the prototype for the future.
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edit, 2/19, 4pm: Again, I am not requesting a change regarding the soulbond of these event sashes. However, if they do remain soulbound, I respectfully request that the link giving them out to remain working indefinitely. In every other Gaian event, if you happened to be offline -- busy with work or school, in the hospital, away with the armed forces, or just lacking internet for a time -- if you missed the celebration and acquiring the items, you could still get them via trades or the MP. Or if you happened to join Gaia after the event, but loved the items, you could work to acquire them. Even the corsage or bowtie, even the Chicky or Bunny Slippers.
Not so with these. Gaia's most loyal users who couldn't help but be offline, future users -- these lovely gifts are not for them. Never, literally impossible to get. It's not even like the Oni, where you can still get an egg via the MP and nurture it till it fails at the end. It's not like zOMG rings, where if you work through the game, you can acquire every ring and level them up to CL10 should you so wish. With these sashes, you'll either have one or you won't and there will be no changing this situation ever. I find it hard to deal with this incredible unfairness and I have to think that the creators of the site haven't thought it through, because I can't imagine them choosing this situation deliberately.
I recommend this thread, which gives a very good suggestion on how to better handle status rewards -- username tags that could display our achievements. I hope the creators take heed of it, it's a wonderful idea.
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edit, 2/20, 1PM: Apparently Fishing trophies are soulbound now. Well, at least the founders got their wish, I'm happy if they're happy. And winners should be proud of their trophies -- god knows if I managed to win one, I'd be desperately proud of mine -- but it's one more soulbinding for the list, one more freedom lost. In the real world, people do sell their Olympic medals, Oscars, MTV Video awards... but I should keep RL out of this, sorry. (edit: Oscars awarded since 1950 have their own RL soulbinding in a way, my thanks to those who corrected that info.)
I just wonder what the next award to be soulbound will be. Last year's Rejected Olympics trophies were not soulbound, nor the year previous' Waterfight trophies. If we have a competition this year, will those awards be soulbound? What about Halloween, will we have factions again and soulbound awards for that?
Gaians often complain that event items are worthless because they go for so cheaply in the MP because anyone can get them. Well, this event's items are priceless now, as in literally no price at all. I'm thinking we may get many more priceless items in the future.
I've been hearing that the devs are upset that this event got a bad reaction. I'd apologize for my fellow Gaians if I could, and please let me repeat I am not angry with you nor ungrateful for a free item. (I really do love the idea and art of the sash.) I'm sorry the devs feel attacked on Gaia's birthday, but they'd've gotten this if, say, the V-Day photos had been soulbound as well (since an account could only get them if it fit certain rules, several of which did not overlap). It's just the philosophy behind the soulbounding that I dispute, not of the sash in particular but of status items and especially limited-release event items. And that goes directly to the founders and decision-makers.
I've also heard some users say, "Well, Fleep already went to the founders and they said no, so why are you still arguing?" Well,
1) The founders can change their minds, they're human.
2) They have changed their minds because of user feedback in the past.
3) Whether the founders will change their minds or not, users are allowed to give feedback on their decisions.
It isn't hard to understand. Fatalism is irrelevant. Requesting things from the founders is what Site Feedback is for. Furthermore, I'm only doing this because I think keeping this philosophy of soulbonding will cause more harm to Gaia than changing it. I would like to see less drama in the future. (Don't laugh! It's a dream I have. biggrin )
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edit 2/26, 6pm: Some good news - sashes can be sold back to the store now. The prices are not equitable, but if they were assigned for rarity and/or to prevent the making of many 2009 accounts and selling those sashes for profit, I can understand it. (Setting all the prices at, say, 2g would have been better, but nevertheless.) It isn't unsoulbinding, but it does show that we're being listened to -- those who object to the sashes on a personal level, those who didn't want that color in their inventory, and those who just didn't want that item may remove them now, giving us some of the freedom we're accustomed to. My thanks to those who made this decision -- while it is a small change, it is appreciated.
(Note to anyone who does sell them back - please recall that as a unique-to-your-account item, if you do get rid of it, remorse won't help you. Please be certain this is something you want to remove from your account forever.)
