Hi! :D Welcome to Cardboard, your neighbourhood board game guild! We're not neorelated, we're not themeless: we're board game-based. That doesn't mean we go around fangirling about Monopoly or Settlers of Catan, no. It means that while we do like to chat, we often pass time by playing games on our guild board, in board subject lines, on petpages, the GC, AC, and basically wherever we can get our grubby little paws.

Established on December 2, 2011, Cardboard is a bunch of goofy, amazing friends and we think you should consider joining us! Here's why:

WE HAVE PERSONALITY. We have a sense of humor. We're kinda silly and strange at times. We talk. A lot.

WE HAVE POTENTIAL. As a simplistic guild, there are lots of opportunities for you to make your mark on the guild. Help refine Cardboard and help us grow.

NO PRESSURE! No, seriously. We don't want you to feel like you have to be with us all the time, participate in a whole lot of random activities to prove yourself a worthy guild member, or spend all your homework time making guild graphics instead. Spend what time with us that you can, and we'll be satisfied!

Want more? Good! Browse through the sections on our webbie to find exactly what you want, or try the FAQ!

how to join | community values | guild policies | ranks & tokens
meet the leaders | get involved | our guild friends

Cardboard has 31 members. Invites are currently open! (Last updated March 16, 2012)

Keep in mind that our member count is about as accurate as our post count. We WILL have a lot of members who only get to see us once in awhile, and we're honest about it. We let them stay due to our no-pressure policy! That means that the number of people you'll be interacting with on a regular basis is much smaller.

We're a private guild. We're definitely extremely full of ourselves. So you need to jump through a few hoops to join. I hate to say it, but that's how it is.

Just kidding! ^^ It's true that we're a private guild. This is to keep a handle on our member count and to enforce our literacy policy. We definitely love to meet new people, but we understand that some people are just not meant to be part of our family. You don't have to do headstands for us, though! To earn yourself an invite, first read through our community values. If you think you can handle those, then continue on, young adventurer!

You have 3 options, now. You can write out a full-blown application (neomail or petpage), you can request an interview (we'll ask you a variety of questions), or you can chat and/or play games with us on our boards. All of these are meant to give us an idea of who you are and whether you'll fit in at Cardboard.

One of our lovely Entrance Guards (it sounds menacing, but they're quite pleasant!) will read your application/conduct your interview/chat with you on the board. They are responsible for deciding who to invite to the guild, so please respect them! Keep in mind that not every Entrance Guard has volunteered to handle every process. Be careful who you neomail for an interview/application!

Once you've decided which way you'd like to go, follow the instructions:

Application: Fire off your application (whether it's a link to a petpage, or several neomails) to one of the following people: Arie, Xana, Kat, Mac*, Miranda
Tell us about yourself, what you're looking for in a guild, why you want to join Cardboard and generally give us a sense of why we should let you in. You should get a response within a day or two, but please be patient! Don't neomail more than one of these people unless instructed to by one of our Entrance Guards.

Interview: Neomail one of the following people, asking for an interview: Alex, Xana, Mac*, Miranda
They'll ask you a few questions at a time and try to have a good conversation with you. If they like you, you get an invite. Every Entrance Guard has different questions they ask and a different amount of questions. This method has the potential to take the longest, especially if you and your interviewer aren't always on at the same time. If you're not patient, consider a different joining method! If you don't get a response to any of your messages within 24 hours, neomail Arie.

Chat: Probably the most convenient (if you can find one of our boards), all you have to do for this method is talk to some of us on our game-ad boards. Play a game with us if you can! Once you've been chatting for awhile, don't be shy about asking for an invite -- we're rather polite and don't want to force it on you. If we say we need to get to know you a bit better, please don't be offended! Just hang out a bit longer, or consider going for one of the other joining methods.
The following Entrance Guards are committed to chatting on our boards: Arie, Alex, Kat, Miranda, Mac*

*Mac prefers to communicate through her main account but will send the invite from her side account, which is in the guild.

We want to be the best at what we do, and that's being a community. We want people to enjoy being with us. That means:

- We hold ourselves to higher standards than other guilds when it comes to certain things. Like going out of our way to be kind to other members (and non-members!) and making them feel welcome in our guild and on our public game boards. We make an effort to be tolerant and to enforce our no-pressure atmosphere.

