A few links on Gold Farming

How Wikipedia defines a gold farmer: " A general term for a person who acquires in-game currency in a MMORPG through collecting items and money that can be obtained by continually defeating enemies within the game. Farming is a popular method in which to obtain in-game currency within many MMORPGs. A gold farmer is a person who collects in-game currency for the purpose of selling it to other players for real world currency, such as the US dollar?
Wikipedia: Gold Farming


Interesting read from a person that communicates with farmers: "Secrets of Massively Multiplayer Farming"

'In the past several months, I've become friendly with a number of the professional farmers on my server. I had no special motive in doing so; I certainly didn'’t befriend them so that I could study them. Nonetheless, during the course of our teaming and chatting together, I gained glimpses into their lifestyles and learned things that I've found to be interesting and that I would like to share. The odds are that if you have access to the venue where this document is being published, you'll find them interesting too."

Terra Nova: A blog I frequent for interesting reads on reasearch within gaming: Terra Nova
"Mindy Basi, AKA Kwill of Kwill's Quill and a PhD from University of Illinois (see a summary of her work on race, gender, and MMORPGs in the middle of this page), emailed me about a discussion happening on the EverQuest boards. The thread, here, is invaluable for the openness with which the writers discuss the day to day reality of running a gold farm. A behind-the-scenes look that also clarifies how RMT effects end up imposing costs on all the players. What a tremendous resource . Mindi: /thank /bow."