sensipetsconfessions

[sensipetsconfessions]

The End

We give our greatest apologies to those of you who have sent us asks over the past 3 months. Tumblr has not been updating our askbox and so this morning we received well over 12, the majority of them addressing an extreme important matter. 

Many provided us their Sensipets usernames in order to have issues solved and we will refrain from posting these asks as we don’t wish for anyone to be targeted, so the main issue will be addressed here. A reminder that we do not work for Sensipets. We are simply a blog that for the once-again brief life of Sensipets provided information concerning its history.

Uncancelled Subscriptions & Lack of Communication

A long-standing problem of the most recent rendition of Sensipets.com has been the lack of a subscription management setting. Users are unable to change or remove their subscriptions to Sensipets without getting in touch with one of the two owners, Austin Howe and Addison Cole. 

According to the asks we received, support emails have gone unanswered over the course of months, with many hearing nothing from either owner for over 6 months on the website, the discord or social media.

A few are finding themselves still subscribed to Sensipets’ premium services, while activity data shows the site has been abandoned since November of 2021. If you’ve been following our posts, this timeframe is almost accurate to the month of past lifetimes for Sensipets. The site generally thrives for roughly a year and a half before being abandoned or removed entirely. We hoped this time would be different, but unfortunately it seems what we’ve been seeing over the years has become a reality.

The lack of communication from the owners of the website across all forms of contact is abysmal, unprofessional, and lingering on the edge of legal matters. Above all else, Sensipets is a business endeavor under Reed Stories in California, the overall umbrella company ran by Austin Howe, known as Howey on Sensipets.

Anyone familiar with subscription services in California will be aware that it is illegal to prevent users the ability to cancel a recurring subscription purchase online, just as it is illegal to force a user to call to cancel a subscription. This is especially important when the terms of service upon sign-up do not make it clear the terms of subscription.

For those of you unable to cancel through Sensipets.com: Please get in contact with your payment method, such as Paypal, Stripe or your bank, to ensure your subscription is cancelled. 

We’re disappointed to see the site abandoned on such a negative note, but we hope this helps those who are still unable to get in contact with Austin and Addison in order to have their subscriptions cancelled. It is advised that you refrain from partaking in any financial donation or purchase until the owners provide an adequate update regarding the state of the website and its current usage of site funds.

With its inactivity, we are closing our posts at this time until the fate of Sensipets is declared officially. Please feel free to continue submitting asks with questions or concerns, and we apologize in advance if they once again go unnoticed for a time due to our ask alerts not popping up.

[sensipetsconfessions]

A Leap Beneath

Some things are just fascinating. Even if they're completely fiction, you'll find no end of people creating in depth analysis of short Youtube films, stories and even non-fiction content to think over.

I think for us, it's Sensipets. Over the year of watching the site grow, many small cuts have been made in the fabric, and over the days, they keep getting larger and larger, bringing about more questions than answers. We want to know how things got this way, and why they're currently still going this way. Every pet site has its share of drama and history, but Sensipets is unique in that it is very hush hush of its history, despite its history being on public display both by past and current staff members alike.

Today I'd like to go through a few of those cuts that are slowly getting bigger, and if there are any other staff who aren't already talking to us willing to come forward and help us understand what could be the source of each cut, we greatly encourage it!

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Time Flies When You're... ??

While it makes sense to start at the beginning in 2004 as we did in our history post, many cuts seemed to begin in 2011. As far as we can tell, Sensipets' revival in 2011 started as quickly as it ended, with a final news post from Howey on October 6th, 2011 at 10:38 PM:

"It is with deep sadness that I announce that this will be the last news post of Sensipets.

After long discussions and self reflection, I no longer see myself as being a pet site owner. Because of this revelation I am going to be shutting down Sensipets on 10/14/2011 so that I can pursue endeavors that align more with my future goals."

It's no shock that sometimes our interests wane and we want to move onto better things, but by today, it's clear to see that Howey still wanted to be a pet site owner to some degree given Sensipets exists. This post was clearly made back when many things were different in a variety of ways, but it also gives us our first cut.

October 14th, 2011.

On April 13th of this year, 2021, at 10:12 PM, Howey made a lovely starter post detailing its new users (and in some cases, old users) about the history of Sensipets. During this time, in every instance, he states 2014. After engaging with a few members from back then, they expressed confusion as well. The site as they remembered it ended in 2011. Be it staff or user, everyone that spoke with us stated 2011. In a case of far more valuable evidence, the Wayback Machine only has content for the site in 2011.

