I have no issue with users earning different amounts based on their ranking. A full member account is able to display a bigger signature then a member. A senior account has the same feature then a full member account. A hero account is able to display background colors while a senior account cannot. A legendary member's post is generally looked at more closely then a hero member's posts.
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Someone's username and/or ranking should not have an effect on how you receive a message as long as the message contains a valid point. I would hope that you would not give money to a legendary member when they are clearly scamming when you would not give money to a newbie when the newbie is trying to pull the same scam. Why should my message be any different?
What you're saying is that sig earnings should be relative to how much a sig can display. That makes sense. But why are you ok with different member ranks having different privileges of what is displayed in their sigs? And you're arguing for fairness?? Post quality are not determined by rank as you say, so why aren't you bitching about unfair sig displays too (higher ranks having more flashy sigs)?
A staff member on the other hand generally will have their posts directed towards a smaller subset of people, more often then not addressing a specific concern of a user. Sometimes a staff member may post something unrelated to their duties as a moderator but the rules for signatures are not changed because someone is a moderator, and a post is generally not looked at more closely because someone is a moderator/staff member. As a result there is no valid business reason to want to pay a staff member at a higher rate then other senior members earn other then to use that additional payment to get something out of them later.
This is according to YOU, but you cannot speak for everyone. I can argue the other position, where a staff's account name, avatar, and sig are more noticed by the general public compared to a regular account in the same rank. So even though sig displays don't have more privileges, the overall account and status gets them more attention, regardless of what they post. So in this sense, it is a valid business decision to pay staff more.
Why do I need to be personally affected by this in order to want the market to be as fair as possible?
Would you admit that this setup is not fair? If so would you think this is something that is okay?
Lets not pretend that you're requesting this new policy out of a sense of altruism. If you really did care about the well being of the forum, then you wouldn't sell account. But the fact is, your whole existence on this forum is to hustle accounts. What you're doing is destroying credibility, selling trust, and indirectly promoting scamming. Worry about what your business revolves around and the implications of it before you worry about sig pay fairness.