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Same respect for all o/ money cant buy respect 😛

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I'd like to be respected for just sticking with the game before I demand respect for being a customer.

I consider the time spent here as more of a waste than the money.

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I don't know if it makes one a better gamer. It can certainly offer the opportunity for a more comfortable gaming experience, depending on a player's priorities. And a more comfortable player is often a better player for it (compared to the uncomfortable state, not to others).

Otherwise, money or no money, assholes will be assholes.

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Voted.

No vote

Same respect, buying or not.. it's your choice. There will be some people who willing to spend RL money on games.

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Gamers who join this game after 2 or 3 years, have to spend real money if they want be in step.
Are they better gamer ? NO, just fools who pay "free game" .

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No extra respect but I would think no less, except for those few who demand it! I've run across a few who expect me to bow down at their feet because they have 347 BH's and I only have a few. They PM me and TELL me that I cannot have THEIR BH because ~insert lame reason here~. Those guys piss me off and then I do spend gold on stupid shit like EB's and "boosters" just to prove that I can take their precious BH if I want.

Of course I've met some really neat guys that pour it on and taunt me. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. Then we PM a few times laughing about it. My record for stupidity so far is 47m damage. These occasional spurts of craziness really do enhance my game. It breaks the tedium.
_____

As to the view that gold buyers are better minders of the store, I suppose it is possible. I would think that the amount of time and effort that someone puts into the meta game is a better indicator though.

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[removed]

Candor "As to the view that gold buyers are better minders of the store, I suppose it is possible."

Think this is their position. But spending money doesn't = doing what's best for the games success, or even knowing what is best for the games success. Lot's of great people spend lots of money on this game, few are national leaders, and even fewer spend that money selflessly.

UPDATE:

New record for stupidity has been set. 63.9m damage. At least this time I got a CH and 2 BH's for my trouble. xD

Same respect. I understand why those who buy do, I understand why those who don't buy don't.

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People who invest money are mostly more invested in the game. They have more insight in the game because of their time and effort investment not their money investment

And yes, same respect

No more respect and in some cases less respect for someone who would spend hundreds of dollars a month to retain fictional political power.

I have 'invested' both time and effort, but no money. Unless and until Admin does something about 'Bot Farms' that some of the citizens in power brag about having I will not invest one penny in this game. It is not just America, something has to be done about countries in game who have enormous populations who in RL simply do not have the internet infrastructure to support such a population; not every country has one/two/three computers in the household like America -sorry but it true.

I was curious so I counted...my family has 10 computers and 3 game systems located in the same house; 3 computers are mine alone: 2 belong to my daughter: each child has their own for 3 more: my daughter has 1 assigned to her by work and my grandson has one assigned to him by school -to top it off we have an Xbox, PS3 and Wii gaming systems. Jesus...so that is where all my money went...!?!

i would only give them more respect if they withheld their generous funding of this game until it was improved.

As it stands right now i actually have less respect for "gold beasts" because they give the message to the admins that they are doing a good job.

Never spent a penny on this game and I never will, same amount of respect I suppose for those who do.

You spend money on this game to enjoy it more, not to get respect, how you use it is your business, too many people judge others game preferences. Respect behavior please 🙂 o7

For the common good (always a phase that should raise red flags), those who buy gold could help those who do not or can not spend money in the interest of player retention and community. As stated above "You spend money on this game to enjoy it more, not to get respect".

For me, spending money on the game to buy gold IS primarily to help people. Either indirectly by building my commune companies or directly by donating a little gold when someone in the MU needs a little help.

well, duh

Same respect.

I spent my time buying gold, and It did give me some ammount of respect, simply because of what I did with it, but the respect shouldn't come from the fact that you buy gold.

In my opinion: It will only bring over some traits of classism, more so than there already is. Allowing those who spend money in this game to be elevated for ONLY that fact plays right into the Plato's hands and encourages people to spend more money on this awful game.

Now: Someone contributes to the eUSA or eRep in general and just happened to spend money? Good for them.

There is unfortunately more respect, but not directly due to the money. The problem is that most people don't bother to check how someone got his/her achievements, so when they see a rich profile, they respect it more. I personally am against that and see these money investing people as taking the easy way out and selfpromoting beyond normal limits.

It makes you sad.... but yes, it's what certain people do.... if you send someone enough free stuff they'll love you

Depends on how you define respect. If you mean, special privileges or consideration, absolutely. There is a pretty small number of people who are keeping this game afloat. I don't think eRep can afford to lose them so, yeah, I think they are probably nicer to their paying customers.

This new comments section is tripping me out.

I think the administrators should treat them with more respect, but I guess all the users deserve more respect anyways. Admin treats us like garbage, and have stopped caring about the product a long time ago.

As for respect among the community, you shouldn't be granted more respect among players simply for being foolish enough to trust admin with your money. I've spent money on this game as well. I regret it, but I figured it was a worthwhile investment given I got many hours of enjoyment and wanted to help fund a better product. Still waiting on that.

Respect among the community should be based on actions in-game, and strictly that.

Overall:
~ Same respect, based on money spent. More or less respect, based on individual actions.

Disclaimer:
~ In 2009/2010, I spent several thousand here each of those two years before leaving, easily over $10k total. I do not expect to spend as much anymore this time around, but I have already spent over $1k since my return, moving from Bronze up to Gold. I cite the numbers only to preface my answers to the questions posed in this article, for anyone who doesn't know me.

