Hey there everyone! I, jank03 am running for the prestigious role of Whyville Senator. I will warn you now that this platform is long but I hope you read most of it because it consists of all my ideas and plans for Whyville. I am a dedicated citizen who has been with Whyville for a while. I attend all major Whyville events and I'm even a Times Writer and Designer! Whyville is indeed a great place to be, as senator I will do everything in my power to make it the best it can possibly be! I will be that missing link that will communicate your ideas to the City Workers. I will focus on all my proposed ideas and plans. I have promoted in my campaign that I would fix before I change. This means that I will try and fix current problems in Whyville before adding new things, which just covers up the old problems. I hope you consider voting me for Whyville Senator because I know I can do it, and I hope you realise that too. Vote jank03 because two heads are better than one!
(Note: These are in no particular order.)
Akbar's Face Factory
I think we have established that the Face Factory is in need of a major revamp! My ideas for the face factory are; fill tool that works in higher magnifications, option for a circle paintbrush, a better "pick colour" tool, straight lines, shapes (circle, square, rectangle etc.), undo and redo button, more colours in the palette and text tools (so you can type the word, rather than make it). I have had many people come to me with various ideas concerning the Face Factory. My favourite ideas include; auto-restock, resubmit system for bases of parts and auto-bidding. The Face Factory is a very important application of Whyville and I would like to see all these ideas implemented.
Akbar's Face Mall
The face mall is travelling quite smoothly as it is, but I would like to try out a few other ideas to make it work more efficiently and productively. I would like to open a new application in the face mall where you can categorise your parts easier. You can make certain categories in your store and place individual parts in them. Example: If I made lots of eyes and shirts, I could make a 'sub-section' in my store that is just for shirts and another just for eyes. This would be a great tool to minimise making several different stores. I would also like to have a more detailed face mall, with lots more stores like Valentines Mart, Merry Mart etc.
Whypasses
I would love to bring back Whypasses, but also keep pearls. Whypasses were such a great deal! I would like to work with the City Workers to be able to make a productive system that would allow both Whypasses and Pearls. I would also like to see a onetime sale of lifetime Whypasses for one limited day.
Pearls
Personally I don't mind pearls, but I understand that many have a strong dislike to them. If I were senator I would make the purchasing of pearls a lot more attractive! Pearl buyers will be granted similar privileges as Whypass holders. One thing for sure I would get rid of is the buying of Face Factory Vouchers with pearls! I really don't like that idea! Pearl allowance holders should be granted unlimited access to Face Factory. I will introduce new things to Whyville that involves pearls and clams as an option. I also think that pearls should be worth more than clams, like a 3:1 ratio. I would also like to see some sort of lifetime pearl scheme.
Club Why
One of the most famous rooms of Whyville without doubt. But, it is in need a big revamp! Club Why members should be granted a lot more perks. I would like to see that Club Why members receive discounts throughout Whyville; for example discount on furniture, blocks, face factory design cost and projectiles. This would encourage a lot more people to join Club Why and make their Whyville stay a lot longer. Currently the Club Why chatroom is very small to accommodate Meet the Makers every first Tuesday of each month. If we would make the room A LOT bigger we might even be able to make it 2nd scale.
Salary Games
Urgent update is needed! If I was senator I would make sure that the salary games are updated, fixed and deleted! Aren't you tired of going to your ledger and clicking on the sunspot puzzle and nothing loads? Or zero gravity won't work properly? Well I am and I will make sure they are fixed! I will also produce lots of new ideas and work with the City Workers in order to add lots more new salary games that range in all sorts of difficulty.
Lifetime Whypasses
Well to all veteran Whyvillians that have a Lifetime Whypass, don't worry I am here for you! I will debate and talk with the City Workers to allow all Lifetime Whypass holders have all the same privileges as pearl buyers. When Lifetime Whypasses were introduced the buyers were promised that they would be covered for every real life money application that came to Whyville, as senator I will do all in my power to preserve that promise.
