PonyIsland

The staff do and are able to read "private" messages (without consent) which is not stated during sign up or in the privacy policy, thus a direct COPPA violation.

BE AWARE. The admin has very little to do with this site any longer and the staff are extremely aggressive.

First off, let me start with being bold and telling you that this site enables Gambling, YEP!

How so?

This site is a pay-to-play website, you can pay for six months or a full year and a full year is like 25 bucks so it may not seem so bad. Now on this website they'll host events at a ridiculous rate (and complain they don't have time for anything else like idk, actual quality customer service) but they have this thing called 'Extravaganza' events which is four times a year. They'll release a whole bunch of little events, last one had 18 different ones, and not only did you have only a week orso to participate in pretty much all of them, the prizes for these events are hidden.

You don't get to see the prizes, ergo you don't get to make a well thought out decision on what you'd like to join in on. The fact that you have to pay REAL MONEY to use the site the fullest, including using the forums where these events are hosted, makes it feel like indirect gambling. Because you don't know what you'll get for which event, which causes 'Fear Of Missing Out' super bad especially if you're already sensitive to it due to neurodivergence or if you're a recovering addict. I did contact the mod team to file a complaint, but they basically told me they 'didn't have the time to make the improvements' and shrugged their shoulders.

I'm a digital artist and decided 'hey, maybe this is a fun little niche for my art!' and I DID get to make a few commissions which, might I add for the mods if they're reading this were all HAND. PAINTED. And I'm not going to respond to any allegations anymore. These moderators have been scouring the internet, reverse searching my art for assets and brushes that resemble things in my art. I paint a lot of shiny stuff that's quite complex and I kid you not, an opalescent gem was believed to be 'clip art' because I guess me being actually good at my hobby and passion is unheard of:)

Not to mention they don't know what fair use is. As an artist we all grasp a few basic principles: Nothing is original, credit the OP unless stated otherwise and references are okay, tracing is not.

I NEVER trace, I reference, the closest thing they could've caught me in 4K with is that I transform PUBLIC, FREE TO USE assets of which I DOUBLE CHECK that I can use them without credit because homies, fellas, if I had to credit every single brush, texture, asset, font everything, it'd be impossible to post and anyone who draws and posts their art to like, Deviantart, Twitter, Tumblr hell anywhere, knows this. It's universal knowledge. It's very much a no brainer on when something is okay to use, when it's not, when you need to credit and that if the OP literally says 'this is just a brush I made no need to credit' then you don't need to harrass someone for not crediting as OP's words are the final say in these things.
There's also the matter of me doing commission work and me 'selling stolen art' when I see professional artists using the same PUBLIC, FREE TO USE textures and selling them for hundreds, artists who work for big companies, have legal advice etc. So I don't see the issue here.

THE MODS HOWEVER? OH BOY. I spent the better part of a week on a really good looking tarot card as part of an art contest. This image wasn't even done yet but I can now delete it because 'the sunflowers in the background look copy pasted, we doubt the opals are your own work.' Which tells me these mods have never touched an advanced program like Clip Studio Paint, or even GIMP in their lives, good god. A digital artist painting one, two or three flowers and then copy pasting them to save their own wrist from horrible pain and injury? And to save time in an age where content needs to be churned out FAST or we lose our client base to AI 'artists'? Wack.

These mods need to go outside and touch some grass, or better yet, seek counseling because the only reason I can see for this behavior is that someone hurt them or they're suffering from a burn out because being in that clique CAN'T be healthy for your brain:/

Included is a screenshot of the ridiculous allegation and threat.

Having played this game since 2006, it is with heavy heart I find I am letting my accounts expire as I prepare to leave the game. It saddens me, as it use to be such a great game, such a wonderful community. Now, it's just a sad reflection of what it once was. I find the MODs to be rude and the Forums a danger zone. If you just want to breed pretty ponies and play dress up and not interact with anyone, you might enjoy this game. However, if you are looking for anything more, find another site!
Things started to go down hill when the other Admin left and power was handed over to the MODs and artists. As the saying goes 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'... and this site is a perfect example.

