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New Avatar & Refreshed Rules

Posted by Dave on May 7, 2025, 10:28 am NST

A new avatar has been released today!

To get this avatar, simply visit the Site Rules page. It will appear at the top of the page.

On a larger note, this avatar seems to be to celebrate the fact that the Site Rules page has been updated and refreshed!

Here's a breakdown of the new sections:

Neopets is for Everyone
Neopets values equality, inclusivity and diversity
No cheating, No exceptions.
Treat all players with respect.
Follow account limits and restrictions.
Be kind to The Neopets Team (TNT.)
Protect your account.
Stealing is prohibited.
Respectful Communication is Mandatory
Disciplinary action will be taken.

Notably, older "rules" that discouraged LGBTQIA+ identities from sharing have been finally taken off the books, and we here at Jellyneo are delighted to see additions like officially writing down transphobia as against the rules.

We encourage you to take a read through of the updates. Most has remained the same, but it's always good to refresh yourself.

Read the Rules »

Make a Comment!

There are 96 comments below. Add yours!

by lavender_fieldz on May 7, 2025 10:31 AM NST

"No cheating, No exceptions." LOL I'll believe it when I see them start punishing people that get reported with mountains of proof they're cheating.

by jawsch on May 7, 2025 10:38 AM NST

Updated rules are nice! A good step in the right direction.

The avatar was poorly made. In dark mode, the leftover white pixels from the background removal process are visible.

by stormmonarch on May 7, 2025 10:47 AM NST

* No cheating, No exceptions.
* Follow account limits and restrictions.

So, what have they done to the bots???

by stormmonarch on May 7, 2025 10:48 AM NST

I don't remember if it was the case previously, but I find it funny that they have to put "please don't be mean to us ;(" in the rules xD

by amethyst43217 on May 7, 2025 11:03 AM NST

NEAT update on the rules!

Now, the avatar is... something. At first I thought it was satirical, "Neopian Task Force"..?

by spongegrundo on May 7, 2025 11:10 AM NST

Please avoid discussing sensitive, polarizing, or age-inappropriate topics.

Is that new or old ?

by premium17 on May 7, 2025 11:12 AM NST

"8. Stealing is prohibited.

Whether it’s taking Neopets images, items, and art for your own commercial gain or swiping another Neopian’s hard-earned creations, stealing any type of content is prohibited. Neopets owns everything in Neopia, and using their content without permission violates copyright law. "

"10. Disciplinary action will be taken.

Whether it’s taking Neopets images, items, and art for your own commercial gain or swiping another Neopian’s hard-earned creations, stealing any type of content is prohibited. Neopets owns everything in Neopia, and using their content without permission violates copyright law. "

Already found an error. This text seems to have been accidentally duplicated?

by catriki on May 7, 2025 11:17 AM NST

Free avatar, hooray, now I'm at #420.

by biediep on May 7, 2025 11:21 AM NST

* No cheating, No exceptions.
* Follow account limits and restrictions.

So, what have they done to the bots???

________________________________

I'll bet nothing.

by maninshi on May 7, 2025 11:22 AM NST

"3. No cheating, No exceptions.

There is no shortcut to greatness in Neopia. Every Neopoint, trophy, and avatar should be earned through skill, patience, and maybe a little bit of luck. The use of bots, scripts, exploits, or outside programs to gain an unfair advantage is strictly against the rules. These actions harm the integrity of the game and the experience of other players. You must abide by the guidelines for Neopets events, contests, and competitions. We also want to be extremely clear: Real-World Trading (RWT), better known as Offsite Buying/Selling, is not allowed. This includes buying, selling, or trading Neopoints, NeoCash, items, pets, accounts, or other in-game assets for real-world money, whether from a third-party website or another individual player. If you break the rules, you risk losing your account forever."

Was this there before the update? :0 I might stand corrected If yes, and gladly will

by maninshi on May 7, 2025 11:26 AM NST

"Whether it’s taking Neopets images, items, and art for your own commercial gain or swiping another Neopian’s hard-earned creations, stealing any type of content is prohibited."

