It appears we are getting vocal enough to be officially noticed...not only was a thread discussing making pet care an important part of Foo once more deleted along with all attendant posts, but a strafing run was made over at the FooBA4U profile, where not only the nasty, dangerous links (not just the one to here, but to KibbleCat, and to the Rescue League click-to-feed...horrors, what if a CHILD stumbled on the opportunity to help real animals just by clicking! stamp that out quick!), but the attendant graphics and text were neatly edited out as well - and just to be EXTRA thorough, they fiddled with my Status Box (make a note, those are not sacrosanct either), where my text was edited to replace the phrase "google fooscooper" - which is not, as far as i know, a link - with "removed by an admin" or words to that effect.
(for what it's worth, and for those who need a giggle, they were not nearly as thorough - or as clever - as they thought they were...)
personally, we're a bit flattered to be thought so influential...actually RESPONDING, though, either here or onsite, would have been a more appropriate and mature reaction...oh, i forgot - "mature" is now a dirty word onsite, isn't it.
the last time this was an issue (on the singingbadger account), i received a polite message from an amb asking me to remove the links, which i politely proceeded to do. apparently times have changed, or at least manners have. do i smell insecurity? or possibly paranoia?
About Me
- GOLD RUSH
- Tabby Road, New Furrsey, Foo S. A.
- i am a seven-year-old virtual Cream Persian FooCat (born on Little Christmas, 1/5/10), the mascot and spokesfurson for FooBA4U, the FooPets members' cooperative service site.
I took to playing iPad games since my accounts were susipended indefinitely in Oct. No where else do I see the business practices that Foo uses. I play Smurfs Village and its updated every few months with new items and with few glitches. If there is a "glitch" it's fixed within a week or two. I have gone back to 2010 and see the same issues then that we are still dealing with in almost 2013. I truly love Foo and miss my pets but I question my own sanity about wanting to come back. History continually seems to be repeating itself.
ReplyDeletei play Pogo (which actually occupied the bulk of my online time pre-Foo) and find the same thing - i am now on half a dozen other VA sites, none of whom feel the need to herd - and shear - their members like sheep.
Deletethe rumbles of the Wheels of Progress a la Rivet were audible as early as Feruary 2010...the main differences from pre-Rivet play (and it hurts more than i can say to see Ron et al sustaining and supporting them) are the removal of member involvement in the handling of their own assets (removal of direct pet and item sales), the inability to post ANY nonFoo link, however innocent, informative, or useful (they could at least post a list of exempted links or have an application process for approval), and the death knell of the caring part of "pet care", open fostering.
NONE of these would cost the site money to operate. ALL of them have the potential to motivate income for the site, in various ways - all would provide an alternative to the relentless search for and sale/resale of artificially-rare pets...and NONE have been mentioned even in passing as possible much less in progress.
it seems that what WE love(d) about the site, and what Dr. Hornbecker loves, are not the same thing, sadly.
Good Points. which makes me have to ask the question, what is really motivating Dr Ron with Foopets? it's been on life support for such a longtime now and it just seems more like the customers are being treated more like they are lab rats stuck in some maze. :(
Deletei am beginning to wonder what level Ron's involvement is at this point...and the grapevine has Scott on indefinite sabbatical - a tragedy, as he was always the "good cop", at least on paper, lol. i don;t have an email for Eugene - him i'd love to talk to, he;s their numbers guy.
DeleteWould have been nice if they at least asked you to make your page link free instead of just cleaning house for you. I'm assuming they didn't take any care with what they deleted there. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteAnd what was the thread that got deleted exactly?
what distresses me most is that Rivet, of all people, were the ones who DID ask politely. my memory may be rading, but it seems to me that adults received more "adult" treatment from them than they currently are from our original management, who ought ot be far more accustomd to dealing with a mature clientele. (thoug again, Traci is a relative newcomer with no pre-Rivet experience of the site)
Deletethe thread was calling for some kind of incentive and/or penalty to motivate good pet care. some of the posted suggestions including reinstating a "lifespan" for the pets determined by starvation (thankfully vetoed by pretty much everyone), additional pet slots, gradually increasing stats, and not being able to breed pets that do not have full green bonding.
i may have accidentally torpedoed it myself, as i had pointed out that there was little or no reason youngsters should worry about how they treat their pets these days, and the "values" currently presented by the site (no penalties for poor pet care, bounties for tossing pets into the FooShelter, pets valued for artificial rarity rather than themselves) were the exact opposite of what i would want any child under my guidance to be exposed to...
What I don't understand is the desire for so many people to put themselves through this torment. I understand that there is a deep attachment to these pets, but when is enough...well, enough? There is never a good thing said about this company anymore, it's always filled with stress, anger, sadness, frustration, more anger....hardly seems worth it to pay for misery. :/
ReplyDeleteso true.