1. Does spending RL money here make a person a better gamer?
~ No. $$$ 😕= Ability.

2. Due more respect?
~ From players, no. From Admins, also no. Spending money here is like spending money to buy a product anywhere. It entitles you to the product, not any respect. I pay, so I get gold, which in turn can be spent on damage, wellness, storage, infrastructure, etc. Respect is not any part of it.

3. As citizens, players, gamers, should we hold those who spend real life money in this game with any special deference or respect?
~ Np, no, no; see answers to number 2. Now, as to what a person does with the gold they spend their money on, that can be different. Case in point, Oblige. He runs the SF communes he paid for himself, and pays for the supplies as well. That contribution to the team effort does deserve some respect. That said, if he did not activelu command the MU, set the orders, maintain the IRC chatroom, distribute supplies, etc, he would be forgotten. Money makes it easier, but it takes actions to earn respect. Also, if those same investments are lorded over people, then the respect will quickly plummet to disrespect.

4. Does one's choice to spend real life money make those gamers "investors"?
~ No, it makes us consumers, not investors. Any attempt to make gold buyers think they are investors is either marketing (if it comes from the sellers) or delusion (if it comes from the buyers). Also, arguments that the individuals are socially "invested", etc, can equally be made for time spent here.

5. Should we take into consideration one's expenditure of real life money when choosing our nations leaders?
~ It can be a factor sometimes. When Josh Frost was CP & I was VP, you can be sure the nation's infrastructure saw massive immediate upgrades and the war funding spiked massively. Ditto for Colin Lantrip. Sometimes this may be a factor. That said, ability should always be paramount, not personal cash accounts.

6. Are those who spend real life money on this game better gamers? Strategists? Leaders?
~ No, no, no. That said, having money to burn can push people to the front of the pack sometimes. When it is combined with ability, interest, and activity, it can lead to people beating the usual time frames for becoming solid strategists and leaders, as opportunities for advancement present themselves sooner. The key point remains, ability matters. All the money in the world cannot make a good strategist or leader; it can simply accelerate the advancement of individuals who had the potential to begin with.

7. I recently had a friend suggest that people who spend real life money should be treated deferentially and with additional respect, that they should be thought of as "protectors of their investments" and therefor prone to additional wisdom.
~ Yeah... disagree. I spend more here than most, sometimes for infrastructure, mostly for various short-term projects that look fun. How is that wise? It's not. People will be good protectors of their investments if they have a natural inclination toward that outlook. I'd argue that those who built up economic empires here from scratch are better protectors of their investments (in time and gold) because they had to fight harder to earn it.

8. In fact, electing people based on the amount of money they "invest" seems to be something this friend advocates towards.
~ Plutocracy? Really? Tell your friend to go light himself on fire, do the rest of us a favor. It's people like that who make me hesitant to openly display the groups I fund in this game.

9. (Next 3 paragraphs)
~ Fair points in general, except that in my personal experience, I'd say most of my fellow players who spent money here act entitled, not invested. I like the ones who spend, yet understand their actions justify official and unofficial social status, not their money.

10. Should we have a game ranking based on money spent in game?
~ We already do. It'scalled your Loyalty Program status. It gets you more LP, bonus LP, extra gold, etc. Personally, I'd be happy if they added more to that list, or if they made more things open to a pay-to-play model. That's all on the Admin side though. That's the only side where this should matter, as we are buying a product they are selling, eRepublik Gold. It should not be any kind of game ranking. No thanks.

On the other hand, being appointed lifetime governor of Ohio -- now that rocks!

You know it. 😉

That was actually an old inside joke... as most know by now I long advocated within government circles for the eUSA to join Phoenix.

Now, see this:
http://www.ong.ohio.gov/SPP/spp_index.html

The fact that I was the Ohio Congress Member at the time was sheer coincidence, but it was a pretty funny coincidence. 😁

I remember Max built a Q3 tkt co so he wouldn't lose wellness and would move back to Ohio every night after fighting that first time he was in congress. I don't remember how long he did it.. lol. "I'm here with you Ohio".

It was difficult to read past "easily over $10k total." LOL

Anyway. A comment to make on point 3, while I agree with you, it's prudent to keep in mind that while the "money spent entitles you to a product" is the cut and dry of it, we all know that ownership of products does lend one some respect in the world by its very nature. Humans automatically respect those who hold capital that they either desire or respect; In this game that capital happens to be Gold/Raw Power.

I agree with most of your points, just had that thought while reading.

Why were you talking to Oblige? Of course he thinks spending money entitles one to power and access.

Oh hai.

Tbh, he actually was one of a handful on my mind (and, I believe, this friends mind) as we discussed the issue. But neither of us mentioned specific names.

I also had some people whom I consider besties and peeps I respect quite a lot on my mind, and I know they spend a lot of money (Colin, Max, CW etc), but I've never given their expenditures weight in my affection, and to the contrary have thought they share pretty selflessly since none hold elected positions nor ever run for such.

I also buy into the idea that RL fun money is just as legitimately spent here as anywhere else. But it's the idea that RL money spenders are somehow better than anyone else that intrigued me. That a different friend held this position.

Oh hey, speaking of how money 😕= wisdom? I just bought votes for this. ^ _ ~

I love you, have my babies. No seriously, I have four, take a couple, PLEASE! 😉

Same respect...

Same.

But if this is based on the comment to your last article regarding Glove's misuse of government money, then I would argue that the money that belongs to people here should be spent responsibly regardless of its RL value. Some people buy gold and donate to the government. Some people spend hundreds of hours in-game to make some profit and donate it to the government. If that money is ever misused, it is *not* OK. My 2 cents.

same.