----

Based one the fan art program, selling layouts with official Neopets images is alright.. this is confusing

by spongegrundo on May 7, 2025 11:33 AM NST

It's refreshing to hear an update on these things directly from TNT, even if I'd like to see more done about it.

by mercy_graves on May 7, 2025 11:40 AM NST

Site rules?
Yeah, it sure does!

by xhjon on May 7, 2025 11:42 AM NST

I don’t understand how Neopets has changed ownership three or four times, and they still don’t allow people to actually play (do dailies, etc.) on multiple accounts. I follow the rules, but think the rules are arbitrary. If you have time to play more than one account, it’s fair. Other people can play as much or as little as they want.

by sterlinglyons on May 7, 2025 11:43 AM NST

when the bots getting deleted tho

by butterflykestrel on May 7, 2025 11:44 AM NST

@amethyst43217 Everyone is doing this now. Even hospitals and doctors' offices are like, "Behave or we'll kick you to the curb."

by novelista on May 7, 2025 11:47 AM NST

@sterlinglyons: Economy is a bit part of Neopets. Not saying that other games don't have their own economy, but usually it is not the major game play. In Neopets, buying and selling are important aspects of the game. Imagine logging into 10 accounts during advent calendar and getting 10 paint brushes. Or bidding food club from 10 accounts to generate more NP. Or donating to wishing wells from 10 accounts.

The above are exactly what bots are doing. Now imagine many players join this practice.

by stormmonarch on May 7, 2025 11:57 AM NST

nice to see that they specifically listed homophobia and transphobia as unacceptable

by rat_attack on May 7, 2025 12:00 PM NST

by oldawning on May 7, 2025 12:00 PM NST

by horses_46569 on May 7, 2025 12:10 PM NST

@novelista

you say that as if doctors/hospital workers deserve harassment? cause I'm pretty sure they don't

by galaxyeyes on May 7, 2025 12:14 PM NST

@amethyst43217

I personally think it's pretty sad that they have to go out of their way to say that. :/ Like, how dare the people running the website...be treated like human beings?

by galaxyeyes on May 7, 2025 12:16 PM NST

I’m glad they updated the terms to include protection for minority groups. Many of the other rules make the game less enjoyable, tbh.

by sterlinglyons on May 7, 2025 12:45 PM NST

"Be kind to The Neopets Team (TNT.)"

L O L

But they're allowed to send their community to hell when they randomly deleted your TOD account with 7 Months of constant progress, or they're allowed to freeze your account without a reason, even if you can prove you're right. As always, you dropped this red nose, TNT.

by amuletum1994 on May 7, 2025 12:45 PM NST

the fact that the "be kind to TNT" rule is in direct response to trans players calling out their lack of action kind of undercuts all of this... but whatever

by libra on May 7, 2025 12:47 PM NST

@Libra, first of all, people from all fronts can be pretty vile to TNT. Secondly, if any trans people have been nasty to TNT, yes it is uncalled for.

No party/person's behvious should be left unchecked.

by dynohawk on May 7, 2025 1:02 PM NST

It seems talking about religion is okay now

by _sissiy_sis_369 on May 7, 2025 1:12 PM NST

@dynohawk ok but i'm talking about things that have actually happened, not hypotheticals. TNT was giving trans players official warnings for mild criticism of their moderation policies and abilities and that's why they've added this rule. there's easily accessible screenshots out there to prove what i'm talking about is the reality of the situation

by libra on May 7, 2025 1:12 PM NST

I'm mainly worried about the "Be kind to The Neopets Team (TNT.)" section via the "excessive complaints" point. The team could easily abuse this somehow with people simply giving them criticism. This has happened in the past, and I won't be surprised if it keeps happening. But I'd love for them to prove me wrong.

by theelementsofharmony on May 7, 2025 1:31 PM NST

@amethyst43217 - Abuse toward TNT is rampant, everyone knows this. I admit that even I have been overly harsh in some of my responses to them from time to time. It's totally unacceptable behavior, even if at times it's a bit understandable given our frustrations, and I'm glad they're taking a stand to protect their employees. All companies should do this.

It's understandable to be angry and frustrated when something goes wrong, but that should never be taken out on others - whether staff or other players. People need to take a deep breath and only speak when they can be constructive without being hostile.

@libra - This is not a response to the trans moderation issues. The hostility and mistreatment to TNT across the site - not just on the Neoboards - has been rampant for years, and they're finally taking a clear stand to protect their employees.

I was on the LGBTQ panel yesterday, and all of these topics were covered. It's clear to me from the discussions that A] these updates to the rules have been in the works since prior to that fiasco and B] TNT genuinely are committed to inclusivity and to protecting all marginalized groups, particularly trans people given the recent events.

