IMVU – The next step in chat?

When I heard about the new IMVU I had to wonder if this was the next step in chat. At this point, my money is on that answer being a yes. Essentially, IMVU is this (here’s a quote from their site):

IMVU is the world’s greatest 3D instant messenger! IMVU allows you to chat using a character called an avatar in 3D scenes. With thousands upon thousands of cool products to choose from in the catalog, it is easy to look exactly the way you want. So go ahead and try on those shoes or change your skin color…the sky is the limit!

Yes, it’s like combining the ‘live’ avatar of a MMORPG and online chat (if you don’t know what I mean by that, see the screenshot below).
Showing avatar visual chat.
Now, if combining the MMORPG style avatars and online chat wasn’t scary enough… now factor in a personal site ala MySpace style to the mix.

Every IMVU user gets a free, easy to customize homepage. You can drag panels anywhere on the page, change colors, add images, send and receieve messages and gifts, upload images, write a blog, see who visited your page, see who is online, see your rankings and even show off your music. IMVU homepages are the easiest to use homepages on the web!

But wait! I’m not done with the comparisons yet. So now we have MMOPRG avatars, online chat, MySpace, and now… let’s put it all together with the spin of the popular MMORPG item ‘purchase’ option. The excessively popular concept of buying things for your online avatar to wear, places for them to live, etc… is integrated automatically within what IMVU calls their ‘catalog’. The catalog concept actually goes off into several levels. Let’s imagine you want to gear your ‘avatar’ up with new virtual shoes. Okay, so you need to buy that item from the catalog with credits. You can pay real cash money for credits (convert rate is $1 = 1000 credits), or you can earn credits. All new accounts are starting with 1000 free credits, and they give you 50 more after your first 3D chat. Now, 1000 credits isn’t alot in the catalog really. There is a pair of shoes I saw on the first page of the catalog and they cost 550 credits.

Okay, now I said they took this on to another level, now I’ll explain that part. You can also be a ‘developer’ and create ‘catalog’ items. When you do, you get a number of credits (like a royalty) each time someone buys your catalog item. Then…

Those credits can be used to purchase other products, for personal advertising or sold to credit resellers for real world money. Developing for IMVU can be a cash cow for talented and driven IMVU users.

Well, in the long run I imagine it could save a few talented starving artists of the world if that really does make them money. Overall, something to watch and see what happens with IMVU.

~Nicole

57 Replies to “IMVU – The next step in chat?”

  1. hey i use IMVU its awesome its hard to get the hang of it but wen u do its coolio if anyone wants to noe mi imvu its alsi ok cya

  2. i made an account called jobboa and i started with 20 thousand credits and i woz like 0 crap i still have 500! creds so if you wanna meet me sometime add jobboa im just downloading imvu again bcoz i missed all the updates its on 64 now bye bye

  3. HI, I have started using IMVU as well, and yes, Nicole. I have been thinking the same thing. In fact you took the words right out of my mouth. I really am sure that this is the next step in chat. However I think we need to take into account that it is still in its beta stage. I believe in the future it will be even more advanced. I don’t know how, but I do know with technology advancing the way it is anything could happen.

  4. Well i hate to burst everyones bubble, but this a cash cow is just a way to nickel and dime people into submission. Lets review the process of registering.
    1. select character model: theres 24 models 12 male 12 female no good models to start with
    2. u get to choose from 3 head, 3 skin tones, 2 facial hairs, 3 hair styles, and 9 tops, bottoms, and shoes each. of course all the options are very ugly and its just a way to get you to buy clothes and items
    3. when you select a name no where does it say you have to re-register for $7.50 in order to remove the guest_ tag from your name.
    come one now be real $7.50 is a lot of money that can be better used. Some people make that much money in one week. The fact is even yahoo lets you build a better avatar even though its flash based and not opengl. I registered and i am giving a try but i dont like it so far and i am sure yahoo will come out with something similar and im sure it will be better

  5. Well 3 days after install and let me tell you some more about imvu. imvu is not that good at all .if you really want to do a truly 3d chat client then what you want is second life, it allows you to make everything the way you want it. You can modify the face the body ears nose neck everything, you can be fat skinny tall short bold legged pop eyed one eyed and even Chinese thanks to the infite possibilities that i was expecting from imvu. One day after signing up i was looking to get more money in imvu and i clicked a link on a website that made it to where i gave all my money away to someone without even having to process it through the chat client. You can understand why this is upseting especially when you can buy credits with real money.

  6. I have an imvu account and i want to create clothes and houses but to do that i have to pay and my parents dont let me. Do u know any other way to do that? Do u know some way to have imvu credits?

