[urgent] this site really is actually dying

[×Seven of Nine×]

BIG NECESSARY NOTICE
this isn't a rant thread, please no anger or heavy feelings
I understand we're upset about the trade system and what not but make sure to stay on topic and be civil.
-------
I know others are noticing.
Even the auctions and forum games are almost completely dead. Very little talk is happening. We only see actual action happen during the events. This isn't good.

I'm not sure what specifically to suggest, but something needs to be done.
People don't even seem to be flocking in as much for the STAFF PETS anymore. And everyone loves staff pets....

Discussion?

[Osskiar]

I'm very much in my own little bubble with sites like cs but I've seen the huge spike in activity for events, which like, yeah of course, events are a really big part of the site's year but it's a really noticable difference, I guess? I'm always looking foward to the first of the month for new litters but they don't seem to get the same hype that they used to, whether thats becuase we just have a lot more pets they get drowned out or people are leaving as soon as they adopt them idk.
The staff pets could be explained by it being September and a lot of people are busy with work and school?
I'm rambling this was meant to be a post to snoop the thread ;.;

[DisneyLuv]

I think it has to do with trading, and how hard it’s becoming to get the pets that you want or need. People are getting tired of putting the effort in, with very little success or reward. Only users with valuable pets or lots of C$ get anything worth trading, and it’s very hard for new players to succeed. Overpay is expected for nearly everything now. People are simply unwilling to negotiate with others. I know a lot of users that have quit because of how rude other users have been towards them, for simply sending a trade. Trade politics have gotten very bad. It’s why we’ve lost a lot of older users.

I love this site, but there are some days where I’m at my wits end myself. I’ve been trying for literal years to complete just one collection, and now that I’m down to three valuable pets, it’s nearly impossible to negotiate unless you’re overpaying. I dunno, those are just my thoughts. We’re not really acting as a community anymore.

[×Seven of Nine×]

I'll apply my own input too aside from my first post. The community in general feels hostile and distant. Not that there's anything wrong with keeping to oneself, but in the past couple of years it's gotten more negative. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it in better words, but hopefully people understand what I mean. In general, outside of just trading, it's like nobody likes anyone at all. It's like everyone is at each other's neck here.

Why are we all here? Do we just stay here because we feel we have to, because we've put so much effort into being here?

(None of this is meant to be directed towards anyone negatively, this is my personal experiences and how I'm feeling.)

[catplushie]

I think it has to do with trading, and how hard it’s becoming to get the pets that you want or need. People are getting tired of putting the effort in, with very little success or reward. Only users with valuable pets or lots of C$ get anything worth trading, and it’s very hard for new players to succeed. Overpay is expected for nearly everything now. People are simply unwilling to negotiate with others. I know a lot of users that have quit because of how rude other users have been towards them, for simply sending a trade. Trade politics have gotten very bad. It’s why we’ve lost a lot of older users.

I love this site, but there are some days where I’m at my wits end myself. I’ve been trying for literal years to complete just one collection, and now that I’m down to three valuable pets, it’s nearly impossible to negotiate unless you’re overpaying. I dunno, those are just my thoughts. We’re not really acting as a community anymore.

i agree, i was mostly active in 2011-2014 ish and trading felt so much easier then. coming back after being gone for a couple years makes it soo hard to collect pets i've missed, especially event pets :•( i feel like all i can do to get valuable wishlist pets is just wait for rerelease day and hope i adopt a list pet or smth.

i wasn't very active on forums back then but now that i actually want to post on them, they're all pretty dead :•( sad to see it happen, i spent so much of my childhood on this site

[DisneyLuv]

I'll apply my own input too aside from my first post. The community in general feels hostile and distant. Not that there's anything wrong with keeping to oneself, but in the past couple of years it's gotten more negative. I'm not entirely sure how to explain it in better words, but hopefully people understand what I mean. In general, outside of just trading, it's like nobody likes anyone at all. It's like everyone is at each other's neck here.

Why are we all here? Do we just stay here because we feel we have to, because we've put so much effort into being here?

(None of this is meant to be directed towards anyone negatively, this is my personal experiences and how I'm feeling.)

I know that I have taken several hiatus’s over my time here, mostly because I’ve never felt like I was getting anywhere. But I always came back, because I love the site. But I feel as though it’s just getting harder and harder to find genuine happiness here. Even if I did leave for good, I’d be keeping my current collection, because I have worked very hard despite not being able to complete it.

[shinx.]

