Tinkerbell

Sadly, people around here are getting way too complacent. Not following orders (some are, but most aren't). We have a small area and I expect to see some numbers spiking soon.

Silverbrick has asked to be banned from the forums. Per their request we have agreed and will be locking this review up since it is no longer relevant.

It isn't a selling point for me to join but it has been a key feature to keep me interested a few times. It really depends on how well the are done though. (I like Subeta's but dislike Kingdomsky's - Mara's are growing on me). So don't focus so much on it being a key feature unless you know you can do it well, and if it's something you really want on the site. Otherwise you can focus on other, more unique aspects.

@Boltgreywing You are referring to under the clubs here on VPL, right? The issue discussed in discord?

@Bravefoot I do agree completely with not trying to jampack it completely within 2 months due to how long this can all take! As a User opinion though it is super exciting ? Hard seeing both sides of the coin and knowing how badly it could end up as well, haha. I am guessing the staff handpicked the stuff to release and still hold back on some things - for example, you won't necessarily have 3 events going on at the same time. Some of their events can be really long just with one going! I am thinking it might be mostly items/prizes/games? They've been pumping out new games really fast.

This was marapet's response yesterday to help keep their users active and online. I meant to post it when I first heard but alas I was too busy. A whole year's worth of planned content? Here is to hoping they don't overtax themselves!

@judda Very true! You have drummed this into my head enough that I hope it'll stick. Just like most things: the more backups in more places, the better! I have over 17,000 items personally I am going to try to sort through to help, but my most recent list on a sister site (subetalodge.org) isn't up to date. Sigh Can just imagine how stressed out the staff is as well.

Today I was alerted by a fellow player to a thread created by Subeta's owner, Keith. I was a little hesitant to click since I had just been venting about my frustration with not being able to play the site for almost a year properly due to lag and debating on just finally calling it quits (not that I wanted to) - and her frown face emote prior to showing the link had me concerned. Little did I know what I was in for... I'll go ahead and also link to the official announcement made a little earlier today|here|. You will note there was no news posted until today, despite this being an issue found on March 24th. Subeta had a glitch in their new wardrobe system, resulting in several (amount unknown) items being removed across the board. Typically this wouldn't be a problem, simply consult your backups - right? Unfortunately, the backups stopped running about four months ago. Users are upset and staff is about to be very overworked. We can only hope they bounce back from this like so many other hiccups they've had in the past. Let this be a lesson I thought we all already knew: Always create a backup. Even if it's automatically done, always check it - especially if you're releasing a new feature. Don't forget! Sometimes the simplest things we learn when we start out, can get overlooked.

I think most of the affected countries now have done some type of lock down / social distancing for their people. The USA has shut down most schools in affected areas as well, in some cases until the next school year! (They switched to online learning where they could). Has this affected anyone's schedules? Are you working on your site more or doing other activities? If you're now working from home, or school from home - are you finding it more difficult to get things done?

Has the drive-thru testing started in any of your areas? Just caught part of a live thing by our Governor but missed most of it. Interesting technique they are doing.

I'd join in for sure! My time is a little limited but I'd give it a whirl for a new experience each month

@SilverBrick Thanks! That one doesn't cover individual states (unless I looked at it wrong) so I'll watch the two of them and monitor.

@Tmra I am glad you have something in place ❤️ I got curious and looked today - there is a map you can watch to see where the virus is spreading. Handy if you want to keep an eye on how close it may be to where you live. Can view it here. Currently we have 173 and all in the largest city about 6 hours away. There is also a running toll of how many people are sick, recovered, and even those who died.

@Tmra Ugh, I am so sorry you are at risk and this is probably quite scary for you and your family! Do you have to do any special prep or activities to keep yourself extra protected? @SilverBrick Actually, it IS only the infected who should wear masks, especially with a shortage. If you're curious to learn more I can link you to some information! Keep some on hand in case you do get sick and need to go out, but using a mask just to have it on won't help. ;( If you end up moving over to your hometown during this, wish you the best of luck!