Whyville Times
Whyville Times is without doubt one of my favourite parts of this diverse site. I would like to updated the BBS to make it more advance like being able o modify, delete and quote posts. I would like to see the introduction of format codes like < b > < i > etc. I would like to make a new layout for the Times, but, I would like to make a layout that is designed by Whyvillians. The layout would include most too all ideas that Whyvillians give. The search tool in the Times has been broken for years and I know many people are starting to get frustrated, if I was senator I will ensure that it is fixed as soon as possible. Currently when you submit an article it is through regular email, well to make it easier for people to submit I would like to introduce a new submitting scheme. There would be a link on the front page that leads to a submitting section of the Times. It will include tips from the editor and also a BBS where you can talk about article ideas, but most importantly it will have a submission box where you can paste your article in and attach photos or images when necessary. This would be a great way for people who do not have access to regular email and would make it a lot quicker and easier. Times writers are just a special as designers in the Face Factory, so I would like to give the writers more recognition for their work and effort they put in. Times writers should be clearly identified in a special section of the Times where photos and links to the writers Ymail will be. You would be able to Ymail current Times writers on ideas and help. Consistent Times writers should be granted a special animated face part that allows everyone to tell that they're indeed a Times writer. Also, I would like to help the Editor out a bit by picking a select few consistent writers that can edit articles to relieve the Editor of some work. The Times should also be published at a set time every week. (Time decided by Editor to suit his/her situation) Can everyone remember the "What's new this week?" section in the Times? Well! If I was senator I would bring back that weekly column/update to make Whyvillians more aware of what's going on in Whyville.
Whyville Times Building
We used to have a Whyville Times building here in Whyville but it was sadly deleted a few years back. I would like to introduce a bigger and better Times building. The building will include chatrooms for aspiring writers and exclusive chatrooms just for labelled Times writers. Citizens could come to the Times building and seek help from Times writers and get ideas. There would also be many BBS's in order to create ideas and allow citizens to get help.
Trading Post
Trading is an interesting and fun thing to do on Whyville, so I have developed an idea that would make it easier for the seller and buyer! The bidding room will allow you to put up to 2o parts for bidding. Users can use a search bar to look for parts that are for sale then bid for them. When the bidder bids, the clams they bid will be locked away until someone outbids them. The seller can put a reserve price or "starting bid" on the part and the seller would have to confirm the bids before they agree. Also, I think that scions should be tradeable. Cars in the real world are sold off and bought every second of the day, so why not have a scion trading scheme for the trading post.
Myville
Myville currently is a very frustrating place for many; the hassle of buying plots is driving people crazy! I for one! Whyville should have one day of the week where they sell plots. Plots should be a fair amount of clams to ensure the resident will stay. Also, I would like to see more people in Myville, it used to be very popular, but now it's dead. Bring back Myville!
Scions
I think that scions are a great asset of Whyville and they usually are a financial goal for many Whyvillians. Apart from my previous proposal for tradeable scions I also think that citizens should be able to design their own skins. (They would have to be appropriate obviously) Scions should reflect the current prices of cars today. The price of scions should change daily to reflect the current situation. Whipcars are very annoying; yes I understand that, so I have thought of a simple and easy way to get rid of Whipcars (but not entirely). When you want to hire a Whipcar all you have to do is say "summon Whipcar" in chat and it will one straight in.
Petitions
Petitions are a good way for Whyvillians to communicate their ideas with fellow citizens and City Workers. But for some petitions are just regarded as spam. If I was Senator, I would spend time deleting and 'modifying' petitions (which a Senator should be doing). The petitions need a revamp, but currently more important things are higher on the list. However, petitions will be fixed at some point during my term.
Why-Birthday
Lots of people have come to me and suggested this idea, which might I say I really like! The idea is that you receive why-gifts every time you reach your "Whyville Birthday". However, this idea will need to be though through a lot more before taking action.
Medals
I believe that veteran medals should be awarded on the accounts actual "Why-Birthday" this would make it a lot fairer for all citizens. Also, every citizen missing medals should be granted with their missing medals.
City Records
Now the last thing I want Whyville to become is another FaceBook or Myspace. I think that City Records should be custom where citizens could either purchase skins or design their own. City Records are a great way for people to communicate and research Whyvillians. Before I acted on anything to do with City Records (or anything for that fact) I would consult the citizens of Whyville and get their ideas and views.
Skins
I think that Whyville should include an option for the old Whyville skin in the skin application. I love the new skin ideas, but I would really like to see the old skin for an option.
