NFTs- legitimate or a scam?

[The Alma Mater]

This "Neopets Metaverse" attempt at selling NFTs has ended. The final outcome was as follows:

They only sold 4,233 out of 10,000 for a total of 8,707.5 SOL or currently valued at roughly $2,110,000 USD. Was the sale really a success or not in your opinion? On one hand, making $2.1 million off of an old brand that most people don't talk about or remember is a success if they cash out. But its a failure in that they didn't manage to sell even half of what they were aiming for.

It is about 4000 more than I expected. After all, the Neopets site itself is still based on flash, a technology that was killed in january - so the site has been defunct for almost a year.

[-Astoria-]

This "Neopets Metaverse" attempt at selling NFTs has ended. The final outcome was as follows:

They only sold 4,233 out of 10,000 for a total of 8,707.5 SOL or currently valued at roughly $2,110,000 USD. Was the sale really a success or not in your opinion? On one hand, making $2.1 million off of an old brand that most people don't talk about or remember is a success if they cash out. But its a failure in that they didn't manage to sell even half of what they were aiming for.

It is about 4000 more than I expected. After all, the Neopets site itself is still based on flash, a technology that was killed in january - so the site has been defunct for almost a year.

Incorrect, since they're still around; methinks that they're now using HTML5 or something these days.

Beta V0.4.2
12/28/2020

What's New
As the year draws to a close, it has come time to say goodbye to Flash, but not goodbye to Neopets! We're excited to continue making the site better, more mobile-friendly and Flash-free in the new year.

[...]

Viewing Classic Pages
You may notice that the "View Classic" link is no longer available in the left-hand dropdown menu. As discussed previously, all pages that have been converted will be the default while all classic pages will be remain available for pages we have not yet converted.

Flash Messaging
You may also notice a message about Flash in place of a Flash element in place. If you are still able to access Flash, you just need to do the same thing you've usually done to allow Flash in your browser and it'll appear again. When the times comes that the browsers stop supporting Flash, you'll need to wait for that element to be converted before using it again.

[The Alma Mater]

It is about 4000 more than I expected. After all, the Neopets site itself is still based on flash, a technology that was killed in january - so the site has been defunct for almost a year.

Incorrect, since they're still around; methinks that they're now using HTML5 or something these days.

Beta V0.4.2
12/28/2020

What's New
As the year draws to a close, it has come time to say goodbye to Flash, but not goodbye to Neopets! We're excited to continue making the site better, more mobile-friendly and Flash-free in the new year.

[...]

Viewing Classic Pages
You may notice that the "View Classic" link is no longer available in the left-hand dropdown menu. As discussed previously, all pages that have been converted will be the default while all classic pages will be remain available for pages we have not yet converted.

Flash Messaging
You may also notice a message about Flash in place of a Flash element in place. If you are still able to access Flash, you just need to do the same thing you've usually done to allow Flash in your browser and it'll appear again. When the times comes that the browsers stop supporting Flash, you'll need to wait for that element to be converted before using it again.

Yes, they have converted a grand total of about 10 of their 500 or so games. I daresay that is defunct

[-Astoria-]

Yes, they have converted a grand total of about 10 of their 500 or so games. I daresay that is defunct

Fast, good or cheap? You can only pick two.

Plus, one may have to factor in the disease-that-shall-not-be-named, too.

[Grenartia]

NFTs?

NO
FUCKING
THANKS

[The Alma Mater]

Yes, they have converted a grand total of about 10 of their 500 or so games. I daresay that is defunct

Fast, good or cheap? You can only pick two.

Plus, one may have to factor in the disease-that-shall-not-be-named, too.

The end of life of flash was announced in 2017.

[-Astoria-]

Fast, good or cheap? You can only pick two.

Plus, one may have to factor in the disease-that-shall-not-be-named, too.

The end of life of flash was announced in 2017.

Well then I'm not sure, I'm not employed there.

[Pasong Tirad]

NFTs?

NO
FUCKING
THANKS

Did you just steal my NFT

NFTs more like no fucking thanks

[Grenartia]

NFTs?

