Sell Chicken Smoothie (Poll Has Been Reset!)

[bugzybunni]

my current account is pretty new, but i used to have an older account. i maybe made it in 2013? then, chicken smoothie was fun and the community was active. i recently stopped playing out of sheer boredom, it's just no longer fun, and the forums aren't as active. i remember there's an event so i logged on and this is the most active i've seen the website in a while. chicken smoothie is dying, and selling it seems to be a good idea. it's fine that they don't have time for the site anymore, but what's not fine is neglecting the website. just hand it over to someone more capable of running it, possibly even a lower down mod that's typically active.

it's also a little disappointing that it took two separate forums/threads to get feedback. the mods don't talk to their users as much as they used to. ):

[wimpod]

i swear this site hasn't changed since i joined it 5 years ago. it used to be fun! i'm mostly here now to passively work on my collection. there isn't a community anymore

[nickjr]

I eagerly await the mid-month update and the eventual coming of clearer rules

Something that I've wondered for a long time: Would it be worthwhile to have a role that's "between" GH and Moderator where the only additional power you have over GHs is to do grunt work, like moving topics, attending to spam, etc? (It's technically possible, as far as phpBB board permissions go.) I don't know what a moderator's plate of work looks like, so maybe this isn't worth considering

[Seasonal]

I eagerly await the mid-month update and the eventual coming of clearer rules :D

Something that I've wondered for a long time: Would it be worthwhile to have a role that's "between" GH and Moderator where the only additional power you have over GHs is to do grunt work, like moving topics, attending to spam, etc? (It's technically possible, as far as phpBB board permissions go.) I don't know what a moderator's plate of work looks like, so maybe this isn't worth considering

As a former GH and GM, I don't think this is necessary. ^^

[SushiBeans]

Full support.
I love this game so much but it just seems like it's not doing well what so ever. I have no stimulation anymore once it comes to the game, at first when the game was considered new it was FULL of stimulation. As someone with ADHD I NEED that stimulation to stay interested in things. I took, like, a year hiatus or something like that and came back and found no interaction from staff, pretty much zero stimulation, and unclear/hard to find rules that seem super strict in some areas(especially when it comes to criticism vs vent) and seeing that they are being updated is very helpful
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I haven't really even seen things like competitions from mods(Art, story, or anything) for a bit of stimulation to get people that play the game interested and excited. (Not that it should be mandatory by any means! I just think it would be good for interaction there and give the mods a bit of fun as well! I do hope this isn't taken in a negative way as I don't mean it)
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A lot of things are going ignored or going unanswered for months leaving everyone in the dark. Yes people have their own lives and things like that but having 0 interaction for so long with no explanation shouldn't be happening.
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I have started to see forums like this get locked for being "A vent and not contributing to the forum" or things like that, which I don't understand at all, it seems like the site has a very fine line between criticism and venting and most often or not are locked because of it. Which really only makes the situation worse as it makes people feel more frustrated, unheard, or like they're problems are being belittled.
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Though I want to say that I REALLY appreciate what the mods do. They do a great job on keeping the site safe and free of drama. I understand they aren't able to do much other than moderate what is happening on the site and pass things like suggestions up to the admins (?) (Tess, Nick, ect.)
I also appreciate the Admins and Assistant Admins as they do the best they can on the site while balancing their life offline!
I hold no anger or anything like that towards any of them! I don't know any personally and will not judge them to be bad people at all. They are lovely people who do the best that they can and are not deserving of any hate. I just miss things like communication, interaction, and things of that sort from them.
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Though to see that things like the rules are being updated is something I I really like. I do hope the communication is improved further and that the stimulation that has been gone for so long comes back!

