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Zam.com Q&AFollow

#177 May 03 2006 at 7:52 PM Rating: Decent
*sigh*
Dunno... I guess we'll see how this turns out... ><;
o_o Is it just me or is Alla's avvie not blinking anymore!? Why Alla?

Edited, Wed May 3 20:54:49 2006 by Nontaruberry
#178 May 03 2006 at 7:55 PM Rating: Decent
The man who started it all!
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Iamadam when they bought us, they bought assets and liabilities and assumed all contracts. One of the contracts we have is our privacy policy which specifically states that we will not sell your information. Thus, they can't violate that policy.
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#179 May 03 2006 at 7:55 PM Rating: Decent
Here is the full story that led to IGE purchasing Allakhazam:

http://wow.azzor.com/445/truth_about_IGE.php
#180 May 03 2006 at 7:57 PM Rating: Good
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I wasn't going to post anything to this. But, I geel that I need to add my 21 cp.

As a player that has close to my 3 score and ten years of life under my belt I feel that his is the end of Alla as we have known it. The family atmosphere of this site is what has held me for close to 5 years. This was the first EQ site that I ever came to, and the only one that I have ever posted to. I will wait and see what happens - but I feel like most of you that IGE will be in controll - and at the first sign of that I will be gone.

For now, I'm turning off the item collector - it can possibly be used to collect more that items on my toon.

I guess this post will probably lose me my sage rating also. It's been a geat 5 years - oh welll
#181 May 03 2006 at 7:59 PM Rating: Decent
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Sarlos, Defender of Justice wrote:
Allakhazam, answer me one question, straight up. If I keep my premium membership, and keep paying you money, will it in any way help support IGE or any other RMT group?

What I mean is this. Will any profits from your division support or prop up the division supporting RMT. Will any penny I give you be, in any way whatsoever, used to support the growing business of companies like IGE. Can you give me a 100% guarantee that my dollar will not support these scum that prey on the players of these games. Can you say to me, without reservation, that I will not be doing anything to support their business.

I will tell you bluntly, if you cannot guarantee me this, my premium membership will be cancelled. The reason I make this site my home is its strong anti-RMT stance, like many other posters. If you have even a slight doubt in your mind about this, let me know, so I can ensure my dollars are not supporting that.


Seconded. (both the question and the claim)

Edited, Wed May 3 21:05:40 2006 by DodoBird
#182 May 03 2006 at 8:00 PM Rating: Good
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For everyone who hates this, our feelings are simple.

Let's compare this to, say...a Dirty Businessman, a small even dirtier weed seller, and a church.

You go to a Church (Allakhazam).
You hate Weed Sellers (Gilsellers).

Suddenly, you learn that your Church... in order to expand its facilities and offer you "better worship", they accept money/aid/etc from "A Dirty Businessman". This Dirty Businessman also owns the Weed Sellers, and also aids them.

Would you not be angry at your Pastor for accepting aid from the very same people who help sell drugs to the community? Same damn thing.

We go to Allakhazam.
We Hate IGE and their BS in FFXI.
Allakhazam, the same person we used to look up to, sells himself out to the same guys who own that BS going on in FFXI, the same guys who own chinese sweatshops.

--Xylia
#183 May 03 2006 at 8:01 PM Rating: Decent
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The value of the purchase is really obvious. Thottbot and Allakhazam are the two largest sites for the largest MMO game in the world. The two have cancelled each other out financially, since anything one would charge for in a premium service was offered by the other for free. Now with both sites, we can expand our premium service to cover all WoW players. Frankly if Thottbot hadn't existed I doubt I would have had to sell Allakhazam. Because Thottbot existed and was giving away their information for free (and losing money like crazy to their former company who didn't care if they made any money off it) we could not make a profit off our wow site even though it was by far our biggest expense. The company that bought both sites was smart enough to realize the potential of combining those two user bases.
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#184 May 03 2006 at 8:03 PM Rating: Good
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Is that link stating that the deal was made back in November true?
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#185 May 03 2006 at 8:03 PM Rating: Good
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Quote:
The value of the purchase is really obvious. Thottbot and Allakhazam are the two largest sites for the largest MMO game in the world. The two have cancelled each other out financially, since anything one would charge for in a premium service was offered by the other for free. Now with both sites, we can expand our premium service to cover all WoW players. Frankly if Thottbot hadn't existed I doubt I would have had to sell Allakhazam. Because Thottbot existed and was giving away their information for free (and losing money like crazy to their former company who didn't care if they made any money off it) we could not make a profit off our wow site even though it was by far our biggest expense. The company that bought both sites was smart enough to realize the potential of combining those two user bases.


