2012-10-30 - Halloween Update

[rebelgoddess19]

Would this idea at all be possible?

 

Have the event happen normally on the 31st.

 

And then for a week or two depending on how long it takes for things to get normal for those affected by it. And have a new temporary biome. Where if you have NO halloween eggs, you can access and then have 24 hours from when you go into the biome to get new eggs. Then once the 24 hours are up, you don't have access anymore. And maybe as a extra security measure, have those eggs be like GoN's to where once you get it, you can't trade it.

 

What about that idea?

[Fuzzbucket]

Then why not state that in his post.

Maybe he figured we might be smart enough to work that out for ourselves ?

[_Charky]

Still, I think moving the drop is a nice sentiment. I really feel for those suffering through this storm. It is just one big mess.

I think the main problem is, it's a nice sentiment but badly planned/implemented

[Vaati]

Wow.

 

I'm on the side of the people who appreciate the sentiment but don't see it as being particularly fair either.

 

Really wished it didn't have to happen (the hurricane) - I had made sure I had no plans specifically for today so I could make the initial drop since from prior experience, my success at catching new eggs decreases with the time the eggs have been available. Now I won't even have a chance because I'm working on the 3rd. :\

 

I do understand why the move was made but I guess it's just frustrating. Makes me wonder if something like this happened in Australia or some other "remote" country whether a huge shift would occur. Probably not.

 

I'd much prefer the drops being extended instead of a complete move but eh, not my game, not my control I suppose.

Yeah, same here, I had everything timed. This really messed up my plans. And I doubt I'll manage to catch any on saturday, since everyone is home so my internet will be VERY slow.

[MedievalMystic]

For all those saying 'Oh, you'll have a little time on Saturday to get eggs'...really? Anyone remember the Marrow release? It was the worst nightmare I've been through on this site in the 3 years I've been here. It took over 10 straight hours of what felt like slogging through a muddy quagmire uphill, through endless 'can't display' pages, lag, and competition with literally thousands of people to snag 4 measly eggs. Will I have that kind of time on Saturday? Hell no I won't. I don't even know at this point if I can be here.

 

And I'm really, really sorry about those affected by sandy, but I worked like a dog to wrangle my schedule to be here for the release. Having to sacrifice my opportunity to get eggs isn't going to save a single life, or stop a single disaster in it's tracks, or help anyone affected, and I'm sorry as hell if people think I'm lousy and selfish for thinking that way. I guess I'll own it then. I can have all the sympathy in the world for the victims, and I do, I feel for them, hope for them and pray for them, but cancelling this event for the vast majority , many who had to twist arms and rearrange schedules sometimes weeks/months in advance to be here, isn't going to help them one iota, and I'm sorry that we're all perceived as selfish and horrid for wanting life to go on in the face of a disaster we can't change. I have all the sympathy in the world but my life hasn't stopped because of it, any more than anyone's life stops if they aren't directly affected by all the thousands of disasters world wide.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

By the logic everyone here is posing about how 'racist' this is or whatever--then I probably shouldn't have helped out flood victims in my area after Irene. After all, there were people suffering in other countries, too. I shouldn't have volunteered for one unless I was willing to do so for both! Except oh, wait...

 

TJ lives in the USA. This game, and most of its players, are based in the USA. Thus, disasters in the USA have a greater impact than disasters elsewhere. For those of you complaining about this--if you live in other countries, and they're far away from the USA, are you going to make a fuss if they close down or delay things for disasters in your area but not for disasters in the USA where much, much less of their userbase lives? Probably not. :/

 

Seeing so many people accusing TJ of being some type of supremacist for making one small gesture he thought would help his fellow citizens is disgusting. You're attacking him for trying to do something nice for a group of people. Your mentality says that he has to please everyone or please no one--and that sort of mentality says squat will never get done, anywhere, ever, because apparently you can only try to help out a big chunk of people if you also take steps to help every other small group in existence. l/

 

You can argue that this isn't particularly helpful. You can say that doing a split drop might be a nice idea. But the moment you try to suggest TJ is somehow a RACIST for doing this is the moment all my respect for you drops into the toilet.

Edited October 30, 2012 by angelicdragonpuppy

[AngelKitty]

Maybe he figured we might be smart enough to work that out for ourselves ?