[Obsessed]

Full support.
I love this game so much but it just seems like it's not doing well what so ever. I have no stimulation anymore once it comes to the game, at first when the game was considered new it was FULL of stimulation. As someone with ADHD I NEED that stimulation to stay interested in things. I took, like, a year hiatus or something like that...-snip-
Though I want to say that I REALLY appreciate what the mods do. They do a great job on keeping the site safe and free of drama. I understand they aren't able to do much other than moderate what is happening on the site and pass things like suggestions up to the admins (?) (Tess, Nick, ect.)
I also appreciate the Admins and Assistant Admins as they do the best they can on the site while balancing their life offline!
I hold no anger or anything like that towards any of them! I don't know any personally and will not judge them to be bad people at all. -snip-

Yes! This is what I'm saying. My sister has ADHD and will sometimes play if I tell her an event is going on, but she never plays longer than the length of the event as opposed to when we first started playing in 2011 and were on CS all of the time. It felt like the forums were more lively, and we saw more posts and updates from staff (like when Tess went to Japan! What a fun update to hear about).

I don't hate the mods - what this thread is for is the progressive growth of the site, regarding both member stimulation and player/mod interactions. Like with any movement for change, historically speaking, tempers always flare when we feel like we're not being heard by those with authority. But attacking mods is counterproductive and undermines our credibility. Our moderators, artists, helpers, and other staff work very hard, and have just as much of an investment as we do. Like we've seen just on this thread, there are staff who are available to talk, but it's not a fix when it's limited to only one member. Remember: they're doing their best. Uniting the Players and Staff into some kind of platform consisting of more open communication for keeping rules, boundaries, and progress information is where things get a little sticky, it seems.

[SushiBeans]

Full support.
I love this game so much but it just seems like it's not doing well what so ever. I have no stimulation anymore once it comes to the game, at first when the game was considered new it was FULL of stimulation. As someone with ADHD I NEED that stimulation to stay interested in things. I took, like, a year hiatus or something like that...-snip-
Though I want to say that I REALLY appreciate what the mods do. They do a great job on keeping the site safe and free of drama. I understand they aren't able to do much other than moderate what is happening on the site and pass things like suggestions up to the admins (?) (Tess, Nick, ect.)
I also appreciate the Admins and Assistant Admins as they do the best they can on the site while balancing their life offline!
I hold no anger or anything like that towards any of them! I don't know any personally and will not judge them to be bad people at all. -snip-

Yes! This is what I'm saying. My sister has ADHD and will sometimes play if I tell her an event is going on, but she never plays longer than the length of the event as opposed to when we first started playing in 2011 and were on CS all of the time. It felt like the forums were more lively, and we saw more posts and updates from staff (like when Tess went to Japan! What a fun update to hear about).

I don't hate the mods - what this thread is for is the progressive growth of the site, regarding both member stimulation and player/mod interactions. Like with any movement for change, historically speaking, tempers always flare when we feel like we're not being heard by those with authority. But attacking mods is counterproductive and undermines our credibility. Our moderators, artists, helpers, and other staff work very hard, and have just as much of an investment as we do. Like we've seen just on this thread, there are staff who are available to talk, but it's not a fix when it's limited to only one member. Remember: they're doing their best. Uniting the Players and Staff into some kind of platform consisting of more open communication for keeping rules, boundaries, and progress information is where things get a little sticky, it seems.

Yep! I meant no disrespect towards the staff what so ever if it seemed that way, they are doing there job very well and the best that they can and are already improving on communication. Of course there are some tense situations between staff and players, which is to be expected from time to time. I do agree that they shouldn't be attacked because of those situations, what so ever. I appreciate everything they are doing. Addressing things in a calm manor is always what should be done, frustrated or not.

[Lacuna]

Personally, I don't really agree with some recent posts and I want to explain why. My understanding of this thread's goals is to ask for:
- more communication
- quality of life updates
- revamped rules
- implementing highly regarded user suggestions for improvements to the existing game
and other similar changes that may add to CS's model, but not fundamentally change it. This is what I want, personally, and what I know I and others are working on.