There are limits to what I can say about what they have in the works, but I can say that I went in there feeling hurty, angry, skeptical, even cynical, about where TNT stood and about their level of commitment to change, and I came away feeling exactly the opposite. The team's compassion, concern and sincere personal values of inclusivity and protecting marginalized and targeted groups shone through very clearly throughout our discussion. These people are definitely on our side. We need to give them time to rework their processes, policies and technology to better support all users and to better reflect TNT's values.

by neolodgeism on May 7, 2025 1:35 PM NST

that's a great number biediep. you should leave it there, your work is done.

by bedomi on May 7, 2025 1:39 PM NST

As a gay trans man, I'm happy with this new Neopia where everyone is allowed to be free to express themselves, as it should have been all along.
Bye bye to Neopets' version of "DON'T SAY GAY!'.

by bodhi on May 7, 2025 1:40 PM NST

"Whether it’s taking Neopets images, items, and art for your own commercial gain or swiping another Neopian’s hard-earned creations, stealing any type of content is prohibited."
----
Based one the fan art program, selling layouts with official Neopets images is alright.. this is confusing

~~
I'm going to assume it's only okay to use official Neopets art commercially if you're in the partner program. If you're not profiting off of the art (for instance putting it on a user lookup layout) then you should be fine! This is of course what I'm getting from reading the rules, I don't want to get anyone in trouble from my own assumptions!

by artzyzero on May 7, 2025 1:43 PM NST

Sorry, but this is all laughable. There's absolutely no moderation on the boards and they have bots & resellers controlling the economy.

by sailormoon on May 7, 2025 1:59 PM NST

Grateful to see a formal update to the rules. It seems to be a step in the right direction. The only thing I am concerned about is... will they actually be enforced? They can expressly state in their rules that cheating and botting and whatnot is against the rules. It is not like people will stop doing so unless TNT takes concrete enforcement measures. But well, any progress is progress, I suppose!

by piratewolfie on May 7, 2025 2:07 PM NST

I'll believe them when the bots get banned.

by eggsalad on May 7, 2025 2:56 PM NST

we love to see it! now that there's REs that literally take you to Facebook, and TikTok (maybe others? those are 2 that I've encountered recently) does that mean were allowed to talk about these other sites? or are those rules in a different area haha

by lexronomicon on May 7, 2025 3:01 PM NST

This is typical TNT slacktivism

by sailormoon on May 7, 2025 3:02 PM NST

Literally 5 bots just won the wishing well today already!

Captchas are still on userlookups instead of the wishing well and shops, leaving bots to control all restocking. Updating the rules is cute, but actions speak louder than words.

by sailormoon on May 7, 2025 3:07 PM NST

@sailormoon - Yeah, there are still a lot of problems that need to be fixed, but I think we should celebrate improvements when they happen.

by neolodgeism on May 7, 2025 3:15 PM NST

I'm happy with the addition and changes!

by blackmalbec on May 7, 2025 3:16 PM NST

No cheating... hahaha. They can't even make their site not run at dial-up speeds. 40k bot guy probably isn't losing any sleep.

by infernodragon02 on May 7, 2025 3:20 PM NST

Someone wake me up when they finally take out the 40k botter.

by fenix on May 7, 2025 3:21 PM NST

this avatar is giving: i am report everybody

by inkpot on May 7, 2025 3:40 PM NST

interesting! it's been a pretty long time since they last updated the rules i think, a lot of rules on neo have been just "somebody said one time in the editorial" haha. glad they're finally circling back to stuff they've been ignoring for a while!

i wonder if the line about "stealing" neopets images for commercial gain indicates they're going to start cracking down on fan material more...

by sentehisshou on May 7, 2025 5:08 PM NST

Glad both for the avatar and the updates, especially finally removing all the old anti-LGBTQ+ rules.

by dragonair23 on May 7, 2025 5:23 PM NST

I don’t understand how Neopets has changed ownership three or four times, and they still don’t allow people to actually play (do dailies, etc.) on multiple accounts.

