The New Developer Approval Process

The New Developer Approval Process

There.com seems to have started its new peer review process which will be how developer items will get or not get into world. The process seems simple as you simply click "Developer Program" from the home page of the there.com website

and on the next web page you would click "Review Something", from the menu on the left side of the screen.

This will then take you to a page that is more of a list product images and their descriptions. Click review to learn more about the item and from there you may vote whether you believe the item is fit for world. You may also leave comments about the item, but this seems to already be a problem, as shown below.

and again here...

As you can see from those images trouble makers can make their way into this area and share their love ('sarcastic laugh). What I would like to know is how in the hell did someone get away with creating a screen name with words like that in it to begin with??!! Yes, I understand that There.com is back to an adults only social virtual world but practically anywhere I've signed up for an account, it picks up certain words and will not allow them. Has this been removed when choosing a screen name for there.com since it became adult only? That is a hurtful name no matter what age you are! That name should not have been accepted as an appropriate screen name in the first place!

Sure adding a filter to screen name creating would solve that problem but then we have commenting by reviewers. Words such as "Fucking" and "Faggot" are not being filtered to protect users when leaving comments either. Why?!! I don't care if this is still in a testing phase or any other phase; members are able to view and participate in this, therefore they need to be protected from nasty, hurtful words like this.

I am sure something is being done about this as I write but let's try to think and plan better before opening up something like this to members. Other than that, the process seems to be going well as long as drama, hate speech and the such stay out of it. Wishing the best to you all! I will continue to wait to submit items until things are working properly and have been working properly for sometime, as well as when the chances of being attacked are much less. 

Thank you all for the hard work that have got there.com this far since it has reopened! Hope to have better news to write about, the next time I blog. 

-Punkster

(Feel free to correct me if I made a mistake in this blog post, by sending me a message. Thanks!)

Texture Time!

I have not been back in There.com since I ended my subscription but I see from MW's Wordpress blog and facebook friends that people are submitting items. I really wanted to create textures for There.com even if I'm not in world. I sure do miss designing clothing and stuff for people and still want to learn modeling so that I can get to the point where I can submit my first model into There.com

I've also been creating textures and listing them for sale on turbosquid.com under the name AngryTipi. Look for them if you are needing textures!

Thanks,
Punkster

Life without There.com

Life without There.com

Surprisingly I am surviving! lol. Nooo... really though, There.com is a great pass time and loved knowing I could just pop in anytime I wanted to even though it was rare. Paying for There.com would mean I would need to be in more than before when it was free so that I felt I was getting my money's worth out of the service. We are just simply not in world enough for it to feel like it is worth the 10 bucks a month. Ten dollars a month isn't bad AT ALL and I am not complaining about that for those who spend at least 10 hours a week in There. 

My recent thoughts have been about developers and not being able to submit and list items developed without a monthly subscription. Even if I mostly create content for the world and pop in now and then for an event, advertising or other business related reason, that still would for me, not be worth a 10 dollar a month automatic subscription. Before There.com closed all of my hours were spent in Photoshop, not in world. I would maybe pop in once a week to once a month for about an hour, to work on my store and ad time to advertising pazes here and there. Occasionally I would get an itching to explore if it had been awhile, and that was like once or twice a year just to see what's new. 

This time around I'm not even sure I will be able to spend even half the time creating stuff for world as before. Trying to get an education to get a job I'd like and make more money doing is my current goal and has been for 2 years now. Creating stuff for world was a hobby I really enjoyed once upon a time and I do hope and look forward to doing it again. For now I keep up with what's going on and will forever be thankful for the great friends I've made, thanks to Makena Technologies. 

Had to cancel my There membership

The main reason of canceling the membership was due to the fact that I was not using the service enough. As exciting as it was to have the world back, it seemed to quickly fade. My real life partner and I used There.com as a creative outlet, as many do, but the design program has a ways to go before it is up and running again. Until then we will not be in world only because when we would go in we would find ourselves standing around bored because we already built that Paz, explored the world and attended events that seem to be exactly the same as the last, only with a different scenery. I guess actually being in the world of There.com is really more enjoyable for those who want to be social, but has things for those less sociable to do as well. Until then...

Now that we're open...

