UPDATE Chat Channel Updates
- Thread starter [ATA]Marceline
- Start date
I am also very unhappy to see RP requests being slugged off into the Student Union section. People looking for clubs/flashes/lbh dont want to see chat clogged up with that.
I also agree with @Mina-KiLIing_You_4_Fun, demanding that users can only make "clean rp" requests doesn't actually stop anyone from nefarious intentions. All it does is sweep them under the rug and out of sight so you can say "we didn't see it happen so its not happening and if it did we're not responsible because we dont moniter those chats".
Give RP people their own chat at this point honestly. Call it the Craigslist personals 2.0 section or whatever. At least then rule breakers can be caught first hand in one localized space and anyone not interested in RP can just turn off that channel.
Leave the exchange as is and condense orientation into another channel. Before all this changed there were plenty of people willing to help new players with questions in campus, I dont honestly think they need their own public channel when they have the tutorial, starter club, fourms, and discord opt in all at their disposal PLUS the other public chats.
You're making more work for your mods with all of this and frustrating your player base on one of the key aspects of a social game.
I also agree with @Mina-KiLIing_You_4_Fun, demanding that users can only make "clean rp" requests doesn't actually stop anyone from nefarious intentions. All it does is sweep them under the rug and out of sight so you can say "we didn't see it happen so its not happening and if it did we're not responsible because we dont moniter those chats".
Give RP people their own chat at this point honestly. Call it the Craigslist personals 2.0 section or whatever. At least then rule breakers can be caught first hand in one localized space and anyone not interested in RP can just turn off that channel.
Leave the exchange as is and condense orientation into another channel. Before all this changed there were plenty of people willing to help new players with questions in campus, I dont honestly think they need their own public channel when they have the tutorial, starter club, fourms, and discord opt in all at their disposal PLUS the other public chats.
You're making more work for your mods with all of this and frustrating your player base on one of the key aspects of a social game.
Hey folks!
Today weāre sharing some upcoming major updates to our public chat channels and silencing policy. We want Campus Chat, and the chat system in general, to be welcoming, useful, and safe for the wider PiMD community. To support that, weāre making some changes.
Why Weāre Making These Changes
tl;dr
PiMD is still social, flirty and expressive; weāre simply narrowing what belongs in public spaces to help the game continue growing.
Public chat should help players connect, trade, find clubs, ask questions, and enjoy the game. Over time however, explicit sexual content in public channels has become more and more of a serious issue. To keep PiMD around, discoverable, and welcoming for the long run, public chat needs to meet a clearer standard.
We want this community to stick around for a very long time, and we know you do too! Because of that, weāre moving public chat away from explicit content and toward channels that better support how people actually want to play PiMD.
Chat Channel Changes
To create a healthier, more functional, and welcoming environment, we are introducing three new dedicated chat spaces and retiring Pub Chat.
NEWExchange
Trading is a huge part of PiMD, but it often takes over Campus Chat. A dedicated trading channel should make trades easier to find without pushing general conversation off-screen.
New
We want our newest players to feel right at home. This channel will give new players a place to ask questions, learn the ropes, and get help from PiMD vets and OGs players.
New
Looking for a new crew or trying to get a party started? This channel is your new go-to spot for advertising clubs, promoting parties or other in-game events and recruiting heavy hitters.
Say Goodbye to Pub Chat
While it was originally designed as an 18+ opt-in space, Pub Chat created an expectation that public chat could function as an adult/explicit space. This no longer works for PiMD under current platform expectations, and it has also made moderation less clear across public channels. Private DMs are different, but public channels can no longer be a place for explicit sexual content. As always, consent and respect still apply everywhere.
Chat Conduct Changes
The following changes are being made to how explicit/sexual content is handled in PiMD:
We are also working on updates to support platform age-check requirements and meet changing regulations in different regions. Our goal is to better prevent underage players from accessing social features where required, rather than relying only on account bans after harm has already happened.
- If we can confirm that alts are being used to evade moderation or continue serious violations, action may also be taken on related accounts, as well as main accounts.
Public Chat Guidance Examples
We know there will be tons of questions about what does and does not count as sexually explicit public chat. The examples below are meant to help players understand what is and isnāt appropriate in public chat.
PLEASE NOTE
The list below is not exhaustive, and moderation decisions may depend on the full message, surrounding context, repeated behaviour, and whether a player is using public chat for sexual solicitation or explicit sexual roleplay.
The following types of content are NOT allowed in public channels:
,
,
etc.
ALLOWED IN PUBLIC CHAT
The following types of content are generally allowed, as long as they are not sexual, harassing, or otherwise abusive:
Usually Allowed, Unless the Context Becomes Explicit/Sexual
Some phrases are not automatically violations on their own. Neutral phrases such as the ones below are fine unless they are paired with sexual wording, coded language, emojis, or solicitation.
When in doubt, keep public chat appropriate for the broader community. Public channels are no longer the place for sexual solicitation, explicit sexual roleplay, or attempts to move your fellow players into explicit conversations.
