19 August 2009 11:22
Karen said...
How do they justify banning people for speaking the truth about their mistakes? I fail to understand why instead they simply do not rely on the players to TELL them when something is not right so that they may fix it. IMHO that is what I would prefer, a good relationship with the players will get you so much further...and well..word of mouth can make or break any business eventually. If the game ends up so bad that even new players won't bother with it, then where will Zynga be??
I made this a new post rather than a reply because I got carried away...
At the moment the rating for the game is at 2.9 and when I was playing it was at 5.0 It seems that you're right there Karen, word of mouth makes a vast difference.
The problem is with anything, if it's going great and everything works, if people are happy and it's running smoothly, then no-one says anything. When someone is not happy (for example the new players that expected to become top of the tree as soon as they joined) then they email and complain about (in this case) being attacked 'too often' 'too violently' or just being attacked in a fighting game..?!?!?!?
This is what I think Zynga did - they listened to the complaints because they weren't getting the feedback which said the game was great. (I know, it sounds a little 'needy' to me too...).
If they had actually asked in their forum (the one on Facebook where no representative from Zynga ever replied to any question) then we'd have told them what a great game it was and how addictive it was. We'd have also let them know what we thought could be improved upon, what glitches were there and what could be dropped altogether. There was a vast amount of knowledge to be had in that forum if they had wanted to listen.
Since they listen more to the Mods in their new forum rather than their loyal players, the game has turned to utter crap, they've had to introduce incentives for people to play the game and when there are exploits and glitches, they spend time developing more incentives rather than fixing the glitches.
I played the game avidly, I actually paid money into the game and would have paid more to continue with the progress I'd made - as would others - but no more! I'll not pay another brass farthing to Zynga for any of their games, but I will put as much effort, energy and enthusiasm to letting people know what to expect from Zynga 'Customer Shaft' dept and when a new Vampire Game comes out which is anything like the one they ruined, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be putting all that energy, enthusiasm and effort into promoting that in direct competition to Zynga's game.
We'll see how far word of mouth can take it then...
btw http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Zynga
Erzebet
Friday 21 August 2009
Wednesday 19 August 2009
Now for the serious stuff...
Tongue-in-cheek and joviality aside. It's come to my attention that if you Google 'Zynga fraud' there is a plethora of results screaming to be read!
Titles such as:
Zynga Yoville (complaint)
Fraudulant deductions
Google Pay Day!™ (complaint)
Unauthorised Use of Credit Card
Results 1 - 20 of about 24,500 for zynga fraud. (0.41 seconds)
http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=zynga
http://www.complaints.com/2009/july/31/Fraudulant_deductions_by_Zynga__Yoville_211038.htm
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200904/1241122037.html
http://www.sodahead.com/blog/49878/yoville-by-zynga-myspace-facebook-app---a-hackers-paradise/
Quote from Pincus' Blog:
http://markpincus.typepad.com/markpincus/2009/04/pleasing-all-45-million-customers-all-the-time.html
"We’re definitely experiencing some growing pains, but behind the scenes we’re working hard to align our organization behind customer needs. In the last quarter we’ve brought our average response time down to less than 4 days for all but the toughest problems (hacking and cheating tickets take longer to research and resolve)... "
Because I am banned from Zynga completely, I cannot respond to his Blog there, so I shall respond to it here. Feel free to post a comment here if you wish, Mark.
The reasons that your response times are down are because tickets are being closed without being resolved.
It's what's commonly known as sweeping it all under the carpet Mark.
I'm surprised that you don't know of the practice, it seems to me that your ToST (for definition, see my other Blogs below) are well-versed in sweeping things under the carpet. Either by banning 'disruptive players' (those with unanswerable questions) from the forum and game so you don't have to read what's being said about the game - 'The LALALALA I can't hear you' method or setting all incoming enquiries to 'Resolved' without actually doing anything constructive with them - I don't consider printing out all emails because you can't wipe your ass on the computer screen as constructive.
Now you're breaking your arms so that you can pat yourself on the back because you resolve these issues?
One more question Mark... what colour is the sky on your planet?
I wonder how long it will be before the sponsors who use the 'Favour Points' system get wind of the allegations of fraud, hacking and general dissatisfaction which hangs like a pall over the now-rated - a *MASSIVE* 2.9 Vampire Wars - and then how long it will be before they start thinking "Hang on, do we want to be associated with this type of company?"
By the way, I like to think that a few of the banned players have had something to do with the plummet of the rating of that game. It was always 5.0 when I was playing... word has a habit of getting around...
It seems that when the Zynga Mods banned me from the game, they were actually doing me a favour.
PS Another quote made me giggle...
"we launched our knowledge base and user forums. The response has been very positive. "
It is only positive because any non-positive posts are deleted and posters are banned... Carry on sweeping Mark, but paradoxically, things don't seem to be getting cleaner...
Erzebet
Titles such as:
Zynga Yoville (complaint)
Fraudulant deductions
Google Pay Day!™ (complaint)
Unauthorised Use of Credit Card
Results 1 - 20 of about 24,500 for zynga fraud. (0.41 seconds)
http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=zynga
http://www.complaints.com/2009/july/31/Fraudulant_deductions_by_Zynga__Yoville_211038.htm
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200904/1241122037.html
http://www.sodahead.com/blog/49878/yoville-by-zynga-myspace-facebook-app---a-hackers-paradise/
Quote from Pincus' Blog:
http://markpincus.typepad.com/markpincus/2009/04/pleasing-all-45-million-customers-all-the-time.html
"We’re definitely experiencing some growing pains, but behind the scenes we’re working hard to align our organization behind customer needs. In the last quarter we’ve brought our average response time down to less than 4 days for all but the toughest problems (hacking and cheating tickets take longer to research and resolve)... "
Because I am banned from Zynga completely, I cannot respond to his Blog there, so I shall respond to it here. Feel free to post a comment here if you wish, Mark.