- A community would be nothing without communication. So we are a literate guild: proper English grammar to the best of your ability is required. (And don't tell me you're incapable of typing periods or capitals...) We also hate spam -- it's a roadblock! We keep our messages at least 2 sentences long and free of quoting others' posts. This way we're always having constructive, understandable, real conversations.

Exception! Some games are going to defy our literacy/posting requirements, and that's okay. Just be sure to follow them at every other time. ;)

- We're funny and goofy and silly. We have a sense of humor because that's what makes guilds fun!

- We want to be relaxing and comfortable. So we tone down the teasing when the teasee doesn't appreciate the humor. We avoid drama. We support each other and help each other.

- The point of the guild is to be a community, which requires a little communication and participation, so we have a member sweep/activity policy. Said policy is fairly lax because this community revolves around playing board games and we want people to be able to come to us for the first time in two weeks and jump straight into a game, if they want.

- We accept members until we feel crowded. We don't have a fixed member cap. Instead, we decide as a group when we're fit for more members and when we can't handle anymore. Then we state it here on our webbie -- whether invites are open or closed.

- We don't advertise to just anyone. We only advertise to people we'd genuinely want in our guild; people we'd want to get to know better and become friends with. To people who would make an excellent Cardboard member.

- We keep things chill by asking little of our members. People are welcome to contribute over and above, but are not required to. (We do have a member sweep policy, but it's actually very relaxed.)

- We conduct member sweeps as necessary (and when we remember to). Members who have not been seen on Neo for two weeks will be swept. Members who have not been seen in the guild (had a REAL conversation or played a game) for three weeks (but have still been seen on Neo), will be swept. If you have a legit reason for not being around, neomail Arie and she'll put you on the "no sweep" list.

TIP: If you play a lot of games on the GC/AC and haven't had a post in the guild for awhile, try popping in for two seconds to let us know that you're playing outside, and maybe invite people to come with you! (Respecting our posting rules of course.) Posting is how Neo's guilds keep track of activity, so if you only post on ad boards, the guild records are going to say you're never with us! (Which would be a lie! We mustn't tell lies...)

- Anyone is allowed to begin a game, and we actually WANT you to start your own games! If there is no game going on, start one! Don't be shy! (If there's not enough members online to play with you, take it to the GC!) BUT PLEASE be polite: don't interrupt a game already going on and don't create a new ad-game board unless the board title is misleading (saying you'll play one game when it's actually a different one), or there isn't already a board on the GC. (You're welcome to play one game on the GC and a different one in the guild, but more than one on each is confusing!)

- We don't have "pure" ad boards -- plan to play a game! (That's what the guild is for, right?) If there's no members available to play, look for some willing participants on the GC (or AC, depending on your game choice).

When you join Cardboard, you will begin at peep matter. (Silly name, you say? Ask the members. ;D) To work your way up in the guild, you must earn ranks by earning tokens. A certain combination of tokens is required to earn each new rank! Tokens are represented by button-like images that you can put on a page somewhere.

Earning/Awarding Tokens

Tokens are awarded by your fellow guild members for different things you can do around the guild. That said, you can award tokens to people too! If someone goes out of their way to help you, is particularly welcoming in the guild, or brightens your day, consider returning the favor by awarding them a token!

When you award someone a token, ask Arie (or another token creator -- Art, Kat, Forrest or Alex) to get you the image. (It will show the awardee's username and the date, along with the type of token.) They'll put it on a temporary petpage and fire the link off to the awardee; then you'll both be set! (Feel free to neomail the awardee with your intentions of giving them a token!)

Tokens are not to be asked for. Asking for tokens gives you less of a chance of actually getting any!

