Do you give to beggers?
I was skimming the WoW forums and found a post about giving gold to begging players. Some people argued that we were all new once and gold is hard to come by at low levels, while others argued that we all had to start at 0 and work our way up. A few others also argued that just because someone is level 60 or higher doesn't mean they have an influx of gold... and even if they do, repairs on epics are costly. Some people did admit to giving money to people asking, but based it on what they were asking for or how they asked it, using their judgement and gut instinct to gauge if someone was telling the truth (such as someone saying they were just 2 silver short of getting their next bit of training or something).

Then last night while talking to my mom on the phone, she told me how she sold her bedroom set to a young couple for only $25 (she was asking around $500). While talking to them she found out that they had been living on the streets but had recently managed to get an apartment and were in the process of being treated for drug addiction. My mom is a pretty good judge of character and a bit of a softy, so she gave them a break and sold them several pieces of furniture for a good price (and also negotiated hiring the husband to help them load the moving truck).

This encounter with my mom reminded me of the people who will give out money or guidance to those people who are obviously new and / or trying. Heck, I think we've all been in dire straits and been just a wee bit short on cash at times (two guildies gave me 10 gold each when I was working my butt off towards my first mount because they saw the work I was putting into it and how long it was taking me).

So my question is... would you give gold or not? Are there some situations where you might? How do you handle beggers? What are some amusing interactions you've had with beggers? What about some sweet encounters? Have *you* ever begged for gold?

(I told off some silly git the other night when he shoved a guild charter in my face not once, but twice. The evening before he did that, he was /yelling in Darnassus begging for gold. Obviously he wanted it just to create a guild. I "politely" told him where he could stuff his guild charter while others informed him that he should learn to play before starting a guild.)

(Post a new comment)

shotie 2007-03-06 06:06 pm UTC (link)

Usually I don't, because 9 out of 10 times the person asking is really rude. Once in a blue moon however, someone will politely ask, and say that they just need like, 30 copper to train a new ability, or to afford a new vendor sword, and I take pity on them and help them out. If someone asks for more than a few copper or silver, I don't give them anything. Without fail, if someone who's a lowbie asks for "some gold", I assume they're a 'professional' beggar and don't give em squat. (Reply to this)

mintyduck 2007-03-06 06:10 pm UTC (link)

No. It's a game, not a matter of life and death or a decent living situation. Gold giving is reserved for friends or guildmates or circumstances where someone might need something for their warlock dreadsteed quest, a guild tabard, etc. Not from some Joe Blow screaming in Stormwind or Orgrimmar. A gold beggar in WoW =/= to a war vet who blew a limb off and could use a burger. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - extraneousrooot, 2007-03-06 06:12 pm UTC

(no subject) - keithbuff, 2007-03-06 06:19 pm UTC

abazoe 2007-03-06 06:12 pm UTC (link)

I often do, if I have spare gold in my pockets. I don't know, I'm a soft touch. I remember getting a random gold from someone and how it made my day, so it gives me great joy to occasionally make someone else's day. I once gave 10g to a little level 7 priest who had been asking newbie related questions in general chat in Darn. I was so charmed by her complete newness to the game. After the trade she literally jumped up and down in circles around me. I guess I do it to make myself feel good, and not really for them. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - krmtdfrog, 2007-03-06 07:26 pm UTC

	extraneousrooot 2007-03-06 06:14 pm UTC (link)
	If a noob is asking a lot of questions that clearly indicate that it's a first character, I go inspect them. If they look like a hot ass mess (ie, warrior in of the whale cloth), I buy them 50s worth of lowbie greens. People did it for me. But straight up begging for gold? diaf. (Reply to this)

	keithbuff 2007-03-06 06:15 pm UTC (link)
	I just ignore and don't even respond to gold beggers. It's really annoying. I'd sooner just wait to get that piece of equipment or training than bug some random person. Even worse is the 10 "run me threw dm" whispers I get every time I set foot in SW. Like I have nothing better to do than run low lvl instances all night. (Reply to this)

netgoth 2007-03-06 06:18 pm UTC (link)