  7. Hmmm,
    Where to begin. First let me say that IMVU is one of the best chat systems I’ve used to date. Since joining the internet over a decade ago, I’ve used many. Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, PalTalk, and quite a few others. Every chat system has it’s pros and cons, some have more of one and less of another and vise versa. However as not only an IMVU Chatter, but as a developer in the IMVU Community, I can honestly say that I have seen more pros than cons in IMVU. Because I was a chatter before a developer, I can stand by the fact that I have seen both sides of the fence so to speak in regards to use of IMVU. For those who do not develop products on IMVU, there is much to offer. A great chat system, a messenger that is updated as needed to work through bugs, flashy personal and customizable homepages, wonderful 3D avatars and items.. the cons of course exist. However they are few. One being is homepage spam from other users who forward chain mail that is annoying – but quite reportable and easily dealt with.
    As a developer, it has just as many wonderful features – including the ability to make a little cash doing something that provides the community with fresh 3D Items and clothing, and of course doing something besides sitting idle in a chat room listening to high school drama – something few other chat systems have yet to lay any valid claim to.
    The very fact that IMVU protects minors, and allows adults to partake in the system with very little problems is a wonderful thing. Its also something Yahoo couldn’t do and actually never attempted to do.
    I could rant an rave about Yahoo (known as Yahell by those of us that have used it after being addicted to it. ) but I won’t. Suffice it to say, Yahoo is a company that spins bad P.R., does nothing to protect its users, and plays to its own interests. It always has and it always will. Those who use it, enjoy.. those of us who grew wise and escaped it did so after being burned by it once too often.
    Now then, to address some comments. First I would like to point out a few issues I found with MissingXtension’s post.
    A) IMVU is I suppose a cash cow, one that many have tapped into and reaped from. Yes, I’m sure the creators of IMVU are making money from their product.. just like everyone else who creates products.
    B) Yes, IMVU gives you standard choices of creation for your IMVU Avatar, and 1000 start up promo credits to get you started. Seems as the 3D avatar is the base of the chat system, it makes sense. Its not exactly a conspiracy. Yes, create an avatar and buy it clothing if you do not like the default options. No one has to buy anything if they do not wish to do so.
    C) Every free account at IMVU has Guest_ on the front of the user name. Yes, you CAN register the name for 7 or so dollars, or you can buy a package which includes the registered name. Again, this is the choice of the user. One can quite literally never register their user name and chat for however they like. The only benefit to registering your user name is that it unlocks the ability to become a developer.
    D) Yes, Yahoo allows you to use Avatars. In pm’s, email, and blogging, but you cannot chat using them. Now, they are quite nice, however even Yahoo allows you to obtain more clothing for them and accessories.. too bad what they make available is created by Yahoo and at its discretion. If Yahoo were to be compared to a government and its owner a president I can give you a fine clue as to which government and which president it would be most compared to.
    E) I have tried Second Life, and sadly enough I cannot say that its as half as appealing as IMVU, and you will notice that their fee is quite higher. The fact that you MUST have a normal credit card is unappealing in fact. I would also add that Second Life recently had some PR regarding ” terrorist ” attacks within its system by users who did not like the way things were being done on the system. Much like Yahoo has people who run booters and behave in troll like mannerisms.
    F) My condolences to you in regards of losing credits on a website that was not affiliated at all with IMVU, I’m sure however, had you sent emails to the staff regarding the incident, they would have taken steps to compensate you and deal with the offending website. I am a believer when I see it however, and thus you will have to forgive me if I do not entirely believe your tale of woe.
    Back on point, IMVU is one of the best chat systems and I believe that it will set the standards for what a chat system should be. And just think… IMVU is still in Beta and has I believe 3 Million users. Yahoo has been around since 1995 and cannot offer more than high school drama, trolls, and wannabe hackers who harass chatters.
    Best Wishes to All,
    Lord Tristan

  8. I would like to point you to the link, but it would irresponsible of me to do so. Everyone who knows about php knows that theres a new exploit everyday, imvu uses php in they’re website. There was a (1)simple (2)simple way of stealing things in imvu, it involved changing out the url from tryout to puton and like that people could steal what you had made. I dont see any reason why IMVU is more reputable than yahoo. At least yahoo charges you for usefull stuff like shoutcast, internet services and makes money from giving you usefull services like news. e-mail, search services, shoutcast, mail hosting (unlimited), and advertising (not usefull for me) . Its not even a fair comparison so don’t even try that. Every issue that Lord Tristan listed just confirmed what I posted, and even added more to the list absent issue E. I would also like to point out the fact that I have kids and my kids are mine, not yahoo’s imvu’s or google’s. I don’t care how pr friendly corporation/company is, I dont even trust disney, or nickelodeon (only pbs a little). There are bad apples everywhere but when a program like second life is so revolutionary that it is featured in several bussiness and news programs (cnn, pri, reuters) it tells you a lot about how people run things. But if you’re an old schooler than you might wanna start wondering why it is that icq went the way of the dinosaur. Despite Mirabilis having no revenue, AOL paid over $240 million in cash (and $400 million overall) to buy it on June 8 1998. Ive seen the past and I am still seeing it in imvu, at least icq had a cool interface. So something usefull with your money go here http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/