Problem: Me, and a lot of other good WoW players avoided Thottbot for one reason: Thottbot supported RMT with ads. Thus, came here, because you hated RMT. Now, with you being owned by the same people who own RMT, you're losing a chunk of the playerbase, who will now search for another RMT-Free website to get their information from.

--Xylia
#186 May 03 2006 at 8:04 PM Rating: Good
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Allakhazam Defender of Justice wrote:
The value of the purchase is really obvious. Thottbot and Allakhazam are the two largest sites for the largest MMO game in the world. The two have cancelled each other out financially, since anything one would charge for in a premium service was offered by the other for free. Now with both sites, we can expand our premium service to cover all WoW players. Frankly if Thottbot hadn't existed I doubt I would have had to sell Allakhazam. Because Thottbot existed and was giving away their information for free (and losing money like crazy to their former company who didn't care if they made any money off it) we could not make a profit off our wow site even though it was by far our biggest expense. The company that bought both sites was smart enough to realize the potential of combining those two user bases.


This does not answer the question that I believe it all comes down to for many people here.

Once again,

Quote:
Allakhazam, answer me one question, straight up. If I keep my premium membership, and keep paying you money, will it in any way help support IGE or any other RMT group?

What I mean is this. Will any profits from your division support or prop up the division supporting RMT. Will any penny I give you be, in any way whatsoever, used to support the growing business of companies like IGE. Can you give me a 100% guarantee that my dollar will not support these scum that prey on the players of these games. Can you say to me, without reservation, that I will not be doing anything to support their business.

I will tell you bluntly, if you cannot guarantee me this, my premium membership will be cancelled. The reason I make this site my home is its strong anti-RMT stance, like many other posters. If you have even a slight doubt in your mind about this, let me know, so I can ensure my dollars are not supporting that.
#187 May 03 2006 at 8:05 PM Rating: Good
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2,313 posts
This may answer a lot of questions I had, like

"Why hasn't there been any updates to the Missions and quests sections, items etc?

"Why was COP left hanging in the wind?

"Whose pockets are the premium funds going to?

"Why did you all pretend to care about bettering the services here when you were negotiating with buyers?

"Why are you saying that you bought the network, after saying you were bought by a network?

"Do you really think the members here are so dumb as to not figure out that your lack of connections to gil selling sights is just to cover your own corporate backs?

It's the pretentiousness that gets to me more than anything else.
#188 May 03 2006 at 8:09 PM Rating: Decent
Don't try to fix something that aint broken. Everybody has their price tho i guess. You are just adding to the games demise imo.
#189 May 03 2006 at 8:10 PM Rating: Good
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Allakhazam Defender of Justice wrote:
Iamadam when they bought us, they bought assets and liabilities and assumed all contracts. One of the contracts we have is our privacy policy which specifically states that we will not sell your information. Thus, they can't violate that policy.


I thank you for your response, however that only answered my question in part.

First, for those who may be looking for it since it took me a while to find, the privacy policy is posted here:

https://everquest.allakhazam.com/privacy.htm

The Privacy Statement wrote:
This is used solely to verify your credit card information and none of that information will be be sold or distributed to any third party, unless ordered by a valid court of law.


But what would be considered a 'third party' now? Since you're owned under the same umbrella as IGE wouldn't they no longer be considered that? Also, if this company merged all of their sites together (alllakhazam + thottbot + IGE) then there would really be no more 'lines' and my data would go directly to IGE.

So, back to my previous question, can you back out in order to protect your loyal customers? Yes or no will be fine, and a PM is just as good as a post to satisfy me.

EDIT: Bad quote :-(

Edited, Wed May 3 21:11:36 2006 by Iamadam
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#190 May 03 2006 at 8:11 PM Rating: Good
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Nice find MorvenDee, I only breezed throught it but I'll read it in full in a moment. ^^


Okay Alla I see the common sense in combining Thottbot and Allakhazam as you have stated it. (since I've never used Thottbot myself) I guess what I don't understand and you may not be able to answer this, is why? It's a given that the parent company will make money off the premium accounts of both sites but they will make more money if they slap gilseller ad's over every inch of the place. Which you say you won't let happen but when a company has an option to make money and more money well it's obvious.. So why buy companies that cannot advertise off each other?



