I. Stats Overview

• Founded : 04/23/2005
  
• Current Members - Around 100
  
• Messages - 31000+
  
• Most messages by one single person - 4000
  
• Posts - Continuous conversation
  
• Art outlets and Forum Roleplay
  
• Lacking creative roleplay
  
• Close-knit community
  

II. Presentation/Layout - Good
► Nice color scheme, readability is good. Blog image makes an empty space which might be better utilized instead of left to push part of the image and content out of view.
Suggestion: make good use of what space is seen when only seeing the top of the page (above the "fold line" of a website) instead of immediately forcing a visitor to scroll down. Black on darker blue is a bit risky. Make use of the yellow color, lots of potential. Refreshing layout, experimental and interesting, though not particularly unified. Cartoony graphics, grungy type and texture, and an actual photograph do not mix too well together, nor do the many different typefaces. Welcome notice for new member is a good addition, as is the list of points of interest (contests, guild site link, etc.) Marquee is effective at its current word length; going any longer might make it annoying.

III. Guild Page/Resources - Good
► Is not related to guild layout. Nice, clean design, wonderful readability and color scheme. Navigation at the bottom of the layout is somewhat hard to find, but could be acceptable if placed in a bottom frame, so that it is always accessable, as now it forces the reader to scroll down to the bottom of the page. Very useful and informative, necessary. New members use a guild account to apply.

IV. Participation - Excellent
► Most members are active in some form or another, mostly OOC chatting which initiates friendly relationships. Roleplaying quality is good, but not very directional; casual without much depth. Members engage in outside activities.

V. Activities: Excellent
► Activities include:

• Oekaki
  
• Member of the month
  
• Random Give-a-ways
  
• dA club
  
• 1np Auctions
  
• Art Contests/events
  

VI. Roleplay Direction and Plot - Fair
► The roleplay has been moved to an outside server but it is popular. A minority is active among the roleplayers, however. Very little direction and members seem to lack motivation to create interesting roleplays. Very basic setting and the plots tend to centralize around weather patterns and greetings. Members comment that this isn't an issue, but we are unsure what the real problem is.

VII. Other Comments -
► Unsure about council duties and those with admin abilities but there seems to be no internal conflicts, just boredom with roleplaying. Website and design is very grunge. Unsure what makes Parano!a 'special' and unique other than design and name. It is important, however, to note that Paranoia isn't just about roleplaying. What it lacks in roleplay and other areas it makes up twofold with its friendly members and their willingness to chat.

