@(you need an account to see links) thanks for posing questions that made me think harder about the situation and what we actually know about it. I agree that it doesn't say anywhere explicitly that the metaverse is replacing neopets. I think @(you need an account to see links) wholeheartedly hits the nail on the head about why we're all so mad lol, it truly is the straw that broke the camel's back. I would say that it is very much TNT's job to handle communications before we get to the point of panicked echo chambers. Speculating is what people will do if they're not given information that makes sense!
In general we all sense some kind of fuckery is afoot. The specifics are TBD but we're surely intended to be the collateral regardless. We don't like it and we're not being provided with any straight answers.
kind of a personal opinion/vent but i think that a lot of vitriol, aside from the environmental stuff, is about how NFTs have essentially been serving as an increasingly common vector for art theft. i get that art theft has been and always will be a problem, but the last thing anyone needs is to hear that some chucklefuck is using their work to get some returns while hosting it on something that has the potential to be a resource-heavy, get-rich-quick kinda shit. it's bad enough getting stuff put on pinterest without credit so wtf man?
Aero (10-09-2021),Alcremie (10-09-2021),Allegra (10-09-2021),Buizel (10-09-2021),Clefairy (10-09-2021),Da Plushee Boree (10-09-2021),♥ Decepticon ♥ (10-09-2021),DrBumfinger (11-20-2021),Ice (10-09-2021),Lacus (10-13-2021),Merit (10-09-2021),My name is Yoshikage Kira (10-09-2021),Natalie (10-09-2021),Pringle (10-09-2021),sheli (10-09-2021),Synth Salazzle (10-09-2021),TMGC (10-09-2021),Wisp (10-09-2021),Zapdos (10-09-2021)
Yeah it’s nice to have an in depth conversation about this!Originally Posted by Ice
I think while my opinions on all this mostly align with everyone else’s (tldr “hmm, gross!”), the few differences that make me a lot more optimistic about the whole situation & not driven to protest or anything are basically:
1. Resources poured into vs resources obtained from - I cannot stress enough how much of a difference it makes that JS isn’t doing this. It isn’t their project, they’ve put absolutely nothing into it except a contract borne of like a meeting or two (or frankly as little as an email chain lmao, it’s clearly not a very thorough contract). Not only does this mean it’s tied to neopets in name only, it means TNT’s workflow and priorities haven’t been diverted at all. And most importantly, this isn’t JS investing in something - it only makes sense for the money to have moved in the other direction. The finance bros would’ve paid for the rights to the lore, and that money (god-fucking-willing) can be used to pay capable programmers to finally fix the site
And 2. I actually disagree that JS should be focusing exclusively on the current player base, I think it’s totally reasonable for them to try to give the brand some traction again. Obviously I also think they should do better by us, and when the new layout went live I stopped playing for god knows how long, but! It actually finally feels like the light at the end of the tunnel in that regard. We’re getting a way to make pets UC. We’re getting more pet slots. We can be publically gay onsite now. These are big, these are the things we’ve been screaming about for years, and they’re happening - they finally ARE considering what we want.
And while I’m glad that they’re listening to us, and while I agree that’s the heart of how to make it a successful game, I 100% get that they’re trying to find ways to expand. Neopets was once huge. It’s in an awkward zone now where it’s still a household name, and it’s a fond memory for tons and tons of millennials, but it’s a format that most people outgrew. Where franchises like Pokémon and Harry Potter, both created on a similar timeline for the same audience, have stayed evergreen, neo has been dying. So while the recent partnerships have gone fucking terribly (thinking about this one and that TV show thing, is that dead?) I think both have honestly been decent ideas. Kids like cartoons, maybe if they get into this cartoon they’ll want neopets of their own and we’ll have a new generation sucked in. Adults are already buying NFTs, maybe they’ll be drawn to the ones with the neopets on them out of their famous millennial nostalgia, and maybe the surrounding headlines will lure some of them back. As a company it completely makes sense to set their sights higher than being a utopia for a small and dedicated-but-definitely-not-growing playerbase. It would be cool if they could you know, actually achieve that first, but at a certain point quality and funds create a downward spiral fast & any opportunity for outside funding matters a lot.
The problem is given that the site is such a mess and the playerbase is so small/stagnant, of the companies that can do outside projects like that the Venn diagram between “interested in working with neo” and “actually good” is basically two separate circles lmao. It’s painful to watch these attempts suck so hard, but idk I have no grievance with JS for trying it where they can. I also think it didn’t occur to them that this would alienate the playerbase so much, because nothing about the site has been touched. NFTs have some inherent controversy around them because of the amount of energy they useand the fact that the concept is uhhhh fuckin stupid, but for the most part people who don’t like them just don’t engage - I don’t think there was any way for them to foresee this level of backlash (bc again I think the backlash has accidentally exploded into misinformation)
I DOOOO have grievance with JS for the fucking mobile layout, and it is my fondest wish that the stupid crypto homophobes paid enough for their stupid NFT rights that something is finally done about that.
Last edited by Druid; 10-09-2021 at 12:58 AM. Reason: Typo
thank you for the gay rights peo ♥ @honeycomb ♥
I agree the distinction in money flow direction/who is doing the work is an important one to make (and ideally if you are correct pls JS spend that fucking money wisely after all this shit) but I'm still not sold on supporting JS's decision to accept such a venture. Would love to eat my words if this really does turn into a positive for Neopets! But maybe I just have too many blinders on because I still cannot see how JS looked at the proposal and (assuming they did their research, hah, JS has been around since 1991 and presumably has Seen Shit as a company [especially one specializing in kid based EDUCATIONAL content] you'd think they would have someone capable of higher thinking to predict such an outcome of backlash given the controversy surrounding NFTs and how outspoken the Neopets userbase is) thought this would turn out well. My uneducated guess is JS execs were just given a proposal that would pay them out some $$$ in return for the NFT company to do their thing with Neopets IP in NFT-land and JS very shortsightedly jumped on the chance at some quick $, and that was that.