Edited, Wed May 3 21:18:31 2006 by GryphonStalker
#191 May 03 2006 at 8:16 PM Rating: Decent
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Wondroustremor the Flatulent wrote:

Alla, while I can understand that you are looking at this idealistically, I feel you're being extremely naive. Corporations buy businesses for one reason- to improve their profit margins. If they promise that every site that they're buying will remain autonomous, it's because they know what the potential acquisition wants to hear. It's not because they sincerely respect the line between players and goldsellers.

Let me put it this way: if they were honestly concerned by it, why would they buy IGE when people that own websites like yours tell them how detrimental to MMO gamers goldsellers are? Simple answer: they don't give a flying mousefart how the average player is affected, as long as they profit from it. Thus, they buy a goldselling service, and several MMO websites. The two aren't like Oreos and cigarettes- they're both MMO-related, not food versus controlled drug. And since they're both MMO-related, it's only a matter of time before the corporation decides it will be more profitable to use their websites (not yours any more, right?) to display goldselling ads- premium or not. When (NOT if) that time comes, I hope you still have enough controlling interest, or you're up a creek without a paddle, because if you don't have controlling interest, none of your arguments will matter- because they already own Allakhazam.

Until proven wrong, my Premium renewal remains firmly off. And when I see the first IGE ad, I'm changing my credit card to a new number, so mine isn't harvested.

Trust me, I've seen buyouts before. I'm sure you had the best of intentions, but it's my firm belief you've been duped.


QFT



(EDITED for quote correction)

Edited, Wed May 3 21:22:01 2006 by ACEJester
#192 May 03 2006 at 8:17 PM Rating: Good
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Wow. Lots of negativity in here. I really think that most of it is a lack of common knowledge about corporate structures and holding companies. I assume that Alla retained "control" of his business as a separate corporation. He's as much separated from IGE as he was before, insomuch as both businesses *already* profited as a result of online games. Think about it.

What I find really interesting is the number of posts saying (or threatening depending on how you look at it) that it's the posters and their knowledge, submissions, and guides that make this site work. Um... You're right. And that's not going to change either. Well. Unless you get into a tizzy, pick up your toys, and leave. Then this site will turn into another generic site with substandard information designed to get players hooked and sell them plat/gil/whatever.


Take a second people. Breathe. Breathe some more. Look at the big picture. This site has always been about the people who post and contribute to it. That's *why* it's a success. You make it so. You all have the voice here as well. You post the guides. You post the information. You post in the forums. You ultimately have the control over what those things say. You have the power to decide to condemn playing styles that you don't agree with. And all the corporate connections involved don't change that one bit. You have that power now. And you'll have that power in the future. Alla just puts a nifty format together for *us* to share information within. That's it. The content is ours. It always has. And it always will be.

Please consider that when thinking about this issue. Is it possible that some "evil" corporate contract may result in the corruption of this site? Sure. It's possible. But if all the folks who don't like plat selling leave, then who's going to condemn it? And if they all stop submitting information, where will Alla get it (from the farmers and sellers I'd guess!)? And if they all cancel their premium's where do you think that leaves the site in terms of revenue?

If I know corporate contracts at all, there's usually a profitability clause in there somewhere. As long as Alla's retains a level of profitability, he retains control of this site as its own separate corporate entity. But if he doesn't maintain that level, the parent corporation may be able to legally take control. In other words, all your threats and cancelled subscriptions may very well be the one thing that *will* allow the "bad guys" to win.

How about we not let that happen? We control what's said on this site. We control the message. This change gives us an even larger audience so to speak. When new games come along, where will they go for guides? If this works, here. And who'll be instructing those new players in those new games in the ethical and "correct" approach to online gaming? That'll be us. As long as we stick around and continue to do it. We leave, and it'll be the gilsellers who'll be controlling those new games and new players.



The power is completely in your hands guys. Heh. We've got the power and the edge here. Karma control if nothing else. Let's use that power for good, shall we?
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#193 May 03 2006 at 8:20 PM Rating: Good
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Wow, I am so shocked. I never thought anything like this could actually happen.

