Nafaria's Lessons #1-The History of Scamming and Hacking

I'm sure we've all had enough.

But "we" doesn't refer to all of Jamaa, does it? No.

"We" refers to the people who are sick of drama.

Of course, there's various types of drama around Jamaa.

There's the love drama and friend drama, for example.

Then there's item drama, the biggest type of drama and the fastest at spreading. 

You can't go a day without seeing this type of drama. I've seen it. You've seen it. We all know what it's like.

Terrible stuff, indeed. There's the good side to this drama, but there's a bad side. A huge bad side.

And we all know what that bad side is.

The bad side is called "scamming and hacking". Whoever gave birth to this side must have some very horrifying history and genes. o.o

Anyway, I'm pretty sure we've all felt the feeling someone gets when they get scammed or hacked. A mix of sadness and anger can make an ugly mood, can't it? 

But why did this have to happen? When did scamming start? Why are people so-gulp-rarethirsty?

Let's travel back in time.

Let's travel back into the time when AJ first started.

Ahh. Those days.

Heh, most of us don't even know what it was like.

Luckily, we have information on what the view of Beta players was like from past ones, such as pizzadrop, supermonkeys, snowyclaw, and Meloetta385. 

The first weeks of Beta period were spent playing games, telling stories, and making buddies. Just how it should be today. 

Unfortunately, there was no type-chat, Journey Book, oceans, JAGs, or any of the colors on our animals we use today. There was a lot of unavailable features. And, there was no Membership. 

There also was no trade system.

That was invented in later Beta. Early Betas were taken out of stores for whatever reason. People went crazy for these items. Too crazy.

Too crazy enough that people became thirsty for rares. These people had no heart. They just played Animal Jam to get rares and become famous. They didn't care if their best friend burst into tears and had a broken heart. The first scamming methods were made. 

At that time, nobody really knew what these people were up to, so they were scammed. Over the course of the days and weeks, more and more people thought scamming would give them rares like Wheaten Terriers give licks. They were right-and because so many players are scamming, the whole world of Animal Jam is at stake. 

You might think some scammed Jammers are innocent, and they should be. But some are rarethirsty, and that causes them to be scammed. It's win-win. When you care for rares and fame so much more than friendship and fun, you're more likely to be scammed than anyone else in Jamaa. Because YOU want the item they are "giving away".

Then hacking came in. 

I'm glad that I didn't know what the first hacker did for all this time. That was until I found out everything.

Scamming was bad, alright-but hacking was worse.

The first hacker could have been the most vicious and heart-breaking player Jamaa has ever had. He must have hacked thousands of Jammers. Thankfully, this dude is no longer playing. You can't even search his username. 

But he did something much worse than hack players. He did something so wrongdoing that Animal Jam-and possibly even Smart Bomb Interactive-could fall into smithereens. I mean it. AJ could have been closed-forever. 

Here's the big part. Grab some popcorn. You might be so shocked if you haven't heard of this before.

THE FIRST HACKER HACKED ANIMAL JAM.

Point said.

I'm not kidding. 

lolkingcentury1 did this horrible thing. He's done it. And he was banned for it. His account was erased. The first hacker did something not even Taxe or dens could be able to do.

Think of the time when everyone knew he had hacked AJ. I would have been so freaked out I'd have almost quit. Back in those days, I remember hearing about him, but I never really understood him. But now I'm older and wiser, and I do understand. 

Now compare that time to today's time. Sure, today's time is bad enough-but I personally think that the time of Century was scarier. 

Groups of people who wanted to be as rarethirsty as him followed in his steps. They started little by hacking people. So far, I don't think anyone has gotten farther. I'm sure SBI has more protective locks by now. 

Let's stop right there, alright?

It's time for an imagining moment. 

Imagine that all of the rares and Betas were wiped out of the entire game. Zip. Gone. 

Now imagine you are a rare-item collector and work hard for your rares because you find it fun. You don't scam or hack. You spend time with your buddies. You are a normal Jammer who has a hobby for trading. That's no bad thing. 

But how would you feel if all of the items you worked for were gone? Would you quit?

Think of the other people who a rare-collectors. Do you think they'd quit?

More than 75% of Jammers work for rares. It's a very popular hobby throughout Animal Jam. I believe lots of people would quit if rares vanished. 

If these people quit, they'd stop paying for Memberships and stuff from AJ Outfitters. Why? Because they'd want nothing to do with AJ.

If Memberships weren't paid for, AJHQ wouldn't earn any money to pay their workers. AJHQ is not run by robots. AJ is an online kid game run by humans. Humans need money to feed their families and pay for shelter. 

This is why Animal Jam has to leave you with a sad heart. They don't want anyone to be sad, of course. But it all fits in. Everyone and everything has their place in Jamaa. Even scamming. 

I hope you all take this post into consideration. And I want you to remember that rares aren't something to mad about. They are something to cherish. They bring Animal Jam together. If you believe that rares cause scamming and hacking, they don't. Pixels can't do anything to anyone. Only the scammers and hackers do it, not rares.

:)