WHY PEOPLE ARE QUITTING CS- A Discussion

[Purgatory K9]

The issue is that I don’t think staff has the funds or time for that rn. Looking back at the issues the last time they did merch

What if they started a Patreon for ChickenSmoothie? I feel like they'd be able to maybe get the funds to make things like that for their user base.

the patreon would need benefits, ie: stamps, maybe a badge to show you're a patreon member, and other things like that
??

Ohhh, the idea of stamps for a Patreon member or even like a little badge next to your CS username in the forums to show you're a supporter?? That would be so fun! Perhaps becoming a beta tester for updates?

[LittleMaple]

-snip-

What if they started a Patreon for ChickenSmoothie? I feel like they'd be able to maybe get the funds to make things like that for their user base.

the patreon would need benefits, ie: stamps, maybe a badge to show you're a patreon member, and other things like that
??

If they did this, any pets or items people get from it have to be non-tradeable or it will not sit well with the community.
It creates a pay to win feel.

What if there werent pets or items?? Just a badge or even a stamp? I agree that if they were pets or items they should be account locked!!

[Infailia]

How far does it go though?

there are definitely limitations when it comes to how many clicks away personal information can be found that dictate how we will moderate it. but at the same time, if moderators are able to find information such as location, etc, then anyone else on the internet can as well. as it was mentioned earlier, we don't list the personal information that we find to hold it over your heads, but instead to really push the idea that "hey! some random person on the internet found this!" we don't purposely go digging for this type of info, but oftentimes come across it because in reality, 2 or 3 or even 4 clicks is really not that far.

To be completely honest, I'm of the opinion that personal information shouldn't really ever be posted publically on the internet anyway (work-related posts are the only excepting I can think of). It's Internet Safety 101, and something I haven't seen in recent years even though the Internet is bigger than ever.

[Loelya]

"on CS, we would like to maintain a safe environment for all ages, regardless of how silly others may think that is. everyday, staff experience situations on this site that remind us of why we have these rules in place. it is important to understand that it is not to censor anyone, but instead to protect those who are vulnerable."
i totally understand this, but i feel like some stuff should still be lightened up on. for example, a signature link to someone's toyhouse which has a link to their twitter where they mention their age is like, 24 or something really shouldn't be something that can get someone into trouble. if they are a minor, i completely would understand that, but i feel like adults should be allowed to share things like their ages off-site without it being moderated due to being linked a few links from CS, those are the type of things that i feel are kind of unnecessary at this point, as i personally cannot see how that makes things any safer for the vulnerable people who do play cs /gen

i totally understand where you're coming from with this, and i think many people probably feel the same as you. the reason we moderate offsite links that contain age as strictly as we do, even if the user is an adult, is because many children may see that someone has their age a few clicks away and think that it is okay to do the same. yes, someone being 24 and revealing their age is much different than a minor doing the same thing. but the issue lies in children making examples of the adults on this site, therefore leading to us being unable to make exceptions. enforcing the rules for everyone, regardless of age, adds an extra layer of protection that many sites do not provide.

adult user here, supporting hellevi
is it annoying that i've gotten bonked for something 3 links away? yes, absolutely.
but i completely understand and support the rules being this way for child safety reasons. a minor annoyance for me is worth the safety of young CS users.

I fully agree and support these reasons, but I do have a thought I'd like to add if possible.

A few years ago, I received an official board warning for having a link to my deviantart profile. I had been linking to my deviantart profile for years on this site, because I fully believed it to be free of anything that would break CS rules. something like 3 years passed, with my links to deviantart being posted innocently, and then randomly one day, I got the warning.

turns out, there was a grainy photograph of me from 9 years prior to the first time I posted a link to that account, buried in my scraps, in a folder I hadn't touched in more than 5 years. I'd completely forgotten it was there. obviously, a mod did not search through my deviantart account just to dig up something to reprimand me for, but another user did, whether for petty reasons or 'just for fun' reasons, I'll never know.

but i was really devastated to get that warning because it was an actual mark on my account for several months, felt like such a glaring "this user has done something wrong and bad," and while i know that's very silly/blowing things out of proportion, it was hard for me to handle at the time. I wonder if there's any way there could be a verbal warning first for this kind of thing instead of an immediate strike on-site? I had truly forgotten about that picture, it was 9 years old and I hadn't even remembered I'd uploaded it there in the first place. if a mod had messaged me and let me know it was there, I would of course have apologized and immediately removed those links.

