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A very good idea. I'm glad I explained my problem with the IT instead of just keeping quiet as I normally would.

About inflation, the best way to deal with that would be to increase supply by having a some kind of source for discontinued items. For example, when an Item reaches a certain price(based on the quality of the item) then it should be made available in a certain place aside from the marketplace. Such places could include; periodical special event games that are harder than just the sponsor item tasks, rare rewards in places like the Aquarium, daily chance, and/or possibly zOMG.

It's a simple equation. We either have to decrease the demand or increase the supply. We can not possibly make the entirety or most likely even the majority of the people want an item less, so that leaves increasing the supply as a potential fix. We can't make it so easy that great items are sold to cheap, but it shouldn't be so hard that we spend a real fortune of real cash to get such items.

That is an idea, but all that would do is slow down the inflation. Add that to making different sources available, then we have something.

I will get on that tomorrow morning, first thing aside from breakfast and messages.

Why would Gaia need inflation in the marketplace? Gaia gold and Gaia cash are two different things and you don't pay cash for the MP. I understand wanting to make people more active, but that is the point in g-sinks, which we are also working on developing ideas for.

The goal is to set up something that makes Gaia more fair and fun for everyone, including the many people who don't get to enjoy zOMG or Booty Grab which are now the two main ways of getting vast amounts of gold in short periods of time.

Inflation isn't a necessity.

With Dolphinmania closing, we have already seen prices deflate, but that is because people are testing the marketplace. There has been no loss of gold circulation yet, so the prices will probably go back up soon.

...and Gaia stands to lose allot if they leave the MP in the state that it's in. I don't necessarily agree with the DM closing, because they have a pretty huge community. I don't think the community or the administration gains much when such a large group of people are upset to the point of leaving. But, that is what we are looking at right now.

We need to help the administration come up with ideas that will stabilize, and improve situations here at the site. Things that will make more Gaians happy than angry.

The 2% actually helps everyone in a small way, because it takes gold permanently out of the MP. The excess gold in the MP has been the leading contributor to inflation.

The cash shop actually helps defeat inflation because it adds to supply, and makes more goods for the available gold in circulation to cover. The problem with the cash shop is the prices they charge for their pixels. If they charged less, more people would buy, they would make more money, and there would be more supply to meet demand.

If we could force inflation down, then that would mean that the gold that people already have would have more value, they would be able to buy more stuff. The people who sell wouldn't really lose (they wouldn't gain as much as they hoped) because even though they sell their items for less, the other items would have also came down to meet their items.

Heck, I am pretty sure that if we came up with the keys to deflating the MP, more people would be happy because their gold would go farther towards finishing Dream avis. There would be less hording, because the AMPs would be more stable, so there would be less to gain, and there would be all around more supply.

It's really no deal in RL, but for many people, who are on Gaia for the unique art of the avatars, the fun has been quickly dampening. What kind of community are we going to have in another couple of years, if people keep quitting because the site isn't fun to them anymore?

The 2% fee isn't enough for people to jack up the prices of an originally 700K item to 3M. The influx of extra gold into the system with no way of taking any out, and the lack of self restraint on the part of people who can booty grab several hours a day is what has allowed the prices to sky-rocket.

Right now it isn't a matter of vendors being greedy. The fact is the stuff they want to buy is sky-rocketing too. It's the fact the buyers are willing to pay exceptionally high prices for the things they want, because they can easily get more gold. A vast majority of us though, don't have the time to invest into getting that gold.

If it isn't an issue for you though, that is alright too. Not everyone is going to feel that other people's causes are all that important. I am not trying to force anyone to join my cause, I am just offering it for those who feel like they want to contribute to something that they feel is worth while.

I am somewhat upset because 3 of my friends have left the community in the last month. I also have several more who are upset about the Dolphinmania site getting closed. I also read posts everyday of other people getting frustrated that the cash and time that they have invested in the site isn't getting them anything anymore.

The 700k to 3M was an extreme example that I saw, but still. I had 7 individual items that I was keeping an eye on with hopes to get that jumped anywhere between 30% to 80%. I was frustrated, but I know how the MP works, so I wasn't heartbroken. I decided I wanted to see if we can put that knowledge to work though for the benefit of the community.

I appreciate your offer, and I would appreciate any suggestions you may have that you feel would make things better.

If you haven't checked out the guild, I encourage you to do so. No obligations though. We really just want to see beneficial differences that make Gaia enjoyable to everyone. The discontent that we see now, mostly has its roots in the MP.