Rather than discuss matters back and forth endlessly in the Foop proper - with the concommitant risk of significant input being lost in the crowd, Forum-style - we are trying to formulate an overview of what is needed (and NOT needed) to help the site survive and flourish. The one thing I believe we all agree on is that everyone - members and management alike - is, and should be, trying to work towards that outcome. What is needed is for us all to work TOGETHER - not at cross-purposes for whatever reasons.
I will be doing my best to keep any type of factionalism out of this - these will be strictly observations and suggestions intended to benefit the site as a whole. That includes insuring that FooPets, and the people who run it, make enough money to operate comfortably. Money is an ugly topic, as a rule, but a necessary one, and must be dealt with realistically. So does what the site IS.
First and foremost, I believe that the original site concept - which was never designed for younger players - needs to be upheld. This is what brought FooPets its original popularity, the lion's share of its income, and has the potential to do so still. Adult players are a wide-open market, capable of appreciating the tremendous effort that goes into creating and maintaining a site this complex and unique, and are the most likely to have the discretionary income to support it adequately...and voluntarily.
Children, however indulgent their parents, do not : and as there are far too many child-oriented sites already extant that WERE designed for that purpose - and are free - FooPets in its existing form is not equipped to compete for anything resembling a fair share of this market, much less survive on it as an income source.
Therefore, we ask - no, we PLEAD - that a separate child-friendly division of FooPets be created to cater to their specialized requirements. (MyFooPets, FooPetsJunior, FooPetFriends, or etc.) Be realistic - children cannot function successfully in a site that was designed for adults (and is still dominated by them), no matter how many mandated "safeguards" are put in. Adults will rapidly grow disenchanted with a site that is forced by these same mandates to treat them (after they have in many cases supported the site for long periods of time, financially and otherwise) as second-class citizens at best. Nobody wins.
Ideally, a MyFooPets (or whatever) would be free to use, have neither Forums, sales, nor breeding - though I believe that Friending and Message Boards would be useful - and should have something like a 5-pet limit. It should not be oriented around site tender of any kind - supplies, items, and additional pets should be a reward for good care and citizenship. Scene and profile decor could also fall into this group, as site-provided items - while receiving necessary supplies (food, water, meds) would be ongoing, a progressive series of special item rewards would be an incentive for them to learn and grow in the site. Overall it should be a scaled-down, easily used and comprehended version of the main site, where children 13 and under learn about pets and pet care - not capitalism. A mentoring system would also be a good feature, whereby the site a's guide them and ultimately prepare them to "graduate" to the main site.
(And no, sadly I have no real idea how to resolve this with whatever number of under-13 members we have on the main site at present. As it is, my personal feeling is that the "adult" FooPets ought to be 18 and up - necessitating in the long run an intermediate level for 13 - 17 year olds...which is where RolePlay belongs, by the way. All the teen-oriented sites appear to have it with great success.)
A great many of the issues rankling the adult membership would be alleviated by this move, and it would clear the playing field to see what else genuinely needs to be addressed. Now, the big pickle...site income.
No one likes enforced pay-to-play...including, I expect, those running the site. Still, this takes money, and it has to come from SOMEWHERE. At the moment, that's the only "where" in town, for various reasons. That is not to say it HAS to be. Even while the system remains in place, there are ways to make it more workable for all concerned, including but not limited to any or all of the following :
#1 - offer subscription options at lower cost WITHOUT foodollar perks. we already have an enormous problem with runaway inflation as it is : and this would reopen the door to foodollar package purchases, as well (my initial accounts spent well over $100 apiece in the first six months onsite buying foodollars, back in late 2009/early 2010). odds on, volume will more than make up for the lower per-account fees.
#2 - create a sliding payment scale based on either number of pets per account, or number of accounts per IP, with or without foodollar awards.
#3 - institute a system that would allow the "haves" to gift memberships to the "have-nots", legally and without having to exchange any information to do so.
And for when "ClubFoo" as it stands can begin to be phased out,
#4 - charge for opening a new account - or, alternatively, for its first pet - rather than an ongoing "rental" fee for having one.
#5 - create a new membership level or levels, whereby those who can afford to contribute $100, $250, $500, etc, to the site receive contributor medallions for their profiles and some sort of special gift.
#6 - create a new member subscription program with a totally separate site tender, issued daily either in fixed (if there are various levels) or random (if there is only one - I foresee something similar to the Spinner) amounts, redeemable in a special shop for items available nowhere else on the site.
There are a plethora of other ways that the site can generate income with little or no additional programming, that can be gone into at another time. I know that prior to pay-to-play I personally spent five times or more as much on the site as I do now. Since its advent, I have spent only the minimum I had to...and since April 2011 when it was instituted, spent well over $1500 on other sites. What can I say ? I put my money - sometimes more than I can really afford - into sites and causes I believe in.
I want to believe in FooPets again. Can't we all - members and management - work together to make that happen?
No one expects instant results, and it is acknowledged that nothing can be done that will please everybody, but if plans can be made for the future and shared with a committed and concerned membership (and we want to HELP you - please let us...), it would be a major step in healing all the damage that the past has done.
Thank you!