This. I mean, the cave is on EST, so it only figures that EST would be TJ's time, too. :|

[Magdalen]

Woooow. Anyway, Thanks TJ.

 

Now TJ lives on the east coast .... what happens if he had no power tomorrow? The drop would be delayed anyway. And people still would complain. He might not even have power on the 3rd too. I don't know how bad it is for him over there.

 

Anyway, I don't have internet at home. I would have had to come into work tomorrow (on my day off) to catch eggs (which I have done before) and Sat I work and I will catch eggs too (which I have also done before).

 

If you really can't spare a moment on saturday I'm sure someone would be willing to help, so far I've seen plenty of people offer to help (I've gotten help in the past and I know no one on the forum). Or if internet access is a problem, bookstore, libraries usually offer free wifi. There are even places that offer computers with internet you can rent. Or life goes on. I've missed plenty of events, like one past halloween (actually a couple) and this year's easter egg hunt. I usually don't miss those. But it happens.

[Tawanda001]

Wanted to reiterate that pushing it back a few days really won't make that much difference to people affected by the hurricane.

Sure, some players might have their power restored and their lives back on track enough to be able to spend a few hours on DC, but many more won't.

Been thru a couple of hurricanes, if you aren't living near an important power grid your power can be off for weeks. So not only does it become an 'us vs them' between players who were affected by the hurricane and players who weren't, it also puts a divide between those lucky enough to recover early and the not so lucky ones who will still be without power Saturday.

 

If it has to be pushed back I'd rather see it go completely back to Thanksgiving week. That would give most everyone in the affected area a chance to recover somewhat, and also others give a possible chance at rearranging their schedules with a little bit more advance notice.

[spillatey]

Ah~ I remember Marrows. I failed to get one

[EctoStupor]

I second this. The reality is that most of DC's players--not all, certainly, but MOST--live in the USA. If a disaster happened in a South American country, or in a smaller Asian country, things probably wouldn't be put on hold for them because of the simple reality that if you put things on hold every time a bad thing happens for anyone, then nothing will ever get done. You should tip your hat to the courtesy, small as it is, rather than sneering at it because TJ's not going to delay things for every one of the countless tragedies that happen each day. It was a pretty nasty thing ripping up his (and my own) home country, and he was thoughtful enough to try to do something about it. There's nothing malicious or unjust about that.

While I think that no matter the amount of arguing going on here things are probably not going to change and I myself was a little disappointed to wake up to see the drop date changed after all the anticipation of my first Halloween drop, I can understand the reasons.

 

BUT your comment here seems rather rude, It doesn't matter if most of the players are USA residents (which may not be correct) what matters is the effects of what is happening and just because an Asian country is small in size does not mean less people are effected by the disasters that befall it, I'm not trying to start an argument here but of all the comments I've seen to me this just seemed rather ignorant.

 

I think the big issue here is that TJ may have been effected by the hurricane and that enough is a reason for the drop to be delayed even if it is a little disappointing.

[Varekis]

Would this idea at all be possible?

 

Have the event happen normally on the 31st.

 

And then for a week or two depending on how long it takes for things to get normal for those affected by it. And have a new temporary biome. Where if you have NO halloween eggs, you can access and then have 24 hours from when you go into the biome to get new eggs. Then once the 24 hours are up, you don't have access anymore. And maybe as a extra security measure, have those eggs be like GoN's to where once you get it, you can't trade it.

 

What about that idea?

I approve of this idea. =) Though, maybe there would need to be a "scroll age" check to prevent people from creating blank scrolls to pick up more eggs (so like, any scrolls created before the 30th, for example). Might be too late to code and implement this compromise solution… then again… =p

 

I never liked the name Sandy. Now I have a reason why, haha.

 

@ MedievalMystic: Completely agree. I wish I didn't have to seem so sour about this but I know what you mean about wrestling with your schedules. I had to change things to free up the 31st... and it'll be both too late and too 'wth?' (on behalf of my boss) if I suddenly can't take my shift on the 3rd. So I'm basically stuck either way.

[Saori]

Aaaaaw we planned pumpkin carving followed by DC catching, while watching some spooky movies - guess its not a total loss for Halloween tho. Was so looking forward to the drop.

 

Drats - im not gunna be able to get online this weekend *sobs*

 

Thanks for the warning tho - and Stay Safe to those in the Storm!