You get banned for not paying them and logging in to multiple accounts. Its like constantly walking on eggshells and you get suspended or banned for simply pointing out that a rule is unfair.

The community is incredibly pleasant, supportive and inclusive. The rules here are simple to follow, if you don't mind keeping your language clean and avoid posting links to sites that are regarded as questionable because of their content. The mods are generally quite thoughtful towards issues that come up and are eager to help you understand something if you are willing to learn. I have been here since early 2019, and it saved my sanity during the pandemic. I only ever have one issue with the rules and when I learned what it was I had the maturity to understand it. The art site I had linked is known for its "deviant" content in writing and graphics.

In addition to the rules, they also have a FAQ page for quick reference, and recently they added a Manual which goes into even more detail about all the features of the site, including recipes for the Forge and a full description of rewards, prizes and presents given out for completing certain game milestones and participating in site wide events.

Because of the rules this is very safe place for a child to play, and is a quiet place for an adult to unwind. If you enjoy playing with genetics, colors and designs, or just love my little pony, this is a wonderful place for you!

Been on this site since the beginning, and I'm done with the overall $#*!iness.
Players and their cash do not matter here. Only moderators and their clique.
Don't expect them to be kind to you, expect them to speak to you like crap no matter your issue or how innocent you are in their fabricated issue.
Be prepared to get a ban for posting any sort of capital letters, colored text, words that aren't even swearwords, etc even if a mistake and first time offense. The moderators cannot wait for a chance to jump on anything to police it. It's the only place they have any power in their sad lives and it shows plain as day.
Save yourself money and time. There's much better pet sims out there.

So... I see a lot of counter reviews about how it's easy to follow the rules. And to be fair - it is! There are a lot of rules, but it's not that hard to follow them. What IS hard is finding MODs who are willing to enforce the rules equally/consistently across the player population.

There is definite favoritism by the MOD team. Once the wool is pulled off your eyes, it's even worse than what it sounds like.

For example, one of the rules is to not use chat speak or acronyms (this is because of the international community, to help with communication - and that's totally fine. It's a pretty easy rule to follow). Here's what I noticed when it came to reporting threads that broke this rule: if the player being reported was an unknown person in the community, their post would be hidden and I would receive a note saying thanks from whichever MOD took care of it. However, if the player being reported was a well-known friend of people on the MOD team, the post wasn't hidden and I would get a nasty response from the MODs explaining why it was actually okay for that post--even though it was the exact same thing that got the unknown user's post hidden!

It is against the rules to message someone who has blocked you from messaging them. Like, clearly it is an offense that is instantly ban-able. When someone (not a MOD but one of their darling friends) who constantly harassed me, PMed me from a sub account to *threaten* me, I reported them. And nothing happened. In fact, I was warned to leave the person alone. This person continued to harass me in the forums. Every time I reported their behavior (I never retaliated and any interaction I had with them was respectful, which the MODs themselves admitted), I was threatened by the MODs. At one point, I was told that if I reported this other person's harassment of me one more time, the MODs would ban ME. The victim of harassment. I was told essentially that my existence made me responsible for the other person's harassment of me.

Running macros for contesting is (or at least was) against the rules. At one point, a MOD had an active thread advocating contesting with macros (this was many years ago). I had to point out in as non-confrontational a way as possible that it's against the rules, and the MOD's response was "oh oops" essentially. So, using macros is a ban-able offense. Did this MOD who self-admitted breaking this rule get a ban like most other players would have? Nope, and to my knowledge they are still a MOD.

The administration of this site is a whole flaming hot mess of poop on a doorstep. Most players are adults (not a problem). The actual kids on the site are often bullied by other players (adults!) or even the MODs themselves, and nothing is ever done about it. They allowed entire threads in the forums talking about how terrible all kids who played were - which should be a problem if they actually care about being kid-friendly as much as they profess to!

The rules aren't the problem. The inconsistent enforcement of rules, harassment (allowed by the MODs and conducted by the MODs both), and bullying are. The gameplay is just not worth the headache especially with the switch from pony-focus to item-focus.

