Your World of Text
*Check out the YWOT Wiki!
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 YWOT in 2023 | |
| Created by | Andrew Badr |
|---|---|
| URL | https://yourworldoftext.com |
| Launched | August 5, 2009 |
Your World of Text (YWOT) is a website created by Andrew Badr, and is the predecessor to OWOT.
Most OWOT users find out about OWOT through YWOT.
YWOT does not support colored text, teleportation, and does not have a chat.
YWOT nowadays barely functions, likely the project coming to its end after nearly 15 years.
Interaction With OWOT
Warpserver
Fastclient
OWOT-YWOT Bridge
Cross-Site Racism
OWOTers on YWOT
Due to YWOT's lack of features, many OWOT users see it as a more handicapped site.
The lack of colored text and SLC(among many other things) greatly decrease the scope of art that can be created. Stricter rate-limits also serves to restrict scripting, which is considered to be a major source of creativity in OWOT.
There is also the fact that YWOT simply isn't very well optimized in the current day, and would lag unbearably whenever too many users are online. Indeed, Andrew Badr has largely abandoned his site in the current day and left it to rot, whereas FP still maintains OWOT on a regular basis.
OWOT users have noticed, in addition, that scrolling is much slower on YWOT, making for a jankier experience. Many have also reported that they simply missed the presence of colors, and felt that the experience wasn't the same in black and white.
YWOTers on OWOT
Our World of Text is seen by much of the Your World of Text community as a more toxic version of YWOT where spamming is more prevalent. The script-centric nature of OWOT also lends it a bad name, since most YWOT users associate scripting exclusively with spam.
That being said, most YWOTers have not been on OWOT long enough to learn of its more artistic qualities; or that scripts can be used for the site's benefit rather than just for spam. Though it should be noted that in many areas, OWOT does in fact attract a more reprehensible userbase than its predecessor, with the global chat in particular being feared as a cesspool of toxicity. A lot of this may have to do with the fact that OWOT users are generally younger than their YWOT counterparts.
This is not to say that YWOT is without toxicity, however, though most of it does seem to have subsided in the current day. Any crimes committed by past users have similarly been lost to time, whereas OWOT keeps a better record of its misbehaving members.
Another source of animosity comes from the fact that much of YWOT's appeal comes from exploration, where generations of users follow each other on lengthy pilgrimages, reacting to older text all while leaving messages of their own in order to encourage future travelers. The lack of teleportation also means that the vast majority of spam/toxicity is confined to Spawn, an area that can easily be left behind to explore a more pleasant environment.
Easy access to teleportation removes any incentive for manual exploration in OWOT, meaning that there really isn't much to find after you scroll past the chaos of Spam Central. It is for this reason that many YWOT users see their sister website as a more hollow experience.
The Takeaway
The general consensus among those who have spent time in both websites is that YWOT and OWOT simply fulfill different niches. YWOT is considered to be an open world text processor while OWOT is regarded by most of its userbase as a sandbox centered around scripting. FP has also noted that whereas YWOT users explore their site manually, users in OWOT explore by teleporting to distant coordinates or by visiting other worlds, many of which are unique experiences in of themselves.