Invisible Paint Brushes rock Circulation: 146,497,694 Issue: 308 | 7th day of Gathering, Y9
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Editorial


Heya, TNT. Every time I read over the Editorial, I see things like, "OMG TNT YOU GUYS ROCK," "YOU GUYS ARE GODS," and a whole lot of that kind of stuff. Does that annoy you at all? ~equaled
While we appreciate the sentiment, it does slow us down in getting to the actual question most of the time. We don't know how it got started. We guess someone said that and we used their question, then others started doing it? We asked everyone to stop for a couple of Editorials and stated that it really wasn't necessary in the slightest, but sooo many submissions have it now that it's nearly impossible to avoid. Really, it does not in any way help your question get in. It seems what was once a small rock throw is now an unstoppable rockslide. D:

I have been using this account for two years now. All of a sudden, someone finds my username offensive and blocks me before I have a chance to respond. This I didn't have a problem with, it just shocked me. The next thing I know I'm getting a nasty and very rude email, where this person is saying they've reported me because of my username. Am I going to lose my account because someone finds my name offensive? ~wiccan_wolf
No, your username is perfectly fine. There are plenty of usernames with a person's beliefs as part of the name. What isn't allowed is the discussion of those beliefs on Neopets. Religious usernames that aren't tolerated would mostly be things that could be considered solicitous, or those that are attempting to "encourage" others to join their religion or degrade other religions. This is because such a username is basically trying to incite discussion or rile up others rather than express that their religion/belief means a lot to them.

Please note that political usernames are a no-no, though. We've found these do nothing but cause trouble. Neither you nor your Neopets should be named after politicians.

Let's just say - there's this guy (we'll call him Bob) who stole an Air Faerie Crown from me. After a while, I see him lending free with my same exact AFC (how do I know? I've been keeping tabs + getting information from friends). Is it illegal to go on a side and "scam" my own item that HE scammed from me in the first place? Of course, I understand that scamming is illegal. But HE scammed from me in the first place. All I'm doing is taking it back. Would this get me iced? ~[username removed]
*sigh* No vigilante justice on Neopets, please. An eye for an eye just leaves everyone blind. We've made it quite clear in past Editorials that NO ONE should attempt to do the job of a monitor. If the scam hasn't yet been taken care of, please send off another email if it's been more than a week. We know you feel it's justified, but please don't drop down to their level and endanger your account.


Don't lend what you can't afford to lose...
but the scammer isn't off the hook, either.

Hi TNT! I have a question. Could/would there ever be an option to take an item off of an auction if no one has bid on it yet? Mispricing items would stop if you could simply remove them from The Auction House. ~congratz
We talked about it, but we're going to have to say no. Auction mispricing isn't really a big enough problem to cause such a huge programming change to The Auction House. We can also already see how that could be used to scam quite a bit. (Yes, sadly, those are things we have to think about.) We won't repeat what the scam would be, because we don't want to give anyone ideas, but we don't want to add a feature that could allow that.

Also, we don't want to allow removal after a bid has been placed since we don't want any backdoor deals happening or people pulling their auctions when someone is about to get an item on the cheap. Say you're the highest bidder on an auction with only 30 or so minutes left. You're about to win the item for 250,000 NP less than the going rate for the item. If the user auctioning the item can just pull it down and re-auction it for a higher price (or sell it to someone via the TP), then that sort of defeats the purpose of The Auction House altogether.

So basically, make sure to double-check your asking price and minimum bid very carefully before you auction an item, since you will not be able to cancel that auction.

On the NC Mall board a 42-monther claims that TNT wrote back to them saying you are looking into making the site pay-to-play to get rid of the spammers and scammers... is this true? ~snowintx
Absolutely not! We already mentioned this in an Editorial shortly after the release of the Mall.

Anyone who makes up rumours about the site or intentionally twists our words in an attempt to spread fear or panic should be more concerned about their account and whether they will be getting a warning or frozen. This has happened quite a few times, and just because that user is doing it from a side account doesn't mean we won't also freeze their main account.

