Tiny Star

February 26, 2021

6 Years of Popcorn Q & A Announcement :)

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome back to a new post!

Today is yet again somewhat of a special update/announcement post!

If you haven't read the title, the upcoming date of March 2nd will celebrate the first day I made my Animal Jam account, popcornpizza25. These wonderful 6 years that I have been playing this game have been some of the best of my life, and remembering the ups and downs, friends, and memories of it all has recently had me overflowing with joy (Edit: Ew, I'm just now realizing how cringey that was) 

But on that note, I wanted to do something special for my 6 years "anniversary" since I've never really celebrated it any other years xd Well, I've got a blog, I've got some very kind readers, so I thought "why not?"

I will be doing a Q & A post! If you have any questions you would like to ask me, ask away in the comments! Ask as many or as little as you'd like; I'll be sure to answer all!

Just a couple of things to remember:

No personal questions, please

When you go to comment, please be aware of the commenting rules :)

The answers to all of your questions will be posted on the one and only, March 2nd, and I can't wait to see them! (Click on invitation to enlarge)


Also, one thing the invitation didn't mention was that my first AJMV will be posted on March 2nd as well! Dogo's AJMV post here really inspired me to make my own! I actually recorded the footage about 3 weeks ago, but would always hold off on the editing T^T That has officially changed, jammers, and the AJMV is done! (The song it will be playing to is "Adelaide" by Johnny Orlando :)

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

February 25, 2021

A Nightmarish Giraffe & Spring Layout Progress

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a new post! 

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In this post:

The Studio Corner is the SS today!

Scary giraffe O.o

Daily News
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Let's get right into the post!

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Hello, jammers! 

Yes, it is Thursday, which, yes, means it's Shop Shoutout day! (Eesh, try reading that 5 times fast)
A long with the infamous SS, I will be talking about some blog updates (again) and a very disturbing giraffe found in the pillow room :) 

Not a very big intro today, so let's get started!

This Thursday's very special Shop Shoutout is... 

The Studio Corner

Description: An artsy shop that sells a variety of paint-y items, as well as the 2 art easels you can use to paint and draw!

Location: Art Studio and the Masterpiece Gallery Party 

First Released: Art Studio - June 2016 & Masterpiece Gallery Party - Late 2016

Images: 


(There was another image but it "failed to upload")

I feel like this shop is pretty underrated. It's got some overall pretty cool items, and I feel like AJ should make it a little more noticeable or something :) 

Those are my opinions, anyways. 

Also! Do you know a pretty underrated shop in Jamaa? Want it to be featured in an edition of SS? Fill out the one-question survey to submit your answer :)


Moving on...

You may or may not look at all giraffes in Animal Jam differently after you see this. 


What even... is this item?? I've never seen it before, but it could just be an older item that everyone forgot about or something. 

I tried searching it up, but all I got was a character page for "Buckteeth" from the Bambi Wiki xd

Question for the comments: Do you know what this item is? If so, what is it?!

Finally, onto...


The AJD has some pretty exciting updates planned, so keep reading to find out what they are XP

Spring layout update - I know, it's still February! But I'm kind of getting sick of my blue theme; so you may or may not see a new theme in the early days of March...

New header - Also part of the spring layout change above, I am currently working on (actually, just finished uwu) a spring-themed header for the layout stuff! I've always used Canva for my headers, but I actually experimented using Pixlr X*! *Big thank you to Wild and Dogo for showing me it! 

TMR website update - I stated in my "The Reason My Posts Have Gotten Shorter" post (which you can read here) that I was working on a complete, official website for TMR! I'm using Weebly, and still trying to figure out how to actually use it, but we're chillin xd I hope to get it out sometime in March, after Tkaranto releases their March issue of TMR :) 

"Links" page? - Finally, I'm thinking about adding a Links page. This page would be more like a resource for AJ players and bloggers. I would link the websites I use for my headers, graphics, fonts, etc. as well as AJ resources like The Daily Explorer, AJ's Terms of Service (just in case anyone wants to look at it), and AJHQ's help section at animaljam.com :) Let me know if this sounds like a pretty cool page; I'm on the fence about it...

