If so, guest, you probably suffer from one or two misconceptions about Neopets and Adults:

Misconception #1:
You think that Grownups never have any fun… or at least they shouldn't.

After all, shouldn't we be busy earning a living? Going to work in cubicles and wearing boring grey suits? Taking care of our children, doing laundry, and cleaning our houses? Paying bills and figuring up taxes ALL DAY LONG?

Ha Ha.

No offense, but if you truly believe this, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you probably are a child or very young teen. Just because you grow up does not mean you should stop having fun!

There's more to life than this...

Or even this!

I'll be adding a section at the bottom of the page later on for those stubborn young'uns who need a bit more convincing, but believe me, even if you don't understand now, you will when you are older, lol.

Misconception #2
You accept that adults need to relax and have fun. But why are they here on neopets? Isn't this… a kids site?

Stop right there. That is where you are Wrong.

You (or maybe whoever told you that Neopets is for children in the first place) have been tricked. You've been fooled by the bright colors or maybe the fact that the site features "pets" into thinking the site is for just kids.

It is not.

Keep reading, guest, and I'll show you why! Let's start with a little...

Neopian History Lesson

Once upon a time, waaaaay back in 1997, there were two young adults named Donna and Adam. Adam was 20 and Donna was 18. They were both in college, and they realized how much young adult college students (who mostly live in dorms and apartments) missed being able to have pets. So they came up with the idea of Neopets-- letting college students care for and play with virtual animals.

When the site was launched in 1999, Adam was 22 and Donna was 20. The target audience for the site was 18-to-24-year-olds, and it showed. You could buy your pet beer or wine to drink, put your email on your petpage, and the plots back then featured murders of staff members and sometimes explicit (if cartoon-y) violence.

Soon younger users began joining the site, maybe because it had been recommended by college-aged family members, or perhaps simply drawn by the idea of fun virtual computer pets.

And Neopets began thinking, well, maybe we should make this site safer for the kids who are here. So neopets became a family site. Some of the rules changed and some features were added to cater to the younger crowd. But that never meant that the adults who were already here and those who kept joining were unwelcome.

What TNT Says

Here's what The Neopets Team has to say about the situation. These are all questions and answers taken from the Neopian Times Editorial:

Q: I hear so many different stories as to why Neopets was created, and people use these to justify ageism - which is just wrong in my opinion. Some say it's made for college students only, some say for adults, some say for little children. My question is originally, WHY was Neopets created? (My own opinion is that Neopets is for all ages). ~spekje1390

A: Originally, the site was designed for bored college students. Obviously, however, the site has broadened quite a bit since then, and there are people of all ages who play Neopets. If you are a young player, don't be surprised to hear that many successful players are adults, parents, and even grandparents! There is such a wide variety of things to do, it's quite understandable that people of all ages find aspects of Neopets fun, relaxing, or just a great way to kill time while at home or the office! ;D -Editorial 247

*****

Q: I was wondering, I know neopets is a "kid's site" cos it's suitable for kids, but is it JUST for kids?

A: It wasn't designed for particularly young people, there is no age limit and we have a large player base who are adults with real jobs and all those fun things like paying bills etc. So no, its not a "kids site" it just happens we have a lot of young players. -Editorial 63

*****

Q: My mum was saying to me today, "What are you going to do when you get too old for Neopets?" Crazy, I know, but she made me think -- what do we do with our accounts when we grow a bit too old for Neopets? Can we just finish them, or do they just go on and on for all of eternity? Thanks heaps! ~Aotearoachild1 P.S.: I will never get tired of Neopets. Or, not in a long time, anyway. Thanks.

A: We hear the "too old" thing a lot. While some people may lose interest in Neopets, we don't think it's possible to "get too old" for it. People of all ages play Neopets! We know of four-year-olds that sit on laps and play, grandparents who enjoy passing the time here, and people of every age in between! You'd be surprised the number of adults that play. Just because you get older doesn't mean you can't have fun anymore! For a lot of people it's a great place to relax. We firmly believe Neopia has interesting activities for any age, so never let that deter you from coming here and having fun. ^_^ -Editorial 266

*****

Q: If this is a little kid's site, then why did you add such a horrible thing to a neocard? (The new, not so nice neogreeting)

A: Well actually Neopets isn't a kids site. When we originally thought of the idea we were aiming for 17-25 year olds. Just because a lot of younger people like to play as well, doesn't make it a kids site. Anyway if everything was fluffy and cute it just wouldn't be right, I mean could you imagine a Neopia with no Dr Sloth, no mutants and no Jhudora?!!? - Editorial 50

*****

Q: This is a weird question I know, but Neopets was a site created for kids through teens right? Then why are there so many advertisements asking for you to buy house insurance or other things like that that kids our age wouldn't be thinking about buying? It seems a bit silly to me... DO you know why or are all the advertisements random? ~fwipinator

A: Nope, it was originally created for bored college students. ;) Though the majority of players are now teens, a good chunk of players are adults, ranging from those bored college students to grandparents and everything in between. :) We also have lots of very young users. To answer the advert question, though: the advertisers pick the ads. If they want to advertise house insurance on our website, that's their prerogative. As long as it's not inappropriate, it's fine. -Editorial 320

*****

Q: What's so wrong about adults coming on Neopets? Please tell me! D: ~ sonicxlover4always

A: Absolutely nothing. Anyone who says otherwise is a big doodie head. -Editorial 259

So there you have it, folks. The people who made Neopets support and approve of adults playing here. If after reading this, YOU still don't, perhaps you should be asking yourself why you're such a big doodie head. :)

A Family Site

Neopets is now a Family Site.
But what does this mean?

Exactly what the name says, silly! It means that families play neopets. Together! Parents and children, brothers and sisters and cousins, grandparents and grandchildren.

And that's really a wonderful thing!

Think about it: How great would it be if, instead of a dinner table conversation that went like this...

Parent: What did you do in school today?
Kid: Nuthin'.

... you could instead talk about battledome weapons and discuss how close you are to your latest pb goal... maybe even enter the random contest or write a Neopian Times article together! Wouldn't that be great?

And who knows, on Christmas or your birthday, you might get a paintbrush, lab map piece, or codestones from one of your family members as well as a real-life gift! Cool!

Also Neopets can help distant family members connect to one another! Not everyone likes writing letters, but a grandmother who lives in a different state can "see" her grandkids after school on neopets, and chatting can be more fun than a phone call for them.

Another plus is that Neopets being a family site means the site is safe from foul language and disturbing situations. Many adults actually appreciate that peace. Being an adult doesn't automatically mean that one always wants to live in an R-rated movie world!

Features for Adults and Older Teens

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Scary People on the Internet

We all know that there are scary people on the Internet.

You know what I'm talking about. People who want to know your real name, want to know your real address, and want to go there and harm you. For real.

These people are a very very small percentage of the people online_ but they are REAL. They do exist, they are out there, and this is why everyone says you need to be careful online_

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Ageism: Why It's Rude

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Help! Some Adults Were Mean To Me!

Harassment is against the rules on Neopets.com, AND you don't have to talk to ANYONE you don't want to talk to. If someone is bothering you by neomail, block them (put link here) and if it's on the boards, leave. When leaving a board, it's better NOT to Under construction

Adults Need Fun Too (Reprise)

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