The reasons that your response times are down are because tickets are being closed without being resolved.
It's what's commonly known as sweeping it all under the carpet Mark.
I'm surprised that you don't know of the practice, it seems to me that your ToST (for definition, see my other Blogs below) are well-versed in sweeping things under the carpet. Either by banning 'disruptive players' (those with unanswerable questions) from the forum and game so you don't have to read what's being said about the game - 'The LALALALA I can't hear you' method or setting all incoming enquiries to 'Resolved' without actually doing anything constructive with them - I don't consider printing out all emails because you can't wipe your ass on the computer screen as constructive.
Now you're breaking your arms so that you can pat yourself on the back because you resolve these issues?
One more question Mark... what colour is the sky on your planet?
I wonder how long it will be before the sponsors who use the 'Favour Points' system get wind of the allegations of fraud, hacking and general dissatisfaction which hangs like a pall over the now-rated - a *MASSIVE* 2.9 Vampire Wars - and then how long it will be before they start thinking "Hang on, do we want to be associated with this type of company?"
By the way, I like to think that a few of the banned players have had something to do with the plummet of the rating of that game. It was always 5.0 when I was playing... word has a habit of getting around...
It seems that when the Zynga Mods banned me from the game, they were actually doing me a favour.
PS Another quote made me giggle...
"we launched our knowledge base and user forums. The response has been very positive. "
It is only positive because any non-positive posts are deleted and posters are banned... Carry on sweeping Mark, but paradoxically, things don't seem to be getting cleaner...
Erzebet
Exploits in Vampire Wars
As it's now an 'official' Zynga Rule (as opposed to the 'unnoficial' ones that they use to ban players with without having to give a valid or supported reason) that you are not allowed to exploit a 'glitch' in the game - more commonly known as a 'Zynga-up' -
Quote:
Exploiting:
Taking advantage of any flaw in the game systems to gain an advantage over other users will result in a ban. The ban may or may not be permanent (depending on the severity of the violation).
-
for fear of being banned (yeah right). How is it then that a serious and extremely exploitable glitch is not being dealt with?
The fact that your Vampire Character does not need to buy all those expensive minions in order to keep their abilities and skills going is detrimental to the game - I refer you again to another 'official' Zynga Rule of:
Harassment:
Making a deliberate attempt to negatively impact another player’s gaming experience is considered harassment. Harassment of other players is unacceptable and can result in bans of varying lengths (depending on the severity of the violation).
How about this exploit having a negative impact on EVERYONE's game?
Part of the game is having to budget in order to keep the abilities active, surely? Apparently not! And here's how...
Oxx Maximus wroteabout an hour ago
I disagree as far as minions go, I've got every ability at superior and 501 of each one. Giving me a blood debt 0f -1,900,000,000 I've had that debt for 6 weeks with no affect on my player except that I win most of my fights. As I see in the combat page a good 80% of players are doing the same thing. No level 70 can be in a positive blood flow with everything superior. But I see plenty of them playing. I also earn 5,000,000,000 a day in combat and missions. I just buy move silentlies instead of losing it in the bank. When I need blood (which is never) I sell a move silently or a glamour. I have managed to take 124,000,000 blood of that debt so far.
Well that's another fine mess Zynga will undoubtedly roll something back in the game to the detriment of the players that HAVE played the game properly in order to compensate for the ones that have discovered the exploit and... well... exploited it.
Zynga, I charge you again with breaking your own rule of Harassment and "Making a deliberate attempt to negatively impact another player’s gaming experience is considered harassment. Harassment of other players is unacceptable and can result in bans of varying lengths (depending on the severity of the violation)."
I'd pay to see the emails to Zynga staff from Zynga Customer Shaft Dept (aka Terms of Service Team or 'TOST' henceforth known as 'Tossed') banning them for Harassment!
"Thanks for contacting the Terms of Service team at Zynga.
We have reviewed your account ban more than once at this point. Unfortunately you violated our terms of service and your account will not be reactivated at anytime. We have explained this to you on more than one occasion. Any further contact with Zynga regarding this issue will be set to solved without further communication to you.
We don't actually give a toss if you're a developer of the game, we believe that you are, in fact, in breach of another rule, that of 'Tooling' or claiming to be Zynga Staff in order to intimidate us.
We're all right Jack,
Zynga Terms of Service Team (ToSsed)
Sounds about right doesn't it?
As another handy hint and tip for you... if you do want to get rid of all your minions, I believe there's a button that allows you to 'Release All' so you'll not be too much out of pocket as the selling price will be set at half the buying price of the MOST EXPENSIVE, thereby giving you quite a return on your investment...
Have fun...
Erzebet
Quote:
Exploiting:
Taking advantage of any flaw in the game systems to gain an advantage over other users will result in a ban. The ban may or may not be permanent (depending on the severity of the violation).
