Corporate social responsibility

As I was placing my usual items on the auction house this morning, I thought about the news clip on the massive profits oil companies are seen to be making whilst the average customer is struggling to afford fuel. I am not a virtual corporation by any means, I think the large guilds would be a closer to that, I am more of a small time entrepreneur. However, my actions do affect other players.

The auction house is a small closed market and one person can quickly reduce the market value of any item by simply supplying in bulk. Conversely, one person can quickly inflate prices by buying out all or at least all of the reasonably priced sales of any particular item. It is in my best interest to sell few items for the highest price possible. It frees up my time to play more rather than sitting in the auction house, crafting away in a capital or engaging in mindless gold farming.

However, my high prices make quite a few things unaffordable for any new players starting up. In turn, it detracts from their gaming experience since they now have to either put up with crappy gear and the accompanying crappy game play, or spend an inordinate amount of time camping the auction house or gold farming. Do I have a moral responsibility to other players?

On a server where the majority of players are 20-odd levels beyond me, I have to say probably not. Competition is fierce for profit and I myself are struggling to make enough money for slightly better than crappy gear, a mount, an epic mount and a flying mount. I have spells that I couldn't afford to learn from my trainer and some of my gear are 20 levels below me. I can't afford to be nicer.

In real life, people give to charities. In virtual life, people give to their guild. It's a way of feeling sociable responsible, of gaining the satisfaction from knowing that you have helped someone else to no benefit to yourself. Or rather, no immediate benefit to yourself. Belonging to guild is an social imperative in Warcraft. Just about everybody belongs to a guild.

The place for both social and corporate social responsibility is not in the auction house, but inside the smaller communities people choose to belong to. Or is it?