  9. MissingXtension,
    You’re correct obviously in your remark about the ease of exploitation and theft when it comes to websites, php or otherwise. Sadly enough, there will always be people that wish to create havoc, steal, hack, and do their best to cause problems. However, educating oneself to the risks of the Internet and taking defensive measures is the best way to handle that. I realize that not everyone that uses a computer has vast experience or knowledge when it comes to computers, virus’, ad ware etc.. but it’s never too late to learn something new. Regardless of the services you use online – there are always risks. As a user you take those risks and when something goes wrong.. alls you can do is go to the service providers and try to minimize the damage and try to get it fixed. Most sites provide customer service emails etc, however I tend to skip email because at times its too slow. Check out sites for a contact phone number.. even if you have to trick your way through their robotic answering systems to get to a live tech.
    In regards to Yahoo and other services.. I’m sure that you and I could spend hours having a friendly debate regarding them, but I don’t want to move to far off of thread topic to do so. The only thing I can add is that I spend a decade on Yahoo and all I have seen in that time is a chat system.. ( yes they provide a myriad of other services that you can pay for and some that are free.. but at the moment I’m speaking of chat.. ) that anyone can do whatever they want and Yahoo has failed to make positive changes that protects its users. In fact, Yahoo has been contacted, petitioned via websites, phones, and email regarding all of the TOS violations that go on and they will do nothing to put something in place to put a stop to it. In fact, a moderated pay for chat system such as MSN has went to would actually work for Yahoo but because it doesn’t actually make a lot of revenue from its Chat System, it doesn’t wish to moderate it – or protect its chatters, and on top of it all, 2 years (?) ago it actually removed the teen area from chat, and closed private rooms down following the public relations over the pornography on Yahoo Groups. This was all well and good until the teens started making free accounts with birthdays that made them older than they were so they could get in to chat. Compiled with the closing of the private rooms where most of the pedophiles hung out.. and the teen section closing, the boundaries that were once in place were erased. The result was teens on adult accounts chatting in the main stream rooms where the pedo’s as well were chatting because they couldn’t create their own rooms. I realize that this is a muddy topic but thats just merely one example of where Yahoo has went wrong, and IMVU is doing right.
    As far as Second Life and its latest publicity, you’re right.. the company is doing a lot of things right, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have flaws as well. In fact, every great service and product is bound to have some flaw… nothing is perfect.
    In regard to ICQ.. ICQ was a great instant messaging client. In fact I used it for about a year, but I found that it was slow and bulky even with the great interface. While it had some features, it went to the dinosaurs in my opinion because it lacked the better features that MSN and Yahoo provided with its clients. As far as revenue, it couldn’t compete with Yahoo and MSN as a chat client and lacked the popularity that would have provided more revenue.
    In closing, in regards of Yahoo or IMVU having more reputability based upon Yahoo making money by providing services is in my opinion a statement that doesn’t factor into the equation. Yahoo offers vast services yes, but the importance of those services to individuals will always vary. What I was comparing was not a not the services you mentioned, but a services that both companies offer.. chat. When it comes to chat, IMVU beats out Yahoo. As far as homepages – Yahoo doesn’t offer what IMVU offers. To even begin to create a ” homepage ” like what IMVU offers you would have to use Yahoo Profiles, 360 and Geocities services. All of which fall short in the quality. However, Yahoo does offer other services that IMVU doesn’t. These however are not in debate. The Chat system however is.
    Feel free to correct me if you believe that I have missed the mark.

    Best Wishes to All,
    Lord Tristan

  10. i really want to go to the next step and have a new room not a attik and i would like togo to the next step so i can lol even more please give me the second step im begging u because i want the second room not first room

  11. Well the next is reall simple, pay the 7.50 to register you name. Then pay some more or chat every day with random people and youll eventually earn enough credits to get something worth your while. But either way you might need to register you name first, and you can always change it latter so its not permanent either.

  12. I have been on IMVU for 3 weeks now and am thinking about going into developement. I think it is one of the better chats. It does have better security and it has a lot of great options. The people are also a lot more entertaining. I tried yahoo, and was bored, on IMVU I can customize and play til my heart’s content. Just giving an opinion.

  13. I have been on IMVU since February of this year, and am a developer currently.

    I have two views on IMVU, one based on the fun I have with chatting and creating new items, and one that has to do with the business practices of IMVU and their treatment of developers and customers alike.

    As a chat program, IMVU is great. You can chat with other people in a much more realistic way, you feel like you are face to face with another person, can change your attire, and d actions etc. It is a lot of fun, and I invested quite a bit into the company as both a regular chatter and a Developer.

    When you first start you are given predits (free credits, also called promo credits) which is nice for the first time users, and gives them a little money to get them addicted to shopping the cataloge. You don’t ever have to buy credits if you find more way to earn free credits, and the more friends you make the more the possibility that you could earn gifts, and if you provide services for other members, like creating signature graphics, or avatar pictures etc, or even participating in the many user-hosted contests on the forums, you can earn real credits that are transferrable into cash. All of it is great and it is fun, but there is another side to the coin.

    The predits that IMVU gives out, they give out like candy. They are all over the place and basically flooding the market. The problem with this? Well great as it is for the users that have them…it is devastating for developers. How would you feel if you spent over 2000 credits submitting something into the catalog and 99% of the customers who bought it used promo credits to buy them? At first you would think that’s no bad thing, but then you look at your balance events…you earn absolutely nothing in the way of the REAL credits that you spent submitting the product for those who purchase with predits. All you get is a Dev Token that takes off 10 credits from submition costs. It costs money to develop, and when IMVU gives out promo credits, it is like giving people coupons that the developers pay out of their own pockets, but have nothing to do with handing them out. That is the first bad thing I have noticed about IMVU. Granted the more popular your item, the more chances that you will sell it for real transferrable credits. It is possible and it has happened, but with most new developers, all you will get in return for paying the 7.50 for your name is a bunch of dev tokens and the need to purchase more and more credits to submit your items with little to no cash flow returning back to you to cover these costs.

    Another bad mark on IMVU. The chat program itself is very buggy. It takes up a lot of your CPU resources, and slows down other programs on your computer, dependong on how nice of a computer you have of course. I have had so many instances where my computer has completely locked up because of the program. You can have group chats, but the more people you invite, the slower it gets and the harder on your system it becomes. Not that great in my opinion.

