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.'"

Comments

Re:i look at it this way

[Hognoxious]

Being a level 23 million wizard is a status symbol, just like wearing a Rolex or driving a Hummer.

Or in two words: small cocks.

Insourcing Gold Farming?

[Doc Ruby]

Why don't broke-ass Americans steal these Chinese gold farmers' jobs? Does the Chinese government subsidize their life any more than US welfare and unemployment subsidize Americans'? And what about Mexicans? I see plenty of Mexicans working in Chinese restaurants instead of Chinese immigrant labor. Why don't they farm gold cheaper than Chinese labor does?

dude: he's poor

[circletimessquare]

if you are playing WoW for leisure, you are rich by any world standard

it's a fucking GAME

he's putting REAL FOOD on his plate

therefore, all of your concerns mean shit, and are trumped about 100,000x over by the fact the guy is fucking feeding himself

you do realize a poor guy feeding himself is a whole hell of a lot more important than the pointless colorful distractions of the idle rich, right?

Re:dude: he's poor

[MysteriousPreacher]

If you're so concerned with poverty, why are you wasting your time on Slashdot. You could be selling that computer or using your spare time to take a second job and send your wages to China. If you don't believe in charity then just use the money to pay someone in China to do a job for you.

Like you said it's a fucking GAME. It's not a place for people to make a living any more than it would be acceptable for you to stroll on to a football pitch during a game so you could set-up a fair-trade stall. Most people try to do their bit to help-out their fellow man but ultimately, we care about what is closest to us.

Regarding WoW, my colourful distraction is more important than a 'poor guy' feeding himself. That poor guy is disrupting a game I pay money to play.

Re:there are 2 forms of acceptance

[trolltalk.com]

What's the big deal - everything else is made in China - why not this "fool's gold"?

heh ;-)

[circletimessquare]

"since you post on slashdot, you have no right to to tell me my game experience is more important than whether or not a poor guy eats"

uh, ok, for the record: if i have a complaint about an activity on slashdot that actually results in putting food on a poor guy's plate, i hereby relinquish my right to complain about that activity, and will accept it, even if it makes the slashdot experience less worthy

your turn, dimwit

Re:heh ;-)

[MysteriousPreacher]

uh, ok, for the record: if i have a complaint about an activity on slashdot that actually results in putting food on a poor guy's plate, i hereby relinquish my right to complain about that activity, and will accept it, even if it makes the slashdot experience less worthy

your turn, dimwit

For someone who has a web site that preaches tolerance, respect and the word of God, that's a pretty piss-poor way to end a post.

I really don't have much of a response to what you wrote here because it's just a cheap dig. I assume you won't be giving over the spare rooms in your house to the homeless or selling your computer any time soon.

Re:um

[cbreaker]

I'm sorry that you don't understand.