Communty Reminder - Holiday Season 2023

[BlackOak2]

It's been a good six months since I wrote a reminder. I wanted to write one for Halloween, which I've done in the past, but real life had me fatigued this year (among other things) and I just couldn't talk myself into it. Kept losing to myself.

But you do also know that you're not in a good way when you keep losing arguments you have with yourself.

Anyway, not that much has changed, but HWO is worth keeping the good fight going. So I'm going to do just that.

With larissar returning to HWO to work on it Full Time! (Woo!!) We've seen a slew of returnees coming back to check it out. Plus, with the most recent news, we're within days (potentially) of having our new servers online and a new testing server operational as well! With this Community Reminder released, it may already have been done!
Should you take a look around the site, you'll see a number of little things have been fixed or updated. They're not very player-forward, but overall, if you have sharp eyes, you'll be able to pick up on some of them.

There's also some word that players on HWO will be invited over into the Testing Server to test things out before releases of new content. Will you be asked to join in? Eh-heh! Maybe!!

Personally, I suspect that anybody linked into Patreon will certainly be invited, as for the rest of us... I suspect it'll be related directly to player time online as well as previous histories at testing and finding buggies in (especially new) content that may've otherwise been overlooked. A few players highlight in my mind. But I'm not telling.

Now to get onto it!


Included In This Release:
Revisiting: What Is Hijacking?
Revisiting: Shorthand & Correct Spelling
Revisiting: The Differences Between Begging & Asking For Help

Interesting New Developments on HWO
Revisiting: How To: An Aid To Selling Horses
Revisiting: How To: Making Money
Some Things To Consider Before Starting Training Services


Revisiting: What Is Hijacking?

Alright. Some people don't much care for the word 'hijack' when discussing topics in the forums. The reason we use such a word, is because it defines a very specific type of action when involved with the forums.

Hijacking a topic is when a person [that is not the author of the topic] posts something entirely unrelated to the topic OR when a person [again, not the author] uses a topic for the services rendered for themselves (i.e. the author is selling a horse and another person posts their own horse for sale in the same topic).

I've seen this practice start to tick back up this year.

Remember, use your own Farm Log for miscellaneous stuffs. If you want to get in contact with another player, you can use Private Messaging (if you're both upgraded), or use a new topic in the General Chat (or sales or breeding, depending on the subject).
Most players also allow the use of their personal Farm Logs to directly contact them.

But, keep in mind, if a player DOES NOT have a topic offering the service, it is Not Okay to contact them directly asking for a service from them. So, if a player does not offer public training, don't ask them to train a horse for you.

This practice is considered Not Okay and could lead to a temporary or even permanent locking of the account to post at all (if or when this happens, you will also be locked out from writing owner notes, typing in the names of your horses, altering your Farm page and altering your Pastures and Barns).

The original Topic Author has every right to ask you to stop and kick you out of their topic (verbally). Plus, if you do this too often, to too many people or to any one person constantly, you could lose access to any of their services permanently.

So, don't hijack; if you did, apologize and finally, if the Topic Author tells you to cut it out, then follow through with stopping.


Revisiting: Shorthand & Correct Spelling

Okay, I'm referring specifically to a recent post.
Grammar - No Offense Meant!
I've seen this start to creep up this year as well. So I'll be quick about this. If you're talking directly to somebody, use all the shorthand you're used to with that person. However, if you're talking to the community at large, or another player that takes the time to type everything out (hint-hint, I'm one of these ), then follow through with the respect and keep shorthand to a minimum.

And try to do your best at spelling things correctly, while you're at it.

We all know that spelling is painful. And some words: psycologist, pschologist? phsycologist...??? -->psychologist<-- Are just really difficult to remember what goes where and how. We understand this. However, if it's a word we all use regularly and often around here, try to figure out which one you want. Even if English isn't your first language, the translator usually gets it right, so try using that as a guide, if nothing else.

Here's a few ones that are regularly misused or misspelled.
Sell -->I have a horse to sell.
Sale -->This horse is for sale.
Private -->My stallion is a private stud.
Small -->A horse under 12 hands is so small.
Boy -->A male gender of a human, but is often used as slang for a male gender of many animals.

If you think another should be added, reply to the topic and I'll add it to the list.