Deletehere's an interesting link about recent foopets activity :
http://www.webstatzone.com/stat/foopets.com.htm
most of us diehards predate the bulk of the troubles, and are foolish enough to keep hoping that SOMEHOW light will dawn and management will realise that they will grow - and make - far more by not catering quite so exclusively to the (highly competitive) underage market, and shifting the emphasis back to PETS and pet care and away from commerce...a joke anyway, when the site controls all transactions.
Deletewill go peep that link momentarily.
Wow, I just checked out that link and according to their monthly revenue, it seems like there is not too many paying customers left... how does that stat site collect those figures I wonder?
DeleteAs for sticking around, I've paid them so much already, it seems pointless to leave now. And most of what I have had to say is negative, but I still can't work up the nerve to just dump the site forever. It's not only the pets, it's the place. I keep hoping for it to go back to being a place I can love to be.
"monthly revenue from ads"...WHAT ads? if that were member subscription data, it would come to about 2000 members, which sounds about right, considering. a lot of what they list other than "hard" data like servers seems a little off, though, and some of their graphs look like they are set up backwards - the one that defaults works from highest to lowest and is rather hard to follow. the fact that their "reiliability" readings are pretty much the same as the Foop's tickles me, though.
DeleteMoney saved, is money saved. I'd much rather spend my hard earned bucks on something that brings me joy. Call me a pessimist, but I don't foresee Foo ever improving. If they haven't gotten the hint by now, after YEARS of being shown what they are doing wrong (different management or not), they clearly will never get it. Heads are far too shoved up arses to pay attention over there. :)
DeleteGood gracious, that is so contemptible of them. Removing the last vestige of any suggestion that Foo has any ideals to help anything other than their own pockets. If they really are getting over 11,000 dollars per month, whether from "ads" or not, they could afford to give people a bit more leeway and joy than they do; a pleasing gift now and then, something that shows they care about their customers. What a laugh.
ReplyDeleteAs Canaan points out, it would actually cost them nothing to have exempt off-site links to real care sites, nor to allow open fostering; those would bring back some at least of the pleasure that attracted old-timers to the site and could cause some of us to actually revive some sleeping accounts. At no cost to themselves, and whilst still grabbing what they can from the pre-teens, they could actually have made MORE money from us "mature" players, but apparently they really don't give a damn about their customers, nor about the plight of real animals, and never have.
mmm...their finances aren't great, even if that info is spot-on (and i still can't grok WHERE these ads are supposed to be - anybody?), if you follow the list down well over half of that is going right back into advertising for the site. i'm not clear on just how much servers cost - it's a lead cinch they don't own their own as MagiStream (one of the sites that offered us their double-consent trading code) does - and these animations are major bit-hogs...probably the real reason they wanted to minimize fostering and tried to convince fallow members that their pets would be "cared for" in their absence without the aid of other players. anybody see the Sams around after the first month or three? have they EVER been around since Ron & Co. retook control? i understand why pets cannot be picked up after 3 weeks of starvation, but what is the reasoning behind suspending the Sams? having them visit hungry pets might send a message to some of out more remiss members...
Deletethey (in the form of Rivet) bought the false premise that a site this expensive to run could compete successfully for the underage market. they also failed to realise that the youngsters would not be that much easier to "run" than the adult clientele they inherited - and did their level best to exterminate, directly and indirectly. as much attrition has been caused by the "barbie doll" page layout, increasingly simplified "play" (with all the previous constructive activities to occupy time removed), and Forums overrun with children who treat adults as intruders in "their" site. (we, however, are still here - Rivet is no more. you'd think this might tell the management something...)
the damage, however, is done - the site has been hammered into ill-fitting compliance with standards it was never designed to maintain (an investment i see them as loath to discard), and we have a certain percentage of underage members - though i'd be willing to bet it's a great deal smaller in reality than their vocal presence on the Forums might suggest - and there is no way now to create a "Foo Junior" ro accomodate them. it would be easier to make a Foo Senior to which the rest of us could transfer our pets and assets. (we'd be happy to run it for 'em - and i bet a cracker we'd show a far better profit margin and growth rate than the kiddie car this has turned into.)
Well I never use Meebo personally, but the only ads I think I saw anytime recently was from them, and they're not even owned by Foo. So I have no idea what ads they are referring to.
DeleteI haven't seen a FooSam in... wow ages. I don't think that they've been around for awhile. I think I read from one of the Ambassadors that Rivet stopped it right before Ron took back over. I saw it in Chit-Chat, I wonder if the thread is still there. I'll do some digging and see.
thanks, i'd appreciate it. i had the impression that it was phased out even sooner than that, i don't recall seeing Sams since a couple of months after Pay-To-Play was introed. there was a brief flurry of RoboFeed problems at one point and subsequent to that the Sams went poof - presumably they knocked out the VIP service by accident while killing the code.
