Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mods hold power, Economy holds interest.
There's no benefits to taking the Modist side and following their orders, but there's a problem (banning and warning) of active infringement.
There's nothing wrong with focusing upon the economy: the Admins made it for us to use. A problem occurs with hackings and scammings, but this is not of the Economy; it is as above: what happens when an individual infringes.
Do they oppose? No, not in the least in my opinion.

Then does the term Economy need to be fully defined? I've always considered it to be anything concerning items or gold. Like getting a Blue Giftbox, which I will subsequently sell. It's the Admin giving us items either to wear or sell, but the initial action has nothing to do with trading items or gold.

Well, that would depend on the time it took to open the Bank and the Marketplace. It would be something worth checking the Announcements for, if they have archived that far back. The fact that they did open them, and that a lot of the newer users (or a lot of the more visible ones) beg for items and create avatars with expensive items shows the hold the Economy has over the users, and the importance thereof.

Full definitions of both would help, and would make my little book project that much easier. Perhaps we can draw some others in here so we can work out a full definition of each.

The MP came long after the bank. 3nodding I was around for the MP! xd
3nodding They do. Shall I post the links?
But you also have users like FaeFae who don't buy a single thing. :3 Though he shows the importance of the Economy indirectly but kindly donating randomly so that his gold doesn't stockpile without ever circulating in the Economy. Besides, some of the older users also beg/make fancy avatars too. It isn't just the new people!

xD Yea! Where is that Devil of the Economy? One would think he'd be naturally drawn to this topic or something! domokun

;-; Gomen! I cannot find the links any more and the ones I can find don't work any more. gonk

Ahhhh~ But if there is one, there is the possibility of more. 3nodding

That is quite possible. sweatdrop Gaia seems to be getting much more notice for the avatar system then the forum. sweatdrop Fear the Economy's Sway! domokun Not only would we experience a fall in new users, we'd experience a bunch of pissed off people leaving for all of the time and effort they spent working for their items.

I believe he is a CoM member... I've seen him in the Modly Con topic. 3nodding Maybe someone should inform him of this topic?

Icy loves her teenage girl Adversaries!

So, the end user, aka us nonModly ones, have the power to make Gaia what it means to us through our own actions and opinions? And that the Mods are only here to guide us through Gaia by the holy book that is the ToS?

New functions that fade into the background? Such as the Linklist? Well, what about the Personals? There were plenty of users that took interest in that feature, yet it was still yanked. :3 How would young Miss Samantha explain that?

Quite possibly they could be busy spending their gold on other things. Things that the Modly eyes do not wish to see, but must battle daily. I have no illusions, I know all too well what can and does take place from the chatterbox in private. Some times the cheapest clothing is the most enticing for these activities. Then there is the factor that they just might be mules, funneling their gold into the main account to be enjoyed though the economy's ways.

(Alliance, I really can't remember the names of the various heresies and non-modist sects outside of a paltry few, and that wasn't one of them. Remind me? As becomes apparent from her conversation, Samantha's views are closely akin to secular humanism mingled with a certain Zen individuality, creating something like a "Gaianism" that lauds the capacity and potential of the end user, favoring those who elevate themselves in a fashion adhering to the local code of law. Hence, statements like "Have faith in yourself" pepper her conversation.)



*shakes head* The gaian has control over their actions and the implications of their actions. They can control Gaia en masse to alter forum policy, though not always, and more poignantly are capable of seeking their own personal goals.

The Moderator roles are solely to retain the peace of the region, to apply the rules set forward. They serve an adjudicatory role, but are themselves end users simply of an elevated state. The ToS itself is not so much a holy book as it is guidelines and laws for behavior within Gaia as a whole, rules for good order. Holiness is found in the individual and in their own search, not in mere adulation of elevated users. Some don't particularly seek to better themselves, but holiness is found ultimately only in the hands of the individual end user, as only they hold responsibility over their own actions. A mod can show you a path, or even lead you down it, but this does not necessarily make it your path.



Capacity to alter gaia does not mean that such will always be the case. It seems that even Administrators, the most elevated of all end users who help maintain the very code of the Gaian sphere, are forced to adhere and acknowledge their own set of rules for good order, rules that the ToS gaians adhere to seem to be patterned after. I believe that it was over an issue related to those rules that this matter may have been forced into resolution.



Some behave that way, yes. Not all, but some. Some simply don't care about gold, or see status as existing on other levels, such as post count and seniority. Such is the way of other realms much more than Gaia, but there are some who view things in these terms as well. Status is not always seen merely in the halo on a person's head. Seniority and presence have their place too, seen not only in physical signs such as post count, but also in behavior, demeanor and familiarity with the Gaian realm. Such things are necessarily intangible, but intangibles have a powerful impact on people.