I'm here to say that I think the logic behind dirt trade being illegal is extremely flawed. And I'm going to tell you why, drawing a strong comparison in the process, to the U.S 18th Amendment, which lasted from 1920 to 1933. Otherwise known as the historical event that was the U.S Prohibition of Alcohol.

Now, technically alcohol was never illegal nationwide under federal law, but after the 18th Amendment passed the voting process, many many made it entirely illegal, while most allowed the usage of wine or other such alcoholic beverages for its role only in religious traditions. The movement was promoted mostly by Protestants, very devout ones at that. And infamously, the U.S prohibition influenced two things heavily.

For one thing, the consumption of alcohol is assumed to have dropped significantly. There is no direct measure of this, as illegal trade of alcohol had exploded into America's underground economy, however indirect measures were available, and are to at least some extent a sign of a decrease in alcohol consumption. One of these measures is the decrease in cases of cirrhosis, which is a fancy word for long-term liver failure. And everyone knows that a lot of alcohol isn't exactly amazing for your liver's health.

So prohibition succeeded in preventing people to some extent, from drinking alcohol, at least a little bit. However, one consequence resulting from the passing of the 18th Amendment, was - infamously. The explosion of urban crime in America, especially Chicago. Mobsters were controlling and monetizing illegal liquor trade, and using this as a financial basis to gain extreme power, and they made a lot of money from it.

What is this? The law intended to dry America out, and it did just that. But it encouraged the illegal trade of alcohol. That's a bit of a bummer, isn't it?

This is what I believe is happening with dirt on the server. It's not as significant, surely. But in illegalizing dirt you are making it harder to obtain without breaking the rules, and sand is a whole other story. I believe that in the process of making dirt trade illegal, you are actually encouraging the very thing you intended to prevent. Making dirt harder to obtain legally means more people will be breaking the rules just to get it. The only other option is to use grass blocks, and that's not a pleasant option for most people since they are literally the basis of the entire economy in this server. I don't think dirt trade being illegal has done anything to prevent island farming. In fact, I think it's doing the opposite. I think that the instant you make dirt legal, it will become virtually worthless. Making the trade of it for profit incredibly unlikely. And that's just based on simple supply and demand. The demand for dirt right now is higher than it will probably ever be. And it'll only keep getting higher. But if it was legal and easy to obtain, it would be completely and utterly worthless. For an example of this, just look at cobblestone. It is very easy to obtain, even more so in fact than dirt, because of cobble generators.

The only possible benefit of dirt trade being illegal, is that it encourages people to donate to be rich enough to have plenty of sand and grass to use. But I think it's a very poor motivator compared to things like the ability to fly, and god items. In summary, I think that the dirt and sand rule at the very least should be reconsidered. And the reasoning behind their existence should be as well. I know it's a controversial claim to make, but I believe that history has shown this kind of thing just doesn't work. Thank you for reading.

 

This is minecraft.

 

Pretty sure people would be far more encouraged to island farm if dirt trade was legal. No support, this is silly.

 

No, they wouldn't. Did you read the post? If dirt was plentiful through island farming in the economy, dirt would be worthless. Cobble is easy to obtain, and I have a whole island made out of the stuff. I certainly won't become rich this way. If island farmers are thus making less money of the items they get, these items will quickly become worthless. Maybe even less than a grass per stack. Consider it. Basic supply and demand.

 

Yes, let's ruin the economy even more.

 

This won't entirely ruin the economy BUT it will making islands' with platformed grass MUCH MUCH easier.

 

Yes. I did. Your logic is the one that's flawed, in my opinion.
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Ah, so here it seems you're suggesting something else. Legalizing dirt trade and legalizing island farming are two entirely different things. Assuming island farming is illegal while dirt trade is legal (which is your suggestion), people will be encouraged to get free items (dirt) and sell them to people illegally. The whole point of the dirt rule is to discourage island farming--it's not about the actual dirt.

Plus, even if it's "less than a grass per stack," guess what--that's still "a grass." New players who don't know anything about the economy will understand one thing: grass is valuable. It's what you use at /warp trade and what you get through voting/donating. As such, they will illegally farm dirt to "legally" sell it, thus leading to profit.

And about cobble, guess what: people still buy/sell cobble. Worthless or not, there are traders. Go to the trading section--I see a few threads about cobblestone alone that are near the top.

Finally, don't draw an analogy on a single example. Every example is unique. I could make this comparison to drugs. Hey, look at the 18th amendment guys--it didn't work. I know, let's learn from this and legalize all drugs! That way people won't do them anymore!

 

Thank you for making an actual point. It may make it somewhat easier, but the challenge in the server is found more in rising up the ranks in the economy, anyway. From day one we were given so many free items from the awesome community (thanks, guys). That it was basically a free ride to where we are now. We're not exactly rich, but we're getting there. The challenge isn't really found in the game mode anymore. Think about how easy it is to get items with how rich you can get just from drop parties alone. Let alone sky gods who randomly come to your island and drop diamonds on your head.

