For Neopets ONLY discussion.
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:08 am

swoskel wrote:Well, unfortunately I am unable to keep my promise of 30k in 20 minutes, or 70k in 45 minutes since all the sponsor links have been removed for the time being.


...

*headdesk*

I think I'm just going to lie here and remember just how much I suck at ordinary NeoLife. Fair or not, this still reeks. For me. :roll:

Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:10 am

Well, I'd only found out about all those links a few days ago, and I did like it. It helped alot, as my main income is from games, I'm no restocker or reseller.

But they're all gone. Someone on one of the premium boards said that some of the links are showing up for non-premium members in the ads. But those huge banner ads were the main reason I joined premium! Kind of like if you pay, you're penalized :(

I do appreciate all the time and effort the people who had pages with the links went through to find them, keep them updated and help the rest of us. I just hope none of you get in any trouble for having had them.

I do agree with the idea of having a link to the sponsor site for "hidden" np on sponsor games or a TNT official list or something.

Thu Jan 04, 2007 4:44 am

Officer 1BDI wrote:
swoskel wrote:Well, unfortunately I am unable to keep my promise of 30k in 20 minutes, or 70k in 45 minutes since all the sponsor links have been removed for the time being.


...

*headdesk*

I think I'm just going to lie here and remember just how much I suck at ordinary NeoLife. Fair or not, this still reeks. For me. :roll:


Hear, hear.

Those links were a great help to me when I started my new job a few months ago, as I didn't have much time to play games to earn NP anymore. I still don't. *sigh* Looks like my income's taking another hit whether I like it or not.

Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:22 am

To be frank, I'm surprised TNT let this go on as long as they did. Inflation from those links must have been INSANE. I'm sorry to lose extra income, too, but I think the game is better off without them.

Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:49 am

Mine are taking a full 24 hours to show up. I guess if it sticks to this it's no biggie, I'll just have missed a day.

Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:00 am

Rakumel wrote:Hear, hear.

Those links were a great help to me when I started my new job a few months ago, as I didn't have much time to play games to earn NP anymore. I still don't. *sigh* Looks like my income's taking another hit whether I like it or not.


I agree... Neo isn't a great place to be anymore once you've got a full time job lol. Guess will just have to take the hit. Plus I've recently discovered Neoquest I and II, no time to be playing games lol.

On the bright side, at least TNT isn't going to freeze/suspend for using the sponsor links...

Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:10 am

I know I am going against the grain, but I am glad TNT are adjusting the way the Sponsors are used.

I never used any of the sponsor links - usually just played the sponsor games once or twice and then forgot about them - I never used them as a daily to make 'easy' nps.

I thought the "get rich quick linkies" were wrong. It made people become lazy or more intent on gaining nps than playing the site.

We all have time limitations - and all must work within them, the sponsors links to me was almost like cheating. It really wasn't how the game should be played.

Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:13 am

Officer 1BDI wrote:
swoskel wrote:Well, unfortunately I am unable to keep my promise of 30k in 20 minutes, or 70k in 45 minutes since all the sponsor links have been removed for the time being.


...

*headdesk*

I think I'm just going to lie here and remember just how much I suck at ordinary NeoLife. Fair or not, this still reeks. For me. :roll:


Ugh, words out of my mouth.

This feels doubly bad, because I have gotten super lazy when it comes to earning np almost any other way. Drat.

Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:17 am

Daze wrote:I know I am going against the grain, but I am glad TNT are adjusting the way the Sponsors are used.


I'm certainly not as upset as I might be. I never did any of the links where I couldn't get to the actual game to click on them: I figured that if TNT had gone through the trouble of removing the game, it was a pretty clear sign they didn't want us earning NP with it any more, and I want my account to stay toasty warm, thanks.

But even then, it was becoming something of a chore I didn't enjoy doing.

I was also worried about possible inflation from that much free NP being dumped into the economy.

As for not having time to spend lots of time playing Neopets... that's what they invented the Stock Market for. (I'm told Food Club is also good, but I couldn't get into it for some reason.)

Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:22 pm

From that message, it looks like that only the broken links are being disallowed in the general sense ("It isn't really fair to our sponsors if people are just clicking and going to an empty page."), but they're disallowing process_click links in petpages in the meantime, and they'd rather people link to the on-Neopets ads instead of link so directly.

I really don't think they're doing it to curb inflation, though. I think getting more food on the table is probably more important compared to eliminating a relatively small source of inflation in their game (compared to, say, games). (And if I were a designer, I'd put in easy mechanisms to force more NP sinkage, though that still leaves a possible distribution-of-wealth imbalance...). The problem is probably just the sending people to blank pages, since that might be considered "click fraud" by the advertisers.

