-Blocked- by shimmering_aurora |  |
-Blocked- - Ever heard of a place where everything from the ground up, including
the inhabitants, is edible? Unless you are a Grarrl or Skeith, only one place
fits this description: -blocked-. However, although -blocked- is made of sugary,
sticky goo, its nonexistence makes it bittersweet. Sure, you may have seen it
or even snuck a bite, but according to the official rules of Neopia -blocked-
is not a real place. This denial has led to a fierce controversy: how far should
the Neopets Team go to refute the existence of -blocked-?
There are several methods through which the Neopets Team has attempted to cover
up -blocked-. No one can find it on the map of Neopia, and whenever someone
mentions it, "-blocked-" or a random word shows up instead. Attempting to put
a -blocked- link on any Neopets page is futile. This censorship encompasses
just about everything from petpages to Neomail, but thankfully excludes the
Neopian Times.
As well as baring all users from mentioning -blocked-, the Neopets Team also
refuses to give legitimate answers for any questions concerning it. Donna's
general response to such questions runs along the lines of "There is no such
thing as -blocked-." Choosing "-blocked-" as the subject of an editorial question
results in a window popping up with the message "Warning! Talk of -blocked-
is strictly prohibited. It does not exist! Please move along, there's nothing
to see here." The staff will occasionally mention -blocked- themselves, but
only to refute its existence.
Although the Neopets Team currently is taking dramatic measures to conceal
-blocked-, it used to admit the place's existence freely. The news page even
announced the opening of -blocked-! However, starting from the completion of
the world, the Team never posted links to it. It did not begin blocking the
name of and links to -blocked- until sometime after the initial release. Petpages
not edited after the start of the censorship are unaffected by it and may even
have a link to -blocked-. However, if the owner tries to update the page, the
link will become void and all mention of -blocked- will be censored. Whether
this belated concealment was an afterthought or planned… er, is not for the
general public to know.
Refusing to admit -blocked- exists, the Neopets Team has received harsh criticism
from many Neopets players. These Neopians believe -blocked- is a staff joke
gone too far; that the Neopets Team should put -blocked- on the map and stop
blocking all mention of it. These Neopians want race through Neopia Central
screaming "-blocked-! -blocked-!" without the Chia police running after them.
However, what might convenience the individual Neopian might not greatly benefit
Neopia as a whole.
The Neopets Team may attempt to hide -blocked-, but a large portion of the
Neopian public knows of its existence. Unless, of course, a very small portion
of Neopians know of its existence and they have taken it upon themselves to
send everyone else Neomails about -blocked-, at which point the former eventually
would occur anyway. Admittedly, newbies are often ignorant of -blocked-; however,
they will eventually find it. Newbies can find information concerning -blocked-
on various Neopets help sites and from their fellow Neopians. As stated above,
users can find links to -blocked- on petpages or the like that have not been
updated since the Neopets Team started censoring information on the place. If
a user does not come across -blocked-, they had not played enough for it to
benefit them in any significant manner anyway.
Although the Neopet Team's blocking of -blocked- infringes upon almost all
forms of Neopian communication, a few places have escaped this censorship. Exemptions
from this censorship include the various art contests, including the Neopian
Times. Fascinatingly, announcements of Neomail, the little blue words that
show up at the top of the page, used to escape editing. If a Neomail
contained "-blocked-" within the first few words, the recipient would see it
rather than a substitute for the name. Clicking on the Neomail would cause the
name to change to "-blocked-." However, the Neopets Team apparently has realized
this mistake and rather recently amended it. This leaves speculation as to whether
or not the Neopets Team is trying to gradually phase out all talking
of -blocked-.
The Neopets Team may block most mention of -blocked- but users can still find
ways to bypass this censorship. Common ways include writing the name in leet
speak or spacing out the letters. Pushing the Neomail translator button, which
currently appears to have disappeared for whatever reason, would cause the actual
name of the world to come up rather than "-blocked-". However, the Neopets Team
does not bar the stating of -blocked- in other languages. Whether this exemption
is another oversight by the Neopets Team or just something that it has not attended
to yet, is not something the Neopets Team has announced to all of Neopia.
Although the common Neopian finds the blocking of "-blocked-" annoying, it
is one of the many aspects of Neopia that makes it unique. The proclaimed inexistence
of -blocked- is not simply a Neopets Team's joke, but a distinct part of Neopia's
culture. It adds variety to Neopia; it distinguishes -blocked- from all the
other Neopian worlds. It is the orange flavor in the swirling pot of Neopia.
It gives Neopians more to complain about. (Complaining is a common form of recreation
in Neopia.) It must be asked, why should the Neopets Team settle with hiding
a single tower when they can hide an entire world and claim otherwise? Why should
Neopians be upset over one hidden world when so many others are visible? And
most importantly, why discard a special part of Neopian culture just so players
can say "-blocked-" whenever they wish?
|