-
for fear of being banned (yeah right). How is it then that a serious and extremely exploitable glitch is not being dealt with?
The fact that your Vampire Character does not need to buy all those expensive minions in order to keep their abilities and skills going is detrimental to the game - I refer you again to another 'official' Zynga Rule of:
Harassment:
Making a deliberate attempt to negatively impact another player’s gaming experience is considered harassment. Harassment of other players is unacceptable and can result in bans of varying lengths (depending on the severity of the violation).
How about this exploit having a negative impact on EVERYONE's game?
Part of the game is having to budget in order to keep the abilities active, surely? Apparently not! And here's how...
Oxx Maximus wroteabout an hour ago
I disagree as far as minions go, I've got every ability at superior and 501 of each one. Giving me a blood debt 0f -1,900,000,000 I've had that debt for 6 weeks with no affect on my player except that I win most of my fights. As I see in the combat page a good 80% of players are doing the same thing. No level 70 can be in a positive blood flow with everything superior. But I see plenty of them playing. I also earn 5,000,000,000 a day in combat and missions. I just buy move silentlies instead of losing it in the bank. When I need blood (which is never) I sell a move silently or a glamour. I have managed to take 124,000,000 blood of that debt so far.
Well that's another fine mess Zynga will undoubtedly roll something back in the game to the detriment of the players that HAVE played the game properly in order to compensate for the ones that have discovered the exploit and... well... exploited it.
Zynga, I charge you again with breaking your own rule of Harassment and "Making a deliberate attempt to negatively impact another player’s gaming experience is considered harassment. Harassment of other players is unacceptable and can result in bans of varying lengths (depending on the severity of the violation)."
I'd pay to see the emails to Zynga staff from Zynga Customer Shaft Dept (aka Terms of Service Team or 'TOST' henceforth known as 'Tossed') banning them for Harassment!
"Thanks for contacting the Terms of Service team at Zynga.
We have reviewed your account ban more than once at this point. Unfortunately you violated our terms of service and your account will not be reactivated at anytime. We have explained this to you on more than one occasion. Any further contact with Zynga regarding this issue will be set to solved without further communication to you.
We don't actually give a toss if you're a developer of the game, we believe that you are, in fact, in breach of another rule, that of 'Tooling' or claiming to be Zynga Staff in order to intimidate us.
We're all right Jack,
Zynga Terms of Service Team (ToSsed)
Sounds about right doesn't it?
As another handy hint and tip for you... if you do want to get rid of all your minions, I believe there's a button that allows you to 'Release All' so you'll not be too much out of pocket as the selling price will be set at half the buying price of the MOST EXPENSIVE, thereby giving you quite a return on your investment...
Have fun...
Erzebet
Hypocrisy at Zynga - Hands up if you're surprised...
Here are the revised Rules for Zynga Games...
I've read through them and I'm still missing the rule which I am banned for...
In-Game Rules
Scamming:
It is nearly impossible to commit a legitimate scam in Vampire Wars. There is no official way to trade, no mailing system, and no drops for players to pick up. There is, however, a "gifting" system. Entering into any agreement with someone based on the promise that they will "gift" you something can be a mistake. If you do this and the other party does not keep their end of the agreement, you are out of luck. That being said, players that go out of their way to scam as many people as possible will be considered to be disrupting the gaming experience for other users and appropriate action will be taken.
Panto mode on boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!"
Hacking/Botting:
Any attempts at “hacking” or “botting” will result in a permanent ban, regardless of your status in the community. (This includes scripts and macros.)
Panto mode again (so soon?) boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!"
Duping:
Using any method to duplicate or attempt to duplicate items, characters, accounts, etc. will result in a ban, regardless of your status in the community.
Hahaha! At least there's a slight reference to the banned players... "regardless of your status in the community" But... OH NO IT WON'T!
Exploiting:
Taking advantage of any flaw in the game systems to gain an advantage over other users will result in a ban. The ban may or may not be permanent (depending on the severity of the violation).
Taking advantage of the ineptitude and incompetence of the Zynga Devs is seen to be cruel and unkind and pointing out the flaws in their capabilities WILL be seen as bullying! No matter what you all think so there! :p
False Reports:
Intentionally filing any kind of false report will result in a ban. The ban may or may not be permanent (depending on the severity of the violation).
We don't want those Mods being overworked over there, do we? They may find out that the job is actually harder than they thought with less benefits and they might just quit and Brainwashing new wanna-be mods is getting very expensive these days and there's a recession on... soon Zynga will have to put a charge on for anyone that wants to be a Mod - especially if they're going to be banning people that pay to play the game...
Tooling:
Tooling is considered using the mention of any Zynga staff member (or Moderator) to threaten or otherwise harass other players. Saying anything similar to "My friend works for Zynga and will ban you" or "I'll get Zynga to ban you" will be considered “Tooling” and will result in a ban.
Saying anyone actually works at Zynga should be punishable by law anyway... the new phrase "It's not just broken, it's totally Zynga'd" is working it's way into the English Language as we speak and should soon see an official recognition of the phrase in the New English Dictionary Book of Popular Sayings very soon. Although it's an ironic reference to Count Chocular who called the Zynga Staff 'Tools!' on a regular basis...
Harassment:
Making a deliberate attempt to negatively impact another player’s gaming experience is considered harassment. Harassment of other players is unacceptable and can result in bans of varying lengths (depending on the severity of the violation).