VIII. Member Commentary -
► DrMarten54 - I feel that the members (meaning a great deal of them) could help parano!a progress if they participated a little more in the activities. I am aware that most of them are busy, but it really hurts me when I spend time making contests and setting them up and then one person participates. That is one thing id like to see change. Id also like to thank the members for being so loyal through the year, even when I wasn't around anymore because I became busy. I really think that its amazing that people still hung on and continued to love p!. Now that we're back in business, Katie, Jacey, and I are all going to work extra hard to satisfy all of our members/friends. Parano!a is important to me as well as the other members, and I can't wait to see where parano!a goes in the future. Id also like to thank RAG (namely Brushfire and Willow) for being such awesome people. They're very informative and wise when it comes to working with guilds and people, and I had a great deal of fun learning from them and just getting down to the core of what a successful guild is. They've been awesome, Parano!a is awesome, and im very glad that Parano!a got to participate in the rag review.
► ezadis - Even though I'm a fairly new member, I think p! has it all. It's very active, and I love active guilds. My previous guild was so slow I could barely stand it. So I had Clara(percelli) talk Rach into getting me an invite. I have no intention of leaving in the future. I look forward to entering in the contests, when I get the hang things, and setting a goal to be an active part of this awesome guild. This. place. is. AWESOME. I love it. My only suggestion for an improvement is a page that shows all of the bios and personas of the rp'ing characters/pets.
► kibitz - First off, I would like to thank you very much for coming to PARANO!A to give us a review. I remember when you came to Urbanity (a while back when I still used multiple accounts xD I've gone down to one now). I thought maybe I could tell you a bit about why I adore P! so much. I joined PARANO!A soon after I reappeared here on neo after a two year break. I felt, once more, like a silly newbie, but everyone there was incredibly welcoming. Soon after I joined, however, everyone seemed to begin to go their separate ways. I was left in my wonderful guild with only a few other loyal members. Even Rach had.. gotten wrapped up in her own life. I knew something had to be done. Usually, I would have given up on a guild like this..but something had drawn me in from the start. I created new activities (though I wasn't on council) and neomailed inactive members. I /FINALLY/ got ahold of Rach and she apologized over and over again. Once she was back, everything changed. We were the active P! again! The excitement and pride I felt now seems so silly, but there it was. We invited new members and made even /more/ activities. Rach granted Jace (phepsi) and I spots on council for our work, and I hold that spot in the guild so so very happily. I love this guild. I will not let it die again. This is why this review is so important to me.. The help and advice we can get from outsiders is incredibly important to our growth. So once more, I thank you very much for your help and your time spent on us. =D
► spotlego - I've really never felt more at home. I have only been in Parano!a for literally a few days, but I feel like I belong here. Everyone's really close and friendly. You don't know how badly I guild-hopped before I bounded into p!. I must have been in, very seriously, ten or more different guilds, each one nice but not what I was looking for. p! is what I'm looking for. Literate, creative role-players, friendly and tightly-knit, active but not overly active so that when I come home from school, I can still find my post on the first page and reply to everyone else that have faithfully posted. I love Parano!a and I hope to stay here forever. ^_^ ► uhhm - I've gotta say, I /love/ it there. It's not like all those other Lupe Role Play guilds, because, honestly, it isn't just about how well you write or draw or anything like that. Sure, it's all a plus, but Parano!a, I think, it's really all about friendship. And I know that's sorta cheesy, but P! really is. It's like this, I guess, you roleplay and draw with a group of people who you have hung out with for a while. Soon you feel as comfortable with them as anywhere else. Eventually you're always there, chatting it up with a bunch of people who you can consider /really/ good friends while you're rping and drawing and all that. The people there are all really close and everyone knows each other on a farily high level. I suppose that's what really attracted me to this place, it's like a big family made of people and their pets. I honestly cannot think of anything bad to say about Parano!a. It's really just an awesome place, where people who like to write and doodle and all that can just hang out in an atmosphere that is extreamly warm and welcoming and over all, just a wicked fun place.
► anonymous - Just thought I'd send a review along your way since you asked for it. (: I like P! Its one of the better guilds I've been in. I've been in many, and this one you have close knit group of people that you can relate to, at least on an internet level, and they can help you through so many things. I've been very happy with being in P! and its just grown on me. I like to come there and read the messages, we have good roleplayers and I love the roleplay. I've always had something for roleplaying, and any guild who has a good roleplaying has got me. Even if it didn't have roleplaying, it would be a very awesome guild. What makes it better is that the council don't put themselves on a pedistel and make us look up to them. We can communicate with them on a level that we associate the other members with. I enjoy the talking and the kidding around, its better than being stiff and formal. I don't like being formal too much, its much better having fun, and this is one of those guilds that you can freely express yourself and your opinions without someone getting on your case about how you feel about certain things. Its just an all around guild, and if I keep on, it'll be in so many neomails, so I'll cut it down.
► shadows124 - I've been at P! since the 2nd day it was created, and I have never once wanted to leave. There are still quite a few members who have been there as long as I have and I know they feel the same way about the guild as I do. First off, the council is amazing. Rach does such an awesome job of running the guild, I don't know how she does it. Keeping everything in place, making layouts, running the giveaway, I swear she's Superwoman. Then there is Katie, who is just so darn amazing in every single way, from making me giggle to organizing things such as MOTM. Jacey is rad for doing the 1 np auctions and just being so darn cool.. I've known Mez for quite awhile now, and even though she's not always around (we all understand that she is a very busy gal) whenever she is around she always has something snazzy to say.
I love every single member in P!. We are all very friendly and insanely crazy, and since we're so crazy it's always a fun time. Everyone is unique in some way, jazzing things up a bit. They also listen to you. If you are having any troubles, whether on the internet or in real life, they are sure to try and help you. We always welcome new members to the guild and make them feel as comfortable as possible. We are not extremely strict about activity because, as we all know, things can get busy with school, sports, music, etc., we are just glad to have the members we have with us, even if they're just popping in once awhile.
Another thing I adore about our guild is our members are so generous. Many of us love donating to funds, and birthday presents are always nice!
I think the only complaint I have would be the lack of participation in contests, and I myself am guilty of it too. I've noticed that not many people bid at the 1 np auction, and I don't see why not because it is only a few neopoints. I also recall that no one participated in our last art contest, which is a little sad because we have so many talented artists, you would think at least one would enter.
Altogether P! is the most amazing place ever, I wouldn't even be on Neopets anymore if it weren't for P!.

