rainqueen i think i can of understand what you're getting at. And tbh it's true that the forum is a shadow of it's once former glory (this is not down to moderation petra you nub).
It's not because of the posters or anything like that, it's due to the lack of them. It just so happens that a lot of people who still play and post are very opinionated, and yes, some of them are a bit "know it all". But that can't be helped. If you were a self considered expert in a subject for many years and some new guy came up out of nowhere spouting controversy, you would probably want to squash the bug!
But luckily often this is not the case. However, if someone would come onto a discussion board spouting total rubish (PKS SHOUDL BE BNANNED COS ONE KIRELD ME!111) or something, no doubt they would be flamed out of existence.
I'm glad to say i'm not part of any elite mafia, i am simply elite. I have high post count (it means im stronger on the internet) and generally own both in game and rl. I'm better than basically all the posters on any given forum. Not just at pvp, but at anything. They might have a big vendor mall, used to be a famous rare collecter, a role player etc, but the opinion that counts to me is... mine! That's why it's MY opinion. I am the epitomy of a paragon of justice. My eyes see neither uo riches nor post count, only truth.
I'm not saying "i decide" (lol petra maybe only you get this joke) but i am saying don't worry... in this world we live in there are elite mafias.. but there are also those rumoured to exist associations which are content to lay in the shadows and merely pull the strings, occasionally cutting them when they (i) see fit.
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Small vendor shops own. If i wanted something fast and didn't care about the price, my first stop would be BWT. Theres a lot of vendors and they hold a lot of stuff. Even among the vendors there prices are different and i can "shop around".
If i just wanted something but not immediately, BWT would be my last stop. I would hit up a lot of smaller vendor houses. Actually these are generally my favourite. Not because of the merchant decoration or the style or anything like that.. merely because often there is great care taken in them, they are well stocked, and prices are often incredibly low. This is due to either not a full understanding of an item, or lack of monetary greed. There are some players who are fully aware that should they look around they could sell some things in their possessions for not inconsiderate sums, but prefer to sell cheap. It may be some sort of elaborate trojan horse kind of long term scam (knowing the guy in question this is the more likely explanation) but it could just be that they would prefer to provide good items at an affordable price.
Yes, they might get stuff bought out by people looking to resell.. but every so often there's a new guy who goes "WOW WHAT A DEAL" and is happy for the rest of the day.
Mall owner = rl mall owner.
Small vendor SHOPE (notice the e) = independent grocery store, run by father and son or some crap.
Sorry for the ranting lol.
I used BWT as example cos it's the only mall i know is still about. Also i'm not trying to put down people trying to turn a buck (it's your life), merely trying to express some of my feelings towards those who enjoy playing a vendor.
What was this thread about again?