Deletealong with trying to set up some form of onsite click-to-feed-RL-pets, bringing back the Sams would be a nice - and essentially cost-free - gesture on the site's part. i am wondering if he (Ron) has a "proof copy" of the original site coding from any point after the conversion from Go-Pokey...if so, doing a line comparison might make the current untangling process a lot easier.
Holy god, my eyes are crossing. I finally found it on page 28 (I'm aware I have no life).
Deletehttp://www.foopets.com/topics/show/2420438?forum_id=34&post_count=13
So many threads begin with "Omg". Not that this is relevant, just was noticed after page 5 or so.
it took all that time for them to notice? well, most of the "OMG" crowd probably joined after the Sams were (sadly) relegated to FooHistory. as Remsie closed the thread, i posted to her message board (is Rems a Rivet carryover, or does she predate? i've lost track) the following...
Delete"hi, love - i was just directed to an old (3 weeks ago) thread where people had just noticed that the Sams are not caring for pets anymore. yes, Rivet did indeed remove that coding - a few months after pay-to-play was instituted, to my recollection. i think the actual question was/is, while Ron, Scott, and Eugene are not obligated to honor promises made by Rivet, whether they defaulted on them or not - it would be more in the present spirit of the site to restore the Sams function, both for members pending subscription, and the newer members who might need an occasional gentle reminder that their pets get hungry... "
http://www.foopets.com/topics/show/2428270?forum_id=28&post_count=1
DeleteSomeone suggested that FooSam be brought back, I thought you might like to comment or flag or whatever. :)
so sad that this came up in the interests of getting a free babysitter...thread is too old to add to, but PM'd one of the more serious posters.
DeleteWell, I have been gone from Foo for about a year now but it doesn't surprise me one bit to see nothing has changed whatsoever. I'm glad I left and decided to quit throwing away my money on this site when I made my decision to leave. I am happy that I bookmarked this so I could occasionally come on and see what, if anything, has changed for the better...LMAO.
ReplyDeletewell, we've glad to have you on board, and intend to keep tilting at the windmills...and keeping everyone posted.
Deletemy "free advertising" spammers are getting smarter - the last couple actually took the time to find the current post instead of hitting whatever Google brought up first - and they turned up in some VERY odd places, lol.
ReplyDeleteplan to do a spread on them for April Fool's Day.
Does anyone else get annoyed when serious suggestions are waylaid by joking ambassadors?
ReplyDeletethat's been a bone of contention - and people have called them on it, publicly and specifically - for quite a while now. REALLY wish they'd get it through their heads that even the actual kids don't always talk abount nothing but fluff and foolishness. only way i see to deal with it is to pretend the "cookie" posts didn't happen and continue the original discussion through and past them.
DeleteI went gravedigging today and found an interesting post. Makes for good reading, and reminds me to wonder where our reward for downtime went.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foopets.com/topics/show/2297526?forum_id=34&page=6
i half-remember that thread...and how VERY interesting you could find it. wonder how much else Rivet-era stuff didn't get purged as planned...
ReplyDeleteActually if it's about the Unicorn Room glitch, that should be from right when Dr. Ron first took over... That was their first major issue besides Insta-All.
Deletethere's a lot of cross-talk about the ArtMart scandal, it's hard to tell...i'd almost have to count on my fingers. we're talking about 2 months from now or a bit less, which would be mid-March, give or take : Ron and Co. had technical but not legal (public) custody of the site, and i don't see them doing something as dramatic and high-profile as the Unicorn Gambit at that point. my memory is hazy, but i seem to recall that as a Rivet action shortly before they tanked (around the time they wiped out Pet Tales). may well be wrong, it's pretty blurry. should check my own back issues, lol.
Deletethe whole thing was a crock, anyway, no matter who initiated it - i remember seeing the original announcement and it specified ONE to a customer, so anyone managing to get more KNEW they were doing dirty. yes, the site should have had a better lock on the piece count. no, this does NOT justify the shameless profiteering on the part of far too many members...and when i see these people trying not only to justify their actions but wailing that THEY were being cheated because they could not cash in on (all of) their ill-gotten gains, it makes me ill. granted, the site's own mercenary attitude, under Rivet and now (sadly) Ron, fosters "FD Uber Alles!", but the continual abuse of glitches wheneever possible (and almost EVERY site has clearly in its TOS that if you notice a glitch, you are obligated to report it, NOT cash in on it - and if you DO take excessive advantage of it (i.e. knowingly), you are subject to suspension or loss of your accout altogether. as the assets on many of these sites make FDs look like the chump change they actually are at this point, these clauses are meant to have teeth - and we all respect them) by a large fraction of members shows an unpleasant underbelly to the general attitude onsite, which gives me serious concerns about whether it's even possible to return to the days of FooPets' innocence, no matter WHAT Ron and his team do or do not do to restore the site.
Okay, here's what I remember about the Unicorn Room.
DeleteIt was first given to us, one to each person, by Rivet in order to compensate us for the downtime around the 1st of January last year.