Some better news -- the newest cash game / randombox, the Famestar 2000, does not appear to give out any soulbound items. Neither the "fail" items nor the top prizes are soulbound. (As far as I know at this time.) This is a huge weight off my mind, and gives me hope that the Oni was just an experiment not to be repeated. I would prefer that this be the standard for the future -- the top prizes are rare enough to be status on their own, whether it's "this user is very lucky" or "this user works very hard for their gold".
A note to the readers of this thread: I've been told that some devs and admins have gotten more "thanks for the soulbinding" than "please remove the soulbinding" comments and PMs. If you feel strongly about this issue, please send off a note to people like Lanzer, L0cke, CP, fin, and Fleep. Be polite, be clear, and don't spam, please -- the objective is to persuade the decision-makers and show what this issue means to us.
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edit: 2/26, 9:40PM: The 6th Anniversary forum is no longer easily visible. However, Lanzer's post is here and the sash grant link is here. Let's hope that keeps working, so that any user can still get their gift.
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edit: 2/28, 2:34AM: The recent evolution of the Fremere's Guard contains a pose, "Fremere's Elite Party Sash", a rainbow-colored variation of the anniversary sashes. Frankly, I find that hilarious. It's good to know there's an artist/developer who is aware of recent events, and has both a sense of what the users want and the sense of humor to give it to us. wink Hopefully other users will take it with similar humor -- I know that some will be offended, but I for one very much appreciate the joke. biggrin
Also, to quote a strong supporter of this thread:
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edit: 3/11, 12:15AM:
Well, it looks like the anniversary post is no longer granting sashes.
And apparently we now have the first example of a user who is one of the have-nots, an oldbie who missed the anniversary.
I'm sorry the "special gift" of the founders is something she can never have. I'm sorry her dedication to the site will never be recognized the way people claimed the sash was meant for. "Happy 6th year to us all!" Except for her, and anyone like her.
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edit: 5/31:
Well, good news and bad news. Good news is that though we've continued to get RIGs/randoboxes, they don't contain any soulbound items. (Just very very rare items, which I don't mind on principle since they are accessible to anyone willing to pay ridiculous prices for them, just like the old rare event items and MCs. I'll take that over never being able to get them ever.)
Bad news is, as others have said lately, the exclusive item for going to RL cons this year is literally exclusive.
With the 2009 Convention Badge, we see a perfect example of the "special status" in play. Only those who go to a con can get the badge. Its soulbound status prevents "faking". In itself, it demonstrates clearly how the creators wanted things like Gambino's autographed picture and the original DIs to work - only for those accounts that supported Gaia or were there at an event. But it does run into the usual soulbinding problems of what happens if you lose your account, or if your code doesn't work, or what if you don't really want it but your friend does, etc, etc.
The only thing that makes it not sting as much is the fact that it's... well, not that special or fancy, no offense to those that own one and enjoy it. It's fairly similar to the badge from the non-soulbound Registration Goodies item.
But it's still really bothersome that the creators think soulbinding equip items is the best way to show status. Virtual badges like for zOMG would be so much more fair and true to Gaia's nature...
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edit: 6/15:
Very good news! There's another "gift" event item that's been released, the Wind Halo. And it isn't soulbound! Thank you very much, Lanzer and company. No matter what else you may do that irritates people, I know you're listening, and I thank you very much for this decision. heart
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edit: 7/10:
Tiny update: The user who won the contest Halo, "Chantal from Queens", had the halo permanently soulbound to her account, at her request.
You might think I'd be bothered by this possible "status soulbinding", but I'm not. There's one important factor involved: it was at her request. That's a huge difference from other soulbinding, in that it was done with her will, for security purposes. I worry she might regret it if she ever leaves that account for another, but there's a second bonus: if the soulbinding was done by her request, couldn't unsoulbinding be done by her request?
IMO this opens more doors than it closes, and offers better hope for the future.
Link of the day: Can you unlock (soulbound) the 'Oni Set'
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edit: 10/21:
Good news on the soulbinding front! No RIG or event item that has come out lately has been soulbound. Even the new Dernier*Cri (luxury gold shop) items are freely (but expensively) tradeable between users, and those are "status items" indeed.
And in a sign that administration is possibly realizing the unprofitablility of soulbinding, new zOMG powerups won't be soulbound anymore.
