World Bank Examines Benefits of Gold Farming

[Pebkac]

Eye strain, RSI, and a sore-back are all pretty minor compared to lost appendages, death by dehydration, and suicide.

With that being said, I doubt gold farming has much room for growth. After all, the devs could just sell items directly to the players like the Korean MMOs do. As long as they keep the prices low enough, the farmers wouldn't be able to compete.

Also, when you compare the ratio of wages vs. final product of gold farming compared to that of manufacturing, it's pretty obvious that it's a business where the poor are employing the poor. Nobody's getting rich. Well, I guess you could say the studio managers are relatively richer since they can afford a slightly better watch cellphone...

 

[mattaui]

The biggest problem is that it's not just gold selling and power leveling, but the hacking and theft that goes along with it. Also, as it's been noted, just because the money stays local doesn't mean it goes to the people who need it.

The vast scale and numbers involved does explain why spamming, hacks and general identity theft are such problems in the MMO space. Most people who make use of these services would never own up to it, either, since they'd never get their account back.

 

[Pebkac]

The biggest problem is that it's not just gold selling and power leveling, but the hacking and theft that goes along with it. Also, as it's been noted, just because the money stays local doesn't mean it goes to the people who need it.

The vast scale and numbers involved does explain why spamming, hacks and general identity theft are such problems in the MMO space. Most people who make use of these services would never own up to it, either, since they'd never get their account back.

Weird. I find people have no problems admitting to using these services.

I used to play WoW and know and lot of people that still do. Some bought gold and power leveling, but they never lost their accounts. The only people who lost their accounts, lost them from logging in to a friend's computer that had a trojan installed.

Stealing accounts probably isn't for business. When you consider things like reputation and recommendations, and final payments and password changes, it doesn't make sense to keep a customers account. The people stealing accounts are likely a different group from those doing business. Not to mention the trojans don't come from dealing with gold farmers, they come from opening and running files from spam emails or running Internet Explorer.

Concerning cash distribution, aside from Paypal's 2% cut, most of the money goes to poor people. The biggest expenses are food for employees and wages. $3 billion very much money for an "industry" with approximately 100,000 employees to feed and pay.

Still, it's a shitty business because it has no room to grow, and can only work as long as wages are kept to Chinese-factory lows. Compared to the sweat shops it's an improvement, but that's not saying much. Although it is an interesting market because it's started and run in poor countries, by small-time entrepreneurs, compared to the factories that have ties to major international companies.

Side-rant: Identity theft is a load of crap. It mostly refers to credit card theft, and really... if someone uses your credit card, are you more offended by the fact that they used your name and address which you give away, or the fact that they are charging money to your account?

 

[Taawus]

Are we really suggesting that gold farming is as morally bankrupt as slavery, is that a thing, really?

Are you suggesting that being forced to sit in cramped conditions doing repetitive tasks for very low pay, for a high end product, is not slavery?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/05/virtual-world-china?intcmp=239

30p an hour sound like fun? And this is in a developed country.

That's 16.9 times higher than I worked for (2 eur/h)

F*ck Estonia, I'm going gold farming.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

A World Bank report says gold farming, power-leveling and other such services generated roughly $3 billion for poor nations in 2009 and could actually prove to be very beneficial to local and developing economies.

So's Slavery, Organ Legging and Blood Diamonds.

For very similar reasons.

oh you took the words out of my mouth

Playing MMOs non stop is equal to killing women and children to get diamonds and harvest their organs?

Wow...ok guys.

OT: Honestly if it is helping the economy then they should continue, in some situation sweat shops actually improve third world countries...yes it sounds horrible, but economic studies have proved it.

 

[Luke Cartner]

By the same argument crops of illicit drugs are a good thing because they allow inject more money in the emerging economy.

Good farming has been used in the past for money laundering as well as a traceless way of paying for murder.
The injection of cash from an artificial source upset the virtual balance; breaking both the economy and the challenge curve.
Ofcourse it isn't the gold farmer's fault.. its the cheaters who make use of their services..

 

[Maclennan]

You're not forced to. If you don't like clicking on a computer for hours on end for 30p a day, go work at the nike factory where you actually work.