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And that, will wrap up this Thursday's post! I hope you got some kind of use out of this post, and remember to submit your answers in the poll!

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

(Oh, new signature in the works as well :)

February 24, 2021

The Daily Interview - Season 1, Episode 1: Nafaria9

Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and we've got ourselves a very special post today!

Welcome to the first (of hopefully many!) episode of "The Daily Interview" with popcorn! I do hope that this can become somewhat of a series, but a lot of the more popular/past bloggers have said goodbye and moved on. But, I will try and reach out as best I can :)

I am very excited for this one, as I interviewed one of my long-time blogger inspirations! Let's all welcome...

nafaria9 (or naffy!)

Naffy is a long-time Animal Jam blogger who started her blog, The Animal Jam Whip, in late 2012! Although she has (at the time being) stopped regularly posting, her posts and blog proves a great inspiration for many other future and present bloggers!

Big thank you to you, naffy, for letting me bombard you with questions...  :')
 
Let's get straight onto the interview! 

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When did you first join the blogging community?

i joined in late 2012. whoaaa that was almost 10 years ago what the heck


What inspired you to start blogging? 

i read a bunch of other blogs and i loved animal jam so i wanted to make a blog too!


If you could make any changes to AJC (Animal Jam Classic), what would they be? 

add more content probably, there's not a whole lot to do lol


What are your favorite and least favorite parts about AJC?

i really liked the community of animal jam, the friends and memories i made while playing helped shape me into who i am today


Is there anyone you used to/currently look up to?

when I played animal jam I really looked up to meloetta385


Finally, what is your favorite blog post that you've posted?

oh gosh there are so many i can barely remember any of them!!

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And that will wrap up the first episode of The Daily Interview with popcorn! Let me know how entertaining/fun this was to read; it was definitely fun to write! 

(Thank you again, naffy, for your participation in this interview :) Make sure you visit her blog, The Animal Jam Whip, soon!


February 22, 2021

Friendship Bonnet & Some Friendship Item Ratings

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome back to a new post!

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In this post: 

RIM

Friendship Item Ratings from Jam Mart Clothing :)
---

Let's get right into the post!

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Hello jammers :')

I just got back from the road trip I told you all about in my previous post, and I'm exhausted. But you know what I thought? I said to myself, "popcorn, get your act together and write a gosh darn post". So, here it is! I hope to make this somewhat of a longer one, but no promises...

Anyways, like (almost) every Monday we'll start of by talking about the RIM and with that, I'm also going to be doing a little rating-some-items part as well :)

Without further ado, let's start!

The RIM today was quite an interesting one if I'm being completely honest. It was...

A Rare Friendship Bonnet! 


Some basic info :)
  • Price: 900 gems (woof, little expensive)
  • Members only? Yes
  • Location: Jam Mart Clothing
I think AJHQ has now released 3 different types of bonnets (not including the "baby" ones); I'm actually pretty surprised. I definitely didn't know what a bonnet was until I found them on AJ xd 

Also, I know we're still near Friendship Festival and stuff but am I the only one kind of ready for this whole pink/pastel blue color theme to be over? I don't know, it's just not my favorite :l

Moving on :P

Time to rate some items!

I started off by looking at some of the new(ish) den items available. 

The first one I came across was none other than...

Giant Heart Shaped Strawberry


This repetitive pattern of "giant" items is starting to get just a tad annoying. But I think it's a pretty cool item for maybe a... grocery store roleplay? 
Price Rating: ★★★★☆
Look Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

Light-Up Friendship Tree


This is an interesting one. I think I really like the idea, and overall the item isn't entirely bad. It just looks like it lacks in the detail compartment. For example, the hearts look a little unfinished and more 2 dimensional whilst the trunk of the tree looks like a twig uwu 
Price Rating: ★★★★☆
Look Rating: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

Friendship Pizza


Wow. Not really much I can say, to be honest. It's a pretty cool den item, I guess, and I like how it's non member and has the steam effect coming off of the item! The price is actually pretty good, considering the size of the item!
Price Rating: ★★★★★
Look Rating: ★★★★☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★½ ☆


And that will wrap up this Monday's post! Ugh, not as long a post as I thought -_- I do have a couple of reasons for that (which you can read about in my previous post), and I'll also be putting out a post either tomorrow or Wednesday explaining Blog Advertising tips :)

Sorry if at any point in this post I sounded grumpy/sarcastic. Like I said earlier, I just got back from a long, tiring road trip and I'm beyond exhausted. As you can probably tell, I am not a happy camper when I'm tired xd

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!