As the powerups are not wearable or "status" items, they weren't exactly under the purview of this thread, so I hadn't mentioned when they were soulbound. Personally though, I found it rather pointless, contradictory, and self-defeating. The reason the powerups were soulbound is because Gaia had released too many free ones during events, leading to minimal GC purchases. The problem is that a major reason users buy GC items is to resell them to others for gold. Just look at RIGs -- there's a huge resale market there, as it's much easier to sell the RIG itself for gold and buy the items it produces than to take a chance on getting those items from the RIG.
Thus, when zOMG powerups were soulbound on purchase, sales dropped even further. That's a bit of an assumption, but it's based on the fact that after a few months of the soulbinding, the devs brought prices down and brought Back Alley Bargains into the game for easier purchases. Then in September, they even soulbound the 7-11 Cash Card zOMG packs, the only then-existing way to transfer powerups between users. Anything to get people to buy more powerups with Gaia Cash... but as I argued at the time, all that was going to do was make people less likely to buy 7-11 cards when they could get a card elsewhere, one that would actually give them a bonus item for bonus gold.
So... after yet another month or so of minimal sales, the zOMG devs seem to have finally noticed the profit model of RIGs and EIs, and radically decreased prices of the powerups and turned off soulbinding for new purchases. I'm certain this combo of unsoulbinding + lower prices will finally get them some decent sales. It's a little late for those who bought them by mistake, but at least for the future it won't happen again. And with luck, this is a sign that the Gaia decision-makers have realized that soulbinding is just plain bad for business.
However, a "this will be soulbound on purchase" warning should be added to the shops for items that are. I believe the cars are the only items with that problem right now, so at least it's a minimal one.
Oh, and in regard to status without using items to do so, there's also some excellent news:
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(This is a rewrite of my somewhat more overwrought and angry earlier post, quoted below. If you respond, please ignore the first 4 pages' very off-topic argument about marketplace inflation. There's some very interesting discussions on page 9, though.)
I object to the concept of soulbound "status" items. Please re-evaluate this philosophy.
To explain to any users who may not have heard of the term, here's the definition of a status item:
CP
In Gaia, no items are random. All items have very distinctive roles in the grand scheme of "Gaia Game". Some items are meant to be widely available for users to *express* themselves easily. Some, you have to earn it from skills, some you have to spend enough time in Gaia, some, you have to participate is certain event or condition, some, harder to obtain because it cost real money, etc. etc.
...One thing we particularly did not do as well was actually *status* items. Such as winning items from *skill* based or certain condition based feature. For example, having an item because you were the best player of this game and beat it. More or less, like a badge/medal/battle-scar I suppose.
[Regarding the Oni:]
...It's a huge decision to make when the 4th stage egg is also full of cool items inside, so the decision to take a chance is a big thing, and that's why instead of just a fail coin, we wanted to give something little more symbolic, and that's why we created *Oni* ... If the person chose to, they can sell it back to the store for 13000 gold, but we did not want that status to simply transfer to someone else that doesn't quite say anything about the *try*. Just like a battle scar can not transfer to someone else just because they want to feel like they also were in the battle and fought... kindda way. smile
...One thing we particularly did not do as well was actually *status* items. Such as winning items from *skill* based or certain condition based feature. For example, having an item because you were the best player of this game and beat it. More or less, like a badge/medal/battle-scar I suppose.
[Regarding the Oni:]
...It's a huge decision to make when the 4th stage egg is also full of cool items inside, so the decision to take a chance is a big thing, and that's why instead of just a fail coin, we wanted to give something little more symbolic, and that's why we created *Oni* ... If the person chose to, they can sell it back to the store for 13000 gold, but we did not want that status to simply transfer to someone else that doesn't quite say anything about the *try*. Just like a battle scar can not transfer to someone else just because they want to feel like they also were in the battle and fought... kindda way. smile
Apparently the creators have always had the idea that some items should be unique to a user's achievements. Fishing trophies and helms, Art Arena medals... they wanted people to be proud of having them. And I understand Lanzer and the other creators being shocked that people would give their rewards away to those who didn't earn those achievements. They were initially unable to do anything about that -- but now with the introduction of soulbonding, they can enforce this untradability of rewards.