One of the greatest strengths of CS is you can pick it up again after years and know how to play, and not feel like you're so behind you've missed everything and you're in a whole new world. There will still be beautiful new pets to adopt for free, you will not need to pay to play, and users are always spreading the wealth with adoption centers, art contests, and the like to help you achieve pets you've missed. CS is here and ready for a new generation of people to use. If you've grown out of it or it doesn't meet your needs anymore that's okay, but it doesn't need to reflect negatively on the site or you yourself. If your posts are all vent threads and you're frustrated that you're not getting positivity in return for your negativity, then it may be time to take a break, or find things to do in conjunction with CS.

Asking for new features like games, constant stimulation, etc. is just wishing for things that are not going to happen, because CS is not that kind of site. Sites that offer these things exist all over the internet, and you can enjoy them while also enjoying CS. I'm an autistic person, so I understand the cycles of interest and fixation people who are autistic or have ADHD can experience. What you viewed as constant stimulation might have been something you were providing for yourself using CS as a tool. I know this because--besides CS and writing--I pick up, fixate on, and drop other sites, apps, hobbies, games, friends, jobs, sports, literally everything. Just because you are not stimulated by CS in the same way as you were years ago doesn't mean CS had gone downhill, just like the hobbies and games I've dropped aren't bad, they were just harder to return to than CS is.

I have been playing for nine years and when I joined I was already an adult, which gives me a unique perspective that cuts some of the nostalgia experienced by people who literally grew up with the game. If anything, the game has gotten better (as far as pet designs, for example) excluding some areas where there have been proposed changes, such as adding more items to the store. If you want more activity in the forums, you have to make posts. There is nothing we can change about the forums that will revitalize them without user input due to their core nature. They're just not and cannot be like a fast paced Discord chat, for example.

Personally, it is hard for me to share my own interests and make conversation on CS sometimes because a lot of what I do outside of CS necessarily involves my real identity (like slam poetry), or things that are meant for older teens and adults (like the fiction I write). I did recently run a huge auction as well as an art contest on CS, but there is only so much we can do as staff who are also just regular players with moderating powers. I have tried to run adoptable species, but I don't have all the skills needed nor the time to devote. That's what we need our users for and why we ask our community to come together and create something wonderful!

[darkspawn]

I'm in full agreement with Lacuna.

My favorite thing about Chickensmoothie is that it is a game that is only as hard to play as you make it. You can leave and return as you please without any real consequences. Yes, you may have to relearn rarities and fairness, but that is about it. It is simply pet trading and I love it. I understand that some players prefer fast paced and content packed games and that is ok. But I don't believe CS could ever become that kind of game. It's simple and relaxing and thats something I really value about it. I have tried to play more stimulating games such as MaraPets or Lioden and it was honestly extremely overwhelming and I quit really fast. But CS is different. It's challenging but also welcoming to new players. It offers beautiful linearts and designs, without being "pay to play" as Lacuna said.

Unfortunately, as the userbase grows older some of us will lose interest. I don't believe that is something that will be fixed with minigames and mod-run competitions. The disinterest is just unavoidable for some. We are only human and we sometimes lose interest in things we previously loved. That being said, I do believe that quality updates and new ideas pertaining to events will bring great improvements on the game as well as restore some excitement back into the community. But as individuals we have to accept this will not be enough to keep some of us around. It may just be that time for the next generation to start moving into CS and start enjoying it as much as we did.

Anyways, I am excited to see the future of Chickensmoothie. I love the communication between staff and community, and I'm glad that the suggestions board is being put to use. I hope to see more updates in the future pertaining to events and such, but that is something to worry about in the future. More important right now is quality and revamped rules. I believe the fun can come later.

And staff, it truly is exciting to hear from you. The updates and such has really given me a new hope.

[Obsessed]

My favorite thing about Chickensmoothie is that it is a game that is only as hard to play as you make it. You can leave and return as you please without any real consequences. Yes, you may have to relearn rarities and fairness, but that is about it. It is simply pet trading and I love it. I understand that some players prefer fast paced and content packed games and that is ok. But I don't believe CS could ever become that kind of game. It's simple and relaxing and thats something I really value about it. I have tried to play more stimulating games such as MaraPets or Lioden and it was honestly extremely overwhelming and I quit really fast. But CS is different. It's challenging but also welcoming to new players. It offers beautiful linearts and designs, without being "pay to play" as Lacuna said.

