Gold plated connectors are absolutely normal and completely standard and essential. The vast majority of durable data/signal connectors used today are gold-plated. Hack open any random decent microUSB connector if you don't believe me. You need a solid connection for signal integrity. Corrosion messes that up. Of course, with modern cost optimization, usually only the contact surface is gold plated these days, not the entire pin, and the plating is quite thin and cheap. Connectors intended for higher connect/disconnect cycles will be more expensive in part because they need a thicker gold plating to avoid wearing out.
Gold plated PCBs are also completely standard (google ENIG). In this case the plating is even thinner and just serves to ensure solderability and avoid corrosion. It's so thin that it immediately dissolves in the solder during the solder reflow process; it's just there to allow that process to happen properly, and to avoid corrosion in non-soldered areas. Almost every modern high tech PCB
Gold containing solder, on the other hand, is nonsense.
Gold plated PCBs are also completely standard (google ENIG). In this case the plating is even thinner and just serves to ensure solderability and avoid corrosion. It's so thin that it immediately dissolves in the solder during the solder reflow process; it's just there to allow that process to happen properly, and to avoid corrosion in non-soldered areas. Almost every modern high tech PCB
Gold containing solder, on the other hand, is nonsense.