Oh, and as a last note, keep repeats to three or less in the forums and the chats! This is considered spamming. I'm including this as a footnote, rather than a revisit, because it isn't out-of-hand, barely a notice, but is starting to return.
These things include, but are not limited to:
<---four smiley's, keep it to three of the same maximum.
!!!!!?????? <--- How many punctuation points are necessary? Just one. Additional can show more force, but you needn't have more than three.
Horse For Sale Horse For Sale Horse For Sale Horse For Sale <---This is also spamming.


Revisiting: The Differences Between Begging & Asking For Help

So, this is a difficult topic sometimes to get the head around. But by remembering some basic rules of thumb, you'll find yourself on the very generous side of our community and well on your way to be another inclusion member of that generous crowd.

If you want to read the full-in-depth article about all the ins and outs, take a look at Community Reminder - How To, On Donations.
This will just be a short refresher.

First and foremost, Never call anybody out by name asking for freebies or discounts, with just one exception. Should they have a topic offering freebies or discounts under certain conditions, you will need to use their topic and their topic only.

Second, you're asking help from the community at large, so be sure to fully type up what you're in need of. Simply writing 'Help' in the topic heading and having 'horse' in the paragraph just doesn't work. Use your words, full sentences and include any questions you have.

Third, any request that simply demands, rather than asking, will be summarily ignored by the greater part of the generous community and may even receive a chastisement reminding that asking is appropriate and demanding is not appropriate.

Finally, repeating your request over and over again in fairly short order (multiple times a month, or the same thing on a regular basis) may result in less and less help being offered. This primarily regards asking for money contributions, but it can extend to free and discount training, grinders and even the sale of horses.

The community is expecting you to be able to balance your budget and not wholly depend on the community to support your account. Plus, you're also expected to gather PT's on your own, or hoard enough money to pay another player for the PT's you're looking for.

So, if you need help or assistance, the community tries to fulfill whatever anybody needs (even if it is a gift of PT). Ask, if you need the help. But at the same time, the community understands and delineates between a Need and a Want. There may be times that wants are satisfied, but there is much greater execution of needs on a regular basis.


Interesting New Developments on HWO
These aren't new, by any means, but they deserve to be refreshed every once in awhile.

Revisiting: How To: An Aid To Selling Horses

Troubling when a horse is up for sale for super cheap and nobody takes it. Why won't the horse sell?? What am I doing wrong? Is there really no interest in it?

We all face this from time to time. It's very simple, there are a lot of horses around here and unless they're looking for something that's really specific and you're selling, they're likely to overlook your horses.

So, here's a few pointers to remember.

First, all horses benefit from having the sales ad and also a forum topic that highlights your sales. Double posting like this enables more overview from potential buyers and your horses won't get so buried so quickly.

Second, post your horse with information that's pertinent. If your horse comes from a successfully competitive line, make special note of that in the descriptions. If your horse is more of a project horse, but meets Grinder status, say that as well. The more the horse is capable of fulfilling, the better chance it has of selling (recipe horses are valuable too!).

Third, training always increases the value of horses, so if you have the time, you like to train and you have or have access to a freeze or board account, then train them up and post them on the board account.

Finally, sometimes it takes time to sell. Horses may be a hot ticket one day, selling for a million or more, then the very next, they might not sell at all for a lousy $1. You need to be careful and consider what the best price is for your horse. Less asking price means the horse could sell quicker, but you could also be short-changing yourself. Take some time to consider selling price and give a time-limit on when to repost for a lower price.

For a more in-depth look at this, try visiting the original Community Reminder - January 2022 and under the heading: Interesting New Developments on HWO - Should I Sell My Foal/Horse? and also Community Reminder - Holiday 2021 and under the heading: The Search For Market Horses.

Actually, there is a lot of good material outside of the specific headings I mentioned.

Also, a guide I have posted, that can be a bit of help: Creating Sale & Stud Ads Help

There are far more than just these, I specifically left out any guide that gives actual prices and that's mainly because prices fluctuate so much, it's hard to offer what the market will bear at any given time and to any given player. Player budgets are vastly different and most of us (particularly the senior players) will fit the horse's sale price within the budget of the buyer, as long as some requirements are met (these requirements are often unsaid and will vary with buyer and seller alike).