Chatrooms
Are you sick of going to the beach or sunroof and can't get in because the room is so full? It annoys me greatly, so I have decided to adopt the idea of having multiple rooms of the same chatroom. However, this will only be for popular chatrooms like the Greek Theatre, Sunroof and Beach South. I would also like to urge the deletion of old and multiple chatrooms! Give Whyville more space by deleting the unused chatrooms!
Password
There has been a climb in hacking now days, so I would like to do anything in my power to prevent this. To block some certain hacking ways I would like to introduce the "secret question" idea. Whenever you forget your password and want to send it to your parental email address you should be asked a secret question that relates to you personally before the password is sent. Also, passwords must include a letter, symbol and number to make it harder for hackers. This would be a great way to minimise hacking within Whyville.
Ymail
Ymail is a great way for Whyvillians to communicate with other citizens easily. It is also a great tool for City Workers who need to contact citizens. I would like to see an "outbox" in Ymail so you can see all the mail you have sent. People have been telling me that they would like the old "Ymail Blinker" back. This is where the Ymail sign will flash or flicker when you receive new mail. But even better, you could receive an in chat alert like the Ymail Helper ones.
Ymail Helpers
This application has a lot to improve on, but I couldn't possibly tell you all the faults this program has. I would really like to get everyone's view on this one. If I was senator I would definitely listen to your ideas about this (or anything else) and will hopefully implement you idea. People have suggested to raise the salary requirements and others argue to lower it. So I really couldn't say without getting everyone's opinions.
Veterans
Before I say my ideas I would like to say thank-you to Whyville for listening to its citizens regarding the veteran room. People have suggested that the room should be tiered in order of how many years you have been on Whyville. Making a veteran room is one, but then again separating citizens to a further extent is just too far. I would like to see more things in the veteran rooms and also a Veteran Hall where only veterans and City Workers can have discussions about Whyville. (Veteran Hall is much like the Greek Theatre) Veterans are a major part of this site; they have funded Whyville for almost 10 years! I would do all in my power to preserve the rights of veterans or "oldbies" as some say.
Greek Theatre
The Greek Theatre without doubt needs to be extended. It cannot accommodate all Whyvillians anymore. I would like to see more sessions /talks in the Greek Theatre like Trivia and Media Hour. An idea I have had for a while is "Times talk" where everyone can go usually each month (or less) and talks about the past issue/s and ideas for future articles. The Greek Theatre is an historic place of Whyville and I would like to see it grow in the future.
Senate
This senate race was a struggle and a half, but so far it is running smoothly. I would like to see ALL senate races in the future run consistently and smoothly like this one. I believe that senators should be given more power so they can have the best possible ways to make things actually happen in Whyville so they aren't just a public figure. I also do believe that Whyville Senator Terms should be extended to at least 6months.
Emoticons
Some like them and some don?t. I personally don't mind them, but luckily for the ones who do take a dislike to them you now have the option of turning them off. The emoticons would be a lot better if some were animated.
History
I would really like to bring back some of the old things that Whyville has dismissed. I want to see the return of the Heckwell, Times Building, Whyology Survey, Solstice Safari, Lifetime Whypasses, the actual reading Buzz Hive and much more. If I was Senator I would really considering bringing back the much missed applications.
Newbs
Newbies should be indeed granted a newbie pack. It will include a gift voucher to Akbar's Face Mall, 100clams and 10 pearls. This would be a great for all new people to get established in Whyville. I would work with City Workers to figure out a way so that people would not cheat this idea. (Multiple accounts)
Clans
So I have noticed cat and dog clans are quite popular around Whyville at the moment. So I have decided to make special "clan" rooms for all requested clans. Let it be dogs, cats, unicorns, horses, lions etc. anything of the animal nature.
Clubs
If I was senator I would introduce a special application for clubs. There would be a serious of chatrooms that you can rent out to host meetings etc. All you have to do is post on the Club board what your club is, who can join, when are the meetings etc. For example "Jank03's energetic cheerleading club! Anyone is welcome to join and meetings are at 4pm Whytime every second Tuesday in Club room 7." There would also be another option for the maker of the club to only accept certain people. So when you sign up you will have to wait for approval off the club maker before you can officially join.