This is a very... interesting thought, a debatable philosophical concept, but as someone who loves Gaia, I fundamentally disagree with it. I loved the freedom Gaia gave their users, letting us trade items between accounts, transferring something unwanted to someone who wants it. Even an Angelic Halo, originally a gift to altruistic donators who didn't expect a reward, could be gifted to someone else or sold or strived for. (And yes, it is possible, if highly unlikely, I know of several users who achieved this "ultimate market victory".)
Now, I love the idea of Badges as expressed via zOMG, or other virtual rewards. I love fulfilling quests, getting that little note in my log, the little trumpet of victory.
But when it comes to actual items... Gaians don't want frozen "status" items. We like items to use and to share and to make our avatars look good. Sometimes we even want to get a little compensation, especially if we spent several hours or days or years to acquire the item. And when a culture like Gaia, which has gone for 6 years with this freedom of trading, of sharing, encounters something we can't move... not to a cosplay mule that would look better with the item, not to a friend who desperately wants it... it's a shock to the system.
I understand that the anniversary sash is supposed to be a unique gift to you in particular. Thank you very much, it's lovely. But the idea that I can't move my other account's sash to the account I actually use... it's like a kick in the face, snatching the gift out of reach... heck, not out of reach, removing it entirely from the universe, because it is impossible to achieve. And for those who miss this anniversary party, who would have loved to be on and celebrate with Gaia, but were unfortunately elsewhere? They will never be able to receive this gift. No matter what you do, you can't strive for it, you can't win it. You have it or you don't and there is no possible change to this situation.
Really, it's not the dates, or the colors, or the fact that it's a sash, or anything like that. I don't even want this item in particular anymore. It's just the whole philosophy -- I simply feel that soulbonding gifts and rewards does not make them a "status item", it makes them a monkey's paw, an albatross around your neck, ashes in your mouth when you thought you tasted victory.
I just... I don't understand how the creators and dreamers behind this site could so fundamentally misunderstand the way the userbase thinks about our items. Be so blind to what motivates their users. It's completely anathema to me. It's incredibly depressing and upsetting.
Please don't take this as a demand, or any sort of entitlement... you are the creators, you are the masters of this site, it's your philosophy that decides how Gaia continues. This is simply a plea for you to look at this concept of soulbound "status items", and look at the way your users react to them, and how your users are motivated to achieve, and please... rethink it.
Happy birthday, Gaia. Thank you, creators, admins, devs, artists, for all the work you have done. I truly appreciate it. But please don't let this event, this "gift", be the prototype for the future.
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edit, 2/19, 4pm: Again, I am not requesting a change regarding the soulbond of these event sashes. However, if they do remain soulbound, I respectfully request that the link giving them out to remain working indefinitely. In every other Gaian event, if you happened to be offline -- busy with work or school, in the hospital, away with the armed forces, or just lacking internet for a time -- if you missed the celebration and acquiring the items, you could still get them via trades or the MP. Or if you happened to join Gaia after the event, but loved the items, you could work to acquire them. Even the corsage or bowtie, even the Chicky or Bunny Slippers.
Not so with these. Gaia's most loyal users who couldn't help but be offline, future users -- these lovely gifts are not for them. Never, literally impossible to get. It's not even like the Oni, where you can still get an egg via the MP and nurture it till it fails at the end. It's not like zOMG rings, where if you work through the game, you can acquire every ring and level them up to CL10 should you so wish. With these sashes, you'll either have one or you won't and there will be no changing this situation ever. I find it hard to deal with this incredible unfairness and I have to think that the creators of the site haven't thought it through, because I can't imagine them choosing this situation deliberately.
I recommend this thread, which gives a very good suggestion on how to better handle status rewards -- username tags that could display our achievements. I hope the creators take heed of it, it's a wonderful idea.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit, 2/20, 1PM: Apparently Fishing trophies are soulbound now. Well, at least the founders got their wish, I'm happy if they're happy. And winners should be proud of their trophies -- god knows if I managed to win one, I'd be desperately proud of mine -- but it's one more soulbinding for the list, one more freedom lost. In the real world, people do sell their Olympic medals, Oscars, MTV Video awards... but I should keep RL out of this, sorry. (edit: Oscars awarded since 1950 have their own RL soulbinding in a way, my thanks to those who corrected that info.)
I just wonder what the next award to be soulbound will be. Last year's Rejected Olympics trophies were not soulbound, nor the year previous' Waterfight trophies. If we have a competition this year, will those awards be soulbound? What about Halloween, will we have factions again and soulbound awards for that?
