marthaclark

I checked your account for you and unfortunately it has been disabled. :(

thank you so much for checking that for me. I won't have time to do it today but hopefully tomorrow I'll get a chance to actually sit down and go through the steps. I miss the account and I really have no idea what or why my account got flagged. id actually love to know? Is it because I was so good at escape to kreludor? I wasn't that good but that was my fave game :P never even got a high score i dont think ha

I think I'm locked out. Everytime I sign in it takes me back to sign in page. It tells me I can't sign in with a blank username when I've used a username. It let me change my password and still won't take me to my account. It just goes back to home page. It's the weirdest thing. I'm going to email them but I can't really understand this. I have been playing neopets for like almost 17 years which is crazy but it seems to have had issues since the buyout so. I guess I mostly play sporadically for nostalgia anyway :(

Well koi warrior is the best opponent for non premium members as he gives codestones the most. I think it just might be a lull because I have been getting about the same amount as I normally do.

 

Ok, I shall focus on the koi warrior and see what happens. Thank you!

Any else notice that it seems a bit harder to come upon these? Or am I just having bad luck?

 

I usually rely on the battledome but I don't seem to be getting half as many these days.. and I am more likely to get the red ones I can't use as of yet. Is there a better way to get codestones in the game?

 

Is there a particular battledome opponent I should be focusing on?

Seems to be down! I don't know how long it's been down but I've been refreshing sporadically for the last minute or two and no joy!

This is my take on it.. (trying to apply my really (really) basic learning from organisational psychology)

 

This is really commonplace in mergers and takeovers. It's a phenomenon that has been studied to death since 80s I believe (when mergers and corporate takeovers were suddenly everywhere). Problems seem to arise from differences in organisational culture.. and culture is hard to even pinpoint and explain exactly because it's not something you can walk in and "see". You have to experience the clash in practical terms - like imagine two factions of people singing together but actually from a completely different hymn book (and it can effect everything from how things are done to why they are done). It's very unlikely to be in harmony. I think the prevailing method of dealing with this is to replace a majority of older staff from the company that was taken over.. particularly at management or mid management levels...

 

I think Snarkie's tumblr update is very telling in this way too: she definitely doesn't want people to think they were fired. It really wouldn't be that they've been "fired" and this may have been on the cards at the merger: to give over a site is to give over a lot of control and I'm sure a lot of people were predicting / preparing for an exit anyway. We don't know if the organisation was dying slowly before the takeover! Maybe the takeover was supposed to reinvigorate Neopets. People who don't want to be part of the vision for re invigoration (for whatever reason) more than likely had a great package to encourage them to walk away.

 

I don't feel very optimistic about the future. Only a small minority of takeovers succeed - I think up to 90% fail? I don't know how recent/accurate that figure is though.. it's just what i have in my head.

 

To be honest I'm glad I stopped being premium when I did in a lot of ways. I feel like they are forcibly downsizing their audience. Like they only want die hard fans and that's it! I think that might explain why they don't advertise too.

 

But I'm in many ways happy for TNT - they are leaving behind a great era of gaming innovation online and all signs indicate they might have been very ready to. They are now free to pursue new adventures! Meanwhile Jumpstart will have to struggle to put their stamp on a brand and long time neopet fans will more than likely want to resist that. It's not going to be easy for them.

I think Hannigan has been conspicuously absent in everything Damien Rice has done since they parted ways.. She was so much a part of what made his first album magical and I'm pretty sure he took the people around him for granted. I notice two other players are not here on this album either.. but I know they went on to work with Lisa. Team Lisa, I guess!

 

I put this new album on once, but it faded to the background and I found the self pitying about the Lisa situation kind of.. sad? And not sad in the melancholy way.. I just didn't feel much sympathy for him. It's weird to admit that because I so loved his first album and I remember going to see him when I was 15 (apparently Ed Sheeran and I were kids at the same gig - weird) but I don't feel it anymore. It doesn't feel as sincere or authentic. Maybe it really did take him this long to come to terms with it but I believe he is milking it. It felt cliche and hollow to me, like he doesn't know what to do without her, except sing about her.

 

Harsh review, I guess. I might give it another listen.

I am currently reading a Storm of Swords : Steel and Snow. It's book three of George R. Martins Song of Ice and Fire series and so far it's pretty similar to what was shown in Game of Thrones. A few flourishes were made here and there by the show, mostly for simplicity's sake I'm guessing. At first I couldn't believe just how much was fit into the series, but now as things get more complicated I can see where the show slowed down and got down to details as laid out in the book. I'm thinking by the end of book four I will be up with the show. I may even get there before the next season airs, at the rate I am going!

 

I am surprised by how easily it is to pick up the language in the books. I find myself saying things or wanting to say things that I could imagine Cersei Lannister say, or Tyrion for that matter.

 

Last night I actually called my boyfriend sweetling...

I always go for the Sway when it's an option.. Sure, I will infiltrate other factions when it suits me, but my loyalties will always be with the Sway ;)

I'm glad I'm not the only one predicting a lag related prank!!!

