The referral system has been like this since August, I wonder why people are just now complaining?

I didn't really think it was an issue but I guess I can see where people are coming from with the privacy thing.

I agree with the ones that say this is creepy. |D

I like 's suggestion of making it a monthly thing and randomizing the % received.

I also agree a limit should be put into place if only because if people are spending over x amount of real money, a limit would prevent the referrer from knowing of these spending habits once the limit is reached (of course without informing the referrer of having reached the limit for that user because that would also divulge personal info). Though what that number should be I have no idea.

I was in agreement that something needed to change until I saw that the event doesn't actually say WHO bought the CSC. While I appreciate that in the cases the person only has one referral it becomes clear who did the spending, I don't think this is considered an "invasion of privacy" the way the system is currently set up.

I think it can be a serious problem. I'm not sure there is any way to 'fix' the issue though. Even if you bundle all the events together and vary the percentage, if you only have one or two referrals their spending habits are still going to be totally obvious.

In future, if I ever choose to refer someone to the site, I will mention this issue to them and let them decide if they want to list me as a referral. Chances are they won't, so I won't get any rewards, but I'd prefer that over them being bothered that I know their spending habits.

There are several possible reasons its not been mentioned until now. One, the people who GET the event and CSC are not the people whose privacy is being infringed on. Two, a person may not have known the system changed - not everyone reads the news or is part of the siteupdate group. Third, people may not have been aware of the implications until a RL friend/relative made a comment about their spending habits.

So just because its been in place for a few months and people have not complained, it doesn't mean it isn't a problem.

I did not know this and I'm not keen on it. At all.

To be honest, when I get an event telling me that a user I referred has purchased CSC and I got some, I've NEVER thought "oh, such and such has spent LOADS on Subeta recently!" (and I only have one active referral, so I know who it is). Every time I've thought "Cool, free CSC", and a couple of times I've thanked them for it.

If somebody drops money on Subeta every so often, who are other people to judge? If I want to spend £15 of my spare cash (which I don't have very much of) on Subeta, it's not really that different to spending £15 on a console game, or on books, or whatever. If somebody else benefits from that purchase, even better.

The event goes along the lines of "You received X csc because someone you referred bought credits!", it's not a random amount but at the time I posted I couldn't remember it was 10% (since I don't have any referrals spending cash, haha)! It's always 10%, but I find it a little crazy that the person receives that 10% over each of their referrals purchases essentially forever.

So the site exchanged 500 csc upon sign up for a (potentially) permanent influx of free csc for a lifetime, which kind of seemeed overkill to me o.O I mean, if someone refers someone else who happens to get addicted to CWs... that person can probably live the rest of their Subeta lives without ever putting a cent of their own money on the site again o_o I found it odd there wasn't a "cap", that was actually what struck me as the most strange thing on the new system!

[edit] If there was a cap, that could possibly help the "privacy" case, since after the person got (for example) 10k csc in bonuses, they wouldn't get the alert anymore.

This is what I found creepy about it when it first came out. I can imagine that most people who are joining up have no idea at the time that their spending habits are going to be announced to their friends. Sure some people have referred tons of people, but some haven't and it's obvious. Personally that's something I'd want to know beforehand, and is that stated anywhere other than assuming the person referring has some common decency to let them know ahead of time? Seriously listed, not a "we expect a new members to somehow go through the forums and old news posts where it's 'clearly listed' before they join" listed. I never understood why it didn't stay as points. I agree that it's really an awesome idea to get more rewards if they're active... but why not a point per month of -real- activity on the site. X many site sign ins or X amount of time spent active on site. Or if you want to still provide incentive for those who are just well off enough, not activity based, then do a flat point each time CSC is purchased with cash. I certainly don't think it would hurt for some of those toys/stickers/books etc. to actually see the light of day in the shops, and if it became a problem I'm sure there could always be more items added to the pool.

I'm not trying to insult anyone, but let's face it, we take the free csc away and there WILL be people whining.

I was referred by someone, and I have referred people. I've gotten the message about getting x amount of CSC because someone I referred spent on the site, and the person who referred me has gotten the same thing (and I'm their only referral, so they knew it was me). And I don'tttt really care or see this as a privacy issue. I don't have the energy to worry about what someone is doing with their money or what they think about how I spend mine. It has never even crossed my mind to think about this in the months (I think it's been months?) since this was implemented.

But, if anything is weird about this, it's that there isn't a cap, like said. I don't understand how this is better for the site than the 500CSC reward for referring someone?

Thanks for clarifying and doing so so quickly! :) I wasn't sure how it worked, and it seemed kinda the same to me.

Yeah, I don't have any active referrals but if I did I wouldn't comment on their spending. That's just tacky, imo, no matter how you found out about it.

The friend who referred me though, tends to say thanks every time I buy CSC and it's a little awkward as I don't know what to say anymore at this point. Like I'm glad she's getting CSC one way or another, but :x Though it's not like she's made any nasty comments about my spending or anything so I don't entirely mind it.

so you don't mind when your irl friend benefits from it, but you do mind when other users benefit from it?

if you've only referred one person ever, then yeah i guess it would be a bit awkward but the system was implemented for active users who refer multiple users and it doesn't tell you who spent what.

I never said that.

Is there a way to see who referred you? I joined via a forum group but don't remember if I put anyone down or not.

I don't really see the problem. I'm glad to know it carried over from years ago, since I spend a lot, so my referral buddy probably gets a ping every couple days with (generally) 500 csc. Its my business how much I spend, so far all that happens is that they get a thank-you whenever I buy. I get some CSC from another friend of mine (he pointed it out to me, I didn't even realize he'd listed me as his referral) and I said, "this is neat, thanks for putting me down as your referral" but I almost never pay attention to the amount I get, I'm just happy for some free CSC.

I do have more than one referral, but my number is very very low, and one person isn't active at all so I know it isn't her - regardless, I don't over think it, I hope the person getting the CSC from me is enjoying the surprise monies, and I don't feel like my privacy is at all violated, even if I'm the only person she ever referred (unlikely).

If I buy my own CSC, I get 100% of my CSC. If I hand my cash over to my boyfriend (who I referred to the site) and have him buy it, we together get 110% of my CSC.

I've been buying CSC with sP instead of cash for a while now, but the fact we'd benefit from doing that irks me.

What if you don't like buying CSC because the person that you named as referrer when you signed up did something horrible to you and you feel sick at the thought of them still being able to benefit from your potential purchases? Can you ask for it to be removed or so?