Ah, that fateful day when KI took away the Open Chat from the kiddies...I remember it like it was 10 hours ago...
The change: all accounts must be actively subscribed to maintain the Open Chat feature.
I'm not really one for big reactions, but I will say: we've had this coming for a long time. It started when under-18s got Open Chat, continued with the potty-mounthin', and it ends now.
Being guilty myself, since I do have Open Chat for PvP purposes, I guess by writing this post, I'm a hypocrite. But it's like real life: there's always one kid in the class that makes everyone get after-school detensions because he decided to be a smart-alec. In this case, it was that small population who just couldn't resist keeping their bad words to themselves.
I was protesting this update at first, but now I'm starting to see reason.
KI did this because there were way too many underaged Open-Chatters (I'm guilty too). That might have been okay, but the teens and kiddies brought their...colorful vocabulary to the Commons, the Arena, etc. I can only imagine how many Foul Language Reports KI had to sort through.
And so they changed it. Now, the young population of Wizard101 has to keep a subscription if they want their Open Chat still. Meaning? You have no valid reason to keep it once your sub ran out, thus preventing a lot of the younger population from getting Open Chat:
Kid: Can I renew my subscription?
Dad: Why?
Kid: So I can type whatever words I feel like to negatively affect people.
Dad: Sure!
Yeah, that definitely won't convince any reasonable parent.
So don't be mad at KI, or send any angry letters you'll later regret.
As some of the #twizards said: this is a game, not a chat service. If I lived a year and a half in this game with Menu Chat, you can live a few months with Text Chat. Not getting Open Chat is absolutely no reason to quit the game.
Finally, I'd like to apologize to all the above-18s of the Spiral. I'm wagering not many of you have bad-mouthed someone recently, correct? So this update is like a double-edged sword for you guys. It's too bad your lot has to suffer along with us :-/
Jessica
Not having open chat isn't that big of a deal imo (being above 18, and never having badmouthed or gone around the filter, nor needed to) because I'm on the game to play, not fight with other people, and not to socialize. I can say what I need to, with regular text chat if needed, when needed. All I ask is that KI make it easier to communicate strategically wise with menu chat players, that or make the turns longer when battling, since its really hard to search for what you need to say, and pick the card you want to use.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jessica. Very well said.
ReplyDelete