IX. Our Advice -
► House-cleaning and tying up loose ends:
- get rid of dead members
- reinvent the roleplay to become more involved/psychological, and more related to 'paranoia' - there is a rut situation concerning ideas for roleplay. Why is the setting special? Why aren't members initiating lasting roleplays beyond hunts and greetings? Bizarre greetings at that. What's the point of roleplaying here versus anywhere else? A plot need not be a mile-a-minute chore to maintain - a quirk or something of interest as something for roleplayers to run with at will might suit Parano!a just fine.
- A continuity is necessary - a universal plot to loosely band the roleplayerstogether, but give enough elbow room to do what they wish once inside.
- Consider what unifies and defines paranoia in appearance and conceptually. There are friends, and that's awesome, but parano!a is just a random group of friends.
-The current situation seems to be a standstill, and there will always be times of no change, and negative change; but the future can change positively if some attempts to reinvent the passion occur. Members could become bored, and more reliance on council members to stir things up again thereby beginning the cycle again.
- Council needs to reaffirm their purpose, and exercise their power when in the best interest of the guild.

I. Stats Overview

• Founded : 11/25/2002
  
• Current Members - Around 100
  
• Messages - 41,000+
  
• Most messages by one single person - 5000
  
• Posts - Continuous conversation
  
• Oekaki and strong roleplay base
  
• Rules and policies somewhat scattered
  
• Closely-knit community, welcoming to newcomers
  

II. Presentation/Layout - Good
► Readability is excellent, and color scheme appealing. The content is all available without scrolling, though the background image does seem to make it a bit bottom-heavy, and lacks some flow with the actual guild template (distance issues, color shifts give it a disjointed look). Basic Neopets navigation is missing. Guild front does not relate to the guild website.

III. Guild Page/Resources - Good
► The actual website is under construction and not yet terribly useful for information-gathering purposes; the real information is still on Neopets pet sites. Those pages are vital to the joining process, easy to comprehend, and encompassing of their duty. They are however not collected under one webpage, and can be confusing for someone trying to join or a member looking for specific information.

IV. Participation - Excellent
► The member pool seems to be closely monitored and inactivity is not tolerated for long. People are very welcoming and willing to converse on the message board. From newbies to the council the level of participation in roleplay and general chat is above expectations. It is easy to engage in any activity or for a new member to start something new. Very open to new ideas and creative outlets leads to committed roleplay.

V. Activities: Good
► Role playing is ongoing and of high quality on an outside forum, allowing all forms of roleplay and exclusive plotline just for the guild. OOC chat is mostly exclusive to the guild board. Donations to the guild account are now randomly given away to members. There is an oekaki and deviantART account for shukumei artists to showcase and discuss their artwork. Artwork is frequently donated to the guild for the use of design. Members frequently engage in projects and different roleplay ideas and plots together.

VI. Roleplay Direction and Plot - Excellent
► Although members can let their imagination rule their roleplaying in a separate forum, the shukumei-based roleplay has its own setting and most often its own plot that members can engage in. These sessions are often enough to keep interest in roleplaying. The setting is completely workable and exploitable because of the different descriptions of the land of Shukumei. The roleplays done inside the guild appear to influence the characters greatly who participate.