I've "given" gold to guildies, however, they've always paid it back. I've also given gold to people who were from LJ and starting out on Lothar. We normally give a "starting package" to new players to our guild, which consists of 4 runecloth bags, a guild tabard, and anywhere between 2-5g depending on if we've been wiping ourselves stupid on new raid content or not. (These gifts come directly from the guild officers' funds, not members, nor any communal bank. We see it as "setting the tone" for the guild, and thus far it's worked in regards to having everyone understand the focus on share and share alike.) As for in-game beggars, it generally depends. If they can speak in complete sentences, and not just 'y halo thar, 2g prz!' I'll consider it. If they pop open a trade window THEN ask, I'll generally put some enormous sum of gold in there, then AFK. It's no skin off my nose to hit the spacebar occasionally. Especially on days when I'm just sitting in Org because I'm working on my other machine at the time. If they /w in crap english, my favorite thing was to say that I'd give them 1g if they'd stand on top of the Org bank, strip naked, and /y the full lyrics to "I'm a little teapot" in ALL CAPS. To this day, I've only had two people take me up on it, and 1g was worth the laugh I got for them making absolute fools of themselves. Well, that, and the certain knowledge that the yelling landed them on a couple dozen /ignore lists. hehe. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - unkaaron, 2007-03-06 06:31 pm UTC

(no subject) - netgoth, 2007-03-06 07:25 pm UTC

(no subject) - nsdragon, 2007-03-06 07:08 pm UTC

(no subject) - netgoth, 2007-03-06 07:19 pm UTC

(no subject) - smithra, 2007-03-06 09:42 pm UTC

one_bullet_left 2007-03-06 06:19 pm UTC (link)

The thing is that I have yet to encounter a beggar who displays anything resembling manners. They're nearly always /yell-ing or spamming the trade channel and replying with extreme rudeness to anyone who tells them off. There was a guy in the AH yesterday who was begging for "a few gold" by spamming yells and calling everyone names and basically acting like a three-year-old in a grocery store when his mom won't buy him candy. Even the ones that whisper instead of yelling usually say something along the lines of "can I have some gold plz". I'm sorry, but saying "plz" doesn't turn that into a polite request... and chatspeakers gain my immediate dislike and distrust in this game anyway. Nine times out of ten, the people who play intelligently are the ones who speak intelligently, and I don't really want to speed the idiots along the way to a point where they can group with me. (Reply to this)

altbot 2007-03-06 06:20 pm UTC (link)

I refuse to give out gold to beggars. I've run into maybe 2 that were new to the game who I gave advice to as to how they should go about generated some gold. The rest have been lazy bums who feel that I should shower them in gold because of their choice to reroll a new character. The other day I had someone beg for a gold, giving me the excuse that their 6x hunter on another server could generate 100g a day so I should be able to spare the one gold he was asking for. To top it off, he was the last of 5 people that were begging me for gold on a 10 minutes AH/Vending trip to town. (Reply to this)

aberration_mind 2007-03-06 06:20 pm UTC (link)

There is a level 1 on my server that goes around and asks people for 50 silver. It's a level 1! And it's been that way for a week! Why does a level 1 need 50 silver?! The only time I asked for money, I was on an alt and at the AH, I was like 7s short of buying the thing I need, and I didn't feel like logging onto my main to send him the money. So, I asked someone if they would give me the 7s, and I would repay them with 2g later. They opened trade and gave me 14s. After I bought the thing I went onto my main and mailed them 4g. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - glenbolake, 2007-03-07 08:13 am UTC

wylddelirium 2007-03-06 06:20 pm UTC (link)

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. I'm still playing through on my first character, so I try to be supernice (I tip very well for services like unlocking boxes and the like). Sometimes, if someone is being really obnoxious (using /yell over and over again) and I can get them to agree to stop for a fair price, I'll do it for the peace of the town. I also give away lower level mats (in my case, herbs) or potions if I see someone out and about who might use them. I figure being kind gives me better odds of getting help when I need it. No guarantee, but I'd rather have friends than a big ignore list. (Reply to this)

teniblue 2007-03-06 06:21 pm UTC (link)

If they are in a city and just spamming a begging, I ignore them. But if I'm out questing or in a small village and someone asks me politely, I've helped out. It helps if they tell me exactly how much they need. I will ask them what they need it for. If it's for training I often don't mind. If they are very new to the game and they haven't quite figured out the mechanics of making money, I help explain a bit, and also encourage them to take up skinning and herbalism/mining so they could make money faster. Sometimes I'll give them a stack of leather. I'll tell them if they just vend it it will get them X silver, but if they want they can try to auction it for more. (Reply to this)

	cyborgirl 2007-03-06 06:21 pm UTC (link)
	I'm on an RP server, so I'll usually give people some money if they ask for it in character. There was this one guy I met in Goldshire who was so good (and not asking for a lot) that I gave him the silver, the booze, and whipped him up some bags. On the other hand, the people who whisper with "plz can i have 2 gold" get jack from me. (Reply to this)