Gaians often complain that event items are worthless because they go for so cheaply in the MP because anyone can get them. Well, this event's items are priceless now, as in literally no price at all. I'm thinking we may get many more priceless items in the future.
I've been hearing that the devs are upset that this event got a bad reaction. I'd apologize for my fellow Gaians if I could, and please let me repeat I am not angry with you nor ungrateful for a free item. (I really do love the idea and art of the sash.) I'm sorry the devs feel attacked on Gaia's birthday, but they'd've gotten this if, say, the V-Day photos had been soulbound as well (since an account could only get them if it fit certain rules, several of which did not overlap). It's just the philosophy behind the soulbounding that I dispute, not of the sash in particular but of status items and especially limited-release event items. And that goes directly to the founders and decision-makers.
I've also heard some users say, "Well, Fleep already went to the founders and they said no, so why are you still arguing?" Well,
1) The founders can change their minds, they're human.
2) They have changed their minds because of user feedback in the past.
3) Whether the founders will change their minds or not, users are allowed to give feedback on their decisions.
It isn't hard to understand. Fatalism is irrelevant. Requesting things from the founders is what Site Feedback is for. Furthermore, I'm only doing this because I think keeping this philosophy of soulbonding will cause more harm to Gaia than changing it. I would like to see less drama in the future. (Don't laugh! It's a dream I have. biggrin )
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edit 2/26, 6pm: Some good news - sashes can be sold back to the store now. The prices are not equitable, but if they were assigned for rarity and/or to prevent the making of many 2009 accounts and selling those sashes for profit, I can understand it. (Setting all the prices at, say, 2g would have been better, but nevertheless.) It isn't unsoulbinding, but it does show that we're being listened to -- those who object to the sashes on a personal level, those who didn't want that color in their inventory, and those who just didn't want that item may remove them now, giving us some of the freedom we're accustomed to. My thanks to those who made this decision -- while it is a small change, it is appreciated.
(Note to anyone who does sell them back - please recall that as a unique-to-your-account item, if you do get rid of it, remorse won't help you. Please be certain this is something you want to remove from your account forever.)
Some better news -- the newest cash game / randombox, the Famestar 2000, does not appear to give out any soulbound items. Neither the "fail" items nor the top prizes are soulbound. (As far as I know at this time.) This is a huge weight off my mind, and gives me hope that the Oni was just an experiment not to be repeated. I would prefer that this be the standard for the future -- the top prizes are rare enough to be status on their own, whether it's "this user is very lucky" or "this user works very hard for their gold".
A note to the readers of this thread: I've been told that some devs and admins have gotten more "thanks for the soulbinding" than "please remove the soulbinding" comments and PMs. If you feel strongly about this issue, please send off a note to people like Lanzer, L0cke, CP, fin, and Fleep. Be polite, be clear, and don't spam, please -- the objective is to persuade the decision-makers and show what this issue means to us.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit: 2/26, 9:40PM: The 6th Anniversary forum is no longer easily visible. However, Lanzer's post is here and the sash grant link is here. Let's hope that keeps working, so that any user can still get their gift.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit: 2/28, 2:34AM: The recent evolution of the Fremere's Guard contains a pose, "Fremere's Elite Party Sash", a rainbow-colored variation of the anniversary sashes. Frankly, I find that hilarious. It's good to know there's an artist/developer who is aware of recent events, and has both a sense of what the users want and the sense of humor to give it to us. wink Hopefully other users will take it with similar humor -- I know that some will be offended, but I for one very much appreciate the joke. biggrin
Also, to quote a strong supporter of this thread:
Sanrei KP-X
Staff: This sash is an example of a true gift. It doesn't matter what color it is, or what's on it, what matters is that I have the freedom to do with it as I please, and it's as special as I make it. Please remember this.
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edit: 3/11, 12:15AM:
Well, it looks like the anniversary post is no longer granting sashes.
Grant Error
That grant is no longer valid (event not active).
And apparently we now have the first example of a user who is one of the have-nots, an oldbie who missed the anniversary.
not_my_god
because I missed the window of time the Anniversary event was open, no sash for me :< it feels like a kick in the shin.
