I noticed that many of my emails to players with AOL email addresses were being returned as "blocked". Apparently, AOL's policy for small developers requires that if any AOL customer marks one of our emails as "spam" then all emails from that developer to all AOL customers are immediately and automatically blocked from that point forward.

I was in the process of working through their system to submit an appeal but during that process two TBG players did not like receiving an email notification from us when they received two free label credits on their anniversary*. It seems clear to me that the decisions of the few will dictate the outcome for all TBG players in this case. The development community buzz basically tells me that all appeals are denied or more often are not responded to by AOL so my attempts to overturn the earlier decision where futile anyway.

The bottom line for TBG players is that if you have an AOL email then you probably will not be able to register for this game unless you whitelist email from robc@thatbrewerygame.com (and robc@gamesbyrobc.com) prior to registration. I say probably because one new customer from AOL registered this week while I was waiting for a response from AOL* and I don't know whether that customer whitelisted us or if it was a fluke that the registration email was allowed through. Since I don't collect any information about players except their email address at the time of registration that means I cannot contact you and let you know about this problem. For existing customers with AOL email addresses I will maintain your account status but I must ask you either to whitelist us or I would prefer if you would send me a new email address to use for your account.

To reiterate my policy on emails. I do send out marketing emails to try and increase the player base and keep in touch with registered players. But they are not from some spam generation machine, I write and personally send each one and I accept replies from each one. I immediately remove any player from the mailing list who requests that I do so. I will never sell or provide your email address to any third party, ever, as outlined in our simple Privacy Policy. Under the circumstances I think this treatment by AOL seems quite unfair but they are big and I am small so they make the rules.

Having said all that, it is important that I try and mitigate my long term relationship with AOL and AOL customers. Therefore for each 'blocked' email that I get back from AOL from this point forward I will mark that account as 'Do Not Mail'. This means that you will no longer receive notices or emails from me for any reason whatsoever. It also means that you become ineligible to receive free anniversary credits and other promotional gifts that I announce by email. I apologize for this treatment but I don't see any other solution. I want to keep you as a player but I need to maintain a valid useable email address for every player in game as an absolute minimum to satisfy industry standards for a web service that promotes alcohol consumption.

Other business...

In other business I am unhappy to report that our automatic crediting system from the game's online store is currently out of service. The company that I hire to develop and serve the online store decided without prior notification to me that the backend of the store needed an 'upgrade'. In the fine print they note that 'some scripts and customizations may no longer work'. Well, thanks very much for springing this one on me in the middle of our Oktoberfest event when registrations and player purchases are peaking. I have added the need to fix this ASAP to the other 'urgent things I didn't plan to do today'.

Based on other problems with this provider I have already selected a new payment processor for TBG and downloaded their specifications and API information. The new system requires a considerable amount of work on my part though since I will no longer send players to another website to collect order information. Therefore, the new system will not be in place for a few months. On the bright side the new system will offer payment options other than Paypal and I hope will in the long run be cheaper for me to operate also.

The store is completely functional and online so please do not hesitate to make purchases if you intend to do so during and immediately after the event! But any label credits that you purchase will not immediately appear in game, they will require that I manually add them to the game and this could be a delay of several hours from the time you make the purchase until I get the credits into the game. I wish that I could stay online all the time waiting for your sale but alas that is not within my power. I do promise to get the automatic system up and running again as soon as possible to eliminate the delay, thanks for your patience.

Last on my list today, if you are waiting to receive your free t-shirt for buying new label credits during the Oktoberfest event then don't panic. I will send the next batch out later this week just as soon as I receive size and shipping information from a few more players.

Thanks for playing!

-Robc

*(I applied for and am now included in AOLs notification system meaning that they tell me directly if an AOL customer has marked my email as SPAM. They do not tell me which customer(s) did so but at least I know when any AOL customer considers us to be disreputable)