I'd like to make a complaint about Zynga then... since Feb 14th everything they've done has had negative impact on everyone's gaming experience...
Inappropriate Language:
Words that qualify as “inappropriate language” include but are not limited to obscenities, racial epithets, and personal insults. Ultimately, inappropriate language is anything considered unfit by Zynga staff members (or Moderators).
Anyone engaging in the use of inappropriate language while using a Zynga service will receive a formal warning. Repeatedly violating this rule will result in a ban.
Remember:
Implying obscenities is considered the same as using obscenities.
If you have to misspell something to get away with saying it, don’t say it.
Just because it's not blocked by the chat filter does not mean it is OK to say.
Panto mode on boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!" And neither will threats of violence, threats to find out your address, threats against family members - including your children - and sexually explicit threats (including violence) will NOT be taken seriously and will NEVER be investigated or have action taken against the person making the vile and disgusting comments. As examples: george666, eyebitehard, weretiger - and many many more!
Spamming:
Spamming is defined as “repeatedly chatting or posting outside of a reasonable amount”. Ultimately, what is considered “reasonable” will be decided by members of the Zynga staff (or Moderators). Anyone found guilty of spamming while using a Zynga service will receive a formal warning. Repeatedly violating this rule will result in a ban.
And one for the road... Panto mode on boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!" Case in point: eyebitehard, his 'girlfriend', and many many more... (sigh) - The only way action will be taken is if you annoy/upset/make a fool out of the Mods in the Forum.
Notes:
There is no 3-Hit rule.
No, perhaps not, but you're saying this too late to save some of the better players that you lost Zynga. Maybe you should have supported them when they were saying the very same thing in your forums - instead of allowing a few Mods who didn't have the patience or skills to play the game and achieve goals - such as the Leaderboard - to decide that their mode of playing was 'too nasty' for the Twilight Tweenies to cope with and banned them from the game.
You do not need a reason to hitlist someone.
The only reason you need for a hitlist is that you're unable to win a fight against the person so you pay for others to do your dirty work for you. Out in the real world, behaviour like that is illegal, in the child-world it's bullying. Back when you were able to self-claim your hit, the players managed the bullies very well - they had to, Zynga didn't do a damned thing. Since the self-claim was removed, the game has had 'wars' which got so nasty that people have quit the game and second accounts made JUST to Hitlist players and ruin their game. The only moderation that Zynga practice is in their forums, everything else is too much hassle to be bothered with.
Attacking someone several times in a row is not harassment.
This is the ONLY thing I agree with Zynga. Well done on being consistent...
Stats
Skill Ranking 5,443
Missions Completed 801
Fights Won 3,858
Fights Lost 2,710
Death 3
Kills 28
I'll leave it to you to find out what they're equipped with... and whether you get your stats put back to how they were before you attacked...
Erzebet
I've read through them and I'm still missing the rule which I am banned for...
In-Game Rules
Scamming:
It is nearly impossible to commit a legitimate scam in Vampire Wars. There is no official way to trade, no mailing system, and no drops for players to pick up. There is, however, a "gifting" system. Entering into any agreement with someone based on the promise that they will "gift" you something can be a mistake. If you do this and the other party does not keep their end of the agreement, you are out of luck. That being said, players that go out of their way to scam as many people as possible will be considered to be disrupting the gaming experience for other users and appropriate action will be taken.
Panto mode on boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!"
Hacking/Botting:
Any attempts at “hacking” or “botting” will result in a permanent ban, regardless of your status in the community. (This includes scripts and macros.)
Panto mode again (so soon?) boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!"
Duping:
Using any method to duplicate or attempt to duplicate items, characters, accounts, etc. will result in a ban, regardless of your status in the community.
Hahaha! At least there's a slight reference to the banned players... "regardless of your status in the community" But... OH NO IT WON'T!
Exploiting:
Taking advantage of any flaw in the game systems to gain an advantage over other users will result in a ban. The ban may or may not be permanent (depending on the severity of the violation).
Taking advantage of the ineptitude and incompetence of the Zynga Devs is seen to be cruel and unkind and pointing out the flaws in their capabilities WILL be seen as bullying! No matter what you all think so there! :p
False Reports:
Intentionally filing any kind of false report will result in a ban. The ban may or may not be permanent (depending on the severity of the violation).
We don't want those Mods being overworked over there, do we? They may find out that the job is actually harder than they thought with less benefits and they might just quit and Brainwashing new wanna-be mods is getting very expensive these days and there's a recession on... soon Zynga will have to put a charge on for anyone that wants to be a Mod - especially if they're going to be banning people that pay to play the game...
Tooling:
Tooling is considered using the mention of any Zynga staff member (or Moderator) to threaten or otherwise harass other players. Saying anything similar to "My friend works for Zynga and will ban you" or "I'll get Zynga to ban you" will be considered “Tooling” and will result in a ban.
Saying anyone actually works at Zynga should be punishable by law anyway... the new phrase "It's not just broken, it's totally Zynga'd" is working it's way into the English Language as we speak and should soon see an official recognition of the phrase in the New English Dictionary Book of Popular Sayings very soon. Although it's an ironic reference to Count Chocular who called the Zynga Staff 'Tools!' on a regular basis...
Harassment:
Making a deliberate attempt to negatively impact another player’s gaming experience is considered harassment. Harassment of other players is unacceptable and can result in bans of varying lengths (depending on the severity of the violation).
