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Update to Open Chat

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AuthorMessage
Administrator
Accounts that are NOT currently subscribed with a credit card will no longer have 18+ open chat. Those accounts will revert to Text Chat. Open Chat is a feature for accounts currently subscribed with a valid Credit Card.

We try to offer a full range of player account options (ie. Credit Cards, PayPal, Gift Certificates, Gift Cards, subscriptions, access passes, free trial, etc). Each of these comes with its own set of benefits and limitations.

For instance, as a crowns player, you have lifetime access to areas purchased. As a credit card subscriber, you’re given the option to enable 18+ chat (if you’re 18+ in age of course).

The fact that some accounts were able to retain their 18+ chat ability even when they were no longer subscribed, was a bug. In an effort to keep the player options equitable for all, we fixed the bug.

We thank you for your understanding. Please note, your ability to chat is not gone, your account will retain the filtered chat option.


community@wizard101.com
Survivor
Jul 24, 2009
3
Professor Greyrose wrote:
Accounts that are NOT currently subscribed with a credit card will no longer have 18+ open chat. Those accounts will revert to Text Chat. Open Chat is a feature for accounts currently subscribed with a valid Credit Card.

We try to offer a full range of player account options (ie. Credit Cards, PayPal, Gift Certificates, Gift Cards, subscriptions, access passes, free trial, etc). Each of these comes with its own set of benefits and limitations.

For instance, as a crowns player, you have lifetime access to areas purchased. As a credit card subscriber, you’re given the option to enable 18+ chat (if you’re 18+ in age of course).

The fact that some accounts were able to retain their 18+ chat ability even when they were no longer subscribed, was a bug. In an effort to keep the player options equitable for all, we fixed the bug.

We thank you for your understanding. Please note, your ability to chat is not gone, your account will retain the filtered chat option.


I really dont like this, I use gift cards for my subscriptions cause my mom doesnt want to do subscriptions with her credit card. I would hope that you guys could just make it for credit cards and gift cards, I dont like wizard101 without my open chat so please add it to gift cards :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

Survivor
Dec 30, 2008
2
Why should I have to have a credit card on file to be able to have open chat? It should not matter how I paid for my membership.

Survivor
Aug 12, 2009
26
This sucks. My mom wont let me pay with her or my credit card so i am forced to buy gift cards. Can there be an exception that only people with sub can and the sub can be bought from a gift card or anything.

-Andrew Legendary Life

Survivor
Aug 14, 2009
1
i had my open chat the bugged way then i saw the update so i went and got a subscription with a credit card i turn open chat on go in game and still no open chat. What should i do?

Survivor
Jun 05, 2009
5
I really don't like this! I have been a subscriber for two years. I recently decided to buy the crowns and keep the game because I enjoyed it so much! I am over 18 and have been for sometime! It makes more sense for those of us who want to keep the game to be allowed open chat when you know we are over 18. The reasons you list for taking away open chat for crowns users are extremely stupid. I am now seriously debating if I want to continue. I have gotten many of my friends to play this game as well as many family members. I am highly offended!

Administrator
Gift Cards (also known as Pre-Paid Cards) have NEVER qualified for unlocking 18+ Open Chat.

The valid CREDIT CARD is needed to verify that the age of the purchaser is over 18. Since anyone of any age can purchase a Gift Card, they cannot be used to provide proof of age.

We will continue to be diligent in protecting our younger players.


community@wizard101.com
Administrator
111strap wrote:
i had my open chat the bugged way then i saw the update so i went and got a subscription with a credit card i turn open chat on go in game and still no open chat. What should i do?


I -think- that your current prepaid subscription must end before your credit card subscription begins. Let me ask Mr Lincoln about how that works, he's the holder of all the account knowledge.



community@wizard101.com
Survivor
Dec 25, 2010
2
I seem to have the same problem as a previous poster. Started playing less than a month ago and bought a $20 (2 months) gift card for subscription to unlock the areas. Then I found out about the open chat feature and added my credit card information, which unlocked open chat for me. Today the open chat was gone, so I checked my subscription status and set it to auto-renew monthly on my credit card. The open chat option is there, but it doesn't have any effect in game and I am still limited to text chat.

I would hate to have to wait for another month for my gift card subscription to end until I can have the open chat available again. I don't even have the option to cancel the gift card subscription that is currently active so that I can re-subscribe with the credit card.

I hope this is just a bug and not how the fix was intended to work. Now I am left wishing that I had just subscribed in the first place with the credit card and used the gift card to purchase crowns or something.