[Purgatory K9]

What if there werent pets or items?? Just a badge or even a stamp? I agree that if they were pets or items they should be account locked!!

I feel like if they did the pets/items, it would be like the store pets. Tess has said that the store pets don't count for a "full collection" of pets. Store pets aren't "pay to win", neither would the pets for the Patreons.

[StaticTelly]

What if they started a Patreon for ChickenSmoothie? I feel like they'd be able to maybe get the funds to make things like that for their user base.

the patreon would need benefits, ie: stamps, maybe a badge to show you're a patreon member, and other things like that
??

If they did this, any pets or items people get from it have to be non-tradeable or it will not sit well with the community.
It creates a pay to win feel.

to add on i would kinda not want there to be patreon exclusive pets at all. you can even get store pets for free if you trade, but if there would be patreon exclusive pets you could get ONLY by handing over IRL money.. no thank you.. even if they were tradeable or not, i think something like a badge, stamp, etc would be a lot better. maybe even physical rewards, for higher tiers. i know that kinda goes against what i just said but i feel like physical rewards would be much better than patreon exclusive pets.

[Serious.]

-snipped-
The issue is that I don’t think staff has the funds or time for that rn. Looking back at the issues the last time they did merch

What issues were there? /genq i didnt even know they had merch. Astounded rn

You can find more information about the CS merch here! Lots of cool stuff on here including info on the Sunback plushie that was in production a long time ago :)

CS History thread

[tiredddd]

The issue is that I don’t think staff has the funds or time for that rn. Looking back at the issues the last time they did merch

What if they started a Patreon for ChickenSmoothie? I feel like they'd be able to maybe get the funds to make things like that for their user base.

Or even one of those gofundme or starter up projects? Something where people could donate and get rewards of merchandise back! That way, it would be able to show interest, and they could start slow!
Definitely moving straight to plushies and shirts and what not would NOT be very smart, it would be nice to start small though! Maybe with stickers and pins, like they have in the past, but it’s kind of a “if we raise THIS MUCH, pin merchandise is unlocked!” And so forth! Shipping would definitely be a complex matter, but starting small and building up is always the way to go! Maybe, (and I’m just spit-balling here) there are some VERY talented artists on this site, maybe this could be a community based project? Have someone who is experienced in this expertise try it out, test the waters and overall interest?

It’s definitely a good idea and I have heard talk about it in the past, let’s keep in mind that Tess has the final say as she has her own life too and this could be a bit too much ^^

[Lacuna]

I'd say that plushies are a good idea because who doesn't love plushies, but this also opens up trading for real life items related to CS, which of course conflicts with the releasing of private information aspect and the amount of children playing. I think this would really only be the case if the plushies were limited release ones though and not forever available.

My opinion on the bonking for external sites is to give users a message (not warning) to ask to take down the link because of such and such. If they refuse to comply despite being aware of the violations, then you can give them the appropriate punishment. Most people I'm sure are completely unaware of these links in links in links or didn't know about the depth of the amount of restriction on CS.

Users generally treat any message from mods about rules as a "punishment" whether it is a board warning or just a message. They don't look that different, and the number of "board warnings" on your account doesn't actually matter much, it's just a mechanic of a forum site. We do have quite a few rules, but we do also expect people to read and follow them. Anyone who is browsing this thread who hasn't looked over them in a while can find them here: Forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4410814

Also, just wanted to shout out that the event is going on and if you want to get involved in the story, users are discussing which cryptid might have kidnapped a character in the event! Forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=4883591&start=390#p142561100

[TheFoxMaster]

I was actually thinking about this the other day but personally I'd love a bit of a tutorial, as parts get completed users could get rewarded with some older pets, tutorial exclusive pets, and items as well.

Something like "adopt a pet" and the new player goes and figures out how to adopt pets as well as how random litter generation works.

In this case though it would be a mini litter with 2 results and 3 adopts. And when one of those ends up a double it encourages the player to trade with an npc so they can get a feel for how trades feel and they can be rewarded with a random common pet from the last year or so.

Idk this was all just daydream stuff while I was driving to work but encouraging and guiding players through the site while also presenting new players with more than just that particular months pets that end up taking an entire month to fully grow.

Maybe something like mini games with rewards like set items or maybe a new free currency (something like tokens even) that lets you buy rotating older pets.

But this is literally just all daydreaming and a lot of hard to work to actually implement.

It's all stuff that's been done in events, but I think using specific elements from them and making them permanent fixtures could probably increase engagement and shake the site up in a big way.