Thank you ! ❤

This is the reason why I feel this change was the best one. In a mere handful of days, the community has shifted from negativity (resentment, secrecy with names/ideas, hoarding) to positivity as a whole. When everyone can use a name, you no longer resent the one who had them first for "keeping them from you". You can now freely share names/ideas, knowing that the concept of a pet can't be "stolen" from you- hell, someone with a similar interest might even provide you with even more inspiration! yeah, non-unique names have changed the community for the better. And it's wonderful to see.

I feel like a news post with 411 comments, most positive, is a good indication of how the userbase at large is feeling.

Thank you! Sorry I was not here earlier to find a thread!

( ) I hear what you are saying about a 52 - 48 split as that is what happened over here with brexit and that didn't seem fair. Maybe it would have to be laid out first that there was an overwhelming majority. I think there would have been no harm in a couple of polls. A yes/no for general idea and then an optioned one to understand better what people would have been ok with, like you say leaving or not. I think if they were linked in the news with a banner ad then they would have reached most players in time.

Maybe not many people against it wanted to post in the forums. If people aren't using the forums they may not even be reading them, they can be a very stressful place. I don't think likes on posts can really get a complete picture either. I read one users post and agreed with everything they said right up to the last paragraph so I didn't like it.

If that 10% were like & me then yeah it would help to know you were in an extreme minority.

Like I say I am just sad not to know for sure.

Forever then there would never be change lol Just joking :P I think a couple of months would have caught a majority of active users but I'm not staff so I don't have access to user activity stats. If users aren't playing the site then it shouldn't matter to them. If they are logging on and playing that's different to just signing in once a year to hog names, those people are part of the problem that has led to the need for a change ;)

I can see where you are coming from. I still feel that not all users feel comfortable posting especially if the majority of post or of the opposite opinion.

However of those 411 post 20 are staff and the remaining 392 were made by 280 different users. Even if every user were positive about the change I'm sure that can only be a minimum of half the active users as I am positive I see at least double that amount of users online most days. I would very much like to think subetas user base is even bigger than that. So again not really a very good representation.

This kind of a positive change that makes the site more accessible and sustainable has been long overdue. The staff made the correct decision if this moves the site forward and contributes to the collective good of the users. It’s unfortunate that some people are unhappy, but that’s inevitable with any major change. Not polling was a wise decision. I was initially in favor of unique names, but now I see how much better the site is without that restriction. This and the subscription model have really made me have hope for Subeta’s future.

I don't think you can ever get a complete picture. Even a poll wouldn't have given a complete picture.

I probably would have voted for non-unique names in a poll. But really my true allegiance was/is neutral. I just don't care a whole lot one way or the other. When I create a pet I'm mildly annoyed if I get a "name taken" error, but the annoyance isn't over the name, its over having to waste time figuring out a new name and redoing the pet creation thing.

I suspect many people are like me - they want a name they picked, and are mildly inconvenienced if it comes back as a error - we are the silent majority, we are the ones who don't post about it, or read the news/forum comments or click likes. Because we don't care enough about the issue to make a fuss.

The passionate ones are out there commenting, or at the very least liking posts!

- you're possibly right. I'm kinda neutral but in a different way. I can see the good and bad from both sides but can't decide which out weighs which. I guess I liked the poll idea because I could take comfort knowing the decision was based on what a majority of users who cared wanted (working with the assumption you could get the poll to them). I still don't know if personally I would have voted as like I said I can see the good in both sides.

I think this will be a wonderful change for Subeta and I'm glad it was implemented so thoroughly.

I'm glad there wasn't a poll. Kudos to Keith for making a big choice and going forward with it! It wouldn't have done anything but delay the change even longer and cause more drama. If it had been a close split, that would bee a nightmare. But I suspect it non-unique would be the overwhelmingly popular option, as it was on the suggestion forum thread, news post, and here.

Also I think it's pretty telling how many people immediately clamored for a way to get rid of their legacy names. Like, not only did those users feel those unique names had no value anymore, they actively wanted to delete them. What that means is, all those people were holding onto unique names they didn't like bc the previous system sucked so bad.

