Time Traveling Gatekeeping

I shouldn't have to talk about this, but this has been happening a lot with me and my friends lately, and I just wanna address this, because this is serious and unacceptable. People are meant to play Animal Crossing however they want. Have fun, and make it how you see fit. Nintendo made this game as such, and I don't think gatekeeping and policing about time traveling should be tolerated in this community. One of my friends friends came down hard on him for TTing and told him his island is invalid to them because he TT'd because his work schedule doesn't permit him from playing regularly and TTing actually allowed him to enjoy the days he's missed. Gatekeeping and bullying is unacceptable behavior. There are no rules to this game. If Nintendo didn't want people to Time Travel, they would put a lock on it, but they haven't, it's not a rule. Yes, some wanna be purists and play the game without it, think it defeats the purpose of the game to TT, takes the fun out of it, defeats the purpose of the game, you're allowed to feel that way, not gonna stop you, but you will NOT bully and tell others in an offline environment how to play their game and tell them they're wrong for doing it and make them feel like crap, IMO this is unacceptable behavior. Gatekeeping and making rules for a game that has none because you're upset that others wanna play how they see fit is wrong, and it should not be tolerated in any way. Animal Crossing is all about having fun and playing your way and making your island how you see fit, and if you're gonna ruin this amazing game for people because you're all up in a tizzy and pouting about how others play their game, then maybe you shouldn't be playing. Keep it respectful, watch your mouth, and mind your business because this is not how we as a community should be acting towards others who wanna have fun in their own way. This has been a fun experience, please don't ruin this game with your attitude and rudeness. Thanks for listening, and I hope you're all enjoying New Horizons as much as I have!

I don’t know why there is so much hatred towards TTers. Yes, you don’t agree with it, but to just flat out bully them is wrong. Of course it’s not everyone, but why do you hate them? I can understand you disliking when they spoil things but not everyone does that.

I never understood the hate against TTing.. I remember when New Leaf was out a majority of players TTed. A year after the games released and many players even bought addtional copies to TT or use as cycling towns.. the new wave of hate against TTing just seems so odd to me.. from what I can tell it's mostly new players. Play the game however you want but don't advocate that one way is better than the other.

people can be so elitist about TTing. its crazy. like.... its a game. its truly not that big a deal. i did it all the time in NL. ive avoided it in NH but im grateful for people who DO bc they give us a lot of information about the game we wouldnt have otherwise! its insane to get so worked up about it.

I don't understand why TT'ing is such a huge issue this time around. Just mind your own business. If you don't like it, don't do it. There's no need to be rude to other people.who are just trying to enjoy the game.

I'd hardly call it "gatekeeping" or bullying, it's just an opinion.

Splinter said:

I'd hardly call it "gatekeeping" or bullying, it's just an opinion.

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An opinion is fine, if it's shared in the correct way. Putting someone down and calling their town invalid is just flat out rude and unnecessary.

Splinter said:

I'd hardly call it "gatekeeping" or bullying, it's just an opinion.

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constantly hearing people call TTers "cheaters" and say it's not the "right" or "fair" way to play is about as gatekeeper as you can get and at this point i'm sick of seeing it.

I've never been someone to TT because in my opinion I'd much rather just play day by day but I would never bully somebody for it. I think the main reason why so many people are 'bullying' TT'ers in nh is a combination of thinking they are spoiling the game for others by unlocking things before most people get to see it and jealousy because their towns are more advanced (I'm not saying this excuses any of the bullying and hatred because it doesn't AT ALL)

However I do also think that if you are making the personal choice to TT really far ahead you should be understanding to the idea that you may be spoiling the game for others, I'm not saying you're not allowed to post but if you come across something new maybe refrain from posting it or at least put a spoiler warning?
Again this is a case of the few ruining it for the many

Splinter said:

I'd hardly call it "gatekeeping" or bullying, it's just an opinion.

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Calling people names and putting down their work isn’t an opinion.

Time travel for me is fearing that I will be too fast at the end game too soon. I like how my island gradually changes with each day and that there is something to do each day. If I would time travel, I would have played for 24/7 till I reached max capacity Bells, all items, all achievements, best town in maybe a few months. But I want to play Animal Crossing longer than a few months. The grind should be slow.

Compare it with any "battle passes" nowadays, a dopamine-filled mechanic where you are forced to play the game, otherwise you're missing out. You are "obliged" now to play the game, otherwise you won't get all your "prizes" and get best returns. Most people burn out from these kinds of monetary systems, as they will lay down their game and won't play for a while. Your first time travel would be comparable to a purchase of this "battle pass". It felt so nice that your shop, bridge, incline is being built and that you get all of those npc events earlier, you probably will not stop after the first one.

