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The last issue of The Spy was talking about the lack of originality in certain ads.
Apparently, the phrase "be careful what you wish for" works in eRepublic just as well as in the real world.

Now, there is a new ad in eRussia, offering to sell eRepublic gold for webmoney. "Quick. Cheap. Anonymous. In unlimited amounts." (Translated from russian.)
Webmoney, as described on the website of Webmoney Transfer, is "a multifunctional payment tool that provides secure and immediate transactions online". This means, in simpler terms, someone is trying to make real life money from eRepublic gold.

Seasoned players of online games will not be surprised. Seasoned players know, this kind of thing happens to any game further or later down the line. They also know, this kind of thing destroys online games.

Buying money from the game's creators may give a player a bit of an unfair advantage, but, eRepublic gold isn't cheap. In order to become somewhat rich in eRepublic, you would have to invest something along the lines of 60 €. That's not a sum just anyone is prepared to pay for a game without further ado. On the other hand, as a necessary evil, it also supports the game: it allows the creators to pay for the webserver, to invest their time into inventing new features and supporting old ones, as opposed to investing their time into earning money by taking on a job.
In purchasing gold from an unrelated source, not only do buyers gain an unfair advantage that has nothing to do with their achievements in the game, they aren't even supporting the game by doing so. The necessary evil - necessary to support the game - thus becomes an unnecessary one.

In fact, cheaper gold means more people are able and willing to buy it more often. This, in turn, means frustration for the players who did not want to buy gold before. After all, if playing fair means doing worse than anyone else, it rather kills the fun. Former "fair players" will either start buying gold, or quit the game altogether. In the end, this game may become all about buying gold with real money. It's happened before, to other games.

Bottom line, in order to preserve this game, please DO NOT purchase gold from fellow players! Rather, enjoy the game by playing fair and if you think you need to buy your gold with real money, at least make sure you're buying it from the legitimate source.

Do not relax if you do not live in eRussia. The problem may come to your country, yet.

Sadly, the budget of The Spy does not allow for any ads for this article. To spread this appeal in eRepublic, the press director of this newspaper is forced to rely on votes alone. Alternatively, volunteers may decide to spread this appeal among their friends verbally. Even if you do not tell them about this article, but make them aware of the problem as such, you will be helping the cause.


Disclaimer: The Spy does not, nor will it ever, ask for it's readers to vote simply for the sake of voting. The Spy does, however, reserve the right to ask it's readers for votes in the event that they agree with the message within the article and want to help spread said message in erepublic.