I think it has to do with trading, and how hard it’s becoming to get the pets that you want or need. People are getting tired of putting the effort in, with very little success or reward. Only users with valuable pets or lots of C$ get anything worth trading, and it’s very hard for new players to succeed. Overpay is expected for nearly everything now. People are simply unwilling to negotiate with others. I know a lot of users that have quit because of how rude other users have been towards them, for simply sending a trade. Trade politics have gotten very bad. It’s why we’ve lost a lot of older users.

I love this site, but there are some days where I’m at my wits end myself. I’ve been trying for literal years to complete just one collection, and now that I’m down to three valuable pets, it’s nearly impossible to negotiate unless you’re overpaying. I dunno, those are just my thoughts. We’re not really acting as a community anymore.

i agree, i was mostly active in 2011-2014 ish and trading felt so much easier then. coming back after being gone for a couple years makes it soo hard to collect pets i've missed, especially event pets :•( i feel like all i can do to get valuable wishlist pets is just wait for rerelease day and hope i adopt a list pet or smth.

i wasn't very active on forums back then but now that i actually want to post on them, they're all pretty dead :•( sad to see it happen, i spent so much of my childhood on this site

also want to add my two cent's on and say i agree too.

i first joined in 2017 and played almost daily until 2019-2020ish and back then i was able to relatively easily get valuable pets and accomplish my dreamies but then i ended up quitting and giving almost all my valuable pets to friends. i recently came back earlier this year i think and it's been super hard getting anything of value haha.

i agree people are always expecting extreme overpay for lots of their pets, especially ones that are lists or valuable in general
which granted does get slightly annoying/upsetting even though this is just a pixelated game. i also think that due to a lot of the early players becoming inactive, they probably have lots of valuable pets lefts on their accounts which makes even just finding pets you're looking for a pain, never mind getting them and i feel like it adds to people's unwillingness to trade pets away, unless for overpay if it makes sense.

i do miss when this site was active, i've always been one more interested in the trading aspect of the site and i always loved getting trades from people almost every time i bumped my threat, the forums always going on and talking about things and everything else. it's sad to see the decline of the game and people's unwillingness to trade things but granted it is their pets so what else can we do ahrkelsm

this ended up longer than it needed to be but these have just been my thoughts since coming back and this is also the first time i've seen someone discussing it

[Osskiar]

Another thing I've noticed, idk if it's relevent, is that the only way I've managed to get the rarer pets I've gotten recently is as art payment and that feels off to me but I can't place why? Like, trading for pets normally is so much harder now and I don't know how you'd get anywhere if you can't do art, coding or anything else people would pay for

[DisneyLuv]

Another thing I've noticed, idk if it's relevent, is that the only way I've managed to get the rarer pets I've gotten recently is as art payment and that feels off to me but I can't place why? Like, trading for pets normally is so much harder now and I don't know how you'd get anywhere if you can't do art, coding or anything else people would pay for

I fully agree with this. That is another way people are getting a lot of valuable pets. I personally am not artistically inclined myself, which makes me feel like I’m at a disadvantage. It’s a huge part of this site, which I understand, but it’s a very easy way people are getting valuables and C$. Or I wish that there would be more writing competitions or shops, because that is more up my alley. It’s just not popular.

[wane]

I just recently came back from a 5-year hiatus, & I feel it too.

I think part of it has to do with how difficult it is for newer players to get started. I remember getting my first rare was monumental for me, since [understandably] most users are not willing to trade down rares. Trading is also quite subjective due to a lack of real 'currency', so a lot of it comes down to player preference, which makes this quite difficult to successfully trade, since it sometimes takes forever to find the 'right person' to make the trade. (With C$, it seems that value fluctuates wildly between users & some users will refuse to accept C$ at all. I think this is due to the limited amount of things that can be purchased with it.)

I think there are also an influx of users on the site that are only here to trade offsite, hence the increased activity during events (since it's a reliable way to get more valuable pets), as well as the lack of involvement in the community (they may just adopt once a month & leave).

I think there's also just more in the game for 'hardcore' players than casual ones (which would ideally make up most of a playerbase), & there are not that many customization options available (which would be appealing for casual players) simply due to the nature of the site.

I'm not so much active in the community anymore, so I haven't had any bad experiences myself or heard of any bad experiences as of late. However, I would like to mention that there are still many kind users on the site-- just this past week I've been gifted twice out of the blue, without really posting at all outside of the free adoptions page.

Just my two cents.