    The final thing I have to say about IMVU is a highly controversial topic that I want to explain with as little bias as possible to avoid conflict due to my statements.

    IMVU has an Access Pass for members of the community who are of the age 18 and older. For a long time the terms of service did not well define what could and could not be used for the AP, and many products were made and sold of a far more riske, and frankly sexual manner than you could ever find without the purchase of this Access Pass. It attracted many new customers, and the development of hundreds and thousands of items of a more adult nature, because the AP was open only to those who were 18 or older. However, as with anything, there is always a way around the rules, and youngsters found ways to lie about their ages and gain access to credits cards in order to purchase an Access Pass. Then there they are with access to all of these adult themes. Becaise of this, IMVU had to make new terms of service, lowering the rating of the Access Pass from the X rating it had gained, to more of an R rating. They did not, however, make any moves to delete or remove the items that went against this rating. They did not comb the catalog, or search it for things that would violate these terms of services and instead left it up to the users to flag inappropriate items. This has lead to wide-spread abuse of this function flagging things that would have been appropriate even for non-access pass, minus the touch more skin shown, etc and things that should never have been flagged were flagged while things that should have been, never were. This went on for a long time, with people submitting things into the catalog that so far as they thought (due to unclear boundaries, and definatitions of what is and isn’t appropriate) were perfectly fine. Then more recently, IMVU disabled these items, went through the catalog and disabled many, though left out quite a few, which angered the developers, for a good reason, because these terms were not very clearly defined anywhere and when asked, Devs. would get completely different answers from different people. The thing with the disabled items, was that people werre still able to use them after thay had been disabled. I fgured it was because they bought and paid for them, so they should be able to use them, but no one else would be able to due to the changes in terms of services, and poor communication. It didn;t bother me so much. I figured it was a sort of grandfather clause. Then IMVU does a very bad move and deleted everything that was disabled. People lost a LOT of money when this happened. While in a way I agree with this, because a lot of the owners of these items were minors, and/or were being used with minors, etc, and the children should be protected from these sorts of thing…but in another way it infuriated me along with others. People paid real money for these items. Millions of credits from all over IMVU went into these items, and suddenly everyone is out the money they paid for.

    This is the main issue I wish to address about IMVU. They have been known to change their terms of service, and then everyone pays for the change. They have basically stolen from people. Reguardess of what it was they stole, or the nature of the items. They were purchased, and at the time of purchase, 99% of the buyers did not realize that they were buying items that were against terms of service. Because shouldn’t they not even be in the catalog in the first place if they did violate these terms? While I totally and fully understand that it would take a lot of time, effort and manpower to ensure nothing against TOS ends up in the catalog, there have been several volunteers to do just that, which was turned down by the company.

    The latest new in the world of IMVU is that those millions of credits spent on the now deleted items will be refunded with promotional credits. Credits that will flood IMVU even more with promo credits and useless Dev tokens. Items that people worked hard on, and spent their money making, and that fit 100% into the terms of service will get nothing for their efforts. Developers will lose money, and these promo credits will circulate for a very long time.

    As much as I enjoy IMVU as a chat system it is still highly flawwed, and the company has shown me and thousands of others that they do not follow the best of business practices, and I along with those others have lost faith in this company.

    If you do wish to try IMVU, by all means please do…just remember that when you buy your name or an access pass, you don’t get much out of it. The access pass basically allows your avatar to smoke a cigarette and wear slightly skimpier attire. Buying your name right now would be a bad idea, because you will get nothing but Developer Tokens for your efforts. Stay on the free side of the business, because when you start paying, you never know what will change in the terms of service and how much money you will be out because of it.

  14. IMVU is the worst, I spent hours on this, bought my name, developed some products, and had a ton of stuff stolen from me for various reasons,
    eventually my account was disabled for some ambiguous TOS violation.
    Then I find out the IMVU economy is floundering, and the quickest way to put it right was disable accounts with credits, and freeze the flow of credits to resellers, among other dubious tactics to defraud users.
    I lost a ton of stuff with no way to get it back in short my entire account was stolen.
    As for the reason my account was disabled, I reported a moderator for harrassing me to death, thats all it took.
    Go ahead and use IMVU for free but don’t put one dime in to it, you will regret it.

  15. hey i tryed to go on and it keept on sayin this ! imvu can not do this imvu that you have requested why do you think that what do you have to do to go on or do you have to be a cretern age

  16. ok i need more money so can some one please help like unlimited money or somin. come on please.ill be your friend and like im a girl so boys if u help me out ill like let u do stuff. add me invite me come on. I REALLY want more credits. Please help. cheats even if u give me crddits ill let u dostuff with me please?

  17. I have been an IMVU member for a little over 2 months. One of the main reasons I joined IMVU was to be able to chat with adults on adult issues and dress my avatar with sexy clothes and possibly spice up my life. However, IMVU, due to the fact that parents don’t take their parenting job seriously, the kiddies have ruined it for those of us over 18. I for one am looking into 1) starting an old fashioned baby boomer hippie protest; 2) seek legal counsel; 3) contact my state attorney general’s office; 4) seek others to file a class action lawsuit; and 5) file a congressional in my congressional district (which just happens to be a BLUE district). IMVU has breached their contract with those of us who purchased the Access Pass. I for one am sick and tired o society telling me how to live my life. I also am sick and tired of companies such as IMVU using bait and switch tactics to entice customers and then yank adult-rated items just because some kiddie stole a credit card, got into adult stuff, and the parent (a prudish RED stater probably) then make a big issue of it. PARENTS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE DOING ON THE INTERNET. IF YOU DON’T, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES AT FAULT FOR THEM GETTING INTO ADULT-ORIENTED THINGS. ALSO, PRUDES, GET OFF THE PLANET.