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it went down something like the lag prizes.

Right now I am listening to Lorde's cover of Everybody Wants to Rule The World.

 

I had no idea she covered it until I heard it on an ad for a new tv programme.. and I was gripped.

 

So sinister. And I love sinister.

Deck the halls with boughs of junk ! Fa la la la best news ever.

 

This is making me feel a lot better about my chances.

 

Thank you TNT.

I can't shake this niggling suspicion that even if I complete today's tag I will be shut out by some instantly unbuyable item in the next few days.

 

Urgh....

 

And if this is to stop people loading the servers with hoarded junk items.. well they are going to have to do this kind of clean out a LOT more regularly because I can't sell/discard any of my junk in the foreseeable future with this sort of madness going on. Well, unless they have been artificially inflated, of course, in which case - sell sell sell :mellow:

 

Charity my asparagus!

 

Hmmm..

 

Tis the season to be cynical - fa la la la hoard the junk.

Thanks stella. I guess I might as well just start now.. though that will be 15 days of resenting TNT so much ...

Ugh.. just after I decided to buy the toffees for 50k ..

 

am i correct in assuming it is too late to do the pirate tag now?

 

I'm being told to do the fairieland one.. i think.

 

this is confusing.

I'm pretty sure my plan for this whole thing is to just try sell what I have and get richer (as opposed to significantly poorer with not as much prospect for reward).

 

I donated once and got a feathery kazoo.. err.. wahoo.

 

If there is an avatar I will be fairly bummed but.. that is the way of it!

Wow that is amazing! I'd love to go for that avatar but I wouldn't even know where to start!

 

But hey, maybe some day!!

 

Looking forward to reading your entry!

Once again, we were referring to Rromani and how the word G*psy affects them. It doesn't matter a hill of beans about any of the other minorities who might identify with the word or not.

 

The entire TOPIC was about Rromani. None of what you said even fits into the conversation at large when you take into account we were talking about Rromani and how the word g*psy affects them.

 

It's all well and good for there to be other ethnic minorities who have that word used. I know that they do. I know about travellers. I know about all of that. But that doesn't change anything about what the topic was and is actually about.

 

But it seems like you didn't even fully read what I said. Especially because there's a sentence right in that quoted little block of words there that already argues the point ahead of your own argument.

 

You don't need to condescend to me when I've been nothing but polite and patient about the whole thing. You don't get to say what I do and do not know about.

 

I never said other groups can't participate in the discussion, I said that there is a specific group that was being talked about in relation to a certain word. That's it.

 

It's a whole all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares scenario going on here.

 

I'm not 'posing' as anything, and I really don't see why you feel like that's true. I never said anything about how I'm an expert or how my way is the right way or what I say is the absolute concrete truth no objections allowed.

 

It may not be just about but the very specific group being talked about was Rromani. That's really all there is to it. Hence why it was constantly said 'but I/we am/are not Rromani' or 'maybe the artists are Rromani' or 'I'm sure Rromani have left the site in droves because of it'.

 

But I'll leave it at that before I start veering into breaking rule territory. I'd prefer keeping things civil and not having my voice silenced or my tone policed or be talked down to like I know nothing Jon Snow.

 

This pettiness is really not adding to the debate.

 

i really can't begin to fathom what part of this you fail to understand, or why you feel entitled to show such hostility towards people contributing to the debate, and more to the point - why you feel entitled to try to silence people in this conversation who actually come from a gypsy background.

 

With all this sensitive concern for how the stereotypical gypsy portrayal might affect people whose cultural and ancestral history is associated with the word - you (for some reason) have decided that this can only pertain to one gypsy group?

 

On what basis?

 

And how does one self-appoint as dictator of the conversation?

 

This is just laughable to me. I honestly can't fathom.

 

You get to discriminate in your apparently sincere concern because... ??

 

I really don't get it.

 

My understanding is that this debate was initiated by someone with a genuine concern about how the gypsy portrayal in neopets could affect people from groups who have historically been associated with that lifestyle.

 

I believe Romanis were mentioned as they are the most perceptually salient to most people - they have travelled across Europe in seemingly greater numbers than other gypsy cultures in recent times and I'm pretty sure most people have seen their stereotypical portrayal in like, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Please believe that that is not the only way to be "gypsy".

 

I really don't think this topic is about telling people how they can or can't identify, or even what they should or shouldn't be offended by, and that definitely is not your place. There are voices here that are more important than yours and mine and trying to dominate a conversation by silencing people who could actually have a vested interest in the portrayal of gypsy culture is very counter productive to any sensitivity you might claim to have in regard to this topic.

 

You heard from someone who identified as a gypsy, and maybe you didn't like their contribution, but eh, tough luck? You don't get to dismiss them from your cause because it's , you know, not your cause!

 

And I really don't understand the drama in your last points because really you are not the victim in this conversation. It is even more ridiculous to try to make it about you.

