Banned for the username rumncoke?

[rumncoke]

Hi everyone,

I started playing Neoepts a month ago by the name of rumncoke and today when I tried to log on, I got this message:

"This account's username and/or name was deemed inappropriate for this site. We will not unfreeze an account with an inappropriate username and/or name. You may create a new username as long as it is appropriate for this all-ages site."

I don't get why my name would be considered as inappropriate? I have been using the name rumncoke for many online games and forums and I have never encountered any problems. For those of you that don't know, rumncoke is short for my fave drink - rum mixed with coca cola. It is a very popular drink and I'm sure many of you has heard of it before.

I have sent an email to TNT just now explainning my username. How long will it usually take for them to reply back?

Oh and also, my friend suggested that maybe the Neopets staff misunderstood my name for rum and cocaine. What should I do in this case? Will they believe me that I meant coke as in the soft drink and not the drug?

BTW, I'm over the age of 18.

[May]

I'm pretty sure that the members of TNT know what rum and coke is, and that they probably banned your username because of the rum portion of it.

Neopets is a family site, and discussion or mention of alcohol is not exactly family-friendly. There are no alcoholic references or items on Neopets, so it only seems appropriate that they would not allow mention of them through usernames.

I think you can e-mail them all you want, but you probably won't get that username back in my opinion.

[Siniri]

I agree it's probably the alcohol reference. But it recently came to my attention that one of Adam's pets is named oifetchmecorona. Why should the founder be allowed a pet name with an alcohol reference? I understand that when he created the pet, Neopets wasn't necessarily a kid-friendly site. But they really should change the name of the pet now (they must have a way to go into the system and do that for their own pets, even if we can't).

[off-topic]And how does a pet at level 1000, 999 in strength, defense, and movement, and 9999 HP lose in the BD, anyway?[/off-topic]

[Lee]

[off-topic]And how does a pet at level 1000, 999 in strength, defense, and movement, and 9999 HP lose in the BD, anyway?[/off-topic]

Because Adam is special.

[rumncoke]

Why would they consider alcohol as something bad? If it was drugs, ya I would understand, but alcohol? =_= Are they really that narrow minded? I always thought alcohol was a common drink among families and friends, especially if it was a holiday or something. My family always drank alcohol around me ever since when I was little, and sometimes they would even let me have a little sip of the wine.

I find this really childish and stupid. Do they really expect people playing neopets to be Ned Flanders clones? It didn't even cross my mind one bit that they would find the username to be offensive when I created the account..

Is it possible to appeal if they ever decide that my account should remain frozen?

[Lee]

Why would they consider alcohol as something bad? If it was drugs, ya I would understand, but alcohol? =_= Are they really that narrow minded? I always thought alcohol was a common drink among families and friends, especially if it was a holiday or something. My family always drank alcohol around me ever since when I was little, and sometimes they would even let me have a little sip of the wine.

I find this really childish and stupid. Do they really expect people playing neopets to be Ned Flanders clones? It didn't even cross my mind one bit that they would find the username to be offensive when I created the account..

Is it possible to appeal if they ever decide that my account should remain frozen?

Alcohol is a drug though. Not that I don't think that it is a bit frivolous. Don't forget though, there are many people that do abstain from alcohol and I think Neopets is just doing their best to satisfy and many people as they possibly can.

As for appeal, not really. Your best bet is just to start a new account.

[rumncoke]

Don't forget though, there are many people that do abstain from alcohol and I think Neopets is just doing their best to satisfy and many people as they possibly can.

That make no sense. I know there are people who choose to abstain from alcohol, that's their own choice and I'm perfectly fine with it. Just like there are people who choose not to and no one should be bothered by that because it's none of their business. Why would anyone be offended just because I have the word "rum" in my username? How would Neopets be "satisfying" the majority by freezing people that have usernames like mine?

No where does it say in the T&C that you cannot have these kind of names. How do they expect people to follow their rules when it's not even in the rule book?

[Shoyru_Lover]

I remember when Neopets had the white wine and the red wine as items on the site.

They eventually phased these out.

[Helena]

I remember when Neopets had the white wine and the red wine as items on the site.

They eventually phased these out.

I remember that. They changed them into red grape juice and white grape juice, and kept the images the same.

I do agree that alcohol isn't something kid-unfriendly, it's just something they aren't (shouldn't be) allowed.

My family always drank alcohol around me ever since when I was little, and sometimes they would even let me have a little sip of the wine.

Me too. I don't know anyone - I haven't even heard of anyone - that hasn't been into an off-license selling alcohol, at a party where people where drinking beer, at a resturant with people having Bailey's and alcopops. It's not like they have to be shielded from the presence of some unspeakable monstrocity or something. It's not even illegal, like a drug.

But I do kind of understand their motives, even though they are kinda stupid.

[May]

I agree it's probably the alcohol reference. But it recently came to my attention that one of Adam's pets is named oifetchmecorona. Why should the founder be allowed a pet name with an alcohol reference? I understand that when he created the pet, Neopets wasn't necessarily a kid-friendly site. But they really should change the name of the pet now (they must have a way to go into the system and do that for their own pets, even if we can't).

[off-topic]And how does a pet at level 1000, 999 in strength, defense, and movement, and 9999 HP lose in the BD, anyway?[/off-topic]

As far as Adam's pet, and a lot of other old ones....Before the site became more kid-friendly, references were allowed to a lot of different things. That's why you'll see some names with "wiccan" in the username and such. Before the T&C was updated a couple years ago by lawyerbot, there wasn't a rule in place about these issues and usernames. Once the issue came up, they decided that all future user names would be screened, but they weren't about to make a bunch of users start over, as that wouldn't be fair. So, all of the old names, like "oifetchmecorona" are still around.

[Siniri]

I do agree that alcohol isn't something kid-unfriendly, it's just something they aren't (shouldn't be) allowed.

Ah, but Neopets is a US-based company, and having alcohol on a kid-friendly site can be considered promoting alcohol use by minors. The drinking age here is 21, and many states ban alcohol sales (even beer and wine) on Sundays, or you can only buy alcohol at state-owned "Alcohol Bureau Control" stores. US marketing standards (probably self-enforced for the internet, but government-regulated for TV, radio, magazines, etc.) prohibit any alcohol references on advertising directed at kids. Same for tobacco.

Me too. I don't know anyone - I haven't even heard of anyone - that hasn't been into an off-license selling alcohol, at a party where people where drinking beer, at a resturant with people having Bailey's and alcopops. It's not like they have to be shielded from the presence of some unspeakable monstrocity or something. It's not even illegal, like a drug.

But I do kind of understand their motives, even though they are kinda stupid.

There are plenty of people in the US who have never been around people drinking alcohol -- there are a number of "dry" counties (especially in the South) where alcohol sales are illegal (though people could probably go outside the county, bring the alcohol back, and consume it in the privacy of their own homes). And like I said, it's illegal for everyone under 21 here; in most countries the drinking age is at least 16 or 18. So given the target demographic of the site (now in the tween age range), it makes perfect sense for TNT to have the rule.

I still think they could offer to change pet/user names for those who violate the current T&C -- I've programmed enough to know that unless they were completely, radically stupid in their programming, it shouldn't be that hard. Especially for the founder -- it just opens them up unnecessarily to criticism by leaving the names up.