And the non-petpage site is still online.... :/

Anyone want to make an off-Neopets frame-based ad viewer that shows Neopets ads? :)

Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:12 pm

AySz88 wrote:From that message, it looks like that only the broken links are being disallowed in the general sense ("It isn't really fair to our sponsors if people are just clicking and going to an empty page."), but they're disallowing process_click links in petpages in the meantime, and they'd rather people link to the on-Neopets ads instead of link so directly.


In theory that could be correct..

But I'm not gonna risk clicking any of the links until I know exactly what is going on. This whole ordeal has made me realize once again that games and restocking exist.

Guess I'm being paranoid. I don't wanna click on what may get me iced. :\

Sat Jan 06, 2007 2:41 am

Machiito wrote:In theory that could be correct..

But I'm not gonna risk clicking any of the links until I know exactly what is going on. This whole ordeal has made me realize once again that games and restocking exist.

Guess I'm being paranoid. I don't wanna click on what may get me iced. :\


I, personally, think that if they're going to freeze people for clicking on their sponser links, then the site isn't worth being on. :/ That's just my personal opinion though. If they don't want us earning NP for clicking on the sponsers, they shouldn't give the option. It's fine that they don't want the links on petpages...However that does punish premium users for paying. Their current solution should only be temporary, because I know it's upset a lot of users. The links still work, they still give out NP (in fact faster now, though probably because fewer people are using them). If they freeze me for using their sponser links, then I'm leaving the site. It's that simple. I don't have the time to sit down and play hundreds of games each day, spend hours restocking or sniping...and I know a lot of other people who don't either. That doesn't mean we don't do these things at all, but we do it less than people who do have the time. We still enjoy Neopets grandly (some of us even pay for premium services), we just don't have as much time to 'play'. Considering people can make 300K in a day from restocking and gameplaying, I don't think 50K a day is much at all. Basically, if they're going to punish us for using legitimate sponser links to get NP, then they're overstepping their boundaries.

Honestly I don't think people will be frozen for using legit links, but I don't suggest anyone do it unless they feel the same way I do. And now I'm done. :lol: Sorry about the length!

Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:11 am

I don't have the time to sit down and play hundreds of games each day, spend hours restocking or sniping...and I know a lot of other people who don't either. That doesn't mean we don't do these things at all, but we do it less than people who do have the time. We still enjoy Neopets grandly (some of us even pay for premium services), we just don't have as much time to 'play'.


That is the heart of this. Most people will rationalise that it is 'fair' because not everyone can be online as often as others. But that is the nature of the game - you play the site as well as you can and within the limits of your capacity (computer, connection speed, time, etc).


A lot of people used the autobuyers or used auto-refresh and other programs and said it was because they had a 'slow computer' or 'dial-up' and couldn't compete against faster computers or connections. Anyone can find a rationale for any action.

I know this situation is different - it isn't using a program and it isn't exactly cheating - but it is using the site in a way that was unintended by Neo and/or the Sponsors.

I don't want TNT to freeze anyone and I doubt that TNT would, but obviously TNT want their site to be played in the intended way and within the spirit of the game.

Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:23 am

Actually, I'm not trying to rationalize the whole "it's not cheating because other people have more time", I'm just saying that it is an understandable argument. It is a legitimate way to earn NP, as Neopets advertises it themselves, therefore freezing people for using something that they give us is wrong in my opinion.

No, I don't have as much time to play, but I do play, and I want a similarly enjoyable experience. Some people enjoy restocking, some people enjoy sniping, some people enjoy playing games. I hate restocking, but I don't mind sniping...and do sometimes. I also play games when I can. Neopets also gives me a chance to make spare NP to help me reach my goals. I can understand why people don't like the sponser links as they feel it's being lazy...but to be frank (you can be Bob ;)) it's a game. It should be enjoyable, not true work. :P

Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:34 am

Ok. There are people on the boards saying that TNT told them that sponsor links are no longer allowed to make NP. There are other people saying that Petpages linking to the sponsor links aren't allowed but that an offsite page, or having the links bookmarked would be OK. Still other people say that the sponsor links are now a "glitch" if you manage to get the NP from them... and abusing a glitch is freezable. So, what's the deal here? Are sponsor links taboo now? Are they OK as long as you don't have a Petpage linking to them? Can I still visit all the sponsor pages and get my free NP without getting frozen? And, if the links aren't viable and we aren't supposed to visit them, why do they still give out NP? ~kalis_coraven
Erm, any sponsor link that you click on in a sponsor game or activity is valid. You will still get the Neopoints and you won't be frozen for clicking on them (we are providing the links, after all). There was, however, a large number of Petpages that were hoarding old sponsor links that we'd removed and linking to them even though they were no longer valid. As such, we've had to disable the posting of these links. You will need to visit the areas yourself and click on the links if you want the rewards.


As long as it's a valid link, it's fine. :/ They're just not allowed on petpages anymore.
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