February 18, 2021

The Reason My Posts Have Gotten Shorter (Small Update C:)

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a new post!

---
In this post:

A pretty important update on why my posts may or may not seem to be getting shorter!
---

Let's get straight into this post!

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Hello, jammers :) Now over the course of the past 2 weeks you may (or may not) have felt my posts have gotten a bit shorter. I do have a couple of reasons for that, and I will be explaining them all below! 

Edit: Sorry if this post sounds kind of rushed! Me and my friends were about to leave for a trip, and I didn't have much time xd

Let's get started!

Education

I know I probably have made excuses about my personal education many times, but it is a pretty big part of my life (but probably everyone else's too :P). Education is very important to me, and although I would love to just sit down and write a blog post, I really need to focus on my classes and grades, as well. 

Personal Life

Especially with this pandemic, I find it hard not to be drawn to my computer (surprising, I know). I personally try to portion my time on it but with family, friends, and extra-curriculars but it can definitely get stressful trying to write a blog post, spend time with important people in my life, and focus on school! 

Mental Health

Although my mental health has never been all that great, it's gotten worse since this whole pandemic hit. I've struggled with it for awhile now, and I feel I really need to start doing more things that make me happy! (Like writing blog posts XP) Seeing all of your comments and positive responses to what I write makes me unexplainably happy. It really has put me in a better head space, and I truly thank you all for that. 

Big Updates

Finally, out of the serious stuff, I've been hard at work working on some big new updates for this blog (as well as my other blogs) including starting a complete website for TMR (I'm very excited about this), experimenting with more layout ideas, and working on making some of the requested posts for you all :) 

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And that, my fellow jammers, will wrap up this post! Sorry if it sounded like a big "quitting" post or something like that, but I can tell you right now no matter how long it takes for me to put a full-length post, I will get in a rant or 2 ;) I will also start (more) frequently updating the pages as well as start making some new ones! 

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

Donate Day #1

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a new post!

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In this post:

*new* Donate Day!

Shop Shoutout

AJ Ally
---

Let's get right into the post!

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Happy Thursday, jammers! This post (like many past ones) will be a more relaxed, talk-ish post as well as an introduction to a new exclusive! 

Let's start, shall we?

To start off this post, I though I'd introduce you to a new exclusive I will be adding! Let's welcome...

Donate Day was an idea I got from, well, the Conservation Museum! I've always tried to monthly donate 500-1000 gems to one of the 3 big cats. Since I've actually possessed a lot of unneeded gems from my "arcade phase" *shudders*, I decided to move it weekly and now donate 100-250 gems to one of the big cats (the amount depending on my gem level) We'll see how long it takes for me to go broke... 

Anyways, this week's Donate Day big cat was... the cheetah! 

Edit: Funny story, it actually took me about 3 tries to actually successfully get this recording uploaded and not accidentally trashed, so I ended up donating about 3000 gems to the cheetah off-camera :l 

Yay, cheetahs! Here's the recording :P

Next up...

Shop Shoutout! Today's Shop Shoutout is quite an interesting one if I'm completely honest, and seems to also get pretty overlooked. Introducing...

The Adventure Shop

Description: The Adventure Shop is the shop in Adventure Base Camp. Though not many people know much about it, it's overall a pretty great shop and sells a variety of phantom cages and enclosures. 