Now that There.com is open to the public and is accepting new members, what's next? Many of current members are looking forward to the relaunch of There's developer program. With the developer program members can create and submit their own designs into world. Those submitted items can then be advertised and sold to other members for tbux, which can help with in world rent and items. Developer's and designers have mentioned in recent past of being able to turn earned tbux into real money using There's Buy Back Program to pay for their monthly memberships. This will be a great incentive to get others to learn how to create items for world.

Next, many members are talking about a free trial membership in the near future so that people who want to "try it before they buy it" can do just that. Most do not like the idea of signing up for something that will require a cancellation if they happen to find it isn't for them. There.com is a virtual world where one can make friends, hangout, play games, explore and create. The people make it what it is and what is within the world constantly changes as are as community, events and content, therefore it is hard to promise anyone exactly what they are getting for their membership fee. That is why I personally feel having a free trial membership will be the best way to gain new memberships.

Sales, sales, sales! As a designer whom has been patiently waiting on the developer program to return to There.com, I have been bummed out about the lack of sales from my previous designs. Before There.com closed its doors; There.com was open to people 13+ and did not cost a monthly membership fee. Tbux sales were the main way There.com earned money to keep the world open. I believe my sales were pretty good before There.com closed because the world was free to explore but needed tbux to buy anything, such as clothing and other items. We all know how teens are with clothing and other fashions, so that could be why I was pretty comfortable as far as earning tbux goes. Personally I am very glad There.com is now only allowing adults into world but I am very unsure how my sales will be in the future because of this. I am looking forward to learning the developing side of creating content for world since I am unsure how well clothing sales will be now.

Another concern many developer and designers have are how the approval process will work when we are finally able to submit content through the developer program. There has been talk about a voting process for the chosen few who have say whether or not an item can be allowed into world. Members worry that favoritism might cause negative issues for that reason. How should that be handled? Having an area focusing on just that topic might be helpful as members can share their ideas as they come to them. I have no doubt these great members of There.com, together we will come up with a way to fairly handle how content will be approved.

There.com has officially opened up to the public 2

There.com has officially opened up to the public recently and we are all happy about this. However, new members have to pay to get into the world and do not get to try it out for free first. Many talk of how this might not be a good thing for the world as far as getting new members. There staff do not want to give free trial memberships out at this time because this could be a way for griefers to come into world and grief. It is difficult to keep the same people from creating a free trial membership over and over again to only come into world to cause grief. Until this is figured out I think the world will still feel pretty dead and sales for developers and designers will not get any better. I personally am having a difficult time with sales of my items as I have only sold a pair of Crash Tester Dummy boots in the last five days. The only way I am to stay in world and pay rent on my zones is if I can make the tbux I made before There.com closed its doors. I have spent more than I should have in real money in the last couple of months and regret it now. It is nice to support a place that you love and I have no problem with that, but for me to get the most out of my time in There.com I need to be earning tbux. Recently I have sold off much of my inventory to pay the rent owed each month on my zones and I am quickly running dry on those as well. I have held on for as long as I am able but I am afraid the time is nearing to cancel my account with There.com unless things change very soon.

Honestly I wish There.com were like it used to be back in 2004 when I first set my virtual feet on the virtual ground. I "landed" in Karuna Plaza where people stood around here and there and in groups. People approached me and showed me how to change my look and other things. I am the shy type so rather than finding people to talk with I began walking and walking and climbing the mountain to see how high I could get. I ran into a guy who had an airplane and when he took me up in it I was totally hooked! The way people come into world now is in my opinion, pretty lame. There.com now has a "Welcome Walkway" where new members land when they come into world for the first time. Instead of real people helping you out, there are signs and a fake avatar to help the newbie. Griefing has been the reason There came to having the "Welcome Walkway", I believe and new members no longer get that feeling of an endless world until they leave the walkway. There is an invisible wall that surrounds the walkway, which is a large dock over water. All you really see off in the distance is more water and that to me is less attractive to a new member's first visit. After you complete the walkway tutorial you enter into a blimp which then transports or teleports you to an island in the world.

