Ok, so it seems we have a few different groups where this is concerned.
1)Some people like to attend events just for the act of attending and participating, and they are unhappy with their event getting crashed by "Greedy" crosssharders, so they dont want any items given out.
2)Some people are collecters and want something to show for their time and participation at an event, and eliminating these items would ruin the fun of an event.
3)Some people are poor, and dont mind putting in an hour or two at an event if it will get them an item they can then sell for gold to fund their chosen/prefered playstyle.
Solution: Lets make it required to "Declare Your Home Shard" in order to receive any kind of event item. It can be as simple as saying "I declare xxxxx my home shard", or "I swear allegiance to xxxxxx". Now lets say you have to wait one month before "re-declaring" or changing your homeshard. This way people cannot hop shards, but if someone does move, they can still change their homeshard. Maybe an additional timer... you have to have declared your homeshard at least one week prior to participating in an event and getting an item. This way I cant get an item on Baja, then log in on Atlantic and declare Atl my home shard and get an item there the same night. Now that only people who really live on a shard can participate, lets give everybody who shows up something related to the event as a keepsake. And then lets give the top 5 or 10 something special.
As for hand out... Let it be done by the game. A quest where the first 5 or 10 to complete it get one reward, everybody after that gets a different reward untill the event is over and the NPC quest giver is removed. This would eliminate any accusations that the EMs were being unfair in their distribution. They can still design the event, and the rewards, name and hue them, and run the event, but reward distribution would be handled by NPC game mechanics. Less work for the EMs, and no more whining from people who didnt win first place and now want to "blame" the EM for their failure.
This way, those who want to collect a souvenir will still get one, those who want to compete can do so, and those who just want to play will be able to without getting crashed by X-shard campers.
This system could also help with holiday gifts as well. I love x-shard trading, but I would rather have my 5-7 main chars on my home shard get something I can use or trade, then have every char i never play get something that is bound to them on shards I will never be on, like they did with the Throbing Hearts. This would eliminate the need to "Character Bind" while putting a stop to x-shard trading flooding the market with extra items. (Which they seem to be trying to do)
1)Some people like to attend events just for the act of attending and participating, and they are unhappy with their event getting crashed by "Greedy" crosssharders, so they dont want any items given out.
2)Some people are collecters and want something to show for their time and participation at an event, and eliminating these items would ruin the fun of an event.
3)Some people are poor, and dont mind putting in an hour or two at an event if it will get them an item they can then sell for gold to fund their chosen/prefered playstyle.
Solution: Lets make it required to "Declare Your Home Shard" in order to receive any kind of event item. It can be as simple as saying "I declare xxxxx my home shard", or "I swear allegiance to xxxxxx". Now lets say you have to wait one month before "re-declaring" or changing your homeshard. This way people cannot hop shards, but if someone does move, they can still change their homeshard. Maybe an additional timer... you have to have declared your homeshard at least one week prior to participating in an event and getting an item. This way I cant get an item on Baja, then log in on Atlantic and declare Atl my home shard and get an item there the same night. Now that only people who really live on a shard can participate, lets give everybody who shows up something related to the event as a keepsake. And then lets give the top 5 or 10 something special.
As for hand out... Let it be done by the game. A quest where the first 5 or 10 to complete it get one reward, everybody after that gets a different reward untill the event is over and the NPC quest giver is removed. This would eliminate any accusations that the EMs were being unfair in their distribution. They can still design the event, and the rewards, name and hue them, and run the event, but reward distribution would be handled by NPC game mechanics. Less work for the EMs, and no more whining from people who didnt win first place and now want to "blame" the EM for their failure.
This way, those who want to collect a souvenir will still get one, those who want to compete can do so, and those who just want to play will be able to without getting crashed by X-shard campers.
This system could also help with holiday gifts as well. I love x-shard trading, but I would rather have my 5-7 main chars on my home shard get something I can use or trade, then have every char i never play get something that is bound to them on shards I will never be on, like they did with the Throbing Hearts. This would eliminate the need to "Character Bind" while putting a stop to x-shard trading flooding the market with extra items. (Which they seem to be trying to do)