Location: The right corner of Adventure Base Camp (which is the first tab in the "Parties" category)

First Released: September 2013

Fun Facts: 
  • There is a pattern where the iron items (Phantom Cage, Phantom Lockbox, etc.) are 400 gems less than their wood variants
  • Before the shop was released, jammers thought that the shop would let them obtain phantoms and "adventure powerups". However, that was eventually proven wrong following the shop's release
Images: 



Finally onto AJ Ally :)

This AJ Ally was quite an interesting one. Not sure if this was coincidental or not, but I would say it's a mix of creepy and cool :')


*shudders*

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And that will wrap up this Thursday's post! Yes, I know, I know, my posts keep getting shorter and shorter. Don't worry, there is an explanation which will be coming shortly (once I actually work out the details and logistics of it)

But like always,

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

(new signature may be in the works X)

February 16, 2021

Feb. Issue of the Mira Report is Out!

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and WHOOP! The February Issue of The Mira Report is officially out and published! 

I want to give a huge thank you to Tkaranto who helped me recognize and remember how much I enjoyed making these, while also taking the pressure of making one monthly off of my back! I can not give a thank you big enough, but I hope that last "paragraph" help describe the relief of you helping out!

Anyways, Popcorn, focus. If you would like to read this month's issue, you can visit this link right here OR visit my "The Mira Report" tab at the top of my blog! I will also link that page here :)

Let me know what you think below and remember to come back next month for Tkaranto's March Issue (which will also be linked in that tab as well as any future issues)! 

>> Also, if you want to read about 2 weird glitches, visit my most recent post here! <<

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!




2 Glitches + Mira Fun

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a pretty quick post!

---
In this post:

Mira Fun

2 special glitches 
---

Okay... so. My absence doesn't deserve an apology, but as you probably read in my past posts, I've gotten pretty busy over the past couple of weeks and started to get serious with academic decisions as well as my extra-curriculars. 

I hope these absences die off as the month continues, but for now no promises. (Though I will try my absolute hardest to at least get in a rant about an item :P)

Let's just get straight into the post!

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To start off today's post, it looks like Mira has arose from the depths of... a campfire? Indeed, she has. If you've never done this trick, here are your instructions:

1. Go to Sarepia Forest and head to the campfire (as displayed in the picture below)

2. Gather at least 4 buddies/jammers and gather around the fire

3. Start dancing! You need 4 people dancing around the fire for Mira to awake!

It took awhile (because no one believed me :l) but eventually I people started to dance with me, and it was actually pretty cool to watch! It may get boring after 5 minutes of dancing and watching a blue, transparent shadow flap her wings around a fire but it's a pretty experience :)


Now onto 2 new editions of...
Oh the glitches you find. Today, I found some pretty weird ones while wandering the wild west that is Jamaa Township. 
The first one appears to be a shark... with no facial features. I found this glitch in someone's shop, but if I remember correctly there were 2 other weird, glitched sharks. Now as you can see, the price tag for this shark is 25 diamonds, which leads me to believe that maybe these sharks are purposely hacked/glitched. 

Apparently, on my way back to my den I seem to have gotten stuck. Stuck in the walls that protect my solidarity. Or maybe the fence. But anyways it was like that for a while. I was unable to move and was just sitting in the corner. Me and my buddy were planning to meet in my den and when she came, she couldn't find me xD Not until I told her where I was. Eventually, the whole app just shut itself down. Ok, AJHQ, you may need to look into that...

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Annnnnnd that will wrap up this Tuesday's post! I hope you enjoyed this kind of short, hopefully somewhat entertaining post! 

Question for the Comments: What's the weirdest glitch you've seen/done?

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

February 15, 2021

Friendship Festival Trivia Contest WINNER!

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a new post! 

Once again, no "In this post" today because it's time to announce the contest winners for the Friendship Festival Trivia Contest! Big thanks to the 4 contestants that decided to enter! And don't worry, if you didn't get to participate this time, as my goal says I hope to host at least 2 more contests before June 2021! 

But anyways. All comment entries are now accepted in the Contests tab, and here were the answers to the 5 questions you were asked! (Also, comment moderation is now off again because of the contests' end)

1. Princess Castle

2. Special Delivery

3. (Special thanks to Rainbow for letting me know about this one!) The 2 accepted answers were the Friendship Cottage and the new Friendship Fortress that came in the Best Friends bundle this month!

