[urgent] this site really is actually dying

[Peoni]

Is it just me, or has cheating become somewhat rampant again? I've seen accounts less that 5 months old accumulate well over 20k pets, most from accounts with 10 posts or less...
Not to mention the numberous accounts that logged in for Dec 18th, adopted the VR pets, gave them (yes, *gave*, as they have no other pets other than a month's worth of adopts) and logged back out? How are these people not being caught?

I wonder if we saw the same accounts? Well I reported suspicious accounts! But from an outsider's perspective nothing looks to have changed -shrug emoji- Maybe I was wrong about what was going on. Or they got a warning or ban I can't see.

It would definitely boost morale to know cheaters on Dec 18th are dealt with swiftly though!

It really makes you think, how some people join and suddenly have all of these incredibly rare pets seemingly out of nowhere, no cross posted "trading x for x" in the cross-site trades. How they magically have tens of thousands of C$, even though they had been here for a week.
I saw so many instances of cheating on December 18th, but I thought they would all be taken care of-- no. So many slipped through the cracks. I had no idea you could report users for cheating tbh, I figured that was something the mods handled. I'm definitely going to report anything suspicious going forward though.

[Cyrinus]

Is it just me, or has cheating become somewhat rampant again? I've seen accounts less that 5 months old accumulate well over 20k pets, most from accounts with 10 posts or less...
Not to mention the numberous accounts that logged in for Dec 18th, adopted the VR pets, gave them (yes, *gave*, as they have no other pets other than a month's worth of adopts) and logged back out? How are these people not being caught?

I wonder if we saw the same accounts? Well I reported suspicious accounts! But from an outsider's perspective nothing looks to have changed -shrug emoji- Maybe I was wrong about what was going on. Or they got a warning or ban I can't see.

It would definitely boost morale to know cheaters on Dec 18th are dealt with swiftly though!

It really makes you think, how some people join and suddenly have all of these incredibly rare pets seemingly out of nowhere, no cross posted "trading x for x" in the cross-site trades. How they magically have tens of thousands of C$, even though they had been here for a week.
I saw so many instances of cheating on December 18th, but I thought they would all be taken care of-- no. So many slipped through the cracks. I had no idea you could report users for cheating tbh, I figured that was something the mods handled. I'm definitely going to report anything suspicious going forward though.

You just click on someone's profile and underneath their username is a report button. :)

[Peoni]

You just click on someone's profile and underneath their username is a report button.

Thank you, I just recently did so-- again, I had no idea you could actually report someone for cheating, I kinda just figured it was for people who were being rude and such lol. I was today years old when I figured out you could report for cheating, and I've been here for 10 years.

[Serial designation N]

To add to the cheating discussion, it is very suspicious unless someone had a flight rising account and did offsite trades or something,but many of the accounts I see that are very new with huge amounts of valuable pets don’t have many posts or any to suggest there was offsite trading involved. I don’t want to assume the worst,but many brand new accounts I ran into during Dec 18 tried to actually scam me and that just screams cheating. XD

[Peoni]

To add to the cheating discussion, it is very suspicious unless someone had a flight rising account and did offsite trades or something,but many of the accounts I see that are very new with huge amounts of valuable pets don’t have many posts or any to suggest there was offsite trading involved. I don’t want to assume the worst, but many brand new accounts I ran into during Dec 18 tried to actually scam me and that just screams cheating. XD

The whole thing is incredibly irritating to everyone else who plays fairly. Another account (that I should have reported while they still had all of the pets) *somehow* had 7-8 high demand pets, all from accounts who are active once a year... for the 18th. This person has been a member since last year. That's it.

[Serial designation N]

To add to the cheating discussion, it is very suspicious unless someone had a flight rising account and did offsite trades or something,but many of the accounts I see that are very new with huge amounts of valuable pets don’t have many posts or any to suggest there was offsite trading involved. I don’t want to assume the worst, but many brand new accounts I ran into during Dec 18 tried to actually scam me and that just screams cheating. XD

The whole thing is incredibly irritating to everyone else who plays fairly. Another account (that I should have reported while they still had all of the pets) *somehow* had 7-8 high demand pets, all from accounts who are active once a year... for the 18th. This person has been a member since last year. That's it.

You’d think the bots would catch on to that. I noticed users get caught for cheating and they were all older accounts. I’m surprised one like that wasn’t immediately shut down.

(Originally my phone auto corrected bots to boys,thought that was funny) put funny images in my head.

