Rant: Malls are not a Public Service

Discussion in 'Community Discussion' started by NeedsFoodBadly, Aug 28, 2015.

  1. Yes, they provide a service but malls are not a public service, they are for profit businesses competing with other for profit businesses.

    I stood outside the entrance of a towering mall today made of quartz, gold and diamond blocks and the first thing you see at the entrance is a dropper and a sign asking for donations and this is something I've notice at many malls and shops across all the SMPs.

    I'm not opposed to players offering profit shares for help with construction costs, although I would be wary of those promises depending on who is making them.

    I'm also not opposed to donating to actual community/public works such as free farms/generators in town or the wild that everyone benefits from.

    But why do people with monolithic towers made of out of bling need donations?

    In turn, many new players who join the server immediately want to make their own mega-mall and then also expect instead of building it themselves that the community will just donate everything they need to make a tower out of diamond blocks that will become yet another of the countless abandoned, empty malls that is stocked once (if that) and then never again.

    Am I crazy here or does any else agree? Thoughts?

    /rant
  2. I agree with most of this.

    I remember when I wanted to make a mall. I dunno why people let me. Owning a mall is a terrible idea for me.
    Anyways, if you want to build a mall then a big majority of materials need to come from you. If you set up one of the dandy donation bins, great. If you server hop and ask for donations for your mall, then not great.

    I remember when I owned a mall, people used to ask me for donations for their upcoming mall. I would almost always say, "Why would I want to fund competition?"
  3. I think you should have had a poll.

    I vote crazy:p

    A sign and a hopper don't bother me, as long as they arn't crying for donations in chat IMHO.
  4. I agree and disagree, my mind is confusing. The thing is, some business that try hard to sell things can't, think of America economy, there are the 'big' shops, with the diamond blocks already in the tower, and paid for, then there are the low shops that can't sell anything because the big shops are popular, the only way for small business to get business is for them to be on when someone in chat says "Looking for ____, anyone know a shop?" So what my rant is, that some shops need the donations, while some want the donations for an hour than quit
  5. You are most certainly not going crazy here, I also noticed this. Just as I also notice players who will indeed start asking for donations because they want to build a shop. To which I sometimes (not often) respond with something in the likes off: "So why not build your shop with what you have available now?".

    As I've often said often in my shop review thread: a shop made out of cobble stone can provide the same optimal and enjoyable shopping experience as a mega-mall. Sometimes even better, but that's obviously just my opinion.

    But honestly? I wouldn't let it bother you like that. Different players, different approaches, different play styles. That's what makes the Empire so unique and so enjoyable. Sometimes you'll come across stuff which you don't like, but in the end that's also just as big a part of the game than the stuff which you do like.

    My advice would be to raise your shoulders, think "meh", and move onto the shop / mall which you do like. At least that's what I usually do when it comes to the donations part, someone asking for donations isn't enough reason for me to ignore the whole shop. But hey; each to his own there as well.
    607 likes this.
  6. Sorry for two posts quickly after another, we posted at the same time ;)

    Not always true. I run such a small shop, a small attic sale even. And although what you say definitely helps to improve your sales, don't get me wrong here, there are more things which a shop can do.

    Example: try not to run out of stock. Check regularly and make sure that you got stuff. Also don't be too afraid to stop selling items if you think you could end up with a problem where supply is concerned. That will give regular players a sense of reliability. "If I need X I can go to shop Y and it's available". This will urge them to check up on you more often whenever they need something.

    Obviously I'm not just saying this... I've experienced it. Last week I've been out on smp9's wasteland for a few days after each other and while 'survivaling' I sometimes also got notices from people who had bought stuff from my shop. And I wasn't even on SMP2. Happens somewhat regularly. So there's definitely more which players can do here ;)
    Stagger77 and 607 like this.
  7. If they have a hopper and a sign at the mall asking for donations, I don't really mind - as discussed earlier in this thread, it's when people ask for donations in chat that gets me.

    For example, my museum has a donation hopper at the back of it - I do not ask for donations, but if anyone wants to drop me something, whether it's some materials to help build future stands or a book to tell me how they like it, it is all very much appreciated.