I can agree! As a Pokemon fan, there is something very special and enjoyable about collecting and trading pets. Part of the fun is working towards goals and getting that one pet you've been working really hard to find. It's nice that CS isn't as packed with action as, say, Lioden (which I used to play) because that wouldn't mesh well with the 'bug collector' features of the game. Games involving the breeding, sale, and user-design of the pets/animals/collectables involved seem to me to be naturally more intensive because they require more user input. For older users, there aren't any consequences to leaving, but in my experience newer users have some difficulty seeing how Chicken Smoothie is over ten years old. They're dazzled by older pets, unusual edits, or retired/rarely used linearts (such as Malks, dragons, store pets, or themed releases) but lack the means to trade for them.

Unfortunately, as the userbase grows older some of us will lose interest. I don't believe that is something that will be fixed with minigames and mod-run competitions. The disinterest is just unavoidable for some. We are only human and we sometimes lose interest in things we previously loved. That being said, I do believe that quality updates and new ideas pertaining to events will bring great improvements on the game as well as restore some excitement back into the community. But as individuals we have to accept this will not be enough to keep some of us around. It may just be that time for the next generation to start moving into CS and start enjoying it as much as we did.

This is an excellent point. Human growth often means that we leave things behind that are no longer important to us, so I'm a hundred percent with you. However, I believe the thread's concern is that so many are losing interest. The reason for revitalization being discussed here is that the site's interest appears to be on a decline. We, who have been around a long time, many not see a problem. But many new users, as I mentioned, have difficulty due to the number of pets and age of the game. Unless they're here for the forums or art (which doesn't seem likely, given that the forum's inactivity now vs. the past has been brought up) enjoying the game as much as we did is more of a struggle. Older users giving or trading older pets are what allows newer users to obtain previous releases, which in turn completes collections or lets them circulate these pets further to trade for the ones they want. Collecting pets is nigh impossible when the older generations drop off. If there is, say, one user from 2009 with a full collection quitting for every two joining in 2020, those two joining will still not be able to collect the pets they want because most users who quit simply exit the site and don't come back, or may give away their pets in a post but never accept the trades. I don't mean to say that it should be easy and entirely possible to collect all of the pets dating back to '08, only that new users are at a frustrating disadvantage that puts a damper on the enjoyment factors of the game, i.e. the pet trading/collecting. With literally thousands of pets being available, and not all wishlist pets consisting of rares+, the infrequent pound and yearly Dec. 18th releases may not be enough for the new generation of players. Hence, updates.

Anyways, I am excited to see the future of Chickensmoothie. I love the communication between staff and community, and I'm glad that the suggestions board is being put to use. I hope to see more updates in the future pertaining to events and such, but that is something to worry about in the future. More important right now is quality and revamped rules. I believe the fun can come later.

And staff, it truly is exciting to hear from you. The updates and such has really given me a new hope.

Yes, I particularly love the forum mods interaction. I believe that meaningful communication, even by way of sporadic comments not pertaining to locking/warning, would help improve the site. Players would feel closer to the staff without the staff having to get one-on-one with everyone who asked. As an example of what I mean, on Flight Rising there are 'god' accounts for NPCs (like Totoro and Avian). Sometimes, while modding, a staff might see a post and respond to it in a friendly manner. So they'll do that either on their own account or as the NPC, and it sparks a discussion without the staff member having to actively participate.

I'm excited for the revamped rules. Any updates are fun, even when they're not (like hosting issues and broken scripts) because they let us know that the site still has a future and isn't being abandoned. That's why I personally like them, at least. I invest into CS because it's fun. I don't believe it gives me a right to demand anything, but I'd like to see that there are still updates in the future, and that there are still things to do and ways to play. CS is a special place, and always has been. I believe that's why it's so important that it keeps developing, so that it grows with its user base as new, younger players enter and an older generation leaves off of it.