Hello Whyvillians,
Recently, many of us have been wondering about cheating on Whyville. City Hall has sent out y-mails warning you about scam sites, cheat sites have been developed, and scammers inside Whyville are running a muck. We're all wondering, "How does this work?" Well, I'm here to tell you, some if at least, and run a few of my own experiments.
1. Scamming in the Trading Post
Do you think it's easy to scam that Newb out of all they've got for say, an Elmo? I wanted to find out. My experiment was to advertise selling a "rare" blue Elmo that had been passed down through Whypasses for a long time, and that I wanted to do that same thing because I was quitting. (I was not on this account). Let's see how many went for it . . .
Now, I'm not going to record actual occurrences, for many reasons, but just my findings instead.
First, the rare blue Elmo was "Grover!" (Purchased for 102 clams in Akbar's)
I advertised it, and then asked them to go to another trading room. This is morally reprehensible, but not technically cheating because all facts are posted. I tried it with 10 Whyvillians, let's see what happened . . .
How many came to the room? 10
How many got in the chair? 7
How many offered up face parts below my initial asking price of 150 clams? 2
How many offered clams at/above my price? 0
How many found out it could be purchased at Akbar's during the trade? 3
How many said I was trying to cheat them? 5
How many threatened to 911 report? 0 (Thankfully!)
So, scamming the Trading Post fanatics isn't a GREAT idea. Maybe raising my salary by a cheat site will work?
2. Cheat Sites (using hacks)
Now, I don't cheat because it's wrong in my book, and I don't really use clams. I'm also not mentioning the cheat site name.)
Let's try the "follow this link using your username, password and e-mail" to get as many clams as you want or a free scion. Again, I used another account to keep myself safe.
Was my password stolen? No
Did I receive the clams? No
Were clams taken? I didn't have any.
If I had used Eric5675, would my account still be mine? I don't think so, and I ain't gonna risk it.
Okay, so how about cheat site info like answers to a game, most notably the Spin Game and the Getty Museum?
3. Cheat Sites (using pictures and text help)
Unfortunately, I found cheats to games with pictures and text. I tried them on another account, and they worked. These cheats don't mess with Whyville's system or involve editing codes, just "monkey see monkey do." This may be the easiest way to cheat, but cheating is not the Whyville Way, so don't try it!
I myself have received y-mails giving me addresses of cheat sites. What do I do when I get them? 911 report them as fast as I can type. That's the best way to prevent hacking, scamming and can shut down the people who do it.
4. Asking for passwords or pretending to be a CW
I didn't try this one, but I'll tell you what will happen if you do.
If you ask for a password, prepare to lose chat and y-mail for a long time. You may even get banned. If someone tries this on you, 911 report them immediately.
If you pretend to be a City Worker, you're asking for it. You can pretty much kiss your account goodbye, but you'll just get a new one, right? WRONG. Whyville reserves the right to contact your Internet service provider, or ISP (aka the people who you pay for Internet access). That means you will be blocked from going on the site no matter what and your service provider will know and may refuse you access to the Internet because you violated the Terms of Service agreement.
So, how can you tell if someone's a CW or not? Let's see . . .
1. CW red and yellow beanie - Every CW wears one and there is nothing that looks like it. However, if you want to check, look at their City Records. There will be an official symbol underneath their picture saying they are a CW. If they don't have these things, but write it in the changeable portion of their CR, 911 report them. Better safe then sorry. If they really are, Whyville will figure it out
2. Y-mails - All CW y-mails have a pink background. If they don't, they are lying so 911 report them.
3. Websites/E-mails. CW's have no chat filter, allowing them to give out important e-mails and websites. They again will have the pink background and CW beanie. 911 report anyone else giving out website or e-mail addresses.
5) Can cheat sites be respectful?
Yes! This was one of the most interesting things I found in my research. Some sites wouldn't give out answers to the chat test or y-mail helper test because they thought it was something you needed to learn on your own. Others explained why you need to know them, even though they gave you the answers.
There's a difference between help and cheat. The best way to find help, however, is y-mail a Y-mail Helper. That's what we're here for! Also, check out old articles like Holiday50's "Game Guides" for tips on games.
There is always a way to cheat in a game, but you can't always cheat in life. So, whether you follow the Whyville Way or not is your choice, but eventually, it will catch up with you.
Signing off, this is Eric5675.
Don't get scammed and help keep Whyville safe.
Author's Note: Sources: (Now for me to put them would just be stupid . . .)
