Editorial Question about auto-refreshers

[Daze]

You have frozen many, many honest people for what you call "cheating" by having widely available browser ActiveX plug-ins that refresh screens automatically at preset time intervals. Refreshing a screen isn't cheating. It isn't a "program" that buys things or plays a game. How rottenrottenrotten of you. ~[removed]

Wow. Umm... where to begin?

First, Neopets itself is a game. It's played by visiting a series of pages in a web browser. So, technically, having someone else (whether it's an automated program or a person) refresh pages for you means that they are playing a game for you, which you agree is cheating. But let's forget that for a minute and use your other example.

What is the difference between using a program to outright buy an item, and using a program to help you click on that item and buy it before anyone else even sees it? Not much. Despite which of you actually did the final purchasing, the program is giving you an advantage no one else has, right? This is exactly what auto-refreshing programs do. If you can refresh a shop every two minutes using a program, that greatly increases your chances of getting an item. It's more precise than a human, and you can be off making Neopoints at Scarab 21 in another window while waiting for the shop to refresh. How is that fair? The same can be said about refreshing for avatars or Random Events, too. You are not doing the refreshing, so how can you say that you are the one earning the rewards?

So basically, none of those people were "honest," despite what you (or they) claim. They broke the rules and were frozen for it. Everyone should start on equal footing on Neopets, and while we have no control over connection speed, we do have control over whether or not we allow third-party programs. How well you do on the site should be determined by skill (and a bit of luck, of course) and not by how well you can download programs and install them on your computer.

By the way, a program being "widely available" does not make it okay to use. There are lots of things in the real world that are the same way.


The best thing about the whole answer, is that the majority of PPT had stated the same thing in a recent ongoing discussion about these programmes.

[TDG]

Refreshing a screen isn't cheating

best quote ever.

[Ange]

Notice how they also mention connection speeds. I remember that coming up in the conversation over here at PPT, as well.

And bravo to TNT for providing a relatively clear answer. Of course refreshing isn't cheating; using a program to do it without your interaction is. Aha. Something I agree with.

[Fiddelysquat]

That user was officially Ponce De Le-OWNED. TNT is absolutely right. An auto refresher gives you loads of unfair advantages. Random events, avatars, restocking, shop wizard hunting... It never ceases to amuse me when people make stupid arguments to justify doing something wrong. It amuses me even more when they're put in their place for it.

[neobeth]

I find it rather odd they addressed this question and didnt say anything about the greasemonkey thing. I am sure multiple people sent in questions about it.

[Huggles]

I presume they didn't want to mention greasemonkey specifically so people who'd have no interest in it otherwise, wouldn't get it specifically for Neopets cheats.

[varii]

I liked their response to the whole third party party program thing, but I am getting quite tired of basically (I know there are a few exceptions, obviously) every question answered being about cheating.

They should just put a disclaimer at the start of every editorial saying something along the lines of 'Yes, you can have 4 accounts, no more, but only do dailies on one of them, seriously. Dailies pretty much = financial gain. And if you're about to do something that feels shady, and/or three or more users have told you it's not ok, or better yet, we have told you it's not ok, it's not ok. Seriously guys, if you are't doing the clicking, it's not ok. Otherwise, it probably is ok and/or a message will tell you it's when it is not ok anymore. kthnx.'

[Erin]

Ponce De Le-OWNED

Hee!

[_ei]

Heh, it is a wonderful feeling knowing that I have always been right. I really enjoyed the tone of the response too - it made me giggle.

[Morningstar]

And if you're about to do something that feels shady, and/or three or more users have told you it's not ok, or better yet, we have told you it's not ok, it's not ok. Seriously guys, if you are't doing the clicking, it's not ok. Otherwise, it probably is ok and/or a message will tell you it's when it is not ok anymore. kthnx.'[/i]

varii, you hit the nail right on the head.

And, by the way, I am very glad that Neopets addressed this issue. Especially this part:

. . . we do have control over whether or not we allow third-party programs. How well you do on the site should be determined by skill (and a bit of luck, of course) and not by how well you can download programs and install them on your computer.

By the way, a program being "widely available" does not make it okay to use."

A few members, myself included, spoke up about this issue. Let's just say that I did what I did because I thought of my daughter. How easy it would be for someone young or naive like her to trust a person who says outright that their program is legal and safe, especially after seeing it touted on well-known fansites. And especially if no one had ever asked Neopets if the program was OK to use in tandem with Neopets. Some users told me to mind my own business. Their argument was that it was perfectly OK to use a particular program because so many people were using it, because it had been around for months and TNT had never approached them yet about their use of it. So, this editorial sets the record straight.

[Meer]

I love how this person was a total smurf and presumed to tell TNT what their own rules were. XD I'm sorry I just get a big kick out of seeing people like that getting knocked off their high horse.

But in all seriousness, I'm glad they addressed that issue, because I've heard that "it's not a program!" argument many times, and it's just stupid.

[Morningstar]

I love how this person was a total smurf and presumed to tell TNT what their own rules were. XD I'm sorry I just get a big kick out of seeing people like that getting knocked off their high horse.

Come here, Meer, lemme give you a hug. You said what I so wanted to say--but was not brave enough to say. *looks around for townsfolk with pitchforks and burning torches* Great minds think alike.

[Shoyru_Lover]

lol at least we have something definitive to point to now.

OWNED!

[May]

Hahahaha

Thanks for the laugh Kym!

[hallucinating]

*looks around for townsfolk with pitchforks and burning torches*