Ponyisland is your average breeding game. The artwork is nice and the breeding options are plentiful. The designers of the website do a great job, and the art community is extremely talented. It is nothing special, and I recommend other websites like Flight Rising as I find they have more to offer.

At the end of the day, the game is fine but the MODS are HORRIBLE and ultimately are unwilling to hear out players and make the experience nearly unbearable. I quit after years of playing because the MODS were so terrible. They play favorites, and unless you kiss up to them they WILL make your experience an unpleasant one.

At the end of the day, invest your money into websites where the staff care and are helpful/

I have been on Ponyisland on and off for years. Each time I come back Is better than the last. Personally I love the growth aspect that PI has taken as well as the different amount of items during the events. It makes it more enjoyable. DVS are even able to be obtained if you enter the raffles or win them during events, or even buy one from another user. As for those who say the rules are too strict, yes I do agree to a point. However, Ponyisland is a Pg-13 site and when reading the rules when you first signed up you could see that

Also, if your family enjoys playing the game you do have to pay for full acess to the site. Or if you want to try the trial account (which is called trial for a reason). But you can have multiple people on one IP address play. There is a forum where you just state that you share the same IP but are not the same person. You can also state this in your user presenation as well to avoid any issues.

Lastly to adress the issue with the mods. I have never had a personal issue where any of them were rude to me. I believe a lot of the complaints are people not getting their way, or not knowing how to take how people speak (or type in this case). A few mods are blunt, but that is just how they are. Simple and to the point.
All in all if you want a site to enjoy for many years to come I 100% recommend Ponyisland. You wont regret it!

I've been playing since 2009 and I very much enjoy this game. I enjoy breeding and getting to play with genetics of my ponies as well as how easy it is to earn in game currency. I saw several negatives on the Mods and Rules and honestly have never had a problem, this game is rated G and is super kid friendly as well as really on top of any kind of art theft etc., i have never had a ban or a problem with the mods.
I highly recommend it if you enjoy breeding games :)

I would like to preface this by saying I have never personally been done wrong by this site, or even gotten into trouble with the Mods, or directly interacted with one. I stay off of the forums and keep to myself to avoid this. This review is based off of what I've seen happen to other players.

Mods have access to infinite valuable items (DVS slots, etc.) as they are the ones that hand them out, and regularly sell them for almost 300USD to players on site forums...

Most regular players have to either buy one of these slots from another player/Mod, or win them in a giveaway. Most normal players have 1-3 DVS's maximum, and a good majority of players don't have any at all.
-The Mods' friends also have a suspiciously high number of these limited items.

Even if they somehow are coming across these honestly, (very unlikely) you feel scared to ask/question anything as I've seen people pushed off of this PAID site for no more than just questioning a Mod's decision. There is so much that is overpowered and suspicious about the mods, and they create an environment where you just cannot criticize them, or even ask/hold accountable.
It is also stated that it is not guaranteed that Mods are paid, yet they are a tight knit group of people who have been playing and modding for many years, usually for most of the site's history. All I'm saying is that it is very unlikely that they are not being compensated, (or given some kind of advantage) and also very unlikely that PI is totally fair, yet people are expected to act as though Mods are angels who donate their time.

On top of all of that, technicalities and hard to understand rules are ban-able and "strike one out of of two" worthy, but usually those rules only become enforced if you insult or offend a Mod in some way.

The only way to stay out of trouble, is to never interact on the forums, really.
If you can get past that, it's a fun game.

I have a rather large family, and we all LOVED PonyIsland, but we couldn't afford to pay for one account, so we all created our own trial accounts. They suspended our accounts because "you cannot have more than one trial account per person" WHICH BY THE WAY ISN'T EVEN IN THE "OFFICIAL RULES" PLACE! I tried to explain to them that, no, we did not have more than one per person, but a big family, who can't afford to pay their insanely large amounts of money for even one account. They demanded that we stop logging into all but one of the accounts unless it was to pay for them. Well, how could we choose!? Lin adored her ponies and wasn't going to give them up, but, Margret said the same thing, as well as Sue, and Ari, and Charlie, and well... you get the picture. None of us wanted to give up our precious ponies... but if we logged into more than one account, they would suspend us all over again! The people I talked to were rather rude to us as well, saying that we may as well leave, since we couldn't afford it, and that sort of thing. Trial accounts were already so restricted on what they could do, and the people were so toxic that well... we were actually considering leaving.