I'd like to make a complaint about Zynga then... since Feb 14th everything they've done has had negative impact on everyone's gaming experience...
Inappropriate Language:
Words that qualify as “inappropriate language” include but are not limited to obscenities, racial epithets, and personal insults. Ultimately, inappropriate language is anything considered unfit by Zynga staff members (or Moderators).
Anyone engaging in the use of inappropriate language while using a Zynga service will receive a formal warning. Repeatedly violating this rule will result in a ban.
Remember:
Implying obscenities is considered the same as using obscenities.
If you have to misspell something to get away with saying it, don’t say it.
Just because it's not blocked by the chat filter does not mean it is OK to say.
Panto mode on boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!" And neither will threats of violence, threats to find out your address, threats against family members - including your children - and sexually explicit threats (including violence) will NOT be taken seriously and will NEVER be investigated or have action taken against the person making the vile and disgusting comments. As examples: george666, eyebitehard, weretiger - and many many more!
Spamming:
Spamming is defined as “repeatedly chatting or posting outside of a reasonable amount”. Ultimately, what is considered “reasonable” will be decided by members of the Zynga staff (or Moderators). Anyone found guilty of spamming while using a Zynga service will receive a formal warning. Repeatedly violating this rule will result in a ban.
And one for the road... Panto mode on boys and girls: "OH NO IT WON'T!" Case in point: eyebitehard, his 'girlfriend', and many many more... (sigh) - The only way action will be taken is if you annoy/upset/make a fool out of the Mods in the Forum.
Notes:
There is no 3-Hit rule.
No, perhaps not, but you're saying this too late to save some of the better players that you lost Zynga. Maybe you should have supported them when they were saying the very same thing in your forums - instead of allowing a few Mods who didn't have the patience or skills to play the game and achieve goals - such as the Leaderboard - to decide that their mode of playing was 'too nasty' for the Twilight Tweenies to cope with and banned them from the game.
You do not need a reason to hitlist someone.
The only reason you need for a hitlist is that you're unable to win a fight against the person so you pay for others to do your dirty work for you. Out in the real world, behaviour like that is illegal, in the child-world it's bullying. Back when you were able to self-claim your hit, the players managed the bullies very well - they had to, Zynga didn't do a damned thing. Since the self-claim was removed, the game has had 'wars' which got so nasty that people have quit the game and second accounts made JUST to Hitlist players and ruin their game. The only moderation that Zynga practice is in their forums, everything else is too much hassle to be bothered with.
Attacking someone several times in a row is not harassment.
This is the ONLY thing I agree with Zynga. Well done on being consistent...
Then you have their Devs...
http://apps.facebook.com/vampiresgame/stats.php?user=1737832443
Lvl 69 with 38 Clan... easy pickings for the lvl 70 Gauntlet... so you might think. The stats say differently...Stats
Skill Ranking 5,443
Missions Completed 801
Fights Won 3,858
Fights Lost 2,710
Death 3
Kills 28
I'll leave it to you to find out what they're equipped with... and whether you get your stats put back to how they were before you attacked...
Erzebet
Saturday 15 August 2009
This is the type of 'Vampire' Zynga keeps!
Well doesn't this just beggar what is left of belief?
The level of abuse over there at Zynga just keeps on rising.
After a string of attacks on this particular Vampire Character, the person felt the need to comment on it:
Comment to this vamp was along the lines of:
You should know better at your level.
Please explain your multiples or I shall be asking my elders for advice!!
14 hours, 31 minutes ago:
*Lvl 1163* left you a comment:
"Tell your Elders I told you to piss off!"
Now, that in itself isn't really so very much to complain about is it... the fact that civility cannot be used in a game where the 'nobility of Vampires' is stressed upon, they are given spanky clothes to dress their characters up in and you can attain the titles of 'Savant' and 'Vindicator' amongst others.
The fact that these kinds of people have no need to worry about their account being removed for such behaviour IS worrying though. Why should anyone that plays an online game have to put up with such rude comments - and trust me, they aren't the worst I've ever seen. Take this one for example:
1 minute, 19 seconds ago:
Lilith left you a comment:
"fuck off you asshole"
This is from a lvl 51
http://apps.facebook.com/vampiresgame/stats.php?user=1102015166
The reason for the abuse? Well they were attacked and then attacked again in retaliation for a Hitlisting.
I wonder, does it kiss it's mother with that mouth?
Why should anyone be allowed to assume that they can write whatever they like on other people's walls just because it's aimed at an adult audience?
Zynga just allow that kind of abuse to go on unchecked. They allow the reported abuse to continue to the detriment of other players that try to step in and calm it down. Zynga keep their heads down whilst the Players in the game try to mediate and resolve disputes, then Zynga BAN the very people that DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ABUSE and do it successfully.
Erzebet was banned for 'harrasment and abuse' yet no evidence has ever been produced to support that allegation. The only thing that Zynga have done is to change the wording of their ToS so that they cannot be sued for such cavalier attitude to the abuse that goes on in their game.
A long time ago there was a Vampire called 'eyebitehard' and the abuse, swearing, threats and bile that emanated from that character was reported over and over and over again. a Vampire called george666 made women (yes, only women) fear for their safety because of the vile messages he left. Are those characters banned from the game by Zynga? NO THEY ARE NOT!
Zynga do not give two hoots for the players in the game, they only care when they are brought to task on matters - which is why Erzebet was banned, why Xypher was banned, why Count Chocula was banned and all the rest!
