Editorial Time!

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TraditionsRule
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by TraditionsRule »

Kantark, I wondered about legal issues too, but if you look up the pages where they show the painted pets- Faerie and Darigan for example, it's the old art. You'd think, with the entire site revamp having been a few years back now, that they would have at least gotten rid of the possibility of the unconverted pets. If it was a legal thing, the art would have been gone ASAP.

My theory is this: They wanted to get a wider base of users, moreso the younger crowd (proven that they have Nickolodeon stuff more now than when I left). Little kids might have a hard time being attached to a picture alone. They need something more interactive than choosing a toy and having a window pop up with a phrase that proves you played with it. So they came out with wearable items. This explains the humanoid pets increasing, because little children are more likely to understand an animal that has the anatomy of a human doing human things than one that moves like an animal (little bear and franklin are some cartoon examples). They take the personification to a different level that younger kids can understand. They made it mandatory so that it was pretty much congruent so it was easier on the system, and it subsequently would force you to buy items to access certain aspects of the site.

Now whether this game is actually geared towards the younger crowd is questionable. While the fantasy is there, I feel the game might be too abstract for most children under 10. It's my experience that the users are at least 13 and above, with a considerable amount being in their 20s. They've been with Neopets since its beginning or before the revamp, and have been burned. I think Neopets made a mistake in converting this system that previously catered to their core users, but they're still around so they've obviously handled it well enough.

I just wish they'd take the dang paintbrush pages down so I didn't have to see the previously wonderful pets that I can never have.
Goldenchaos
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Goldenchaos »

I think they should release an item that is like an overly of an unconverted pet. This way, if the user wanted, they can chose to display the old art, with fancy pretty trinkets and backgrounds, OR they can take that overlay effect off, and dress their pet up again. Somehow itd have to make it obvious that it is an overlay, so people wont try to cheat others out of their real UC pets.
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thelonetiel
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by thelonetiel »

I frequently think of the post here by a former TNT staff member. It's very vague and off the record but the "Yeah, that was probably a mistake, there were a lot of those," makes conversion make sense. Some of the decisions seem very arbitrary, which makes me think that somebody screwed up somewhere (and after it happened, there was no changing things) rather than threw darts at a board.

I wish they had done more blanket unconversions, like all redraws, not just all faeries, plushies, and Darigans. All Maraquan, royal, and other colors should've been left with options too... It still kills me that my Royalgirl flotsam was converted, yes she still looks elegant, but not nearly the same smug expression of obvious superiority.
Ailiel
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Ailiel »

Tiel you know I feel you on this one. Also thanks for the link to that other thread-- I had missed it as I never go to the newbies forum. There's a new post there every few months it feels like, so easily skipped and missed! I too remember the days when staff members would post, infrequently of course. I always liked to think they were watching our threads and getting a kick out of our debates and in depth critiques over this new color or that.

I pretty much decided a long time ago that it was a case of quite a few cooks with conversion, and whatever staffer happened to be working would veto that particular pet being autoconverted or not. And depending how much they cared/wanted the new art/liked the old art, they made a call and that was that. And also hopefully then the programmer would receive that message and make the necessary changes (possibly the case of the conversion of the royal girl Acara). It was likely a really hectic time, as the programming and new art and wearables and whatever else. And I don't think at the time anyone but the artists really thought about the old pets, and they were busy being conscripted to draw wearables to be sold.

To this day, nearly four years in, when you search a color released since conversion in the search bar, an image of that pet does not come up, and if the pet color was released before conversion it's unconverted art. And the same with the lab ray and anywhere else the 80x80 icons show up, like random events. And then there are the paint brush pages.

It seems like this might have been something that could be fixed in four years, but on the plus side there are new things to buy with real money every day of the week, so that's something I guess.

And I'm sorry about your flotsam. Sorry about all royal flotsams! The royals were great.

This purge has been upsetting to watch at times. Even though those abandoned UCs were as good as nothing, I enjoyed lurking old accounts and visiting them. Now they are nothing, not a wisp.

Sometimes I feel like I talk about this an awful lot, but the whole thing is still kind of fascinating. I felt the same way about having a "grandfathered" petpet. I had gotten really used to the site a certain way and then it did a complete 180 and I still feel like I am catching up.
mellaka
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by mellaka »

I missed those posts too, and that's very interesting.

