Gaians like to take a rumor and really, really run with it. It doesn't matter if there's evidence to support it, or if it even makes sense. It's just fun to have something to talk about, and I get that. Sometimes, though, those rumors live so long that they take on a certain verisimilitude, and users start to accept them as truth. So for this journal, I bring you:
Fleep's Top 5 Unsubstantiated Gaian Rumors and Assumptions
1. Gaia makes more than enough money. They're money-grubbing now!
My favorite thread on the subject:
Gaia Isn't Being Money Hungry
Though, QFE:
Lanzer
The cost to run 300 servers and keeping a team of more than 90 people working is very high. Imagine this, in San Jose the average pay is around 40,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars a year. Just multiply that by 90. eek There are much much more expenses in detail. All the equipment in the server room also raked up a 7 digit figure... Few websites face the challenge of having to serve up to 100,000 users at a time.
And we have more servers and employees now than shown in that quote.
Not to mention (relative costs are just estimates of mine, don't take them as any kind of definitive guide):
- The cost of office space ($$$$$$)
- Health insurance for employees ($$$$$$)
- Taxes ($$$$$)
- Bandwidth costs ($$$$)
- Computers and software licenses for employees ($$$$)
- Conventions and airfare ($$$$)
- Misc costs ($$$$)
- Employee benefits ($$$)
- Various other software licensing ($$$)
- Recruiting ($$)
- The cost of office supplies ($$)
- Accounting ($$)
- Advertising ($$)
- Contractors ($$)
- Various legal fees for contests, contracts, ToS, etc. ($$)
- Contests ($)
- And many, many more
And all of these are recurring fees.
With every event we throw, Gaia breaks new user records -- and as the site grows, we need more servers, more staff, and the costs grow tremendously.
2. Gaia doesn't listen to its users
I was actually in an interview today when we were talking to a potential candidate. One of the interviewers, who hasn't been here as long as I have, told the candidate this (paraphrased):
"One of the things about Gaia that's unlike any other company I've worked for is how attentive they are to the needs of the community. We have a ton of people who are watching the forums all the time - and when users say they want something or they're unhappy about something, someone looks into it right away. I've never seen another community that was this big where the administrators cared this much about what users thought."
Which isn't to say things always get addressed or fixed right away - but many of us are extremely attentive and sensitive to user wishes and moods. Users commonly mistake not getting what they want for us not paying attention - but we do, and most of us get distressed when users are upset.
3. Quest System was just made to support sponsors
This is just plain not true. Quests, as originally indicated, were supposed to be one of the central fun features of Gaia. What DID happen, however, is that I began to lead sponsorships, events, and quests - and quests suffered for it. Gaia may seem big, but resources are extremely tight. Code has to be refactored and servers have to be reconfigured to support the ever growing load on the site, so our developers are busy 112% of the time (yes, we actually add time to the time-space continuum just to meet deadlines - or it seems that way, sometimes).
Events and sponsorships took precedence, because -- well, we can't NOT have events, and Gaia needs the money to stay running. So why not hire more people? We do - but the requirements of running this site are growing faster than we can find good talent to support it. It's a bad thing because we're tight on resources... but a great thing because Gaia's becoming quite popular!
4. New feature [XXX] gives out gold! Gaia doesn't care about inflation
One thing users need to learn to accept is that Gaia will make features that give out gold. We're not going to stop doing this.
The other thing users need to learn is that this will not destroy the economy.
Several reasons for this include:
1. A TREMENDOUS amount gold leaves the site every day from banned accounts and users who decide to stop using Gaia. That's gold and items that are taken OUT of the economy. It may be one of the bigger gold sinks on Gaia.
2. The amount of gold generated by this feature is pennies compared to the amount of gold that's generated just by millions of users just clicking around the site.
3. The number of users who engage the abuse of these systems is much, much smaller than mosts users assume.
We do incentives like this to benefit Gaians who choose to participate. It's unfortunate that this trends has cropped up causing people to say "Booooo!" rather than "Yaaaay!" when we give them free gold.
5. The 2% fee didn't do what it was created to do!
The common assumption is that the 2% fee was supposed to stop or slow inflation, which isn't really the point - at least not exactly. I'm going to refer you guys again to the SF Sticky on the subject:
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/site-feedback/a-note-about-the-2-listing-fee-in-marketplace/t.31618999/
The basics:
1. It's supposed to perform a gold removal from marketplace transactions, just like how selling back to stores removes gold from the transaction
2. The listing fee cuts into more potential profit, making the returns on price manipulation (e.g., "artificial inflation" wink less attractive.
3. The 2% fee won't/wouldn't increase "inflation", because if sellers could increase their prices, there's no reason they wouldn't have before the fee. If their prices increased, and users became willing to pay it, then it's just a matter of what the market would bear - the 2% is irrelevant.
And QFE, for users who bandy around the popular term "inflation" when referring to the Gaia marketplace:
Quote:
Why do you keep using quotation marks when you say "Inflation"?
Not all prices rising are inflation.
Monthly collectibles, and event items, are in fixed quantity. And as more Gaians join, demand for these items is rising. Since prices in some sense represent value, we expect prices of old collectibles to rise. This is not "inflation", this is "real price increases". This is a good thing. Your inventory's true value increases over time, since more people want whatever you have.
In contrast to real price increases, inflation is when prices increases due to excess amount of currency flowing into an economy, faster than the rate in which goods and services are created. It is highly debatable whether this is good thing.
The new marketplace and the listing/ transaction fee, we are trying to balance the influence of the MP on the second type of price changes. It will have no influence on the first type of price increases.
Inflation is something we want, as long as it's happening at a reasonable rate. Even if you don't like it when you want to buy that MC, you DO want it when you want your MCs to increase in value.
Dayum Fleep, You Grumpy
It's 7:30 the day before Thanksgiving and I'm still in the office. You're dang tootin' I'm grumpy!
Actually, I just felt these are things that needed to be addressed - because they really do bother me. Not so much because users are complaining, but because I feel as though users are limiting each others' abilities to enjoy Gaia to its fullest with various misconceptions that float around.
I'm still the same chipper, good-natured, and slightly-mad Fleep you've grown used to. Just really tired at the moment rofl
The Meats
I'm going to go stuff myself with about 8 lbs of foodstuffs now. Everyone have a great holiday weekend!
Community Member
Thank you for linking my thread heart
And in return I'm going to link this journal entry, because it definitely helps give the user a better of idea of what else you guys need to pay before besides servers and employee paychecks.
I agree, Gaia is extremely unqiue with how much they cater to users, I mean look at MCs. How many other sites would at extra poses to items to make users happy?
Or even let users design their own?
I think the bad mouthing of the quest system is something that bothers me the most. People don't seem to realize that to actually make the Gaia based quests you need money to do so, and one of the best ways to get money is through sponsor quests.
As for the free gold, I love free gold. It helps me out on my quest 4laugh
And the 2% fee I really don't mind, I mean I still use the marketplace. It doesn't bother me
*comforts*
Late nights at the office can make anyone grumpy, but just think of what you have to look forward too. Four days of you time, a nice comfy bed and lots of foodstuffs on Turkday.
So eat up and have a good thanksgiving whee