30p an hour is pretty solid for those kinds of jobs. China is jam-packed with similar situations, but with more work and less pay. I've come in contact with people who work 18 hour shifts earning 12p~ an hour doing wiring/circuitry on televisions. It's not slavery, it's a job.

China is still a first world country. Maybe second. Can you imagine what a similar situation would be in a third world country?

China is at best a second world country though generally classified as such, there are more people in China living on less then a dollar a day then there are people in the United States. Only India has more people total living on less then a dollar a day, no other country can compete for obvious reasons.
The poorest areas of China are as bad as any third world nation which is not a failed state in a state of perpetual violence.
Generally the only areas we see on T.V. from China are the cities along the coast which are either highly developed and being shown off or the most polluted where green peace are trying to make us ashamed of humanity. We rarely see the cashmere goat farmers whos pasture has turned to desert from over use and the villages whos land has been taken to make room for a government project.

 

[irani_che]

What's that? Something illegal is good for their economies? HOORAY! Let's all promote doing illegal things for profit! LET'S DO IT, GUYS!

A World Bank report says gold farming, power-leveling and other such services generated roughly $3 billion for poor nations in 2009 and could actually prove to be very beneficial to local and developing economies.

So's Slavery, Organ Legging and Blood Diamonds.

For very similar reasons.

oh you took the words out of my mouth

i was curious, how do the poor people who gold-farm for you suffer? its a way easier and safer job than working in a factory or in a real farm. and they get all the money you send

The fact that they work probably over twelve hours a day sitting at a computer doing nothing but staring at a screen? And they get paid practically nothing for it. We do it as a hobby (though not necessarily that long, except perhaps on weekends), but they have to do it CONSTANTLY. It would probably drive me crazy if I was farming for that long every week, reaping none of the fun benefits.

the pay must be better than any other job they could get

Possibly, possibly not. It could simply be that they chose that over a dangerous factory job.

either way, its the best job they can find and i will not fault them for that

 

[Bloodysoldier]

30p an hour sound like fun? And this is in a developed country.

I remember my first job, it was as a buss boy, I barely got 5$ an hour. Are you saying that 30 pounds an hour is a slave wage, because if you are I have to call out ignorance on your part.
Isn't the national minimum wage £6.08 an hour?
So to answer your question yes making £30 an hour sounds a hell a lot of fun, for just sitting on your butt and playing a game. compared to working your butt off to make barely a scrap.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_10027201

 

[emeraldrafael]

A World Bank report says gold farming, power-leveling and other such services generated roughly $3 billion for poor nations in 2009 and could actually prove to be very beneficial to local and developing economies.

So's Slavery, Organ Legging and Blood Diamonds.

For very similar reasons.

I'm such a bad person, but this made me laugh.

And actually, I agree.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

30p an hour sound like fun? And this is in a developed country.

I remember my first job, it was as a buss boy, I barely got 5$ an hour. Are you saying that 30 pounds an hour is a slave wage, because if you are I have to call out ignorance on your part.

Thirty pence...I don't know if you're being deliberately antagonistic or not, but please don't. That's less than $5 an hour for 12 hour days without breaks.

 

[Bloodysoldier]

30p an hour sound like fun? And this is in a developed country.

I remember my first job, it was as a buss boy, I barely got 5$ an hour. Are you saying that 30 pounds an hour is a slave wage, because if you are I have to call out ignorance on your part.

Thirty pence...I don't know if you're being deliberately antagonistic or not, but please don't. That's less than $5 an hour for 12 hour days without breaks.

Repeats: "Isn't the national minimum wage £6.08 an hour?
So to answer your question yes making £30 an hour sounds a hell a lot of fun, for just sitting on your butt and playing a game. compared to working your butt off to make barely a scrap."

I answered your question.

 

[Alar]

What's that? Something illegal is good for their economies? HOORAY! Let's all promote doing illegal things for profit! LET'S DO IT, GUYS!

A World Bank report says gold farming, power-leveling and other such services generated roughly $3 billion for poor nations in 2009 and could actually prove to be very beneficial to local and developing economies.

