WorldsAway Marketing E-mails

Official communications from the WorldsAway team can be found here.

1996

November

Subject: missing

Date: 08 Nov 1996

Dear Community Members of Phantasus and the Dreamscape,

The WorldsAway development team has met and discussed the implications of the
get/put patch, security issues, and the needs of the Dreamscape community. 
Customers have enumerated many of the benefits of the get/put patch. However,
the get/put patch was able to be implemented by our customers be
cause of a hole in the security of the WorldsAway client.  Because it is a
security issue, and a secure environment is essential to WorldsAway, this bug
cannot be placed back into the WorldsAway client or server.

Taking into consideration customer feedback, client stability, and security,
the following plan has been put in place.  FSC will be implementing the
following features:

1] Get from containers in pockets

This will allow users to place objects into containers in their pocket, as well
as retrieve objects from containers in their pockets.  This will allow our
customers to rearrange and sort objects without having to place chests on the
ground.

2] Turf Velcro/Turf Glue

This will allow users to place objects anywhere in their turfs, including
walls.  It restores the features of the get/put patch to turf owners and then
some.  It will also allow customers to "glue" objects to the floor so that
other avatars cannot remove them.

3] Rotate Object Facing

This will allow users to rotate the facing of any object just like an avatar. 
The user will have to walk to the object to do so.  We are currently
investigating telekinetic rotation in turfs.

These items have been placed at the top of the Dreamscape priority list and are
currently being coded.  As they proceed through the development process, we
will keep the community up to date through forum posts and spreading the word
in the Dreamscape.

At this time, telekinesis will not be implemented beyond the functionality of
Turf Velcro/Glue.  We are currently investigating the possibility of
telekinesis in the future.

It is important to understand that the FSC development cycle is not linear. 
That is, while some developers are working on the server, others are working on
objects.  As development is working on their tasks, the World Development Team
is working on new art and new areas.  These tasks are not mutually
exclusive--the fact that a new area is opened or new object is released does
not mean that these priorities have changed, or that FSC is not working to
implement customer feedback.  In this case, other objects have already been
through the development process and are going through the QA 
process.  This means that new objects will likely be released before the above
features are implemented.  Again, this does not mean that we have reduced their
priority.

We thank you for your feedback and suggestions, and appreciate your continued
patience as we work to develop and implement this plan.  If you have further
questions or comments, please address them to dream@worldsaway.com or to the
WATEAM account [76710,162].

Sincerely on behalf of FSC, 
Oracle Teresias and Oracle Vaserius

1997

April

Subject: WorldsAway 2.0 Beta Test

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Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 13:37:03 -0800 (PST)
Message-Id: <199704012137.NAA10560@charlotte.fsc.fujitsu.com>
To: e@mail.com
From: beta@worldsaway.com
Subject: WorldsAway 2.0 Beta Test 

Person


Are you ready to enter the world of WorldsAway?  The last step is
to use the web page at:

     http://www.worldsaway.com/Into/enter.html

to go into the world.  You will be prompted there for your name,
email address, and password.  The name and email address that you
provided during registration are:

        First Name:  Person

        Last Name:  Surname

        Email Address:  e@mail.com


We have generated the following password for you to use:

        Password:  tint$fall


When you first enter your avatar will be standing outside a hotel.  Go inside
and sign the guest book.  (This will let you choose the name for your avatar.)
There is some spending money on the desk to the left of the guest book that you
might want to pick up too.  Then continue inside.  To your right you'll find the 
entrance to the Exchange where you can change your avatar's body and head.

We'll see your avatar in world!

May

Subject: Latest WorldsAway Beta Test News

From ???@??? Wed May 21 01:54:28 1997
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Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 17:45:12 -0700
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Reply-to: beta@worldsaway.com (WorldsAway Beta Program)
From: beta@worldsaway.com (Greg Oberfield)
To: e@mail.com
Subject: Latest WorldsAway Beta Test News
X-Info: Evaluation version at mailhost.e-mail.com

Dear Person,

Things have certainly changed quite dramatically since the last email was
sent out! In that time we've started the Dreamscape beta-test, gotten
Virtual Key working, changed the web site around a bit and gone through a
couple new versions of the client and the server.