	weswilson 2007-03-06 06:22 pm UTC (link)
	I'll tip a performance artist... if you can make me laugh, I might give you some moolah... but it's rare... so rare that I usually start harassing the beggers who just sit there and spam requests. Sometimes I'll initiate a trade with lots of money.. but never actually hit the trade button. I think I got that idea from someone in this forum. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - damuddymeg, 2007-03-06 09:03 pm UTC

	pirogoeth 2007-03-06 06:22 pm UTC (link)
	To be brutally honest, no, I wouldn't give gold to people in Warcraft. Why? Because as someone else said, it's not the same as, say, giving money to a war veteran in real life who's just trying to make ends meet. Money in real life can be hard to make. Money in Warcraft? Easy to make. (Reply to this)

adderyn 2007-03-06 06:25 pm UTC (link)

I generally won't give money to them. I just started a new character and in the time it took to get from level 1 to level 15 I managed to have over 5 gold, even after spending another about 3-4 more on skills, food/ drink larger bags, and other minor things. I'll admit I have two "gathering" professions for now, but even so there isn't much you absolutely need at those lower levels that can't be found in a quest reward or random drop. When I leveled my rogue, I had over 300 gold by the time I was hit 40, but I was farming/grinding a lot then. (Reply to this)

tsuraibara 2007-03-06 06:26 pm UTC (link)

I don't ever give money to beggars. What I do instead is hand out bags and sometimes a few silver to newbies I see around the world who either seem nice/polite etc. Especially in newbie areas if I'm passing by. I usually inspect them first to make sure they're not twinked out alts or anything. I prefer to reward those who are really trying to give it their best, rather than those who try to leech off of others. (Reply to this)

12_drakon 2007-03-06 06:26 pm UTC (link)

I help people who ask for advice and direction. If I see a newbie in their early teen levels getting lost in a capital city, for example, I try to show them the essentials. Say, this hunter asked where he can buy meat for his pet... I took him to the meat shop in person - he still did not move around all that smooth, hehe... and also to the bank and the ah, and gave him a bag which I bought while showing him the ah. I only give cash to people I know personally, like guild members, or my friends. If I see somebody farming hard to make an item before the evening's raid, I can offer some mats or gold toward the item, either as a gift or as a loan. Or if someone just dinged 70 and is a bit short of the flying mount money and it's late and they really were looking forward to flying today. I never, ever give to people who randomly beg for cash for no particular reason beyond not having as much cash as they want, in real life or in Warcraft. I never give to street beggers or general charities with anonymous, often mis-managed help structures. The situation your mom described is quite different: her gift and help was directed at particular needs and, as such, was helping people establish themselves. She got to know exactly where her donations went, and what her donations did to help these people's lives... This is the kind of charity I like ^_^ (Reply to this)

mattos 2007-03-06 06:27 pm UTC (link)

I was doing starting area undead quests on my 50 blood elf rogue about a week ago when I level 3 undead warrior tells me to give him 5 gold. I can't remember how it went word for word, but here's the gist of it: Guy: give me 5 gold. Me: Normally I would, but it appears the local zombies stole some of gold from me. If you could kill them and get it back for me, I'll let you keep 50% of it. Guy: wut zombies Me: The ones around Deathknell. They shouldn't be too hard for you. Guy: how did they steal your gold Me: I don't know! :( I was just minding my own business and suddenly I had less gold then I started with. Guy: how much did they steal Me: It looks like they stole about 75 silver, could you help me? Guy: ok And that's where it ended... or so I thought. Later on, about 4 or 5 hours later I was leveling with my fiance. I got a tell from this guy saying "okay I got the 75s, wear r u?" I didn't know how to respond, I wasn't prepared for him to actually DO that. So I just said "Congratulations! Enjoy my silver!" and left it at that. PS: I hate beggars. I have never begged for anything in any of the MMORPG's I've played, not once. If I can go earn all my stuff on my own, so can they. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - swingangel, 2007-03-06 06:34 pm UTC

(no subject) - nylan, 2007-03-06 06:39 pm UTC

(no subject) - mattos, 2007-03-06 07:43 pm UTC

(no subject) - mandydax, 2007-03-06 07:47 pm UTC

(no subject) - spiderbabyx, 2007-03-06 08:33 pm UTC

(no subject) - damuddymeg, 2007-03-06 10:04 pm UTC

(no subject) - ankie, 2007-03-09 02:05 am UTC

c3lexa 2007-03-06 06:33 pm UTC (link)

