Generosity
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Indiegogo rebrands charity as Generosity(.com)
Indiegogo will rebrand Indiegogo Life, its service to raise money for good causes, as Generosity.com. Launching later today, the platform will charge no fees, set no deadline and use Indiegogo's backend to run each campaign, much as it has done for the past year. The site will (re)launch with four new high-profile initiatives that require your cash, including helping Syrian refugees start new lives and funding STEM education for girls. It's another high-profile break with rival crowdfunding site Kickstarter, which had to break its own rules to launch a campaign to help Syrian refugees. It's also interesting that Indiegogo has opted to take its name off the service, perhaps showing a degree of self-awareness that its online reputation isn't the best. Update: The site hasn't gone live yet, but we've been told that the site will be branded as "Generosity by Indiegogo," so ignore that line about it being aware of its own terrible reputation.
Ask Massively: Vanguard's CE, Pandaria, and region-locked servers
It can be easy to forget how awesome MMO players are when we're knee-deep in troll-infested comment threads, but a note from a reader named Joshua this week served as the perfect perspective-reorientation: I was helping my brother demo and clean his father-in-law's home today and stumbled upon what appears to be a mint-condition Vanguard limited edition (collectors edition?). It looks to have all the goods, so I was wondering whether anyone at Massively would like to have it. Knowing how easy it is to get attached to these games, I figured someone would want it for sentimental reasons (I still have my DAOC boxes and books!). I don't know whether our staff will take you up on it, but just the fact that you thought of offering it to our bereaved fans instead of making a beeline for eBay warmed my heart.
Lenovo CEO shares $3.25 million of his bonus with employees (again) after record year
After helping Lenovo thrive in the wretched PC industry -- while also making it the number one Chinese smartphone maker -- CEO Yang Yuanqing earned a sizeable bonus. And like last year, he's sharing the wealth with front-line employees, giving $3.25 million of his $14.6 million salary to 10,000 workers in 20 countries. Lenovo grabbed a record $34 billion during its last fiscal year, along with an all-time high $653 million in profit. While the sum he shared may be small compared to that, it's almost a month's pay for the 85 percent who work in China. And we can't say we've seen too many CEOs stateside willing to part with their personal private jet fuel stash.
The Tattered Notebook: EQII's Ribbitribbit Day celebrates community
There is no two ways about it: Every time I started to pen this particular piece, I had to pause. You see, the story behind it all is steeped in emotion; inspiration, joy, pride, sadness, and togetherness are all a part of the heartwarming tale that is simply impossible to not be touched by (or in my case, completely choked up). And it's one that makes me proud to be a part of the EverQuest II community. Last year we shared with you the story of a young boy whose simple wish for a fun place to play in EQII brought the community together in an unparalleled way. In order to make an extra special place for Ribbitribbit, adventurers, raiders, and crafters left their guilds -- heck, even their servers -- to come aid in what became more than a simple island refuge. It became a multi-house playground that included a Tier 3 guild hall. The sheer volume of enthusiastic participation is enough to make any heart swell. Sadly, shortly thereafter Ribbitribbit lost his battle with cancer, and that same community mourned his passing. Now, one year later, the same organizer who uncorked that first outpouring of generosity has brought players together again to commemorate community, continue philanthropy, and remember those who have been lost. Today's Tattered Notebook invites you to become a part of this community with a look at Ribbitribbit Day 2013.
The Daily Grind: Do sunsetted games owe us refunds?
When Tiny Speck announced last week that Glitch would be shutting down come December 9th, the studio simultaneously did something that few closed MMOs do: It offered complete refunds for past subs. Sure, some companies have offered free game time or bonus cash-shop currency for their other games, but that's usually small consolation. NCsoft grudgingly provided refunds for unused timecards and long-term recurring subs when it set City of Heroes' closure date, but virtually no one provides a complete refund of all the subscription money you ever paid for the game. On Black Friday, it seems as if half the world is out shopping, looking for a good deal and with money on the brain, so today's an appropriate day to ask: Do sunsetted games owe us refunds? And if you were offered one, would you take it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Lenovo CEO spreads the wealth, distributes his $3 million bonus to lower level employees
The list of CEOs and other execs in the US that have accepted multi-million dollar bonuses for lording over the crash and burn of a company (or even an entire economy) is staggering. And we can guarantee you that most of that money went towards fancy cars and golden toilet seats. Lenovo's Yang Yuanqing, on the other hand, received a sizable $3 million bonus for actually being good at his job. The additional bonus was a reward for steering the company to record shipments and profits despite a weakening PC market. And what did Mr. Yuanqing do with that money? He gave it back to his employees. That second bonus was broken down into 10,000 discrete chunks and dispersed to line workers, assistants and other lower-level employees. I think that officially makes Yang Yuanqing our new favorite CEO in tech.