It's that last piece which we need to talk about. One of the previous
clients has a major problem updating itself to a new version. Since the
ability to "auto-update" is a critical component of the 2.0 technology we
had to fix it quickly, and we have!

We now have a new client, version fc8, which fixes that problem and a few
others. Unfortunately, since the previous client won't auto-upgrade that
means that everyone must download a new version. We apologize about the
inconvenience, but it has to be so. This should be the last time you have
to download a new version - all other updates should happen automatically.
This changeover to fc8 should happen Tuesday afternoon or evening. You can
check to see if the new client is available at
http://www.worldsaway.com/Into/download and if it is - grab it!

We certainly appreciate your efforts to date! The Dreamscape is now in
testing (for those of you who have not used the Dreamscape before, you're
in for a real treat), and we're finally to a point where we can see the
light at the end of the tunnel! It's been a long, hard road you've all
walked with us but it's been worth it. WorldsAway 2.0 is a great product,
in no small part because of you testers!

If you have any questions or comments about beta, please feel free to email
us at beta@worldsaway.com at any time. We read everything that comes in and
try to respond to all of them - sometimes though we get so overloaded that
we can't. Also, don't forget to visit our web-based discussion board at
http://www.worldsaway.com/Forum where you can leave us a message, or just
talk to other WorldsAway users!

Thank you,
Greg Oberfield
Senior Producer, WorldsAway Studios

June

Subject: WorldsAway 2.0

From ???@??? Wed Jun 11 07:02:37 1997
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Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 17:01:49 -0700
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Reply-to: beta@worldsaway.com (WorldsAway Beta)
From: beta@worldsaway.com (Greg Oberfield)
To: e@mail.com
Subject: WorldsAway 2.0 

Dear Person,

It's been about a week since I sent out an email to everyone and I wanted to make sure that we're all on the same page with WorldsAway 2.0 Beta.

The end is in sight, many of you have enjoyed testing the Dreamscape, our flagship WorldsAway environment on the web (available only to CompuServe members currently) and more of you have enjoyed testing WorldsAway 2.0 in general with our open beta world (or "hallway world").

We have been experiencing some difficulties with our Macintosh client and expect them to be resolved very soon.  However, until then, Macintosh users will not be able to access any of the beta environments.  As a long-time macintosh user myself I know how hard this can be, but we want to make sure we deliver a high-quality product to you!

On another note, we will be upgrading from our current version FC12 to FC13.  We will be auto-upgrading clients so you won't have to download anything new.  You will be automatically moved from one version to the next!

Some of you have expressed having difficulty in logging back into the beta world and for this we apologize.  It happened because of the timing of a database snapshot we had taken and converted to a newer version.  Some accounts were "lost" because of this - however another file thought the accounts were still there so didn't let those people create new ones!  Suffice it to say that we have been working at resolving this for you.

Finally, I want to mention what is beta and what is not.  The open beta world ("hallway world") is specifically a test environment and will not become a production environment.  What does this mean?  Basically the open beta world will disappear when we release 2.0 -- our other production environment (the Dreamscape and Pride) will not .. they will be available to everyone.  The open beta world does not have a customer service group working on it like our production environments do -- just our Quality Assurance people who are making sure the product (WorldsAway) is bug-free.  They work really hard to make it as good as it can get!

All of us here at Fujitsu Software Corporation appreciate the work you testers have done to help us out.  We hope you have enjoyed your experiences with WorldsAway and that you will continue to use it!  If you have any questions or comments about WorldsAway please feel free to email us here at beta@worldsaway.com.

Thank you,
Greg Oberfield
Senior Producer, WorldsAway Products & Services
Fujitsu Software Corporation

1998

March

Subject: 4 Little Girls Chat Suite Confirmation

From ???@??? Mon Mar 02 08:14:19 1998
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Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 12:36:50 -0800 (PST)
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MIME-Version: 1.0
To: Person@e.mail.com
From: wa_webmail@worldsaway.com ("WorldsAway Registration")
Subject: 4 Little Girls Chat Suite Confirmation
Content-Type: text/plain


Hello Person,

You have successfully created an avatar named "Avatar1234" in the 4 Little 
Girls chat suite.

