Lab Map Disappearance: Still a danger?

[bluebird]

I would like to hear from PPT about why Lab Maps disappear:

are they good for exactly a year as rumours suggest?
...or...can they randomly disappear at any time as other rumours suggest?

:?

My Lab Map disintegrated in January. Since then, I have bought another - but I have not began to use it because I'm scared it could randomly disappear.

Does anyone know the real facts?

Thanks! :wink:

[Mystique]

the secret lab disappearance is a glitch. no such thing as auto-disappearance after a year.

[bluebird]

the secret lab disappearance is a glitch. no such thing as auto-disappearance after a year.

A glitch, huh? :| Well, that's both good and bad...It could happen again, but there is also no guarantee that it WILL happen. And no time limit.



So I guess I should go use my new map...

[flumpy]

Its happend to me twice now. The first 2 times wast so bad as they were just over 100k for the set (many moons ago) but the members of my guild bought me the set i use now.

I was thinking it was a time limit of a year when the first one went, but the second went after only a few months, so its just some random icky glitch.

[uniquelyput]

I've been using the lab for at least one or two years. I use it as often as I remember (which is usually every day). I haven't lost it yet. I think it's just a glitch.

[The Wonder Weezel]

There is no time limit to having lab maps, you are SUPPOSED to have them forever once you collect the maps. however, there is a glitch that takes your lab away. There is no way to predict whether it will get you or not, but my guess is is that 30% of all people with lab maps will end up loosing theirs in a 2-year period.... but thats just my guesstimate.

[bgryph]

Someone who's evidently staff posted about the Lab Map glitch on Neocolours a week or so back.

The gist of it was: Yes, they know about it. (Evidentally there's a flag that on accounts that says you have the Lab Map and it gets swapped with a flag for old sponsor Battledome abilities somehow.) No, they don't know why exactly it happens -- because the Lab is once-a-day, the people who submit bug reports don't usually remember everything they've done on the site since the last time they sucessfully visited the lab, which makes the problem hard to track down.

At any rate, she said that there is now an extra comment that gets added to the account when you complete the Lab Map marking that it has the Lab, so if your Lab gets glitched customer service can see you had it and return it to you. She didn't remember when they started marking accounts this way. I think the first time I heard about it was last October (someone heard about it from Neopets customer service and posted about it here) so it must have been before that.

If you got your Lab Map before this system was put in place and you lose it, you're out of luck, but your new Lab Map will be marked and you can (at least in theory) get it returned in the event of a glitch.

:shrug: I think at least one person on Neocolours has lost the Lab and had it returned fairly quickly as far as these things go, so it does happen.

[atomicblonde]

That's really great to know bgryph! Thanks for the info.

[Catgrrrrrrl]

Thank you! I know several people who mysteriously got the lab ray without completeling the map. And I lost my first one. But a friend helped me get it back ^_^

I heard a rumor that typing the URL may have something to do with why it disapears. I don't know if that's true or not. But since getting the ray back I always follow links to get there and never ever type the url out.

[untouchable dragon]

my lab map never dissapeared, probably just a glitch, mail tnt if that happens again

[B55B55]

Thank you! I know several people who mysteriously got the lab ray without completeling the map. And I lost my first one. But a friend helped me get it back ^_^

I heard a rumor that typing the URL may have something to do with why it disapears. I don't know if that's true or not. But since getting the ray back I always follow links to get there and never ever type the url out.

I was told something to that effect to
That the map was only dissapearing for people who had directly linked to it and not for people who clicked through the site to get it. After i lost my first one i've been careful not to use direct links -- but i have no idea if there's any truth to it.

[Shoyru_Lover]

I haven't actually heard any more reports of this glitch recently.

[Vertigo]

Wow, I'm glad I've always been eccentric enough to go the roundabout route rather than through a direct link. I took a screenshot when I first started seeing the glitch, to try to help me if I ever did lose it. I have no idea if that would actually help, given that screenies can be faked, but it made me feel better at the time.

[Wind]

wow... I was looking at this topic and I went to the lab to zap my pet... and I got the message "You don't find the laboratory, you'll have to use the map".
I panicked... but then realized I somehow was on my brother's account...
Really- I hope my map isn't going to disappear...

EDIT: she became a Halloween Buzz :shock:

[Cranberry]

Thank you! I know several people who mysteriously got the lab ray without completeling the map. And I lost my first one. But a friend helped me get it back ^_^

I heard a rumor that typing the URL may have something to do with why it disapears. I don't know if that's true or not. But since getting the ray back I always follow links to get there and never ever type the url out.

I was told something to that effect to
That the map was only dissapearing for people who had directly linked to it and not for people who clicked through the site to get it. After i lost my first one i've been careful not to use direct links -- but i have no idea if there's any truth to it.

I've been using the lab for more than two years, and I almost always use a direct link. I've never had a problem.