I don't typically get in situations like this, but if I had to give money to someone I didn't know, I wouldn't. If it was a guildie, I would. If it was my brother, yes. Mostly because I make him pay me back, even if it means harassing the hell out of him. A guildie recently gave me 5g after I had said something that I didn't have money on my BE to get armor @ 10, and I was going to log.(I left out the part that I was going to sell my gathering goods from that day.) I got to 10, and saw I had new mail. I told him, afterwards, that I was going to kill him and I didn't need it, it was his. He wanted to give it to me, since we have just recently created a new guild. I'll be paying him back one day, though. He won't know it until he sees his mail, BUT I WILL.>=O (Reply to this)

diji 2007-03-06 06:35 pm UTC (link)

For guildies, I'd give gold in a heartbeat. I figure if its a new lowbie, then I just set a good example for them. The people in our guild are good about helping out, so its just part of the experience to me. I remember The Green Tower dropping, and I passed it to a pally in the guild for free, with the promise that he'd so something similar in the future. Now, as far as non-guildies, no I don't give out gold. Here is what I do in its place... Noob: Can you give me 1g? Me: No, I will not GIVE you any gold. Do you have anything you'd like to sell me, or offer for trade? From there, depends on the person, and how nice they are. I think I'd buy food for a gold if they are polite. My problem with most beggars is that they think they're entitled to hard-earned money from other people... why not just offer something to sell? It works for the Girl Scouts. (Reply to this)

navistas 2007-03-06 06:36 pm UTC (link)

ROFL Mattos - that's great! I always just mention "In the time it took you to spam for money, you could have gotten 3x that outside the city." I tend to not hand out money, but from time to time I've been known to toss a couple silver at someone. I just gave 1700g to my boyfriend for his silly epic flying mount....he begged.... but I also sleep a foot away from him so I know where to go to collect :D (Reply to this)

thethirdman4476 2007-03-06 06:39 pm UTC (link)

Ironically, I work as a fundraiser, so I should be more understanding of charities in need. But I can't bring myself to give people gold. I think about my stepson, who I gave 25 gold when he started his warlock. Within a week or two he had burned through that buying things he didn't really need (green items that were only slightly better than what he had, flavor items like Happy Fun Rock or non-combat pets) and was asking me for more cash. At that point I stopped sending him money. I'll still send him items that he can use but I can't, but I won't send him money. But more to the point, I think about my own situation. When I first rolled a character I wanted to learn armorsmithing. I didn't know it would prove an expensive hobby, and as a result I was almost always broke. When I joined my first guild I couldn't scrape up enough money to buy a tabard! But spending so much time without money helped me learn how to get by without it: it taught me how to save, how to identify good deals at the AH, how to farm effectively. I don't think I would have learned that if I'd been subsidized. They say that poverty is a stern but knowledgeable teacher. I'm not sure that's true IRL, but it certainly is in WoW. (Reply to this)

dj_lollidrop 2007-03-06 06:39 pm UTC (link)

I make money by questing. I was never given money by anyone nor did I beg for it. Why is that concept so hard to understand for some of these people? In the time they waste running around insert-capital-city-here spamming yells for gold, they could've finished several quests and be well on their way. They may be new, but they definitely aren't trying. While in Deathknell helping a friend's brand new Undead find his way to UC, I had to tell a lowbie to go do quests to make money, and the idea seemed to strike him as the most novel thing he'd ever heard. Even my friend didn't ask me for money, but to this other guy, lvl 68 (at the time)=FREE GOLD!!!! (Reply to this)

fadeout1930 2007-03-06 06:42 pm UTC (link)

Giving away anything on the internet, based on begging, is for suckers. If they've earned it, sure. I paid for a level 40 warriors mount once after he saw me suiciding an alt through STV trying to get to the deadmines. That little act of kindness on his part paid off when that level 18 undead opened up a trade window with 100 g. Someone begging in a city doesn't get that courtesy. I have distributed my vast wealth throughout the world, free to anyone with the ambition, on the corpses of animals and under rocks... (Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - thethirdman4476, 2007-03-06 07:12 pm UTC

	outintospace 2007-03-06 06:43 pm UTC (link)
	People who beg need suckers like your mom to keep the cycle turning. (Replies frozen)(Thread)

(no subject) - fordarkness, 2007-03-06 06:50 pm UTC

(no subject) - outintospace, 2007-03-06 06:55 pm UTC

(no subject) - netgoth, 2007-03-06 06:56 pm UTC

---