Of course, I made a lot of assumptions, but I know who I am, and I know that if there's nothing left to do in this game, I won't be playing it anymore, 'cuz I've seen it all.

mapleleaf said:

I've never been someone to TT because in my opinion I'd much rather just play day by day but I would never bully somebody for it. I think the main reason why so many people are 'bullying' TT'ers in nh is a combination of thinking they are spoiling the game for others by unlocking things before most people get to see it and jealousy because their towns are more advanced (I'm not saying this excuses any of the bullying and hatred because it doesn't AT ALL)

However I do also think that if you are making the personal choice to TT really far ahead you should be understanding to the idea that you may be spoiling the game for others, I'm not saying you're not allowed to post but if you come across something new maybe refrain from posting it or at least put a spoiler warning?
Again this is a case of the few ruining it for the many

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This I agree with. I mean if it's spoiling future elements someone else hasn't gotten yet and jealousy arises I can see why people are upset. But when it comes to generally getting upset because they're doing it and they don't like it THAT much and it has nothing to do with spoilers and they make up rules and policing the game because in their mind it's cheating and breaking the point of the game and harassing and bullying others for it and crossing a line to the point where someone get's hurt, that's when I have a problem. My friend got emotionally hurt because his close friend he's known for years called his town invalid and refused to visit it anymore because she found out he TT'd in his personal game and she put him down for it, that is not ok, that is rude, disrespectful behavior and should not be tolerated.

Splinter said:

I'd hardly call it "gatekeeping" or bullying, it's just an opinion.

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Look through the airport, you'll see the gatekeeping real quickly

I feel like these people are just small minded lol You can TT and play regularly, it just expands on the fun! There's also the drawback to TTing which is villagers moving out without even asking you (scary stuff!) High risk, high reward if you ask me

Everyone just needs to accept that we are all different and have different play styles! c:

i don’t understand why people hate people who time travel so much - it’s perfectly okay to not want to do it yourself but don’t bash others who do it

i tt myself and i still remember that in new leaf, everyone was fine with me tting, most of my friends even did it myself. but nowadays i get a lot of hate for it. their main two arguments in my experience have been 'it's cheating' and 'it would take the fun for me' 1. it's not cheating. glitches for example always get removed after a while by nintendo because it's not allowed. tt on the other hand is still manageable and it doesn't have serious consequences (at least for me it never had). 2. if you feel this way, just don't do it. i played new leaf for six years and tted a lot and it never got boring for me. with all the badges, your house and the villagers i always had something to do. i'm sure new horizons will feature more than just two shops and they will probably expand again so there's a lot of stuff to do. especially with all the new nook miles to get and all the nook miles tickets. 3. some people just can't play at other times, maybe only in the middle of the night where there is nothing to do, maybe they can't play at all for a few days etc etc. i myself have played an average of 7 hours of animal crossing since it came out. sometimes there is just nothing to do anymore. i'm in quarantine, can't even go on a walk or visit anyone. i only live with my mom who works all the time. i'm extremely bored and there's nothing else to do. just accept that everyone plays in a different way. i don't call you out for not having the stuff i have, so why should you bother me? animal crossing should be a positive community

If you mean gatekeeping by literal gatekeeping - as in not opening gates to TTing visitors or not trading with TTers - people are allowed to do that. People are allowed to not want to mix their non-TT'd island with TTers. As long as they are respectful about it, which a majority of people who want this are ('please no TTers') then there's no problem? As long as they respect your gameplay style, respect theirs.

DinoTown said:

If you mean gatekeeping by literal gatekeeping - as in not opening gates to TTing visitors or not trading with TTers - people are allowed to do that. People are allowed to not want to mix their non-TT'd island with TTers. As long as they are respectful about it, which a majority of people who want this are ('please no TTers') then there's no problem? As long as they respect your gameplay style, respect theirs.

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No, I mean gatekeeping like in the vocal opinion sense where if someone hates someones way of thinking and play style they go on the attack and put people down for disagreeing or doing things that they don't like and take it personally like it affects them. That's the problem I've been encountering with other players like my friend Dan who are getting hurt by people they call their friends because he TT'd and they didn't like that, not because of fearing spoilers but because generally they didn't like it. It's not ok. There are people in this community who don't respect each others play style and gatekeep like no other way to play besides theirs is acceptable. There is no winning in these situations and they make communities toxic and unapproachable and it needs to be stopped. People need to stop policing this game and making their own rules due to their selfish narcissistic behavior and being disrespectful and respect each other and the way they play and if we can't do that then we have a problem. I love this community and the people in it, I made a lot of friends here, and I don't need a bunch of disrespectful and rude people going around thinking they can make rules for a game that has none. Unacceptable.

DJjeff20 said:

No, I mean gatekeeping like in the vocal opinion sense where if someone hates someones way of thinking and play style they go on the attack and put people down for disagreeing or doing things that they don't like and take it personally like it affects them. That's the problem I've been encountering with other players like my friend Dan who are getting hurt by people they call their friends because he TT'd and they didn't like that, not because of fearing spoilers but because generally they didn't like it. It's not ok. There are people in this community who don't respect each others play style and gatekeep like no other way to play besides theirs is acceptable. There is no winning in these situations and they make communities toxic and unapproachable and it needs to be stopped. People need to stop policing this game and making their own rules due to their selfish narcissistic behavior and being disrespectful and respect each other and the way they play and if we can't do that then we have a problem. I love this community and the people in it, I made a lot of friends here, and I don't need a bunch of disrespectful and rude people going around thinking they can make rules for a game that has none. Unacceptable.

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While I agree that doing that is wrong... I've yet to see any evidence of it occurring on this forum. I accept it may well be happening on other social medias, but bringing it here is only going to add to it and make this place more toxic because of it, and we don't want this place to become toxic.