I'm sure none of you have heard about the clam hack that happened recently, right? *Overly dramatic eye-roll* Of course you have. There's almost no way to have avoided it. It was a major event that affected us all in some fashion and no matter what you're opinion was on it, I'm sure we can all agree it's taken us all on quite a ride, citizens and City Workers alike. In case you've been living under a rock, have no internet access (how are you reading this?), or have finally snapped out of obsessively watching paint dry for the past week or so, let me be the first to tell you, you've missed a lot. For those of you who have missed it, let me spin you a tale . . .
Your average Whyville citizen, Escortme, had found a hack in the Style Studio. Rumor has it that he had reported this hack to the City Workers long ago, but nothing had yet been done to fix it. Reportedly this citizen had been recently upset over a rumored injustice and had sent a very solemn demanding message to the City Workers: "Unban the innocent accounts or suffer the consequences." Nothing had been done, so he had decided to carry out his threat. I have no solid confirmation of truth on any of the events mentioned thus far, other than on the evening of Thursday, March 17th, Escortme hacked the style studio for 37 billion clams and distributed them throughout Whyville.
Once the clams were distributed, mass chaos arose. Many citizens feared their accounts would be banned for possession of fake clams, as had happened in the past. The forums suddenly erupted with frantic posts of spite, support, confusion, and fear as citizens attempted to make sense of this frightening situation. The chaos continued to bubble until the morning of Sunday, March 20th, when Whyville found the only reasonable solution would be to revert everything back to the way it was on Thursday, before any of this had ever happened. What seemed to be an already bleak situation grew worse, as those who were severely affected by the restoration cried out in protest against their losses.
In addition, that very same Sunday the Whyville team posted a message on the homepage named "Style Studio Theft", addressing its citizens about the recent situation. This message came with a poll at the bottom asking whether or not citizens felt Whyville should give in to the hacker's demands and unban the innocent accounts, or keep the hacker banished and find another fix to the problem. As if it could get any worse, this poll set off the already enraged Whyvillians once again, as those who chose to vote in favor of the hacker found that their wish was denied - the url that showed up informed them that they were being forced to vote no, regardless of their opinion. It's still not certain as to whether this was accidental or if rigging was the objective, but to say the least, Whyvillians weren't happy. This in turn, set off many more infuriated BBS posts, citizens seemed to be forming the beginnings of an anarchy, and the beloved site seemed to have hit what many referred to as "Whyville's rock bottom".
On the following Monday morning, CakelTame came back to BBS, all the enraged chaotic threads were deleted, the polls were fixed so that "yes" was "yes" and "no" was "no", and some minor forms of light began to peak through the darkness.
In the aftermath of this clam heist, I have worked with three Whyville citizens affected by this clam heist and asked them a few questions to share with you.
Xoxkitkat: How did you feel when you first found out about the clam hack?
Jts2000: I was thinking, "What kind of person would even think about doing that?"
Krissai: I felt SO bad for myself and others, my friend and I overreacted by worrying so much.
Ninaax3: At first, I thought it was just a rumor or a myth. Then, I realized it was very very real when I was given the fake clams and had everything taken away.
Xoxkitkat: Were you one of the recipients of any of these "fake clams"?
Jts2000: No, I'm glad I wasn't.
Krissai: I WAS actually, I received 200,000 clams that very day the clams had been stolen out of Whyville's system. Panic was my only choice.
Ninaax3: Yes.
Xoxkitkat: How were you affected by the site being reset by 3 days?
Jts2000: Well I had to fix my furniture in my house and I didn't have to pay my time for being taped.
Krissai: I wasn't affected at all except 2 errors, I was switched back to my old look which I didn't like at all, and 2 I had bought a rare hair from my friend with REAL clams but then It got returned, at least I got my clams back for it.
Ninaax3: Well, some items that were purchased before hand were deleted. But I don't really mind. I can understand why Whyville had to reset the whole website, but why make everyone affected pay when they caught the real criminal? Poor accounts were emptied, even if they earned all those clams.
Xoxkitkat: Do you have any words for the person responsible for this hack?
Jts2000: Well, even though I know he was trying to prove a point, I don't think he had to go that far and cause all this drama.
Krissai: I do. Adrian, that isn't always the brightest thing to do when it comes to your friends being banned. You should talk it out. I do see many reasons why you hacked Whyville though, you warned them, I cannot say you didn't.
Ninaax3: I think he's just a low life. Seriously, anyone who would do that has nothing better to do with their time . . .
Xoxkitkat: Do you have any words for the City Workers about their involvement?
Jts2000: Well, I understand why they didn't listen to Adrian but at the same time, they should have seen this coming.
Krissai: So much. City workers, I apologize for the rudeness I have given to you, it was uncalled for and I'm sorry. Thank you for making Whyville what it is today and doing the best you can.
Ninaax3: You should consider giving everyone their clams and items back.
Thanks to Jts2000, Krissai, and Ninaax3 for their responses.
-Xoxkitkat