...I feel like that distant cousin who traveled far to get to the family reunion but missed it by one day, and gaia's like "get lost, party's over"
...I feel like that distant cousin who traveled far to get to the family reunion but missed it by one day, and gaia's like "get lost, party's over"
I'm sorry the "special gift" of the founders is something she can never have. I'm sorry her dedication to the site will never be recognized the way people claimed the sash was meant for. "Happy 6th year to us all!" Except for her, and anyone like her.
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edit: 5/31:
Well, good news and bad news. Good news is that though we've continued to get RIGs/randoboxes, they don't contain any soulbound items. (Just very very rare items, which I don't mind on principle since they are accessible to anyone willing to pay ridiculous prices for them, just like the old rare event items and MCs. I'll take that over never being able to get them ever.)
Bad news is, as others have said lately, the exclusive item for going to RL cons this year is literally exclusive.
With the 2009 Convention Badge, we see a perfect example of the "special status" in play. Only those who go to a con can get the badge. Its soulbound status prevents "faking". In itself, it demonstrates clearly how the creators wanted things like Gambino's autographed picture and the original DIs to work - only for those accounts that supported Gaia or were there at an event. But it does run into the usual soulbinding problems of what happens if you lose your account, or if your code doesn't work, or what if you don't really want it but your friend does, etc, etc.
The only thing that makes it not sting as much is the fact that it's... well, not that special or fancy, no offense to those that own one and enjoy it. It's fairly similar to the badge from the non-soulbound Registration Goodies item.
But it's still really bothersome that the creators think soulbinding equip items is the best way to show status. Virtual badges like for zOMG would be so much more fair and true to Gaia's nature...
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edit: 6/15:
Very good news! There's another "gift" event item that's been released, the Wind Halo. And it isn't soulbound! Thank you very much, Lanzer and company. No matter what else you may do that irritates people, I know you're listening, and I thank you very much for this decision. heart
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edit: 7/10:
Tiny update: The user who won the contest Halo, "Chantal from Queens", had the halo permanently soulbound to her account, at her request.
You might think I'd be bothered by this possible "status soulbinding", but I'm not. There's one important factor involved: it was at her request. That's a huge difference from other soulbinding, in that it was done with her will, for security purposes. I worry she might regret it if she ever leaves that account for another, but there's a second bonus: if the soulbinding was done by her request, couldn't unsoulbinding be done by her request?
IMO this opens more doors than it closes, and offers better hope for the future.
Link of the day: Can you unlock (soulbound) the 'Oni Set'
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edit: 10/21:
Good news on the soulbinding front! No RIG or event item that has come out lately has been soulbound. Even the new Dernier*Cri (luxury gold shop) items are freely (but expensively) tradeable between users, and those are "status items" indeed.
And in a sign that administration is possibly realizing the unprofitablility of soulbinding, new zOMG powerups won't be soulbound anymore.
As the powerups are not wearable or "status" items, they weren't exactly under the purview of this thread, so I hadn't mentioned when they were soulbound. Personally though, I found it rather pointless, contradictory, and self-defeating. The reason the powerups were soulbound is because Gaia had released too many free ones during events, leading to minimal GC purchases. The problem is that a major reason users buy GC items is to resell them to others for gold. Just look at RIGs -- there's a huge resale market there, as it's much easier to sell the RIG itself for gold and buy the items it produces than to take a chance on getting those items from the RIG.
Thus, when zOMG powerups were soulbound on purchase, sales dropped even further. That's a bit of an assumption, but it's based on the fact that after a few months of the soulbinding, the devs brought prices down and brought Back Alley Bargains into the game for easier purchases. Then in September, they even soulbound the 7-11 Cash Card zOMG packs, the only then-existing way to transfer powerups between users. Anything to get people to buy more powerups with Gaia Cash... but as I argued at the time, all that was going to do was make people less likely to buy 7-11 cards when they could get a card elsewhere, one that would actually give them a bonus item for bonus gold.
So... after yet another month or so of minimal sales, the zOMG devs seem to have finally noticed the profit model of RIGs and EIs, and radically decreased prices of the powerups and turned off soulbinding for new purchases. I'm certain this combo of unsoulbinding + lower prices will finally get them some decent sales. It's a little late for those who bought them by mistake, but at least for the future it won't happen again. And with luck, this is a sign that the Gaia decision-makers have realized that soulbinding is just plain bad for business.
