Just want to point out, I've been watching a lot of builders.. AND residents scamming people in auctions, and in trades, asking for money and not giving items.. If builders want to know why they are hated by 99% of the higher population, it's because you guys are distrustful, thieving little people with no care for the people who have put in work and time into this server, and you get a kick out of scamming someone of their money.. And the sad thing is, I've actually witnessed more residents, thinking they can get away with scamming.. Than builders, because they think that once they get that rank up, they can get away with more.. People trust them more, so they abuse that trust and use it to make a quick dollar.. Well to all you scammers, who I'm seeing complaints about, builders through presidents.... I don't care who you are.. but I hope you get whats yours.
Personally, I take it farther. I haven't been here long at all, maybe 2-3 weeks at most, but if I am making a big purchase or etc, I will always look for someone ( Builder or not) that has donated to the server. That to me is more of a badge saying that they are in it for the long haul. It's a proven fact, if you invest or just pay money into something, you take care of it alot more.
I was personally griefed HARDCORE by a group of 3 builders in my town. From that day forward, builders are not welcome in my town full of huge buildings. So we have a separate town right next to it with absolutely nothing but plots, JUST for those builders who are tempted to screw other people's stuff up.
When I first started, I thought this server allowed griefing, so i just took some building materials from a guys house. Luckily I only got banned for one hour, as I was very sorry. But then I joined a new town and i started farming. I am still a builder but applied for residency. And I have around 50k.
I agree It's because you don't know what the player is like, if they are just there to gain access to a town to grief or if they are going to play for 3 days and leave. Once you become a resident you have taken the first step in proving you are serious in playing ECC. Remember residents can still be grievers. You can still let builders buy plots and they are often the easiest to sell plots too. I would just exercise caution.
That's like saying builder is a probationary status before you get resident which is to say you're accepted as a member of the server. This is probably most accurate and exactly why builders aren't trusted. You just never know what's going to happen.
