Transparency

[pegasus4240]

Communication is always good.

[ilya]

Communication is always good.

+1

[theycallmenishta]

edit: also seeing staff downplay it because it only affected a "small handful" of people didnt make me feel great. it obviously greatly affected me and idk if it was the same or worse for others but it is DEFINITELY something that deserved to be addressed. it just felt like a huge slap in the face lol i dont care that i was only one of ~15 people, this was very real and scary for me. (and still is)

I could not agree more. Just because we may be in the minority doesn’t mean our concerns should be downplayed or swept under the rug. It really feels like much of the staff isn’t understanding what the real problem is, and form them to say Chicken Smoothie’s security isn’t compromised is a total cop-out. I understand the importance of having uniquely complex passwords, but this is a game geared towards kids that may not totally understand that. But even if you were to argue it’s their parents’ job to be monitoring such things, how can they when people like you aren’t even notified their account was hacked in the first place?

[vicasterology]

edit: also seeing staff downplay it because it only affected a "small handful" of people didnt make me feel great. it obviously greatly affected me and idk if it was the same or worse for others but it is DEFINITELY something that deserved to be addressed. it just felt like a huge slap in the face lol i dont care that i was only one of ~15 people, this was very real and scary for me. (and still is)

I could not agree more. Just because we may be in the minority doesn’t mean our concerns should be downplayed or swept under the rug. It really feels like much of the staff isn’t understanding what the real problem is, and form them to say Chicken Smoothie’s security isn’t compromised is a total cop-out. I understand the importance of having uniquely complex passwords, but this is a game geared towards kids that may not totally understand that. But even if you were to argue it’s their parents’ job to be monitoring such things, how can they when people like you aren’t even notified their account was hacked in the first place?

exactly!! it was a mere coincidence that i decided to log onto cs last night but i'm glad i did because i received absolutely zero warning that my account had been compromised, not once, but twice!
i get it. it's a pet trading game and they're pixels yadda yadda (not to downplay people who only had their pets messed with, it sucks and you have every right to be upset about it) but this is also a social website. people put years of their life into this website and the fact that information such as my deadname was accessible to this person is absolutely terrifying to me. i used to use the pms as a sort of "notepad" for important (not super sensitive information just things i want to remember) info, things i needed copy/pasted, or just notes to myself that i needed over 9 years of playing. definitely will not be doing that anymore lol

like i literally logged in, saw everything in my account was messed up, frantically submitted a help ticket asking for any sort of information, and the response i got was "oh yeah u got hacked twice lol"

[ActualWoodelf]

I support the practice that if there is something even CLOSE to this in future, staff needs to make a front-page announcement right away. As soon as they know. It doesn't have to compromise anyone's privacy or their strategic position in dealing with the problem. A simple statement of "We know, we're sorry it's happening, and we're working right now to solve the issue" would have reduced SO much panic and given players a ray of hope that staff actually cares about the emotional effect of an event like this, let alone the financial and security damages.

[vicasterology]

I support the practice that if there is something even CLOSE to this in future, staff needs to make a front-page announcement right away. As soon as they know. It doesn't have to compromise anyone's privacy or their strategic position in dealing with the problem. A simple statement of "We know, we're sorry it's happening, and we're working right now to solve the issue" would have reduced SO much panic and given players a ray of hope that staff actually cares about the emotional effect of an event like this, let alone the financial and security damages.

when i was reading through the thread created by the hacker on my account, staff was arguing that an announcement about the situation would do no good and only "further the panic" and "cause chaos" which i heavily disagree with. so i guess those of us who WERE compromised are just supposed to settle for being left in the dark and pick up info through word of mouth from other users only. lol.

[theycallmenishta]

ETA: ^ Yup, exactly.

i get it. it's a pet trading game and they're pixels yadda yadda (not to downplay people who only had their pets messed with, it sucks and you have every right to be upset about it)

Not to mention a lot of people, myself included, have put actual money into building our collections and supporting this site in the process. C$ is a premium currency purchased with real currency, and that’s what makes this all the more frustrating.

P.S. I’ve seen some staff claiming the reason no formal announcement was made was because it would cause site-wide panic and chaos—so what would you call this then? No hate to them because I know they’re just working off the information that they have, but that is no excuse to leave everybody, especially all us affected, in the dark.

[W0LF]

I agree.
I actually posted here earlier with something to the effect that had staff been up front (transparent) in the first place, then there wouldn't be so much "misinformation", confusion, & animosity.

I deleted that post, as I wasn't sure how it might be received... but if staff continue to remain silent &/or vague about what's going on, then we only have the many many posts, speculations & opinions of each other as a community.
That's where the broken telephone begins.

Just be up front with your fanbase, & it would prevent alot of problems!



Also, though having a post on the front page would have been / is great, emails might have actually been an even greater help, as it's been pointed out that many who were affected were away while it was happening.

[vicasterology]

I agree.
I actually posted here earlier with something to the effect that had staff been up front (transparent) in the first place, then there wouldn't be so much "misinformation", confusion, & animosity.

I deleted that post, as I wasn't sure how it might be interpreted... but if staff continue to remain silent &/or vague, then we only have the many many posts, speculations & opinions of each other as a community.
That's where the broken telephone begins.

Just be up front with your fanbase, & it would prevent alot of problems!



Also, though having a post on the front page would have been / is great, emails might actually be an even greater help, as it's been pointed out that many who were affected were away while it was happening.

yeah also like
if the information was acquired through a data breach of other websites a warning for users who had not been affected would still be pretty nice
like a "hey xyz is happening, its nothing to worry about as long as you change your password to something unique, especially if you play these games"
people unaffected could still benefit from a staff announcement

[ᗢᘏᓗ]

huge support for reasons i've previously stated

and with that, a reminder that the frustration does not originate from this situation alone! this is a problem that has existed for years, so users are rightfully upset. i hope the concerns of others will be heard and improved upon instead of being put aside.