The Neopets Team

[m3l3ana]

True AA.. But there are alot of other websites out there that are similar and they don't seem to have the same issues as we do (well some of them may but not all) there must be a way for TNT to effectively monitor and ban (sometimes making the odd mistake)?

[antiaircraft]

*shrug* Most of the big sites I know actually have the exact opposite of the problem that Neopets has now - the monitoring simply isn't good enough, and there's all sorts of junk scattered around.

[m3l3ana]

Ohhhhhk looks like me and you are visiting completely different sites... Still... there must be a better way!!

[antiaircraft]

Yeah - take money completely out of the picture so that they don't have to worry about profits, running costs, etc. :yes:

[m3l3ana]

I understand they are a company and they need to make a profit, but word gets round.

[antiaircraft]

Agreed... there are times when you just want to throw something large, dense, and preferably sharp at them. :yes:

[m3l3ana]

Totally agreed. There have been a few times like that.

[antiaircraft]

I've just gotta say one thing though - although we've all had some gripes with them recently, you have to remember that they are still providing us with a great service for free, and that's something you have to give them credit for. :yes:

[Paliminofever]

I agree! Even though they can be un-fair quite often, we have to remember that it is free. But even though its free, they do not have to freeze or warn people who do not deserve it. They must remember that. o_O

[~*MidnightMoonFiretail*~]

TNT can be really unfair at times, but who is to blame?

[TheCookieDragon]

Free, you say? What about the people who PAY Neopets for the dubious privilege of playing their ad-infested, buy-our-digital-junk-and-have-it-taken-away BS? (Sorry, the NC Mall bugs me in ways you can't imagine. Not that fact that it exists, but that the stuff is non-transferrable, revokable for no reason, and you can't get a refund for stuff you have if you freeze your account, or don't use all your Neocash. Just allow people to pay directly for each item, for cryin' out loud! ... I digress.) They appear to have snuck ads into the paid accounts, too, from all I've heard. Maybe they're just rumors, I hope they are, but still. I pay you ten dollars a month, one hundred twenty dollars a year and you're going to freeze me for something I didn't do, and give me no response for over six months when I try to explain, very politely, that there must be some mistake. Asking nicely if they'd explain why they froze you so you can answer to their accusations appears to be too difficult for them. I'm sorry, but Premium users PAY to use that site. They deserve to know why, all of a sudden, their accounts are gone. And if it IS a mistake, they deserve their accounts back. But TNT doesn't care if you've worked for years on your account, switched to Premium to help them pay their costs (and you know the "extras" just aren't worth it, you have to like Neopets a lot and care what happens to it to shell out $120 a year), and then are unfairly frozen. What does it matter to them? So they lose one paying customer. That's okay! Every day some new kid gets mommy to fork over ten bucks a month for something that will keep him busy while she gets the freakin' laundry done.

 

//end rant, with apologies to anyone I offended

 

TCD

[Anime]

I'd like to point out a few things...

 

1. NC stuff is optional and if it was sellable the economy would self destruct, it'd give players willing to buy things from it an unfair advantage.

2. Premium is $70, not $120.

3. They don't up and freeze people for no reason, there always is one even if it's not true, like false high score freezings. Not saying it's right, just saying there's a reason (be that reason true or not).

4. Why don't you sit down and try and sort through the thousands of e-mails they get every day about all sorts of junk, try and figure out just what happened to account A, guild F, and item T, noting that most of these will probably be undetailed and some of them will be sent to the wrong place, meaning you now need to forward them to the right person (who then has to look at it themselves), and open and check all of the unreadable/pointless/hate mail... THEN tell me they should get back to you that fast.

 

They're a company with things to do, not a simple site someone made for fun anymore. Sure, they used to be able to talk to each person one-on-one, but there's too many users for that now. And don't say they can just hire more people... They do have to pay these people, and it take time to get them trained and used to the system.

 

I'm not saying there aren't times when I'd enjoying playing Whack a Staff for real.... But you've gotta see things from their end sometimes.