[Peoni]

To add to the cheating discussion, it is very suspicious unless someone had a flight rising account and did offsite trades or something,but many of the accounts I see that are very new with huge amounts of valuable pets don’t have many posts or any to suggest there was offsite trading involved. I don’t want to assume the worst, but many brand new accounts I ran into during Dec 18 tried to actually scam me and that just screams cheating. XD

The whole thing is incredibly irritating to everyone else who plays fairly. Another account (that I should have reported while they still had all of the pets) *somehow* had 7-8 high demand pets, all from accounts who are active once a year... for the 18th. This person has been a member since last year. That's it.

You’d think the bots would catch on to that. I noticed users get caught for cheating and they were all older accounts. I’m surprised one like that wasn’t immediately shut down.

(Originally my phone auto corrected bots to boys,thought that was funny) put funny images in my head.

The boys aren't doing their job then (lmaoo)
I don't know, I feel like a lot of cheaters who have been banned come back and just repeat what they did in the first place. With VPNs I'd imagine it's gotten easier, especially if you already have multiple devices.

[sky,]

I feel like a big problem with the site is that there is too much rudeness and arguing in the site suggestions board than discussion. I am neurodivergent and sometimes cannot tell if I’m coming across as rude or not until later or if I am corrected and while many people like me are rude accidentally,there are others who are actively trying to be rude or aggressive over opinions.Any time a suggestion isn’t popular with users,there’s no discussion,just nitpicking and berating someone for sharing their idea. I think it’s a shame! I won’t lie and say that I haven’t been rude on this board before by poor word choice,but many posts I see go far beyond a poor choice in words and are mean spirited. I feel like there should be more discussion when new threads are put up instead of quote bandwagons and jabs at the op of each thread. I don’t like that popularity of your idea determines how people will treat you in your own thread. Any time an idea isn’t deemed “good”, there’s unnecessarily villainizing and bandwagons of people joining in just to add more to the fire.

... Part of the reason that this site is dying is because people just aren’t okay with someone having an idea they don’t like and instead of saying “no support “ they have to add something that wasn’t deserved.... I’ve posted in many threads that ended up becoming very..aggressive. I feel like many others also feel that it’s hard to make threads they know won’t be popular. At the same time though, it kinda sucks to not be able to see all sides of something if it isn’t something all users would like instantly. I don’t mind debating,but I feel like a lot of what I see on threads go way past a “civil debate”.

I completely agree with this. I've had similar experiences. The staff needs to be open to discussion. Especially 1 on 1. Just
because someone decided certain avenues/rules are "correct," doesn't mean they necessarily are. And even if they are
justifiable, there is absolutely no problem with discussing differing opinions. (I am trying very hard not to name specifics).
Something that truly bothers me is the "It is what it is" mentality. If I go and present an idea that would allow CS to be more
open to diversity, (and I don't mean just mouthing off. With sources, well-explained arguments, etc.) as a person, I feel like
I should be granted the time of day.

I completely agree with the point you made about people, in general, not being able to handle differing opinions. Most of
the users that participate in those types of discussions are adults. As adults, we should be able to take a step back and think
about the intent of what someone is saying. "Is this really aimed to hurt me personally?" Also, actually read what they are
saying rather than picking out one sentence out of four paragraphs and assuming it was aimed at them. It has become crazy.
Now, I am not a malicious person, but I have accidently worded certain things in a way that left that up for interpretation. I
can respect and appreciate someone who will either correct me or agrees to disagree. As a community, anything other than
respectful discussion, no matter what, is completely outrageous and uncalled for. ESPECIALLY from adults. If you post on a
discussion thread, you should be equipped for discussion. Not just a bunch of people with the exact same mentality and
opinions about everything. That is the point of a discussion thread. If you cannot be respectful, do not participate.

I think this is super important, especially with the nature of things in the real world at the moment. Either vaguely political/
real world issues should be discussed on the basis of an open mind, or they shouldn't happen at all.

But other than that, I have genuinely seen an improvement in other aspects of this site. c:

[barbwirebrat]

i think a lot of people tend to forget that this is a pet adopting site geared towards children n_n; while i totally agree that there needs to be some improvements in the moderation and the forums, political conversations should be happening elsewhere i think!

[sky,]

i think a lot of people tend to forget that this is a pet adopting site geared towards children n_n; while i totally agree that there needs to be some improvements in the moderation and the forums, political conversations should be happening elsewhere i think!

Agreed. But this includes ALL political affiliations. Not just the ones that are disagreed with by staff. (This includes
political movements, gender issues in relation to social issues - not gender dysmorphia itself but the grey area of
women's rights and all that jazz - , etc.)

It is unfortunate because conversations about those things can be very stimulating, but for the betterment of this site,
I think it should just be taken out altogether. It has become too harsh and harmful things have been said to me and
others as well. At the end of the day, you don't know what is going on in someone's life. Some of the things I have
seen said and been told are far too extremist and downright malicious. This should not be allowed.

I think it could help with the community if we take out even just that aspect of social interaction. I don't know.