(12-16-2014, 11:24 AM)C Wrote: Again, I've said before that I have no problem with someone selling a FC with house. The buyer is getting something directly from the seller in that case: An actual item is transferring hands, and it's no different than buying a sword or whatever.I understand where you're coming from with this entire thing, I really do.
What I'm talking about here is the practice of RPC members asking for other RPC members to pay for the privilege of being there when they relinquish the plot. The plot isn't being transferred from the seller to the buyer - the buyer still has to pay SE the full price for it. I think I've been pretty clear about that, so it's curious that you're bringing up the reddit community as a counterexample.
Though perhaps it's not so curious. Perhaps Reddit is the appropriate model for the RPC community.
What it really comes down to is this:
What you have a problem with/don't have a problem with/find questionable/don't see as acceptable or moral practice does not actually mean that something is good, bad, right or wrong. It's the way things work. Player A has a commodity, player B wants said commodity, player A names a price, player B pays the price.
The commodity in this case is the AVAILABILITY of the plot -- we're not even getting into the plot cost itself, because that has nothing to do with the transaction. The AVAILABILITY of a plot is a rare and valuable thing, and in that light some players have decided to assign it a monetary value. Other players have decided that this monetary value is worth it, and conduct business.
There's nothing iffy about that at all, long has it been the way things work. The transaction is completely voluntary on both ends and therefore not subject to any scrutiny on behalf of judging eyes. Â
Furthermore, the transaction is between the seller and the buyer on a case by case basis and has absolutely nothing to do with us as a community, even if every person on this site did it. To put it in layman's terms, "It's nobody's business and who is anyone to judge?"
If anyone decides to charge gil for something that does not violate the TOU, it is up to everyone else to decide whether it's worth paying for or not, and decide whether THEY want to pay for it. As an aside, if I have to pay someone for RP, I'd likely go somewhere else where the RP is free (just as someone would not buy the availability of a housing plot if others were available for free [that is, free availability, not free plot costs]!).Â
Is it an unfortunate thing? I don't think so, it's just the way it is, neither good nor ill. Whether it's something I/we should accept? Hey, player A and player B are conducting their private transaction! It's not my business or place to say.