Survivor
Mar 10, 2010
1
Paypal is not an option offered on wizard101.com if it were I would subscribe since its not I wont. I think users who use crowns to purchase realms should be allowed to keep their open chat. I use a credit card to purchase crowns i do not see why i need to purchase a sub to keep my open chat. Secondly no warning was issued that they would even be removing the open chat. They made announcements that crowns were on sale and that certain pets would be disappearing. Pets that no one really purchases but they couldn't announce that they were removing open chat? Personally it seems like a scheme because you aren't really protecting anyone, just expanding your wallets. The reality is if the people aren't old enough they simply just aren't old enough.

Survivor
Jul 04, 2009
10
Professor Greyrose wrote:
I -think- that your current prepaid subscription must end before your credit card subscription begins. Let me ask Mr Lincoln about how that works, he's the holder of all the account knowledge.



This is exactly why the credit card thing does not work. Now you've "fixed" your bug and it will take players as much as a year to get their chat back if they spent money on crowns. Also, anyone can buy their kid an open chat subscription, so you're not preventing anything there, and not all adults want to destroy their credit by lumping everything on a credit card. You need to find an alternate form of age verification. Either way you look at this one, it's faulty.


Survivor
Jun 07, 2008
17
Hi, My best friend is over 18, and the only way she can pay for the game is by buying Wizard101 cards, on my opinion you guys should make some kind of gift card that require and ID or a prove that your 18 when you buy it so you can get open chat.

But i see it fair because it can protect children who play this game.

Survivor
Dec 18, 2010
2
I understand and support the credit card requirement as proof of age to activate open chat but I see no reason why we show have to remain credit card subscribers to maintain it. I see no reason why crowns players or subscribers who decide to use a gift card one month should not have access to open chat provided they still have a valid credit card on file.

This issue goes deeper than just a issue about types of chat, it is a question of integrity. You advertise a $60 crowns deal then after many had switched you remove their open chat making them want to resubscribe. If this truly was a bug then you should have said it was a bug long ago and that you intended to fix it so we the players could make a more informed choice about weather we wished to be crowns or sub. Many players including myself were under the impression that the only reason a one month credit card subscription was needed was to show we are adults.

I hope you reconsider this policy. One possible compromise would be to offer open chat for crowns if the crowns player meets the credit card requirement:
a few possible price points
1 month- 2000 crowns
3 months - 5000 crowns
6 months - 7500 crowns

Survivor
Jun 05, 2010
6
Judging by the how empty the servers were today, i think this "fix" of yours is going to cost you guys BIG.

Already half my friends are saying they are quitting and i am leaning that way too.

this is a common story for a few of us:

I entered a credit card awhile back which originally paid for my account, i dont use crowns to often and i wanted the pets your gift cards gave, so i bought like 3 and used those to extended my current subscription. that means for the next 3 months i cant unlock open chat?

you may want to rethink open chat policy, today was the best day of farming i have had in awhile. Stormriven was pretty empty which if my friends were idea of how this will go, then you are going to lose around HALF of your current subscribers.

Survivor
Feb 23, 2010
11
There are certainly other methods to verify age. The fact that you are now requiring valid credit card and subscription is just another way to generate more money. Why not just ask for a valid credit card to run age check only and not require a subscription. I've purchased a 6 month gift card subscription and now your telling me I have to wait till its up to take full advantage of this game. I dont think so! I as well as many others have already invested time and money here and I will not be suckered into giving up more. Especially with a lot of real bugs in the game that I've addressed and still have yet to be corrected!

Survivor
Mar 04, 2009
43
Good Morning Professor
Got a question. Above you say something about paying with paypal, How would someone go about using that to check out.

Thanks and do enjoy your morning.

Mastermind
Jun 13, 2009
332
Quick question:

I am unclear as to the issue at hand.

Is that open chat is a privilege afforded ONLY to subscribers or is it that open chat is allowed to ALL adults providing that their age is verified?

Also what if you have a long time subscriber who is an adult (proven by credit card on file) but they choose to use a Gift card sometime in the future, will their Open chat feature be taken away until they subscribe by credit card again?

Just a little confused on your policy as it relates to "open chat". Please clafify.

Thank you.

Survivor
Jan 18, 2009
2
And if I would have known about this sooner I wouldn't have wasted so much money on crowns to unlock everything. Now I sub for arena purposes once in a while but seriously I don't wanna keep subbing if I don't need to just for chat.

Explorer
Jan 27, 2009
50
jokerrules wrote:
This sucks. My mom wont let me pay with her or my credit card so i am forced to buy gift cards. Can there be an exception that only people with sub can and the sub can be bought from a gift card or anything.


