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[recollecters]

Greetings, Users. Our system may be experiencing some residual glitches from a recent network malfunction. Our technical team is working on getting these issues under control. Please direct any concerns in the meantime to the HR department at humanresources@retrospec.com. Our staff has furthermore noticed a significant increase in tags and trends for #aprilfools and #pranks. Keep on your toes and be certain to tag your best tricks for Retrospec™! Please feel free to use this post as a network mingle. Every toplevel can be considered a new post, and threadjacking is permitted. No NPC response will be given. Any emails sent to the HR department will be returned with a failure to send notification, and will furthermore automatically be posted to the Retrospec network. Oops? Characters who have been in game for one month will find they can now change their profile pictures. Glitches will be in effect until the 15th and may include: -Usernames changing to a cat, dog, or bird pun. -The Retrospec application being changed into a neon color + animal theme of some variety. -Notifications going off at random and being unable to be turned off. -Various "special effects" crossing the screens when people comment. -Users having to beat a level of pac-man to access the application, and then being made to beat a new level every hour to keep using the application. -Thomas the Tank Engine memes being sent to users every hour for some reason. -Profile pictures being replaced by pictures of rabbits and easter eggs. -New creepy pasta stories appearing upon log-in, to be forwarded to someone before the app can continue to be used -Parental lock and auto-correct on cursing (i.e. fuck -> duck) -A parade of pixel Chocobos or dancing fruit scrolling across the screen after each comment posted

Comments

[rosettareflected]

Alicnya Clover Promotional consideration provided by Retrospec, the last social networking app you'll ever need. Closed alpha in progress, actual working beta coming in the distant future. It's been two months already - things should have stabilized by now, surely.

[Alicia blinks, before noticing her name is still not back to normal, sighing and returning to typing.]

Alicnya Clover Alicia Clover, actress and daughter of director Ross Clover. We haven't spoken, I don't think, but given what Retrospec is supposed to be, that doesn't mean terribly much.

[standalonehuman]

[Hunh. New addition to be made, then. He knew his count was getting off, but he can't be everywhere.]

Hitori Togusa It's very nice to meet you, then, Miss Clover. Officer Hitori Togusa, for transparency. I'm with the RPD.

[rosettareflected]

Alicnya Clover Pleased to meet you as well, officer.
Alicnya Clover You appear to have escaped the username change glitch; congratulations on that, it's mildly annoying.
Alicnya Clover It is comforting to know that someone in a public station understands, to an extent, why some of us are suddenly acting like our phones are the devil. Although I'm certain there are some things you'd have just as soon not seen.

[There are teenagers on the network who are, well, acting like teenagers. And more generally, not everything that's come up is entirely pleasant.]

[standalonehuman]

Hitori Togusa Oh, it's great.
Hitori Togusa Now two of my coworkers aren't content to just snipe at each other when we're having bullpen meetings, they've got a platform to have a flame war whenever they feel like it.

[No surprise...some of the adults are acting like teenagers, too.]

[rosettareflected]

Alicnya Clover I imagine that's great for productivity.
Alicnya Clover Not that I can talk when I know what else ends up on the network. For every legitimate concern that's timely and notable, there are several posts of nonsense.
Alicnya Clover I suppose that's to be expected on what is nominally a social network, but I feel like treating it as just that is perhaps too careless of us.

[Alicia is trying to be a teenager acting closer to an adult, is that worth anything? Not really.]

[standalonehuman]

Hitori Togusa Hey, it keeps me on the streets and out from behind the desk.
Hitori Togusa But, overall, people are being careful what they put on here. Most of the nonsense posts, like you say, are just that. Nonsense.
Hitori Togusa It helps some people feel like they're subverting whatever it is Retrospec wants from us.

[rosettareflected]

Alicnya Clover I can't keep up with that, honestly. There are only so many layers of subterfuge available before what you're doing doesn't matter in the grand scheme.
Alicnya Clover That is what those attempts kind of feel like? There are limits to sensible resistance, I think.

[standalonehuman]

Hitori Togusa That's fair, there's only so much you can do. It's also hard to justify putting a lot of effort into that resistance when we don't know what we're resisting against. And, if we've got a social application, why not use it, for, well, talking to people and meeting new people?
Hitori Togusa So long as people are careful about what information they put on here, which people have been, whatever Retrospec wants out of us will become obvious in time. In the meantime, it's gotten more people interacting with their neighbors.