And we're back with politics and semantics.. haha.. I knew I wasn't the only one to explore options!!
My understanding has always been: No new gear (bowls, razors, brushes etc) Replace only as needed on software and blades. Forum store doesn't count. Trades don't count, if no money involved. No stress, it's just supposed to be a fun game. The rules above are just how I am playing the game. The idea is for me is to appreciate the experience of mastering stuff I already have. If someone else chooses to play by a different set of rules, it's OK and doesn't ruin my experience.
True, it's a fun game Myself can't see the difference between the forum store or any other store, but that's just me - it doesn't interfere with my interaction in the game
Wow. I am a member of a couple of other forums to varying degrees of participation. One of my least frequented forums just closed down a thread discussing restraints. The mod cited a previous post disallowing any discussion of restraints, sabbaticals, or any other form of not spending money. I guess that's what you can expect from a vendor owned forum.
TSD store is why we are so free to discuss anything. I like being on a fully user supported forum, it promotes honesty and good will, without having to bow down to sponsors.
Interesting... if you take the point to a logical extreme and go with the whole idea of getting into traditional wet shaving as a way of saving money (as opposed to buying carts), then you could probably collapse the whole forum into an ideological singularity.
But, isn't a "trade" no different than a purchase? When I trade something I give something of value for something else of value. When I buy something, I give something of value (in this case money) for something else of value. Before there there was money, there was only trade. Money simply establishes a system of trade where an object of no real value is exchangeable for virtually any goods having value. IMHO, the only difference between a trade and a purchase is the fact that are giving something more widely accepted as valuable than, for instance, a razor. If I trade some soap for a razor, how is that any different than selling the soap and using that money to buy the razor?
A trade is okay (to me) because I exchange something for something else. As in I don't add stuff to my Den.
It all depends why you are in the NB. If you are trying to just quit bleeding money, I see nothing wrong with trades. If I was running low on soap, and could trade a razor for soap, I would do it and not consider it a fail. I could probably horse trade for two years and not spend a dime. In fact I might do that soon
My rationale and goal is not to put any additional money into gear. Trades do not introduce new money into the equation, so in my personal version of NB16, I think they are ok. Others may be playing by a more strict rule set. It had gotten to the point where I was just mindlessly buying razors, and decided to change paths.
I do believe I have learned the secret to making your software last longer. Try to use it faster. It will last forever when you are intentionally trying to get rid of it.