To use your avatar, proceed to our entry page at:
http://www.worldsaway.com/4littlegirls/enter/

When you find the World Entry Form, submit the following things including 
your new password:

   First Name:  Person
    Last Name:  Surname
Email Address:  e@mail.com
     Password:  haft&ceil

Subject: Important! Hotel Account Information

From ???@??? Thu Mar 26 00:00:05 1998
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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 15:53:57 -0800 (PST)
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Reply-to: wa_webmail@worldsaway.com (WA Team)
Errors-to: madaras@worldsaway.com
From: wa_webmail@worldsaway.com (WA Team)
To: xxx@xxx.xxx.xxx
Subject: Important! Hotel Account Information

Dear Hotel Members,

It's hard to believe that it has been almost one year since Hotel Silicon 
began as a beta world. Thanks to all of you, it has matured into a real 
community of its own. In order to keep up with the growth, we have added 
Concierges Claudette and Jean-Paul as well as a full valet staff. We have 
added many new heads, accessories and pieces of furniture in the vendos. 
We have also added the gaming room among other locales. Have you seen 
the new disco?

In order to continue supporting and growing this world, we've started to 
charge for membership in the Hotel (via our billing partner, iBill). Depending 
on your current membership status, there's an account that's right for you. 
If you created your Hotel Silicon account prior to March 2nd, you will need to 
convert your account to a Mercury, Silver, or Gold billing plan by April 1, 1998. 
We thank those of you who have already converted, and encourage those 
who haven't to do so soon!

You will be able to keep all of your avatars and possessions when you convert, 
and you will be able to enter the world with your old account through April 1. 
But time is running out!!!! 

On April 2, 1998, unconverted accounts will not be able to enter the Hotel. 
However, you can still convert after April 2; your avatars and possessions 
will still be available to you for 90 days. 

We've included instructions below to ensure a smooth and easy transition. 
Choose one of the two options that applies to you.

1. I'm a current Hotel Silicon member but I'm not a member of Dreamscape.
 
Open an Internet Billing account and all your avatars and possessions will 
automatically be transferred to your new account. For $9.95 per month (Mercury 
plan), you'll get unlimited access to Hotel Silicon including two avatars. You will 
be able to enter Hotel Silicon with one avatar at a time. The server will not allow 
simultaneous logins in a flat rate world. To convert your account go to the 
bottom of:
https://www.worldsaway.com/hotel/conversion/ 
and enter your current Hotel account information.

2. I already have an iBill account for Dreamscape, and want to convert my
existing Hotel account 

Your Gold or Silver Dreamscape Passport account now includes a new two-avatar 
account for you in Hotel Silicon at no additional cost. Current Dreamscape 
members with Bronze Passports can also convert their Hotel accounts by 
upgrading to the Mercury plan (see the Account Manager at: http://www.worldsaway.com/Members/acctmanager/ ). 
You will be able to enter Hotel Silicon with one avatar at a time. The server will 
not allow simultaneous logins in a flat rate world.

NOTE:  If you have existing avatars in the Hotel (especially with lots of stuff), these 
avatars will not convert to your iBill account. So, to get your stuff:
 
1.  go in with your old account,
2.  put ALL your possessions into one turf, even from your pockets
3.  add a trusted friend or Valet to your turf lease
4.  go change your name three times to something else
5.  enter Hotel with your new account's avatar
6.  have your friend add your new avatar back onto your turf lease
7.  remove your friend from the lease
8.  repeat this process with your second avatar if necessary
 
If you do not have a trusted friend to help you with this transfer, please contact a 
Concierge or Valet. 

NOTE: What you want to avoid is converting your free Beta/Hotel account to 
a second Ibill account and thereby incurring two monthly bills. We do not have the 
capability to 'merge' multiple Ibill accounts. We are sorry for any inconvenience 
this might cause. 

We hope that together we can continue growing Hotel Silicon. We look forward 
to seeing you in the Hotel!

Sincerely,

The WorldsAway Team