RMT bots are bot hacking mining for shards, and making crazy money. The shards are selling for 50-100 gil each, and you can farm up 700+ per hour with a 26 Botanist/Miner without hacks.
The way to get them is go to the points where the crystals/pigments are. Figure out where the +1 yield point is, and the two points closest to it, then jump between the three. Skip the 4th point, it will only lower your gathering rate. Use the appropriate ward when you have the CP, and you can easily get 700 shards per hour. If you have gear sets ready, you can jump to a FATE that pops near you if you want a break in the tedium.
As a crafter, I buy shards from the retainers that don't have 20,000 up for sale at the same time (ie the warp bot RMT's) when they are available, even if they cost a little more. I suggest everyone else does the same. Stick it to the RMT, and make some gil.