Revisiting: How To: Making Money

We all face this when we first start out, whether it's a brand new player or just a new account you want to get off the ground. If you're opening a secondary account, just sending some starting money over, usually fulfills the basic needs of getting it going. Although that doesn't really satisfy keeping the accounts operating separately, the generous community will often send bulk start-up monies to just about anybody that asks. So, it's fair enough, isn't it?

But how does one really make enough to Earn A Living around here on HWO?
There are a lot of guides that define different ways. Check them out in my quicklinks and just scroll down to the heading about money, it'll be under the 'About The Game' section.

This, is simply a revisit to refresh all of our memories about some of the hardships that come when first signing up and about returning.

Making money isn't too hard around here, although when first starting out, there are Player Skills that aren't cheap, they're not expensive by any means, but 20k goes really fast when skills are learned and then there's also barns or pastures to purchase, and then there's the horses coming in. It doesn't stretch all that far.

Which is why the community offers a first freebie or discount grinder to anybody that asks. Grinders are your bread & butter for dailies. They'll earn you what your farm needs to survive each turn (it takes care of feeding costs) and it'll also give you enough to play around with (think basic and primary skill learning and decorations and tack). But your grinder may not quite earn enough to keep you on schedule to purchase a new pasture as you learn your horse ownership skills. At first, it'll be a couple days to a couple weeks behind schedule, depending on how often you play and how quickly you choose to learn which skills.

By far, the skills that'll take you the longest, will be the training skills and these can increase in price quite a bit.

Anyway, so how else is there to earning money? Especially, since the grinder will keep your account on track, but might not keep it moving ahead at a pace your skill learning opens things up?
There are a number of things that can help. Services, for example, like popping a broodmare or aging a foal to breeding age, are small-money incomes, but can help satisfy the differences between your bank balance and what you want to purchase. But services where you take in somebody else's horse means that you must prove yourself trustworthy of doing such. Nobody wants to lose a horse. Or find the service provider has suddenly left the game. -_-

But for newbie accounts, you could use your grinder to breed more grinders for sale. Although you won't earn very much from them (because of many variables), a good-looking grinder prospect can sell at 10k all day long. Depending on how many broods you have and if your grinder is the mare itself, you can have up for immediate sale, as many as your account can hold (minus your grinder, of course). But getting your hands on, or using an appropriate market stud, could also put dents in your bank.

So choosing a path can be a difficult thing.

The grinder will be your mainstay for money earning. It's not a fast path, but it is a guaranteed path. Take a look at the grinder guide for additional information.

Aside from the grinder, services are handy. Aside from both of these and once you have a handle on the game and understand the basics, your next primary money-earner will be a grinder bloodline. Producing a grinder bloodline, especially a good one, can float your entire account with everything you want (purchasing barns, pastures and skills along with all the little things like tack and decorations). After that, comes the public training service. This isn't something to undertake lightly, so be certain of your training skills (your gameplay on the game and not the Player Skills themselves) as well as have somewhere in the area of half the pertinent Player Skills learned.

Finally, development of your project bloodline is the ending area of earning monies. This is a long-term undertaking and generally speaking, the longer you take on perfecting your perfect herd, the more the product of that is worth. But also remember, the perfect herd in your mind should also include competition value.


Some Things To Consider Before Starting Training Services

This is a difficult topic. Not because it's involved, but because people start playing the game and see training services are available and think 'well, I can do that' and jump right into it.
What these people are missing, is that if you don't know how to train, then offering services to the community will end in your almost immediate failure and your irritation to training itself, forevermore.

So, you will Need To Consider the following before starting a training service.

First, your Player Skills. Player Skills will affect how quickly you train a horse. With no Player Skills, Training done, you'll be training a horse fully in well over 5 years. If you can complete it by 6 years, you can count yourself that at least you understand the How To Train if nothing else.
Should you have half of your Player Skills completed, this time-frame drops to in the area of 4 years to 5 years, basically regardless of what Training Skills you have completed.
Once all of the Player Skills are completed, you'll be hitting the 2 years 6 months mark easily, regularly and generally always under.