So's Slavery, Organ Legging and Blood Diamonds.

For very similar reasons.

oh you took the words out of my mouth

i was curious, how do the poor people who gold-farm for you suffer? its a way easier and safer job than working in a factory or in a real farm. and they get all the money you send

The fact that they work probably over twelve hours a day sitting at a computer doing nothing but staring at a screen? And they get paid practically nothing for it. We do it as a hobby (though not necessarily that long, except perhaps on weekends), but they have to do it CONSTANTLY. It would probably drive me crazy if I was farming for that long every week, reaping none of the fun benefits.

the pay must be better than any other job they could get

Possibly, possibly not. It could simply be that they chose that over a dangerous factory job.

either way, its the best job they can find and i will not fault them for that

I don't know if this is a straw man argument or not, but if stealing cars or selling drugs was the best job they could find, would that be okay too?

I'm just trying to see where we draw the line when something is illegal, even if beneficial to someone.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Hmm... Well, this can't possibly backfire.

/sarcasm

Money coming out of nowhere sounds like bad news to me. But what do I know? I'm not an economical person.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

@Bloodysoldier:
I'll let someone else point out to your mistake. (Hint: £30 and 30p are different numbers, by a factor of 100)

 

[irani_che]

What's that? Something illegal is good for their economies? HOORAY! Let's all promote doing illegal things for profit! LET'S DO IT, GUYS!

A World Bank report says gold farming, power-leveling and other such services generated roughly $3 billion for poor nations in 2009 and could actually prove to be very beneficial to local and developing economies.

So's Slavery, Organ Legging and Blood Diamonds.

For very similar reasons.

oh you took the words out of my mouth

i was curious, how do the poor people who gold-farm for you suffer? its a way easier and safer job than working in a factory or in a real farm. and they get all the money you send

The fact that they work probably over twelve hours a day sitting at a computer doing nothing but staring at a screen? And they get paid practically nothing for it. We do it as a hobby (though not necessarily that long, except perhaps on weekends), but they have to do it CONSTANTLY. It would probably drive me crazy if I was farming for that long every week, reaping none of the fun benefits.

the pay must be better than any other job they could get

Possibly, possibly not. It could simply be that they chose that over a dangerous factory job.

either way, its the best job they can find and i will not fault them for that

I don't know if this is a straw man argument or not, but if stealing cars or selling drugs was the best job they could find, would that be okay too?

I'm just trying to see where we draw the line when something is illegal, even if beneficial to someone.

you arguement is at a stretch
i always saw gold-farming as a legal grey area it causes no victims. maybe i am wrong on this regard

 

[Alar]

What's that? Something illegal is good for their economies? HOORAY! Let's all promote doing illegal things for profit! LET'S DO IT, GUYS!

A World Bank report says gold farming, power-leveling and other such services generated roughly $3 billion for poor nations in 2009 and could actually prove to be very beneficial to local and developing economies.

So's Slavery, Organ Legging and Blood Diamonds.

For very similar reasons.

oh you took the words out of my mouth

i was curious, how do the poor people who gold-farm for you suffer? its a way easier and safer job than working in a factory or in a real farm. and they get all the money you send

The fact that they work probably over twelve hours a day sitting at a computer doing nothing but staring at a screen? And they get paid practically nothing for it. We do it as a hobby (though not necessarily that long, except perhaps on weekends), but they have to do it CONSTANTLY. It would probably drive me crazy if I was farming for that long every week, reaping none of the fun benefits.

the pay must be better than any other job they could get

Possibly, possibly not. It could simply be that they chose that over a dangerous factory job.

either way, its the best job they can find and i will not fault them for that

I don't know if this is a straw man argument or not, but if stealing cars or selling drugs was the best job they could find, would that be okay too?

I'm just trying to see where we draw the line when something is illegal, even if beneficial to someone.

you arguement is at a stretch
i always saw gold-farming as a legal grey area it causes no victims. maybe i am wrong on this regard

I always saw it as mildly illegal. Something small like jaywalking at a street that isn't busy. It may not seem to hurt anyone, but it is still technically illegal.

Those others were examples of more serious crimes.