Yes, I don't know why and it's very normal having multiple account to play in other games to this day(they should change this rules ) and they also only allowed people buy premium on your main is strange too, I believe some people are willing to buy premium on their side account if they could.

by blue82182001 on May 7, 2025 6:23 PM NST

@cat

Harry Potter fans...aren't an oppressed minority? What are you on about? I'm saying this as someone who liked Harry Potter, and still kind of does, but it has a huge bitter taste in my mouth because of the author

by galaxyeyes on May 7, 2025 6:28 PM NST

@cat - A lot seems to have gone completely over your head...

by neolodgeism on May 7, 2025 6:50 PM NST

I'm confused about "Illegal/controlled substances (Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, vaping, medications and associated products)". Does this include prescription medications prescribed to people by their doctor(s) to treat diagnosed health conditions?

by morganjoisle on May 7, 2025 7:12 PM NST

I don't understand the copyright thing. Didn't TNT literately just released two more sets of Studio Ghibli themed wearable behind the paywall? Sounds like a hypocritic

by pandolynx on May 7, 2025 7:51 PM NST

re: rule 6

Dom told all of us in the AMA with Alice that that was a rule ("Dom says they will have a zero tolerance policy for abuse or threatening TNT staff." https://www.jellyneo.net/?go=monthly_amas&id=2023_november), they just put it in writing

by meercatristonhopets3 on May 7, 2025 8:00 PM NST

@ morganjoisle on May 7, 2025 7:12 PM NST: I'm confused about "Illegal/controlled substances (Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, vaping, medications and associated products)". Does this include prescription medications prescribed to people by their doctor(s) to treat diagnosed health conditions?

Is that not covered under "Health Misinformation"? Because that covers quite a lot of territory in modern Western medicine. (Sadly, not a joke.)

by breezydreams on May 7, 2025 8:09 PM NST

@breezydreams There were trans folks being warned and/or silenced talking about hormone replacement therapy the other day, so I want to know if that's actually officially allowed to be talked about or banned.

The overly non-specific policy also leaves those of us with chronic illnesses and disabilities in a sort of gray area. Like, am I allowed to mention epinephrine, antihistamines, etc. as prescribed by my doctor?

by morganjoisle on May 7, 2025 8:33 PM NST

So glad for the rules update. I hope people posting transphobic messages get permaiced now.

by nobody on May 7, 2025 10:01 PM NST

@ morganjoisle: I hear you! For years, I've been referring to "magic candies" or "helper shrooms" or whatever silly phrase keeps me thawed.

by breezydreams on May 7, 2025 11:35 PM NST

The most recent comments here seem to talk about medicine and such, which may or may not be okay to talk about. The rules may not be too clear on that yet.
In a similar vein, it still confuses me how TNT handles the matters of gender identity and romantic interest. On one hand they promote being yourself and showing the world your colours (which is good), but on the other hand you are still not allowed to discuss certain matters.
So the rule would still be: "It's okay for you to say you are gay, but you are not allowed to explain what that means." And that.. I find that confusing. Am I wrong? If I'm wrong, can someone please kindly enlighten me?

(I'm not saying *I* am gay, for I am not, I used that as an example. I hope that is okay.)

by apophis324 on May 7, 2025 11:58 PM NST

Can people just enjoy the new avatar without whining? OMG!

by meepitmaggie on May 8, 2025 1:17 AM NST

No chaeting, no exception? Fakt: The Wheel of Knowlege still gives out working cheat codes. What about no exceptions?????

by gouvy on May 8, 2025 2:15 AM NST

@apophis324 - I'm confused. Are there people in 2025 who do not know what being gay is? Not sure what you're getting at here. What 'matters' would need to be discussed or explained that are not allowed to be?

by neolodgeism on May 8, 2025 6:56 AM NST

Nice!

But I will quote this too:

* No cheating, No exceptions.
* Follow account limits and restrictions.

So, what have they done to the bots???

by silvia on May 8, 2025 8:19 AM NST

I sort of giggled at the "NO TALK ABOUT SUICIDE >

" rule

Cause when TNT themselves made light suicide jokes part of TVW early on, a few users noticed and expressed discomfort... and they were LIT TF UP on the NeoBoards by other users calling them all kinds of names. No response to that or any banning afaik.

And now TNT says "Hey no joke about suwuicide ;("

So that's pretty funny imo

by mistressmary13 on May 8, 2025 8:36 AM NST

@neolodgeism not quite sure but i think they’re asking like; if it’s okay to say the word gay but not to talk about being a man who likes men, for example? or being able to say trans but maybe not talk about transitioning, as someone else mentioned that trans users got in trouble for discussing hrt?

by paladinns on May 8, 2025 8:47 AM NST

@neolodgeism: No, that is not exactly my point. And being gay might be something well known, but if we delve deeper into the rainbow for a better example, someone would be allowed to say "Hey, I'm demisexual", but they would then not be allowed to explain what that means for them. That is where I get confused, because it's naturally more than okay to come out and say such a thing, but true understanding comes from discussion, which is against the rules.

by apophis324 on May 8, 2025 9:16 AM NST

@apophis324 - Ah! I get what you mean now. Based on what we discussed at the meeting, I would say people absolutely can talk about their identities. What wouldn't be allowed would be for somebody to question somebody else's identity and make them feel alienated, marginalized and attacked.