Even outside of Mall rumours, if ANYONE claims to have been told something by TNT, especially something as important as that would have been (were it true), you'd be best off ignoring that person and moving on to another board. They are likely lying through their teeth.

I noticed that people on Neopets sometimes collect hundreds (or maybe even a thousand) of a certain item that is usually not worth much. They put in their signature, "I'll take your X item." They then say how many they have so far and what their goal is. Is this against the rules, or is it frowned upon? ~star9casey
Not really. As long as it's just stuck in their signature (we refuse to use the word "siggy") and they're not actively begging, we don't really have an issue with it. When people make boards or spam in regards to it, though, then they are crossing the line and could be setting themselves up for a warning.

So I was playing Eliv Thade, and I still don't have the avvie because I just can't seem to quite make it to the last few points I need. I was so close to making it and the following anagram appeared: ROZNYLO. I had no idea what this was supposed to be and, try as I might, I couldn't persuade the Brain Tree to help me out. The answer was ZYROLON?!? I checked the dictionary and this isn't even a word! Could you please help me out with this, as it cost me the avatar and I don't believe it's a valid word for the game. Is there something I'm missing or was Dr. Sloth messing with the game to stop me from winning?~farscapeone
If you've scored high enough to nearly receive an avatar (we also refuse to use the word "avy") from Eliv Thade then we're sure you're aware that a large number of the words in our dictionary are Neopian words. :) If you look up Zyrolon in the search bar, you'll see he's a retired Grundo programmer with a Collectable Card and even his own stamp! Sorry, but it seems that you just ran into a spot of bad luck. :(


DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? Oh, I guess not.

I've seen a lot of graphics makers state on their graphics page that they will report people for changing anything about their code, even if the person still gives credit. One in particular says they will report you for changing any pictures or CSS (even if you give credit). Can they really do this? Personally I think that, if you credit them, you should be able to change anything. But you're the all-mighty TNT, which has the final say. So... what do you say? ~zephani
Their work, their rules. Sorry. You have no right to alter their work (even if you credit them) without their permission. If you took Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, changed a few words, and then posted it on the Internet, you'd likely be contacted by several lawyers before you could say "Rictusempra." They would not be appeased to hear that you gave credit to J.K. Rowling. You are changing and using work that is not yours, so unless the original creator of that work says it's okay, you have no right to do so.

Ok I am veeeeeeery confused. What exactly are side accounts? Everyone asks if you can earn Neopoints on a side account, and I know that you can't, but how does that help me if I don't know what a side account is?!? I hope you answer this, cuz u guyz roxz! ~07vbgirl07
We actually get this question a lot. On Neopets you are allowed to have up to 5 accounts. However, you may only use one of those accounts to do most activities (like play games, earn Neopoints, etc). This is called your main account. The (up to) four other accounts that you may have that aren't your main are considered "side" accounts, and are also known as alt (alternative), gallery, guild, or storage accounts amongst players. These accounts can be used to house more Neopets or perform any other function mentioned in the previous sentence, but may not be used to earn Neopoints (as you so astutely mentioned).

Say you've gotten a Fountain Faerie quest and completed it -- how long could you wait before painting a Neopet? Could you keep it forever, or does it expire after some time? ~ i_am_sherailin
Technically speaking it doesn't expire, but we wouldn't leave it sitting around "forever." While you'll probably have plenty of time to decide how to use it, we can't 100% guarantee that it won't vanish one day and that you won't be left having to wait around for another one.

My birthday falls on the same day as that of Neopets! This is all well and good, except that, as a result, I will only get the site theme for ONE DAY!!! *cries into her Babaa pillow* ~contagiouscaptivity
Okay, we can't really do anything to help you regarding this issue, but the image of you sobbing into your Babaa pillow was just too cute. Have a cookie.


How about a hankie, too?

*Begs* please answer this! I don't want my Draik to blow up from disgust while waiting for the answer. Can you please tell me if you have to have the exact Dubloon denomination to buy anything out of the Smugglers Cove, or will a Dubloon of a higher denomination automatically break down so that you receive change back in Dubloons? ~giladriel37
You don't have to have exact change, thank goodness. It's already hard to be quick enough to get something from there without having to worry about having the exact number of dubloons at the ready. The pirates do give change, though keep in mind that they are pirates and will, in all likelihood, try to stiff you a little.