Then, when Ron and company took over, they talked about added compensation for all the instacare issues, etc. But they accidentally removed the purchase limit and people ended up buying hundreds for 1fg that sold for 50fds resell. I know it was Dr. Ron, because I recall going to Support and talking to Traci about getting the crazy funds out of the economy, I was hoping they'd at the very least take whatever funds people got away, but I was told that they couldn't because it was technically their fault for removing the limit. Then when the gifting glitch happened, which was not too much longer, a lot of people thought that funds they received came from the first unpunished glitch and didn't realize a new one was putting more money into the game.
yes, thanks, i never heard about any of them until well after the fact so my mental timeline was hazy. i rather expect it was the rapid succession of glitches/exploitations that soured poor Traci on the site and members, poor kid.
Deleteall sites have glitches, they're a fact of online life. any that give members an edge will tempt some into taking the risk of exploiting them. aaand it's just as easy to recognise the "good" glitches as the ones that get complained about...but you seldom see them reported as enthusiastically, lol.
pretty much every site i'm on/have seen spells out in their TOS that taking (excessive) advantage of a glitch rather than reporting it is grounds for loss - not suspension - of account and all assets. most are also careful to weight relative guilt and intent in the case of serious (i.e. major impact on play or economy) glitches.
most of them have had one sort of major episode or another in the last couple of years, and provided member compensation for it...without any of the foofawrawr that happened here. for one thing, they made something "fresh" instead of recycling something already knocking around. for another, it was issued to ALL active members directly, you didn't need to go looking for it.
it seems that everyone concerned - memebers and management alike - needs a lesson in Economics 101...increasing tender assets lead to increasing prices. tender assets acquired without an appropriate return (whether they are scammed by players or passed out like candy by the site) devalue the tender still further, so that each unit buys less. uneven access to site tender (again, for whatever reasons) leads to a failing economy and encourages players with lesser site-tender assets (actually or as perceived by them) to obtain them in any manner they can, from other members or the site, and to accept higher personal risk levels in the process.
ReplyDeletebecause a VA site is a closed system, excess tender assets cannot be bled off via export, but must somehow be absorbed back into the site. running all pet and item transactions through the site is NOT adequate for this purpose, even with the substantial "piece of the action" retained by the site during each exchange. aside from the fact that members trade (with the concomitant risk of scamming) to bypass the tarriff, new FDs are pouring into the site daily in far greater amounts than are being recovered.
the entire ClubFoo subscription process needs to be rethought and revamped, with FDs OUT of the basic membership package. keep the InstaCare and InstaOne as perks, drop the price, make it for a year at a time. if they absolutely must, provide a ONE-TIME site tender or item perk, but no daily hit or monthly bonus. restore the original Super Saver at $5/month for those who want a gradual influx of site tender, and the basic package purchases for those who prefer to buy in volume.
while we're at it, let's REALLY clean house. create a new site tender that is valued at a fixed dollar-to-unit ratio, and plug it in in place of FooDollars at some preannouced point. calculate the number of FDs in the system at that point, divide by core costs/pricing levels, and allow members to trade in their FDs for the new currency at a rate to be determined by this ratio.
now we have reasonable basic annual fee that hopefully a larger number of our dormant members can afford, a higher-priced (but still affordable) "fancy" annual with one-click, two ways to add site tender to your account (sales - which there is now no reason NOT to restore - and contests, etc, aside), and a new site tender with an established RL cash value which you can trade in your FDs for if you wish. did i miss anything? (seriously - i want to polish this up and run it as (a) a Foop post, and (b) drop it over in the Suggies Forum.
I really like the thought of a new site tender. Honestly though, if you have people trading FDs, I can see that a lot of the FDs that were gained from both glitches will just be transferred to the new site currency, which means anyone that wasn't caught or who traded before the price cap would be much richer than normal players. I wish they would have taken the excess FDs out, it would have evened things out so nicely.
DeleteI would love to see something too about the limited items in FM. It has gotten so bad that tables and shrubbery now have not only buy limits, but also limits as to how many are made. It's ridiculous, and I have actually stopped buying anything for FDs at all. We know that the limits can be removed because when they put a purchase limit on the new drapes of 3 to a person, they removed it when it was pointed out that generally, there are 2 drapes to a scene, and obviously, they usually match, so 3 to a customer made no sense.
personally, i would envision a ceiling on FD/new currency exchanges for that very reason - and either a long transitional or a continuation of FDs as a subsidary site currency between members, and even for sale...one site i am on has SIX different currencies, one from basic play, one from cash purchase, one earned from paid membership on a daily login basis (NOT the same as the "cash" tender), one site-awarded for merit, and one for trading in site surplus items.
Deletethere should also be a running currency conversion ratio posted by the site and updated as the site economy shifts, ideally as part of a site bank that allows deposits/withdrawals and currency conversions from any one to any other (for a fee).
I think it would be great if foopets just closed down the website for good.
