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Feature Caves to Share Wolves from Other Packs on your Den Page

Feature Caves to Share Wolves from Other Packs on your Den Page
Posted 2022-08-15 18:23:42 (edited)
#817789
I've been trying to think of ways to improve interactions for shy people. I recently saw someone was having a bad day in chat. I get nervous starting conversations. I looked at their wish list and they had no items in it. I've seen people say they're uncomfortable getting random gifts, so I just did nothing.

Featured Wolves could be similar to a cave, but showing off wolves you like in other packs.

Presentation-
  • Ideally sub-categories with personalized titles so people can see why the wolf was added. Most recently added wolf's image shows.

  • If not customizable provide stock categories, IE Prettiest, Studs, Inspiration, etc.

  • If no subcategories show 6 most recently added.

  • Shows wolf's name and pack they live in.

  • On your own wolves, a link to see how many Feature Caves they have been added to. I put a lot of effort into my designs and would love to see which are most popular.

  • "Opt-in." By default you can't see it on other's pages or have your wolves added to a cave.

Possible uses-
  • Brighten someone's day with a message that you like one of their wolves. We have the thread about picking your favorite from the person above's pack, but each post gets buried quick.

  • Boost visibility for friends and new players.

  • Keep track of wolves you bred in other packs. Feature a beautiful pup your stud produced. I love checking in on my pack's descendants every once and a while.

  • Remind yourself to check on females your stud bred with to see what they had.

  • Design or lore inspiration. For example a collection of wolves with a base you are planning to design around. Examples of custom decor on wolves.

  • Collect hilarious or unique designs you just want to go back and look at.

  • Compare studs, or feature studs you liked and want to use again.

  • Wolves you are considering to buy, or that a friend is having difficulty selling.
🍂 Leonca 🐆
#54339
Posted 2022-08-17 02:04:35 (edited)
#818411
Unfortunately, I have to say no support. I know this was suggested out of kindness, but I see too many ways of how this can be used to harass players. A lot of people do not want their pets viewed or interacted with without their "consent," so to speak. They don't interact on the forums and generally avoid communicating with other users, exclusively to keep their pets hidden and away from everyone. And even if someone randomly stumbles upon their den, they don't want to know their pets have been interacted with.

The reason I'm using "pets" instead of wolves is because I have seen this issue on other sites. One other pet sim has added the ability to give pets "stars" (equivalent of a "like") which doesn't do anything. It doesn't bookmark a pet, it doesn't make it have a better rating in a leaderboard, it's only visible on the pet's page.

However, it caused a lot of turmoil in the community, as some people who have previously had a "hermit" play style were now reminded that their pets can be interacted with without their permission. They would go to their favorite pet's page and see it now had 10 stars from random people, when previously the pet was just theirs to enjoy (or at least it felt this way).

This brings me back to WD. You can argue that any harassment would be easily reportable, for example labeling someone's wolf "ugly" in the Wolf Share section on their own user page. However, different users will take different things to offense. Using your example, I can create a section of "hilarious" wolves on my user page. As an anecdote, I can find wolves dressed in fancy high fantasy clothes hilarious, because "lol look it's a dog with an anime sword". A ton of wolf owners, however, can take this to heart, as they consider their high fantasy sword-wielding wolves very cool and serious, and not a laughing matter at all.

Additionally, this can be used to indirectly pressure other players to do certain things with their wolves. E.g. I can find one of the wolves I've chased through wolf search and feature it on my page with a note "Buy back if possible". The finder of the chased wolf might not want to sell it, but seeing that note on my page might make them feel guilty for keeping it.

I've also remembered the uproar the addition of "Bred by ___" caused, as people were reminded their favorite wolf was bred by a blocked or disliked user. I feel like this suggestion would only exacerbate the same issue.

Lastly, you can already sort of do what you're proposing, manually:




Wolf Name
Wolf Pack


You can literally put something like this in your profile or in a wolf biography, no one can stop you (at least I don't think  there are any rules against it). But making it an officially supported mechanic, as well as making it a few clicks quicker, would just open the floodgates of "softcore harassment" and annoying other players.
hydde 🥀 on hiatus
#7307
Posted 2022-08-17 08:42:24
#818478
I see. I've never dealt with being harassed, so my mind doesn't go to those possibilities. I will add making it "opt-in," in case that helps.

Mostly I was inspired to propose something similar to this Howling Buff thread. I'd actually prefer that one added, since I love the idea of wolves other than your lead getting extra attention. If you have any ideas for nervous people to interact without having to start conversations I'd love to see a post made for that.
🍂 Leonca 🐆
#54339
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