Debate: Is farming cheating/stealing?

When you reach the cash limit you get this message. It seems to encourage farming.

Any mechanism allowed by the game is fair.

As if EA don't realise...

Alternative thread: Is not farming ignorant/stupid?

I totally agree with sideshowdan that any system EA allows is not theft .
Personally I keep my donut stock by farming in such a way that I can comfortably
purchase the items I want.
But I don’t need to own 20.000 donuts either.
I don’t see the point in that.
But everyone does their own thing with this of course .
Happy tapping and farming ;)

One of the things - perhaps even THE thing that keeps users playing this game over the long haul - is the ability to do whatever you want with the game systems as long as the game itself allows you to do that. Donut farming has, undoubtedly, kept many of the long-term players aboard simply because it allowed users to improve their towns without spending a ton of actual cash to upgrade, enlarge and develop. Land expansion has always been a driving force in the game and without d-farming, that would be severely limited and likely cause some users to drop out. Clearly, EA made a determination YEARS ago that d-farming - though not necessarily planned - was a good thing for the game's longevity. Otherwise it would have been toast by now. Ergo, it's not cheating. Instead, it's using TSTO's innermost workings to advance your game, which EA most assuredly wants to encourage.

This "debate" is kinda obsolete. Years ago it was relevant, but not anymore, because they've made far too many in-game wise-cracks about farming. Clearly they're aware and haven't shut it down, so it's legit in my mind.

I sincerely appreciate them letting us continue to do so. I was not a house farmer in the beginning, and i'm not farming now; but I did have a chance to utilize the technique and I appreciate it greatly.

"4junk3000;c-2220197" wrote:
...because they've made far too many in-game wise-cracks about farming.

Yes they have but I can't find them.

Offering decorations with XP for real money in the early years of the game means that you have purchased the right to eventually reduce the amount of real money you spend buying premium currency, or eliminate the need to purchase altogether.

I'd say it's a bit gray. An unintentional play feature because of the way the game mechanics work. I believe EA is fully aware of it and has transitioned game play around it. They could have made moves to stop it, but didn't. Now the in game value of donuts has been decreased and there is more reliance on real world cash purchases for other things. The value of donuts in game was decreasing due to EA making them more accessible and prevalent through in game actions prior and subsequent to farming taking hold as well.

I am thankfully at the stage in all my games that I no longer have to waste land on farming. If I’m short on donuts I sell and buy back the Krusty oil rig a few times to get enough to buy that Gil deal or speed up tasks. Cheating/stealing? Hardly - EA keeps tying some characters to donut purchases with real-world money