World of Warcraft charity auction raises $330,000 for St. Jude
Gamers can be a nostalgic bunch, and they can also be quite generous. Both of these qualities were exhibited in a recent auction held to benefit a children's hospital. Last fall, Blizzard announced that it would auction off a number of retired server blades (hardware that used to hold different player servers) from its popular fantasy game World of Warcraft and donate the proceeds to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. That auction recently took place on eBay, and the 2,000 blades raised a total of $330,000 for the hospital. Each auction winner now owns a monument of the collective experiences of the game's community and has the satisfaction of knowing that the funds will help children around the world.
Breakfast Topic: Our community is great, and how it saved my cat
The World of Warcraft community is a special group of people. We've got numbers, diversity, and a ridiculous amount of charity from good people whose tenuous connection to each other is because of a virtual world. Personally, I wouldn't want it any other way. The WoW community does good things. Many of you recently heard about my cat Rocky, who was not doing so well because of a deep infection in both of his ears. Because of the generosity of our community, Rocky's bills were taken care of and we could get him the immediate help he needed. My little buddy is alive because of this community. It's such a trivial thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things, but it personally affected me in such a profound way. Sure, we have our low moments. We have our high moments, too, and it's all worth it. From Blizzard's own charity drives to Child's Play and the community reaching out to help sick children, I'd say we've got a pretty good track record. What has the WoW community done that has affected you personally?
The Daily Grind: Do you support your favorite MMO by staying subbed, even if you don't play anymore?
With so many MMOs to choose from these days, it's not uncommon for players to switch between games when a new one catches their eyes. With subscription-based games, you always have to make sure you cancel that sub if you're moving on to another game. This, of course, is one of the strongest arguments in favor of free-to-play games. But that's not what this Daily Grind topic is about! Today, we want to know whether you've ever stayed subbed to a game, even when you've stopped playing for a few months. Usually this happens accidentally when we forget to cancel the sub, but sometimes we just want to help support the development team with a few extra dollars. Have you ever kept your sub going while not playing, and why? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Generosity scandal rocks sci-fi sandbox
Players of [hardcore MMO] reeled today over the the latest scandal to hit the game. According to our sources, a character by the name of [player #1] of [guild name] flew his [spaceship name] above a neglected outpost on [game location], dumping over [huge number] [game currency] on the players below. The money has an approximate value of [huge number] USD. "[Player #1] is a travesty," one angry citizen declared. "This game is about scamming and swindling idiots out of their money, not giving it away like some namby-pamby carebear in [themepark MMO]." "I could have been killed!" insisted [player #2], who spends his game time [tradeskill ending in -ing] in the town. "All that [game currency] was really heavy. What if it had landed on my [body part]?" [Player #3], who is not an economist, suggested that donations of this magnitude ruin the economy. "We can't just go around throwing free [game currency] out of spaceships. It causes inflation and hurts [insulting term for newbie players]." [Game company] could not be reached for comment. Games Journalism sure is hard work, so we've decided to take a break today and let you write your own news! Too many stories about RIFT on Massively lately? Not enough about the game of your choice? No problem! Much in the style of Mad Libs, today is your day to create the news you want to read, all day on the :30s. Simply fill in the blanks and it's yours. Have fun!
The spirit of giving, even in WoW
This holiday season means many different things to many different people, but whoever you are, and whatever background you come from, it's pretty hard to argue against anything that asks people to be a little more kind and generous with one another -- even if just for a little while. If you happen to be playing World of Warcraft today this is especially important. There might be a little voice inside your head saying, "Oh, I'm such a loser, playing a video game on a holiday," or similar such nonsense. You're not playing games today to avoid your loved ones, after all! More likely, you have special circumstances which prevent you from being with them -- so banish the thought that says you shouldn't hang out with people online in addition to in real life! Today is a wonderful opportunity to put down this and all other kinds of negative attitudes and make a special effort to be good to others, no matter where you meet them. The key to celebrating the holidays wherever you are is to exercise the kindness and generosity of the season with whomever crosses your path, whether it be the path outside your house, or the path around Alterac Valley. Just today, I was fighting in AV, making my way to the Frostwolf Relief Hut with several other folks I'd never seen before in my life. After the battle was finished (healthy competition in PvP isn't unkind at all -- but gloating about it would be), a mage standing in our group proceeded to cast his Ritual of Refreshment spell with a cheerful "Merry Xmas!" even though there were just 4 or 5 of us there! As we partook gratefully of his conjured manna, it occurred to me how people are always people, whether online or off, and such spontaneous kindness and generosity can uplift people's hearts in any situation.