We noticed in some cases that folks were confused between whether or not the site existed as .com or .net or if the two fed into one another. It’s interesting to note that Sensipets.com’s domain was registered in 2010. While this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, it seems odd that someone so passionate about the history of Sensipets, especially as the creator, would forget a few years difference, especially as the site didn't last a full year between 2010 to 2011.

If this were the only difference, it'd be insignificant, but a few other words in this post raised questions as well.

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Between The Lines

It's no shock that children who began creating their own version of Neopets back in 2004 were very new to the tasks that lay ahead of them. Art, coding, customer service and team management, naming only a few. For Howey, this is where his story of programming began, or so we believe, if we believe at all.

While visiting the Wayback Machine, a few news posts from the 2004 version, including its ending posts from RedRover and Telefragged made something very clear: RedRover was the only programmer on site. As we mentioned in the history post, there's a rocky relationship here between these two, Howey and another user named Gmone. It's highly possible Howey was simply learning under RedRover, but the weird stage of events that brought the site down make us wonder.

These days, anyone can see anyone's history of work and generally life depending on where you go. Two users in particular who spoke with us were interested in working for the current Sensipets, but didn't want to seem rude by implying they were better at programming than Howey. They looked at his websites to get an idea of his work history to see where they could possibly fill in.

It didn't take them long to realize they couldn't, as Howey's resume seemed to cover many major points of the programming industry, but then it raised far more concerning questions. Many of the bugs and implementation of the code in the current Sensipets are more in line with someone who has perhaps dabbled in code for around 1 to 1/2 years in experience, depending on how and where they're taught. It was extremely strange to them that someone with healthy work experience in programming was making amateur mistakes, especially on a site in its second revival since 2004. They made mention of investigating the coding Howey has developed for the site, identifying a slew of incorrectly executed Javascript and coding implementations that are commonly associated with new programmers.

They believe the culprit is the profession. Software Engineers are not often recommended to learn front-end development languages such as HTML, CSS & Javascript. It's entirely likely that he is an amateur to front-end, but we can't help but doubt it. Many people who were inspired by Neopets often learned HTML and CSS through creating customized pet pages, and it only makes sense to develop knowledge and application of Javascript to supplement when making the decision to create a completely new pet site. The lack of front-end development knowledge would explain the clarity from 2004 with RedRover being the only programmer for the website. It makes us curious why no other programmers have been hired onto Sensipets to fill in where Howey’s knowledge lacks.

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Re-Inventing The Wheel

While the answer isn't clear, the resume did clear up the interest in providing a pet site meant to aim towards educational values, as Howey seems to have worked for two educational centered companies: Udemy and Kiddom. Kiddom was Howey's final job in July before dedicating himself fully to Sensipets. It should also be noted at this time that this lack of programming skill seems to press on into mobile territory, as the mobile version seems to have more bugs than features at this present time.

As mentioned in our original post, Howey wanted to incorporate educational elements into Sensipets, following up on his company's motto, "Re-inventing education through storytelling". As of right now, there are no educational elements on site. There are small indicators beginning to appear, however, such as the garden containing scientific names for pets and fruits.

We dug around on Virtual Pet List, where mention of Sensipets prior to its 2021 release had been announced in small pieces, here and there. One particular post on December 2020 hinted at exactly how the educational element was meant to work.

"While we will have mini-games, we want to incorporate things like education and healthy habits as ways to earn coins/advance your pets. So say you go for a 1mile run, your pet would gain stamina. If you take a course on KhanAcademy, you'd earn 2k coins."

This is an interesting take for a pet site. We are all familiar with how Neopets and Gaia Online invested in collaborations with various companies and events, providing rewards for watching ads or visiting other websites. While that familiarity is shown here, a common issue, especially for games not on mobile, is the ability to bypass the necessary requirements resulting in instant rewards for having to do nothing. We're very curious on how the implementation of running in order to gain pet stamina would function. Usually, this involves a mobile device and an app that would log via GPS the data that's required.

In fact, the concept of this type of implementation makes us wonder why Sensipets was not developed as a mobile app. In 2021, the mobile world is no stranger to pet-care based games, and to feature external links to promoted content in return for rewards is a common tactic of mobile companies today. For Sensipets, it would likely benefit from investing in the mobile app world, giving it far more exposure than currently. Overall, it's an oddity and we hope there is more clarification in the future to determine whether or not this idea still holds up.

There were other ideas introduced, such as the concept of removing battling entirely and replacing it with the ability to do tasks in the game world.