ReplyDeleteit's obvious that the website will NEVER be good again.
you don't think that's a bit draconian? granted, Foo is not what it once was, or could be - partly because there is so little agreement as to what that should be - but it's been worse, and is not THAT bad now.
Deleteyes, we need a valid, votable member input system a la Suggestions/Feedback of old, so that ideas concentrate support rather than being buried under irrelevancies, and there are a LOT of non-commercial activities whose code is still hiding under Rivet overlays (open fostering and direct pet and item sales leap to mind) that need to be dug out and rebooted, but there has NEVER been a time, in my experience, that everyone was happy with everything...but does anyone ever really expect there would be? even before the youngsters were officially let in, we were a highly eclectic membership.
it is looking to me as if the only long-term solution is to create a parallel site along the old parameters circa late 2009/early 2010 (and yes, it too will HAVE to be pay-to-play, at least at first), and allow any adult and older teen members who choose to migrate their profiles, pets and all, over there intact. (this is done constantly in MMORPGs, so there is an existing protocol - plus, as the codesets will be virtually identical, it ought not to be overly complex)
by splitting those (primarily adult) players who prefer the "original" FooPets away from the newer, younger membership satisfied with the present arangement, the site will not only eliminate a great deal of the current friction and ill will, but find out once and for all who their REAL audience is, and who is willing to put their money where their mouse is...and which site version merits development, as opposed to simplification.
Thought you might find this interesting if they don't delete it. ;)
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, it's 3am, I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. http://www.foopets.com/topics/show/2439289?forum_id=34&page=5#posts-58161983
ReplyDeleteyep foopets is peeing on us and telling us that it's just raining.
DeleteAnd this is different from when?
Deletesomehow we have to find a way to focus ONE issue at a time and keep it on topic - difficult when people (and i don't mean ambs, necessarily, just members with peripheral questions) keep dragging it off-track and allowing the main point to be minimized.
DeletePL, whom I like and respect, missed one of my main points, I think, based on "I do not think adults appreciate being talked to, like for example, a nine year old the same way a nine year old would not understand some of the bigger words we may use with an older member." - one of the main sore points I am aware of is that adults ARE being spoken to like children...perhaps so that children can understand all posts, who knows.
i will be introducing the subject of "separate but equal" divisions of the site soon - anyone who knows anything about the technical or financial aspects of doing something like that, please chime in.
Hi everybody, I am going to post this message and my questions here anonymously because I don't want to draw attention to this problem in any way that might come back and bite me in the butt with Foo management... I think you'll understand when you read it and I really, very badly need and would sure appreciate any input, ideas, etc. from you guys here, anything you can offer and I fear going to Foo support...
ReplyDeleteThis situation breaks my heart and I haven't got any idea of who else to turn to besides you guys here for help... I suspect it will be a long post so thank you in advance for your patience with me and your help..
Here goes... a dear Foo friend of mine has a very aggressive kind of cancer. Radiation and chemo have been tried over the last year and have not been successful and have weakened and sickened her to the point that she doesn't want to continue fighting. Her age is advanced and she has other very serious health issues which make her unlikely to ever get a transplant of the affected organ and if she did the chances of it working are almost nil. She is now in hospice care and the caretakers, nurses, etc. are trying to make her last time as pain free and easy as possible.
I don't imagine we will have her with us for more than a few more months and it breaks my heart to think that I will be loosing such a brave and wonderful friend. I hate it beyond words.
She shared her login info with me via off-site, private emails early last fall and we made plans knowing that the time would soon come when she wouldn't have the strength left to continue checking in each day. Her pride in her bonding badge and pets is something that I take great care to keep up. She was able to log in to Foo once about 2 months ago but now she doesn't have the strength to respond to emails or anything and, understandably so, I don't think that Foo even enters her mind with such other huge things to deal with on her plate.
The way she and I had originally arranged things and the way we confirmed and left things the last time she was able to email was that she would be unable to care for her babies at all anymore, which I am and will always be happy to do with her account info on her behalf, so her bonding badge would continue to grow. That's all good.
I told her that since I knew that finances haven't been easy for her and that I would be glad to continue the account and support it for her and she was very grateful. Now, the problem. When I am logged in as her and I go to her subscription page I can see that she has cancelled her membership (as we agreed) but that the account will continue through the six months she paid (for about another month..). I thought it would be easy for me to go in and add MY credit card info and pay for her subscription before the due date but I can't see a way to do that.
Can that be done and I'm somehow missing it? I could take a screen shot of what that page (or any others that might be helpful..) if anyone thinks it might help to see what I see there.