Hey TNT, I've been thinking about this for a while, and would really like to have this question answered. Will The Pound ever be back up? Because it's been down for a really long time. Are you going to close it completely or are you just taking a long time? ~duckyaisha
Really sorry it's taking so long, gah. There are so many things to work out with it... but we are making progress! And no, we are not going to close it completely. It's an important part of Neopets so please don't believe any doomsayers who enjoy claiming otherwise.

In my haste to get through all the daily spots when I log on, I totally missed the Random Event that changed my Neopet to baby. Is there a way to go back and see what the event said? I tried hitting the back button but the Random Event was gone. Also, is there a way to undo it? I was rather fond of my grown-up Neopet... thanks! ~shroom26
A couple of us have had the same thing happen. D: That darn Boochi. We often get questions sent to the Editorial regarding people wondering how on earth they got a paint brush or transmogrification potion in their inventory. Basically they just missed seeing the event which you realised must have happened. We're sorry to say, though, that Boochi's evil act can't be undone. :( Hope it wasn't an expensive colour. :X (And by "undone" we mean there is no "undo" button for it. Your Neopet can still be painted whatever colour you like.)

I can't find the submission form for the Neopian Times. I want to enter a story but I can't find the form. Where is it?! ~x_bluepuppy_x
It's on the lower right hand corner of the front page of the Neopian Times. Good luck with your submission!

Hello TNT, you guys are doing an awesome job! You rock! Anyway, people on the boards are trading items (such as chokatos, to get the avvie) and then giving it back to the owner. People are getting **RARE** items for free, and it's not fair to the Neopians who are working hard to earn NP to buy rare items and get the avvie. Also, some people are complaining that they got their items stolen from item lending. Isn't that against the rules?!? If it IS against the rules, isn't it their own fault for their items getting stolen? Please leave my name out. Thankies! ~ [removed]
Lending items isn't currently against the rules. Item/NP pools for avatars or paying for a lend are, though. As long as those aren't going on it's okay. While, of course, we'd prefer that people earn their own way, we can't really look down upon those who are kind enough to share the wealth. We salute those who continue to show empathy by lending items despite knowing full well that there are a horrid number of dishonest folk who will take advantage of others' kindness and steal. Those are the players we truly frown upon. (Seriously, stealing from someone who's offering you their trust and generally being kind to others? How low can you possibly go? Certainly nothing on Neopets is worth the loss of personal integrity... it just boggles our minds how anyone could do such a thing.) Anyway, if you've lent and been vicitmised by a dishonest player, please report him or her immediately with a clear description of what happened so that all their accounts can be frozen.


It's always about what they want.
What about what
I want? /sob

Hi TNT, would you possibly be able to explain the process that you follow to create a plot and the amount of work a single plot represents? I am sick of people complaining because they haven't received prizes and saying that you are lazy when you obviously have a lot of work. Thanks for all the hard work you put into making Neopets a great site. ~viking_munchkin
Hrmm... well, it basically starts out with an itty, bitty idea. Someone usually says, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if there was a plot where Meepits took over Faerieland and stole all the faerie magic?" Everyone else says things like, "oh, splendid" and "yes, yes... excellent" and "I serve our Meepit overlords!" Then, *several* meetings are held where the creative team (which consists of dedicated creative folks, but also staff members from all around the office) gets together and fleshes out the story. This takes quite a while. We fill plot holes and generally finish concepting the story outright, as if we were writing a book. From there programmers, writers, and artists enter the fray and work out puzzles, timing, battles, chapter outlines, comic layouts... anything and everything that's included with a full-blown plot. We then schedule everything, which isn't as easy as it sounds. We want to leave enough time for folks to finish bits before we release the next chapter, but we also don't want to wait weeks and weeks for stragglers, so scheduling is a tedious process. We're always changing things, even through the plot -- we may have better ideas come up, or we may have hidden a clue *too* well and have to leave more time for its discovery. (Oops!) When you're dealing with a group the size of y'all, it's hard to lock things down. ;)

