Changes related to groups, friends, and direct messaging
Here at JetPunk, we've always considered ourselves to be a trivia website, and have explicitly tried to avoid becoming a social media site like Facebook or Reddit.
That said, some features like groups, friends, and direct messages could give the impression that we are a social media site. It's possible that these features could be used for bullying or other unwanted behavior and that is not something we have the bandwidth to police.
Unfortunately, this means that it is no longer tenable to maintain these features. Over the next couple weeks we will be rolling out the following changes:
1) Groups will no longer be supported.
2) Direct messages will no longer be supported (this was already a Premium only feature)
3) The friends feature will be changed to "share scores" or something similar. This is really the same as now, but we want to reiterate that sharing scores is just that, sharing scores, and not a social connection.
Since friends currently also involves being notified of new content, this will be converted automatically into a subscription.
I know that this may disappoint some users, but this is something that is necessary for the long term survival of the site.
And, in case you're wondering, this is not in response to any incident. This is us proactively taking steps to protect JetPunk.
-Dan
Before messages, groups at least somewhat allowed this. Isn't there a way to keep the messaging feature while removing the other stuff? It feels less social-media-y, especially since it's only for premium users.
Again JetPunk is social media and the government is gunning to kill JetPunk so we gotta do what we gotta do
On the other hand direct messaging, in my experience, is less commonly used for spamming. Moreover, because it's only for premium users, it is likely to be used for more serious purposes.
I'm worried that stuff which seems innocuous could lead to a social relationship.
And there's nothing wrong with that either. Except that its on the internet so one person could be like 40 and the other 16. It's not something I would want to have to explain.
We survived for a long time without these features.
In the long run, good changes are for the better!
Here’s the thing. Predators are real. We may think that ‘this won’t happen to us’ but it can, and from trusted people who seem innocuous.
These are responsible pro-active steps.
Will this have any effect on the message board?
So, in your case, they will not.
The sad reality which many users seem to not understand is, if a country decides JetPunk is social media and bans all minors, since JetPunk can't afford to pay a third party for age verification, that country would need to be blocked. If this country is big enough (e.g. the US, or even EU) then JetPunk would probably die overnight.
So, to those reading and thinking this is "1984" or some other meme, consider that this is a small change overall that aims to ensure JetPunk's survival long term, not just until some government decides otherwise.
If the US blocks us, its game over.
I completely support this move, if it can secure the stability of my favourite website. The DMs were helping quite a bit to manage the French section in a smoother way, but we have done without for years, so everything should be fine.
Thanks for letting us know in advance and with the rationale behind.
I have to use collabs to make my quizzes since the ctrl shift v thing don't work on my primary browser where my primary account is
Also how does the friends feature make JP like 'social media'?
I predict a 0.1% reduction in traffic at most and a 0% decrease in revenue.
Also, I feel like the social features have been the things attracting younger users (like me?) to this site.
for one, jetpunk to me, and many i assume, is social media. friends and comments are an essential part.
i don't think jetpunk's footprint is large enough to attract the attention of any government, and certainly not as a social media site.
We are not a social media site and do not wish to be one.
Now, wonder what will happen to the other site. There seems to be a ton of social media features there
The other site...
“The website has a large array of interactive functionality for inter-user networking, such as being able to leave comments on a certain quiz, rating quizzes, making and "liking" blog posts, and replying to other users, similar to features that would be found on a traditional social media site. The site also allows users to "friend" each other to easily compare scores on quizzes.”
Social Media platforms have been changing since their inception and not always for the good. Look how Facebook has changed over the years. The problem is, as Dan has said, companies like Meta have enough revenue to implement solutions to changing regulation.
Now, I've been on JetPunk for over 10 years and I remember when I first joined that there were very few ways to communicate, we managed back then, and I think with a little time, you'll all manage to survive without missing out too much.
If you want social media, go to Orcspel, Facebook, Reddit or others.
Thanks for making this happen QM, I know that it's probably for the best for this site!
Onward and upward with JetPunk and its terrific quizzes.
However, I don't understand why the most social media-like feature, the message board, is not impacted? It's very comparable to a subreddit, which is obviously a social media, yet it survives? In contrast, a feature like direct messaging, which is not social media, is removed.
Additionally, blogs (which are social media) will survive, commenting (social media again) also survives, and groups (which you can make a good argument for not being social media) will go.
Although I disagree with these changes, I understand why they were done. However, I don't really understand how removing groups and messaging makes JP look less like a social media, when there is a Reddit-esque feature on the site. If governments cared enough to target JP, they would still consider it a social media, even with groups and DMs removed.
We might reduce it further if necessary.
But any government action will result in an IP block for the affected area unless it's US traffic which we need to keep the site going.
But I do need to correct you about one thing: the message board is for discussing JetPunk. It is not social media.
Another Question: Next time can you let us know 3-5 years ahead of time?
Oh well. The Quizmaster giveth and the Quizmaster taketh away - The Book of Jeppy 5:8
I could be wrong, but the change seems sudden and not-too-well-thought-of before you made the changes.
QM has never seemed like a forgetful guy to me (I mean... if you were Qm, would you forget about features that you made yourself?)
Woah what did my English teacher do to me... I'm using quotes on JetPunk now?!?
Edit: just kidding.
Also, interesting facts are the DNA of JetPunk.. so it’s not social media, kind of.. just sayin’…
Just a humble request..
Overall this seems a bit overkill to be honest, though I get where you're coming from.