[m3l3ana]

Actually to be 100% correct Premium cost 95.88 USD a year if you pay monthly or 69.95 USD if you pay yearly.

 

And now that you two are actually making a debate about this I will point out a few things too:

 

If you don't have enough staff to run a company, that company is going to loose money. I know staff cost money, but lets say on average is cost them 40k per year (don't know what the US wages are, so correct me if I am wrong) to hire a person to filter through emails and forward them onto the correct person, delete junk and abuse and answer any emails they can. That isn't a lot of money for such a large company. Neopets will already have atleast one to two people doing that already and if you look at the employment page of the site you will note that they are hiring an aditional person to do that. It is easy for you to say that don't say hire more staff to do the job, because they have to pay them, but when it comes down to it, if you freeze or ban someone you should

a give them an explanation as to why you are doing so and

b if they request more information etc it should never take you longer than 10 - 14 working days to get back to them.

 

I have worked in admin, customer support, call centres etc for my entire career and when something is requested off you from your clients (which by the way we are) you give it to them.

[Anime]

Not making a debate... I was just pointing a few things out.

 

Also, I doubt one person would get 40k a year for modding... For all of them sure. And to clarify, I ment excess people. It seems that most think they should hire a large number more, they really just need a few more. Sorry, wasn't very clear there.

[m3l3ana]

They do need a few more and with a few they should be able to get it all done.

 

Like I said I don't know what the wages are like in the US.

[TheCookieDragon]

When I signed up for Premium, it was $9.99 a month. Rounding here for ease: 10 (dollars per month) x 12 (months in a year) = $120. This is what I paid. This is what I posted. If the prices have changed since then, I am not aware, since I have no interest in ever paying for Neopets again. I apologize for any confusion.

 

You have a point about the NC Mall items being sellable. It would create unfair advantage. But my point about the Neocash being non-refundable is valid. Perhaps turning in the items for your money would go too far; yes, they are a company trying to make money. But when the Neocash hasn't been spent? Especially if you've been frozen unfairly? As I understand it, when you get frozen, that Neocash disappears. You may not get it back even if they do unfreeze you. So now you're out, what? $25? That can be a lot of money for some people, like the kids who spend their allowance to trick out their pets. And yes, despite everything I just said, it IS optional. But do they display these warnings where most people think to look? Do they clearly warn you before going to Target and spending that $25 that you can't get it back if you're dissatisfied? Last time I checked, if I bought a shirt at that same Target, I could take it back if I was dissatisfied. Neocash is permanent. No refunds. But that fact is hidden in a little one-word link off to the side of the page. As is every other disclaimer having to do with the NC Mall. Like the fact that if TNT even remotely thinks you MIGHT misuse their little cash cow, they can and will take all your Neocash, items, and possibly even freeze your account. It's even worse than the rest of the site!

 

Now, to return to the central topic here, I can and will say 'hire more people!' because that's what they need to do. If they want a business, as is claimed, it should be run as one. It should not be viewed as, "Oh, well, we put this site up for free, so we don't give a flying fig." Because it isn't free. Every ad they throw up on every single page they publish is chewing up OUR bandwidth. Every ad I load onto my computer, every cookie they put on my hard drive, is NOT my choice. It is done without asking me, "Hey, would you like to contribute and view an ad on your Neopets pages?" No. I pay. I pay my ISP to provide me with a finite amount of bandwidth, which is taken up by Neopets every time I load their site. The content of their site is often less taxing to my bandwidth than the numerous Flash animation banners scattered EVERYWHERE. And their new drop-down menu style will not load until the rest of the page -- including the ads -- does. Which forces me to allow those ads to load, Neopets to get their money, before I can easily navigate the site with the links provided. If this is their business, they should respect their customers. They should hire enough staff to take care of those customers.

 

And you know, they could hire volunteers. Plenty of places do, especially websites. Neopets is virtual, for cryin' out loud. They can hire people from all across the globe. There would be no shortage of people willing to make a site they enjoy even better. I'd volunteer my time, if they were willing to let me help, and I know I'm not the only one who would. There is no excuse. There may be contributing reasons, but there is no excuse.

