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1. Definitions of collectable:


noun: things considered to be worth collecting (not necessarily valuable or antique)

noun: One of a group or class of objects, such as period glass or historical memorabilia, sought by collectors

adjective: subject to or requiring payment especially as specified

adjective: That can be collected: a collectible loan.

Worthy of being collected: collectible antique coins.

Anything worthy of being collected or that is highly sought after usually reaches this status becuz of a little thing called "supply and demand".

sup·ply and de·mand (noun) Definition: an economic idea: the relationship between the availability of a good or service and the need or desire for it among consumers.

When supply is low and demand is high, the inherent value of the items becomes greater because more ppl are willing to pay more for that item to obtain it. If I greatly desire something that is not affordable to me, I have 2 options...

A. Save my money and hope I can eventually afford the item and that one is available for me to purchase if/when I do save the money. Hope that the cost of the item does not appreciate faster than I can save.

B. Do without it and dream on. Which brings me to my next point...

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2. In real life, original items from decades ago are not "re-released". Granted, replicas have been released of many hard to attain or near extinct historical items, but these however are NOT the same as the original item and in most cases sell far below the the value of the original it is patterned after. Replicas are almost always marked as such, also. IF Gaia were to re-release older collectables, they should be different in some manner, be it colour or some type of marking to differentiate it from an original.

Gaia may not be "real life" but the monetary economy that has been formed here very much resembles a real life economy and therefore things should run in a similiar manner to real life, including items that are no longer attainable.

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3. The items were made available to those loyal members who were here from the time they were released as far back as the beginnings of Gaia. At that time, and ever since, members have been told these items would not be re-released once the month was over.

To do so would be detrimental to Gaia and would be a fraudulent act. Tho, I'm sure their lawyers would manage to cover their asses, I still believe it has the potential to cause nothing but angst, anger and frustration amongst Gaia's loyal collectors (except those who are all anxious and excited because they weren't here for the item when it was released and don't want to have to work to save for it or fight the continually increasing inflation.).

I know that I, for one, would be extremely pissed off if the older collectables were re-released and I am fairly sure I'm not alone. Of course, I would love a Staff of the Angels, Demonic Pitchfork, Minis, Angelic Scarf, Halo etc. etc., but I wasn't here when those were released and like any other hard to come by items IRL, I should either have to work to afford one or do without! And I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS! No one else should have a problem with it either!

Of course, all the newbies who don't have these items are going to scream a resounding "YES!" to re-releasing them but that doesn't make it right or acceptable.

My friend, who has been here since 2004 recently quested for and purchased an Angelic Sash which cost her over 4 million gold! Her quest took her less than 3 months! IT IS POSSIBLE IF YOU TRY! It takes willpower and determination! I can imagine, after all of that work and coughing up almost 4.5 million in gold, that she would be quite upset if they re-released the Angelic Sash for just anyone to have. And even if she wasn't, I would be pissed off enough for both of us.

Another friend is questing for Horns of the Demon... 2 friends actually... and I'm sure they both wish that the inflation wasn't so horrible, but if those horns were re-released, would anyone really want to quest for them? I doubt it because items like that are sought after because they are rare and unique. Who wants something everyone else has?

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4. Exploitation, plain and simple. Where there is something new implemented, there are always ppl who will do everything in their power to find a way to exploit it. None, that's right, NONE of Gaia's new features come out foolproof and unexploitable and this would be no different. Especially with stakes as high as the older collectables.

Look at the puzzle system with it's snap lock grids that allowed putting puzzles together in minutes.

Think about the friends@gaia PM address, which allowed the spreading of self-replicating PMs to spam Gaia without the members knowledge simply because they were stupid enough to click a link (Yes, I fell for it too for about 30 seconds, then sent a warning to all of my friends telling them not to click the link in my previous PM in hopes of stopping them from making the same mistake. I then reported it to Gaia who should have and could have made an announcement warning members so they didn't click it, but they chose instead to disable the addy and warn no one.... Good riddance to that.). Not to mention how it allowed chain mail to be spammed across Gaia at rapid speeds. I bet I get a lot less chain mail now that ppl have to forward it to each person on their list individually. xp

Think about botting, which Gaia has yet to eliminate... exploitation is everywhere especially when something new is released. Unless Gaia wants collectables to be as common as butterflies, re-releasing them is BAD, BAD, BAD!

I'm sure that almost everyone at some point has exploited the system, be it by something as serious as botting or as simple as getting an extra letter one month and not telling Gaia about it. This will only make exploitation on Gaia worse.

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5. Part of Gaia's charm and enjoyment is that everyone is different and unique. How can allowing everyone an opportunity to have something that, till now, only a select few older Gaians or those who worked hard for it to own maintain that individuality and uniqueness? Simply put, IT CAN'T!

If older collectables are re-released, everyone will look like everyone who looks like.... you guessed it... everyone! Everyone will have horns and sashes and wings and pitchforks and staffs.... so much for individuality. And honestly, that would suck.

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6. Part of the fun of Gaia is questing for these hard to come by items. I understand Gaia is trying to implement it's own "quest system" and perhaps they are trying to replace the old way of questing for safety or other reasons, but if they want to have a questing sytem with unique items, created something unique for it. Don't mess with past collectables. Some ppl still want to quest "old school" and not everyone will ever completely stop questing that way, becuz they enjoy it. So, I say don't ruin the fun those ppl have here for some stupid exploitable questing system!

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7. Loss of membership and revenue. Honestly, I believe re-releasing older collectables would cause a HUGE loss of membership and a vast majority of those of those leaving would be the regular contributors. I personally can document spending $417.50 in the 2 years I have been on Gaia and that is only what I have written down. I was purchasing letters long before I started documenting how much I spend each month and I don't keep track of money I spend gifting my friends for birthdays and holidays either. In December alone, I contributed over $80.00 on letters for my friends and gift credits for friends. I'm sure there are ppl who spend more than I do. Without us, Gaia could not afford to be what it is... without those of us who donate, it is possible Gaia would not be able to function and implement new things.

So, to all of you out there saying "Oh YES, re-release the older collectables", think about what it is you are asking and be careful what you wish for. I know that if they do re-release any older collectable, me and my money are so out of here. Contributing for letters and playing the MP is what I do here... it's what I enjoy. Take that away and I have no reason to be here or to spend my money here.