Metaversed readers may remember our previous article What Is "Gold Farming"?, where we described the phenomena of people gathering virtual currency from online games and selling it for real life cash. Recently a player of Everquest 2 was sent a typical spam message by another player advertising a website selling game currency. Most players just ignore these messages, but this time they began a conversation offering new insights into the life of a "gold farmer".
The conversation started with a threat of legal action based on Blizzard's recent lawsuit, which the gold farmer panicked about. He was making the equivalent of US$100 per month, worked seven hours a day, and really seemed to be grateful for employment despite living below China's poverty standards. Apparently he burns through an account a day as they get shut down by system administrators.
It's a bit pittiful. These guys need a union.