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GwenMay -> RE: Donation Contest Consolation Prize (8/31/2024 11:00:40)
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I believe posters in this thread on both sides have very good points. On the one hand, Aegon and Aang donated an incredible amount of tokens worth thousands of dollars in real money. They donated more than many of the top 5 last year; Aegon in particular donated more than *everyone* last year except myself. Indeed, *I* would have been sniped out of the top 5 the final day if I had not been paying attention the last few hours. They should receive some compensation.
On the other, I agree with Rainy and Cloud that maintaining the consistency of rules and expectations is a valid concern. As Cloud points out, if we make an exception for top 5, then why shouldn't #51 get the armor when they donated almost the same amount as #50? If we make an exception for this year, should past years also receive an exception? Moreover, the knowledge that only top 5 will receive a Golden Dev ticket certainly spurred many of the donations in the last few hours - if we give #6 and #7 a ticket too, did the top 5 "waste" every token they donated above 2.3 million? I admit that I did not expect to donate 7 million tokens this year (although I was happy to do so, and very grateful for the extra community rewards the other top donors and I secured).
Ultimately, I agree wthat Aegon and Zuko should receive discretionary Golden Dev tickets this year for technical reasons. Golden Dev tickets are fungible prizes that staff have discretion to create and that staff have awarded in other contexts. For example, I know Cloud received a Golden Dev ticket years ago for some event (he made an ice clone of Peta Dragon Buster). Other Golden Dev tickets have been awarded as a lottery from purchasing GGBs. Staff can chose to give out prizes to players in their discretion for impressive contributions - the Fungibushi House we received for donating over 50 million tokens an example of such a prize that wasn't listed in the community donation rules. If they like, staff can award Golden Dev tickets to whomever (although this should be done sparingly to avoid favoritism and limit impact on development time).
I also don't think a discretionary award of Golden Dev tickets to Aegon and Aang would invalidate the Top 5's efforts this year. Top 5 donated to *guarantee* a Golden Dev ticket. We have received that guarantee. Aegon and Aang aren't guaranteed a Golden Dev ticket, and if they receive one it will only be at the discretion of staff and with such conditions as staff may impose (e.g., must be made publicly available).
By contrast, the Warwolf and other summer donation sets are marketed as being limited quantity. Unlike Golden Dev tickets, which are always unique and which staff have awarded many times before and will likely award again in the future, the contest rules stated that only 50 players in the whole game would receive the Warwolf Armor, only 100 the pet, only 200 the shield, etc. The value of the summer donation sets are in their limited quantity as much as their rarity. Accordingly, it would be more unfair to grant #51 the Warwolf Armor then it would be to award #6 or #7 a discretionary Golden Dev ticket. Staff promised that only 50 players would ever own Warwolf Armor; staff did not promise that only 5 players would ever receive a Golden Dev ticket, just that the top 5 this year would for sure receive one. In future years, staff would be well within their rights not to exercise this discretion again.
As a corollary, I do not think top 5 should receive both a weapon and shield or any other form of compensation in exchange for #6 and #7 also receiving a Golden Dev ticket (should staff grant them one). We received our guaranteed prize, and providing discretionary Golden Dev tickets to other deserving players does not undermine our prize. Also, the burden on staff in making 12 Golden Dev tickets is far more than making an extra 2.
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