I broke out laughing when reading the editorial in this week's Neopian Times:
Quote:
There is a Petpage where it sponsors a place for adopting and morphing rare painted pets into green Unis. Is this reportable? The boards are going crazy about it! The Petpage is called GUP: Green Uni Project. ~anticipating
And...
Hallo thur TNT! =D I'm sure it has already been brought to your attention, but there is a new group of people who call themselves "GUP" (Green Uni Project). They have been causing quite a stir on the help chat, and when I went to investigate I was horrified to find out what they were doing! They are pound surfing for painted Neopets to morph into green Unis as they believe that people should work for their Neopets, instead of adopting them. I know that once a Neopet enters the Pound it is up to anyone what they do once they adopt it. But this is a bit far, no? x-x So, I was just wondering, is there anything you can do about this? Or are the "GUP" members going to be left to carry on with their green Uni-ifying? Thanks, TNT! ^^ Also, could you pretty please leave my name out?And many, many more...
This is not reportable unless said users are breaking rules, such as using programs to adopt the Neopets, or outright lying or scamming to trick people into giving up their Neopets so they can nick them from the pound during a transfer. Under normal circumstances, though, once a Neopet is abandoned by its previous owner, the only person who has the right to decide how to take care of or alter the Neopet is the new owner. Some people like to adopt and cure the Neopet of any illness and feed them. Others zap them with the Lab Ray. Others… turn them into green Unis. It is the way of things. However, since we got an amazing number of questions regarding this, we'll expand our thoughts on it so you fully understand.
To be quite honest, our first reaction was, "ROFL!!" It's amusing to see all the different things players come up with to do on Neopets that we've never even imagined. ;) So we were actually more than a little amused at the true intentions of "GUP" or any group like them. In reality, begging for painted Neopets or surfing the pound looking for Neopets and only adopting them because of their colour, while perfectly legitimate, is, well... we'll just say it's not as rewarding an experience as creating a Neopet (or adopting one) and enhancing it yourself. While many players consider the practice of these "GUP" users "cruel," we find it no more cruel than people who only adopt Neopets for their use as a status symbol and dump them back in the pound as soon as a "better" colour comes along... or people who require outrageous "applications" for their Neopets only to use it to draw attention to themselves and hold other users in the balance while they decide. Why isn't any of that considered taking it "too far?" Of course we know not everyone is like this, but a lot of users are, and we don't blame anyone for taking a stand against it.
In any case, no matter which "side" you've chosen, no one has the right to spam or harass another person for ANY reason. You're welcome to disagree and debate the various points of view or express your opinions on the subject, but keep it civil. And remember... Neopets is a game. It's supposed to be fun, not taken so seriously that your head explodes from the stress.
These will inflate, anyway... eventually.
I later came across a few topics on the neoboards on the topic, which got chaotic pretty quickly (precisely the intent of the GUP, no doubt). But I want to see what PPTers, who I assume can hold a level-headed and reasonable discussion, have to say about the GUP.
Personally, I too am amused and in fact delighted to find that there is really an "evil" organization with a nefarious plan for Neopia outside of a TNT-war/plot. At first I even suspected that TNT themselves were behind all this, to stir things up a bit, but it seems genuinely made up by users.
I don't even mind the new danger to transfers. GUP can be no more of a danger than pound surfers, as their numbers and resources are limited. And besides, the fad will die out soon - but meanwhile I'm enjoying this little controversy and I think it makes the game that much more interesting. Sloth would be proud! :D