 

TCD

[Anime]

There are lots of things that can block ads and the like, and they have clearly said that the ads are there so the site can be free. It's not money out of your pocket, is it?

 

Sure, hire volunteers that get acess to private areas of the site and could screw up something major at any given moment....

 

And the disclaimer that you have to check every time you make a NC purchase or even put NC on your account says stuff about not getting it back and it expiring after a set amount of time.

 

As per the advice of my fellow mod V, I'm moving this to debate...

 

This topic has been edited by a member of staff (Anime).

The topic was posted in the wrong area.

Please check your user inbox to see if you have been contacted regarding this topic.

Per the reason above, this topic has been MOVED from ‘Anything & Everything Neopets’ to ‘Neopets Debate'.

[m3l3ana]

TCD I like your enthusiasm, and I actually looked to see if their were any positions available to join any part of TNT remotely, alas there wasn't, but my point is yes I would give up my time too. I can understand that there would be issues with that, as some people are unreliable etc but they are the minority and the majourity of us I quite happy and capable to give up a small amount of time for them.

 

Oh and by the Amine can we have this moved to Neopets Debates instead of Debates and Discussions?

 

Edit: Thanks Amine!!! :D

[antiaircraft]

:P I actually suggested having this moved to Neopets Debate back at the beginning of the topic.

 

Anyway, there have been some very good points raised in the past few points, but I do one objection:

 

There are lots of things that can block ads and the like

This is true, but can you expect many kids less than ten years old to understand how to download and install Firefox, then install and configure AdBlock Plus? I'm not saying it's difficult, I'm just mentioning that a large chunk of the users on Neopians have no idea that there is a way to get rid of the ads.

[Xepha]

And this is when they come to fansite (because they all know how google works!) and find TDN and their articles. I would not put the intelligence of kids in cause, because they know a lot about computer and most of them are smart! However, some parents might be more conservative and not allow their child to download any program, so it comes more of a problem...

 

I don't think it's easy to be TNT... and I don't think we have the right to criticise because we are their public and they sell us to ads compagnies. Do you complain when they add more ads to your favorite radio show or to the tv? You can't even skip them or block them! You have to listen or watch! Ads are taking over internet and it's normal because there are money to do with the billions of hits pages are receiving. The only solution, like always, is to go elsewhere if you aren't happy with ads. Switch channel, mute the TV, start to visit another petsite... UNTIL they have to do the same because they either need money to run their site or because they want to earn money with their public. Capitalism world. We can't do anything, really.

 

As for the NC Mall. I think it's a good idea and TNT did change some things so items aren't expiring anymore and the like. No you can't get a refund so it can be frustrating if you dislike all items that are release... but it's also the same in some store. You buy something, you bring back at home and you don't like it. So you go back to the store and you want a refund! But what is the salesperson telling you? "I'm sorry sir but we don't do refund here. Would you like to have a credit note instead?" And the customer isn't HAPPY with that, but he can't do anything and it was written in the store that they only do credit note if you bring back your purshase in the following 10 days. Well it's the same with the NC Mall. If you buy from it, you agree to some disclaimer that you can't get your money back.

 

Conserning freezing. They are probably abusing it because the system isn't perfect and it takes ages to get a reply. I'm still frozen and it's been 3 weeks today. Nobody really replied to me, except premade messages... but I'm alive and having fun on TDN. It's too bad I was good at a game and that they thought I had cheated when I did not. If I'm lucky and get to talk to a sensitive human, I may get it back, or not. Because it's not perfect. People are arrested in life when they don't do anything. They are suspected for things they didn't do and some of them end up to pay for something they did not do. Well again, it's not a perfect system and it's harder on the computer to proof that you ain't guilty.

[onime_no_kai]

There are lots of things that can block ads and the like...

True, but using an adblocker limits what you can do on the site (assuming you don't want to run the risk of being frozen, of course) since TNT has clearly stated that using an adblocker while buying things from shops gives an unfair advantage and is not allowed.

