I have mostly left Neopets because of the site wide changes and everything I have ever done on this site becoming completely useless to everyone in an instant with just a surprise! and you'll get used to it attitude... So please consider this an archive page of the way things used to be. :)
GrundoMoody's Guide to Unlocking Sidebars!
Welcome to GrundoMoody's Guide to Unlocking Sidebars! Up top, I've explained what this guide is about, a few how to's, and a few stats about sidebars. A bit below that, we have just what you're looking for. All of the sidebars, how to unlock them, their history, research and more! Beneath that is a study in icons. What they're for, what they say, and all that other icon goodness. When you're finished devouring more than you EVER needed to know about sidebars, check out the other useful and unique help pages I've linked to. :)
Neopets Yellow - Haunted Woods - Birthday - Winter Holiday - Happy Valentines Day! Curse of Maraqua - Space Faerie Premium - Qasalan - Altador Cup Altadorian Constellations - Cyodrakes Gaze
About This Guide
This page is image intensive and will be very slow loading for dialup users. The sidebars are actual size so you can see just what you're getting into. If you are using IE, you'll be able to see the hover image as well. Hold the mouse over the link area on each sidebar. Once that image loads (and you won't be able to see it loading), the background image will pop up. :D Below are the standard sections included in each sidebar guide.
The Icons These are the actual icons that come with the sidebar. Some images are broken or appear wrong. That's TNT's fault, not mine. :P You do actually get the broken image when the event appears.
Title Except for the Birthday sidebar, and any unreleased sidebar, the titles are exactly as they appear in the drop down menu.
Release Dates The date of release for each sidebar has been provided, along with the dates of custom icons if they were released seperately. For a long time, the only sidebar with custom icons was the Haunted Woods Sidebar. These days, all sidebars have unique icons. :)
How Do You Get It? This is how you get it now, or how you could have gotten it then.
Characters Alot of sidebars are themed after certain characters in Neopia. This section tells ya' who they are. ;)
Extras If the sidebar comes with extra bottom images, this is where you'll find them.
User Lookup Code Want this sidebar on your User Lookup? Copy the code provided and paste it into the 'About Me' section on your User Info Page. Watch out, though. To keep the code as clean and short as possible, I've utilized some of neo's css classes and ids. Other copy and paste codes you may find can clash with my codes and mess up your lookup. :)
Quick Load Links Are you just here to see what one sidebar looks like and don't want to wait for the rest of the page to load? You can use the quick load links! Open each numbered link in a new window, copy the address of this page, and then close this window. After the images in the Quick Load Links finish loading, paste the address into the address bar and press go! You should be able to see the entire sidebar now while the other sidebars are still loading. :)
Activating An Unlocked Sidebar
Once you unlock a sidebar, you can activate it at the Site Preferences page. The last option will say:
Sidebar Theme Choose the theme you wish to use when browsing Neopets.com.
Choose which theme you would like from the drop down menu. You should already have Neopets Yellow. Then click the Change Your Details button. You should see your new sidebar in use immediately.
Types of Sidebars
There are now 11 known sidebars.
Non Unlockable Sidebars There are two sidebars that can not be unlocked. They are the Neopets Yellow sidebar that comes with your account and the Birthday sidebar that is used twice a year.
Seasonal Sidebars Three sidebars are associated with yearly holidays or seasons and can be unlocked each year on their associated day. On February 14th, you can unlock the Happy Valentines Day! sidebar. On October 31st, you can unlock the Haunted Woods sidebar. On December 31st, you can unlock the Winter Holiday sidebar.
Plot Sidebars Most sidebars are unlocked through plot participation, so it is always wise to participate in current plots if you hope to unlock a sidebar. If you fail to participate in the plot associated with a sidebar, you will never again gain the chance to unlock that sidebar. These sidebars include the Curse of Maraqua sidebar (CoM war), the Qasalan Sidebar (LDP puzzle), the Altdor Cup sidebar (ACup competition), the Altadorian Constellations sidebar (AC puzzle), and the Cydrake's Gaze.
Promotional Sidebars There is only one sidebar in this category. The Space Faerie Premium sidebar was released as an incentive to get players to purchase premium and encourage others to do the same through the referral program.
Sidebars YOU Can Still Unlock
Enough about all these retired sidebars I'll never get! What CAN I get?
There are a few sidebars you can still unlock. Right now, you can work hard on the Altador Plot (the plot is open indefinately, so no need to rush... but then, don't wait forever or it may close on you) to unlock the Altadorian Constellations sidebar.
Some sidebars are released annually. In February, you can unlock the Happy Valentines Day! sidebar. In October, make sure you catch the Haunted Woods sidebar. December brings the mysterious Winter Holiday sidebar.
Finally, keep an eye on the plot board. If any plots are out, make sure you participate. Plots are the number one producer of new sidebars, and once an awesome sidebar has been released as a plot prize, you cannot turn back time to unlock it. :)
Sidebar Benifits
There is many a rumor about sidebars increasing random events. The Haunted Woods sidebar is rumored to increase Spooky Random Events. Some believe the Winter Holiday sidebar will increase Winter Random Events. Even the Maraquan sidebar has been suggested to increase events while touring Maraqua. Infact, every sidebar is rumored to help you out in some way, usually related to the world the sidebar is based, and if not based in a world, like the Happy Valentines Day! sidebar, it is believed to help you in certain types of random events.
