I have been playing FFXI since it launched in NA last year. I am a White Mage and am always hard up for money; however I had never even considered stooping so low as to buy money online, even though I am in the military and dont have much time for farming. I have a RL friend on Garuda server... who's name will remain anonymous... whom I send messages back and forth with as I play. The other night I asked him how he made money (he is military also and has about the same amount of playing time as me) and what the best way to do so would be. He was amazed at how I could ask such a stupid question... he replied to me that he simply bought a million gil every couple of weeks from ebay. I was dumbfounded I told him that I didnt think that was in the spirit of the game nor within the rules of the game. He explained to me that the gil was "given" to him and that he was simply paying a "transfer fee" He also told me that he was considering buying a lvl 60 summoner instead of working his own character up. I told him that I , as well as many other gamers, would consider this wrong. I am very curious as to what the people on my server... the people whose opinions matter to me.... reaction to this is, and will share the results with him. I believe that he is going to post a similar thread on his server so feel free to go and post on that too if you would like. Thanks for any input you give ahead of time.