Edited October 30, 2012 by Saori_Nightstar

[Silence2]

I think the main problem is, it's a nice sentiment but badly planned/implemented

Which is why I completely understand why people are unhappy with the move. Leaving the drop for the 31st means some cannot participate. Moving it means others cannot participate (and maybe even some of those from the 31st). Having multiple drops means that some could get more eggs (unless there is a limit). Having a limit may stop people from getting trades/IOUs that were planned on. As I said, it is a big mess.

[Dubious]

Maybe he figured we might be smart enough to work that out for ourselves ?

Well that would be rather stupid. How many people even know where he is located, I didn't. I would wager that very few people know.

 

I don't believe that TJ assume something like that. More likely his post is as it reads.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Dubious

[Takora Drakan]

Seconded.

 

It's promoting the fact that Dragoncave is favouring some members based on their geographical location.. Something that TJ means to promote? Only he can answer that.

 

When there is an issue in the UK on one of the drops, I'll be one of the first to demand the same treatment as this Halloween is getting because of the storm.

This so much. If there was a flood here in Europe where I live (with of course power outages) like often every winter no one would give a damn. Either move events every time a disaster might happen because some people might miss out, or leave them be.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Takora Drakan

[teresadurfin]

i think ppl need to realize that the owner of this game is a young adult with limited experience on dealing with a situation like this. DC is like a mini government where TJ as the owner is a 'dictator'. i'm not saying this in a bad way *pointing to hitler* but i mean he OWNS this game. we, players of DC are citizens of DC who has no voting right. and we shouldn't. it is a FREE game. once a dictator and his advisors made a decision, that decision is usually final *history lesson any one?*

 

ppl, there is no point arguing. if he didn't pushed it to sat, there would be unhappy ppl. those affected by sandy - we're showing our utmost sympathy to them. those who know they can't be here on oct 31st for whatever reason - these ppl we show no sympathy to you because the fact that you can't make it is not our problm. *ahem ok, we do feel abit bad for you*

 

now that he decided to push it, there are still unhappy ppl. those affect by sandy and will be to busy to deal with their real life and not play DC for awhile - again, we feel really really sorry for your losses both in real life and on DC for not able to share halloween with us. ppl who made plan for the day and now find that they're screwed because they are organized and planned ahead - these ppl are pissed, we can tell. very pissed. however, we do gain a group of happy ppl - those who wouldn't have made it on 31st but can be here on nov 3rd. and then, there's the remaining group of ppl who can do either the 31st or nov 3rd - they're happy no matter what.

 

i wonder if TJ has any idea how many DC users or at least an estimate, will be/would be affected by sandy. why would you pissed off a larger group to please a small group, if that's the case. but if most DC players are indeed concentrated on the east coast, i would say that's a logical choice. if the decision was just based on 'i feel for them', then i feel bad for us...

 

whenever TJ and the mods make a decision, it will always affect some people whether large or small. i hope that he is reading or will read all the posts from this tread and listen to our voices, positive and negative. and learn to understand why ppl are upset. and start to see when your one decision affected hundred, thousand, could be million *this time i'm pointing at obama*, think twice and choose wisely. it is a learning curve. i believe TJ decision is based on a good cause. if he indeed causes disturbance to your life and/or schedule, i believe that's not intentional.

[TJ09]

While I think that no matter the amount of arguing going on here things are probably not going to change and I myself was a little disappointed to wake up to see the drop date changed after all the anticipation of my first Halloween drop, I can understand the reasons.

 

BUT your comment here seems rather rude, It doesn't matter if most of the players are USA residents (which may not be correct) what matters is the effects of what is happening and just because an Asian country is small in size does not mean less people are effected by the disasters that befall it, I'm not trying to start an argument here but of all the comments I've seen to me this just seemed rather ignorant.

 

I think the big issue here is that TJ may have been effected by the hurricane and that enough is a reason for the drop to be delayed even if it is a little disappointing.

I based my decision on the number of affected users, not their location.

 

It doesn't hurt that part of the DC infrastructure went down, either, but I didn't really factor that into my thinking.

Seconded.

 

It's promoting the fact that Dragoncave is favouring some members based on their geographical location.. Something that TJ means to promote? Only he can answer that.