4. Pink and red were the colors I was going for :) (Everyone got that)

5. This is a huge list and everyone said different answers, but they all ended up being right!

The contestants with the most answers answered correctly got entered into a wheel to determine who would get the prize! I recorded the spin process below (so you wouldn't think I just selected someone special or anything), but also to build suspense >:) 


I hope it loads...

EDIT: Ugh no, the thumbnail completely ruined the surprise! >:(

Congrats, winner! Let me know a good time frame that we could meet on AJ so you can receive your prize :')

*The RIM post will be posted later today, don't miss it!

Once again, thank you to everyone who entered! This was a pretty fun contest overall, and I hope to make more of these kinds of contests in the future!

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

February 14, 2021

Winter Layout Update!

 Hey jammers! No "fun" post today, more of a little update! 

As you can probably see, I've decided to do a mini winter layout update! (Which was completely inspired by Comet and her blog, the Animal Jam Soul and Star, check it out here!) 

New header, new colors, new mouse, but everything else *should* be exactly where it was :) Let me know what you think about it in the comments!

I may change up the background; I like the dots, but I may zoom it in a little, add a filter (to make it lighter), and then resize it again. We'll see how it goes :P

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Make sure you enter the Friendship Festival Trivia Contest! ENTRIES ARE DUE TOMORROW (FEB. 15) Please let me know if I need to extend the time!

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!



February 13, 2021

Daily Explorer Post Talk-Through

Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome back to a new post!

---
In this post: 

Daily Explorer Post Talk-Through 

*new!* What's Coming?

Daily News
---

Let's get right into the post!

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Well. First of all, big apologies for skipping the exclusive Thursday and Friday posts last week! My school is currently making us select our course semester classes for next year already, and the deadline is coming soon :l I guess it's to make sure we're registered early or something? Anyways, even with that I shouldn't have just left you all out to dry :( I'll try to stick to the schedule and we'll see how it goes :P

But anyways, today's post (like many of the recent posts) is going to be a more chill post. I'll be looking through and talking about some of the recent Daily Explorer posts!

For those who don't know, the Daily Explorer is AJHQ's official blog. I'll link it here, and you can also find it at the footer of this blog :) 

Let's get started XP

Purrrfect Saturday - 2/13


The most recent one is from today and honestly made my day :') All of the animal masterpieces are so cute and well executed! I especially love that second white cat one ^.^ This definitely made my Saturday Puurfect XP

Year of the Ox - Feb 12

Next up was a 1-sentence long post captioned "Join us in the Chinese New Year Party and Ring in the Year of the Ox in Animal Jam and Animal Jam Classic!" 
Yay.

Spread AJ Kindness! - Feb 11


Next up is one of my FAVORITE posts; a kindness one! In this post, AJHQ found and posted some of these kind messages/pictures to help promote kindness throughout it's games! I screenshotted a few of the ones that I particularly liked above! :) I'm glad AJHQ recognized (and actually did) something about this, even if it was just for Valentines Day! 

Pamper your Pets - Feb 10

Dress up your pets in Animal Jam (PW) with the new item releases in Paws N' Claws! Use #AJFavfurrite on social media to possibly get noticed by AJHQ!

National Pizza Day - Feb 9

Apparently, February 9 was national pizza day! The caption for this post was "We hope it's not too cheesy to say Happy National Pizza Day!" Um, nope, definitely not too cheesy...

Onto a new addition!

I've decided to add a "What's Coming?" portion to the blog, because I'm currently working on a few pages/posts that I would love to share with you! Here are todays': 

- 2 new Fer.al posts! 
- A "Fan Art" page for the wonderful drawings you all have made me :')
- More ideas for the "Bored? Try These Ideas!" section
- Additional pages for the Pet Guide

As you can see, I have my hands pretty full right now xD This is an apology for the future if any posts are missed this week/the coming weeks XP

Here's what's new on the AJD!

- New About page you can find on the second page tab of my blog!
- Remember to enter the Friendship Festival Trivia Contest! Entries are due by Feb. 15th and you can find more detailed information by visiting my "Contests" tab (or by clicking this link :)

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That will wrap up today's post! Again, sorry for the lack of involvement in this blog the past couple of days! I'm trying to become better with managing my time here, as well as focusing on my other activities/school X)

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

February 11, 2021

Vai's Favicon Help Post!