I know Foo doesn't approve of transferring accounts from one person to another. My friend doesn't have any collectible items or rare pets or anything but what she does have she worked very hard for and I have an enormous amount of respect for that. The sheer number of fairly common and inexpensive things she has in her inventory is staggering and I am afraid if I start transferring her pets and things en masse to my own account I will attract Foo's unhappy notice. I am extremely hesitant to bring any of this to Foo's attention since I have been logging in as my friend for so long and since I want to transfer the financial end of it to my own shoulders and not just have them slam the account closed in my face and have my friend just slip off the face of the Foo world with nothing to remember her by. I wish I had greater faith in Foo being able to handle this with kindness and fairness but I don't. continued...
continued...
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what to do. My last 3 or 4 private emails to my friend over the last few weeks wishing her well, sending prayers, etc. have gone unanswered. I knew these hard days would come and the situation is breaking my heart. The idea that I can't seem to do this one seemingly easy thing for her kills me. What can I do? What should I do?
I hate loosing my friend more than I can ever say. I hate the idea that Foo could just poof away all of my friend's work and care and love for her pets.
Thank you so much for reading all of this. I would so appreciate anything you guys can offer or suggest that might help. A million thanks!
First off I wanna just send out some hugs and love to you. I'm in a similar situation, very ill friend on Foo and am caring for her account the times she goes into the hospital. And every time I don't hear from her for awhile, I fear for the worst. She's a beautiful woman, and I can't imagine her being gone. I hope you get to speak to your friend one more time to tell her goodbye.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the transfer, I think in order to change credit card details, you may need to prove you're her. As in, give her birthday and I'm not sure what else, last 4 digits of her credit card? Anyone? I've never taken over financial responsibility of an account before. I feel kind of useless in this situation. As for your reluctance, I completely understand. The kind days when Ron first came back and reinstated the account of the man who had passed seem gone now. Everything is viewed suspiciously, and everything that is viewed that way is punished harshly.
One thing is, if you can't keep her account open, at least it will be frozen with all of her pets and if you enable the feeding, then you will be able to make sure they're safe. I do understand the BB though, it's like carrying on in her memory. I honestly can't imagine even Foo would be crass enough to punish anyone for that, but I no longer trust any of the Admin. I am hoping that Canaan can shine some light your way, I will ask around and see if you can just input new details once the 6 months has expired.
Huge hugs honey.
Thank you so much, Anon#137- your kind words and understanding mean so much to me!! I'm so sorry that your friend is not well and I hope that her health gets better. She is lucky to have you to help care for her pets and give her support! :)
DeleteI'd been thinking about maybe creating another account and moving all her pets to that account but then her bonding and the whole kind of feel of her and her friends list and all the things that make my friend so special would be lost.
I think your idea about just having it freeze but with outside care enabled would be a far better choice that way her messages from loving friends, her profile, pictures, and everything could still be there for people to enjoy and remember her by. Thank you so much for putting my mind on that path! If that's the way it needs to go then that will be easier on the heart I think.
I think (but wish I didn't..) that I won't even approach management about this. It'll probably be better to just fly under their radar and have the account freeze like you suggest.
Thank you so much for your kindness and support and ideas. I've decided that loosing friends when they pass away is just no longer bearable. No one else of my friends and family is allowed to pass away without a really darn good reason and my permission. I just won't have it. Period.
hugs and so very many thanks!!!
AIIIEEEEEEE!!!! YIPPPEEEE... I have wonderful news!! Now that my friend's subscription is down to less than 30 days left I can now see the choices for renewal!!! When I click on the choices it takes me to the regular 'enter billing info' page!! OMG- I am so relieved!!! I renewed for 6 months and it all looks like it went through just fine!! Oh, golly! Whew! Thank you so much, Anon#137!! You helped keep me sane and clear thinking when I was so worried!! So very many, many thanks!!! :DDDDDD
Deletehad some snow-related problems with accessing internet - SO glad to hear that the problem resolved. blessings to you and all our best wishes to your friend - we need more FooCitizens like you, and a resurgence of this kind of caring for the site itself.
DeleteI hope you are ok, Canaan! I know some parts of the country got really slammed with weather!
DeleteI am really happy to hear that you are able to continue the legacy of her love for her pets and the site. It's a wonderful thing! Hugs to you my friend. <3
DeleteSigh. Being called to task for inciting other members AGAIN.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foopets.com/topics/show/2442115?forum_id=29&post_count=24
I am seriously ready to shut off my forums or freeze my Azkani account and open up a new one under a different credit card. I feel like all my posts are stalked and put under a microscope. Of course all of this is in Support, I am also "ganging up" on someone. If I can't be myself, I guess I'll be someone else. At least if I try and be peppy maybe I can play the game I love without always feeling like a piece of crap.
I've decided to just give in. Seriously. So if anyone from now on thinks I'm sucking up for any reason other than to keep Admin off my back, whatever. I've been suspended, so it's not like I can be an Ambassador. I'm leaving my opinions offsite, and I'm just going to agree with everything like a mindless robot. I have no fight left.
DeleteOh, good gravy. ::sigh:: So much the same, so little changed... I'm sorry you are again the target, Az!