I was considering signing up for premium. I have been using this site for over 2 years and decided since I used and liked it so much I should do my bit to help maintain it but it seems you don't need it now.

I want to know, like every other person here, who will the money for the premium accounts go to now? You? Or the company that owns you?
#194 May 03 2006 at 8:22 PM Rating: Decent
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gbaji wrote:
stuff


I don't care about the value of the information on this site. What I care about, is that Allakhazam agreed to this, knowing that the same guys who are now owning Allakhazam own IGE and its low, underhanded, filthy methods. The guy who bought us is the same guy who bought IGE. This guy obviously knows nothing (or cares nothing) about morals. If he did, he would clean it the heck up, but he won't. Why? Becuase of Money.

Allakhazam sold to this guy. Why? Money. And yes, I know, in the corporate world, nobody cares about Ethics and Morals anymore. Gee, I wonder if that's why the bigwigs at Enron wound up in Court? I wonder if that's how Martha Stewart ended up in Jail? Just becuase you are a corporation, or some type of large legal entity does not mean that you cannot have ethics and morals. Its sad to see people throw all of those out the window just because of those little green pieces of paper. *rolls eyes*

--Xylia
#195 May 03 2006 at 8:22 PM Rating: Good
gbaji wrote:
The power is completely in your hands guys. Heh. We've got the power and the edge here. Karma control if nothing else. Let's use that power for good, shall we?
The problem is I find myself unwilling to support an endeavor that would line the pockets of those who are trying to make a quick dollar at gamers' expense. The reason I pay money for this site is I am 100% certain that 100% of it is staying within this site. Now, I expect the parent company sees profit potential by having Allakhazam unders its umbrealla. I have no desire to allow any company whatsoever to profit off me if it also feels that RMT industries are acceptable. This indicates the parent company is disconnected from gamers, and that is not the sort of company I want to support in any way.
#196 May 03 2006 at 8:23 PM Rating: Good
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Allakhazam Defender of Justice wrote:
The ownership issues here are convoluted. This is how deals like this get done. The size of this is pretty amazing. This is just the announcement for our own users, not the actual corporate announcement, which will likely come much later. We are now owned by a company that owns a bunch of stuff, including IGE. They bought both of us (and several other sites as well) and then split us into separate divisions so that there is no interaction between them. You know my stand on gold selling. Before agreeing to anything like this, I wanted to make sure that there would be no interaction between those divisions and that I would have complete control over the new network, including the sites that used to be part of ogaming. So this means that the Ogaming sites and Thottbot have been split off of IGE and into our network and no longer have any connection with them.



How long till there is only "Gil Selling" Ads on allakhazam? ... thats basically the end of the world in a nutshell
#197 May 03 2006 at 8:24 PM Rating: Good
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A whole lot of words there, Gbaji

As I said before, my issue -- and I believe the issue of many here -- is that, at the end of the day, my money will be going into the pockets of someone who runs plat/gold/gil services. Which goes against precisely the reason many people felt good about supporting this site.

I'm sure it happens a billion other times without my knowledge. This is a time I do know about it and can react with my opinions and my dollars however I please.
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#198 May 03 2006 at 8:25 PM Rating: Decent
Not to be a prick, but I personally think that unless you have premium you shouldn't be ******** in the slightest because this does not affect you. Myself and the others though, yeah, f[black][/black]uck.
#199 May 03 2006 at 8:28 PM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
Not to be a prick, but I personally think that unless you have premium you shouldn't be ******** in the slightest because this does not affect you. Myself and the others though, yeah, ****.


WRONG.

Every person who visits this site is lining Allakhazam's (well, probably his buyer's) pockets with money from his Ads at the top of the screen. Right? See those ads at thet op and to the side? Guess what? Those give him MOOLAH. Every unique visitor who loads one of those ads, the people who run the ads, pay him money. Every person who visits this site is supporting Allakhazam and now, the buyer... who also owns IGE. So, in the end, EVERY VISITOR ON THIS SITE IS SUPPORTING IGE.

--Xylia
#200 May 03 2006 at 8:29 PM Rating: Good
Then why are you still here as well as myself?
#201 May 03 2006 at 8:29 PM Rating: Good
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What Xylia said. Not only that, but me as well as other non premium members contribute in ways other than money.

Remember, if money was all that anyone cared about, then there wouldn't be so many complaints about this deal.
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