Give me the names of the Vampires that have been banned and didn't deserve it and I shall immortalise them in this Blog.
Zynga is worried though, there is a new thing in their game which enables a character to upgrade his skill stats - at a cost of course! Make your Vampire stronger - for cold hard cash.
Hey Zynga - worried much? You should be, there are rumours afoot...
More Later
Erzebet
The level of abuse over there at Zynga just keeps on rising.
After a string of attacks on this particular Vampire Character, the person felt the need to comment on it:
Comment to this vamp was along the lines of:
You should know better at your level.
Please explain your multiples or I shall be asking my elders for advice!!
14 hours, 31 minutes ago:
*Lvl 1163* left you a comment:
"Tell your Elders I told you to piss off!"
Now, that in itself isn't really so very much to complain about is it... the fact that civility cannot be used in a game where the 'nobility of Vampires' is stressed upon, they are given spanky clothes to dress their characters up in and you can attain the titles of 'Savant' and 'Vindicator' amongst others.
The fact that these kinds of people have no need to worry about their account being removed for such behaviour IS worrying though. Why should anyone that plays an online game have to put up with such rude comments - and trust me, they aren't the worst I've ever seen. Take this one for example:
1 minute, 19 seconds ago:
Lilith left you a comment:
"fuck off you asshole"
This is from a lvl 51
http://apps.facebook.com/vampiresgame/stats.php?user=1102015166
The reason for the abuse? Well they were attacked and then attacked again in retaliation for a Hitlisting.
I wonder, does it kiss it's mother with that mouth?
Why should anyone be allowed to assume that they can write whatever they like on other people's walls just because it's aimed at an adult audience?
Zynga just allow that kind of abuse to go on unchecked. They allow the reported abuse to continue to the detriment of other players that try to step in and calm it down. Zynga keep their heads down whilst the Players in the game try to mediate and resolve disputes, then Zynga BAN the very people that DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ABUSE and do it successfully.
Erzebet was banned for 'harrasment and abuse' yet no evidence has ever been produced to support that allegation. The only thing that Zynga have done is to change the wording of their ToS so that they cannot be sued for such cavalier attitude to the abuse that goes on in their game.
A long time ago there was a Vampire called 'eyebitehard' and the abuse, swearing, threats and bile that emanated from that character was reported over and over and over again. a Vampire called george666 made women (yes, only women) fear for their safety because of the vile messages he left. Are those characters banned from the game by Zynga? NO THEY ARE NOT!
Zynga do not give two hoots for the players in the game, they only care when they are brought to task on matters - which is why Erzebet was banned, why Xypher was banned, why Count Chocula was banned and all the rest!
Give me the names of the Vampires that have been banned and didn't deserve it and I shall immortalise them in this Blog.
Zynga is worried though, there is a new thing in their game which enables a character to upgrade his skill stats - at a cost of course! Make your Vampire stronger - for cold hard cash.
Hey Zynga - worried much? You should be, there are rumours afoot...
More Later
Erzebet
Thursday 6 August 2009
They think it's all over... Think again
As I have said before, Erzebet will do battle again. If it is not to be in the game on Facebook then it will be on a very different battle field - one of my choosing.
I have had what the 'Customer Shaft' dept at Zynga regard as my final communication:
Discussion ThreadZynga
Response (Zynga Customer Support)
07/31/2009 09:41 AM
Hello Erzebet,
Thanks for contacting the Terms of Service team at Zynga.
We have reviewed your account ban more than once at this point. Unfortunately you violated our terms of service and your account will not be reactivated at anytime. We have explained this to you on more than one occasion. Any further contact with Zynga regarding this issue will be set to solved without further communication to you.
Thank you,
Zynga Terms of Service Team
In response to that, let me tell you that I have had NO explanations of why I was banned. I have had NO response to requests for information on why I was banned and I don't expect any. My reply to the email (no doubt which is now 'set to solved')
Again, I have NOT had an answer. I have NEVER been told what it is that I have supposedly done.
I have now decided to take matters into my own hands and as such, I have started a Blog, highlighting the shortcomings of your company.
Feel free to read it, I have sent the address to Mark Pincus and Chris Hinton.
http://erzebet-speaks-out.blogspot.com
I am far from satisfied with the replies I have had from your company and I am not the only one.
My next course of action is to email the companies that advertise on your games.
Send this to ‘resolved’, it’s as much as I expect from you.
Added by Edit:
http://www.edge-online.com/user/erzebet
It seems that Zynga think that they can set issues to 'solved' and have done with the matter. The more they do this, however, the more people will become angry at the way they are treated.
Don't be complacent in playing their games, if you don't like what they do, you have now NO voice in the matter. They can - and will - ban you from their games if they wish, even on the whim of a forum moderator. This is not the only account that has been permanently banned.
The next one could be you.
Erzebet
I have had what the 'Customer Shaft' dept at Zynga regard as my final communication:
Discussion ThreadZynga
Response (Zynga Customer Support)
07/31/2009 09:41 AM
Hello Erzebet,
Thanks for contacting the Terms of Service team at Zynga.
We have reviewed your account ban more than once at this point. Unfortunately you violated our terms of service and your account will not be reactivated at anytime. We have explained this to you on more than one occasion. Any further contact with Zynga regarding this issue will be set to solved without further communication to you.
