What's Your Contribution to Neopia? by bluescorchio104 |  |
Untitled Document
NEOPIA CENTRAL - What's your contribution to Neopia? Ah, the question that invokes
feelings of guilt, pride, or even a strange hunger for burnt raisin toast topped
with finely sliced bananas deep-fried in olive oil. Just what have you done for
Neopia? What is YOUR contribution? There are many ways to contribute to Neopia.
And here are just a few.
Donations
The most obvious and perhaps the most exploited part of Neopian charity. While
do-gooders and just plain nice people donate stuff to the Money Tree for newbies
or those down on their luck, often those gifts are snapped up by greedy people
with high-speed Internet connections. However, for the number (however small)
of donations that do get through to the ones who need them, I'm sure that they're
appreciated. Rather than Neopoints, I prefer to donate items. Food is always
appreciated by hungry Neopets, even a common omelette. Other items I donate
for one simple reason-I don't want to give Newbies Neopoints. That may seem
like a pretty nasty thing to say, don't you think? But that's not exactly what
I mean. What I mean is that by forcing them to put that item in their shop (however
small that may be), not only will they earn Neopoints., but they will become
slightly more familiar with the shop process of looking up an item in the shop
wizard, pricing accordingly, etc. etc. This way, and with a basic knowledge
of shops, they can earn their own income in time. When you think about it, a
way to earn Neopoints is far more valuable to just a set sum of Neopoints. Then
they will be on their way to becoming self-sufficient, and maybe one day donate
something to the Money Tree that they once took from. If a newbie just stayed
at the Money Tree all day, snapping up NP donations, that's hardly going to
help them become self-sufficient, is it? When I started out as a newbie, I never
got so much as a penny (or 1 NP) from the Money Tree. Or an item. Heck, I didn't
even get a Newbie Pack. I just played games and slowly built up my savings.
Another exploited branch of donations is begging. Really, any beggars on Neopets
should NOT be given anything except a good kick in the pants. Or tail, as the
case may be. Neomail was never meant for begging, and shouldn't be. But getting
off that subject, which has somehow became increasingly interesting and complex,
I would now like to inform you of chat board begging. It's like Neomail begging,
but chat board beggars can reach out to more people at once. And annoy more
people at once, unfortunately. It's the same story all over. I just got hacked,
boo hoo hoo. The Pant Devil just stole my attack pea, which I poured all of
my savings into, boo hoo hoo. Yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. Persistent
beggars should be placed on the infamous Wall of Shame. If it's a genuine case
of a person who had their account hacked (which is rare) they can play games
to earn NP just like the rest of us decent Neopians. Some people, already wealthy,
just beg to increase their fortune. After all, there's no way you can prove
they're poor.
Pound relief
Well, that's probably not the politically correct term, but pound relief is
the only thing I can think of to describe it. Generous, but often not very rich,
Neopians, pour their savings into paintbrushes, so they can adopt a Neopet from
the pound, paint him or her, then abandon them at the pound again. What purpose
does that serve, you may ask. Well, the Neopet is then highly likely to become
adopted if he or she is a fancy colour. This can cost do-gooders a great deal
of NP, but they still do it, even if their own pets aren't painted. Guilds have
been established for the purpose of painting pound pets, the members pooling
financial resources to afford paintbrushes. I greatly admire the generosity
of these Neopians, to tell the truth, and I think they deserve a standing ovation
from the rest of Neopia, evil villains and Faerie royalty included. But sometimes
I do wonder if the owner who later adopts the painted pet only does so for the
colour. I sincerely hope not.
But there are other ways to help pound pets. You don't necessarily need to
buy hundreds of paintbrushes. I intend to use the Lab Ray to help pound pets.
It is the same process as painting, but you may have to wait a while till the
Lab Ray zaps the pet to a desired colour. But as an added bonus, the pet may
gain better stats, too.
Help
Just some simple help can be invaluable to a newbie. A few minutes on the
chat boards to direct a newbie on how to make a few NP will make all the difference.
What would you rather have- the ability to make NP, or a just a set sum of NP?
I would rather take the former. I think that I'm repeating some of what I said
the 'Donations' section. Oh well. All the better to brainwash, I mean, inform
you. But at least I'm making a point, right? The Neopets help section will never
be able to cater to every single question Newbies ask- so a few nice Neoveterans
fill in the (rather large) gaps. This method of helping takes no NP, just a
bit of time and occasionally some patience. If the newbie asks a simple question
that can be answered by the 'Help' section, direct them to the 'Help' section,
rather than answering the question right out. They'll be able to learn how to
use the Neopet's 'Help' to answer most of their questions, and will leave the
chat board a bit more free for other Newbies
Creativity
Although this might not seem as important as donating a Faerie Paintbrush
to the Money Tree, it IS. A nice piece of artwork is certainly pleasant to look
at. That's why Neopia has an Art Gallery in the first place. A humorous article
can bring some much-needed laughter. Or at least a chuckle. Amusing stories
can help us relax, escape from the pressures of the world. Those of us who are
poetically minded will definitely appreciate a beautifully composed poem. So
even if you can't afford to donate, or help pound pets, you can always create
something. A great deal of Neopia is dedicated to creativity if you think about
it.
So, now that you've read my article (or at least lightly skimmed through it)
question yourself. What's your contribution to Neopia?
Author's Note: Did you notice I started and finished the article with the
same question? Pretty nifty, huh?
Second Author's note: I hope you don't mind that the Donations section
of my article is larger than the others. But if you do mind, well, you deserve
a prescription from good ol' Dr. Bluescorchio104. You know what it'll be for.
Third Author's note: Seeya next time readers! I'm off to eat some burnt
raisin toast topped with finely sliced bananas deep-fried in olive oil.
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