Neopets Paranoia

[poohroony]

So did everyone who got a duped item got frozen? When did this happen? That is so unfair of TNT to do something like that...

[Rubywinged]

I remember something like that. That people where actualy able to make items and put them on the site. If i remember you could tell they where fake because when you hovered over them they didnt say the phrase that went with the item. Right after that I think they changed how they kept there item or something...... that was a really long time ago wasnt it? I've been around for a long time on and off.

[_jennythegreat_]

Twinkly, this is such an interesting thread! Thank for raising it!

I agree with you that the whole situation surrounding getting frozen is so problematic-- boh from a paranoic standpoint and from the "it's not paranoya if they're really out to get you" standpoint.

I myself have one account and have for all of my 18 mos on Neopets. But I was also frozen at one point and had no living clue as to why. I got a warning letter saying something about not using Neopets items for profit. I instantly wrote back to TNT and told them I'd never knowingly do anything against the rules but that I didn't understand the warning form letter and could they let me know what I was doing wrong so I could stop it. No answer came, of course, and I was frozen the next day.

Thank God, I was premium and had access to the people there. For two weeks I duked it out with them and finally got my account back. Turned out it was because I had put up a Chokato TCG in the Trading post with the wihlist "Lending for full collateral. Tips appreciated but unneccessary." For my whole time on Neopets I'd seen messages similar to that on the TP and had no idea it was illegal. When they sent the warning I couldn't figure out what they meant.

Anyway, this story doesn't really "disprove" your point-- I think it is sad that people are both so incredibly nervous about stuff, and that people abuse the system in various ways. But to some extent I do understand why people are sometimes nervous. Because when you realize that it can actually happen to you it's a whole different ball game.

[Penguin]

paranoid? thats me !

[Jasujo]

My very first Neopets account was frozen back in 2000 because I replied to a neomail. >.< This random person chose to send me a very vulgar neomail saying what they wanted to do to my neopet. I replied with "No thank you." Then I copied and pasted their neomail into a report to TNT. I got frozen as well because when I hit the reply button to respond to the neomail, it copied their neomail into mine and I didn't think to erase that part since I was just responding to them. I got frozen as well because their vulgarity was in my reply to them. I never got that account back. They wouldn't even tell me why I got frozen until I spent several weeks trying to find out. Now I'm nervous to report anything. I step on tiptoes on Neopets because seriously the smallest thing can get you frozen.

[Scarabug]

I kinda have this fear of the *eep* Neoboards, as a looong time ago (before I even signed up with Neo) my friend's account was frozen for no reason. TNT said she'd been "Scamming for items or NP" which was virtually impossible because she was under 13

As Jasujo said, the tiniest (or even non-existent!) things can get people frozen unjustly.

[twinklyspangle]

Twinkly, this is such an interesting thread! Thank for raising it!

I agree with you that the whole situation surrounding getting frozen is so problematic-- boh from a paranoic standpoint and from the "it's not paranoya if they're really out to get you" standpoint.

I myself have one account and have for all of my 18 mos on Neopets. But I was also frozen at one point and had no living clue as to why. I got a warning letter saying something about not using Neopets items for profit. I instantly wrote back to TNT and told them I'd never knowingly do anything against the rules but that I didn't understand the warning form letter and could they let me know what I was doing wrong so I could stop it. No answer came, of course, and I was frozen the next day.

Thank God, I was premium and had access to the people there. For two weeks I duked it out with them and finally got my account back. Turned out it was because I had put up a Chokato TCG in the Trading post with the wihlist "Lending for full collateral. Tips appreciated but unneccessary." For my whole time on Neopets I'd seen messages similar to that on the TP and had no idea it was illegal. When they sent the warning I couldn't figure out what they meant.

Anyway, this story doesn't really "disprove" your point-- I think it is sad that people are both so incredibly nervous about stuff, and that people abuse the system in various ways. But to some extent I do understand why people are sometimes nervous. Because when you realize that it can actually happen to you it's a whole different ball game.

I guess you are right, but I have realised something. I think I live my whole life in a 'Everything will be okay!' kind of way, even though mostly it isn't. Maybe I just think...'it won't happen to me'

Or maybe I put to much trust in TNT, I mean, I can understand from their point of view, there are a LOT of people out there trying to make it unfair, cheating, scamming etc, and they have to safeguard against that otherwise noone will want to play. It just seems so sad that it's almost impossible to enjoy neo anymore without worrying about every single little thing we do.

[_jennythegreat_]

Twinkly, this is such an interesting thread! Thank for raising it!

I agree with you that the whole situation surrounding getting frozen is so problematic-- boh from a paranoic standpoint and from the "it's not paranoya if they're really out to get you" standpoint.

I myself have one account and have for all of my 18 mos on Neopets. But I was also frozen at one point and had no living clue as to why. I got a warning letter saying something about not using Neopets items for profit. I instantly wrote back to TNT and told them I'd never knowingly do anything against the rules but that I didn't understand the warning form letter and could they let me know what I was doing wrong so I could stop it. No answer came, of course, and I was frozen the next day.