 Hey jammers! Not really a post today, more a help for Vai and her favicon! 

Anyways, Vai, I tested your image in the website Online Image Editor (the one linked in my help post) and even though it looked like your image was square, it was off by a few degrees! I just fixed it, and here's the image! (Just right click it and save it to your device again. Then, follow the last couple of steps in my How To Add a Favicon post on my other blog!) Sorry it's so small!


Hope this helped!

~popcorn 

P.S. This favicon looks amazing!


February 10, 2021

The AJ Items Sold 'IRL' Dilemma

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a new post!

---
In this post:

AJ Items Sold 'IRL' Dilemma
---

Let's get straight into this post!

Disclaimer: This idea was fully inspired by DoomyPanda! You can access their post here :)

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Alright jammers. Time for a bit of serious post. (Wow, I sound really dramatic and cringe here, ignore that)

After reading DoomyPandas' post, I decided to do some extra research because I thought this was a very important topic that needed a bigger discussion. Here is my jumble of research, opinions, and discoveries ^.^

*Big Disclaimer (please read): If you ever decide to further investigate these kinds of things too, please make sure you're careful. This I wouldn't consider the "black market", but can be very dangerous. It's always a good idea to have a safety browser extension (like Norton) for these kinds of sites and adult/older supervision while on them as well. Don't click on any suspicious extra links/websites/ads that you find on any of these sites. And of course don't buy these items! I can tell you right now without needing proof that 99.9% of these are scams. They'll obtain credit card information, plus real life money with your purchases. If you would like to see some tips on how to stay safe online, you can read my Internet Safety Tips page here. 

Finding the Websites

First, I searched up "selling Animal Jam items" to see what would find and the top 2 websites that popped up were "PlayerUp" and "PlayerAuctions", though PlayerUp was a lot more active with selling Animal Jam Items. Wow, there were a lot. 



As you can see, there are a variety of high-rarity items including Black Longs, Headdresses, Pet Bears, even high-rarity accounts. Yep. Accounts. You can buy someone's account that already has Headdresses, Rare Pets, you name it. Look at how many offers there are. 1,181. 

And look at the prices. As I took a closer look into these kinds of scams, there seems to be 2 different pricing "strategies" here. 

Low Pricing


The cheap strategy is probably the best one. This can attract to younger viewers more thinking 'Whoa, it's that cheap! Yeah!' 3 dollars for a variety of pet bears? Who wouldn't want that! Those are the kinds of things that scammers want you to get into your mind. They want to trick your brain into thinking that deals this good can't be passed up. 

High Pricing 


This person is sure selling a lot of items; a lot of items they probably don't have. The total for this is $200. That's insane. For a game? Yeah, maybe some of the famous jammers do that to grow their account and reputation. But is it really that worth it? If you think about it, a 6 month membership costs 30 dollars. If you keep that membership recurring for 2 years, then in total you will spend about 120 dollars. So a 2 years worth of membership costs less than the price of these items. I mean, if you work hard enough, you could most likely obtain these items in the span of 2 years. So, whether people notice this or not, why do they still purchase these items?

The Big Questions

1. Are these kinds of sales illegal? 

2. Why do people actually purchase these items?

Here are my answers. 

1. This is a tricky one, but it mostly depends on where you live. In section 5 of Animal Jam's Terms of Service, (quoted from text) "This includes attempts to trade Animal Jam virtual items outside of our in-game trading system,..." Basically, exactly what the people on this website are doing. As I dove further into this question, I found so many replies that I decided to at least try to make a condensed statement: You do not personally own the game, rather, you own a right to use the software. The terms and license will specify the ways in which they allow you to use the software, but they typically reserve all other rights. This most likely includes the right to profit from the game/any items from the game. Your selling of in-game items outside is under the games' rights and/or laws. 

Screenshot from section 5 of Animal Jam's Terms of Service

2. Think about it. You're not rare in Animal Jam. At all. And you meet this person in Jamaa saying that you can buy free items for just a couple of bucks. You find a website and see the pricings for a Magenta Headdress. $20?! Wow! That's amazing! 