NO
FUCKING
THANKS

Did you just steal my NFT

NFTs more like no fucking thanks

Your NFT? No, OUR NFT.

[Awesomeland]

An NFT is a form of digital "collectible" that exists on a blockchain, similar to Bitcoin. The technology of blockchains means that each NFT is verifiably unique. They are bought and sold using a variety of cryptocurrencies. However, it is important to note that while many NFTs are tied to digital artwork, what you are buying is *not* the artwork. You gain no rights to it whatsoever, nor any exclusivity outside of the NFT blockchain. What you buy is a digital receipt with the artwork/info about item on it. NFTs by themselves serve no other functions outside of cryptocurrency trading/speculation but can supposedly be used for other assets like real estate.

I am not convinced these things have any legitimate use as they share none of the qualities one might associate with actual property, real or virtual. It's clear that these are little more than a convenient vehicle for money laundering.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

A solution to problems that don’t exist.

From a security perspective, blockchain is a brilliant innovation and NFTs are an interesting application of it, but the thing about security is that it is only meaningful if it, you know, secures something. Security for the sake of security is meaningless.

What exactly is being secured here? As was already noted on the very first page of this thread, these things are about as useful as deeds to lunar real estate.

I mean, there are avid collectors for just about anything one can imagine, so I find it plausible that some people will really find owning a unique digital token to be worth paying real money for in and of itself, but for 99% of the population this is a scam.

[Solerrai]

Personally, I just don't find them sustainable, at all. When anybody can just click "save image" or screenshot them, theres no point in spending thousands on them. Unless they put some serious security measures in place, its too easy and will crash soon for sure

[The Alma Mater]

An NFT is a form of digital "collectible" that exists on a blockchain, similar to Bitcoin. The technology of blockchains means that each NFT is verifiably unique. They are bought and sold using a variety of cryptocurrencies. However, it is important to note that while many NFTs are tied to digital artwork, what you are buying is *not* the artwork. You gain no rights to it whatsoever, nor any exclusivity outside of the NFT blockchain. What you buy is a digital receipt with the artwork/info about item on it. NFTs by themselves serve no other functions outside of cryptocurrency trading/speculation but can supposedly be used for other assets like real estate.

I am not convinced these things have any legitimate use as they share none of the qualities one might associate with actual property, real or virtual. It's clear that these are little more than a convenient vehicle for money laundering.

In principle it is not that different from signed baseball cards and such. You do not own the player depicted on the card, you do not hold the rights to the picture - you just have an object with a certain rarity.
Only in this case the object is virtual and you technically only own the signature.

[Ifreann]

I am not convinced these things have any legitimate use as they share none of the qualities one might associate with actual property, real or virtual. It's clear that these are little more than a convenient vehicle for money laundering.

In principle it is not that different from signed baseball cards and such. You do not own the player depicted on the card, you do not hold the rights to the picture - you just have an object with a certain rarity.
Only in this case the object is virtual and you technically only own the signature.

And at any time the object might cease to exist.

[The Alma Mater]

In principle it is not that different from signed baseball cards and such. You do not own the player depicted on the card, you do not hold the rights to the picture - you just have an object with a certain rarity.
Only in this case the object is virtual and you technically only own the signature.

And at any time the object might cease to exist.

But the signature is eternal.
In theory. Not in practice probably.

[Saiwania]

Yes, they have converted a grand total of about 10 of their 500 or so games. I daresay that is defunct

Most of Neopets' dailies still work, so nothing much has changed for those players who don't primarily play the games to earn neopoints. User shops and a ton of other features which never used Adobe Flash to begin with- work as intended.

Altador Cup (AC) was remade into HTML5, but I find that event to be boring. For whatever reason it attracts more traffic than most yearly events. The yearly events which rely on there being games available such as Game Master Challege or Daily Dare probably won't be happening anytime soon whilst there aren't enough games released. Otherwise, there are a few that still happen on schedule like the Halloween or Easter scavenger hunts.

The promise is supposedly that the website will be remade into HTML5 over the long term on a gradual or piece meal basis. Its current state is more like there is one half of the website that is mobile/HTML5 ready and a legacy half full of webpages with older code or broken Adobe Flash elements.

