Hello all! As you may know, Whyville's been having some problems lately. The servers are often timing out, parts are being lost as a result, etc. This is quite frustrating and annoying, so obviously our first reaction is to complain to city workers. However, the answer is always, "Help support Whyville by buying pearls, and we will be able to solve these issues easier."
I realize there are several Whyvillians who still believe pearls are no good and are still wishing WhyPasses were available. However, City Workers keep insisting pearls are a better option for both the website and the citizens that use it. In order to find out exactly what pearls do for the buyers and the sellers, I did some investigating.
First, let's discuss what pearls are. I feel like some citizens don't know exactly what they do because they have special perks, it's not just like you're throwing your money completely in the garbage can. Also, when I was at South Beach asking for interviewees for this article, some people actually were asking what they were and how to buy them. I think that proves my point, a bit.
Pearls are an optional currency offered by Whyville if you pay a fee. In exchange, you are given different privileges than if you didn't buy pearls. These privileges include buying Face Factory Vouchers; buying a Why-Pet, using a celebrity themed skin, wearing animated face parts, and so much more!
There's also another part of pearls I discovered. It's the pearls allowance. Pearls allowance is an option in which you will receive your selected amount of pearls each month and the fee will be automatically added into your paying option. Pearls allowance allows you to hold twice as many satchel parts, twice as many friends in your address book, the ability to wear more face parts, grass seating at the Greek Theater, and so much more!
So now that we know exactly what pearls are, I decided to ask Lopan, a city worker some questions about their benefits and why exactly they were established. After I interviewed Lopan, I also interviewed three Whyvillians with their opinions on pearls.
Cohenlm: Why did Whyville remove WhyPasses and buying clams for pearls?
Lopan: It was for several reasons, but ultimately it was the streamline the system we use to give you guys the opportunity to buy things with real money. The old system wouldn't allow us to sell multiple things like pets, parts, even skins. In so doing, we had to tweak the WhyPass aspect.
Cohenlm: Have pearls given Whyville more money?
Lopan: Nope. It's probably about the same.
Cohenlm: A lot of people I talk to say they don't plan on buying pearls in the future, because face parts now don't expire and that was their main reason for buying them. Do you think this will cause a decline in the buying of pearls?
Lopan: Probably, but the amount of money we got from people buying pearls to renew parts was small to begin with. Buying stuff in Whyville with your real money is really just a way of telling us that you like our site and you want to support us.
Cohenlm: Do you think Whyville will include any new perks soon for pearls/pearls allowance that may interest a lot more of us?
Lopan: I'd like for that to happen, but I don't see anything in the near future planned.
Cohenlm: If you were a citizen playing this site, would you honestly buy pearls? Why?
Lopan: If I liked it enough and felt that because of it my life was vastly improved, of course. Would I buy a lot? Probably not - I'm not rich. Also, clicking our ads helps us WAY more than you think. (More indirect than anything)
Cohenlm: Have you ever bought pearls?
Fantax3: Yes, I have bought pearls before but I don't really need them anymore . . . unless I feel like buying a pet.
LoveEmma: No.
Iluvsuga4: No.
Cohenlm: What are your thoughts on pearls?
Fantax3: My thoughts on pearls are they pretty much replaced WhyPasses but since parts don't expire anymore, I don't really need WhyPasses or pearls . . . unless like I said in the first answer you buy a pet or pet stuff . . . or stuff for pearl allowances.
LoveEmma: I think they have their pros and cons like everything, but they seem pretty cool.
Iluvsuga4: I don't like them because some people *cough cough* can't afford to buy them.
Cohenlm: If you have ever bought pearls, do you plan on buying them again in the future?
Fantax3: I might buy pearls later in the future it depends.
LoveEmma: N/A.
Iluvsuga4: N/A.
Cohenlm: Any more comments?
Fantax3: I like pearls/pearl allowances because they give you more perks on things you are allowed to do.
Iluvsuga4: Not really. I think all I needed to say has been said.
Now that you've read some opinions of fellow citizens and even a City Worker, I would like to share my thoughts. I have used both WhyPasses and pearls. Basically they are the exact same thing, although pearls have more perks and are an actual currency. I can agree that it was nice to have WhyPasses because they weren't too expensive and you could buy animated parts with clams you already had. However, I like the new option of skins and celebrity parts; as well as Why-Pets with the pearls option. Although pearls were great for renewing parts when that was needed, they're also great to buy parts from Akbar's if you're someone who has trouble making clams.
In conclusion, I would assume Whyville's pretty half and half when it comes to the approval of pearls. If you're someone who doesn't like pearls, but would like Whyville to continue for years to come, I urge you to research them a little more. I do understand times are hard and not all of us are able to afford them, but even just educating yourself on them and convincing others to look up all the pros and cons may help Whyville become a better place for all. I hope this article has hopefully informed you a bit more than you already knew. Thanks for reading!
-Cohenlm
Author's Note: If you would like to find out all the perks of pearls and are interested in buying them, use your destination bar and at the top there is a *Buy Pearls! Button.
