What kills micro-economy universes?

It is almost comical to see the number of growing micro-economy universes side-by-side with the larger growing number of failing micro-economy universes. Yes, there are a few still around, because there are always tolerant people and uninformed new suckers introduced as these places get forgotten and re-birthed on a daily basis. They all have one thing in common. They are doomed for failure from the beginning, due to the inability or lack of desire to manage a realistic micro-economy. Instead, they choose to fight the forces of nature, and laws of simple physics, without avail. Yes, I said laws of physics and forces of nature. Economics laws for real money does not apply here, which may be a large reason they struggle. They hire "Economic analysts", who have no clue what virtual-money is, and completely ignore the fact that economic laws just don't work here with the ignorance of the prior laws of economics being cast-out. Essentially, if the rules say "Jump off base to live", and there is no "base", how can you apply the laws of "life"?

I have seen three basic models for VR cash systems. All three based off of historically failed methods for economic control. The most popular method used is the simple, monopoly/monarchy. The owner of the system determines all prices and ignores supply and demand of items, living off the supply and demand of the new funds. Usually keeping fixed prices for items, but raising and lowering the cost of VR credits. The second most popular method is a more complex, pyramid/ponzi scheme. This fails for obvious reasons. The guys on the top thrive while anyone new, on the bottom, will fade away in an endless sea of exponential hopeful others. The third method is a horrible mess of WTF, anarchy/sounds-good-at-the-time. There seems to be no real method. Things change without notice, info seems scattered, prices don't reflect items, supply and demand is purely suggestive and backwards, everyone gets hurt.

The monopoly/monarchy model is actually the best at the moment, but it requires TONS of maintenance and upkeep and adjustments. Eventually the management becomes a full-time job, ten fold, and this creates a stopping point for the owners/rulers. This stopping point is what causes the down-fall. Frozen asset values with increasing or non-fading funds, and your value is near zero. Everyone is rich, and everything can be purchased, and nothing is desired. Supply quickly and permanently exceeds demand and it can never be restored. Everyone leaves with a sour taste in their mouth. The operator now sits in VR debit, and will quickly sell-off the whole system. Now they move on, and reproduce a similar system, with the same flaws as before. (Since they have prefected the flaws, the new place falls into this same failure faster.)

I almost like the second method, with some modifications. The pyramid method is what all economies are based off of today. Yes, we are a giant pyramid scheme. There are a few on the top, who control the levels of those underneath. Each higher level that has more, has gotten it with less effort and at the expense of those below him or her. Seriously, if you don't see this in your system, it is because you are on the bottom. You are not supposed to see it, that is the point. That is how it works so well. It really hurts only those who participate. Those who don't participate, don't loose. Those are the ones that the people on the bottom are trying to turn into users. The concept is simple, but obviously hits a large wall, once everyone has received that ponzi scheme e-mail... "Join now! Free!" Followed by, "Buy credits, cheap!". The ending users just trade among themselves once no-one joins, or they join, but have purchased billions for a dollar, and purchased all they want, and are become instantly bored.

I hate this third method of anarchy. One day you are rich, the next day you can't afford anything, and then you are just average. Though you have worked and saved and paid for a lot, your value constantly seems more fluid than the shit that spews from the owners mouths. They know what they want, more... They know how to get it, from you... They don't care how they get it, so they do whatever it takes. When and if they realize that they are about to die, they give back a little, so they can take more later. Each time they get less and less, though they are taking more and more. This eventually ends with a bang, and some news article about some overpriced company purchased for pennies on a dollar. The new owners can't begin to clean the mess, and they don't think of it as a loss, because it makes them enough to make the loss null for them, at our expense.

So, what is the real issue? Some say it is infinite VR cash. However, real cash is infinite. Governments print and overprint all the time. Infinite funds are not the problem, but how you handle the reprinting of those infinite funds is a problem. The standard model is "dollar in, credit out", which is horrible. In the beginning, this is fine because there are no credits in circulation. Once seasoned, this is bad, because you have tons of credits in-hand, and more being created without justification. You become your own failure for future sales. If there are not a lot of credits in hand, than you have no balance, and supply is lower than demand. You will suffer the same fate as having many credits in hand.

Some say the problem is credit liquidity. Wrong, having credit value that fluctuates is a good thing, unless it fluctuates too much, or if it ever falls beyond the 50% mark. That shows an instant issue with the economics. The only way to compensate for that loss, is fluctuating fees and absorption of honestly earned credits. These systems become one-way systems, or self-supporting. It is not good to be self-supporting for a business. That translates into zero new sales, since all sales are internal for a majority of the income. This is good for the people inside, except for the fact that no-one is refilling the credits with real money. The value will come to a halt, and exchanges will ultimately drop to 25%, sell fast, and completely kill the sales of any outside new credits. The normal solution is to stop allowing the sale of internal credits, which is usually impossible. If this is done, there is no reason for anyone to produce anymore, and the luster is lost. People stop talking about your VR toy, and you end the game with a quickly decaying smother of real dollar sales on your way out.

I completely love the anarchy method, mostly because it is used by the most greedy, and it kills them faster. I hate greedy people who love to walk all over the little people who made them what they are. I have no remorse for those don't heed the warnings, and participate in those games. I know that sounds evil, but you get what you asked for, and you ask for it when you fail to look beyond your own nose. Noting good comes from anarchy, and nothing good comes form surviving participation in anarchy. Perhaps you can learn, but often you just find comfort in similar situations, and you develop an egotistical belief that you can survive longer the second time. It is inevitable, you will fade away like the company you participated in. Just because they are big, does not make them better. It just makes them fall harder, possibly lasting longer. That is horrible, falling fast and hard, and taking in more victims while you crash to the floor killing your supporters. Pure evil.

I will have to come back and finish the rest of this blog. For now, I have to go to work and play the real VR game of life. One which I like to think I have control of. However, that is just another VR illusion. BRB!