Thank you,
Zynga Terms of Service Team
In response to that, let me tell you that I have had NO explanations of why I was banned. I have had NO response to requests for information on why I was banned and I don't expect any. My reply to the email (no doubt which is now 'set to solved')
Again, I have NOT had an answer. I have NEVER been told what it is that I have supposedly done.
I have now decided to take matters into my own hands and as such, I have started a Blog, highlighting the shortcomings of your company.
Feel free to read it, I have sent the address to Mark Pincus and Chris Hinton.
http://erzebet-speaks-out.blogspot.com
I am far from satisfied with the replies I have had from your company and I am not the only one.
My next course of action is to email the companies that advertise on your games.
Send this to ‘resolved’, it’s as much as I expect from you.
Added by Edit:
http://www.edge-online.com/user/erzebet
It seems that Zynga think that they can set issues to 'solved' and have done with the matter. The more they do this, however, the more people will become angry at the way they are treated.
Don't be complacent in playing their games, if you don't like what they do, you have now NO voice in the matter. They can - and will - ban you from their games if they wish, even on the whim of a forum moderator. This is not the only account that has been permanently banned.
The next one could be you.
Erzebet
From "Thanks!" to Public Enemy #1 in 3.0 seconds
[QUOTE=Parizad]
Hiya! Quick note: It looks like the mods (without any provocation from me) put some of your suggestions into the weekly report to the devs. Thank you for posting those.
So, they don't like private conversations being published for all to see? That to me suggests they have something to hide. Still, it's published now, what are they going to do about it... ban me? Hahahaha!
Hey Zynga, let me know how that works out for you will you? ;)
Erzebet
Hiya! Quick note: It looks like the mods (without any provocation from me) put some of your suggestions into the weekly report to the devs. Thank you for posting those.
Then there's the 'Mandy' episode...
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
It's a bit of a micky take though, seeing as I used a lot of my Elders points to regain my old level so that I could have at least a fighting chance against some of the newer Vamps that took a bigger advantage of the 'glitch'.
[QUOTE=Mandy]
Yeah it sounds like it's just part of our overall Facebook server issue. New servers are on their way so just hang tight until then!
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
Have you any idea when I'll be hanging tight till? I've said that I have other Apps running and it's getting so that Vamps doesn't have the same 'pull' as it did.
[QUOTE=Mandy]
Possibly sometime next week.
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
I would think I'll be gone then.
[QUOTE=Mandy]
See ya.
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
Yeah, that's just the attitude I expected. Not even a pretence at concern for loss of customers.
[QUOTE=Mandy]
I didn't mean it dismissively, but I realize that we can't keep each and every customer. What can we do to make you stay? It sounds like what you're most concerned about (the loading issues) is something we have no control over. I can't make new servers arrive faster.
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
Too late I'm afraid. In the written word, 'not meaning to sound...' is no excuse. Your response, as I said, is typical 'Zynga' and people that have spent money on the Apps want a better reply to their concerns about not being able to play a game that they have paid for than 'See ya.'
I have run businesses before and I certainly would not have any of my employees answering one of our customers so flippantly and with such obvious disdain.
Still, as I said, I will be staying, if just to see the fun this weekend. Good luck, I certainly think you're going to need it.
I may just hang around to see the backlash from this weekend when people are off work and levelling up and can't get into the game. I wonder if your attitude will alter then?
I do hope you don't mind me forwarding this to the CO of the company to enlighten him about the disregard for the people that pay his wages. Then again, I don't give a flying one if you mind or not.
[QUOTE=Mandy]
I wasn't replying to the fact that you couldn't get into the game, I was replying to the fact that you were leaving. People leave our game every day (and new people start playing.) We don't like to see people go, but if they're going to leave over something I have no control over, I can't really do anymore than say goodbye. I've already apologized for the loading issues in general and given information about it in several threads.
BTW, I saw your post before Parizad deleted it. FYI, I'm not in Customer Service. :)
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
I know exactly what you meant when you wrote 'See ya'.
I also know you aren't in CS, but you are a representative of the company. Parizad will probably be letting you know that I've sent the same post to Mark Pincus and Michael Luxton. I don't expect anything in reply from them either.
[QUOTE=Parizad]
Hey, quick note: I removed your post with the PM conversation you had with Mandy. We would NEVER publicly post conversations we have with players, and ask that you show the same respect.
[QUOTE=Erzebet]
So the response 'See ya' is Company Policy is it?
To be perfectly honest with you, I couldn't care less if you remove it from the forum. I don't say anything that I would be ashamed of anyone else seeing in public, but it looks like 'Mandy' is having second thoughts about the flippant way she replied.
It's posted on the other public site for everyone to see and I have also emailed Mark Pincus and Michael Luxton with it too, along with the link to the site containing some of the complaints.
I'll also be mailing Customer Service with a complaint about 'Mandy's attitude - not that I expect great things to come from that direction, nothing has yet.
As I just mailed to 'Mandy', good luck for the coming weekend when there's 4 days of Easter for people to catch up on their levels and not get into the game.
I think your cup will runneth over then and I wonder how many 'See ya's Mandy will be dealing out then?
So, they don't like private conversations being published for all to see? That to me suggests they have something to hide. Still, it's published now, what are they going to do about it... ban me? Hahahaha!
Hey Zynga, let me know how that works out for you will you? ;)
Erzebet
Monday 3 August 2009
Now for something completely different...
