Recently, some changes occurred on Whyville that were not accepted well overall. Here are my thoughts on the matter, and a short explanation as to why these changes need to happen.
I think part of the problem is that people have a hard time seeing past or beyond their own experiences. We dislike change, and change is based on an individual's original contact with a thing, person or place and anything that occurs to manipulate or alter it/them after our first contact.
For many people, Whyville Pearls will be the only thing they know, they won't know about WhyPasses. If Whyville ever decides to bring back the WhyPass in years to come, or changes to another idea, those people will be angry and post similar responses to the ones that were posted in the past weeks.
For some, however, your first encounter with Whyville was when the Piff Well and Bee Hive was here, two things which were recent to some, but all part of the induction process to others. They are angry and demand that Whyville return to it's original state of Piff Well games.
Those of you who have been on longer scoff at those who even try to suggest Piff Well was an original feature of Whyville, and would recall the days when Scions weren't around, and the Beach was so full you couldn't get in and sometimes you just couldn't log on. While that may be part of your first memory of Whyville, and for others it may extend even further back to the time of the Octopus and the like, it is important to realize that everything has a starting point, and from that starting point change occurs.
When Whyville was created, it was with the aim of becoming an educational website for children and teenagers. A friendly environment in which we could socialize and play games that, in the long run, would help to expand our knowledge.
I firmly believe Whyville has succeeded in this goal, and continues to grow as a website and increase its areas of education. Now, we have music programs which are not unlike "real-world" music editing programs. There are numerous science rooms, and every so often, yes, the Wishing Well does return to expand our typing skills and anagram abilities.
Not only does Whyville provide games for us, it encourages us to go out into the world and see the things around us, to read books, see movies and know what the right foods are and what kind of exercise there is.
Yes, I was angry when the background changed, but I slowly began to get used to it. No one likes change, however it is a normal and natural part of life.
Whyville is a company run on money, not clams. Each worker at Whyville needs a salary, and there are many bills a company must pay. Yes, there is an economic decline, but this affects not only your families, but the people of Whyville, too. Do they not have families?
Too often we think only of our own problems, and I think it has become that we forget City Workers and the people running the show are people, too. They need food and homes and salaries.
Certainly, no one is going to force you to buy the pearls. However, Whyville needs to do everything in its power to expand for educational purposes, and to draw in the people who might actually want to buy products to help Whyville. Or just to bring people in to educate them.
Whyville has been there for you, and continues to be. Yes, there are changes, and for any of us to sit and say, "Well, it's their fault because . . ." or, "If they got rid of some rooms . . ." is not a statement any of us has a right to make unless we are City Workers. We can't possibly begin to understand how much money and time this website takes up. Nor can we possibly know what the money is used for.
In the end, change is going to happen no matter how much you protest. Whyville listens, but things take time.
Whypets, Whytunes, more Beach rooms, "Get rid of WhyPasses" and other petitions have been made and answered. It may have taken a while, yes, but now we have the things that were asked for.
Just because you didn't ask for something, doesn't mean hundreds of others didn't.
If anyone is reaping what they sow, it is us, as Whyvillians, because we're only getting what we asked for.
Getting out the tomato proof shield,
Pinkscunk
