Obsessed Waja Fan

The Obsessed Waja Fan, commonly abbreviated OWF, is a site function created as a way to reduce the server load by allowing users to "release" unwanted wajas into the OWF's cave (ID# 650), where their data is compressed to make room for new wajas to be created. For each waja you release, you will be credited 10,000 WC. Releasing wajas that are retired will not give you 10,000 WC because you were already credited 5,000 WC for retiring the waja.

Released wajas that have offspring will have their image replaced with a generic breed image and all but the must basic data about them will be deleted. This is so that pedigrees are not broken. Released wajas that do NOT have any offspring will be deleted completely. Please note that compression will only affect wajas that have been in the OWF's cave for at least a month.

Releasing a Waja

To release a waja, simply go to Home ->Your Cave ->Release Wajas. From here you can ceck all the wajas you want to OWF (If you want to OWF them all, then go down to the bottom and click "Check All"). Click "Submit", and the wajas selected will all be sent to the OWF and you will be credited 10,000 WC for each waja released.

WARNING: RELEASING IS 100% PERMANENT. There is absolutely no way to get a waja back after it has been sent to the OWF cave.

PLEASE NOTE: The ONLY way for a waja to end up in the OWF's cave is for an actual human player to release the waja. The OWF is an NPC and does NOT buy wajas that are put up for sale. If a waja you had for sale ended up in the OWF, it means that a human player bought it and sent it there. Some users who do this make their display name the same as the OWF's, and sometimes the person who send the waja to the OWF will not show up on the waja's past owners list because the turnover was done so quickly. For more on this, please see the OWFers section.

Why The OWF Is Necessary

Each and every waja on the site takes up a certain amount of server space. The server is only so big and can only hold so many wajas. If the site uses up all of its alotted server space, the site will shut down and likely never come back. The OWF is a way for the site to continue running and continue to allow users to breed their wajas without restrictions. By compressing wajas sent to the OWF, the site is massively reducing the amount of space those wajas take up. Replacing the waja's image with a generic image is the biggest space saver, as the image of a waja is what takes up the majority of the space.

The site admin has stated before that she cannot afford to buy another server upgrade. Having the OWF and compression is the only way that the site will continue to function.

Controversy

The OWF is a point of contention among many users. For most users, the OWF is recognized as a completely normal and necessary part of the site. However, there are some users who do not like the OWF for whatever reason. For some users the dislike stems for a feeling that compressing a waja is likened to "killing" it. Others like to make up stories in their head that the Obsessed Waja fan as a character is evil or cruel and that she mistreats her wajas. This is not canon, of course, as Estuko made the character and she herself has said that the Obsessed Waja Fan is simply a little girl who loves wajas. Some are just upset that a waja they owned that they didn't feel "deserved" to be released was released by someone else.

A few users who disapprove of the OWF decide to make it their duty to "save" as many wajas as they can from being sent to the OWF, and so dedicate their cave to taking in unwanted wajas.

OWFers

Some users take it upon themselves to buy up cheap wajas (generally priced at 50,000 WC or under) and send them to the OWF. They do this to clean up the Waja Search and to get rid of wajas they deem unwanted. In order to avoid having your wajas bought by these people, breed responsibly and price them well above 50,000 WC.

The users who participate in this generally fall into one of two categories. Their methods are similar, but the way they present themselves is a little different.

• OWF Assistants - These are users who perpetuate the idea that the Obsessed waja fan is just a sweet little girl who loves wajas, and that it is a good thing to send unwanted wajas to her. They may also simply present the OWF as a completely neutral feature that is necessary to the site's survival. These users sometimes change their username to something like "Obsessed Waja Fan", "OWF", or "OWF Assistant".

• Monsters/Slayers - These are usually users who perpetuate the idea that they are creatures that eat or destroy wajas. Often these users have lost their patience with other players who claim the OWF tortures her wajas, and have thus decided to play on those stories. These users usually name themselves "OWF Monster" or "(Breed Name) Monster" (for users who only OWF certain breeds).

OWFing is a costly hobby; Most are buying wajas for well above the 10,000 WC releasing will give them, meaning they are taking a loss on each waja they release. Some OWFers will put the wajas they have bought up for sale at a higher price than they bought it for in order to try to turn a profit, or at least break even. If the waja is not bought within a certain amount of time, they release it.

Do NOT PM a user because you believe they released a waja you had for sale and you don't like that. After they purchased the waja, you lost all authority over what was done with that waja. If you bother them in any way about it, you can be reported for harassment.

The "Old" OWF

When the OWF was first introduced she had her own page and even a character image. She was given the backstory of being a little red-headed girl who adores wajas no matter what they look like and who was willing to buy any and all wajas that were unwanted by their current owners. Users could go to her page and offer a waja for her to buy from them, and she would state the price she would pay for the waja based on its stats, generation, breed, etc. Once a waja was sold to her it was sent to her cave

Unfortunately, there were several flaws in her initial design, not the least of which being that she would pay extraordinary amounts of WC for higher generation wajas. This lead to some users taking advantage of her and puppymilling high gen wajas to sell to her for huge profits. Once the administration became aware of this, she was taken down from the site to later be returned in a much different, less exploitable state.