A hardcore raider is more likely to detest RMT, while most casual players either don't care, or (more or less secretly) participate as buyers.

That statement is downright false for at least two reasons:

1) The hardcore raider - or even the average raider - couldn't care less. Everything, that can be obtained in the auctionhouse and therefore real-money-trade, is by far inferior to what a raider is wearing. So there is no threat at all to the achievers purpose in (virtual) life, because even the best gear money can buy, is not even on the same level as tier 1 gear.

2) Point two is closely related to the previous argument. There is about nothing left, that a raider can buy from the auctionhouse and therefore real-money-trade (as he is already properly geared up). While the casual has to plan his investments carefully, the raider can safe up the money he earns by either grinding or selling stuff (which he surely would never wear) in the acutionhouse. In addition to that, and more importantly, the typical raider has access to the most sought-after resources (like cores from the Molten Core, coins and bijous from Zul, obsidian shards and spells from Ahn'Qiraj, etc.), which score mind-boggling prices in the auctionhouse. On top of that, due to his superior equipment, the raider earns by far more money when grinding due to his/her killspeed. For those reasons, it is more likely, that the raider is on the selling than the buying end of real-money-trade.
 

Tobold, you present a logical argument why an achiever could detest RMT but from my own experience I have observed the opposite. The people I personally know who have purchased game gold are hardcore raiders. The casual players I know all appear to play the game as designed where they advance and get items how the game designer intended.

The reasoning I also think is relatively simple. The raiders are getting bind on pick up items and little game cash. They are not getting items sellable to pay for things like repairs, potions and other consumables, or “twink” items for alts. The hardcore raiders feel they need to purchase game money because they raid so much. Additionally the achievers feel no achievement at the lower levels. Many want to get through it as fast as possible. Purchasing gold through IGE is a means to do this.

On the other hand the real casual players I know are not interested in money purchase. They feel if they take short cuts they would just be left without anything to do.

All kinds of different types and motivations exist. These are just my own observations of a very small WoW sample.
 

While I was writing the anonymous poster posted about another type of heavy raiders that also has additional time to farm outside of raiding. I can attest to this type too. A well equipped raider can out farm the typical “sweat shop” farmer with ease.
 

Well, the WOW developers did a good job in keeping gold valuable in their game. There are many uses a for buying gold for the hardcore player:

Repairs (which get very high when wiping repeatedly in attempts to get further in end game encounters)
Enchantments (now that you have all those uber bind on pick ups gained from raiding you need to get the best enchants on them which easily can cost over 150gold each, due to requiring nexus crystals.
Buying an epic mount or buying a bunch of items to get an epic mount from another faction (runecloth hand ins to gain Night elf mounts which require exalted reputation with Darnassus)
And buying epics, a lot of the Bind on Equip epics from Molten core and blackwing lair (at least on my server) are finding there way into the AH, people selling cenarion or might bracers and wanting 1k gold for them.
And other things like potions, flasks, bandages, arrows/bullets, engineering bombs all cost gold, which if you’re raiding you don’t got time to farm for.

Now Tobold, buying gold “invalidating the lifestyle choice of the Hard Core gamer” is kind of harsh, but did make me chuckle. Frame of mind and outlook on the game can be the most powerful thing you can have. Many people I know find it amusing for someone to pay $50 real dollars to get something that they can get with their own skills (time or energy); in that regards you are validating the HC gamer’s lifestyle, kind of like keeping up with the Jones’

When its all said and done we all have 24 hours in a day, if I work 8 and play 4, and you play 12 hours a day, well you know where I’m going with this. I think ethics plays a much larger role in this debate, than play style per se.

Cheerio!

PS: pardon the similarity to what was written by Pendan :)
 

Thanks for all the interesting comments. So you all think that it is rather the raiders who are buying gold in WoW. Wouldn't have thought so, because of what I'm used to read in anti-RMT flames on other game message boards, which is usually coming from people taking the game far too serious, and not casual.

Probably I'm just plain wrong and there is no correlation at all.