I'm still in the process of reading these New Forum Rules. Honestly, I have no idea what has changed. Perhaps some of you can comment and shed some light on it for me.

Differences I do see:

• Thread "bump" changed to 10 hour intervals [or maybe it was always 10 hours and we've just been pretending it was 6?]

• I'm pretty sure in some ways, this rule applies to Digital-Dish.com [I don't think IMVU is real happy with my site anyways.]

Offsite Linking
Any offsite link must adhere to our Terms of Service.
The following forms of links are prohibited:
- Links to commercial sites
- Direct links to competitor sites
- Links to phishing or other malicious sites
- Links to any content that is considered Access Pass or Unfit for IMVU
- Any links to pornographic or hate sites. Any instances of this type of linking may result in a permanent ban from the forums and may also include disablement of your IMVU Account.

• Pretty sure this one is new as well:

Requests for Charitable Donations
As per IMVU’s Terms of Service, requests for charitable donations are not permitted. Donation requests that benefit federally recognized 501.c3 organizations are the exception. If you feel your cause in support of a 501.c3 org should be considered, please send your request to communityteam@imvu.com for pre-approval.

So what do you all think? Anything I missed?

Looks like the community wins once again - which is good news for people like Sparkle who recently had a product using the word "Bitch" on it rated to Access Pass.

Senior Community Manager, Jamidiaz has retracted her statement and apologized for the misunderstanding. The word "Bitch" is indeed, a General Audience word! In fact, it has now been added to the VGP as seen here (click to view larger)

To see the full comment from Jamidiaz, check out the final post in this locked thread.

Once again, IMVU has changed their Terms Of Service - without warning. This time, they have taken the word "Bitch" off of the list of acceptable General Audience words. Check out this thread Most importantly, check out the post by Senior Community Manager Jamidiaz where she specifically states "This topic came up recently and I verified that B**** [Bitch] is considered AP."

Well la-de-da. Additionally, we now face the issue of what is really acceptable. There used to be a nice little list of words and the categories in which they fell under. The proof is in the pudding in the image below. (Click to see larger image)


Thanks to several members of the community, I have confirmed that there is now no list to be found anywhere on the website. The Virtual Goods Policy has a link suggesting it leads to what IMVU calls a place "To learn more about what IMVU considers profane" but upon clicking the link, you are lead to IMVU's crappy help center. Upon searching for information on words suitable for General Audience, you are sent right back to the VGP. *Sigh*

The real kicker? This topic is being first adressed by Sparkle (not to be confused with Sparkles) who due to a re-rating of the word "Bitch" has had to issue a significant amount of refunds. Ex Community Manager GuardianRob posted nearly a year ago HERE that Content Creators would NOT be responsible for refunds issued to buyers due to a change in the TOS. Point 11 of his post states "If the VGP should receive an addendum and it affects creators with a refund, IMVU will cover the full amount of refunds. However any product found in violation of that new rule after IMVU covers the cost, the creator will be responsible for the refund."

So now we wait. So far, IMVU is standing by their so-called new policy. I will update this post with further information as I receive it.

If you don't have an Access Pass, then you likely have not heard about DarkAngel5 and Tidy's new bundle Running Of the Bulls. It is what it sounds like - a IMVU promoted bundle based on the traditional Running of the Bulls most commonly held in Spain. But it seems it is turning some heads and causing quite a stir in the developing community.

The advertisement page reads...
"Are you faster and stronger than the mighty bulls?
Some may say it’s crazy, but others say it is the thrill of a lifetime! Celebrate the Running of the Bulls, a spectacular tradition of Spain, Mexico, and Southern France. During this wild summer festivity you will be challenged to run with the bulls. Stand shoulder to shoulder with your friends, and listen closely for the rapid hoof beats of the wild bulls. Beware the impending stampede of ferocious bulls as they tear down the roads and alleys into the bullring. This is a powerful spectacle of amazing strength and beauty which only the truly brave dare to join!"

On it's own, it sounds like a nice bundle, but the question has been raised by several community members... "Is this bundle depicting animal cruelty and isn't that UFI?" DarkAngel5 has defended her work by issuing the following statement in the CCGen forums:"I can assure you I didn't abuse any animals. This is an old tradition in Spain. They like it. I don't put down other cultures even if I don't agree with what they do. My bundle is loosely based on their tradition. I added my own style into this theme to prevent the bulls demise and chose to put a fun spin on it. It's a cute fun bundle. It wasn't made to upset nor hurt anyone/animals. I didn't invent this sport but I did create a bundle so that others could have some harmless, violence free fun...." Read the full (but locked) discussion here

Needless to say, this is quite the controversy for some. What is too much? Tradition or not, is there such a thing as pushing the limitations of the TOS too far? Is tradition an excuse for allowing content that might otherwise not be allowed?

IMVU so far seems to stand by its decision to support and promote this bundle with a statement from Senior Community Manager, Jamidiaz: "Thank you for posting your thoughts and concerns on this bundle. If you wish to have the bundle reviewed, your best option is to submit a help ticket to Customer Support. My feeling is that IMVU would not be promoting this bundle if we felt that it violated our ToS, but we'll gladly review your concerns if they are submitted via the appropriate channel." (Which means... the bundle will go on with it's however many day long promotion before IMVU even considers looking at the help tickets for it).

What are your thoughts? Have you purchased the bundle or plan to? Is the bar being pushed on this one?