  18. IMVU chat is definately not approriate for anyone under 18 years of age.The fact that this chat client is still in beta testing seems to have given the company IMVU INC the impression that this gives them the right to be dishonest,deceptive,decitful and dishonorable in their trade prcatices and dealings with their customers.In short dont waste your time with this chat client I do not forsee a very long or successful future for this company or its chat client.

  19. i heard a rumore that you can make a virtual baby on imvu.. haha .
    Does anyone know if its true.. that is the funniest thing i have ever heard
    lol

  20. I cant create a imvu account? I get to the page that gives me a sucurity number and i fill everything in and click next… but then it says thatthe prosses could not be sent? what the heck i wanna play imvu can somone help?

  21. Yes you can report IMVU, I know I did, go here and file with the FTC, http://www.ftc.gov/
    the administration at IMVU has done nothing to correct the way they have treated their customers.
    They have fleeced the developers, who do the work to make the site what it is, and rely on the teenagers to spread the word about how great the site is, while adults who spend the money are disgruntled about losing everything they have already paid for, or not being paid for the work they have done.
    The adults started to openely complain about this in the IMVU forums, so IMVU made a majority of the forums for people who “buy their name” so by the time the facts are exposed to new users, the money is already spent. If you want to see the way it really works, drop some of your hard earned cash, watch it disappear without a trace, and go home with the “just pumped the neighbor’s cat” look on your face.
    IMVU is probably the single most legit scam since A****y, and like A****y, if you get a few loyal followers, by the time you burn them, they will have told others how great everything is.
    It is your choice to go on IMVU, but be smart and keep your money in your pocket, that is the only way it is worth it.

  22. i love imvu but sence i deleted my character i cant make another one or bring my avatar back 🙁

  23. I absolutely LOVE IMVU! I was so deeply impressed when my friend first invited me there… Never before have I seen anything like that (I was used to such programs as ICQ, Odigo, and Miranda). Yeah, I really like it, that you can choose your appearances, clothes, visit places, create and buy lots of things. in a sense, it reminds me of the Sims, which I adore 🙂

  24. by the way, I think that it is possible to use IMVU without spending money. just win and earn the credits – be smart and watch your budget 🙂

  25. I deleted my Imvu Account, But will I still be able to Log into it on the Instant Messager that you Install? I don’t want to log into that. I want to delete it and get it over and Done with. My friend Bought me all this cool stoff, Clothes, Hair, A pink Apartment…But I had no choice; I had to delete my account. I don’t want to still be able to log into the thing That I had installed. It is on my Old Computer. Anyone know the answer to that? Help me please!

  26. Well folks, IMVU was a great idea but it seems their management is keen to run the company straight into the next wall. They have sold an “access pass” that initially allowed adult content for adults and now they gradually remove more and more of the content adults bought that pass for. Effectively this is a big scam, luring people into buying a product that doesn’t deliver what it promised. If you want just a chat box then IMVU is ok together with many other chat sites on the internet, however as a site where adults can meet others for some more explicit fun, which was the exciting part of the site, it is getting pointless to fork over the 20 bucks for that pass. Currently a new even more restrictive policy is being discussed. Users are vehemently against it but it seems the IMVU guys are not even listening.

  27. I made mine but I dress but when I try to look the same in my room it dosent work
    and I dunno how to talk on it.

    what should I do?,HELPP.

  28. what does this mean anyone please help meee plzzzzzzzz………….Please correct the following errors:

    IMVU was unable to process your request

  29. It sucks! It freezes up a lot in public chat rooms. Go to Kaneva.com instead. Kaneva lets you actually run & walk around like real people.

  30. Imvu is the best so far- Kaneva is ok- but it still has flaws of its own. I have 27- YES 27 accounts and on 2 of them are devs. i make avia pics- so i hardly ever lose anything. i have been reading through these comments and i agree with Lord Tristian and Disagree WHOLE heartedly with missingxtension- i’m sry, but for someone who doesnt even let their children watch hannah montanna or blues clues or curious george is menally insane! We have to give them a chance to make a website that is for everyone! i have been a member for…i donno…3 or 4 months and i love it…i chat and hang out with people that are jus like me (even if they are strangers)- and yehh, they might not be able to walk or talk jus yet- but there are VERY talented devs out there who make dance moves and CAN make them walk- you jus have to look for the products! i think that putting money into this site will help them achieve their goal in making a better site! && who cares if they mess-up! they are the brains behind this ingenious site!! visit my site and see what i do!! i love love LOVE imvu and am very happy with things right now!! ((my MOMS even on there!!)) && promo creds are bomb! but there are always ppl out there buying more && more creds then jus chatting up all day!!

    luv
    CHERRY

    http://www.avatar.imvu.com/cherryvodka2182

  31. OH!!! P.S

    i TOTALLY agree w/ creditChatter!! i LOVE SIMS&&SIMS2!!! so realistic && real!! wow!! sry- thought i’d put that out there!!

    luv
    CHERRY 😎 8)

  32. CherryVodka2182: Trust is tricky thing to give out, that doesn’t mean i don’t let my kids watch george or clifford. 10 times out of 15 were watching public television, and some national geographic. As far as imvu, it still has not improved since my post. I am sure someone benefiting from the service would be in agreement, even if it is ripping people off. And by the way Disney is crap, they don’t even try to make quality shows. Just look at the mickey mouse clubhouse! Compare that to jakers and so super why and you can easily see how a community of collective interest’s can create better and more efficient than a private for profit company. Being a dev, you should realize that BSD and Linux or gpl code is in almost everything. The XP ip stack is based on BSD.