Maybe you wouldn't fall for this trick now. You've probably heard, or read about it, or you're just older and have a sense of the drastic size these types of scams are. But if you were younger, would you fall for it? I honestly think younger me would. Say you had a membership. You're already spending money towards the game anyways, so what's a few extra bucks going to do? This is the problem these kinds of scams spark. 

It's really like falling for a normal item scam in Animal Jam. You know how scamming works, and you tell yourself over and over that you'll never fall for a scam again. Then comes along that one person, who has a list full of Headdresses and solids. You so desperately want it, and all they're asking for is your only green long! Wow, what a deal! You trade them your long for a necklace, and they're gone. They've disappeared with your rare. Now, thinking about that scenario, why did the jammer feel so tempted? Was it how trust-worthy the scammer sounded? Was it the amount of rares on their list? This is not only in Animal Jam. These scams happen in real life, and can be avoidable if you know how to navigate them. 

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And that, fellow jammers, will wrap up this post! I hope this was at least somewhat interesting; I learned a lot from writing this post and reading these websites (I'm literally never going back there again) Remember: never buy any of the items that you see are being sold for real money. Preferably,  steer clear of these websites, too. 

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

February 8, 2021

How I Plan & Write My Posts!

 Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome to a new post! (I've rearranged the In this post layout! From now on, I probably won't keep explaining each segment and just put the title :)

---
In this post: 

Friendship Jersey RIM

AJ Ally

How I Plan & Write My Posts 

Mini Survey 
---

Let's get straight into the post!

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I thought we would start this Monday's post off by talking about the new RIM, which is...

A Rare Friendship Jersey!


Some basic info:
  • Price: 625 gems
  • Members only? Yes
  • Location: Jam Mart Clothing, Jamaa Township
Hmm, I see where they were going with this. I'm just not sure it was completely delivered, you know? It's a pretty ok RIM, I guess.

Moving on...

Today's AJ Ally was pretty cool! In Jamaa Township, I saw these 3 foxes sitting together with star hats. That's something you don't see everyday xD


Cute. And a bit creepy. 

Onto...

I thought that for the bonus part to this post, I would show you my "procedure" (as I consider it) to how I plan the post, obtain my information, and then eventually start writing it! 

Let's get started!

To start off my post, I usually follow PIWR which stands for plan, information, write, and revise. *Warning: the use of abbreviations I use below is a strict overuse, so just try to ignore that :)

1. Plan - Plan means a lot of things when it comes to writing a post (at least for me). First, I have to figure out what I'm going to write about! Sometimes it's a new item that comes out, or just an idea I had for a bonus post. Bonus posts can either attach to another update about the game itself, or in some cases become it's own post (if I have a lot to talk about xD). I usually group post topics into categories, or the abbreviation I like to use, IFR: Informative (which is usually information about updates, new items, etc.), "Fun" (posts about minigames, adventures, etc.), or Rants (posts about a certain topic/subject that I have much to talk about whether it's environmental issues, game problems, etc.). Extra Tip: If you're having trouble finding ideas to write about, think about PIT (or ProblemsInterests, Thoughts). 

  • Problems - Do you notice any problems about AJC? Bugs, glitches, game improvements, etc.? Anything around this area is considered a "Problem Post" (in my perspective). Problem Posts are usually more common around the time AJ releases a new update/some new items, because there's a higher chance of mistake early on (as we saw with the Bakery Items in late January). These are great for informative posts, and can engage a reader well. 

  • Interests - Interests are what you'll usually see me write about more. Interest Posts are usually posts filled with opinions, because you're usually talking about an item, event, or place in Jamaa that interests you. Whether it's a favorites post (my favorite pets, my favorite den betas, etc.), or just a small rant about one of your favorite items, Interest Posts are always fun to read and write. 