Apparently you are under 18 years old, which means you're not supposed to have open chat anyway. I have seen kids get around the filter and use swear words with text chat which shows why KI doesn't allow them to have open chat. I agree with the decision.

Survivor
May 24, 2009
1
I totally agree..as long as a valid credit card is on file, gift card users should be able to have open chat if they are over 18. This new policy makes no sense to me and I think this is just a scheme to try and get more people to subscribe. Anyone over 18 that pays money to play this game whether it be credit card of gift card should be afforded the option of open chat. This is so gonna backfire....especially the sneaky way it was done with absouletly no announcement until after the fact. Bad bad bad

Defender
Feb 28, 2010
114
So, if you have more than one account on a family of accounts, and the parent account is a yearly paid account by credit card, does that mean that all the child accounts under it are not affected?

Survivor
Jun 05, 2009
5
Professor Greyrose wrote:
Gift Cards (also known as Pre-Paid Cards) have NEVER qualified for unlocking 18+ Open Chat.

The valid CREDIT CARD is needed to verify that the age of the purchaser is over 18. Since anyone of any age can purchase a Gift Card, they cannot be used to provide proof of age.

We will continue to be diligent in protecting our younger players.


I agree with protecting the young players, it is one of the things I enjoy so much about this game! However, I know of quite a number of players in my situation where they have used a credit card to pay and the, switched to crowns. Why can these players not have open chat?

Also, having a credit card does NOT mean you are 18. Now a days just about anyone can have a checking account that has their card attached to it. I know I do. I really do like the fact that you protect the young players. Lots of my friends and all our kids play together! I honestly think you need a new way of deciding other than credit card usage. I bought my crowns online with my checking account card, not a gift card. Therefore I used a credit card and I am gonna be using crowns, does this still mean I lose my open chat? I think you guys really need to look into this better than saying just because you use crowns you cant use open chat.

Survivor
Feb 24, 2009
6
I have been playing this game ever since Feb of 2008, and for the while have loved it and nurtured wizards to fruition, spending loads of money to do so. It is with a heavey heart that i am announcing that i am going to take my money elsewhere. when the new update came out and it was made evident that certian schools, by the gear that they got were getting more prefferential treatment than other schools, and balance was stricken from the game dynamic, ( in favor of ice and balance, even myth got resistance to all schools). i am three months into a 1 year subscription, and because it was purchased for me i cant speak adult chat even though i am 36 years old. So i am going where my money can get me victory through skill, and validity through having an account set up that doesnt get manipulated through executive decree, because it can no longer be found here. it reminds me of the second matrix movie when agent smith absorbed people and made them a duplicate of himself, well K.I. did that with ice. the numbers of other schools that compete in the arena started thinning out greatly. congratulations K.I. Celestian snow gear effectively destroyed everything you were trying to accomplish here. and what the gear didnt do, your recent mandate to arbitrarily syphon more income from 1 year and permanent subscribers through taking away their ability to speak without further investment is indecent at best. i just dont know what to say other than what i have, i am totaly speachless

Survivor
May 29, 2010
18
Professor Greyrose wrote:
Accounts that are NOT currently subscribed with a credit card will no longer have 18+ open chat. Those accounts will revert to Text Chat. Open Chat is a feature for accounts currently subscribed with a valid Credit Card.

We try to offer a full range of player account options (ie. Credit Cards, PayPal, Gift Certificates, Gift Cards, subscriptions, access passes, free trial, etc). Each of these comes with its own set of benefits and limitations.

For instance, as a crowns player, you have lifetime access to areas purchased. As a credit card subscriber, you’re given the option to enable 18+ chat (if you’re 18+ in age of course).

The fact that some accounts were able to retain their 18+ chat ability even when they were no longer subscribed, was a bug. In an effort to keep the player options equitable for all, we fixed the bug.

We thank you for your understanding. Please note, your ability to chat is not gone, your account will retain the filtered chat option.


Well this is just AWESOME. Let's see what else is awesome, Wild bolt was ruined, items from the crown shop are taken away, what's next crowns are banned and you can only subscribe? My CREDIT CARD subscription ends tomorrow ( what a coincedence) and i already bought 60,000 crowns a few weeks ago. At this rate Wizard101 will have so many people not playing that it'll fall apart within a week. Plz change this KI i do not want to buy another year sub just to keep my open chat priveleges.

Survivor
Jun 14, 2009
11
Oh my gosh, i am loving this! It is about time they set rules on who has open chat, and who doesnt. I really believe this will make the game much more safe and enjoyable for KIDS and adult out there. Good job KI, I am loving this update!
keep up the good work!

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