For example, someone concern-trolling about the supposed 'dangers' of transgender people using the bathroom for the gender they identify with would not get away with that, but a transgender person talking about what it felt like to use that bathroom for the first time would be fine.

The devil is in the details, of course, and when there is a lot of nuance I think players need to be very patient and realize that it's often difficult for people who haven't experienced something to understand why a subtler statement is harmful. So when you report subtle microaggressions or dog whistles, they might not immediately be understood to be harmful.

In cases where people are doing this kind of harmful thing regularly, it's probably better to get your receipts and submit a support ticket rather than rely just on board moderation. That will enable you to get more information to the people that need to see it.

I don't know where the boundaries are going to fall with regard to discussions of medical information. That is a much grayer area, because what some people are convinced is totally effective and safe other people believe is dangerous. I would not want to be the one moderating those kinds of boards.

I'm not allowed to say anything specific about what's coming or anything about timeline, but I can say that there are more tools in development for both moderators and users that will make it much easier to report and much easier to moderate.

This is why I am urging people to be patient, because it's clear to me that this is a big priority for TNT and they are serious about it, but there is work that needs to be done to make it happen, and it will take time.

In the meanti

by neolodgeism on May 8, 2025 9:52 AM NST

In the meantime I recommend that if there are particular users who are being hateful on a regular basis but in subtler ways that get around the moderators, get your receipts and submit a support ticket.

And for those who are anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ, TERFs, etc , my advice is to find it within yourself to stop saying heinous things, because the days of getting away with it are coming to a close.

by neolodgeism on May 8, 2025 9:54 AM NST

And just as I said that, TNT has announced publicly that they have launched a dedicated ticket category for reporting a player. This is going to help a lot with what I was saying earlier about getting receipts and reporting people who have been causing ongoing problems.

If you are on the mailing list you should have got a message about it, otherwise I would check the news page for more information.

https://portal.neopets.com/news/may7-neopian-task-force-play-fair

by neolodgeism on May 8, 2025 9:59 AM NST

@neolodgeism: Thank you for your great explanation. I likely wasn't going to engage with players on such private matters anyway, but it's good that there are proper rules for this kind of thing now. It would be nice if everyone just accepted everyone, but that's a utopic thought. Let's just be respectful, that should always be the key

by apophis324 on May 8, 2025 1:26 PM NST

@apophis324 - I am by no means an authority on any of this. I'm just going based off of what I got out of the meeting.

TNT are going to be releasing a more comprehensive set of Chat Guidelines and a Moderation Policy in the future (this was covered in the Neopian Task Force update I mentioned above - no ETA on the release of those new policies/guidelines yet). Ultimately as long as what is being said aligns with the updated site rules, people should be OK, but when in doubt I recommend people err on the side of caution until the Chat Guidelines are released.

by neolodgeism on May 8, 2025 2:28 PM NST

The "sexual topics" rule is such a slippery slope in 2025 and very contradicting to other rules. But who cares, not like any actual minors are playing this website anyway.
I am more worried about the bot issue. I hope this actually gets addressed and not just letting us know "hey, we are aware, now stop telling us".
I am ALSO glad they addressed no doxxing other players or staff. People are gross out there.

by mzlish on May 8, 2025 5:28 PM NST

I wonder if new anti-botting scripts are why haggling for my daily item purchases feels like trying to extract cold molasses from its bottle. I appreciate that TNT is trying to stop the bots but this needs tweaking. At least there’s always the general store.

by cat on May 8, 2025 8:51 PM NST

@cat - This is a perfect example of something I don't think you'll be able to get away with saying on Neopets anymore.

Framing JK Rowling's ravings as "a political position" is deeply minimizing of the situation. She is openly, actively attempting to harm transgender people and turn the world against them. She has been very successful in her country at fighting to have transgender rights eliminated. If she had her way transgender people would not even exist. This is hate speech.

