October 2001

My Thoughts on the Crystal Plan
Posted Wednesday, October 17, 2001 by Mavralyn

Let me preface this editorial with the following: All thoughts, opinions, comments, and gripes are those of the author(ess) and in no way does it reflect the attitudes or opinions of the FW owners and/or staff.

Crystals. A lovely change from that granule surrounded by oyster spit ... even if a pearl is technically more valuable than a mere crystal (in real life that is). In the FW world crystals are MAGICAL... so possibly they are even more valuable than any common pearl.

I like the idea... I even whipped out a pic to use for these rainbow prisms of translucency. I have no problem at all with using crystals instead of pearls. I have no trouble with the concept of winning crystals instead of earning them. I am actually used to that idea from the days of NWN and those frustrating yet fun booth events.

What I do not like, is the fact that we can no longer earn gold. Granted... I happen to be the richest (bleep) on the boards at this time, but that has no bearing on the "earning gold" idea. The following is a list of some pros and cons and suggestions to counter the cons.

PRO: Earning gold twice a day for posting was a good way to draw people back to the boards on a steady basis. They also tended to check other folders for news or gossip.

CON: People tended to clutter up the data base with “gold” posts that had no relevant content other than to grab a gold. Some had no content at all. This con (I believe) is the major reason why we are no longer able to earn gold. *Glares at certain people who did this all the time* You know who you are... it is your fault... no trying to deny this!

SUGGESTED FIX: With the moderators able to delete posts, this accumulation of completely worthless postings could be kept to a minimum (and I probably could say “none” remaining.) Perhaps this could even be added to a folder moderator’s task list, or to a general “terms of service” agreement or something. All I know is that when we were able to earn gold, I had no trouble deleting my posts if they were just to grab that gold piece.

PRO: Earning gold gave people a bit of prestige as well as a goal to reach. Whatever that goal might be.

CON: Too much gold accumulation devalues the “economy”.

SUGGESTED FIX: Perhaps lengthen the time it takes to earn gold... once a day instead of twice a day maybe. Or maybe once every 48 hours. And definitely set up the Lightning Bolt booth again so people can try for gold (with gold being the normal win and a crystal being the rare prize).

Those are all I can think of at this moment. Another thought on how keeping gold in the equation would benefit: Those people who have an odd number of gold (under 100 after conversion) would then get the chance to build that up to 100 for one more crystal.

There is my two cents worth. Feel free to comment, question, or complain by posting to Letters for the Editor or sending an email to Mavralyn.