How These Changes Were Decided Upon
These changes were not made lightly. We invested time discussing proposed changes with long-standing players, community leaders, and our mod team - folks who deeply understand how chat is used day to day.
At the same time, weāll be watching how these updates affect the community. While sexual/explicit chat is no longer allowed in public spaces, we are here to listen to constructive feedback about the channel structures as well as guidance on the new policy and changes, and are open to making adjustments there where needed.
This is a meaningful change, but not a final update that can't be improved. Our goal is to move public chat in a healthier direction, learn from how the community uses these new spaces, and improve from there.
We firmly believe these updates are going to make PiMD a much more stable, welcoming, and active game for both our long-time veterans and brand-new players. Thanks for helping us keep PiMD active, welcoming, and sustainable for the long run.
FAQ
PiMD avatars can be quite sexy, isnāt that a contradiction?
While itās an understandable question, we donāt feel that it is. We are advocates of the āCosplay Is Not Consentā fan convention movement:
āCosplay is Not Consentā is a crucial movement and policy widely adopted within the convention community, emphasizing that wearing a costumeāno matter how revealing, detailed, or suggestiveāis never an invitation for unwanted physical contact, photography, or sexual harassment.
Sexy avis does not mean public chat is an explicit/adult-content space.
Why are you removing Pub?
Pub being 18+ opt-in created the wrong expectation. Too many players treated it as an aggressively sexual space, and that behavior spilled into the wider public chat experience.
Will I get immediately silenced if I accidentally post in the wrong channel?
We know it takes time to build new habits! For the first 14 days following the update, we are implementing a probation period for channel placements. If you post in the wrong channel, our moderators will simply give you a friendly verbal redirection to move your post to the right spot. After this two-week grace period, repeatedly ignoring reminders and posting in the wrong channel will result in an official warning or a short silence for chat disruption.
Note: There is no grace period for explicit NSFW content, which will be silenced immediately across all channels from day one.
Newbies can just block or leave Pub. Why get rid of the whole channel?
Blocking and opt-in channels help in some cases, but they do not solve the core issue. Public sexual content still affects platform review, reports, reviews, advertising, and how the game is perceived. We need public chat spaces to meet a higher standard overall.
Why not just tell people to block / report instead of changing public chat?
Block and Report are still important tools, but they are reactive. They help after someone has already had a bad experience. That does not solve the bigger problem of players entering public chat, immediately seeing sexual content, having a bad experience, and potentially deciding the game is not for them before theyāve gotten into it, or even after they have.
Why not just ban players who break the rules?
We already do, and will continue to do so, but individual moderation has not been enough to solve the issue. Public sexual content affects app store review, advertising, new player experience, and the long-term health of PiMD, so we need to make broader changes to public chat.
Will I get silenced if my current username or profile text has a word that violates the new guidelines?
We have a clear, multi-phase enforcement plan to help players transition to the new username standards:
Phase 1 (The 2-Week Probation Period): If a mod spots an explicit name, the player will not be immediately silenced unless they are actively posting explicit content in chat. Instead, the mod issues an official warning informing the player that their name violates the new policy and they must send in a ticket to get it changed.
Phase 2 (Post-Probation): If a player has been warned, given a reasonable window (e.g., 48 hours), and still refuses to change an explicit name, they are silenced until their name is changed by the ATA Staff.
Why punish main accounts for alt behavior?
Because moderation does not work if players can use throwaway accounts to break the rules with no real consequences. If someone uses a sacrificial alt to bypass these rules, harass players, solicit sexual chat, or test how far they can push moderation, we will treat that as the same player trying to avoid accountability. In those cases, their main account can also receive permanent action.
Is RP still allowed?
Yes. Looking for RP or RP partners is not automatically a violation. Explicit sexual roleplay, kink solicitation, or using public chat to move players into sexual RP is not allowed. Players can make clean rp requests in the Student Union chat.
Are (sexy) DMs being banned?
No. Private, consensual adult DMs are not the focus of these changes. However, harassment, non-consensual sexual messages, underage involvement, scams, threats, and other abuse remain bannable.
Will players be silenced for saying things like āDM me,ā ālooking for RP,ā or ārate my aviā?:
Not automatically. Context matters. These phrases may be fine in normal social or gameplay conversation, but they may become actionable when combined with sexual wording, coded sexual language, repeated sexual context, targeted harassment, off-platform solicitation, or attempts to move players into sexual private chat.
What if I think a silence or ban was wrong?
Please contact support so the team can review it. We know consistency matters, and weāll continue updating our guidance as these changes roll out.
This game has always been adult-oriented/sexy/flirty. Why change now?
PiMD can still have flirting, dating-adjacent chat, RP, and social fun. Whatās changing is that explicit sexual solicitation and sexual roleplay can no longer happen in public channels. Platform expectations, regional regulations, and review standards have changed, and we need PiMD to adapt so the game can continue.
Why are you trying to protect underage players if PiMD has always been 18+?