 

That said, on the whole I agree with Anime -- it may have been purely for fun in the past, but Neopets is a business now, and businesses exist to make money. As far as the financial aspect goes: running a site, especially one as huge as Neopets, isn't cheap; the money's got to come from somewhere, and personally I'd rather have to look at a few more ads than have to pay a monthly fee for something I do as a timewaster. (Not that I'm knocking Premium, I just appreciate that it's a choice, not a requirement.) Neither Premium nor NC Mall items give a significant advantage in the game; frankly, considering that the people who buy them are helping pay for my entertainment, I don't have a problem with them getting what advantages they arguably do have. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why people are willing to pay money for something that isn't much different from what they get for free, but whatever makes you happy I guess.

 

The unfair freezing thing is really too bad, and I'm sorry that it's happened to some of TDN's members. It would be great if they could work out a better system for communicating with people who think they've been frozen unfairly. Unfortunately, there are so many users that even with a few more employees, it'd still be almost impossible for them to never make a mistake or to catch everyone who actually deserves to be frozen. And with the amount of users who either blatantly cheat, try to exploit every loophole they can get their hands on, or get offended by the least little thing and complain about it incessantly, it's no wonder that TNT has to err on the side of caution. Yeah, it's frustrating when they mess up, and I would be seriously annoyed if it happened to me, but I can understand why it happens.

 

Anyway, just my two cents. :P

[m3l3ana]

Right so this is what I was hoping for when I started up this topic.

 

I agree that they have to make money and they are a business etc. I also agree that they can mistakes my point is that if they do and if someone is trying to communicate with them regarding the fact that they think they have been unfairly frozen, TNT should have the time of day to actually sit down and look at why they froze the person and whether there excuse/reason/explanation etc is valid and if they could have made a mistake. That is the majour issue I have with TNT. Mistakes happen and they happen to all of us, but if we make a mistake we have to front up to it, why can TNT not live by the same rules? But if you hire one or two people to look into these particular matters, wouldn't that help. Atleast then members would be able to get a response from someone and at the VERY least an explanation!

[TheCookieDragon]

Xepha has the right of it. Neopets has strictly forbidden the use of ad blockers on some parts of the site, citing unfair advantage. And I can see their point on that. I don't disagree with it in principal. But honestly, people with high-speed Internet have an unfair advantage with the shops, too. Us poor dial-up users can't load pages as quickly (ads included!) as those with broadband or cable connections. God forbid someone gets online at a college campus with a T3 line! The Money Tree, Rubbish Dump, etc. are all the same. First come first serve, and if you miss the restock because everyone with high-speed connections got there first, oh well. (By the way, I'm not saying this is Neopets' fault, nor am I suggesting that they should somehow fix the problem, because it can't easily or realistically be fixed. I'm just making an observation.) So a person would have to block ads for every page that wasn't a 'forbidden' one, memorizing which those were of course, then turn the ad-blocker off when they wanted to load a 'forbidden' page. Yeah, that's going to happen. x.x;; So I just don't use one, because it's too easy to forget, break their rules, and possibly get frozen for it. I'm sure there are others who do the same for the same reason.

[antiaircraft]

I believe that at this point it is my duty to mention that the Firefox extension 'AdBlock Plus' has a feature that allows you to make an exception for a certain page so that it will automatically disable itself whenever you go there. It only takes 2 clicks.

[oowowaee]

I saw this today:

 

"Position: E-Mail Support

Neopets seeks an E-Mail Support Representative to work in our team of over 100 full-time professionals. Responsibilities include responding to member inquiries and concerns using our web-based e-mail and administrative system. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00pm. Experience with computers, the Internet, and sending e-mails required. Must type 60+ wpm and have knowledge of customer service. Candidates that are current users of the Neopets.com website will be given first consideration. (When applying, include your username in your cover letter.) Only local applicants or those planning on relocating themselves to the area need apply. Please send resume to [email protected]. "

 

So, I suppose at least they are somewhat aware of how miserable their customer service is.