"please give me money"

Now here's something that I hadn't had happen to me before, and always thought it was an urban legend, like all those people with four travel powers or the mythical people who kick you off teams when your Defender isn't an Empath. But this was real.

I'm talking, of course, about the inarticulate beggar. Here's how it went on.

I'd just gotten my level 30 costume mission to defeat 30 Crey, when I left Icon. Predictably, a couple of Crey Security Guards came rushing in to fight me. Easy fight for a level 30 Scrapper, generally, but this time I get hit with a blind invite mid-fight. I reject it with lighting speed, just in time for... I don't remember, I think it was either fire blasts or electrical blasts to hit my enemies. I turn around to see this level 37... I think it was a Blaster, "helping" me. Mid-fight I get another blind invite, then at the end of the fight I get another still.

Annoyed at the thought that this is probably one more case of a person thinking that kill-stealing from me and inviting me to a team is a good way to make friends, I opt to not be an *** and just jump off. This is when, in local, he calls for me to stop, and the following conversation takes place.

Him: wait
Me: I'm not interested in teaming.
Him: please give me money
Him: please
Him: i need it
Me: "Please give me money?" What do you take me for? You can't just go around asking people like that.
Him: o srry
Me: You're level 37. Just kill stiff.
Me: Be faster than begging anyway.
Him: were

Then I left him standing on the roof of Independence Port's Icon. A couple of minute later, I got another blind invite from him, though I don't believe he followed me. And... That just boggled my mind. How is that even possible? OK, I was more than a bit of a jerk, granted, but I don't appreciate being told "please give me money" completely out of the blue by a character 7 LEVELS above me. Oh, he needs it. I need it, too! I'll be looking to get Inventions in a few levels, and those aren't exactly cheap.

And it wouldn't bug me so much if this were a reasonable request I could relate to. I know better than anybody that sometimes you just run short and it sucks to not have enough. But "please give me money" is the lowest form of begging there is. If he'd explained what he needed the money for, maybe I'd have been a bit more open. I mean, if I know he won't spend it on booze and women or something. And this wasn't exactly a bum. This was a high-level player. And he wasn't hitting up some filthy rich 50. He was begging a level 30 character. It's like that sketch in History of the world where two beggars keep begging the noblemen, moving from one to the next, until they start begging from each other.

This just amazes me. It's not about the money, or even about the begging. I just cannot wrap my head around how someone can approach me and be desperate enough to beg, yet not desperate enough to put together a full sentence to ask for it.

"please give me money..." Now I've heard everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

funny story sam.

I had someone ask me for inf in MA the other day, but very politely- "can I please have 30,000 inf to enhance my hero?"

I'd have given it to them except I was AFK and by the time I got back they were all set.

Heck, I'd probably have given it away if the guy hadn't come off like a moocher. I don't exactly have a lot on this one - barely 9 million and I know I'll blow all of that off pretty soon. But just saying the word "please" does not immediately make every wish convincing. If he'd approached me as a person and tried to explain his plight, I'd have probably helped without a second thought.

But running up to a stranger and greeting them with "please give me money" does not warm my heart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Had a new player hit me up with new player questions not too long ago. They were polite, inquisitive and thankful.

Then the person asked about wings and how much they wish they could have had them at character creation.

I took that as an opportunity to teach a little something about the market and crafting. Bought the player their wings of choice, bought the salvage, explained how to use a crafting table and the tailor once done and sent them on their way to wherever they ended up going to find a crafting table. They were in their teens on lvl and still hanging around Atlas, so I'm pretty sure I sent them to Steel Canyon.

About 30 minutes later, I received a very happy thank you.

Why do I share this story in relation to the OP?

It's not what you ask for, it's how you get it.

Yeah that is the worst. I mean, some people.
[please give me money.]

It hasn't happened to me very often, but it's kind of fun to mess with them when it does. I especially like when they threaten and insult you.
[please give me money.]

I heard about one guy who called himself "Homeless guy" or something and sat in Atlas with the 'begging' emote (the tin cup)
[please give me money.]

and made like some number of millions of inf (back in the day when that was something),
[please give me money.]

and I think he had a Costume contest or something, gave it all away.
[please give me money.]

Well, I'm off to earn some more inf on a TF!
[please give me money.]

Dont think i should really be in this topic since i constantly give money away

I actually have no problem giving money away, if i dont know the person i'ld happily give anything up to a million [get it back in a few mins?], anything more then it does get a "sorry".

When on a low character, a few thousand is so much of a blessing! I do agree that giving a few bits of influence that can be made back quickly to lower levels should always be done if needed. But thats the nice guy in me coming out

Your story is better than mine. At least I was on a pre-I9 poor level 50 when I was begged at.

That kinda like when on an AE mission with my Plant/Kin controller (just wanted to get FS since never used before....is nice) and the Stone tank (below 32 and not thsat good anyway) keep saying just "sb?". Gets annoying real fast and I findaly answer with "What is the magic word?" with a responce "sb pleease ".

Not my fault that the person was on a powerset that NEEDS movement help, even though the person did have TP, but tired of people whining for stuff and using smallest sentences possible. Like the defender that kept saying "MA", everyone was like "What?" then I realized they meant AM...after person casted though

Just face it people are lazy; lazy in real life and lazier in game.

Things like this make me kind of nostalgic for fantasy-based MMOs.

In DAoC, my standard response was to tell the beggar to seek a manor outside the city, the lord can likely use a new serf and the beggar is clearly unsuited to the life of a freeman. It's kind of hard to RP that kind of condescension in CoH.

Is it bad that "please give me money" people are my greatest source of entertainment?

My favorite pastime is going into Atlas AE and grabbing all the self-proclaimed healers. Then we do things like boss snowman farms. Our core team can survive, and they get xp out of it, but boy do we laugh at how often they die...my favorite part is demanding more heals while on my dark defender.

Don't get me wrong...I've helped plenty of newbies...but you really get what you give.

I remember the first Halloween event, ToT'ing in Atlas with a lowbie character. Some idiot kept spamming the following message:
"Can anyone spare some inf for a poor gal, giggle giggle giggle"
Yes, she wrote out the giggles.
Quite a few people told her to shut up, and even I told her that spamming was not going to make her any friends. She then proceeded to harrass me in private tells. I told her exactly what I thought of her begging-spam, and to go ahead and petition me as she had threatened. Then I added her to my global ignore list.

On the other hand, I remember a lowbie character asking if anyone could please give him 5000 inf, so he could buy his enhancements. He was polite, not spamming, and asking for a very reasonable amount of inf. So I set him up. I've also helped one other lowbie buy and craft wings- he was ecstatic.

I've made it a tradition to get someone to sing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' in Atlas broadcast for quite some time. I used to offer 1M...quite worth it to see a character named Death God or Uber Thunder Man singing "...whose fleece was white as snow."

But then I realized that people will do it for a lot less, and I dropped the influence amount to 100k, then 50k and the last time I did it, I got someone to do it for 25k.

Moral of the story: people are lazy and would rather beg (or even do something mildly humiliating) than just spend a half and hour to an hour just killing stuff.

I was once complaining about being broke in Atlas broadcast and a guy came up and gave me 5 million inf.

Soooo...

Well, I give the beggers the benefit of the doubt by assuming that they're new to the game and still have a long way to go before learning how to earn their inf proper. Players who've asked me for inf in the past usually respond gracefully when I refuse to give them some, interestingly enough.

It's always good to stay positive and practice some tolerance. Replying with a "Go away you dirty begger" certainly isn't necessary when dealing with them.

Ya got me, Sam. It was an elaborate hoax carried out by me!