 

I think it would be best to not derail this debate any further.

This is breaking my heart. I don't want to participate but I suspect that means I will miss out on an avatar.

 

Even when I wanted to participate, I couldn't get the site to load and the prices for the tags are ridiculous.

 

I had one of everything from the Pirate riddle (I hoard in 1s.. how unfortunate) but I think I would rather just sell the toffee things now and make some $$$

 

Ugh...

 

I really don't want to miss out on an avatar but.. this is a joke.

That's all well and good but we were talking about Rromani. The whole topic is about Rromani and the use of the g-slur. Any other experiences or use of the slur is kind of moot. Non-Rromani can't really reclaim the g-slur if it hasn't been historically used against them. Identifying is one thing, reclaiming the slur and saying it isn't offensive to them is quite another. It all has to do with who has had that slur used against them. As I said, I may identify as trans but that doesn't mean I can reclaim the t-slur because it hasn't been used historically against transmen as it has been against transwomen. But you are correct in that it's a different viewpoint.

 

Also as for the mention of travelers, the example given are a people living in diaspora as I mentioned previously. There are a lot of people who have been forced to travel and move around because of various things. It's part of why ethnic identity is so important. When you move around so much, it's hard to keep tabs on where you even started from. It adds to why it's so hard on people of Rromani heritage beyond being looked down upon by a vast majority of the world.

 

I 'm guessing maybe you aren't familiar with these ethnic groups, but the travelling community are an ethnic minority in Europe who have had the term used against them for centuries. If they choose to reclaim that term, that is their right. There have been numerous cases in the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the issues they still face in the modern day. There are long histories of exclusion and mistrust in Ireland and elsewhere - with references dating back to the 15th century, if I remember correctly. Are you so quick to dismiss that? There are even arguments that the Irish Travelling community may be one of the few possible examples of "white" people experiencing racism in the world.

 

This has nothing to do with gender identification - and that is a poor analogy.

 

This is not just about Romanis. This is about groups with whom the term "gypsy" has been associated.

 

If you want to see a list of all the groups that the term gypsy may refer to, you can go here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy

 

Please educate yourself before you decide who does (and doesn't) get to participate in a conversation.

 

This is not about groups in a "diaspora".

 

This is clearly not your area, and that is fine, but there is no need to pose authoritatively on a subject when you actually do not know what the term "gypsy" can be used to refer to.

 

And if you want to read about Irish Travellers, you can go here:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers

 

You might find the first sentence to be of particular interest:

 

Irish Travellers (Irish: an lucht siúil) also called pavee, tinkers or gypsies, are a traditionally itinerant ethnic group who maintain a set of traditions.

Yeah I think it might be a lag problem now that you guys mention it.

 

I was trying to alternate between battledome and Go! Go! Go! earlier and I did think it was way harder than it should be!!

Ahhh, lol, I had the SAME thing happen to me. Although I didn't lose agility (which I would have MUCH rather lost) I lost strength. I think the random event is the same, but the stat you lose is.....well......random. Personally, IDK if it really has anything to do with training at all. I usually keep my pet in the training school almost constantly, and it had been like, 2 days. I was like.....seriously!!! For real!!! So if I don't keep my pet in the training school constantly, they are going to take stats away? It costs me 4 codestones for every stat to train my pet, so it can get costly.

 

I feel for ya. Just be glad it was agility. That is least necessary of all the stats.

 

Now that you have told me this.. I am so glad it was agility..

 

I doubt there is a way to stop it - I suspect it would still happen even if you were training.

 

How annoying!

 

Are you actually of Romani ethnicity? If not, then you shouldn't be calling yourself one.

 

 

There are other groups in Europe that can identity as gypsy - the Travelling community is one such example in the UK and Ireland.

 

In terms of the history of these people, it's even been posited that they descend from peoples who traveled along the path of the Danube and somehow ended up in the British Isles. I've read articles suggesting that they do have Romani or even Indian heritage. There was even a study that looked into the genetic history of the group as being so unique, but I can't remember what the conclusions were.

 

There are also theories that they are Irish people who lost lands/had no lands around the Famine Era and had to take to the roads to find informal work.

 

I'm not saying these ideas are correct (I only know what I was encouraged to study for a sociology class) and definitely should note that it seems the academics in question think they know more than the groups themselves (I remember finding scant regard for Travellers OWN histories).

 

All of this is to say, though, that the histories of these groups are clearly complex and although Romanis may be the more salient group to most people when they think

"gypsy" - that doesn't mean they are the only group that use that term, or have had that term used against them.

 

I don't think the user was calling themselves Romani. I think they were identifying as a gypsy and contributing to the debate in a way the vast majority of us can't.

 

 

I believe I trained her strength last week! I never train agility.. but.. maybe this is why?

 

How long has this been happening?

Anyone else experience this today? Or is it some problem on my side?

 

I tried at least six times to click on the candy cane from both angles!!

 

EDIT: I figured out what happened! I got an almond slushie it just didn't alert me!