Community Q&A

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:20 pm Post subject: Community Q&A

Hello Everyone,

We know that many of you have questions surrounding various hot topics: product refunds, flagging, our Virtual Goods policy, etc. Please accept our apologies for not addressing these concerns sooner.

First of all, I want to assure you that each and every person who lost items from their inventory will be reimbursed; credits for credits and promos for promos.

A few things have now been fixed and updated in our automated refund system:

1) General Audience items which had been re-rated to Access Pass-only will be refunded.
2) Homepage refund messages will now show the product NAME, as well as the product number.
3) The product name has been added to sales reports, so that you can look through your sales reports and see what disabled items have been refunded.
4) Disabled items will automatically be removed from your inventory and refunded. (Note: There may be a slight delay as we re-review all items against our NEW Virtual Goods policy.)

Refunds will begin once the system completes its checks and balances. All refunds for GA customers should be cleaned up by the beginning of October. Going forward, all refunds for re-classified items will be automated. The Q&A section should answer any other questions you might have.

As many of you may know, we have a new Virtual Goods Policy which can be found HERE. We have faith that you will understand and be comfortable with its terms. AP members will receive a second correspondence and can look forward to a newly designed logo.

Some of you may have noticed the return of a few products previously rated AP-only. We will continue this effort as we identify more items which can be re-rated appropriately.

Grief flagging has been a long running issue, and I assure you that the team will continue to reject any gratuitous flagging. I have trained the team extensively in the new Virtual Goods Policy to ensure accurate enforcement. However, if the team does not respond in a timely manner to your questions about improper ratings, you should feel free to contact me directly. Users who submit excessive false flags will be punished.

We also plan to review each item which was previously re-classed from GA to AP-only, or from AP-only to Unsuitable For IMVU, against our New Virtual Goods Policy. Since it’s possible that some items will return after this re-review, we’ve decided to keep disabled items in customers’ inventory for just a bit longer. I know it’s annoying to see these disabled items, but I’m sure you will agree that our intentions are good.

Some important Q&A as we launch the new Virtual Goods Policy:

The new policy has been launched as of Friday, 9/14/07
There is a grace period on all catalog items until 10/15/07

Q - What if I have products in my catalog that will be re-classed? What should I do?
A – The best thing to do is re-class the item according to what the Virtual Goods Policy dictates. This re-classification should be done as soon as possible. I highly discourage Content Creators from changing their products in any way. Changing products can cause confusion and/or errors, and provide a poor experience for your customers. Stick to reclassifying the item and let IMVU refund the customer.

Q – I have meshed an item but I am unsure what class it belongs in, whom do I contact?
A – You can email contentcreatorprogram@imvu.com, which will be initially reviewed by me. If it becomes overwhelming, I will train my staff to assist.

Q – Should I change my item to remain compliant for GA?
A – No. Re-class the item and then create a new GA version. Customers will be refunded and be able to purchase the appropriate piece. If you are positive no one has bought the item yet, then you should hide it, make necessary changes, and resubmit it at no cost.

Q – An item I derived has been flagged, yet it is the same as the parent mesh and all the other derivations still in the catalog. This is unfair, what do I do?
A – Email: ratingdispute@imvu.com with your AVATAR NAME, NAME OF YOUR PRODUCT, and link to the PARENT MESH. We will review your case and take action accordingly. You will only receive a response if your claim is denied.

Q – I still don’t have my refund!?!
A – If this is still the case after 10/31/2007, then please write an email to imvurefunds@imvu.com. Please make sure to include your AVATAR NAME and PRODUCT NAME(S); your refund will be processed manually. Please be patient as this is a much slower process. We promise everyone WILL be refunded for any losses.

Q – Does this new policy apply to my web page?
A – No. The Virtual Goods policy is for catalog products only. However, a ‘Homepage Policy’ may be instituted at a later date, so please try to keep your page in good taste. When in doubt, ask yourself if it is appropriate for General Audience (13 and up).

Q – I do not like some of the default avatar actions; can I have a ‘force field’?
A – The idea of implementing settings for who can perform certain actions with you (AP only, Buddies only, etc.) during a chat has been discussed. We will definitely update the community as this idea unfolds. We know that this would be a welcomed feature for the community, and will do our best to provide it.

For customers who are no longer interested in being a member of the Access Pass Community, we are happy to exchange the Access Pass for 25,000 extra real credits, or we will issue a full refund.

I hope that this announcement has addressed the majority of pending concerns. If not, please feel free to bring any additional concerns to my attention.

Sincerely,

Nino Cavenecia
CS Manager
IMVU, Inc.