"Speaking of stamina, for your pets we're looking at removing battling as it comes off weird to pamper your pets, then strap them up for war, and fight to their death. So instead looking at individual mechanics for each species with unique stats. Example: a rat pet would be able to answer requests to help clean a store. Depending on its strength + sight or dexterity would be able to clean faster and when it was done you'd receive coins."

It's a long way of saying "Quests", but we'll give it a pass as he clearly was trying to explain the mechanics for those who may not be familiar with the idea in pet sites.

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Speaking of Virtual Pet List, it's interesting to know that despite creating Sensipets in 2004 and 2011, there seems to be no advertisements, content, announcements, information or discussion on popular forums like VPL for the 2011 version specifically.

In fact, the accounts Howey owns on various pet site lists seem to be as new as late 2020, with little posting outside of the advertising.

This post is already much longer than we had original anticipated, but the history of Sensipets and Howey's background leading to its creation and re-creations is fascinating. We're sure it's almost worthy of being a mystery for the Nexpo Youtube channel!

Until next time!

[sensipetsconfessions]

[sensipetsconfessions]

The fact that u can't cancel a subscription without directly contacting a staff member is pretty yikes. Their most recent news post said they were moving? How u gonna be cancelling subs if u moving? Just code a damn cancel button?????? Big sus. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We've spoken in regards to this as it has been noticed. We're thinking it could be due to them not having fully fleshed out their subscription options (a worry in itself). Currently, upon cancelling a subscription, you retain all of the subscription benefits, minus the inventory. There's been no indication any of your pets disappear or your gardening plants. This is clearly unintended, but with such a generous amount of benefits the subscription gives, it shows they were not prepared for the removal of these features or the community's response to them.

It is troubling that Howey hasn't designed some sort of cancellation method, especially given his programming history, but like many other things regarding the site, it's just another question in the long list to be answered. With the uncertain timeline moving forward regarding a move and gain of a job, it may wind up being a question that is never answered.

[sensipetsconfessions]

I joined cuz a friend said the art was cute but I dont c the appeal. I mean yah the art is cute but nuthin matches. And nuthin seems 2 work rite. It so gd slow an laggy. I guess thats cuz its alpha or whatev? Idk seems to rough rite now 2 have ppl on it. Its so basic. dnt they have a UI designer?

We definitely agree in regards to the art style. If these were posted as individual Twitter posts, we could see the appeal in the few seconds it passed our feeds, but it's not something with longevity that would keep someone attached.

We don't spend a lot of time on the site, but we've run into encounters where the site has stalled, loaded for ages, or simply been refused from our browsers as a security threat (something you don't want to have on a site, for sure!). They say they've been in alpha for a year, but the site just seems to lack so many features that it seems more like a development domain than an actual public release.

Only one of us frequents the Discord, and according to them, they had a UI designer who left the project not even a month in. Howey did not explain why beyond what you can sum up as the usual "creative differences" spiel.

There are a lot of questions surrounding the site more than there are answers, and unfortunately, Howey has avoided being transparent in regards to it. We do speak to some of the staff members and ensure their identities are not revealed so as not to risk their jobs (we do have confirmation that they are getting paid now!), and they've stated they are often left in the dark about anything outside of their own contributions on the website. Many of them claim they don't know who the other staff members are, or have never seen them speak in either the Discord or on the website.

It's... disturbing to say the least.

[sensipetsconfessions]

I'm worried they're kicking off too quickly without a solid foundation. I DO like the site, and I'm looking forward to where it goes, but there's only like 2 programmers and 2 artists behind it all. They've got a lot of building up to do. I WILL say they're super responsive about bugs though. If you report a bug Howey will try to find a solution on the spot.

I agree! From what I understand, Howey is the only programmer on the site. Unfortunately, I don't believe we'll be getting many updates for quite some time.

Howey left his job for Sensipets in July 2021, coincidentally the exact same time we began receiving more updates and features (when compared to the last few months of updates via the News portion of the website). That seems to be ending this month, as according to staff, he'll be returning to work.

The only solution here seems to be hiring more staff and if he is paying his current staff, that can create potential funding problems in the future.

The current outlook seems to be bleak and the history doesn't bode well either. I don't believe we'll be seeing much of the site in the future, which is a shame given it's 2011 incarnation seemed to be filled to the brim with content and features.

We can only hope for the best!

[sensipetsconfessions]

This runs just like any of our Confessions blogs! Should any users have a problem with how things are going on Sensipets.com, they can safely post here with no threat of being known or harassed.

No one has submitted yet as the site in its newest version is barely 9 months old and the userbase seems to be extremely tiny, but while there is nothing dramatic is currently ongoing, its history has a different story.

Let's take a brief (or not so brief!) look into the history that is Sensipets.