 

...? This is a suggestion thread. There shouldn't be any arguing--just feedback and adaptation. If you want an argument, go make a discussion thread.

 

This is a thread to make the server better. Not to debate. However... try Discussion | Skyblock Forums

 

Thank you for making an actual point. It may make it somewhat easier, but the challenge in the server is found more in rising up the ranks in the economy, anyway. From day one we were given so many free items from the awesome community (thanks, guys). That it was basically a free ride to where we are now. We're not exactly rich, but we're getting there. The challenge isn't really found in the game mode anymore. Think about how easy it is to get items with how rich you can get just from drop parties alone. Let alone sky gods who randomly come to your island and drop diamonds on your head.

The way you acted in this post just makes me cringe. Just to point that out.

"Assuming island farming is illegal while dirt trade is legal (which is your suggestion), people will be encouraged to get free items (dirt) and sell them to people illegally. The whole point of the dirt rule is to discourage island farming--it's not about the actual dirt."

It's 100% about the actual dirt. The actual dirt is what you're getting grass from, or if you'd rather think of this way - money. Look at cobble, and how common it is. It is virtually worthless already. There are people selling it by the stack, for less than one grass. Sky Shop for example sells it at one stack for 2 gold nuggets, I believe. (And cobble is a free item people are encouraged to get as well, by the way. Nobody's making significant money off that. )

"Plus, even if it's "less than a grass per stack," guess what--that's still "a grass." New players who don't know anything about the economy will understand one thing: grass is valuable. It's what you use at /warp trade and what you get through voting/donating. As such, they will illegally farm dirt to "legally" sell it, thus leading to profit."

Right off the bat you start off by saying something that's roughly equal to saying 2 is equal to 4. No. Simply no. Less than a grass is not "a grass.", and the more common dirt became to sell, the cheaper it would become. It would eventually be just equal to cobblestone, which is also an item available to right from the start for free, and with an efficient enough generator - very very very very plentiful. Dirt may have a high value right after the repeal of the rule against dirt trade. Just because it has created an enormous demand for it. (And think about how backwards that is before smugly replying.)

"And about cobble, guess what: people still buy/sell cobble. Worthless or not, there are traders. Go to the trading section--I see a few threads about cobblestone alone that are near the top."

Yes. People buy/sell cobble. But that's only natural, people will still buy dirt too, no matter how cheap it is. My point is that people will make no more profit off dirt than they do off cobble. And thus the concern is completely unnecessary and totally stupid. The other items in the starter kit could even completely remain illegal to trade. But dirt being hard to get is quite frankly a pain. A major one, at that. It's useful, just like cobble.

"Finally, don't draw an analogy on a single example. Every example is unique. I could make this comparison to drugs. Hey, look at the 18th amendment guys--it didn't work. I know, let's learn from this and legalize all drugs! That way people won't do them anymore!"

There are many examples of this happening throughout history, and I used one. If purchasing guns was illegal, the same thing would happen. It's just how it works. People don't stop wanting things because they become illegal. Especially if they already wanted those things to begin with. Alcohol was made very difficult to obtain, so people went underground and bought it illegally. The people who weren't willing to buy it illegal didn't. This means that the overall consumption of alcohol was brought down, but the illegal trade of alcohol went up. It's logic. It makes sense. As for the rest of your statement, it's entirely a reduction to absurdity.

In summary, your counter-argument fell short, and dirt trade can still be legalized, with very little consequence to the economy.

 

No support. It will increase island farming.

 

No. No Support.

 

I'm just going to stop here--I gave my feedback and that's that. This isn't a debate and my previous post was by no means a "counter-argument." If it made you cringe, then that's nice. A little word of advice though, your attitude is pretty inappropriate for both a debate and a suggestion. The most important skill in communicating with another person is accepting, evaluating, and respecting what another person has to say. In all of your above posts, you've failed to do all three.

"The way you acted in this post just makes me cringe. Just to point that out."
"No. Simply no."
"It's just how it works."
"As for the rest of your statement, it's entirely a reduction to absurdity."
"In summary, your counter-argument fell short, and dirt trade can still be legalized, with very little consequence to the economy."

 

We already have enough island farmers.

 

Agreed.

Right now, we don't really need to worry about legal and illegal dirt, as it is not being spread around from player to playery. (However, in the case of someone like MyTy, it would be important, as they would be profiting off of it, not by selling it, but by using it for a pumpkin farm.)

Also, with legal dirt trade, if someone island farms and get banned, their illegal dirt would still be in circulation.

 

Comparing prohibition to dirt in a minecraft server. I wish there was a winner rating here.

 

the truth has been spoken

no support. why the hell you bringing amendments into a block game?? was that really necessary?? dirt being illegal already has good effects.