Imagine for a minute if somebody who was deeply anti-semitic and wanted all Jews eliminated, or was the head of the KKK and actively wanted all black people eliminated, or someone who wanted all disabled people eliminated, but had created some art that had become popular. Do you genuinely believe it would be appropriate to have that art shared on the website, even if it didn't directly reference their hate speech?

Of course not.

Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but they do not have the right to share that opinion in inclusive spaces when it is harmful.

by neolodgeism on May 8, 2025 10:36 PM NST

cat, the world would be a better place if the worst problem any of us had to worry about was a virtual pet game removing some virtual dressup items. please have some perspective

by fluffingaroundthetop on May 9, 2025 12:13 AM NST

I feel like when it gets down to topics, you're allowed to express your identity, and explain what it means, but you can't give out "bedroom details", so to speak.

Like, you can say you like a certain gender, or your partner is a certain identity, but you can't inform how you get down behind closed doors.

What I am wondering about is the violence rule. I know we obviously can't talk about real life violence or threaten someone, or get into graphic detail, but will our stories be able to still have violence, as long as it's not graphic, etc, or does everything have to be cuddles and laughter now? Does fictional violence risk our account being frozen?

I feel like I'm overthinking it, but my brain requires specifics, and I'm super paranoid as it is. XD

by overboss on May 9, 2025 7:35 AM NST

I think it's all a matter of common sense. Is what we're talking about something we wouldn't say in a room where children were present? Then we probably shouldn't be saying it on Neopets. I think "And then the big bad wolf gobbled them all up" would be fine, but describing that event in graphic detail would not.

If it's something most people would find unsettling, it's probably not appropriate to say/share.

by neolodgeism on May 9, 2025 11:59 AM NST

Does this mean we can say illicit words like "grape juice" and "basement" now?

by cassine on May 10, 2025 8:40 PM NST

@neolodgeism
To play devil's advocate . . . I would like to address your question of, "[If an individual produced artwork that was beloved by the public but was in more recent history known for hateful viewpoints,] do you genuinely believe it would be appropriate to have that art shared on the website, even if it didn't directly reference their hate speech?"

The uncomfortable part of this argument is that it deigns to tell people how they are allowed to think. Diving deeper, this imparts the responsibility to judge all art by the merits of its creators -- was Picasso morally upright, did Orson Scott Card treat women respectfully, was Elvis Presley worthy of his fame due to his virtue? A rebuttal to this is that transphobia is a current problem and therefore this extreme prejudice towards the author is warranted. But if a standard is going to be applied only when it is convenient, then how should anyone know when it should be applied at all?

This is not to say that being unable to separate the creator from the art is wrong; I can't stand Kanye as a person and won't listen to his music. But imposing this standard on others can lead to slippery slopes with overreaching what is proprietary.

From a teacher's perspective: JK Rowling was instrumental in shaping how generations of readers consumed literature. You can disagree, but she revolutionized how young readers were willing to voluntarily read for fun, and longer books at that. Readers decades later still enjoy and are touched by her work; beyond that, several of the fantasy book series in print today were inspired by JKR or gained popularity due to a audience that was hungry for more books like Harry Potter.

if the Harry Potter books made a meaningful impact on someone that made them the person they are today, I find that incredibly offensive that they would be asked to suppress that interest because another adult could possibly be reminded of someone they don't like.

by cassine on May 10, 2025 9:10 PM NST

@cassine hey. this isn't about simple dislike, or questioning the moral character of someone who is long gone, this is about where her money and attention is actively going, which she boasts all interaction with harry potter (whether she sees the money or not) to be a direct endorsement of - hurting a minority group.

by fluffingaroundthetop on May 10, 2025 10:46 PM NST

@mzlish

Neopets is for everyone, and that includes kids/minors. I took the rules update to mean that you can discuss your orientation/your partner’s gender without getting in trouble, you just shouldn’t be getting into details about what y’all do together in your alone time, as overboss said. This isn’t confusing at all to me, and I didn’t see it as a slippery slope — TNT clearly is making effort to be inclusive to LGBT+ people, so I doubt that “no sexual topics” means banning people just for saying they’re gay.

I don’t want Neopets to become an “adults only” website. I would love for kids to join and play the game and love it just like I did years ago. If you want a more “adult” pet site, play Subeta. (No, I don’t care that Neopets was originally for college students, it’s been an all-ages website for 20+ years now)

That being said, I’d love it if we got a more sophisticated word filter on the Neoboards that would allow words like “bisexual” but not the word “sexual” on its own (and of course something that wouldn’t mark words like “basement” as no-no words)

(and yes please I’d like them to fix the botting problem too)

by galaxyeyes on May 11, 2025 11:11 AM NST

@cassine - As a friend of mine likes to say, "The devil doesn't need an advocate."