  33. First off…let me just say that IMVU…sure it’s graphics are well done…but…IMVU is not all that it is cracked up to be! First off…I joined back in May of 2007, bought an Access Pass under the impression that with this pass…it would show proof that you are an adult of the site…and that you’d be able to do certain AP related things, wear specific AP items, own specific AP items…etc…well now ‘Adults’ rights are nearly being stripped from us.

    I have another account that is a non-Access Pass account as well….many…and when i say many I mean close to 30 products from my inventory, within the last month or two, have been re-rated and placed into the Access Pass only catalog. These are products, that clearly have nothing wrong with them. I recently…within the past 2 days…have had a Pirate skirt…taken from me…as well as a dress. Both products had nothing inappropriate, wrong with them.

    IMVU claim they are doing this…with the flagging of items…for the ‘Kids’ of the site…since you are allowed…as long as you are atleast 13yrs…to be a member of the site. I question their methods…seeing as if they are claiming they are trying to ‘protect’ these ‘kids’ then one…why allow kids in the first place…I have researched it, and found many 3D chat sites specifically for ‘Kids’…

    Two, if allowing kids…then why allow them to dress as gang members, purchase gang related items, etc…In my opinion…that is NOT protecting these kids…that is just promoting these things…making it seem ‘OK’ for kids to become a gang member….while they are flagging other items that clearly has nothing wrong with them.

    We have had 2 Boycotts already, due to IMVU treating adults as if they were the kids…telling us we have no RIGHTS. And yes…the group that I am a member of…we have a screenshot of the particular post in question…from an IMVU staff member actually stating…that we are only test subjects…and we have NO RIGHTS!

    Many…perhaps hundreds have already left IMVU in search of a better place, where adults are treated as adults should be treated.

    This is not even mentioning the fact that when there is a technical problem…or in the case of being refunded for a product that you have bought with regular credits (not Predits)…IMVU does nothing…I have proof of this as well. Not only is my account proof of this…many others are too. They either don’t refund at all…which many of the products taken from my non-Access Pass account…has not been refunded for…or they have refunded me for other products…with those Predits, which alot of Devs won’t even take as payment for their products.

    I have sent in ‘Help’ Tickets…emailed the proper IMVU staff on the matter…and the only reply I get is the one saying that I will be notified within 24hrs….and then they never contact me…nor do they do anything to rectify the problem.

    One email message I did receive though…they claim that the Classic Canopy bed that was taken from me…had too many ‘adult’ poses on it, therefore it was re-rated as Access Pass only…and my non-Access Pass account can no longer use it. I researched this as well, with my Access Pass account…the bed had one cuddle pose…where one avatar is lying in the arms of the other…that is all…and is the same exact pose that is on nearly everyone of the beds that is in the General Audience catalog.

    So therefore…I say…as well as many of my IMVU friends…and many, many more non-friends, also say that IMVU is not as cracked up as they claim to be. They discriminate against the ‘Adults’ of the site…they’re Hypocrisy of things is outlandish…not to mention…they form their own YouTubes…promoting the very products they are banning from the catalogs and from people’s Inventory.

    So…yes make your own choices and decision on whether you think IMVU is so great…or on whether any wants to join…you will soon find out the complaints I have expressed here today…are true…and not outlandish. I am a member of a group…outside of IMVU…who stand together and fight against their discrimination.

    Spirit

  34. you r right. nothing much is free and the games like spinfree is a one in a million chance. they say its a real economy but i hve 2 say if u r under 18/ still dependent on ur parents why wud any parent spend credit cards on ‘a mere way of meeting unknown people’ so i think most KIDS wud not be spending any money also if u hve talent u have to be a member to design anything i think imvu deserves changing

  35. Well, let me tell you that I got disappointed in the community. Because there was public rooms of the main types:

    A) Where people were all quiet and were just coming and going. It was boring to watch people doing various stuff, wondering why I was wasting any time there.
    B) Where people are rude and/or ignorant. They either comment on something about you and next thing you’re up to is pointless debate as they’re trying to “diss” you and you’re trying to make them stop.
    C) Where everything lags because of graphics or expression emotes. When you do certain expression emotes, camera switches to your face for everyone to see what you’re doing, which interrupts panning your own camera. Some people spam them.
    D) Perverted rooms. (No kidding!)

    I noticed from the site that if you want to look “impressive”, you have to open up your wallet for IMVU. And if you do so, you may notice that is’nt not a fair trade. When you want something, you might not always know when they’re asking for more money next. They never tell it when you start.
    If I want to pay for an internet service, I want a mmorpg that openly tells their monthly fees and possible extra fees right in the start. It’s called fair trade.

    I actually uninstalled IMVU, and let it stay that way. I’m about to delete my account too.