Now you're thinking that this system may leave some people behind. It's true! Some people may be neglected because they're not flashy about what they do in the guild. But that's why we have designated volunteers to watch for opportunities to hand out tokens. From time to time, we also go through our member list to see if someone who has not ranked up in a long time should have earned the tokens to rank up. Then we shower them with a bunch of tokens all at once, and they magically get to the next rank. So don't worry; we've got you covered. ;D

Your End of the Bargain

You are responsible for keeping track of your own tokens. If ranking up doesn't matter to you, then you're free to ignore tokens! ^^ It's fairly easy, however, to keep all the tokens you've earned on a petpage somewhere, or even your userlookup. (If you don't have the space, consider begging a friend to host them for you. ;D) When you've earned enough tokens to rank up, let Arie know by sending her a neomail. She will verify your tokens against the following list, and if your calculations are correct, she'll award you your rank! But she's not going to keep tabs on your tokens for you, so keep track!

The Tokens

Tokens change up from time to time. Here are the current ones:

kind - awarded for being kind to others, members or non-members
extra mile - awarded for going out of your way to help someone else
volunteer - awarded for helping the guild, volunteering for duties, creating graphics, or generally being involved
recruiter - awarded for recruiting members
active - awarded for being extremely active, whether playing games or chatting it up
sunshine - awarded for brightening someone's day
initiator - awarded for beginning games
welcoming - awarded for welcoming new members to the guild or non-members to our game-ad boards (not just through words, but also through actions!)
guild spirit - awarded for showing pride in Cardboard through your font, lookup, petpages or general behaviour
helpful - awarded for helping guild members by answering questions, finding items for Faerie quests, etc.
stellar - awarded for being PURE AWESOMENESS (when other tokens just won't express your admiration and awe of someone, use this!)

Some of these tokens overlap each other. Generally, if you want to "reward" someone, do so with one token. (Just pick one!)

This is what a token looks like:

Right now, tokens come in nine colours: white, grey, lavender, blue, lime green, maroon, hot pink, orange and teal!

Rank Requirements

Important! Cardboard is just a baby guild right now, and we have not tested this idea. Be prepared for the requirements to rank up to change over time as we tweak the system.

To earn each rank, you must have the following tokens:

Yay! Your first rank up:
finger food - 2 Welcoming; 1 Active; 2 other tokens [5 total]

I think you've proven yourself by now:
poking holes - 3 of Recruiter, Active or Volunteer; 1 Guild Spirit; 1 of Extra Mile, Sunshine or Helpful; 4 other tokens [9 total]

Psh, this is old news:
tied up - 3 Guild Spirit; 4 Welcoming; 3 of Volunteer or Initiator; 1 Extra Mile; 6 other tokens [17 total]

My my, you are something special:
hobo - 10 of Kind, Initiator, Guild Spirit, or Active; 2 Recruiter; 3 Extra Mile; 7 Welcoming; 6 other tokens [28 total]

If these seem daunting to you, remember that these are total tokens, not additional tokens you have to earn. You have already earned some of the tokens necessary for hobo by achieving finger food!

Let's clarify: by "other tokens" we mean any other combination of tokens that haven't already been counted for your rank. Using finger food as an example, you could rank up with 2 Welcoming tokens, 2 Active tokens and 1 Guild Spirit token OR 2 Welcoming tokens, 1 Active token, 1 Helpful token and 1 Sunshine token. The combinations are [nearly] endless!
By "X of _____", you must have X amount of tokens of any type of the following tokens in any combination. For poking holes, you could have 2 Active and 1 Volunteer, OR 3 Active, OR 1 Recruiter, 1 Active and 1 Volunteer, etc.
YES! Tokens stay with you when you rank up. So that "Guild Spirit" token you got in your first week? It's good for every rank up after that, too.

Hey now...

Don't cheat the system, yo. Tokens are not avatars to be bought. Don't change your lookup for a day to earn the Guild Spirit token and then change it back to your lovely Pink Peophin Paradise lookup after you've won the token. Where's the fun in that?

Also don't give tokens out to undeserving people just because they're your friends. That's also unfun, and what does it say about us if we're handing out Active tokens to people who pop in once every two weeks?

Leaders have the right to discount/ignore any tokens unjustly awarded when considering members for ranking up. (But don't worry, we're not going to abuse this.)

moar!

If you've achieved the top rank, hobo, keep earning tokens all you like! This shows continued dedication to the guild, and if you decide to apply for council, your massive list of tokens would definitely help your cause. Plus, it's nice to get that warm fuzzy feeling when someone gives you one. :3

At the moment, we have one glorious leader. We're not looking for any more, because she's pretty spiffy. Also ridiculously egotistical.

