My name is Pyra (in case you couldn't tell). A few days ago, my old account (Starflame) was hacked. Now, I don't want to name names or anything, but the perpetrator really opened my eyes. I had been a member of Whyville for just less than a year and I felt really involved and happy to be a part of the community. So here this hacker comes, sending me a Y-mail saying that I could be inducted as a member of the Whyville City Council -- I didn't realize that didn't even exist! I should have known not to give her my password, real name, or e-mail address... I should have known, but I did it anyway. Perhaps the prospect of being a member of a city council group just seemed to good to pass up. Or perhaps I had a momentary lack of good judgment. Whatever the reason, being hacked has changed my mind about a few recent (and not so recent) issues in Whyville.

Since being hacked, I've had to start this new account. No big deal, right? Wrong. I had to replay all of the games that I had once won. I forgot how to play most of them, but it was still relatively fun, relearning it all. When I got to the Dance Studio and Zero Gravity Levels, I found that I couldn't play them because they were closed off or I had to be able to talk. This brings me to my point. The majority of Whyvillians seems very ticked off about how hard the games are and how Akbar is going to take away face parts after a while. I admit I used to be extremely upset about this too. Now I realize that it makes a lot of sense. Personally, I would rather have all of the games open at Whyville and be able to make more clams, than to have a plethora of face parts that I never use. Also, being a newbie again I've realized how hard it is to get stuff at Grandma's. Oldbies are so mean to newbies (even oldbies that look like newbies) because they don't have face parts or a lot of clams. Think about it: by taking away our old face parts and possibly allowing Grandma to give newbies more face parts, we would be making Whyville a better place for everyone.

In conclusion, I agree with Akbar's new plan to unclog the city of unnecessary parts. I also urge you to look at the plan in a new light. Would you rather hoard a bunch of useless face parts, or help some newbies to Whyville experience all that there is to experience? With that said, I leave you. I hope what I've said today has been as much an eye-opener for you as it has been for me.

P.S. Don't give out your personal information to anyone. Let my dumb mistake be an example for you! :)

Editor's Note: As you probably read in my editorial last week, face parts are going to be handled in a slightly different way. Read superid's article to learn more!