Instant Clam Games
I really like the instant clam games like Wing Fling, Cafeteria and Plan Works Olympics etc. However, I would really like to see a lot more! This is a great way for newer people to earn more clams to be able to establish them in Whyville better. These games would be advance in difficulty according to the player's age. I think this would be a great education tool.
Share-Market
Well with the recent economic crunch, I would like to bring a program to Whyville where you can invest your clams in the Whyville Share market. Invest your clams in Akbar's, Furniture Farm etc.(or base it off the real American Stock market) This would teach Whyvillians about the economy and investing clams. I really like this idea and I look forward to working with the City Workers on establishing more details.
Whyville Government
Well I have always been a keen supporter of the Whyville senate and this year I actually get a chance to be a part of that. I think the Whyville Senate could be used for a great educational resource for users. I was thinking to expand the Whyville Senate system to a whole decked out government system. Citizens can be appointed to certain portfolios, positions etc in the system. This would be a great way for users to understand the real life government and parliament systems. This program would be basically based off the real life system.
Pop-up Alerts
Are you sick of sitting in chat minding your own business when all of a sudden an annoying little white circle starts to flash and tricker in the corner of the chatroom? Well I am. If I was senator I would get rid of the Ymail Helper reminders and Whyville Guide reminders. They would only be used for friend finder and mail alerts (as proposed in the Ymail part of this platform).
Face Factory Vouchers
Ring a bell? Of course it does! FVV hunting used to be my favourite part of Whyville when I first started, I always had luck finding them, but for many others that luck never came their way. I know many are upset and angry that there is only a very few that pop up. If I was senator I would ensure that FFV's would pop up more frequently to give everyone a chance of sharing their designing talents in Akbar's.
House Builder
Don't you hate it when you get your house perfect in the House Builder application then when you click finish it messes it all up?! Like many I really don't like that part, so I am determined to get this problem fixed; and fixed fast! I would also like to see the introduction of more materials you can use for the building of your house.
Games, Games and Games!
Games are certainly one of the most enjoyable parts of Whyville. Checkers, Kalah and all the rest keep your brain going and going! It's fun to compete against your friends or even total strangers! Considering that games are a great way for citizens to meet new friends I think there should be a lot more added! More games would attract more users and more users equal more friends!
Grandmas
Grandmas is defiantly a generous place, but how generous is she really? The only thing I would like to say on this matter is that I think whatever we donate should be actually donated to people who need it. Currently Grandmas is used as a source of deleting parts for Whyville. The only parts that actually get donated are Akbar designs. In the future I would like to see all parts donated!
Numeracy and Literacy expressions
I must admit these sessions are indeed dying. Whenever I go into the Greek Theatre during these sessions I am usually the only one there or an inactive user is sitting in the corner. I believe that winners should receive at least 2+clams per correct answer. They also shouldn't be so frequent. I believe this would attract a lot more people to the sessions.
Whyville Guides
"We need guides in the welcome lounge!" I'm sure that little quote rings a bell for everyone. City Hall sends you pop-up messages in chat and Ymails too. Whyville Guides is a good system, however it's not that popular. For one I would stop the Ymails and in-chat message before anything. The next step would be to make it more popular. On each tour you complete you should be granted around 50clams (price can be negotiable). This would make it a lot more attractive and a lot more popular amongst Whyvillians.
Street Team
The Street Team is an excellent way to get citizens promoting Whyville, then getting rewarded. But the disappointing thing is you only get rewarded until 10 recruited citizens. Once you have reached that limit there are no more goals or rewards in the future. If I was senator I would continue the process. Maybe once you get to 15 you receive 50pearls, 20 another lot of 50pearls and entrance into another exclusive chat room. The point is that we need to extend this program for the citizens who are actually putting in the effort and not get rewarded.
Random
Other ideas include: Family games, more contests, soma studio update, more 2nd scale rooms, Whyville Olympics, updated scions etc.
Thank-you for reading. If I was Whyville Senator I would execute all these ideas and plans to the best possible standard. I will also be open to any more ideas or concerns that you may have; I will be a friend not just a political figure. I WILL be your voice!
Also, good luck to all the other candidates.
Vote jank03 because two heads are better than one!
Your ideas are my goals!
"Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and begin again the work of remaking Whyville!"