We live in dangerous times don't we? Proof: I have been thinking...
Zynga make games. They made the game that has so far brought you to read my Blog (or most of you at least). The game we all liked so much has gone, but does it have to be gone forever?
I wonder how many of us would like to see the 'Real Vampire Wars' back? I know I would. I would perhaps even be willing to pay a nominal amount to get it back.
We would have to start from the beginning of course, build our way back up, but without help and assistance from Akem, Mandy, Santa etc. Without the '20 Health' safety net or the silly 'zombied' Vampires that don't know when you're pounding them into the ground.
But with the self-claim Hitlist back, the struggles and character-building exercises that were in the game when I first started playing.
In essence, the game that had a raw and wild edge to it. A game that perhaps wouldn't even rely on having Clan. A Vampire is a lone creature of the night, it doesn't need, want or require friends, pals, companions, buddies - anyone/anything! A Vampire is reliant only on it's own powers, strengths, skills, craft, slyness. A new game should encompass all these things.
One Vampire battling against another Vampire of similar level - the rest is up to you! A Gladiator of a Vampire if you will.
You would have to control how you built up your Vampire. Would it be strong in battle, or fast and so better at defence or so intellectually superior that it could turn its enemy onto itself?
The choice you make at the beginning of it's career as Bloodsucking Predator would steer the choices you make later.
I never liked the way that some Vampires had a different Blood Flow to others and would seek to standardise that. You fight for the Blood you need, drinking it from your victims or from the Tasks you are able to perform. Blood Flow from minions seems to be an easy way out. You start the game up and let it run for a few weeks and you're set - Not the way I would set it up.
If you play the game, you gain the Blood Flow, the stats, the weaponry, the skills, abilities - all from fighting - just as it was! If you don't fight, you don't gain!
If you don't like fighting, don't play this game. It would be billed as a violent, bloodthirsty and SKILLFUL game! You get out what you put in.
All in all, Zynga, if you're watching, I for one want a game where I have to fight, struggle, make skillful choices and KILL to get anywhere in the game. Having it all handed to you on a plate is NOT what I want from this type of game. The Vampires of the dark and disturbing imaginations of our ancestors is the type that I want, not the twinkly, conscience-bothered teens of films lately made popular.
I want Nosferatu, Dracula, Lilith and yes, even Lestat and Louis - at least they did kill!
Give us Vampires of Legend - Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Dusk til Dawn and 'Salem's Lot!
I want dark and sinister not twinkly and sparkly (they're pet lap dogs aren't they?).
Depose the children (and the adults) that don't want to attack inside a game because it's not nice - Vampires are NOT nice!
In summary -
kill, kill, KILL! KILLEMALL!!!! ARRRGHHH!!!!
Erzebet the slightly mad
Zynga make games. They made the game that has so far brought you to read my Blog (or most of you at least). The game we all liked so much has gone, but does it have to be gone forever?
I wonder how many of us would like to see the 'Real Vampire Wars' back? I know I would. I would perhaps even be willing to pay a nominal amount to get it back.
We would have to start from the beginning of course, build our way back up, but without help and assistance from Akem, Mandy, Santa etc. Without the '20 Health' safety net or the silly 'zombied' Vampires that don't know when you're pounding them into the ground.
But with the self-claim Hitlist back, the struggles and character-building exercises that were in the game when I first started playing.
In essence, the game that had a raw and wild edge to it. A game that perhaps wouldn't even rely on having Clan. A Vampire is a lone creature of the night, it doesn't need, want or require friends, pals, companions, buddies - anyone/anything! A Vampire is reliant only on it's own powers, strengths, skills, craft, slyness. A new game should encompass all these things.
One Vampire battling against another Vampire of similar level - the rest is up to you! A Gladiator of a Vampire if you will.
You would have to control how you built up your Vampire. Would it be strong in battle, or fast and so better at defence or so intellectually superior that it could turn its enemy onto itself?
The choice you make at the beginning of it's career as Bloodsucking Predator would steer the choices you make later.
I never liked the way that some Vampires had a different Blood Flow to others and would seek to standardise that. You fight for the Blood you need, drinking it from your victims or from the Tasks you are able to perform. Blood Flow from minions seems to be an easy way out. You start the game up and let it run for a few weeks and you're set - Not the way I would set it up.
If you play the game, you gain the Blood Flow, the stats, the weaponry, the skills, abilities - all from fighting - just as it was! If you don't fight, you don't gain!
If you don't like fighting, don't play this game. It would be billed as a violent, bloodthirsty and SKILLFUL game! You get out what you put in.
All in all, Zynga, if you're watching, I for one want a game where I have to fight, struggle, make skillful choices and KILL to get anywhere in the game. Having it all handed to you on a plate is NOT what I want from this type of game. The Vampires of the dark and disturbing imaginations of our ancestors is the type that I want, not the twinkly, conscience-bothered teens of films lately made popular.
I want Nosferatu, Dracula, Lilith and yes, even Lestat and Louis - at least they did kill!
Give us Vampires of Legend - Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Dusk til Dawn and 'Salem's Lot!
I want dark and sinister not twinkly and sparkly (they're pet lap dogs aren't they?).
Depose the children (and the adults) that don't want to attack inside a game because it's not nice - Vampires are NOT nice!
In summary -
kill, kill, KILL! KILLEMALL!!!! ARRRGHHH!!!!
Erzebet the slightly mad
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