My book is available on Amazon now!

My book, "Stardoll Cheats: Tips for playing safe on the internet" is now available as a Kindle book at Amazon for just $2.99.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M0DUBUO

Why external links are forbidden on Stardoll

Stardoll has a rule that members are not to post links.

"When you are at Stardoll you must NOT...
- Ask other Stardolls for personal information (or give out your own) such as (but not limited to) password, email, name on Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram or similar.
- Post external links (such as photos, videos, chat rooms etc)."

I wrote for clarification and Stardoll Staff confirmed that external links means any website that is not Stardoll.com. They allowed that the only exception is that dolls may post information about their own blogs IF they are Stardoll related and contain no personal information.

Stardoll has set up the site so that no one can post a clickable link to another website. So when they say links, they really mean the URL, the address of the destination website. And Stardoll staff has gotten wise that some members try to disguise what they are doing. Some members use a tinyURL to disguise the destination while others will post what seems like incomplete information but is enough for anyone to find where to go. Stardoll considers any of these as breaking the intention of the rule.

I will explain a few kinds of links and why they are not safe. These include:
*Links to personal blogs and websites that may have personal information
**Links to images
***Links to videos
****Personal information like usernames on communication sites
*****Chatrooms

I would also like to warn members that hackers use links to steal your account or gain control of your computer

This is a serious topic. Please take your safety seriously as well as the safety of others. Stardoll considers dolls that ignore and break these rules as practicing dangerous behavior.

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*Links to personal blogs and websites that may have personal information

It is not safe to post links that lead to your photos or personal information. Haven't you noticed that even if you link your account to facebook Stardoll does not let users hop to your facebook page from your Stardoll page?

For their own safety, all users are supposed to remain anonymous on Stardoll. It is easy to forget that anyone can be on this website.

But even if you are anonymous to other users, you are not anonymous to Stardoll. Every time you log in your computer tells them where you are and that information is saved. It does not matter if you own more than one doll. Stardoll will know it is you each time. Stardoll has the right to hold you, the user, accountable for all your actions on this website. Users who create other dolls in order to break the rules may find that the consequences for their actions may include getting warnings at their main account or having their main account deleted.

As I understand it, Stardoll keeps records of your exact IP address every time you log in. An IP address indicates a general location but it can be used to find an exact location by an expert. In the case of a person committing a serious crime, Stardoll would turn the IP address info over to law enforcement on request, who would use that information. It is in the membership terms that Stardoll will release this kind of information to law enforcement if there is criminal activity. Everyone here agreed to these terms, and are legally bound to them whether they read them or not.

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**Do not post links to any images. Stardoll staff is not going to go thru each one and figure out whether it is you or a kitty. The rule is simple. No links to images. If you want to stay on Stardoll, you must obey the rules.

Do not go to image links that other users post in discussions. It might be a kitty, or it might be a picture of something you would rather not see. There are certain people that enjoy making other people angry or shocked. Do not let them spoil your day.

I wanted to mention that all Superstars can post images in their starblog for a small fee. Stardoll checks these images to make sure they conform to the rules. This is a great way to share a photo of your kitty.

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***Do not post links to videos. There is a very popular video site that does not control the content of videos or the comments made there. They even allow scammers to post videos about "cheats" that have allowed thieves to steal from Stardoll members. Again, when you go there following a link, you have no idea what kind of content that person is directing you to. And it is against the rules.

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****Personal information like usernames on communication sites. You don't know who may see this information. Anyone can make a doll on Stardoll. And some people want your personal contact info. They can gain your confidence by posting their own information. This is an easy way to trick girls into revealing more information than is safe. On Stardoll, members cannot post photos of themselves, but on other sites, they can. This is not safe to let people you do not know in real life find out what you look like.

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*****Chatrooms. You must wonder what motivates someone to want you to leave the safety of Stardoll to communicate with you.

There are a few members who show thoughtless disregard for the safety of the younger members just because they want to post whatever they want without having to obey Stardoll's rules.

Do not go offsite to chat or otherwise interact with anyone you meet on Stardoll. Stardoll has lots of tools for you to chat right online, and they are here to help you if there is a problem.

Stardoll's priority is the safety of the younger members. Stardoll interprets mentioning going to another website to establish communication a problem. You may not be breaking the rules literally, but Stardoll has the right to interpret posts in context. That is in the membership terms. Staff uses their judgement to interpret the intention and the risk value in each message, but sometimes they may err on the side of being more vigilant. And many parents would probably agree that is the safer way to err.

Stardoll has a commitment to safety. They will use all means, including deleting clubs to protect their members. Those members who insist on promoting risky behavior will be warned and deleted if they continue.

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Hackers are getting more clever. They will try to steal your personal information by getting you to use a link.

Hackers put malware on your computer to steal your personal information. If you are using a Mac, make sure to install the latest security updates. If you have a PC, make sure you purchase well-known anti-virus and anti-malware software to protect yourself and run it.

Hackers also have a trick where they will have a message pop up saying you have a virus or malware and invite you to download a program to fix it. Never do that! When I see that I immediately unplug my computer! This is a trick to get you to download malware! Do not click anything. It might already be downloading, so turn off your computer right away and unplug your modem or router.