My friends, these rumors are just wishful thinking. The only sidebar that increases random events is the Birthday sidebar, and it more likely than not has nothing to do with the sidebar itself... although the editorial has on a number of occasions (an example) stated that the sidebar DOES cause it, but I don't take that exactly literally. :). Neo's birthday and your own are special, and neo awards you accordingly.
Let me provide some evidence to this claim... Everyone notices the huge difference in random event occurances while wearing the Birthday sidebar than without. If played all day, a user can expect to receive ten to twenty random events. On any other day, a user can expect to find zero to three events. That's a very noticeable difference. Testing the occurances of the Haunted Woods sidebar in relation to random events, I have found that in a few hours time, zero to three spooky events will occur, with AND without the Haunted Woods sidebar. Refreshing at the advent counter leads many users to get Winter Random Events, about 2 to 5 per hour (due to the rapid refreshing rate instead of browsing). Users wearing the Winter Holiday sidebar noticed no difference in this statistic.
Further proof on this can be seen in another editorial. Issue 241 dispelled some rumors about things people can do to increase the chance of receiving random events. They again answered that the ONLY way to increase random events is through the Birthday sidebar.
I can not gaurantee that sidebars do not increase random events in their respective worlds and themes, but from all available evidence, there is no substance to these rumors.
Neopets Yellow - Haunted Woods - Birthday - Winter Holiday - Happy Valentines Day! Curse of Maraqua - Space Faerie Premium - Qasalan - Altador Cup Altadorian Constellations - Cyodrakes Gaze
Credits
The creation of this sidebar page was inspired by the following:
~ An inkling of the idea began when I saw Obiwanpi's Chomps_97068's petpage... I had forgotten where I had seen that page until Obi helped me out with the icons.
~ The inkling turned into a real desire when hollieangel3 came onto the OLDPD boards with her discovery of the Qasalan sidebar.
~ The desire turned into determination after another visit to Leto's petpage, and visiting the link to Oriean's petpage.
Sidebar credits:
~ Directory for Neopets Yellow and Haunted Woods were found by me.
~ Directory for Birthday, Winter Holiday, Happy Valentines Day!, and Curse of Maraqua found by Spankaroonietwo's guild website news archives.
~ Directory for Space Faerie Premium found by Oriean's petpage.
~ Directory for Qasalan found by hollieangel3.
~ Directory for (Altador Cup) found by NeoNutters of Neopia
~ Directory for Altador Constellation Plot informed by renrenthehamster who got it from neodigit7, charlixsparkles, and galinda_wicked_.
~ Directory for the Cyodrake's Gaze was guessed after news of it's discovery flooded my inbox. :)
Sidebar Name Credits:
~ Neopets Yellow, Haunted Woods, and Qasalan, Altadorian Constellations found by me.
~ Birthday was made up, as you can't unlock it, and has no official name.
~ Winter Holiday, Happy Valentines Day!, Space Faerie Premium, and Curse of Maraqua found by and confirmed by the OLDPD and Help boards.
~ Cyodrake's Gaze correctly found by spankaroonietwo's guild website.
Icon Credits:
~ Initial Icons found on Oriean's petpage.
~ The rest of the icons were found by Obiwanpi.
~ Warning Icon found on The Neopets Hive.
Sidebar Solutions:
~ These are too numerous to mention. I've been an expert on sidebars for a long time now. Google, Spankaroonietwo's guild website, friends, and personal experience all helped in this area.
Character Credits:
~ The original idea of including character names and descriptions came from The Neopets Hive which also helped in figuring out some of the names.
~ Some items and names, especially in the Valentines Sidebar, were given by crickeetbug.
~ Neoitems database helped in finding more items.
~ The Altador Cup bottom info provided by the very lovely renrenthehamster.
~ Cyodrake's Gaze found by myself.
~ Altadorian Constellations was given to me, but I've misplaced their name. :(
Lookup Codes:
~ I wrote the codes myself, as clean and true to form as I know how.
~ C0ntaminat3d's petpage helped me guess color codes for the Maraquan and Cyodrake's Gaze sidebars.
~ Birthday sidebar color codes were given to me by thatkellyegirl.
~ Premium sidebar color codes were given to me by kat_chica.
~ I found color codes for the Neopets Yellow, Haunted Woods, Winter Holiday, Valentines, Qasalan, Altador Cup, and Altadorian Constellations sidebars.
Random Fact Credits:
~ The confirmation that Valentines Cards could safely be transferred on non-Valentines days came from c0ntaminat3d's petpage.
~ Confirmation on exact release dates for Premium, Maraquan, and Winter Sidebars from Belexsus petpage.
~ Valentines Card info came from friends, neoitems forums, and crickeetbug.
~ Friends icons character info on the Curse of Maraqua sidebar corrected by kimik000.
~ Sidebar benifits section was updated with links to two editorials found through LordMule's sidebar history page.
Link to Me?

Standard Sizes
 80x33 Button
 88x31 Button
 89x15 Strip
 50x50 Patch
If you would like a specific sized link image, please neomail me.
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Research and coding, etc, Copyright 2005-2007 manda314 and Neopets: NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia
are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2007. ® denotes Reg. US Pat. & TM Office. All rights reserved.
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