DeleteI would think the temptation to start a new account with a new name and perhaps a lower age might be pretty big. Of course, I'm not saying that one should give anything but one's real age but just the temptation...
I've learned that I just have to avoid the forums. The draw to play devil's advocate and to state the obvious is just too much for me. I think if we were treated as adults in the forums we would be hailed for helping make the site better with ideas and suggestions but as it stands we are the bad guys for showing anything but total happiness. Sad.
Have you been suspended now, for the forum postings on the showcase?!? urggghhh!!! I am so sorry!
DeleteNo honey, not suspended again, not yet anyhow. We're still, well, I'm still in Support explaining that I feel targeted. I can say something, and someone else says the exact same thing or paraphrases, yet I am singled out for it.
DeleteI am too tired of this game. I just want to go back to being a normal player again. I don't want to attract attention, I just want to keep my head down and be left alone by Admin.
What about a temporary name change and avatar change? Be Az-incognito for a bit. I know it'd only be superficial and if someone took more than a minute to look they would know that it's you but it might buy a little bit of anonymity maybe? ::hugs of support::
DeleteI hate giving up the name I've had for years. Just the thought of it ticks me off. No, I think I'll just conform. It's not like my posts are going to do any thought provoking or changing minds about anything, they'll just get me in trouble. I'll be a quiet mouse... hehee. If my opinionated side will just quiet down back there in the cage I have it in. Hugs :)
Deletewhen in doubt, ignore them...name no names, make your points, propose a solution to whatever the thread is going on about, and let the rest go hang. one of the answers may be not to allow yourself to be drawn into a debate - just say what you have to say and move on. do NOT let them inhibit you, whatever you do.
DeleteI figure since every time I post something in USS that has to do with anything important, I get told *I know* I should have gone to Support, that's what I'll start doing. It always seemed a waste of their time for me to do that when a lot of times, you'll get responses faster (and from more sources which would take some of the load off of her and the other Support tech) in USS, but idk, I see how some of my posts appear inciting. When I get riled, I do lose my temper sometimes, and even the thin veneer of civility cracks, but if I don't do it in open forum, hopefully it'll be okay lol.
Deletedepends on whether the point is to get an answer personally to a specific question, or to open a subject of general interest for group evaluation and discussion. sticking it in Support will not allow any others who may be experiencing whatever it is to ring in on it, or permit any feedback as to how widespread a problem it is.
DeleteUser-Supported Support, by definition, is intended to allow members to speak and work together, reaching their OWN conclusions and solutions, yes? why is the "head office" wasting what i assume is their valuable time micromanaging a Forum that was designed to manage itself?
I have no idea. Honestly I think that maybe I just come off wrong when I post there. Like maybe I do sound like I'm trying to start a riot or something every time I bring up an issue. Generally, I have always posted in USS because I feel like unless it's a personal issue, everyone should be able to get together and talk about how things are affecting them, if at all.
DeleteThings seem better since I raised the white flag though. It takes a lot of stress off of my shoulders, so I'm keeping it this way.
i've never noticed that tendency here, no matter what side of an issue you happened to be on...if anything, you usually have a moderate stance.
Deleteif i recall correctly, User-Supported Support was set up by site management (had to be them, none of us, and i don't believe even ambs, can create a Forum section) in order to take some of the pressure off themselves and/or site Support...and possibly to help keep some of the more outspoken people busy, lol. Far as i'm concerned it's a poor substitute for Suggestions/General Forum, but it's there for people to pool and discuss information. if there is information sufficiently upsetting to enough people to start a riot, it NEEDS to be publicised. and dealt with, not shushed.
I have no idea. I have sat back and agreed or said something and someone else paraphrases but says basically the same thing, but I seem to be the one that sets off alarms. It's not like I'm out to hurt the site, and I can only guess that's what they think, otherwise, why would they worry? But I am still attached to my pixel babies, so why would I want that?
DeleteIt's true though, that my loyalties have shifted more to Cyska. In general, I feel like they just care more. And that they are much better at honest to god constructive criticism. I just wish Foo would actually take the hint. It doesn't mean we're trying to start anything, but criticism usually comes from something being wrong that should be addressed, not brushed under the rug. I felt like when Ron first came back, they were trying to adopt that open stance. I have no idea what changed, but boy did it change.
I know comparing the two sites may not be fair, but I just think Cyska wants to please the customers, so they want to hear what they need to fix. Foo gets too offended too easily.
it's sad, but i don't think Foo will ever get the hint that is why foopets should just shut down their website. it's all a fool's hope anymore. :(
DeleteAnon, still not resigned to throwing out the baby with the bathwater...all else failing, i will make good my threat to go write a grant proposal, buy the site outright and set it up as a nonprofit educational/charitable the way it SHOULD be...with a junior and a senior division, as the clock cannot now be turned back.
