Lol! Thanks! I'll have to look into it ^.^

Thanx, Krin.

Perhaps some players don't realize how many folks are uncomfortable with releasing pets because we have learned to avoid saying anything about it. Speaking just for myself, I've mentioned my preference to avoid releasing pets in Region Chat (in the context of a conversation) and had a few other players ridicule me for it. (None of those players have posted in this thread, and I'll not name names.) Anyhow, since people roleplay in Sylestia, which is perfectly fine, I think it's okay to think about one's pet Sylesties as if they are real.

Savynn and Mika expressed my suggestion better than I did--"it's a change in text"; "it might help others be willing to take advantage of the feature, rather than agonizing over whether to keep pets they no longer need in an ever more over-burdened stable." Thanx, peeps.

It's been a long time since I did any programing, but I do remember that changing visible text was quite an easy thing to do at that time. If I'd thought making such a text change would be time-consuming, I'd have never made the suggestion. Krin, if it would be burdensome, please say so, and I'll totally drop the idea.

If one compares the situation to the real world, some real-world animals can only be tamed, never domesticated (zebras leap to mind). When these species are tamed as pets or are the offspring of tame parents, kind people generally don't release such animals into the wilderness due to concern the pets won't be happy, or even able to survive. This is why many (not enough) refuges exist where these animals (retired circus or research pets, exotic animals surrendered by their owners, etc.) can live freely yet protected. Wildlife rehabilitators try hard not to tame their charges so the animals can return to the wilderness without stress, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Such tamed animals may spend the rest of their lives as pets or may live as freely as possible in a protected environment.

So I stand by my suggestion. Its only effect on people who already release pets is a change in some words that they might not even pay attention to. But this change would create the implication that freed Sylesties are still living in safety.

I think the entire thing is sort of pointless though-- sure, changing the text might be fairly simple, but the 'problem' itself to me to actually a non-problem.

Releasing is largely up to interpretation, I'm a player who doesnt particularly think about it too hard but if you asked me i would say that when i release pets they probably get released into protected areas-- maybe even the ones with longer lineages (raised in captivity) get given up to more specialized shelters and stuff.

However, in my day to day i dont really think about it i just click the button and carry on with my day. I believe most people don't really think about it either, and online pets/animals are much different than real life ones-- most people here who might release without a second though certainly wouldn't do that in real life.

It just seems a little silly to push your reality onto other people who don't agree or don't see it the same. In the same way that it might (*might*) be easy for krin to change a few words, it would also be fairly easy for you to just imagine that when you hit that release button they go to where-ever you'd like to imagine. As many of us already do :/

Just because I release doesn't mean im wishing to harm the pets, and if i so chose too id think of it like releasing into a protected area or a shelter-- maybe the sylestia towns have pet shelters! Who knows! And if that's what you want to think, thats totally fine and i dont care if you personally dont like the idea of releasing them back into the wilderness like its a death sentence. I think people ridicule you for it because when you say "i dont personally agree with releasing" its coming from a point of "its a horrible thing that harms the animal" and thus implying that everyone who *doesnt* think that way/like you in your view is a horrible person for purposefully 'harming' their pet by releasing.

Its fine for you to not agree with *your* personal view on it, but its not for you to shun others for how they view it differently. And im not saying that you have, or that that's what you intended-- but thats certainly how it would come off to *me*. Its like youre pushing your personal problems onto other people, and the way that you went about suggesting this word change is *also* like youre pushing your personal problem onto other people as well. Why is it so hard to just create your own story about releasing if it hurts you that much to think of it how some others do? And not even all people think of it like that-- some people *do* think of it like releasing into a protected area/shelter but youd probably still have a problem with them anyway because thats not how *you* see releasing right? Sorry if im looking too deep into it, but after reading your messages this is my personal analysis of what youre suggesting and how youre doing it.

and also "released into the wild" sounds *nothing* like "abandoned"-- maybe if it said "dumped into the wild" or something else derogatory-- but its not like i stuffed them into a trash bag then shook them out at the dump. Released is pretty neutral in my opinion-- it just means that you let them go-- where? up to you!

"this change would create the implication that freed Sylesties are still living in safety." Thats what your *imagination* is for. the current text is not *forcing* you to think 'abandoned' thats just how youre imagining it. If *I* chose to think of releasing as abandoning a pet or leaving it out in the cold rain or something I'd feel sad about it too-- but i dont, because thats not what i think of when I release a pet. A shelter/refuge makes more sense to me since you can reclaim pets-- like the 50 diamonds is an adoption fee or smth lol. Its clear that theyre in a reachable area though.


Ultimately I don't care if the wording is changed or not, i just think the reason it was suggested in the first place is a little silly since its really just... a personal conclusion.