It isn't really affecting me personally :x I live in the USA and I am not worried about it at all. I feel a lot of people are overreacting. Not due to the impact it is having on the economy but people being paranoid about getting sick. We had 2 cases in my state. You have to be smart and take precautions like with any other disease. For those who have to deal with the public on a daily basis and don't have the luxury of avoiding them, those are the ones I feel bad for. Good thoughts your way and hope you don't catch it or the flu. ❤️

Having a solid team to help back you up and keep things running is a must in all businesses. How did you find the team you're currently working with? Were you friends first or did you put out feelers?

I use cold medicine to help with the symptoms if they are making it hard for me to function. If you have a sore throat honey in a warm drink (like tea) can help but I think it is the heat more than anything (same if you use theraflu). Otherwise, rest if you can and as much as you can with fluids. ❤️ I don't believe in basically any home remedies without science to back it up so I don't think there is a magic cure all xD My dad however will swear by vitamin C and orange juice (doesn't help at all once already sick other than it's just good to have the stuff). xD I hope you feel better soon and can get the rest you need!

@SilverBrick Let the staff determine what is and isn't allowed. You have already voiced your opinion and we heard in other platforms as well. You cannot tell other members of the community to do. Backseat moderating is currently not a rule either, but it is very frowned upon in all forum communities. We are still a new team and working on our new plans/guidelines to be released soon. It should help make things more clear for these types of situations and others in the future. --- All this being said, we understand there are a LOT of heated feelings (either opposed or for) the VPL community in general, but let's keep it civil. It got a little touchy earlier then cooled down, let's keep it cooled down like professionals.

For my son the XBox Game pass for the XBOX One has proved worth it since he does have a few he plays on there a lot but also checks out many new ones. Or at least, he did in the first year - I should verify this now. ? However - I recently dropped my EA pass (shortly after they added a higher version of it). I was mostly just playing the Dragon Age series and I calculated it was cheaper just to buy those than to keep paying for the subscription so after a few years I finally cancelled.

I watched a boyfriend years ago play this with his aunt on one of the play stations, it caught my attention but I never looked into it more (as in, not actively playing it myself). I am determined to play it though, thanks for mentioning these are out! Time for some decision making.

Whew, a lot of response in this thread! I'd like to point out my response is based purely as a past member of VPL. I used to primarily lurk there since it felt like most posts were aimed in a negative fashion and the place loved drama. But it still had access to potentially good info so I would read up on it from time to time. Watching the updates on Facebook about whether the site would stay up or go down was mind boggling, especially with promises of it staying for it to just poof (and the reasons given publicly made no sense). It took me a really long time to even join TGL out of concern for the place poofing one day and overall not wanting to read or deal with drama in between getting information. I was happy when I finally joined to see that wasn't an issue anymore. If Carlos had come back with a full explanation I'd be more apt to check the new forums out, but unless the place gives off a different feel than the past and it manages to not poof within a year then I'd join up again. Not that my joining or not is really any loss to the forums, I am sure. That being said, despite Carlos not wanting to align with TGL, I don't feel there needs to be any vibe of competition. I am sure both forums will have their own pros and cons along with various resources. People aren't in a place where they have to pick one or the other and I hope they realize that!

I would listen to podcasts here and there, but really got into them the past week or so. I won't say quite obsessively so, yet almost. ? It helps keep me distracted and entertained better than Netflix while working on stuff. Crime Junkie Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast (from the reddit) I like my horror/unsolved/mystery types xD I have been checking out others, but since I am fairly new these two are ones I know I'll continue to listen to.

Glad to hear it @Terris! Looking forward to hearing about the progress and additions you make.

That is really cute Mandy Hope you and your staff are all well!

That is wonderful news, Vix! Glad you can run them again at least