Of the pets that I owned, the one that bugged me over conversion the most was the alien aisha. I still don't get why it wasn't given a UC option. My converted mutant draik bugs me too - it used to be my favorite pet on the whole site - but the aisha still bothers me more.
ZomgethMew
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by ZomgethMew »

This week's editorial gave me a few laughs.
Spoiler: open/close
Why doesn't the checkered Elephante have a hat? D: ~kougra__master
They got so excited when they were released that they threw their hats up in the air in glee. We're, uhh... still waiting for them to come down. Hopefully it won't be too much longer now. *looks up and waits* Apparently the grey Elephantes are still waiting for theirs to land as well. Neopia sure has some weird gravity!
I dunno, this just made me laugh. It's a pretty creative way of saying 'derp, we screwed up' :B.
Spoiler: open/close
I have to know, TNT: what special day was March 3rd before it was canceled due to lack of interest? I'm losing sleep over this. ~everlasting_dream
According to the angry letters we get each year, it was apparently the birthday of everyone who was born on March 3rd. D:
Hee. I wonder how many times people have asked that over the years.

Also, it's not exactly editorial related, but I have no idea where else it would be, so.. does anyone have any idea how this comic managed to sneak in? owo;
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Kantark
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Kantark »

ZomgethMew wrote:Also, it's not exactly editorial related, but I have no idea where else it would be, so.. does anyone have any idea how this comic managed to sneak in? owo;
Wow, I didn't spot that one yesterday! Maybe that isn't considered offensive in the US? (Much like 'bloody'. Though not 'hell'. Odd!)
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TraditionsRule
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by TraditionsRule »

Kantark wrote:
ZomgethMew wrote:Also, it's not exactly editorial related, but I have no idea where else it would be, so.. does anyone have any idea how this comic managed to sneak in? owo;
Wow, I didn't spot that one yesterday! Maybe that isn't considered offensive in the US? (Much like 'bloody'. Though not 'hell'. Odd!)

No, it's kind of offensive here, at least I used to get yelled at for saying it as a kid. It's more like PG-13 offensive at most, though. I don't think it gets bleeped or anything like that.

I wonder if TNT just missed it in the huge wall of text.
Cranberry
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Cranberry »

Two things:
Hi, TNT. :) My question is about the Faerie Quest event. Now that the event is over and we will return to regular Faerie Quests, this means the reward for completing a quest will not be applied to our active Neopet and we cannot choose which Neopet receives the reward from the Faerie Quest, right? Could you please think about that? It's so hard and expensive to train a Neopet; it would be an enormous help to all who are training only one Neopet, yet have more than one. Thank you, and please remove my username! :) ~username removed
All Faerie Quest stat rewards are applied to the active Neopet. That's a permanent change. It won't go back to the old way once the event ends.
Yay! I was hoping for that. Excellent change.
Hi, TNT! Hypothetical situation here involving two good imaginary friends of mine, Sally and Bob. Sally gets a Fountain Faerie Quest. She already has all of her dream Neopets, however, so she has no need for it. Bob has never received a FFQ before and Sally wants to donate her FFQ to Bob as a gift. Would it be allowed for Bob to send his Neopet to Sally's account, where Sally would use her FFQ on Bob's Neopet and then transfer it back to Bob? I'm getting confused about this because it isn't allowed with the Lab Ray, so I can't work out if it would be allowed with a FFQ. Please let me know! ~zemzii
While giving away your hard-earned lab zap or FFQ pass is a nice gesture, we don't allow this because Bob should be earning his own Lab Map. Bob should complete his own FFQ (if he were lucky enough to receive one) in order to get a pass to the fountain. First and foremost, Neopets is a game. Bob should be using his own progress in the game to achieve goals and reap the benefits, not someone else's.
Boo! And what? Hasn't this always been allowed? I know they said people weren't allowed to send someone neopoints/items in exchange for their FFQ, but what's the harm in giving it as a gift?