DeleteAz, the difference i see is that Cyska is a site "by the members, for the members" as opposed to Foo - who grew too fast, fell flat, and still hasn't figured out how to get up - mostly because those at the top have always felt too precarious to allow (much less accept) serious input from the "audience", however constructive, for fear of opening the door to total anarchy. nor does their microscopic profit margin encourage a great deal of extra work on the site, sadly.
I can say that you're right, Cyska is that kind of site. And although I can't be sure since I don't know the financial particulars, I would guess that since Cyska only recently launched and are still in their beta phase, their profit margin is probably pretty small at this point. The two Admin could be working for free for all we know lol, but they're still getting it done because they truly love the site.
DeleteI feel like that's what missing at Foo, passion, compassion, and drive to please the customers. I am not all about Foo shutting down either. If people are still willing to pay to see their pets and friends, let them. It would be super cool if you could run the site as an educational/nonprofit. I feel like you wouldn't be afraid to open yourself to the customers to see how they felt and change accordingly. Unfortunately, the one currently in charge of customer service atm seems to see slights and knocks where none are meant.
it is my experience on the various sites i frequent that NO admins make any money, lol - they do well to keep the bills paid without having to put money IN. Adoptables sites are not known for running in the black to any noticeable extent : whenever there is a small cash surplus there is always a pending project sitting in the wings to eat it up.
Deletethis is why so many fold - there is a finite customer base with limited cash resources, and unless something really unique comes down the pike (as Pokey/Foo did, initially), or they pick up the slack from a site on the way downhill (as Cyska has), the lifespan can usually be measured in months at best.
Got told to go to Support for a general USS question about art. I'm done. I'm just going to stop asking freaking questions and do whatever the hell I can infer from what's going on on the site.
ReplyDeleteNot only is it a waste of their time for me to post in Support, it's a waste of mine. A simple question that could have been answered with a yes or no in USS would take hours to be responded to in Support and there would be no guarantee the response wouldn't be muddied to where I then have to have a conversation.
http://www.foopets.com/topics/show/2445624?forum_id=29&page=1#posts-58293672
this whole Mart thing is getting even weirder than it was before - and that was pretty weird. I'd have just PM'd - or even better, emailed - PL, your odds of a reasoned and timely response would be better...at this point, it looks like everyone who cares to submit has figured out that all bets are off and they might as well throw whatever they feel like into the pot and see if it flies. another side effect of this becoming a site tender-driven game rather than a virtual pet site, i guess.
DeleteWell I got a reply. But it was confusing as hell. All they said was that they don't advise people to get stuff from Google. That wasn't even my main point. Smh. My point was about the difference between a wallpaper and a background. No depth. I have no idea. And why did I need to go to Support to be told that?
DeleteIt seems yet again, they're just telling me to go to Support for EVERY SINGLE QUESTION I have, and it's starting to get on my last freaking nerve. Maybe that's the point, maybe this is all a ploy to see if they can legitimately drive me crazy lol.
Jeebus Crisp, this is ridiculous! It's like getting junk mail. An infestation of spam, ew. Kill it! >.<
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, when can we expect a new edition of the Foop? Been two months, you're slackin lol. Not that there's anything really to update. *cough*
I wish I could snipe spammers off like ducks in a shooting gallery... Bang! Good bye payday loans. Bang! Good bye gratis spiele. Bang! Hasta la vista acheter follower! Yay! Winner! I get my choice for a prize- either a goldfish or a stuffed ET doll! Yay me! ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry for the silliness- I hope that spammers, scammers, and the like have their own level of hell. :D Is there any way to delete these or make them go away? Do we know why they are suddenly here?
What has happen to this place!
ReplyDeletei hope you're not going the way foo spyglass did
and just drop off and never hear anything new again.
is it just spam left on this place now?
Really hoping for an update soon. Not sure what is going on right now or why is this in stand-still.
ReplyDeleteHi Curious and Anonymous- I haven't seen anything new here in ages either (I don't count spam, I just snipe at it.. wink..) but I'll drop a couple of notes around to some members over on Foo who might know what's happening here and hopefully we'll hear something. I hope everyone is doing well..
ReplyDeleteOky doky, I got a note back from our fearless leader here on Foop and she is doing ok. Things here had been quiet so she was going to wait and post maybe at the beginning of April. :)
DeleteInteresting Foolinks :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.trademarkia.com/correspondent-rivet-games-inc-1-1070971
http://www.webstatsdomain.com/domains/wew.foopets.com/
interesting indeed...even more so if we could actually buy the site of rits listed "value" of less than ten grand.
DeleteNo idea why my previously-efficient spam filter has apparently broken down...unless my sticking them into a folder rather than deleting them from my email notices gave them the wrong idea, lol. We have plenty, i'll get rid of the ones that snuck through and quit keeping them.
aside from personal issues that have eaten my time, while on and around Foo i haven't seen or heard of any specific issues to address - if anyone knows of any i'll be happy to tilt at the relevant windmill, lol. thanks, guys!
new post up, guys!
ReplyDelete