It's interesting reading through the posts in this thread. Indicating that a large amount of money is still to be made from Entropia. It's always the way that, aside from luck, you make money from other players not the house. I'm not referring to the shunned practice of tricking (scamming) other players directly, in civilised society we view easy attacks as unsporting - as with a lightsaber the acceptance of a supposed handicap makes for a sporting and hence fair/legitimate method to win. We make our money by indirectly feeding of those with less insight, knowledge, inability to commit, all-or-nothing types, fickle investors, conspiracy types, manipulators caught in their own game, the list of defective personality attributes is nearly endless.
I don't mean to suggest that anyone in particular or even generally that people are 'suckers' or ped wallets waiting to be farmed by the hawkish few. There are many people, some of which I've been fortunate enough to call friends, who whilst have many endearing qualities, keeping/making ped isn't one. We all know a guy who bought a set of armor or weapon and expected that to be the single magic key, then selling it a couple of weeks later to fund another ill-conceived idea. We looked on, advised them, but ultimately made money of them either directly or more likely indirectly. By appreciating that a level of removal, distancing one from a specific transaction isn't relevant when considering the whole set - those who profit Vs. those who don't. Everyone who profits is making money from those who don't, just in a socially acceptable - pressing a button on a ICMB launcher miles from the battlefield - kind of way.
Entropia has quite a well developed gamer base, many (far smarter than me) people with the ability to analyse the universe and strategize appropriately. For every venture in Entropia (of course life in general!) and to whatever level I've become involved, two ideas have always been ultimately important.
1.How does this relate (which is the lowest common denominator of 'does this map to real-life', 'do people expect this', etc.)
2.Can I control myself (the lowest common denominator of 'will I be committed', 'can I control emotion', 'will I remain objective regardless of goal')
There are so many posts on the forum littered with a healthy dollop of insight and some that are basically correct. The single biggest problem seems to be the inability to separate emotion and money. You should never make financial decisions based upon a reactionary mental state - anger, shock, depression, joy (like investing too much when you get the big bonus). The parallels drawn to the real world are helpful for understanding the virtual investment potential of CLD. Whilst there's much said that is simply incorrect, for those that have a reasonable level of education and the time to read both the small print and selectively consider the communities analysis, the truth isn't hard to uncover.
CLD's are a good investment for those that can afford to have the funds locked up and are aware of the inherent risks. Managing your involvement is a must, participation in any investment is about risk management, if you don't actively manage your CLD holding and can't truthfully answer the question 'do I have the right number of CLD's at the moment' then either you have too many or too few. Both of these lead to upset, either fear of loss or disappointment of missing out. The degree to which you fail to manage, causes shock reaction that causes much more damage than a managed risk. Either buying into a bubble or selling off at a loss.
Mastery of self can be achieved through acceptance of truths that don't benefit our position. Our mind constantly seeks to validate it's perception of the world and while that's not harmful of itself, it tends to mean too much effort is put into supporting our position/argument. Stop-evaluate-continue 'being wrong' gets people so worked up, when the concern should be proactively remaining wrong!
So if like me you know the worth of the investment you've made, go outside and enjoy some sunshine or log-in and shoot the mobs. If you don't, give it some serious thought, either buy some cheaper CLD's whilst the reactionary price drives them into a mini-dip or make your improve your relaxation by reducing risk - sell some.
One other thought - does money go into the CLD pot when people repair the decay from using universal ammo that they can't pull out of the system?