A final word of warning. Scammers are still preying on naive members at Stardoll. They trick members into giving them access to their accounts. Scammers steal accounts, stardollars and rares. And usually these scams start by tricking a doll to leave Stardoll by going to a link. Stardoll will restore a stolen account as long as the original owner supplies proof of ownership. But Stardoll does not return stolen virtual stuff. Watch out for Phishing sites and other scams.

Glam Fever

I enjoyed playing the Stardoll sponsored game/app Glam Fever. It allows players to earn and send exclusive items to their Stardoll suites. The app comes with very little instructions. I put together what I learned on another blog. Consider it the missing manual. http://glamfevertips.blogspot.com/

Stardoll Academy

Stardoll created a new feature called Stardoll Academy. I completed all the challenges and got some cool stuff. I wish I had known more about it when I was doing it. But I managed and only a few of my yearbook pages are cringe-worthy.

AC-Viper put together a great guide with illustrations at her blog.
http://sdspoilers.blogspot.com/p/stardoll-academy.html

Stardoll created a club called AcademyStar that is supposed to be for all the dolls participating in Stardoll Academy. Only they did nothing to publicize it. No matter, the club is already huge and new members are joining every day.

AC-Viper and I have been made managers of the club. Go there to read the discussions. There are several helpful topics with information and advice.

dress up dolls

Stardesign and copyrights

Someone contacted me about a problem she was having concerning Stardesign. She created a cute design featuring a well-known character.

This is common. Even though technically it is a violation of copyright, there are a lot of designs that feature characters that are owned by major corporations. On Stardoll, this has been going on for years, and I don't think anything is going to be done to prevent it.

But these characters do not belong to any of the dolls that make these designs.

The doll who contacted me was distressed because another doll who also made designs featuring this character was harassing her and telling her she had to stop making her designs.

My advice. Report the other doll for bullying. She does not own the character. She is out of line. Trying to use intimidation to get the other designer to stop making competing designs is against the rules. Let Stardoll handle it. They can send a warning and make it official.

Designers, keep in mind that no matter what you design at Stardoll, someone may copy it. And you do not have the right to make a fuss about it. My own designs have "inspired" other designers. And I have created items similar to what other dolls are marketing. We have a free market. So you have to take the good and the bad.

I had a similar problem. I was making a copy of the hotbuys jacket in a variety of colors. I added some buttons to make the jacket more like the original, and I added shading at the shoulder area to imitate the fringe on the original jacket. I also added 3 buttons to each sleeve.

Another doll had done something similar, and she got a little "territorial"when my jackets showed up on the hottest design page. She came to my guestbook and demanded I stop. She told me I had to delete my designs. Then she sent a bunch of her friends to say the same thing. 

This seemed particularly silly since her design was not original to her, it was an imitation of the original hotbuys jacket.

If this happens to you, it might be best to not respond at all. Just hit the report button on the post and let Stardoll know that someone is trying to intimidate you, to make you do something by making threats. Legally, this is called extortion. But it you want to put it simply, call it bullying.

Stardoll sent a warning to the doll and she (and all her friends) stopped bothering me. 

It is not against the rules to design something similar to another dolls designs. But it is against the rules to bully anyone.

This also applies to presentation designs. You can put a little © on your presentation, but that is just a typed character. An arrangement of color, type and text is not copy protected. You could not register it if you tried. As a graphic designer I designed many layouts for advertisements that were printed in newspapers and national magazines. If someone chose to copy my design they were free to do so. Once its out there, it is fair game. You have to let it go.

Fonts are copy protected, and hopefully you paid for the ones you use on your computer, but all rights for fonts belong to the designer of the font.

I hope everyone understands that anything they do on Stardoll can be imitated. Someone can imitate the way you decorate your suite, do your makeup or wear your hair. They can try to make their doll look just like you. There is nothing you can do about it. Try not to let it upset you. Trust that who you are is unique and special. The rest is just pixels.

Note: In the US, many forms of extortion are considered serious crimes. Be careful bullies, if you cross the line, you can get into big trouble. Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion

Violence and weapons

This doll is dressed like a commando. I am not sure if she is a member of the army or a terrorist. This is very disturbing on many levels. Her army uniform was made in Stardesign. She made a cartridge belt to wear across her chest in Stardesign jewelry. She completed her outfit with weapons made by other dolls.

The tools that Stardoll gives us can produce amazing results. But some kids use the tools to express their creativity in ways that I find disturbing. I do not like this trend of glorifying war and violence.

The images below are a selection of dolls who have made disturbing things. All of these dolls have been dealt with by Stardoll staff. All the objects and disturbing images have been removed. 

Nazis at Stardoll

You cannot type the word "Hitler" at Stardoll. The word has been put on the forbidden words list.

Someone came to my guestbook and asked me to see what was going on with this doll. I sent a emphatic email to Stardoll Support.










The response from Stardoll was one word. Thanks. Maybe the user was warned.
The next time I visited her, her suite was like this.

I wrote to Stardoll again and said that was not good enough. So they deleted her swastikas.

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Two weeks later someone created a new doll and called it Hitttler.

Many members were offended. The doll was deleted.

If you have an opinion about this, contact Stardoll support directly with your concerns. The email address is Support@stardoll.com.