  • Thoughts - Finally, Thought Posts are really just rants. That's it. Similar to Interest Posts, Thought Posts are usually more opinionated and persuasive posts, with stated facts to help persuade your reader to your point of view. These are also very similar to Rants, because you're specifically talking about one event/item/place from your own perspective! 
2. Information - Next up is Information. This is the step in my process where I've already figured out my topic for the post. I now have to gather pictures, facts, and extra information to correctly display the topic I'm writing about (in other words, I can't have a full informative post with just my opinions). To do this I go to my 2 main sources, Animal Jam Wiki and Animal Jam itself. I'll usually start by going to Animal Jam Wiki if I'm writing about a specific item/event/place in Jamaa. This is also where I get additional pictures (unless I just search it up on google XP) Once I have the information, I'll start the post by adding a very bad title and a very messy rough draft of all the facts/pictures I found. 

After I finish gathering up the main information and facts, I'll go to AJC and take screenshots of what I'm writing about. For example, if I'm rating some Epic Dens I find, I'll go to the den, take a screenshot, and immediately insert it into the post so I don't forget the file title (and also, don't forget the file itself which I tend to do a lot xd) Once in Jamaa again, I look at prices in shops, fun facts about items, basically every little fact I can find related to what I'm writing about. It's a pretty long process, but worth it in the end :)

3. Write! - By now, we've got the basics done. Pictures and facts are all added to the post, we just now need to organize them! I'll start with the intro, and then gradually add words, headers, and paragraphs to the already-added pictures and information. Overall, this step is pretty self-explanatory. 

4. Revise - Revising is one of the most important steps when writing. It's always important to fact check, spell check, and grammar check your post before you hit publish. Seriously. Would you want to read a post like this?

Heey jmmerss its me poopcorn welcoom beck tooo anuthor pest so lits get storteed 

No. The correct answer is no. 

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Finally, if you would like to see more of these blogger tip posts, let me know! Here's a quick survey you can fill out :)


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And that will wrap up this Monday's post! I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you'd like to see more of these, click the link above! 

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!

February 7, 2021

The 4 Styles of Dens that Popcorn Has Found (EDS)

Hey jammers! Popcorn here, and welcome back to a brand new post!

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In this post: 

The _ Styles of Dens I've Found - I'll show you some of the "styles" of dens that I found while searching Epic Dens!
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Let's get right into the post!

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I got this idea from randomly scrolling through Epic Dens, actually. You realize the diversity in the dens, even if they aren't, well, time-consumed dens. Anyways, I thought it would be fun to hunt down some of the "styles" of dens that I found would commonly repeat themselves. 

Also, I decided to do something called "EDS", which stands for Epic Den Series. I have a good amount of Epic Dens posts planned, and I thought if I grouped them all together you could locate them easier maybe? But that's just an idea :P

Let's start!

Minimalist Dens



Minimalist Dens are basically just placing a few items into a den. There's not much to it. The amount there was in Epic Dens was actually pretty surprising. I'm not sure if AJHQ should actually maybe consider these dens going into Epic Dens?? I'm just not completely... blown away with these kinds of dens you know? But it's obviously out of my control and I don't decide the dens that go in there :P
Rating of Style: ★★☆☆☆

Phantom/Dark Dens

We've all probably heart of these phantom dens. I tend to see them a lot (surprisingly), and I actually think a lot of them are pretty cool! I especially liked this one, because of the multiple statues and the fire pits that matched the volcanic atmosphere of the den they used!
Rating of Style: ★★★★☆



Masterpiece/Gallery Dens

Ah, yes. The classic, OG gallery dens. These have been popular for basically forever, and are vert popular amongst art collectors and artists themselves. The most trending masterpiece "styles" I feel are BTS art, Billie Eilish art, and realistic art. I'm half-hearted about masterpiece dens. Cool? Yes. Creative? … Yes. Overall, it's a pretty cool den, and can really the idea with the more masterpieces you have. 
Rating of Style: ★★★☆☆

House Den

Finally, we have the House Den. These types of dens are usually set up like a... house! They're also very common for parent/child roleplays. I really loved this one I found, mostly because it really reminded me of a house XP Also, everything was neatly put together and all kind of fit. I think this is a great idea!
Rating of Style: ★★★★☆

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And that will wrap up this Sunday's bonus post! I hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think about the Epic Dens Series!

Thanks for reading and happy jamming!