    Don’t waste your energy on a trash like this.

  36. IMVU is going to bite you sooner or later, they will take their money and smile, no they are not going to tell you up front how much you will lose.
    If they did, you would not spend..or throw your money away there.
    If you want to know what IMVU does to you, just read some of the postings on this page, the kids that are for it, are the ones IMVU are after, they will spend money on nothing, and it does not bother them to lose their account, have their virtual belongings stolen, pay for an access pass that is going to be worthless in two weeks.
    If you have been victimized by IMVU’s fraudulant business practices, go to the FTC, file a complaint, I even filed with the BBB, let the world know they are crooks, after your kids money, that is why they do not like adults on IMVU, adults complain when you outright lie, and steal from them.
    I hope that everyone is paying attention, the appeal is in the SIMS like atmosphere, draws you in, and then when you spend a few dollars to reap the benefits of the “pay” features, you have just become a sucker, and filing a help ticket? you might as well fill it out on your desktop and send it right to the recycle bin.
    IMVU represents everything that is devoid of moral, and fiscal responsibility to its customers, and the kids keep it going through a lack of financial understanding, IMVU takes my money…I get nothing for it.
    The argument is you understand that before you pay, but the understanding is I get to utilize my enhancements without fear of having them removed ,as a knee jerk reaction to some unsound practicesIMVU engages in.
    Summary,I pay my money so IMVU can claim to be in beta testing, and they take the virtual items I pay for, give me nothing, and then say we are in testing and that part didn’t work out?
    Please do everything in your power to bring IMVU to their knees, if you have been ripped off, tell everyone, formally complain to the FTC, if they get enough complaints they will take action.

  37. okay wat do i do wen it sayzz IMVU was unable to process your request
    datts wen im tryin to mak my account but it sayzz “IMVU was unable to process your request?” plz plz sum1 plz answer dizz question bcuz i realy wnt 1 but it doesnt let me tell me soon as possible !!!

  38. i rlly dont get it wen it says “imvu was unable to process ur request” i just rlly dont get it???? can someone tell me wat it means???????????????????????????????????????????????????…

  39. I have been a user of IMVU since 2006. IMVU is a PREDATOR heaven, yes parents, be rest assured that when you send your darling son or daughter into the IMVU world that they can be molested and thanks to IMVU’s NEW spiffy TOS policy..when they call to complain about there molester IMVU willl thank your son or daughter or veen you, by disabling your account! SEE IMVU firmly believes it is the VICTIMS fault for getting harrassed and raped! Why do you think they say that?? WELL it was what she was wearing of course!! OR we can try one of the ever more popular cliches like… She was asking for it! or how about, if she’s old enough to pee, she’s old emnough for me! That’s right, the next time your undrage child goes onto IMVU, every minute they spent may be one minute closer to harrassment!

    For adults, and vicitms of abuse, this is NOT funny, but this is the WAY imvu does there work now, several of my friends have been stalked and harrassed, and imvu thanked them for notifying them by disabling their account.

    IMVU THE WORLD’S GREATEST PREDATOR CHAT!

  40. IMVU: If you sign up do not be duped into buying the access pass IT ISN’T WORTH spit let alone the $20 they charge you for it DO NOT be tempted to buy the VIP pass either its a disappointment to many and only serves to relieve you of your cash! and many have reported problems canceling whereby the money is still withdrawn from their banks even after cancellation!

    And do not dream of being allowed to post the truth in the forums Because the vast majority of moderators there are in cliques and gangs and bully warn ban delete as they see fit YOU are NOT allowed to have or own a reasonable voice in the forums for this you will recieve warnings and bans
    A Moderator there told me I had broken a forum rule I asked to be pointed in the direction of the rule so I could see it and learn from it.
    His incredulous response was
    “I’ts an unwritten rule but I’ll get a senior mod to add it to the rule book later!”
    SO I dared question this and I posted asking how many other “Almost Rules” there are that we don’t know about and we could fall foul of their answer was to accuse me of “Trolling” and issued me with a 90 day ban because I made the already STUPID moderator team look even more ridiculous than they already are.

    By the logic shown any number of us could be arrested for performing acts that are not yet against any law but hey we’re thinking on our feet as we go along and we’re going to arrest for breaking an Almost not quite law yet LAW.

    Customer service is second to none where NONE is the clear winner!

    The client continually crashes freezes items that you buy are Stolen from your inventory by imvu on a daily basis.But they do introduce new features all the time without of course first checking to see how the new features affect the client invariably It’s ALWAYS BADLY they always create more problems lagging crashes furniture is stuck you it follows you to new scenes You crash without knowing it and your stuck in a silent scene wondering why people are quiet
    you suffer whiteouts and blackouts and LAGGGGGG jeezzzz the lag is STUPENDOUS!!
    They wrote the software so it sucks the everloving crap out of your processor and system ram!

    you are continually bombarded with advertising even though when you paid to own your name they told you the advertising would cease and it has not!

    In short IMFU customer service sucks the client sucks the moderators that are supposed to be there to help huddle in gangs and have favorites who’m they use to come and bait you in order that they can ban you. So come to imvu and enjoy the show.
    someone coined the term in imvu
    B.O.H.I.C.A very aptly
    (BEND OVER HERE IT COME’S AGAIN)
    You have been warned !

  41. IMVU: A WAKE UP CALL!

    I have a report on my experience with IMVU. Although I may only be thirteen I would like to talk about IMVU.

