Open Letter to STS Corporate Officers and Developers,*

Dear STS, *

I have 2 requests to make.*

First, I would like to propose that you have someone scheduled to check the support tickets on the weekends. *My reasons for this are as follows:

1) for the 2nd time in less that about 2 months, one of my guild mates has had their account hacked/scammed. *

2) while someone is running around in my guildmates "skin" he/she is free to use his account to hack/scam friends who would possibly believe that this is the real person who owns that toon. *

3) that same person is free to sell/liquidate all of my guildmates gear and transfer his gold to another account, and spend any plat that he may have had. *

4) *STS support would have far fewer requests to restore accounts that have been hacked/scammed because at the first notice of this improper behavior, someone would be able to initiate steps to lock it down.*

5) the emotional distress that I personally have witnessed from players who have had their accounts stolen, would be drastically reduced. Yes, emotional distress is a very real factor these incidents. *I tend to equate it to the effect I felt when my house was burglarized and many personal items were stolen.*

I don't remember how support tickets are set up, but, if there, isn't there could be an option to "report Hack/Scam." That ticket could then be routed to an employee to review for immediate action. *I would suggest freezing the account until normal support can review it in full during normal working hours. *Freezing the account in question would not harm anyone and would prevent the STS community at large from additional hacks and scams. *

The worst that would happen is that the player would be inconvenienced for a couple of days. *I know that *I would be extremely relieved to know that if I put in a "hack/scam" ticket that my account would be locked down. *Yes, i would be inconvenienced for a day or two, but in the long run, *a huge amount of grief would be avoided. and my reputation would remain intact.*

If STS is unable to financially support a part-time employee for weekends, I am willing to volunteer my services. *I also know of at least one other guildmate that would be willing to volunteer as well. *

To give some personal references, in general, I handle the accounts receivable for my company. *I am responsible for the daily deposits of checks and credit card payments to my employers bank account. *I am a notary public for the state of South Carolina and I have passed and still can pass a SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) background check. *

I am a huge supporter of STS and their games. *I strongly believe that you do everything that you can to make fun and enjoyable games that are free to play! *I think that the STS communities are now large enough to warrant someone keeping an eye on the "store' on the weekends. *I believe that the safety and the well being of the STS communities is not just a Monday - Friday, 9-5 job any more. *There is a very unsavory element moving in and they are taking advantage of people to the detriment of the entire community. *I honestly believe that they are taking advantage of the times when no one is minding the "store" *

I'm pleading with you to have someone monitor the support tickets on weekends and after normal business hours. *I don't think it needs to be done 24-7 but until 9 or 10 pm Pacific. *

Now on to my 2nd request: *

Please institute some way for players to earn plat in game. *The free plat offers are great for people who have the ability to download the games and apps that are offered. *However many players can't do that. They may be using android devices. *They may be younglings that are using a parents device and are unable to download apps. *And in a huge number of cases they are players that are from foreign countries that don't have access to credit cards, or iTunes cards. *These are your people who are getting scammed. *They are so desperate for Plat that they will try anything to get some. *Earning a plat a day would be a huge benefit for these players. * It would give them confidence that STS cares about them. *

Maybe something like the daily that we have in DL. *PLEASE don't suggest pre-paid Master or Visa Cards. *People in places in Malaysia *or Indonesia don't have access to them. Younglings may not know how to use one. *Even I have a had difficult time on occasion using one. *STS games are GLOBAL now and supporting the community means, not just supporting the American contingent but the Global community.*