2004 - Sensipets opens, created by Howey and Gmone. This first rendition lasts at least for 3 years until August 2006, before being shut down by two staff members named RedRover and Telefragged. According to Howey, he stepped down due to school being a burden, passing the torch to these two. While he claims there is no reason for them to think ill of him, the last messages from RedRover and Telefragged tell a different story, claiming that the site was finally closed for a variety of reasons, one of them being that Howey and Gmone themselves sabotaged the site and required RedRover to completely recode it from scratch. This was logged both in their final message, as well as the Sensipets FAQ left behind by RedRover. Perhaps the drama has already begun starting here. 

According to Howey this was a miscommunication, stating that the database likely failed and destroyed the site. While plausible, this begs the question of why RedRover and Telefragged immediately jumped to the conclusion that they were sabotaged by the original owners. Had Howey and Gmone left with no bad blood, it is remarkably odd that the two later owners would suddenly proclaim that this is what happened and was not simply an accident or failure of a database.

These pages can still be found on the Wayback Machine.

2011 - Sensipets starts anew with a fresh coat of paint by Howey. This rendition seems to go uneventful, but the Wayback Machine only catalogues the last few days, where a final news post states that the site is being shut down as Howey no longer finds himself being a pet site owner, wanting to pursue other goals.

2021 - Sensipets returns! The closed alpha was announced in January and became an open alpha only a month later. While this isn't uncommon, some users from the early alpha period have expressed being discontent with the speed of the site's progress, feeling as though not enough work had been invested in the site before opening, even in its alpha stage. There have been comments located on their social media regarding distaste towards the new pet designs and from a personal viewpoint, we feel that while the art is good, the pets themselves don't lend themselves to establishing a unique style and feel for the website.

Two users who managed to play on the 2011 version stated that more content and activity was present on that version in the same time the 2021 alpha has existed. Members confirm it has remained relatively the same for most of the year, featuring a very simple layout and images that give a little personality to the website, but not enough to create major interest.

Unlike other pet sites, it does come with a mobile option, but whether or not users find it playable is unknown. It features a rather bulky navigation set up similar to Neopets and when testing it ourselves, we found the experience revolting at best. The largest issue seems to be the navigation options which are completely different and unorganized in comparison to its desktop counterpart. This may be a work in progress, but given the current speed of the site's progress, its polished state may be long in the future.

As far as we know, Howey is the only programmer on site, contributing to the slow progression of both. It is unknown if there is intention to hire more staff or if the current staff is being paid.

Browsing the forums, it is pretty clear the site has a very slow start. There is a tremendous lack of content and a very tiny active userbase that comment more in the bug section of the forums than the other 9 boards with a whopping 126 topics.

A strange set of 'features' of the website is the ability to buy from a cash shop. While this is not uncommon for pet sites today, this is a rocky stance for a website announcing itself as in alpha. Many gamers of all kinds of genres have expressed a universal opinion that if a game is in alpha, it should not contain a cash shop or subscription. Sensipets offers both.

There is a chance that this is their way of obtaining income for the site's progression instead of a Kickstarter. Pet site Kickstarters have had a rough history with their ability to promise and then deliver poorly. Whether or not this was a smart decision on Sensipets' part has yet to be seen.

From the features the subscription provides, we can't help but imagine it's going to attract negative attention. Users who subscribe are able to  own double the amount of pets, inventory space, and a set of 'pots' available for a gardening game on site.

This is a very generous portion of features to offer to subscribers, but there is no indication of what happens to those pets, pots and inventory space if the user stops subscribing for any reason. According to their ToS, users are not allowed to have multiple accounts. In contrast, Neopets allows one extra pet, and should a user unsubscribe, they are allowed to move it to another account.

It is unknown if subscribers are allowed to access items from the cash shop free of charge, but if Sensipets is going in the direction of mobile games, it is likely that even subscribers will be forced to pay more to enjoy more.

We're not sure what audience the site is looking to attract, but it will likely be a mix of minors and older adults looking to recapture the nostalgia of early Neopets. The homepage advertises "game play with elements of education and real-life progress", but we have no clue what this means. If it is aimed at a younger audience, the presence of a cash shop and subscription option may not make the site appealing to parents. Given the near silence of Neopets' Premium boards, it is likely it will not be appealing to older players either.

For now, time will tell whether or not Sensipets becomes a part of the sudden influx of new pet sites in a post-pandemic world and even more time will tell whether or not it can hold its own against similar sites such as Lorwolf, Flight Rising, Subeta, Dappervolk and Marapets.

Until then, stay tuned!