Keep Your Accounts

You may have noticed a new trend forming by now.  If not, I suggest you to look about on user profiles or the competition forums.  At first, I didn't see much problem with members trading accounts and such, but now it is getting out of hand.  Well-known, mature members swapping accounts serves a purpose to them.  I don't condone them for wanting to start new or whatever, but now n00bs are trying to do it.  I suppose they think they will get a stronger account or better custom, but I hope no one is that stupid as to actually trade with them.

Now I'm not typically one to call users out specifically in a negative way, but seeing as how next to know one reads my blog, particularly not these users, it shouldn't be too much of an issue.  Here are a couple examples to prove my point.  I apologize if anyone is offended.  It's your own fault though really.

Example 1
Who in the right mind would want that account? That gorgeous custom and high level will surely woo in many players. /shot
Not to mention they have a high ID number.  Low IDs seem to be favorable now.

Good thing I screenied this.  It has already been removed before I even posted this entry.  I feel sorry for the new owner of that account.  They have inherited some expensive medical bills to repair the wolf that was seemingly run over by a monster truck.

Example 2
GTFO SPAM
Although not as bad of a deal as example 1, it still doesn't seem like it's worthwhile.
If you would consider trading for it, good luck sifting through the bumps.

Account trades and purchases made by members who are intelligent enough to use grammar correctly do not bother me in the least.  Carry on~

On to the more technical issues of trading accounts, however.  I hope all participating members are aware of the hazard it proposes.  Anytime a password is shared, you risk losing your account and all it's worth.  Say for instance, I offered to trade my account to someone.  I could tell them to send their password first since my account is worth more (top 5 XP, owner of Shimmer, mates with the rainbow goddess, God knows how much money's worth of stat points, custom, low ID number, etc.) When they send me their password, I could log into their account, change it to a new password, and keep it as my own.  I would never have to give them my password.  What are they going to do... make a pup account and try to convince others that I stole their account? They could probably figure it out by IP address if necessary, but our staff have their hands full and tend to take a while to do things that require admins.  Either way, it's just safer not to trade accounts unless you trust the other member.  By the way, I would never do this to anyone.  My own account is good enough, thank you very much.

As much as I would love to ramble on about this topic, I have some PvP to attend to.  If your attack page isn't entirely populated by my name, then I haven't done my job! Here's a handy little badge anyone is welcome to use as well...

Communication of the Damned

For the purposes of this blog entry, I would like to state that I am a well-rounded user.  I do my fair share of speaking to newbies as well as more experienced users.  I will also assume that I am well-known, seeing as how I am the owner of Shimmer and #4 on the top 5.

Now each of us must have had that time when you were new and afraid that other members wouldn't accept you, right? I know I was always hesitant would messaging people because I didn't want to bother them.  Eventually, I figured out that most members like to talk, and it's no big deal.  In the past few months, I've put forth some effort to be more social on Wolf-Haven.  After all, the map isn't a great form of entertainment. xD I've been around the site for a good while now, so my low ID number and decent grammar served me well.  I am much more laid back when it comes to interacting with other users now.  I'll message people without a general purpose just because I'm bored.  It's a good way to make new friends, I must say.

Generally though, I will only message people I don't know yet when I have specific intentions.  My hopes are that my purpose will be fulfilled, and in the process I'll be meeting someone new.  It saddens me, however, when I message someone who does not reply.  I understand that people are busy, but I can see that they read my message.  I would also understand ignoring me if my message was pointless.  But when I request something (not referring to art) or ask a question... just a simple yes or no would do.  I mean, if you have time to open a message, you have time to at least say no.  I would say that you owe me at least that.  Most of the time these are well-known members with lots of friends and such.  I thought that if they were that awesome then maybe I should speak to them at least once in my time on W-H.  I guess not.

I'm not claiming that I reply to every message I get.  I tend to be busy and stop replying when the messages have lost any important meaning or when I cannot think of what to say back.  But I always reply to the very first message someone sends me.  They took the time to write out a message specifically for me to read, and they deserve to be acknowledged.  I don't know if I seem intimidating or not if you've never spoken to me before, but I try to prove that I am a nice person when someone addresses me.  I suppose some people are just too busy to do even that.  Or maybe they just refuse to speak to anyone they do not already know.  Either way, that's pretty lame in my opinion.

Still, I get messages all the time from people asking something, and at the end of their message they apologize for bothering me.  Sometimes, it's even my friends that I may not have spoken to recently.  I want to make it very clear, if I can read what you're saying, then you are by no means wasting my time.  I am not better than you, nor will I ever be better than you.  I don't care how much XP I have.  I don't care how popular I am.  We are equals, and you matter to me.  Seriously, I love getting messages.  I love helping people.  I love talking to people and making new friends.  Don't apologize when you haven't done anything wrong.  If somebody gets upset over you messaging them, it's their own fault.