I understand the stress and pressure put on There staff when they have to deal with griefers and probably do not want to have to deal with legal hoopla. If it wasn't for those bored people who have nothing to do but stand around and cause trouble for other people There.com wouldn't have to require so many different things now from us. There.com only accepts PayPal and many complain about that but they have their reasons for that too. There is just not what it used to be and probably never will be again, thanks to those people who have nothing better to do with their lives than try to ruin others fun. Believe it or not There.com used to be free to use and would only cost people to buy tbux to spend on in world items. People would pop in all the time from different parts of the world everyday all day long. Since There.com added sponsors like CocaCola and Mtv, that brought the kids into world and that publicity forever changed There.com.

That's all I'm going to go on about for now. These are my thoughts and opinions and you do not have to agree with them. I admit that what I say might not even be the truth, it is just what I see from my point of view.

There.com has officially re-opened up for the rest of the world! I was very happy to hear this and have seen that new members are joining. There have been new names out and about exploring the world. Now its time for us long time There members to put on some fun events to keep them from getting bored too quickly. I will do my best to pitch in and get events going in my zones and try to be there but for the next two weeks I will be finishing up my Spring semester in school, so I will be busy. 


Next up is hopefully getting that developer program all set up and ready for developers to begin submitting their items. Auctions has been filled with the same items lately and it feels to me like there is not enough of a variety right now. Looking forward to having more items to choose from in auctions. 


In recent weeks I rented a paintball funzone and it has been pretty dead. The games that come with the zone are pretty cool but I am unhappy about how when I shoot someone they bounce right back to where they were standing or running before my paintball hit them and on my screen sent them flying. For example when we play the game where who ever gets to the ring first wins, I would shoot a player on the other team from a distance and hit them, they would go flying but sent right back to where I had shot them. They would end up getting to the ring and none of my hits actually hit them on their end; also when I got to the ring first, the ring would not recognize me right away until the other team got to the ring and then it would say they got there first and won the game. I am very unhappy about this zone and would not recommend a paintball zone to anyone until these issues are fixed.

Holy Crap!


Holy crap is There.com getting expensive without it being open to the public. I am going broke and might soon lose places I'm renting and after I hopefully sell off all of my inventory! Getting disappointed in There this time around as it is taking quite awhile for the virtual world to be open to the rest of the public. Many developers are getting ready to submit new items and some of us have not been able to create because we no longer have the Stylemaker and/or Previewer. Developers are anxious to get there new creations into world but sales will be low due to There.com not being open to all yet. Not sure how much longer I can hang on since it is costing me over $70 a month not including the $10 monthly subscription fee to pay for my rental zones. Lets get it done guys! I appreciate the hard work and time you have put into it so far but its getting difficult for some of us to stick around. 

Showing my love for There.com with farmville

Are You There.com?

There.com to reopen soon!

Ever been to There.com? There.com is a virtual world where you can hang out with friends, make new friends and enjoy many activities such as, racing, questing and playing card games.

There.com closed in March of 2010 due to what many heard to be decreased revenue due to tough economic times. There has since reopened the world to those who had accounts before a certain time. New members are soon to be accepted. There are just a few changes to the New There.com and those are that you now must be 18+ and pay a monthly subscription fee through PayPal of $10 a month.

Currently company owner Michael Wilson and his right hand man Samsyn are putting in long hours to get the world back up to par. During this process they take the time to post updates and reply to members in the forums of thumdar.com. Thumdar's forums are the best way to find out what is going on in There.com as well as Michael Wilson's Wordpress blog.

There has been quite a bit of drama in Thumdar's forums since world has opened to it only members. The complaining about the monthly subscription fee and selling tbux seems to be what gets people stirred up. The monthly subscription is understood by many as Michael Wilson shares what it costs to run the virtual world as well as where the money is going. Member's see how much the company earns each month and how much is needed to pay the bills. Michael Wilson wants his paying members to know exactly what it takes to run and pay for their services. Then we have those developers who make tbux by selling their in world designs who feel they should be allowed to sell their tbux at a discount to other members for cash. Michael and his team are all for creating a buy back type of program for those who want to sell their tbux back to There.com but at this moment that is not top priority and this has some developers angry.

http://www.there.com//
http://thumdar.com/forum.html
http://theremichaelwilson.wordpress.com/