NoGold.org
by Christopher Linton 
Jan 21st 2006 at 10:31PM
The sentiments against gold-farming have
always been high, but I have never seen such an organized, well thought-out, and serious response to it as I have found
on nogold.org. It is fascinating that almost all WoW sites are covered with
gold-selling and power-leveling ads, though the majority of players revile those who sell gold and those who buy gold.
I will be interested to see if this No Gold movement picks up steam.Do you think that it is possible to put the gold farmers out of business, and if so, what will the impact be on the WoW community at large, and fan sites in particular?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Economy
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
misterB Jan 22nd 2006 12:54AM
Interesting post esp. regarding the fact that this site is littered with gold farming ads. Not sure if it's funny, ironic, brave, or something else entirely to have a No Gold article bracketed by "Yes Gold!" ads.
I say, WOW Insider, do more than just wonder if this movement has any steam. Why not jump on board the movement and see what happens. Declare a six-month moratorium on gold farming ads on this site. Keep us posted on what it means for your revenue. Try and find out if it's doing anything to the farming companies. Let us know if they're trying to reserve ad space for six months and one day after the moratorium.
I'd be very interested in the results of such an experiment.
Damien Barrett Jan 22nd 2006 1:26AM
WoW Insider is a collaborative weblog with multiple authors. As such, the authors sometimes have different viewpoints from each other. WoW Insider is also owned by Weblogs, Inc Network., (WIN) who controls the revenue from the Google Ads on this site. While we have asked WIN to modify the ads being displayed on the site, no action has yet been taken.
Leshrac Jan 22nd 2006 2:48AM
I'll wait for a response from a WOW Insider person, but I'm fairly certain they have no control over those ads (they're just google ads which automatically get placed there).
In any case, this simply won't work. As long as there is a demand for people to buy gold outside the game, it will exist. Until Blizzard makes a very concentrated effort to try and get rid of it, I can guarantee you that gold-farming and buying isn't going away.
-Leshrac
Sam Mellick Jan 22nd 2006 4:13PM
Just as a quick heads up - most of the gold ads I see (thottbot, allakazam or however it's spelt) are google ads. Seeing as google ads pick up relevant topics, and the WoW gold farming sites are pretty high up there...that's probably why you see a lot of them.
-Sam.
JD Jan 22nd 2006 7:38PM
I'd guess based on the whole 70 members and 124 posts on their forums that this "movement" won't pick up much steam. That's not to say they don't make valid points, I just don't think anyone cares.
Silvertusk Jan 23rd 2006 12:42AM
I've been told by a WoW Insider person that the ads are done automatically, and won't be removed for the fact that they don't have control over them.
boneyard Jan 23rd 2006 4:24AM
i think there are more gold / account buyers then one might expect. they just keep silent about it or don't come to sites like this.
Wreck Jan 23rd 2006 3:21PM
With a spouse, home, kids and not alot of free time I know alot of people I play with who buy gold. Its really a matter of keeping up with other players who do have free time. Think of it as farming your 9-5 job as opposed to sitting in front of the computer all the time. The casual gamer wants epic mounts and purple phat lootz too.
I'm not saying its right, but I can at least see the other side of the arguement.