www.kotaku.com/gaming/neo-pets/inside-the-cult-of-neopets-141826.php
Inside the Cult of NeoPets
A Kotaku reader and former NeoPets artist writes to tell us what it was like working for NeoPets. He said that while none of the Scientology psychosis leaked over onto the site, there was plenty of it behind the screen.
From the lengthy letter:
Adam and Donna are nice people, in and of themselves. The negative aspects of NeoPets, all came from the side of Scientology-Oriented business structure/psyche. From the very get-go, any employee who applies for a job, will be faced with a couple of personality screening tests. I @#%$ you not, I had a more comfortable time with my SATAC/a,!a,,C/s in high school! A lot of people make fun of Scientologists in an ignorant sort of way; they donAC/a,!a,,C/t really know what goes on behind the curtains, but I assure you, itAC/a,!a,,C/s not pretty. In hindsight, itAC/a,!a,,C/s a little ironic that many of the execs are part of the cult, and many fledglings didn;t seem to get promoted to that level without first converting (this was the case while I was there). A mere observation, more than anything else. Unfortunately, many businesses that visit/partner up with these guys will look at the architecture of this successful business, and will be inclined to adopt it for themselves. It is for this reason alone that I want to see NeoPets fail.
The NeoPets mole (is that one of their characters?) goes on to say that most artists last about six months and that when he was there typical pay was about $12 an hour. Despite all the internal brain-washing, bad karma and general higgly feeling he got from working there, our reader was happy he got the experience and said it helped him land a much better job when he left.
RESPONSES TO THE ARTICLE
Wow, had no idea about this, and neither did the gaming media.
...You can bet they will now, and you'll see mocking in the NeoPets game reviews.
by Ravidrath on 12/08/05 11:31 AM
*****
You know, I've heard of it to some degree (mostly a troll on the Neopets-related forum I administrate trying to spread his gospel that Neopets is the devil because of its scientology ties.) However this is far more disturbing than what they went into.
by Rune on 12/08/05 12:30 PM
For anyone who doesn't know Scientology is a cult. They beleive that a sci-fi story about an alien lord named Xenu, volcanos, hydrogen bombs and "thetans" is the true history of the world. No joke. For more enlightenment do some googling, or watch the frighteningly accurate recent South Park episode.
Also, if you ever go to NYC and you see people in the subway giving out free "stress tests", those are scientologists.
They are a dangerous cult that wants to take away all your money and make you beleive in aliens and other batsh**. Stay far away from them. This is totally serious, not joking at all.
by Apreche on 12/08/05 12:51 PM
*****
This is getting better and better!
by Torokun on 12/08/05 01:58 PM
*****
Someone needs to photoshop Tom Cruise as a Neopet
by Kokichi on 12/08/05 07:48 PM
*****
I don't know, I like them.
I really enjoy reading about them. It's especially fun to go and do some fact checking, just to find out they really believe that crap.
http://www.xenu.net/
by Be0wulf on 12/09/05 05:17 PM
Liz Woolley
Apart from the scientology issue... neopets makes people play with virtual, stylized versions of animals, while at the same time in other places and particularly due to the every day decision their parents (as members of the earthA's most affluent population group) these very animals are rapidly disappearing.Quote:
Most biologists agree however that the period since the emergence of humans is part of a new mass extinction, the Holocene extinction event, caused primarily by the impact humans are having on the environment. At present, the number of species estimated to have gone extinct as a result of human action is still far smaller than are observed during the major mass extinctions of the geological past. However, it has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient to create a major mass extinction in less than 100 years. Others dispute this and suggest that the present rate of extinctions could be sustained for many thousands of years before the loss of biodiversity matches the more than 20% losses seen in past global extinction events.
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity)
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