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The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer
An anonymous reader writes "This weekend's New York Times Magazine puts a human face to the 'gold farming' profession. Virtual world economist Julian Dibbell travels to Nanjing, China, for a look at the working conditions and first-hand experience of farming gold from virtual monsters as a way to make a living. From the article: 'At the end of each shift, Li reports the night's haul to his supervisor, and at the end of the week, he, like his nine co-workers, will be paid in full. For every 100 gold coins he gathers, Li makes 10 yuan, or about $1.25, earning an effective wage of 30 cents an hour, more or less. The boss, in turn, receives $3 or more when he sells those same coins to an online retailer, who will sell them to the final customer (an American or European player) for as much as $20. The small commercial space Li and his colleagues work in -- two rooms, one for the workers and another for the supervisor -- along with a rudimentary workers' dorm, a half-hour's bus ride away, are the entire physical plant of this modest $80,000-a-year business.'"
1. accepting that which is ugly but immutable. such as death
2. accepting that which is ugly but changeable. such as the aristocracy, or classism, or repugnant contrasts between the rich and the poor
yes, you are correct, aristocratic abuses are an ancient scourge. so is slavery. so is racism. accept these things as well?
a meritocracy is difficult, and in a world of human beings, never 100% possible. so what? we should stop trying to be fair to one another just because people can be ignorant?
you're not wise, you're just a cynic, with no heart. when i read words like these:
Why does this bother you that rich folks can pay to play. Why should they not if they can? It's the way of the world and always has been
i think, frankly, that you're just a loser and an asshole. you have no human conscience, you have no sense of morality, you don't believe in social progress, which does actually exist in this world
i don't believe in karma, but if it existed, i'd wish you would be reborn as a dalit
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
so that means that if he is earning 30c/hour then he is only collecting like 25 gold coins in an hour. Seems to me if he'd work harder he could make a bit more than that. I don't exactly know how common gold is in WoW, but it seems to me that after a month or so of work, his character would be of sufficient level to be making a lot more money than that. The thing is, the gold dropped by mobs at level 70 (the current max) is directly related to one's gear. As you level and get better items your repair costs increase, and since dying causes a 10% durability penalty , these costs can get fairly high later on, especially if the character is wearing plate armor.
I found this entire article humorous, the author is trying to romanticize gold farmers. The thing is, they don't do quests, they don't PvP unless absolutely necessary, they just farm one zone 24/7. I will continue feeling nothing but contempt toward anyone who buys gold, who needs to cheat because he or she cant cut it, and I'll feel sorry for these Chinese people, but in the end I'll still gank them in game whenever and wherever I find them.
it's just a stupid game. a rich guy, buy all gold the wants, i don't care, and I SAID THAT ALREADY: i said as much in the granpdarent post he is responding too. and there's nothing wrong with maids, duh. but that's not what he is talking about. read again, notice what HE IS REALLY SAYING
k thx
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Gold farming is bad, because it destroys the level playing field that is supposed to exist.
So does having a job or social life. Game designers need to do something to make sure you get out of the house more often.