Guilds vs free trade?

[Fetdaniel]

It's just too undefined. Distribution of earnings would be a headache, and people would underreport their profits all the time.

I would never want to share my earnings with someone in the guild unless there is a really big advantage for me to do so. I am all ears but I see no such reason myself. A guild could be some kind of intermediate between other traders outside the guild and make earnings for that, but otherwise I see the guild as for the members, free of charge.

[Potjeh]

I'm talking about guild as Leonard described it. Common goods stockpile implies common income.

[Fetdaniel]

To defend this topic a bit, some excerpt on guilds ^^

In the middle ages, a guild was a bunch of merchants working together to amass more wealth, reputition, influence and of cource places to trade. They didn't do any price lists whatsoever in the first place, that was a later invention, and they did it for their own good. Personally I dont think there are any points against forming a "guild" ingame if you, as a merchant or supplier, want to do so, as it wouldnt harm you in any way.

The benefits are:

- that you could trade with trade partners of other merchants
- you could have a ressource pool, and thus be able to trade in big bulks
- you can use the services of guild soldiers/mercenaries/bounty hunters

You wont neccessairliy need a price list, but it would simplify things. There is a hidden price list anyway - based on the rarity and quality of the item you would get more or less. The fine trade details should be discussed anyway between seller-buyer, so a price list can be a rough guess at best, but crafters would have an idea of the "prices".

Thats, of course, just some rough ideas, and many people will say: "I can do this anyway, why should I bother?" Well, I cant talk for everyone, but it sounds like fun, something to do and a nice way to bring in some roleplay. Its a game, after all.

I have just talked about pricelists since that is something I see as easy and efficient to start with. They have two benefits.

First of all they are good guidelines for where the majority of trades should be, which benefit new members of the game and add an incentative to join the guild in practice, which is as good as wording opinions here. If someone follows the guide and thinks its right, then they are furthering the guild and that is membership in my book, its free of charge.

Secondly this means influence. If most farmers see themselves as a necessary and empowered resource that the world needs, which is the way they should see it, and they join the guild and agree that we need to earn more, then can change the trade ratios by defacto controlling big parts of the world supply of farmgoods.

So its fun and gives room for roleplay, helps new players and gives us influence to change the view of farming in the game.
I am all for earning more for my work and having more fun. =)

I dislike that people always just rant to the developers that things should change so and so to change the economy when we are the economy. Lets rule it and stand up.

[Leonard]

I mean a common stockpile in terms of "knowing what the other merchants can offer".
An example:

We have a guild of 5 members, Bob, Tim, Joe, Willy and Sue. Now someone wants, lets say 150 q100 stones (yesyes, I know) to build a golden road to nowhere. He pays well.

Now we have the situation: Bob says: "Oh noes, I just have 40 stones!" and he reports it to his fellow merchants. Tim has another 20, Joe has 25, Willy has nothing (its my real name, I ought to be a poor bastard xD) and Sue has 50. All in all they have 135 quality 100 stones, so they can cut the deal. Alone, nobody would be able to distribute all the desired stones. As everybody knows the others contribution to the trade, nobody could screw the other ones (if you are capable of basic % maths). Of course, playing together with known people or friends would simplify it, I wouldnt do it this way if I dont trust my fellow merchants.

That is what I mean with a "common stockpile". Of course everybody could trade a fraction on their own, but its a) easier for the buyer to get everything at once, hence you "help" the community, and b) <for me> it would be more fun to organize and do bigger trade deals than doing the boring RoB-trade-heartfire routine. I state it again, its not about efficience (altough it can be efficient) or the "I can do it alone, so fook yourself!", but about doing something fun+in a group+something uncommen ingame.

In regards to trust, I said it before that people willingly kin people to let them play in their village. Thats even more "stupid" if you dont know them, and still people do it because its a game mechanic. It wouldnt harm to set up some player-driven "mechanics", especially if they dont force you to do anything.

[Potjeh]

It doesn't work well because people spend more time offline than online. The buyer just wouldn't have the patience to wait for you to gather all the materials, and would instead buy what's immediately available and go elsewhere for the rest.

And I already refer people to other merchants anyway, why would I need to formalize that?

[Fetdaniel]

It doesn't work well because people spend more time offline than online. The buyer just wouldn't have the patience to wait for you to gather all the materials, and would instead buy what's immediately available and go elsewhere for the rest.

And I already refer people to other merchants anyway, why would I need to formalize that?

Yes of course, you have to decide and decide times on when to go online when you have an upcoming deal.

If we use this way of pooling just suggested, bigger deals would get cut, which is good for buyers.

[memestream]

Postmodernism is one of the most demoralizing strains of Marxism that has ever come to plague the western world. Where Europe previously upheld the values of science, reason, objective and eternal truths, individualism, pride, honor and basic human dignity, it now upholds nothing save the gray, dull dissolution into nothing that, under the false flag of "critique of reason" -- a blatant logical fallacy of a stolen concept, underpinned by floating abstractions, thrown in the face of every human being with an active mind -- attempts to subvert and destroy all objective standards in the fields of science, ethics, economics and politics, replacing them with a return to primitive tribalism, championed by the slave moralities of environmentalism, radical feminism, socialism and multiculturalism.

You're in good company, brother...