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!