Keeping under 18ās out of PiMD has always been an ongoing challenge, and now we must account for updated platform requirements and regional regulations for if underage people do make it in, including age-check requirements for social features. As before, if we discover that someone who claimed to be 18+ is underage, their account will be banned.
Players can still bypass these new restrictions. What about that?
Attempts to bypass moderation with misspellings, emojis, spacing, acronyms, coded phrases, or alternate languages may still be actioned when the intent is clear. The goal is not to chase specific words; itās to address sexual solicitation and explicit sexual content in public spaces.
ATAās being too strict; everyone will be scared to chat.
Rest assured that regular social chat is still allowed. Flirting, compliments, jokes, RP requests, dating-adjacent conversation, trading, club recruitment, and general chat are fine as long as they are not explicit, harassing, or used to solicit sexual conversations.
If we've missed anything, please leave it in the comment section below and our team will do their best to get back to any questions with clarity
Acid_Rain_Mist
Active Member
Mods can't change the game mechanics it's the devs that can
Acid_Rain_Mist
Active Member
GET THE RP/FRIEND REQUESTS OUT OF CLUBS STUFFS THEY DONT BELONG TOGETHER DAMN IT
AND MODS STFU YALL KNOW THIS IS BS AS WELL DONT BE SUCH A KISS ASS TO ATA
It literally makes so much more work for the mods instead of have 3 chats for example they had less work to do with just the pub and campus
GoddessHailey
Well-Known Member
I would rather have the players to have the ability granted to rearrange the order of every channels for my needs . Same like you can rearrange dorm 1 & 2. This way your way could be done for you and mine could be done differently. What do you think ?
Trippybaba
Member
Very very nice
Pikachu215
Active Member
Sound good that all those people who used to post sexually explicit messages in wc will be gone now but banning their main or alts won't help until u ip ban them after a repeated violation, cuz their determination is so strong they keep coming back 
MotherMountain
Well-Known Member
I donāt mind the new change, going to take some used to but could be nice to have it more organized.
But why is the orientation channel the third one? Seems odd for new players to have to switch through several channels to find the one meant for them
But why is the orientation channel the third one? Seems odd for new players to have to switch through several channels to find the one meant for them
PepperoniPete
Well-Known Member
Canāt wait to talk extremely appropriately and family friendly in my almost completely nude avi ATA sold me LOL
ive met 0 people in my real life who play this game excluding the people iāve introduced it to, out of those 10m downloads how many have actually kept playing and spending money? kinda underground, anonymous at least. prioritizing hypothetical players and newbies over the people who actually play it and spend money on it and like not having to keep things pg-13 is an odd move!
This is an absolutely crazy accusation to make.
Cursed-Cutie
Member
Everyone with an "explicit" name should all get a free name change
They do. You send a help ticket after being warned about your username.
Event <-> Orientation <-> Campus <-> Exchange <-> Student Unions <-> Club <-> Tutors
Any other order doesn't make any sense.
Keep like things together, it isn't a difficult concept.
Event and orientation are temporary channels that aren't going to be used often.
Campus and exchange are the "general chats" for everyone.
Student unions and clubs because they're club concepts together.
And tutor chat can be up with the temp channels or where it is now, it's one of those really weird channels that I, personally, find useless but some use it often and have value in it.
Put. Like. Things. Together.
This current order is a nightmare.
Any other order doesn't make any sense.
Keep like things together, it isn't a difficult concept.
Event and orientation are temporary channels that aren't going to be used often.
Campus and exchange are the "general chats" for everyone.
Student unions and clubs because they're club concepts together.
And tutor chat can be up with the temp channels or where it is now, it's one of those really weird channels that I, personally, find useless but some use it often and have value in it.
Put. Like. Things. Together.
This current order is a nightmare.
-MushieTheEnchantress-
Member
I am going to be very honest, this is honestly one of the worst updates Iāve seen in the years Iāve been playing. Going from Campus and Pub to 4 new channels to āorganize chattingā is more complicated than it needs to be. there is so many different things you guys could have implemented that would have been 1000% times better than this update. For example:
1. Making a new category in showcase called Storefront or something similar so that Starred and Selling can be separate for those who was to highlight stuff for collection and also highlight stuff for sale.
2. Option to set an account gender, so when we get avatars we get the gender selected in our profile rather than just you get what you get.
3. A search bar inside of the dorm rooms to make decorating and recycling much easier.
4. Multi-Recycle option: recycle multiple pieces at once rather than just one at a time. Again much more efficient.
honestly I have so many more but I feel these are very much more important than worrying about organizing channels š«©
1. Making a new category in showcase called Storefront or something similar so that Starred and Selling can be separate for those who was to highlight stuff for collection and also highlight stuff for sale.
2. Option to set an account gender, so when we get avatars we get the gender selected in our profile rather than just you get what you get.
3. A search bar inside of the dorm rooms to make decorating and recycling much easier.
4. Multi-Recycle option: recycle multiple pieces at once rather than just one at a time. Again much more efficient.
honestly I have so many more but I feel these are very much more important than worrying about organizing channels š«©