Thank God, I was premium and had access to the people there. For two weeks I duked it out with them and finally got my account back. Turned out it was because I had put up a Chokato TCG in the Trading post with the wihlist "Lending for full collateral. Tips appreciated but unneccessary." For my whole time on Neopets I'd seen messages similar to that on the TP and had no idea it was illegal. When they sent the warning I couldn't figure out what they meant.

Anyway, this story doesn't really "disprove" your point-- I think it is sad that people are both so incredibly nervous about stuff, and that people abuse the system in various ways. But to some extent I do understand why people are sometimes nervous. Because when you realize that it can actually happen to you it's a whole different ball game.

I guess you are right, but I have realised something. I think I live my whole life in a 'Everything will be okay!' kind of way, even though mostly it isn't. Maybe I just think...'it won't happen to me'

Or maybe I put to much trust in TNT, I mean, I can understand from their point of view, there are a LOT of people out there trying to make it unfair, cheating, scamming etc, and they have to safeguard against that otherwise noone will want to play. It just seems so sad that it's almost impossible to enjoy neo anymore without worrying about every single little thing we do.

Well, you know, one of the reasons I think this thread is a good one is that I think the balance between worrying and being able to have fun is important-- in life as well as just in Neopets. I think you raise some really valid issues with suggesting people not be so constantly consumed by fear. If one is too scared all the time it takes the fun out of everything. I think healthy caution is ok though-- to me it's the balance that's important.

[fredleymedley]

Is anyone 100% honest? I think I break the rules quite a lot really, I 'cheat' the wheel of monotony, I've just created a random refreshing macro that plays dice-a-roo for me for a few hours (I just leave it 1000NP and come back to deal with all the food), and I cheat potato counter aswell. Obviously there are limits, I don't go around scamming people, or cheating at other peoples expense, but I think part of the fun of a virtual system like this is finding the loopholes (I'm a hacker at heart...)

[aliboy]

I think there is Cheating and then Cheating within the rules . It's just a bit hard to seperate the two .

[May]

I have been playing Neopets for a little over 5 years now, and to this day, I have never been frozen or even gotten a warning. I pay attention to the news and editorial questions quite a bit, especially when there is information on the rules of Neopets. I never worry about anything I'm doing on the site. If every time I clicked a button, I said to myself, "I wonder if this will get me warned or frozen...", I would end up hating the site. Neopets is a game. Something to do in my spare time. If I worried about it at all, the fun factor would cease to exist. If I ever do end up breaking a rule and get frozen for it, oh well. That's life. I'll just start over or find something different to play.

As far as the connection between the Neopets staff and the users goes, it has definitely changed quite a bit in the past couple of years. I remember way back when you would send in a question, a comment, or an idea for the site, and you would actually get an e-mail back. Nowadays, I hardly ever get even an automated response saying something like "thanks for the feedback". It kind of sucks to feel so disconnected. I wish that they came more to fan sites to answer questions or look for new ideas (I know they probably visit more than I think they do, but it would be nice if they made their presence known a little bit).

[Teelie]

Neopets is a game. Something to do in my spare time. If I worried about it at all, the fun factor would cease to exist. If I ever do end up breaking a rule and get frozen for it, oh well. That's life. I'll just start over or find something different to play.

Neopets is a game, yes but it's also one that some people spend hours a day on playing, over the course of years. All of that work, that time spent is not something most people go "oh well" over if they are frozen for some obscure or especially false claim of rule breaking.

I've been playing off and on for over 5 years now and if my account is frozen and locked because of something someone claimed or because some TNT staff thinks I broke a rule, I wouldn't be too happy all of that time and work was lost.

As far as the connection between the Neopets staff and the users goes, it has definitely changed quite a bit in the past couple of years. I remember way back when you would send in a question, a comment, or an idea for the site, and you would actually get an e-mail back. Nowadays, I hardly ever get even an automated response saying something like "thanks for the feedback".

A sad twist to the success of the site. The more popular they become, the more distant to the user base they get. This is part of why I think the freezing and staff problems are so bad at times. They aren't connected to the users or get a cynical or dystopic outlook on the userbase.

[okamotosan18]

Listening to everyone else's thoughts on this, it really sounds like under the pretty & fun surface of Neopets is like a deep brainwashing issue that is keeping us all fearful of actually playing Neopets, like some kind of secret dictator in the background. That's so creepy that they can turn years(6 of mine ) of our time spent on Neopets into a complete waste with the click of a button. Power shouldn't be given to people who aren't going to take their responsibilities seriously. It was my choice to spend my time on Neopets, to spend my money on Neopet products, and it was all because I assumed it was worth spending my resources on. But they didn't care about that in the end. They only wanted to make the problem go away, even if it wasn't the right way.

[kimiko_00]

Nowadays, if a staff member would announce their presence on a fan site, that site would be brought down in less than an hour by all the Neopets players visiting. Just look at what happens when they post on the Neoboards. A topic only lasts minutes, no matter if anything useful was said..

It's regrettable that Neopets don't interact more with their users, but also understandable. Who could stand the gazillions of beggars real attention would attract?

[Teelie]

Conversely, if they were more active, the almost messanic sightings of TNT staff wouldn't result in a mass of people flooding in to talk to them. The more we see them around, the more active they are and easy to contact, the less people would see their "chance" to actually communicate with them.