And, of course, there's prizes. We hear about this one a lot. ;) Basically, we don't do ANYTHING about prizes until the very end of the plot (or, more commonly, after it's over). There are two major reasons for this. First, we have no way of knowing how well people will do. You guys are waaay too fast, and clever, and we've always had our expectations exceeded for how you'll perform. So in the past, when we've tried to do prizes before the plot was over, we've gotten things all wrong. We end up with points being out of whack, prizes and trophies not being fair, items being too rare or too common, etc. Secondly, we never know how popular certain aspects of the plot will be until we release them. (For example, we had absolutely no idea that the symbols that were assigned to players during the Lost Desert Plot would become so important to the plot-goers. We'd even thought of getting rid of them at one point, but you can imagine how glad we are that we didn't!) So all the inside jokes you see in the prizes are thought up *while* we watch you go through the plot. We take the parts you like the most and we put those toward the prizes. In short, we learned quite a few plots back that we were doing things all wrong and that if we didn't wait and do the prizes *after* the plot was over, they wouldn't be as good or as fair as they could be. So no, we don't "have prizes ready at the beginning" like most people suggest on the boards. And it's not just some simple math to figure out scores and points. We really do wait and troll through scores, retool things, find ways to reward those who went above and beyond, recap what was popular and what worked, and go over feedback before we finally release prizes.

And yes, Altador Cup prizes should be coming any day now. *fingers crossed* We're basically just waiting on one or two finishing bits and we're ready to go.

Hey TNT, please try to answer this because I think it's important. Some people (such as those who were frozen, or are saving for items) have donation shops. Basically, they put junk in their shop for much more than it's worth. Is this allowed? ~ nekoddnikki
As long as they aren't trying to trick or actively solicit players (posting on boards begging, etc.) into donating to them by buying the items it's fine. We trust one knows when they've crossed the line, and we'll know too. ;)

I hope you answer this question because I have been wondering about it. If you get a shop ban on your main account, is it against the rules to transfer money to a side to continue shopping? I got a restock ban the other day and wanted to do this, but I didn't because I wanted to see if it was against the rules first. Thanks. ~thereheytherehey
Good call! It is, indeed, against the rules. Restocking is one of those main account only things. *You* are banned (not because you did anything wrong, but because it's the nature of restocking), so you cannot continue shopping, regardless of which account you use.

I know many brains have exploded for this reason, so I urge you to stop the falling brain matter now! Many users have bought items labeled "Clothes" that were not wearable, expecting the ever-rocking TNT to make them wearable soon, thereby making them either rich or incredibly well dressed. However, only new, wearable clothes have come out! No old "clothes" can be used in customization, causing several millions to worry. Should I buy it? Should I sell it? As a result, several tons of grey matter is floating through the atmosphere. Please, will you ever make all the clothes wearable? If so, is that on the list close to the door, or in the part wandering about down the stairwell? I am never losing faith in the ever *insert blunt and incredibly awesome dense material*ing TNT. dr_john_watson
Actually several of the items that are now wearable were clothes that already existed. (Squid hat, woolen scarf and hat, etc.) While we don't plan on making all clothes wearable any time soon, we don't know which ones we will make available to wear in the near future. Predicting the market and investing in items that you believe will increase in price is all part of the game, and it's up to each person to decide whether to buy, save, or sell when they think the time is right for them.

Go TNT! Wahoo! Okay, I was wondering, is Neopets a non-profit organisation or do you guys get paid by the corporation? 'Cause really, the only way to make money is the merchandising, right? ~hockey_player87
Neopets has never been non-profit so that one's out. ;) Neopets employees (TNT) are paid by the company, Neopets.com, yes. (They just couldn't convince us to work for free or for Neopoints for some strange reason! We think it was our concerns about being homeless...) Anyway, Neopets.com has to earn its own way and, to be honest, we really don't make all that much money (relatively) off merchandising (if, by merchandising, you mean selling physical objects such as plushies and stickers and stuff), so we also have things like sponsor games, ads, premium, the NC Mall, etc.


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