As @fluffingaroundthetop said, you're creating a strawman argument here. No one is saying that someone who is morally grey or has some skeletons in their closet should be banned from any discussion the site. What we're saying is that someone who is actively spearheading a hate campaign against a vulnerable minority group should be banned.

To Godwin this discussion, do you think people should be allowed to discuss Hitler's architectural drawings on the site? Of course not. Is Joanna an equivalent? She wishes! And I'm not even joking here. The degree of hatred she has for trans people knows no bounds, and she is actively, passionately working daily to try to recruit others to join in that hate. This has had a tangible, deeply harmful impact on the lives of trans people!

Harry Potter is frequently used as an anti-trans dog whistle for this very reason. It has no place on a site that purports to be inclusive and anti-hate.

Your other big fallacy here is claiming that setting boundaries = 'telling people how to think', and that's just disingenuous and untrue. If your MAGA uncle comes for dinner and the host says, "No Joe Rogan rants at the dinner table" they're not forcing the uncle to be woke, they're simply setting a boundary around the kind of discussion they're willing to allow in that particular setting. People are always free to think whatever they want, but they're just not free to speak it in an inclusive environment.

I notice you're not arguing for people to be able to discuss horror films, or blood and gore, or the wars that are happening around the world. That's likely because you have the sense to realize that boundaries on discussion are important. Does that mean people are being told what kind of content to enjoy? Of course not.

@galaxyeyes - Context is everything. I think the word 'sexual' can be fine. For example, when talking about 'sexual orientation'.

by neolodgeism on May 11, 2025 12:32 PM NST

It cut off my last line:

Hopefully the launch of the Chat Guidelines will be accompanied by a more modern, less extreme content filter.

by neolodgeism on May 11, 2025 12:35 PM NST

Glad to see those rules finally getting updated, but yeah there are quite a few creases to iron over, like what is the limit of medications one can talk about? Because yeah that could easily extend into "no HRT/trans talk" by bad faith reporters. Bad faith reporting is not an what-if scenario, I witnessed it literally last month last time, mentioning talking about supporting the trans community got a user the "no sexual topics" warning TWICE. Not to mention that controlled medications vary from country to country, like I was talking to my American friend, you can buy prednisone and triptan-family migraine meds by just asking about it in the pharmacy here, meds that are prescription-only in the US.

Also, like, while the moderation doesn't pick up the slack, the rules are just going to be nice-meaning words. Transphobia and hate speech keeps on overriding the boards so I've heard, and the botting is commonplace for years, and we all know how the anti-cheating measures did nothing so far.

IDK, this doesn't convince me that the site is safe, it's a nice start but it's far from enough for me.

by deadchialiveson on May 11, 2025 8:35 PM NST

@deadchialiveson - Bad faith reporting came up in the LGBTQ meeting with TNT, and they made it very clear that report abuse is not going to be tolerated. The system does keep a record of who reports what. It's also mentioned in the Task Force update in case you didn't notice. People will face penalties for harassing people via bad faith reports.

You can also report players who you feel are abusing the system to harass others. It's very helpful to the moderators if people can provide screenshots and examples that show a clear pattern of behavior.

We will have to wait and see what kind of follow through happens on all of this. As you said, without the moderators properly implementing these new rules, all these efforts would be meaningless.

Based on what I saw I feel confident that TNT are doing their best. I hope their efforts are successful, but only time will tell.

by neolodgeism on May 12, 2025 1:38 AM NST

(Actually I think those support ticket reports go to the TNT admins, not the moderators, which feels more reliable to me given the track record to some of the moderators).

by neolodgeism on May 12, 2025 1:40 AM NST

well i’m glad that the rules are emphasizing respect towards the queer community. hopefully they crack down on bots soon too :/

by tisbutaneko on May 12, 2025 10:29 AM NST

@neolodgism

Aye that’s fair, that’s one instance where “sexual” on its own would be ok. Hopefully we do get a more modern chat filter.

Clarification on the medicine stuff would be nice too as @deadchialiveson said, although it’s also nice to hear that there’s a system in place against bad faith reporting

I just hope things get better soon

by galaxyeyes on May 12, 2025 12:22 PM NST

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