I completely agree with expansion and trying to get Neopets back in the public eye but again, wholeheartedly believe this was SOOOOO not the choice, even if it was the ONLY one. (As it has turned out to be yet another negative PR nightmare; players legitimately leaving the site/not supporting Neopets.com financially = tangible negative impact stemming from this singular decision) It's upsetting to think that they did try several times in the past with their unfortunate mobile app misses, and I still stick by my pipe dream that if Neopets released a true "mobile" app lite version of Neopets.com - one where you could login to your account, see your Neopets and feed/play with them (cmon it's cute), ideally surf the boards/answer neomails (or idk, even something lighter than a website tie-in port like mini chat rooms or being able to scroll through customisations and up/downvoting, leaving comments etc.) - that would have been SO much better in attracting people to poking their heads back in and maybe checking out the desktop version again.
I won't harp on the topic anymore but yeah... I really believe JS should have just proceeded with the NC cycle for financial stability until the real changes ppl want can be implemented (but maybe I'm wrong and NCCers aren't whaling that much...) and later turned into even more profit instead of choosing to greenlight this NFT project which (I think realistically could have been foreseen due to all the negative sentiment regarding NFTs especially in the creative space, which is a large portion of Neopets players) is only angering their primary userbase further. If the money really does funnel back into the site, cmon JS it's your move! There isn't anything I'd love to be more wrong about lol
❤ Cream 2.0s by sugarbee, Houndoom, Alister; sales ub by Aero ❤
Also a totally valid reason to dislike NFTs in general. I’m just blown away by the mass quitting, partly because I didn’t think those things were that widely known and passionately hated, but largely because no decision neo makes can affect the industry regardless. Basically why should we cut off our own hobby as a statement to a niche company dipping its toe in the water of a now-giant industry we disagree with.
I hate NFTs. I think the whole concept of owning and selling the ”deed” to a digital image is dumb as fuck, I constantly and desperately dread how much worse the world will get in my lifetime and how little is being done to slow that, and yeah it seems like when they were introduced everyone who’s into them lost their minds about what ~ownership~ means and it’s shady af. But I also think taking action against things I disagree with has to be done in a way that actually has the potential to affect change, otherwise I’m just wasting energy and hurting myself as a virtue signal. The film industry is exploitive af - I signed that petition, I support the workers’ strike, and if IATSE suggests a mass boycott of a particular opening weekend or something I’m down.. but outside of that I’m still gonna watch movies. I do understand feeling so strongly about a given issue that I don’t want to be associated with anything on the wrong side of it - for example Chik-fil-A isn’t hurt by me refusing to eat there but I’m still never going to - but the balance between like, how much am I losing (‘can eat different chicken’ vs ‘have devoted years to obtaining things in this game, being immersed in the lore, and creating art around it’) and how big/personal/specific is the issue seems off for that, you know?
Sorry for all the analogies / hope this is making sense, it’s pretty late here lol. Basically just like, NFTs exist and they’re stuck existing, and that’s yet another thing spurring how far left I vote and how many letters I write to my MP about renewable energy mandates and how many petitions I sign, and I keep hoping to see the formality/paper trail of NFTs used toward a more real response to art theft, but in the meantime I don’t mind if a game I play finds a way to profit off them. And it feels bizarre to see a mass exodus of a very niche platform in response to a looseish tie to a lesser-known issue
thank you for the gay rights peo ♥ @honeycomb ♥
Autobot (10-09-2021),Corliss (10-10-2021),cregganwhitehare (10-09-2021),Ice (10-09-2021)
Seems JellyNeo is doing a blackout/boycott this weekend with many players following, including FC posters.
DrBumfinger (11-20-2021)
I fully think the NFTs would not be met this much implosive energy if JS/TNT upheld their promises on upkeeping/improving the site. Everyone is seemingly upset and brand metrics are in a free fall.
The entire project screams that some mba product manager at NT drank the koolaid from some testosterone fueled agency and saw their golden brick road to a promotion(or a sizable bonus). Financially, these ventures are pretty lucrative dollar wise, however, as I explain to executives all the time, pushing short term dollar wins will tank your brand and ultimately kill your long term prospects(aka ability to M/A later).
The fact JN and the FC folks are involved is wild… read that a lot of Neo’s daily traffic comes from JN. True for me since I use their page for the secret lab to zap my pets.
I thought the NFT stuff would blow over but the fact JN is mad about it too and they’re the #1 fan site… these are crazy times we live in.. they called TNT tf out about everything
u 'mirin?
Aero (10-09-2021),DrBumfinger (11-20-2021),Lyrichord (10-09-2021),TMGC (10-09-2021)
Man, the protests from JN, the sitewide logoff protest-- they kinda made me stop and consider that I don't think the neopets community was ever the target audience for neopets NFTs. More likely those already involved/expressing interest in cryptos is who they're trying to reel in with this stuff. I can't help but feel like the metaverse staff probably doesn't give two shits about the already-existing community on neo.
Aero (10-09-2021),Autobot (10-09-2021),Corliss (10-10-2021),♥ Decepticon ♥ (10-09-2021),Druid (10-09-2021),dustyc (10-09-2021),Pringle (10-09-2021),Synth Salazzle (10-09-2021)
Yeah, they definitely don't lol. Most of the community is full of invest bros high off of the topshot NFT returns hoping to make easy cash when they go live.
DrBumfinger (11-20-2021),Pringle (10-09-2021),TMGC (10-09-2021)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