HAH, I really hope that you sense the sarcasm/silliness on this page. If you don't, perhaps you should have stopped reading awhile ago. XD And actually, we're always looking for talented help. Check out this section for more!

Arie is the head of the guild. She has a minor Neopets addiction that she can't seem to kick, which is why she's back. Again. She's taking web design in school (will graduate in April 2012!) and has begun to hate designing anything outside of work and school. She has two part time jobs (web design + Starbucks) which continually stress her out and give her great joy (and free drinks). Cardboard is her second home and you'll see her ranting, raving and generally being silly in the guild at any given time during the week. :)

We also have some wonderful volunteers. Should you need to get into contact with anyone, here's who to talk to:
Entrance Guards: Alex, Kat, Mac, Miranda, Xana
Game Managers: Forrest, Kat, Meg, Miranda, Rae, Xana
Token Creators: Alex, Art, Connor, Forrest, Kat
Member Managers: Kat, Meg, Xana

As much as Arie would like to be able to run the guild by herself, she can't. She needs this guild to be no-pressure for her as well as her members, so she figured we could spread the responsibility around! Here's a list of duties that range from MASSIVE responsibility and require applications to low-pressure positions that only require a silent commitment.

Remember: Nothing lasts forever. If you think you can take on one of these positions only temporarily, still feel free to apply! Or, if you've taken on a position and want to give it up for whatever reason, that's okay too.

Event Organizers organize one guild event per month (read more here!)

Game Managers update the guild homepage with game details
(we need enough of these to cover the most active periods in the guild)
- given layout powers + calendar powers
- responsible for updating the guild with games + NOT MESSING UP THE LAYOUT (XD)
- application required (neomail Arie!)

Entrance Guards take care of people entering the guild
(the name is a bit of a joke, just so you don't think we're crazy hardcore Neopets guildlings)
- responsible for sending invites and one or more of the following: receiving + responding to applications, conducting neomail interviews, chatting with people on the GC to determine their potential as a member
- application required (neomail Arie!)

Member Managers are in charge of member sweeps, invites
- enforce member sweeps
- manage member issues like deletions/suspensions, fights, former members rejoining, invites closed/open
- application required (neomail Arie!)

Graphic Gurus are in charge of guild layouts and other graphics
- not a permanent position (though you can continually submit graphics if you like!)
- simply neomail Arie for details

Token Gifters look for opportunities to hand out tokens
- no real responsibilities (bonus!)
- simply commit to handing out tokens whenever they can, so that people will feel valued and can rank up!

Hey, what about council?

Oh, you're an ambitious one. In the future, Cardboard may conduct a council search, but for now, Arie is simply keeping an eye out for people who would be good for the guild. If you're interested in getting council, prove yourself by ranking up and taking on some responsibilities around the guild. Don't forget to discuss it with Arie! She doesn't read minds.

It's also totally possible that Cardboard will never have more than one council member. If the guild pulls together and members are content with their hard-earned ranks, we may not need council!

Arie also has ridiculous standards, so let's be honest about that now. If you have to earn 28 tokens just to get to the highest rank, you'll have to really impress her (and your fellow guildmates!) to get a council position.

After reading all this, it's totally possible that you've realized that Cardboard isn't for you. That's okay! If you don't know where to go from here, we do have some suggestions for you. These are guilds we truly respect and admire, and we think you should give them a look!

AMTP - public, literate and madly themeless, AMTP is an ever-stylish, established guild.

Avant-Garde - a private, atypical artistic guild with loads to do and even more that will catch your eye!

Comity - small, close-knit, mature guild that's just the right dose of silly!

Pocket Otaku - one of the longest-standing active guilds on the GC, Pocket is private, literate, and wonderfully Asian-themed.

Renegade - a family like no other, Renegade is private, chat-based, and uber friendly.

The Coffee House - close, well-established and 18+ -- the perfect haven for adult Neopians!

The House - beautiful and inspiring, this public neorelated guild makes a wonderful home.

The Neo Project - a neorelated, goal-oriented guild that's sure to give you warm fuzzy feelings inside. :3

Think we're missing an amazing guild? Neomail Arie to get it up here!