[MUD-Dev] BIZ: Ban selling of in-game items for real cash?

[Brandon J. Van Every]

I don't run one of these things but here's my peanut gallery thoughts
anyways.  My basic sentiment is do what *you* want.  As the MUD owner.

Yumiko wrote:

> Ban:

>   Item sellers are getting money that might otherwise be paid to
>   the server owner. In economics terms, they are directly
>   competing with the owner's donation business.

If I were in this to make money selling virtual property, I wouldn't
rely on donations.  That's a half-assed business model.  I'd say you
pay, I give you something.  I'd aggressively defend my economic
interests against all usurpers.  Frankly I'd hire lawyers and
threaten to fight it in courts to the degree I could scare people
off.  If you've got a business model, protect it and don't apologize
about it.

Good content ain't cheap to develop.  Don't feel you have to give it
away, or cut 3rd parties in on the action for nuthin'.

> Ban:

>   Selling of items can make players who don't have money to spend
>   like that feel like they are treated unfairly, and stop playing
>   as a result. (Well, accepting donations for items does this too,
>   but at least in that case the server owner gets money.)

So what?  Screw them.  People are buying and selling, so you'll have
to make some kind of policy decision about it.  This will cause some
kind of split in your customer base, to some degree, no matter what
you decide.  You simply cannot please all of the people all of the
time.  Decide who your important customers are and don't lose sleep
about losing the less important ones.

You do not have to make your customer decisions in cold calculating
cash terms if you don't want to.  You might be doing a MUD business
to fulfil certain aesthetic or artistic goals.  One of the big
fallacies of the usual startup company rigamarole, I think, is
people have this idea of making throwaway companies so they can get
rich.  Little fish designed to be eaten by bigger fish, like
Microsoft or some such.  That's how the vulture capitalist makes his
money, by a buyout.  Now, if you actually want to build something
that's going to *last*, this throwaway model of business doesn't
actually do you any good.  Never mind that most startups fail.

> Don't Ban:

>   A ban on such practices may cause players to resent the
>   administration for not letting them dispose of their in-game
>   assets as they see fit.

So what?  Screw them.  If you think it's such a big stinky turnoff,
offer them something else that will turn them on.  Who said you have
to put all your eggs in one basket?  Any MUD is complex and capable
of a vast number of services that various people don't like and do
like.  If people do like more than don't like, you win.

Cheers,                         www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.
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