    IMVU is a virtual site where anyone can chat. I’ve personally been on IMVU myself so I’ve experienced the downsides.

    First of all IMVU says it is a friendly web site but is it? It’s like a chat site where adults meat new people. There’s is nothing wrong with that but I’ve recently heard a women dating on a site. When they got back from the date she made the mistake of letting him enter her house. She got raped. I was a former member of IMVU and an avatar said I want to f#*! you. I’ll remind you I’m only thirteen, you can’t blame me if I feel abused. I pressed on the Report Abuse button but I haven’t been told what punishment the use gets! That’s called IMVU service.

    Secondly you are pretty much talking to a bunch of strangers. It’s like walking up to a random person and saying “Hi. Want to chat?” There’s always a fear that you’re actually talking to a fatty who lives in an old shak eating a pie with tomato sauce! Or an obsessed stalker at a coffee shop tapping on a laptop and talking about meeting in person!

    Last of all you have to buy credits with real money. What’s the point? You are using your money on a bunch of pretend things! They also have this weird system of a refund! A friend of mine never received a reply because she wanted a refund and well no more money. They’ve also said you can start your own business, first of all you have to buy your own name. How ridiculous is that? The people who complain to IMVU end up getting their account deleted and getting no refund! The people who are currently using the site are just wasting away in front of their computers.

    My advice is GET A LIFE! There are so many people in the world who are in poverty and have no food, no water and no shelter. How can people be so selfish and only complain about things they don’t have that are not essential to life. Most poor children end up being rich and famous and helping people who were like them. Don’t get old and regret not making a difference or helping anyone. This is my wake up call you either hang up or listen.

    From,
    Anonymous

  42. well- yes, IMVU does have its quirks but there are websites that have great deals on credits or FREE credits- IMVU does also have a problem with the fact that sometimes when your making a avia ((3D character)) it tends to be “busy” or “unable to go farther” all you have to do is refresh the page or go through google && do it that way. i have friends who are on there ((189 to be frank)) && i have my own group ((which i think is soooo helpful meeting others who have the same interests just like you)) && i have met a lot of different people through my && other groups. Yes its a drag to have to pay for credits through Pay-Pal or regular Credit cards- but heres something- yes, “kids” tend to use their parents credit cards- but IMVU sends an email to varify through your/their parents email && if your;/ their parents didnt know- the “kids” accounts get disabled && or deleted.
    Trust is an issue ((&& yes- i agree that playhouse disney isnt like it was when i was a kid-)) but hey! i think that everyone knows how to use their brain && how NOT to give out info into you/their personal information ((i.e Name, address, email, phone number, creditcard number, passwords, etc)) i mean comeon!! IMVU ((like all chat sites)) have pervs- but the beauty of it is that you can report the pervs && block them. if they try again- they might invite you, so all you have to do is click No on the invite && give a reason ((if you even NEED a reason))
    IMVU is a dress-up/chat site- you can set your profile to PRIVET if you feel like you cant trust anyone- you can invite only your REAL LIFE friends && only chat with them, but i have learned from my parents ((who trust me not to be stupid)) to trust the little voice in the back of my head ((or my gut feeling)) that if something is getting a little to personal or touchy that i will trust myself to block the person who is doing things or report them- as for the updates && it being slow- yes the program does get sluggish && it might freeze up- but i have noticed that some of the programs in my computer ((i.e windows music player usually)) make things slower- i have talked to 10 people at once && it was S L O W!!! i havent done THAT since. but if you just talk to people- you will recieve credits- or if you really good at making avatar pictures- sell them on your sites for a REASONABLE price- make a little buisness out of it. you can also ask for donations if your REALLY desperate- over all- i MIGHT be a developer- but i cant make ANYTHING that i think would sell- not for the TOS being broken but because i dont like what i made ((its crap usually!! ^_^)) but like i said- over all, IMVU is ((i think)) the start of a new chat program && dress up game!

    to go on with this even more or if you have any questions please feel free to email me- Sqorpio111991@hotmail.com in the subject tho- make sure that you put in IMVU HELP or IMVU disscussion. thanks!!

    IMVU USER,
    Ch3RRY

  43. I been on IMVU for about a year now. I have over 20 rooms and over 50 or more clothes and songs. I have a public room named (Candy’s French Quarters Exotic Club)… I also got married on there. Had a real nice wedding….Have twin girls. We also have a ranch. park, beaches. Hummer and sports cars. My husband is in the Harley club and we have nice bikes we ride on the country roads. We also have mansions and over a 8 homes…Tons of buddies that come and hang out and dance.. I got all the lastes dance moves. We have so much fun on there. You will get addicted to IMVU and went you are bored go and chat and have fun at your home spot or go visit the public rooms and meet new friends. I am an Access Pass Client, so you do have be of age (18) to visit me. Come to the club and have fun, even if I am not there…you can play music or watch a video, or shot a game of pool.. it all there. Thanks for reading my message and have fun on IMVU…Candy

  44. I have recently checked out this IMVU messenger and honestly I am not too impressed with it. A friend of mine introduced me to it and yes I as well cant get it to work either when I scroll around I cant even see these supposed people in the room or even my own avatar. Like all chat rooms you are taking a risk and yes you can get sucked in and become a computer junkie who only lives to chat with random strangers. So honestly I dont think it is a great form of messenger I think the basic instant messaging services put this to shame.

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