But the signature is eternal. In theory. Not in practice probably.

Am I correct in assuming that an NFT's value is contingent on its real world utility and on whether the blockchain it is on keeps existing or not and on whether the cryptocurrency it is attached to holds its worth and doesn't collapse in price, and isn't just a rug pull scheme?

[Alvecia]

But the signature is eternal. In theory. Not in practice probably.

Am I correct in assuming that the NFT's value is contingent on its real world utility and on whether the blockchain it is on keeps existing or not and on whether the cryptocurrency it is attached to holds its worth and doesn't collapse in price?

I'm pretty sure an NFT's value is entirely based on how much the person buying reckons they'll be able to sell it to someone else for.

[Ifreann]

But the signature is eternal. In theory. Not in practice probably.

Am I correct in assuming that the NFT's value is contingent on its real world utility and on whether the blockchain it is on keeps existing or not and on whether the cryptocurrency it is attached to holds its worth and doesn't collapse in price?

The point of NFTs, for those closer to the top of the scheme, is to push up the price of the cryptocurrency. Some of the headline grabbing sales, "NFT sells for 69 bajillion dollars!", were just one person transferring their crypto coins from one wallet they own to another wallet they own.

[The Alma Mater]

Am I correct in assuming that an NFT's value is contingent on its real world utility and on whether the blockchain it is on keeps existing or not and on whether the cryptocurrency it is attached to holds its worth and doesn't collapse in price, and isn't just a rug pull scheme?

More or less. As people said; an NFT is purely a collectable. It has no other practical purpose. If noone wants to collect it,it is worthless.

[Bear Stearns]

not really a scam, just another investment product. probably has more credibility than art collecting or currency arbitrage

[Ilessia]

Scams and empty legal threats from those who fall for them and get angry that you don't respect them. I have very little respect for intellectual property itself, but this phenomenon really takes the cake. It's laughable how pissy these people get. Cryptocurrencies alone are scams waiting to happen, but I have seen nothing as dumb as this. It's surreal.

EDIT: omfg he actually funged the tokens the absolute madman

[Grenartia]

Scams and empty legal threats from those who fall for them and get angry that you don't respect them. I have very little respect for intellectual property itself, but this phenomenon really takes the cake. It's laughable how pissy these people get. Cryptocurrencies alone are scams waiting to happen, but I have seen nothing as dumb as this. It's surreal.

EDIT: omfg he actually funged the tokens the absolute madman

Fungus amongus

[Saiwania]

Scams and empty legal threats from those who fall for them and get angry that you don't respect them. I have very little respect for intellectual property itself, but this phenomenon really takes the cake. It's laughable how pissy these people get. Cryptocurrencies alone are scams waiting to happen, but I have seen nothing as dumb as this. It's surreal.

Scams are illegal generally speaking, if they fall under existing laws covering fraud. The trickier part is actually apprehending people who're responsible and prosecuting a case from start to finish. There is probably a fine distinction to be made between a project that has the expectation of profit but fails and a project leader or group that intentionally "took the money and ran" if enough people were deceived/swindled out of money from misjudging their true intentions.

[Ilessia]

Scams and empty legal threats from those who fall for them and get angry that you don't respect them. I have very little respect for intellectual property itself, but this phenomenon really takes the cake. It's laughable how pissy these people get. Cryptocurrencies alone are scams waiting to happen, but I have seen nothing as dumb as this. It's surreal.

Scams are illegal generally speaking, if they fall under existing laws covering fraud. The trickier part is actually apprehending people who're responsible and prosecuting a case from start to finish. There is probably a fine distinction to be made between a project that has the expectation of profit but fails and a project leader or group that intentionally "took the money and ran" if enough people were deceived/swindled out of money from misjudging their true intentions.

I suppose the appropriate term is 'scams waiting to happen', because it's happened. This happens with unregulated goods such as this but if NFTs were regulated and you'd actually face legal action for 'pirating' them, it'd be even worse for anyone and any site with a copy of that piece of legally protected data.

[Albrenia]

I'm anti-NFTs, but then again I thought crypto-currency was a load of bull and I seem to have been quite wrong on that, so what do I know?