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Jazuela · 08-28-2007, 04:25 PM

Just as a minor FYI - Kingdom of Loathing -is- 100% free - that Mr. A can be purchased by anyone in-game, without any actual real-world money. Current price in the mall I believe is 4.5 million meat, give or take. That's how I got mine, anyway.

And Mina, I disagree with you about whatever it was you said about donating for servers things making the game still be not free. A voluntary donation with no in-game reward of any kind, does not negate the "free" part of a "free" game. Free means you do not have to pay anything, for any part of the game itself. Mousepads, unless they are needed in order to play the game, are not needed in order to play the game. So buying one still doesn't make the game "not free." The GAME is still free. Now, if you donated, and were rewarded in game with a free character description, and only people who donated were allowed to get free character descriptions, then no - the game is not 100% free. Because there is some part of the game itself, that requires you to shell out money in order to receive that part. If that donation gave you an in-game token...and you sold that token for in-game money - then the token - is still not free, and that makes the game not 100% free, because the only way that token can be acquired is if *someone* paid for it in actual money. The token, in otherwords, would not exist in the game, if someone didn't pay for it with a donation or some other manner of real-world fee.

The game play might be free..remorts might be free. Armor might be free. But level 51 might require a payment. Or the Really Ugly Puce-And-Pink-Polka-Dotted Bowtie Worn On The Elbow That Provides No Benefit Other Than Being Textually Repulsive, might be a gift in exchange for a donation. But if that bowtie isn't sent to your home address and only game characters can wear it, then it is a game benefit in exchange for money, and the game is not 100% free.

Oh and Craytus, that thing you keep quoting of the checkboxes (or radio buttons for those who want to get technical, though in the quote itself they aren't radio buttons, they're just open-ended brackets so pffft)...

The last line:
[ ] No Payment / Donations accepted, period.

Grammatically, states no payment, AND (or) BUT Donations are accepted, period.

If you want to make it read how you intended, it should read:

[ ] Neither Payment nor Donations accepted, period.

08-28-2007, 04:25 PM	#196
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	Re: What does "Free" Mean? Just as a minor FYI - Kingdom of Loathing -is- 100% free - that Mr. A can be purchased by anyone in-game, without any actual real-world money. Current price in the mall I believe is 4.5 million meat, give or take. That's how I got mine, anyway. And Mina, I disagree with you about whatever it was you said about donating for servers things making the game still be not free. A voluntary donation with no in-game reward of any kind, does not negate the "free" part of a "free" game. Free means you do not have to pay anything, for any part of the game itself. Mousepads, unless they are needed in order to play the game, are not needed in order to play the game. So buying one still doesn't make the game "not free." The GAME is still free. Now, if you donated, and were rewarded in game with a free character description, and only people who donated were allowed to get free character descriptions, then no - the game is not 100% free. Because there is some part of the game itself, that requires you to shell out money in order to receive that part. If that donation gave you an in-game token...and you sold that token for in-game money - then the token - is still not free, and that makes the game not 100% free, because the only way that token can be acquired is if someone paid for it in actual money. The token, in otherwords, would not exist in the game, if someone didn't pay for it with a donation or some other manner of real-world fee. The game play might be free..remorts might be free. Armor might be free. But level 51 might require a payment. Or the Really Ugly Puce-And-Pink-Polka-Dotted Bowtie Worn On The Elbow That Provides No Benefit Other Than Being Textually Repulsive, might be a gift in exchange for a donation. But if that bowtie isn't sent to your home address and only game characters can wear it, then it is a game benefit in exchange for money, and the game is not 100% free. Oh and Craytus, that thing you keep quoting of the checkboxes (or radio buttons for those who want to get technical, though in the quote itself they aren't radio buttons, they're just open-ended brackets so pffft)... The last line: [ ] No Payment / Donations accepted, period. Grammatically, states no payment, AND (or) BUT Donations are accepted, period. If you want to make it read how you intended, it should read: [ ] Neither Payment nor Donations accepted, period.