If the thought of not owning the only 'Frank' or 'Legolas' on Subeta is enough to upset someone and make them leave... oh well? I guarantee you there were a dozen other users who spent less time and money on the site bc they couldn't make the pets they wanted without giving it some stupid name like FranklinfromGTAV or Leggollas. I know I'm certainly far less invested in my Subeta pets than my FR dragons, and a huuuuge part of that was the names bc in every other respect Subeta has superior pet customization.

So, yeah, I'm thrilled with this.

(Also, one of my fav things on FR is searching for other dragons with 'my' names, to see what other people did with them. Definitely no lack of creativity just bc all the dragons are named the same thing!)

I'm just happy that I no longer feel resentment to someone who was holding onto a name I wanted and not doing anything with the pet. Wanting someone to fail to log on for a year, just so I could "steal" their pet's name, is not good for the site, for them or even for me. Finding yourself actively hating someone you don't even know over an imaginary pixel pet's name is not healthy. When that feeling was gone, I almost grew wings.

By the way, a belated thank you to For the fix! So sorry I wasn't logged on to send you that thread link.

A poll wouldn't have caused any more drama since those things are anonymous. It might've made some of us feel better though. Especially if it turned out that most people really did want this.

But. We didn't even get a heads up here. They warn us when things are going to retire from subeautique, but not when pets are going to undergo a dramatic change like this?

I'm loving that the naming system changed has reinvigorated how people view their pets. I was on the fence when this idea came up (years.. ago..) but really it's not like I had many sought after names.

The never-ending wonder about whether this would actually happen really drew it out. Whether a poll was needed or not.. well, if we were to have one the time was ages ago and not like years after the first thread was made. I'm glad decided to just go for it.

The roll-out was good, happy to see and responding quickly to questions and issues. Maybe a few days notice about what exactly would go down was good, but had been posting on the Suggestions board saying that something was coming.

Overall I feel like this had breathed new life into the site, and keen to see what new features (rarity squish!) bring too.

Savage XD Can't argue with truth, though

Again, some people would originally have voted "keep unique names" without thinking of the consequences, namely that keeping unique names does not encourage site growth and thus, would end up killing the site. I still stand by my point that it's not healthy to openly hope people get inactive for 12 months.

And, that's not even getting into the pain that clearings were in the first place, where you were encouraged to autorefresh to get the name you want. Yeah, that's totally a real good idea, especially since we did away with autorefreshing in events, due to all of the lag and problems it caused.

I can't really blame them, when issues like that happen, we really have tunnel vision and are focused on what we own, but what good are unique names if we don't have a site anymore.

Keeping unique names, or getting rid of this system had consequences other than "there are now twelve pets called Oliver on the site" and really, a poll couldn't exactly showcase all of the nuances this had

As the "original" Legolas owner I can ensure you that I am looking forward to the other 999 Legolas out there. ;)

That being said, I made use of the new feature myself for a few Pets, could even bring back ols charas/OCs and I'm glad everyone else can now too. :D

Nobody asked for a poll on this to last a year.

I think when the site first started, most people were fine with the unique name system. As time went on, those users left and were replaced by users who questioned the unique name system. So that's why we have a majority.

Honestly, in real life multiple people have the same names, so why not Subeta.

Once again agree with you. Many people have worried about the future of Subeta and have mentioned what might need to be done to keep the site going throughout the years. This change is one of those changes needed to keep the site alive because apparently some people were turned off from joining due to the unique naming system.

I just hope the search function is restored soon.

As for me, I look forward to incorporating legacy names into my pet stories. I'll likely consider adopting a pet if it has a unique legacy name (numbers only, specific phrases).

My opinion doesn't matter as I hardly play anymore, I've only been logging in in spurts for years now. Initially I didn't like the change, but I think that might just come from playing Neopets all those years and enjoying having something that's unique and completely mine. I also worked hard at stalking some names over the years/back in the day...but it's not like that effort was necessarily erased. That still is an accomplishment for its time. My biggest takeaway is I'm just glad about no longer having to worry about losing my pets names due to inactivity lol. That's awesome

Although I will say I don't really see the point in legacy names if they can just be hidden. But I haven't seen anyone else point this out so maybe that's just me