(extra note: People who release can get harassed just the same way as people who *don't* release. There is not one 'victim' on the two sides.)

Ultimately, I can't say I care one way or another what some text says, but honestly, I really don't see the point of changing it. For one, any issue like this that leans so heavily on semantics is also going to be very subjective.

Personally, I find 'freed' to have a much more negative implication than 'released.' To me, 'released' feels like releasing a bird with a freshly healed wing that you've been tending--a wild animal that you just cared for for a while and then released to go back to its life. 'Freed' feels more like you've been keeping pets in chains as prisoners and by sending them off into the wild, you're freeing them from said imprisonment. Poh-tay-to, Poh-tah-to. Ultimately it's up to a player if they release pets or not and pulling out a thesaurus really isn't going to change much in my opinion. If someone is too attached to their pets to release them then, well, that's on them. An extra challenge to the game, if you will.

I feel like it's also worth noting that there is a widespread trend of people harassing others for buying and releasing pets. I for one know I've seen more "Don't you dare buy my pets that are up for sale if all you're going to do is release them" notes on profiles than I can count, and witnessed a fair few bouts of related harassment myself.

I can't see something like this, that feeds into this idea that releasing is somehow abusive and wrong, would improve matters on that front. And while there are instances of the reverse...I also can't for the life of me think of one time I've seen a profile note that says attacks other players for not releasing. Warnings that the user in question does release pets that they personally own, yes; declarations telling people how to manage their own stables, no.

And there we go, not sure if that's enough to be my two cents, but we're up to at least a penny I'd say xD

Again, I have to agree with Lost specifically on the point about how much of a problem releasing already is and restate the fact that regardless of how you're personally interpreting the text, it's not as big of an issue for majority of the playerbase.

We already have an issue with players harassing others about releasing pets and if their pets are fed or not. I know I have received PMs from users who were angry with me for buying and releasing their cheap (generally I try not to buy anything about 500g) public sale pets and I have heard of many other users experiencing the same. There is no rule against players buying and releasing and releasing is encouraged on the site with the higher nest chances and Patriotic fest awarding players for releasing.

I recall hearing someone taking it upon themselves to lecture another user in Region Chat about if they should be buying any pets because theirs weren't being fed it it conflicted with THEIR preferred way of playing the game. There is no punishment for not feeding pets other than not being able to send them on missions and can be expensive for players. There's a fine boundary between being respectful about "I don't particularly like/support this and I'm going to avoid selling to these players" and then harassing another player (publicly in some cases) because they don't like how others play and believe they need to control how they play. Pushing that the entire text for releasing needs to be changed could further feed into the idea that it's a bad thing and regardless of a word change, there are other issues regarding releasing that would probably be a better priority to address.

There is definitely a large group of people who are against releasing but again, NOT for the purpose of pretending that pets are real. After going through the ENTIRE suggestion box forum all the way back to 2013 with the term 'release,' I found only one thread mentioning anything similar to your distaste in pets being released and asking for a less cruel method and a few others suggesting about creating a pound so that players could have the opportunity to adopt a pet they liked rather than it being released. Compared to the 30+ suggestions for a mass release option and around five-ish suggestions for rewards for releasing, I'd say that the community has generally been more geared towards making releasing easier and more rewarding rather than emphasizing that releasing is too cruel and needs to be changed to a reserve. I'm sure there are definitely players that might agree with you, but I don't think it's as many or as drastic as you believe considering how little it's been brought up over the course of the site's existence.

Majority of the users who are against releasing, those harassing other players or those peacefully putting a note on their profile preferring others to not buy and release their pets, seem to have their mindset focused around "I wanted those pets to go to newbies who can't afford expensive pets and/or another player who would better enjoy the pet than me" rather than "releasing is too cruel and anyone who does it is being cruel to the pet." Your interpretation of the word release is subjective and I don't think nearly enough people view it the same way for it to be a big enough issue requiring a full dialogue change. You can continue to pretend that the pets are real without expecting the game to be tailored to your personal playing method and ultimately I think that's all a dialogue change will really accomplish.

Please don't ping me again in any future responses you make, if I'm wanting to continue checking this thread I'll do so on my own, thank you

"It's been a long time since I did any programing, but I do remember that changing visible text was quite an easy thing to do at that time. If I'd thought making such a text change would be time-consuming, I'd have never made the suggestion."

I don't think you should hesitate to make a suggestion. I mean we're here in a section of the forums precisely for making suggestions. If something's too time-consuming, Krin can decide to not do it or postpone it until later if he does like the idea. Ultimately, this section is here to try to get players to come up with ideas that can improve the site and it might as well be used as such. Please don't feel discouraged.

For some reason, this thread has become incessantly dramatic. Since it was a simple suggestion and the points have already been made for and against, I am just locking this thread to prevent further back and forth.