However, a "this will be soulbound on purchase" warning should be added to the shops for items that are. I believe the cars are the only items with that problem right now, so at least it's a minimal one.
Oh, and in regard to status without using items to do so, there's also some excellent news:
Lanzer
Well we are working on an achievement system that will let everyone have their own ranks and titles on Gaia. We do want it to be inclusive of all Gaia activities (be the pinball master!) but we'll be starting with forum based achievements first most likely. We'll share more details as they're planned out.
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(This is a rewrite of my somewhat more overwrought and angry earlier post, quoted below. If you respond, please ignore the first 4 pages' very off-topic argument about marketplace inflation. There's some very interesting discussions on page 9, though.)
Mindset, 2/18/09, 6:04 pm
Jesus Christ. Lanzer, CP, all y'all who make the decisions about this sort of thing. You'd think you'd've learned from the explosion about the Oni. What the actual ******** is up with this soulbinding of the anniversary sashes?
We don't want "status" items. We like items to use and to share and to make our avatars look good. Profit? I don't give a crap, I wanted to be able to go to my mules and get items to wear here, on this account, the one I dress up.
SF - yes, Site Feedback, you know, the forum of BAWWWW -- was filled with love for Gaia and the admins a few minutes ago. Now it's angry and getting angrier. People are upset and disappointed and feeling betrayed, today of all the days we should be celebrating. We were celebrating. And now... we're not.
I just... I don't understand how the creators and dreamers behind this site could fundamentally misunderstand the way the userbase thinks about our items. Be so blind to what motivates their users. It's completely anathema to me. It's incredibly depressing.
I certainly hope this soulbinding of the sashes is a temporary thing because the event hasn't officially started yet. If it isn't, if they're stuck this way, well, I'm already seething, and it takes a big ******** to make me angry. For just about everyone else... I can't imagine it. I'm going to be way over the top here, but it's like you turned our festival garments into sackcloth and ashes.
(note: this is not pointed to the devs and or the mods, who work so hard for so little credit. It's to the admins, the creators, the decision-makers. The ones that should know ******** better.)
edit to add [2/18 6:42 PM CST]:
I apologize for the confusion if any was engendered. I was going per the knowledge of Lanzer and CP's decision re the Oni, but if I assumed incorrectly regarding the titles of who makes the decision about the sashes, I appreciate the correction.
I also appreciate you posting here and being a spokesman for those who decide, and I hope you (plural-you, i.e. "Gaia" ) handle this in a way that makes the most people happy.
We don't want "status" items. We like items to use and to share and to make our avatars look good. Profit? I don't give a crap, I wanted to be able to go to my mules and get items to wear here, on this account, the one I dress up.
SF - yes, Site Feedback, you know, the forum of BAWWWW -- was filled with love for Gaia and the admins a few minutes ago. Now it's angry and getting angrier. People are upset and disappointed and feeling betrayed, today of all the days we should be celebrating. We were celebrating. And now... we're not.
I just... I don't understand how the creators and dreamers behind this site could fundamentally misunderstand the way the userbase thinks about our items. Be so blind to what motivates their users. It's completely anathema to me. It's incredibly depressing.
I certainly hope this soulbinding of the sashes is a temporary thing because the event hasn't officially started yet. If it isn't, if they're stuck this way, well, I'm already seething, and it takes a big ******** to make me angry. For just about everyone else... I can't imagine it. I'm going to be way over the top here, but it's like you turned our festival garments into sackcloth and ashes.
(note: this is not pointed to the devs and or the mods, who work so hard for so little credit. It's to the admins, the creators, the decision-makers. The ones that should know ******** better.)
edit to add [2/18 6:42 PM CST]:
Fleep
Some devs are admins, and some devs make decisions. The ranks aren't as simple as your Gaia account's status. We're looking into how we want to handle this.
I apologize for the confusion if any was engendered. I was going per the knowledge of Lanzer and CP's decision re the Oni, but if I assumed incorrectly regarding the titles of who makes the decision about the sashes, I appreciate the correction.
I also appreciate you posting here and being a spokesman for those who decide, and I hope you (plural-you, i.e. "Gaia" ) handle this in a way that makes the most people happy.