Reading: The Most Difficult Thing EVAR

 This blog post is pretty much a mini-rant.  I probably shouldn't complain about this because I am fortunate to have so many members wanting to join Shimmer, but it gets annoying after a while.  Let me begin by saying that I am as nice as I can be to new members with reason.  I answer their questions, tell them how to code certain things, direct them where they need to go, and so on.  At my worst, I use a bit of sarcasm... and that was to a n00b who stole some of my art and became a pack enemy.

But, I have come to notice that, in general, they lack basic reading skills.  It's not just a minority, no, rather a hefty amount that ask questions first and read... well, never.  No joke, I get at least 15 messages a week from people asking to join Shimmer that do not meet our requirements.  That's not counting posts on our recruitment thread or in our cbox.

How difficult is it to read our recruitment info? It's on the pack profile and recruitment thread.  If they are going to take the time to message me, you would think they would not want to make fools of themselves.  Wolf-Haven is for older people that should definitely be able to read at their age.  Don't you wish it actually was that way? (Aside from the underage members that are awesome like Rhi~) Assuming that they are the correct age, maybe they were in a hurry or missed it, but still.  I guess it's not a big deal, but I must say it gets tiring after a while.  Worst still is when you tell them they cannot join and they are persistent in asking, despite the fact that you clearly explained to them a stronger member will not be kicked to allow them to join.  They should take that persistence and shove it up their a-... err, apply it to the map so they will be able to join eventually.  Or they could work on improving their grammar.

Oh my, first negative blog entry?
This isn't a newb-hate blog.  No, no, it's a fight for literacy!

"Firsts" - Not So Bad?

To start this off, I will say that I am aware of the reasons people dislike firsts.  They may seem annoying when people brag about them as if they are original and special and such.  I'm not going to go into detail there, rather explain why I don't have a problem with firsts and claims.

When I see a list of firsts on someone's profile, I like to take the time to read them.  Reason one: I have no life.  Reason two: they tend to be interesting little facts.  I can't help but find it neat to know who started what trends and so on.  Some may not be very original, but don't let those bring you down.  There are bound to be others out there that think differently.

Using firsts as a way to make yourself look special isn't great, unless they actually are unique and revolutionary (i.e. Hlao editing the bone).  What's worse still? Why people bragging about how cool their firsts are of course! Now stop and think a minute.  Who actually does that? Mature players may have a list of their profile, but it's not rubbed into your face or anything.  If you want to read then you can, if not then just don't.  As the trend spread, newer members joined in too.  For the most part, they never know when to stop.  So maybe they did taint the name of firsts, but then again, most people don't like n00bs for being n00bs.  How is that a fault of the firsts?

I suppose my biggest argument is that you are not everyone.  There are several members of Wolf-Haven that actually enjoy firsts.  As much as they may tug on your nerves, it's not that difficult to ignore them.  It only becomes a big deal when you complain about it.  They are merely harmless words on a screen, and their only value is what they mean to you.  It doesn't seem all that hard to control yourself in order to not think much of them.  Problem solved, yes?

Bah, I feel as if I could come up with several more reasons to defend my reasoning that they aren't so bad, but I'm going to get back to that horrid map now.  I want to gain some more XP to help out Shimmer.  not to mention that XP race between Seasonal and myself...

Laugh With Me xD

Whooo~ Another blog entry from Sheri! She likes to refer to herself in third person sometimes, so don't be alarmed if you noticed that every once in a while.  Also, you'll have to forgive her for the short, random entry here.  She is in the basement because her mother is lame and there's a storm several hours away. >.< She is also trying some fairly annoying chemistry whilst ignoring her own sleep deprivation.  Bare with her slight insanity. ///end third person

Now before I move onto the entry that will flow from my mind spur of the moment, I would like to shamelessly advertise my brother's band.  They aren't like most garage bands you find.  My brother, Mi Kull, takes it very seriously.  He's already been in college 2 years with a music major.  Anyhow, you can find their Facebook page here.  But if you want to jump directly to the music, here is a song that I like very much.  If you actually listen to that and like them, let me know.

Anyhow, it seems Wolf-Haven is more of a Drama-Haven, but that's not news really.  Rather than focusing on the rumors and bitch-fitting, which I clearly do not understand, I have decided to try to have fun playing on a website.  That's all it is and yet somehow is has become so much more.  Why be so obsessed? It feels odd to say that even though I have donated countless dollars to this website, I am one of the elite who realize it's just a game.  The people you interact with are real, yes, and if you don't like them, don't interact.  It's completely possible to ignore someone on the internet.  Difficult maybe, but if they cause you so many issues, it shouldn't be too tough of a challenge.

