The Town of Odyssey

Not to open a can of worms here, but...

It seems to me that the Odyssey raffle, while a good way to get money, is little like gambling. I mean, you give away money to buy a ticket and have a *chance* that you win. That sounds an awful like the lottery.

Now you may say that it's only pretend money, and you're right, it is. But as Whit says, you can use your imagination for good OR bad. The line between pretend and real can be very thin at times. The horror stories out there of people losing their entire life savings because of online gambling should make us beware.

Once again, I do not mean to open a can of worms, and Shadowpaw, you have a done an absolutely marvelous job with ToO. *applauds* If anyone thinks I'm off-base just slap me. Or hit with me water balloons in the water fight thread.

Cheerio

um the whole thing is is that were not really using real money here. sooo whats the problemo?

Wasn't there an episode where Trent was talking back to teacher's in the Imagination Station and then his actions started taking effect in real life?

Exellent point, Watson. I'll have to think about this.

mellow wrote:um the whole thing is is that were not really using real money here. sooo whats the problemo?

As I alluded to in my original post, just becuase something is pretend doesn't make it harmless. If you are so used to pretending to gamble, then it is so much easier to gamble in real life. And in reality, gambling can ruin your life, as well as being a poor steward of God's money. That's the point I was trying to get across mellow.

Cheerio

I must agree with EB. I also must do some thinking.

~OrigamiKid

If you don't like it, don't enter. If it offends you, don't click on it...

The thought that it was strange that there was a lottery on an AIO board did cross my mind. It is pretend money, and there probably isn't any harm, but still...I guess it could start a negative thinking pattern for some, especially younger people, that gambling is okay, or beneficial, or that it is a good way to save for the future! Maybe some kind of condition or warning could be put on it?

Like you have to be eighteen or older to use it?

No need to make fun of me, Top. That isn't very good for your mayoral campaign...

Maybe there could be something like the gross pictures and frightening messages that are put on all cigarette packages here in Canada - the smokers don't care, and they gross out the non-smokers.

I'm not against removing it if it offends people, but then we would have to consider shutting down all of them on the Odyssey 105 board. Everyone has a "chance" of winning those too, but only one person will. Keep in mind too that the entry fee for the ToO sponsored contest is the least expensive out of any of the other contests announced thus far .

The philosophy behind that raffle is the same as any other contest. You pay an "entry fee" ($10) and then someone ends up winning. You are only allowed to buy one ticket, so as to not have people put "all their eggs in one basket" (and to avoid your concern about people gambling away their "ToO savings") and, like the real world, no one is forcing you to purchase a ticket. It's simply there as something to do with your fake money on this board. You can be wise or unwise in how you use your money.

Besides, it also gives something for Mayoral Candidates to debate about... some may promise to remove it if they are elected, some may not. This is a good issue that can be used as part of their campaigns.

I for one am not offended with the lottery. At first I thought other members would be offended with this but until now it has come to the surface. I think its the persons judgement whether they want to participate of not. I personaly think it gives a little more life to this board. We dont want a place where we cant do anything. First we get rid of the contest then whats next we get rid of the money because people are not using it properly, well what i m trying to say is you can do whatever you want with it, if its yours. And besides its not like its real money. And again like Shadowpaw stated the mayor can decide if he/she is against it.

I don't see a problem with it. As has already been stated, you're not forced to participate. If you don't like it, don't play. It's as easy as that.

I'll admit that I had some reservations about the raffle but I wasn't going to say anything.

Chandler wrote:I'll admit that I had some reservations about the raffle but I wasn't going to say anything.

I'm confused... aren't you also holding a wallpaper contest where people have to pay $15 if they want to enter? How is this any different, except rather than win 40% of the prize money, the winner of this contest wins all of it and the contest creator keeps $0?

I would argue it's the most fair contest there is because there's nothing subjective about it... it's entirely random. So everyone has an equal chance of winning regardless of their drawing ability or anything else.

If I were to take down that link at the top and then go into Odyssey 105 and make a contest that serves the exact same function (you pay me an entry fee of $10 and one person will be randomly selected to win it all), I hardly think any one would have a problem with it. It's all a matter of semantics... the word "lottery" or "raffle" is scary... "contest" sounds safer, yet it's the exact same thing.

Thats a great point, you are entirely correct. Sorry Chandler but you seem to be flipflopping around.

Shadowpaw wrote:

Chandler wrote:I'll admit that I had some reservations about the raffle but I wasn't going to say anything.

I'm confused... aren't you also holding a wallpaper contest where people have to pay $15 if they want to enter? How is this any different, except rather than win 40% of the prize money, the winner of this contest wins all of it and the contest creator keeps $0?

I would argue it's the most fair contest there is because there's nothing subjective about it... it's entirely random. So everyone has an equal chance of winning regardless of their drawing ability or anything else.

If I were to take down that link at the top and then go into Odyssey 105 and make a contest that serves the exact same function (you pay me an entry fee of $10 and one person will be randomly selected to win it all), I hardly think any one would have a problem with it. It's all a matter of semantics... the word "lottery" or "raffle" is scary... "contest" sounds safer, yet it's the exact same thing.

No contest anymore because it generated no interest. You make a fair point but I don't have an answer either way. However, saying that one has "reservations" isn't the same as saying that it's outright condemned... I'm sorry now that I admitted that thought passed through my mind.

Fenix wrote:Thats a great point, you are entirely correct. Sorry Chandler but you seem to be flipflopping around.

Why can't I voice one little thought without being insulted?

Sorry I didnt mean to make you sad. It wasnt meant as an insult I m sorry that you feel that way about what I said, words have been spoken and I cant take back what I said but what I can do is tell you that you are being overly sensitive about nothing really. Its totally ok to be wrong once in awhile just as long as you know you are in those times. Which you clearly do from your post.

As I stated earlier, I'm willing to remove it if people are being offended (or wait until the mayor decides that for themself) but for me personally, I feel that it's no different from any other contest anyone else is hosting.

Gambling is so much more than that simple contest. You have these large corporations who make millions because of the odds of you losing your real money. And people can get addicted to gambling and invest so much money into hoping to finally win, and it never pans out. Here, only the people of the Town of Odyssey are going to reap the benefits of this contest. There is no odds for the "house" to win, simply that once a week a member of the board will win. And members can't purchase multiple tickets, so there is no worry about people gambling away all of their money. A $10 a week purchase here on the Town of Odyssey is hardly anything when you can make that much with a solid post (as a matter of fact, I will have made more than $10 with this post). And the fact that it's completely fair and random means that no one person gets an unfair edge.

As stated earlier, people can chose not to buy a ticket if they have their own personal feelings against it. And I believe this is an issue potential mayors can throw back and forth to get support. Whatever the case is, I want people to be happy here ... so if people want it gone, than it's gone.

Shadowpaw wrote: but for me personally, I feel that it's no different from any other contest anyone else is hosting.

I understand where you're coming from, Shadowpaw. I can see the similarities between contests and the raffle. Perhaps it is mere semantics. However, with contests, participants have to do something; in other words they have try hard and earn the prize, not just sit back and cross their fingers in hopes that they win the raffle.

Once again, I did not mean to send out a mob with flaming torches and pitchforks, I just wanted to voice a concern I had. I think the best course is, as you said Shadowpaw, to let the mayor decided when he comes into office.

Cheerio