    I know that my case is a little different because it is a museum and is by no means a profit organisation, but it's the same sort of idea - stick a donation chest in, if people donate then great and much appreciated, but if not then you can move on and nothing else comes of it.

    This is all a jumble of my thoughts really but yes, I don't mind the chests, I just don't like the people asking in chat for loads of stuff when even they know that they don't need it. Not sure why but there you go, my two cents! :D
    Deadmaster98, 607, ThaKloned and 2 others like this.
  8. I have donation bins in my shop, (I'm hoping for it to be a mega mall some day!) One is for items and one is for rupees. However, whether or not people donate doesn't actually matter to me. I simply have it there as an option if they want to do so. I would never ask people to donate to my shop, that doesn't seem right D:
  9. Woah, woah...we don't need a poll to confirm that I'm crazy, rant aside. :p

    I guess, a hopper isn't soooo bad but I have also seen numerous new players asking for donations in chat as well or not following the chat rules and constantly spamming advertisements for their new shop that's made out of 2 sticks and a piece of dirt that sells sticks and dirt for 500% over average market price.

    Well, the one particular mall I visited that sparked this rant had a giant dollar sign made out of diamond blocks and the very first thing you saw was the donation hopper and the signs asking for donations...right at the entrance. To me, that's tacky.

    Some donation bins inside your shop, I think that's okay.
  10. Well I didn't mean it to literally be the only way, because I myself have had both small shops and malls, and know both of the systems. Other things that small shops try to boost their store is by using the /v +tag but inactive shops make users have to spam /v +mall shop or whatever to find something in stock or active
    NeedsFoodBadly and ShelLuser like this.
  11. Yes, I find this to be a constant annoyance. I've taken to writing down shops and malls that are reliable and mostly stocked because the +shop/mall tag is usually an invitation to some wooden/dirt maze where you have to go on an epic journey to find the actual shop with a few empty chests inside it.
    607 and thistle_bristled like this.
  12. Oh, I would so love if somebody would go around and note all the mislabeled properties, hand them to staff, and staff would remove the flags. Right now, +mall and +shop are about 50/50 signal to noise. But that may be another rant.
  13. i used to have a donation chest in my mall. it was for the drop parties i host. i got rid of it for multiple reasons.
  14. Well, donations for drop parties by established members is a bit different than a mall made out of gold and diamonds with a sign at the front entrance asking for donations...you know to keep their "struggling" mall afloat. :p
    AyanamiKun likes this.
  15. I have one set up on my first res. Mostly so people can drop things that i buy if under a dc. I also use it to drop stuff in when i'm on the run.

    People can rant all they want but more often or not no one uses donation chests. I got alot of gag items when I was promoted. But not much else.
    DrewRadio likes this.
  16. distinguished members* :p
    jkjkjk182 likes this.
  17. Oy, this guy. ;)

    I meant established/well-known in the context of the game/server versus forum titles, which may or may not be mutually exclusive.
    607 and bitemenow15 like this.
  18. I'll, as an meggamall owner, argee with almost all the pointe you're giving exept this one: you say That a mall made out of bling-bling doesn't need donations, but they are asking, but, let's say I'd build a mall of whopping 10mil including stock. That whould mean I have to made my mall out of -1mil and I think that's impossible :rolleyes: so, if you do love a mall cause it's very Well stocked you aren't donateing cause the shop owner needs cause he/she hasn't got anath rupees, but becouse a shop owner "needs" to have something That say: ,I do love you're mall, I Will check it first when I needs something, just keep it stocking" cause it takes a lot, and REAL a lot of time to stock/to sprite [NL: "verdelen" I'm not sure about That word] your money to the compleet stock, there are Some tricks to do That, but it's still VERY hard, or better said, It's hard to sprite it when you haven't got 11mil to stock when you have, no problem.
  19. The Public Service is making it to where people don't have to go get it by them self, but other than that i agree to most of this, i hate seeing "mega mall's" that arent used or half built forever, it just gets old and honestly annoying.
  20. To be fair, if someone has a hopper and asks for donations, they're entitled to, as they're harming nobody.

    But of course, nobody sensible will donate to them, as clearly they have enough money.
    RighteousKilla likes this.