Hm, old editorial:
I have a question pertaining to Neopet trading. We're not supposed to trade NP or items for Neopets, I know that much. However, if (theoretically) I got a Fountain Faerie Quest and I had someone offer me a Neopet that I liked (for example, a Robot Poogle) if I MADE them a Neopet they liked (such as a Maraquan Shoyru), would that be allowed? Some people think it's a legal loophole (because it's still Neopet-for-Neopet trading), but others don't believe you're allowed to offer "services" or "potential Neopets" in exchange for real Neopets. Could you clear this up for us? It's kind of a hot-button issue on the Neoboards. Thank you! ~sorenina
We discussed this and decided that, in the end, as long as it's a 1:1, Neopet-for-Neopet deal, then it doesn't quite matter how it came to be. This is our opinion at the moment, so don't hold us to this forever. The whole Neopet trading thing is new to all of us, so we're still figuring out what is and isn't working and determining what is simply crossing the line.
I guess that's not exactly the same, as in the second scenario both people get a Neopet. I still don't see the harm, though, when no items/NP are changing hands.

Edit: One more:
Dear TNT,
*throws some REALLY old kinds of food at you* I've heard some commotion on the Pound Chat (PC) with regard to the question of a mass conversion of Neopets. They say that, since you allowed Facebook (which you said wouldn't be allowed), you might allow a mass conversion of Neopets, which would disappoint all of the Neopians who have unconverted Neopets! Not being an owner of a UC myself, it doesn't concern me, but still... I worry for those that do. Please tell us you won't convert them! Thanks for reading, and please remove my username! ~username removed
Long ago we also thought we'd never have ads on the site, but now we do. Neopets has been around for over a decade (a long time for any game!), and we survive by having wonderful, loyal players, and by trying to keep up with the times. Over the course of the site's life many things have changed, and so we've changed our minds, too. We've learned to never say "never" because, down the road, you don't know what will happen and you don't know what circumstances will arise that necessitate a change. All we can do is tell you our thoughts on the matter now; with regard to UC Neopets, we still don't have any current intention of converting them.
How reassuring.
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Kantark
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Kantark »

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH KRAWK ISLAND?! First it's surrounded by tentacles, then it disappears, then it reappears and is surrounded with tentacles again. So, I repeat, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH KRAWK ISLAND??!!! ~azienskieth
Pay no attention to whatever you think you saw that might have gone up a bit too early and has now reverted back to what it's supposed to be until such time as it may or may not change back to the thing you weren't supposed to see.
Heheh, I applaud their honesty :-)
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Usul_Princess
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Usul_Princess »

*points up to Cranberry's post* To me the two scenarios are close enough.

So we can't give FFQ's or lucky zaps away but we can trade for them? I'm so confused. I've been zapping Ireau to turn him maraquan hopefully to get a FFQ in exchange. Also, I've zapped someone else's dream color more than once and had no problem giving it to them. I just made another lab rat. TNT has the strangest rules about giving things away....
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Fjorab_Teke
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Fjorab_Teke »

Wow, i'm glad you pointed that out. I've been zap-adopting too. I've never gotten in trouble for that. Maybe another note to the Editorial is in order for our zap-adopting pleasures to resume (and like you, of course, i'm currently wrapped up in my own target zapping).
Rainbow Daydreamer
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Rainbow Daydreamer »

I'm pretty sure that zapping a random pet, then giving it to someone whose dream pet it is, is allowed and has always been. What's not allowed is someone lending you his or her pets specifically so you can zap them into his/her dreamies with your Lab Ray, then send them back.
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Cranberry
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Cranberry »

I can understand that one -- someone should pay for his own lab ray if he wants to zap a specific pet -- but I see no problem with giving away a FFQ as a gift. It would be a problem if you said something like, "Okay, you send me the item I need to complete this FFQ and then I'll change your pet for you," because that would technically be exchanging a pet for NP/items. But if you have a completed FFQ sitting around and you're not going to use it, what's wrong with giving it to a friend as a completely free gift? (I realize FFQs cost money to complete, but it's not the same idea to me as buying a lab ray, as FFQs are rare, by-chance events. Your friend can buy his own lab ray, but he may be waiting forever for a FFQ and still not get one.)
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Xelio
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Re: Editorial Time!

Post by Xelio »

Cranberry wrote:Your friend can buy his own lab ray, but he may be waiting forever for a FFQ and still not get one.
Especially considering there are people (multiple people I know) going 10 years or more without a single FFQ and there are 2-year users that have had four FFQs. For the next "you've played x number of years, yay!" incentive should totally get an item to summon the fountain faerie. Or a bottle of water from her, or something. Yes, it would destroy the pet trading "economy" for a few months to a year, but dangit I want a pirate and zombie paint job and at the moment I'm too selfish to care.
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