Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

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loboLoco
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Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by loboLoco » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:10 pm

As of noon CST today, lexicon chat in WQ 2.5 is disabled, and no longer be an option in multiplayer games.

Why would we do this? Here's some history:
WolfQuest was originally conceived as a multiplayer game, with text chat as an integral component. However, over the years, some players persisted on role-playing in ways that were not appropriate for our audience. That prompted us to add layers of filtering that ultimately made lexicon chat a frustrating experience for everyone. At its heart, the problem was the broad age range of our audience, from nine-year-olds to teenagers and beyond, who want and expect different things from in-game chat.

WolfQuest was originally a grant-funded project, and grants always run out. So since funding ran out in 2011, we have planned to disable lexicon chat at some point in the near- or mid-future and publicized that plan here on the forum. Initially we expected to disable lexicon chat in about a year, but we kept extending it due to ongoing interest in the game. Then, once we started work on WQ 2.7, Eduweb and the Minnesota Zoo agreed to keep lexicon chat available until the new version was released. It took far longer to develop 2.7 than we imagined, and so lexicon chat remained active for far longer than we expected. But now that that 2.7 is available, we must shut down lexicon chat in 2.5.

WQ 2.7 has new and improved options for chatting in Private Games (voice chat and nearly unrestricted text chat), but Public Games are now limited to Phrase Chat. We understand that this is disappointing and frustrating to many players. We have thought a great deal about adding text chat to Public Games, but at the moment, in our judgment, given the broad age range of our audience, the risks and effort outweigh the benefits. We may revisit the question in the future, but for the time being, we encourage players to take advantage of the improved chat options in Private Games, and the options to make friends and form packs in the game. We are also accepting suggestions to improve the utility of Phrase Chat, and have some ideas to enhance realistic role-playing as well.

We hope everyone understands this decision, even if you don't like it. Thanks for reading. If you're interested in getting WQ 2.7, please take a look and download the free trial.
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dangerisback
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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by dangerisback » Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:06 pm

that's not fair, you selfish people, you all just want money

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by psy » Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:16 pm

dangerisback wrote:that's not fair, you selfish people, you all just want money
They aren't selfish at all. Making an actual game isn't free whatsoever. The WQ team needs funds to keep WolfQuest and its site/forums running. That's why money is required: to keep WolfQuest up.
Besides, the 2.5 Multiplayer lexicon was being abused and many players went around the lexicon word bans to go through inappropriate chats and roleplays. I'm not saying everyone did that, but there were people who went around lexicon rules that way.
Even if the lexicon chat is gone, 2.7 has way better ways to chat, as well as new customization and...yeah, you get the gist.
To sum it up, it's completely fair.
Edit: Like -Wolf Ghost- said below, 2.7 is quite affordable, way more affordable than most games that require payment. It's also a one-time purchase, from what I hear.
Last edited by psy on Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by -Wolf Ghost- » Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:20 pm

dangerisback wrote:that's not fair, you selfish people, you all just want money
I'm so sorry. But, as Dave explained, some people were using lexicon in the wrong way. You can see the new version is not so expensive. Of course they have dedicated time and money to it, and the price they ask for it is just symbolic. I hope you can understand. We all will miss lexicon, but they were planing to end it years ago. Besides, as DerpBacon said, you will see that the new version is way better.

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by SunofStormpack » Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:56 pm

This is sad, but I respect your descision.

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by loboLoco » Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:05 pm

dangerisback wrote:that's not fair, you selfish people, you all just want money
If that were true, I would be in another line of work. :?
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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by TreeTops » Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:09 pm

I understand why you did it, but I'm still very disappointed by this. Roleplaying on WQ was actually very fun. I guess another good thing is that players will be drawn closer to the forums, but I'm also sure a lot of users will simply quit.
I wasn't expecting, however, that it would be so soon after 2.7. It really felt very quick.
Nevertheless, thank you for actually explaining it. At least we know you had a reason. Looking forward to buying WQ 2.7 when things over here get better.

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by TheSeaWolf » Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:27 pm

Clearly you didn't really have much of a choice, so I understand. Still a little disappointed though. Open Lexicon was a great way to get new people into RPs, and a great place to have fun and actually RP in-server. Going to have to think of new ways to go about that...but oh well. I'm resourceful, and I'm sure that others are too. It sounds like Multiplayer is WAY better in 2.7 anyways, so it's worth it. You've certainly earned the patience of people like me who have to wait to buy the game, after putting so much time, money, and patience into WolfQuest. So patient I will be.

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by Celestial-Howl » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:16 pm

With the Private Game feature working, (for some reason it never did in 2.5) I'm sure more people will be inclined to form packs and make private games. If only people didn't make such inappropriate roleplays, but there will always be those rule benders. Also, I'm sure if Dave and the team only wanted money they wouldn't be programming complex games for a community of over 800,000. In fact it is quite generous of them to revive WQ, without them 2.7 wouldn't even exist.

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by lonewolf3656 » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:34 pm

i respect your choice but i cant log in on wolf quest 2.7, i brought it and i made an account on it, and i wrote in the key and it said that it sent an email to me but it never came so i cant activate my account so now i wont be able to do anything

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by SilkenGalaxy » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:49 pm

I respect your decision, it only makes sense if people are abusing it. I actually don't mind lexicon chat being disabled, it was annoying anyway...

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by loboLoco » Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:52 pm

lonewolf3656 wrote:i respect your choice but i cant log in on wolf quest 2.7, i brought it and i made an account on it, and i wrote in the key and it said that it sent an email to me but it never came so i cant activate my account so now i wont be able to do anything
send an email to info@wolfquest.org with your email address and username in 2.7.
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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by xocidious » Thu Dec 03, 2015 5:10 pm

This decision I think will make WolfQuest less popular as a game now. I LOVED role playing on this game with (almost) freedom of speech, and able to have a wonderful time roleplaying with other people online. Now, with the phrase chat, I am not even aloud to tell other wolves my name, gender, or anything about myself :'(( this makes it really hard to make friends! We can't even share jokes, descriptions, ideas and our own thoughts. With Lexicon chat disabled, I really don't see a point to this game anymore. I completed the private game, and now ( in my opinion ) the public games are pretty much worthless. I know a lot of people who agree, and we are all deleting the game off of our computers and finding a new site with freedom of speech.
I understand the WQ Board's reasons for changing the chat, but in my opinion, the pros DO NOT out weigh the cons! There will be a dramatic drop in online activity, making income decrease even more.
I really hope the WQ Board reconsiders their decision! :((

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by WolfLife2334 » Thu Dec 03, 2015 5:16 pm

NOOOOOO my rp life is ruined thats ok i hope they will find a way to return it soon :shock: :)

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Re: Lexicon Chat disabled in WQ 2.5

Post by midnight1975 » Thu Dec 03, 2015 5:16 pm

I understand, but really this is very unfair to players that are not abusing this. Yeah there are quite a few players that really do abuse it but in my opinion, it is not fair at all to those who don't and like to chat freely with their friends. For me, I don't play on private games, I like to join random games to meet new people and have some fun. Now that you have taken that away, I really don't want to play anymore... Not to be offensive or anything... :? Please reconsider. :(

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