 

When there is an issue in the UK on one of the drops, I'll be one of the first to demand the same treatment as this Halloween is getting because of the storm.

Do it. As I said, it's not the location, it's the number of users.

[TJ09]

Would this idea at all be possible?

 

Have the event happen normally on the 31st.

 

And then for a week or two depending on how long it takes for things to get normal for those affected by it. And have a new temporary biome. Where if you have NO halloween eggs, you can access and then have 24 hours from when you go into the biome to get new eggs. Then once the 24 hours are up, you don't have access anymore. And maybe as a extra security measure, have those eggs be like GoN's to where once you get it, you can't trade it.

 

What about that idea?

Because not only is such a setup complicated, but there is no way to do so fairly.

 

Why bother grabbing eggs tomorrow if you have up to two weeks where there'll be eggs? Chances are there'll be significantly fewer people going for eggs a week from now, so people might as well wait.

 

And there's no way to predict exactly how many people will be on at any given time, so I can't exactly scale down the number of eggs to the traffic.

[rayden54]

I live in the UK here, so obviously I'm not personally affected by the hurricane at all. But I'm really disappointed in some of the userbase here screaming about what an 'injustice' it is.

 

People's lives, their homes and their livelihoods. These things are far more important than collectable pixilated dragons. Pixilated dragons aren't real, you guys. People are.

 

Let's try to remember that, shall we?

If "pixilated dragons don't matter" then why push back the drop in the first place? We're not talking about giving them food or clothes, we're talking about giving them a chance to get pixilated dragons.

 

This has nothing to do with people's lives. They're just as at stake no matter what happens here.

 

That said, I really don't care. My initial plans are shot, but I can be here Sat.

[Misha]

Of course we all feel for the victims of Sandy. I think we'd have to have hearts of stone not to. But, I'm feeling equally guilty for the fact that I put in to take Halloween off from work four weeks ago to make sure I'd be able to get it (only two people in my section are allowed off at any one day/week) and now I've found out that I didn't need it and I feel incredibly bad that it's too late to give my day to someone else who also really wanted it.

[Varekis]

Maybe he figured we might be smart enough to work that out for ourselves ?

It's amusing because until now, I assumed TJ lived in England because of that monocle avatar he used. Fanceh! =P

[JaneMcAsh]

Would this idea at all be possible?

 

Have the event happen normally on the 31st.

 

And then for a week or two depending on how long it takes for things to get normal for those affected by it. And have a new temporary biome. Where if you have NO halloween eggs, you can access and then have 24 hours from when you go into the biome to get new eggs. Then once the 24 hours are up, you don't have access anymore. And maybe as a extra security measure, have those eggs be like GoN's to where once you get it, you can't trade it.

 

What about that idea?

If possible, this would be a good solution.

 

As one who has lost power in several hurricanes (most recently Ike in 2009), it has taken a week at least to get it back... and that was in conditions much better than currently in Long Island or Atlantic City (with plenty of help from other areas/states). Areas that had damage closer to what you're seeing currently were multiple weeks without power. So, if the intent is to wait until most of the affected are able to come online too, the timing will be closer to mid November - Thanksgiving.

 

My prayers, good wishes, and donations to the American Red Cross go to those affected by Sandy!

[rebelgoddess19]

Because not only is such a setup complicated, but there is no way to do so fairly.

 

Why bother grabbing eggs tomorrow if you have up to two weeks where there'll be eggs? Chances are there'll be significantly fewer people going for eggs a week from now, so people might as well wait.

 

And there's no way to predict exactly how many people will be on at any given time, so I can't exactly scale down the number of eggs to the traffic.

I never thought of it that way, I personally try to get eggs as fast as possible to see what they look like.

[Draco Knight]

This doesn't effect me personally(tonight or Saturday, I'll be here), but this storm has been on the news for quite awhile. If I knew I was going to be effected, I would have made plans for the 31st in case of losing power.

 

Contacting friends in other states to catch for me, evacuating to be with family that has wireless internet, etc...I would be kind of angry that those would be ruined and I would never even know. If I was in a place that was truly dire(losing my house, family dieing, etc...) I wouldn't be giving Dragon Cave a second thought.

 

Either way, I can't really weigh in except as a person who has been in multiple 'areas of disaster' in the past, as I'm not effected one way or the other.