I think people secretly enjoy the drama. xD It's outrageous and unnecessary, cruel and consuming... but entertaining I will admit.  I am one of the least dramatic people out there I would say, and I'm not going to lie; it's funny sometimes.  A majority of the time it bothers me, but after a while I just give up and laugh at it.  Just think about.  People, in all seriousness, spend their time arguing with others they don't even know about who's the biggest bitch, etc... on a wolf website.  My personal advice: for every insult you're preparing to call someone, attack something on the map instead.  You'll advance in a much more positive way on this game. 

Or you can keep making fools of yourself and attacking innocent people who just want to have fun.  You'll get what's coming to you eventually I suppose, and if not, then at least you gave me something to laugh at.  I haven't heard and good jokes recently, so people's immaturity is all I have to keep me going.  Oh wait, I have one.  Do you like fish sticks? Kudos if you know what I'm talking about.

Well, I think I'll go back to ignoring homework and sleeping now.  If anyone would like to fetch me some decent blog ideas, that would be cool.  Otherwise you'll keep getting stuff like this for a while.

Never Gonna Give You Up...

Hello, hello! You've stumbled upon the first blog entry of Sheri's brand new blog it seems.  It looks as if this is a trend starting so I figured I might as well get in on the fun.  If you're looking to waste some time, hopefully I can provide you with something not completely boring to read.  That's going to be a tough challenge though, so I would recommend the blogs of Seasonal or Stormgaze instead, if you haven't seen them already for some crazy reason.  I will not be updating on a regular schedule because my mind lacks the capacity to do so.  There aren't many topics I can talk about for long.  If you have suggestions, hit me up and I might try them.  Now onto the purpose of this entry...

If you're not Helen Keller or Amish, you've probably noticed the recent state of Wolf-Haven.  Everything seems to be hectic, and there are several major issues to deal with.  People have complained about the lack of new features, the low number of staff members, and the recent influx of n00bs.  What do they resort to? Reactions range, but I've seen members freak out, quit, purposefully get banned, blame others, and so on.  As far as I can tell, this isn't helping at all.  It's making the situation worse if anything.  My advice to you is to calm down.  Sure, Wolf-Haven may not be the perfect site.  There are, in fact, several details that could be fixed if approached properly.  Just because it takes a while, that doesn't mean it will never be done.  After all, it is all just a game.  By no means do you NEED anything.  I will admit, it would be nice to have more content to play around with or have quicker replies to support tickets, but I will survive just fine without it.

Maybe I am too passive.  If something bothers me, I ignore it or wait patiently for it to be corrected.  There's certainly nothing wrong with jumping ahead and encouraging it to speed up, but it's not the best approach to blow up the ordeal into something bigger.  Don't take everything so seriously.  That takes all the fun out of life.  If something's annoying, laugh at it.  If you want something really badly, distract yourself with something else of interest.  Surely you could draw or something instead of argue.  That sounds more productive too.


And finally, I wouldn't bash on Karlos so much.  It's not like he poured gasoline on you then tossed a match your way.  What do you have against him? True, he could spend more time coding and digging through suggestions to choose the exact ones that the members want.  But then again, he has creative ideas of his own to utilize.  He created this site, didn't he? Not to mention, no matter how Godly he may seem, Karl is just a person.  I know I wouldn't want to spend my entire life working on a website.  Why should he? Then the argument arises that he should not have created the site if he didn't have time to work on it.  That logic is so majorly flawed.  When you look past the problems of the site (mostly caused by the users themselves), Wolf-Haven is an amazing website.  It could be better, yes, but it is still good enough to keep all of us coming back.  Besides, if you think the site was better off non-existent, then just leave! That takes care of you not wanting the site, and it's the preferable alternative to members who actually enjoy it.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that I love Wolf-Haven.  Nothing is perfect (except for the word itself) so don't expect it to be.  Enjoy what you have now, and more will come eventually.  You spend a lot of time complaining about how many n00bs there are, or you could mentor some and reduce that number.  If you're going to take action, make sure it's not a step back.  If you want the site to be different, help it to become what you would like by getting involved.  You may not be staff, but you can still be helpful to others.  If the members could just change their mentally a little bit, several of those things that upset you would dissolve away I think.  Now you may not be able to code the site, but you can practice patience, tolerance, and understanding.

Wolf-Haven, I'm never gonna give you up...
See? I had a purpose for the Rick Roll'd line!
Lol, I sound so positive in this entry.  Don't be fooled, I'm such a pessimist.