Second, you'll need a grinder to help you continue earning turn drops. With a basic account (and assuming no Player Bonuses), you only have 6 banked days. This means you will only get through 3 months of the horse's training. Which means (assuming 6 years training time) that the horse will need 24 of these 6 banked turn sets until you finish. In other terms, a horse being trained on a basic account with no Player Skills learned, will train in somewhere over 144 turns used.
The grinder will be your saving grace to help earn those turn drops to keep you moving forward.

Third, real time used. A horse, using a super-lucky, turn-drop grinder OR an upgraded account (with or without Player Bonuses)... and sometimes some combination therein, can take as little as 20 minutes or less, real time. But don't think this is an easy thing to accomplish. This is a type of speed training that requires you to focus solely on one horse and ignoring just about everything else.
Most of the public trainers will finish a horse in one to three days and return the horse once complete. This should be a mark to aim for.

Fourth, space. A public trainer cannot age the horses under their care for training recklessly. When a horse goes to a player for training, it's assumed that the horse will never be aged beyond any training time. So after every horse's training completes, the account must be paused from taking any more turns until the horse returns to it's owner. Most public trainers use a boarding or a freeze account for pickups and arrivals.

Fifth, trust. Not really the #5 one on this list, probably much closer to the top, but this isn't a list of priorities, but a list of things to consider. You must build trust that you can train the horses, but also that you can get the horses back to their original owners. This also includes not accidentally rehoming them. Any mistakes you make will add into your distrust side. That also doesn't account for the fact you must have a solid standing already in the community just to start taking horses. What this means is that you need to be at least semi-active with at least a handful of senior players in the forums or chat (this is the very least) to even have any clientele. But once you have a base and you're taking and returning horses successfully, the rest of the community will feel safer coming to you.

Finally, I'll finish up here. Try it before you jump in. Maybe I should've led off with this one. But if you think you can handle everything above and you jump in without actually ever trying to train a horse at all, then you'll be fumbling about training a horse poorly and essentially making a mess out of your first client's first horse. Your trust with the community will crumble and your training business will fall apart even before it can earn you anything at all.
So, try your own horse, an AC one will work, or one of your foals. If you don't want to tackle that, find a grinder-prospect from the market and try your hand on that one instead. You can still find $1 horses all over the place, this should be your first trial run. If you screw the horse up, you can still sell it again and make some money off of it and never mind the client because you were your own client. But you'll understand that you're either doing something right, or that you need to take some more time to learn where you're doing something wrong.
Should you succeed in fully training that horse, you can sell it as a fully-trained grinder prospect for 50k or keep it for yourself as your next grinder.

If you consider all of these points and have found yourself good on all of them, you'll know if you're ready and when to open your training services. You'll also know if training is meant for you.

I'm one of those that really doesn't like training horses. This is one of the reasons I don't offer public training myself. But we each have a different view of the game and want to play it differently. Find your niche, explore and flourish.

------------END------------

[Gabby_Woodlark]

* applause *

Good work, as always!

[brettdiesel]

CLAPACLAPCLAP bravo friend bravo thnx4 this

[BlackOak2]

Thank you! Thank you.

*bows*

[h a z e l 3]

Thank you for this as always!

[~besthorsebreeder~]

Great job! I really enjoyed the part about The Differences Between Begging & Asking For Help because I feel like this has been starting to happen more and more in the community. As someone who usually gives people stuff it honestly gets pretty frustrating! Once again, I never stop to wonder how you don’t get bored of writing all of this out haha, but all of it is great info! Thanks for all you do in the community!

[BlackOak2]

Great job! I really enjoyed the part about The Differences Between Begging & Asking For Help because I feel like this has been starting to happen more and more in the community. As someone who usually gives people stuff it honestly gets pretty frustrating! Once again, I never stop to wonder how you don’t get bored of writing all of this out haha, but all of it is great info! Thanks for all you do in the community!

Never about boredom, although I do get irritated myself when I have to reread my own stuff for editing purposes... I can be long winded!

There is a lot of use out of these and it's from many areas. You (and so many others) help a lot by being generous. I do so by aiding in the thought-processes around here. Others tackle other areas, like mentorship. We all have small parts to play and that's what helps keep these things moving along nicely.

So, thank you as well, for your help in the community.

[BlackOak2]

Thank you for this as always!

Anytime!