I get it! There are ALOT of rules, some of them being... more QUESTIONABLE then others, but nothing too insane. I feel those complaining must have had a REALLY bad experience or are out right lying, because i have broken PLENTY of rules, and not once has the punishment been more then not being able to play on an account that wasnt my main account, or just having a notification for 3 days. The mods have been courteous and kind to me, nothing like the tyrants you are describing. Ive been on PI for 4 years now and i have NEVER seen even ONE clique on there. Everyone is MORE than kind! I think you all are forgetting this is a game mostly made for children... anyways! You all should play on PI, as its a great site with a wonderful community of nice people.

I have been a member on PI for 10+ years, I took a short break and came back to realize that the MODS are awful. They do not care about you or what you have to say. You want to disagree with them? Good luck because they will be rude to you and make your run on the site as difficult as possible. Not to mention that the site shows EXTREME favoritism. I do not think I will be putting anymore money to the site, if you like breeding games like this try flight rising instead, same concept only executed better and with dragons.

I've been on Pony island ever since 2007. There are good things and bad things about this site. The mod team always gives out the best that they can to the people that play. But I feel like there are more people over the age of 18 on the site than there are of children. You have to walk on eggshells around the mod team and you can't say anything that's even remotely bad or anything close to a swear word or you will be silenced. It's just really upsetting that most of the mod team wouldn't even care about what you are going through as a person. I would say the only bad thing about the site is sometimes there are just too many mods that feel like they're too high and mighty but it still doesn't take away from how great of a game this is and how close to my heart it is because of how long I've been playing it. I feel like any child below the age of 12 wouldn't really understand the intricate things that go through with this game.

I've been on this site for almost 16 years now and have seen A LOT of work go into it throughout the years. While the site has undergone drastic changes throughout the years the admin team (Artists, MODs, Event and POTW) really has done a wonderful job to keep the breeding aspect of the game alive.

There are wonderful breeds and genes to play with, and a stunning array of items to dress your ponies in. The admin team is fair and adheres to the rules, but also allows for some leniency when they can. Rules and FAQ questions are available always through the homepage and bottom of the screen so if you ever have any questions you can read through (I still do from time to time). My favorite times of the year are the Extravaganzas and the Advent. There are always wonderful creative games and prizes. The admin team

I've never had any negative interactions with any of the admin team and was very shocked to see so many disgruntled reviews. I've been an active member and mediocre artist on the site (not for the site) for 16 years, and while some of the rules may seem a little too strict, they insure a safe place for all ages to come and enjoy the site. I'm so glad to be part of this site, and hope to see it continue going for many years to come. It's a fantastic place to hide away when the rest of the world is going crazy.

I spent many years on Ponyisland, early on as a growing artist the moderators would try to take advantage of me and my artwork. I was a fast and decent artist that quickly improved but when a player attempted to break a written agreement, the moderators tried to 'convince' me to make exceptions even after I showed them the agreement. I was young, but I wasn't stupid and I don't break under peer pressure or power play. I fought them every step of the way and in the end it resulted in every customer wanting said special treatment. I received numerous short-term bans for standing up for myself and I did everything in my power to remain respectful as I genuinely enjoyed the site. I was prohibited from taking on any more customers because I wouldn't break under the moderator's pressure to ignore agreements and contracts.

In the end the conflicts resulted in an IP ban as I wouldn't give them what they unjustly demanded and am continued to be tracked to this day. Not many on Ponyisland know my side of the story as I tried to make an effort to keep everything to a minimum, however the same couldn't be said for the moderators as they relished in the attention and 'support' of their disgusting behaviour.

The site is also extortionately expensive too as while you can have multiple accounts, you have to pay full yearly/half-yearly subscription for every single one.