VII. Other Comments -
► Members are extremely friendly and caring. Old and new roleplayers are welcome if they are respectful and creative individuals. We are unsure about what other activites that might go on currently inside the guild artwise, or if there is a demand for them. Many members participate in neopets activities already. The guild leader has been absent during our visits, but does not affect the maitenence and roleplay.

VIII. Member Commentary -
► rainrulz : "I want to begin with saying that I am personaly pleased with Shukumei's review. Its a shame that our website was not fully up nor our oekaki and forum match the layout cheme of the guild's front page. They did all match at one point but keeping all 3 in collective unison is a tough job. However, I believe in the future we will have figured out a easy way of doing this and further better ourselfs. I'm happy with Shukumei and its a wonderful guild, its a shame to me that Shukumei must be picky about our guild members to keep the quality of our guild to a maximum. I believe this review was a wonderful idea to better the guild as a whole. I think I speak for the behalf of the entire Shukumei membership when i say "thank you."
► gidget_ : "I just wanted to say thanks for the awesome review you gave Shukumei. I speak for the entire guild when I say that your kind words mean a lot. We've been chastised on the neoboards for being a snooty, elite guild when in fact that's the opposite attitude I think we portray. I appreciate your helpfulness in hopefully abolishing this stereotype. (: It's been nice to have you two join us for the past few weeks. It's a shame you can't stay longer."

IX. Our Advice -
► The design aspect of the guild is mostly where the guild could use work, but for the inner workings and roleplay, all runs smoothly. The leadership experience of the council gives them an immense step up in knowing what works and what doesn't. It would be interesting to see the past layouts of the guild so that the builders and maintainers could learn from the layouts. Promoting a powerful and creative message starts with the basic design and colors used, which isn't always the focus. Some time could be considered to unify the guild pages and front as well as create trends that make shukumei's site stand out not only for its content but also its creative abilities. Once in the guild, it seems difficult to get insider information in terms of what activities there are to do, and how the guild actually works. Communication is the key, and having more resources for guild members could be useful.

I. Stats Overview

• Founded : 07/10/2006
  
• Current Members - less than 10
  
• Messages - 100+
  
• Most messages by one single person - 30+
  
• Posts - Posts are infrequent currently
  
• No other activities
  
• Rules and policies are unclear
  
• Well-defined roleplay direction, loose plot
  

II. Presentation/Layout - Poor
► Current layout is good overall, however the presentation of the information is poor due to the inability/difficulty to read the text. More attention is put to the dark appearance rather than design and function. Color pallet is too dark. Design suffers, and discourages continued reading.

III. Guild Page/Resources - Fair
► Guild page is concise and informative; again, a truly integrated part of the body of the guild. But, in reference to the presentation review, readability is very difficult, and almost turns one away. The information present is nonetheless vital and useful, and is well-organized. The page design relates to the guild front.

IV. Participation - Fair
► Very little amount of roleplaying is currently being written. The guild is very new, but it seems some sort of family tie has been created amongst the members. Not much activity. It seems as though over time, participation will grow. Leader is the most active.

V. Activities: N/A
► None other than guild roleplay.

VI. Roleplay Direction and Plot - Good
► The direction is clearly defined and set up for only were lupes. The plot is loosely based off of the conflicts between different tribes and is member-driven. Unfortunately, their size doesn't help them, in this case, either; they're too premature to be off the ground. Nonetheless, the role play quality seems to be of high caliber.

VII. Other Comments -
► Being new, certain establishments that other guilds have are not there. Ranks are given, but are not stable because of lack of roleplay. We are unsure of their policy dealing with theft or problems between members or characters, as they aren't old enough to have examples. Members also seem unsure of the guild, but a few have openly commented that they think this guild is wonderful.

VIII. Member Commentary -
None Submitted

IX. Our Advice -
► Being private impacts their growth severely. We suggest temporarily opening up and doing their picking selectively in an environment where they can afford it: in a public state. For a short period of time, sacrificing elitism to gather a score of members, and get word out there of their existence, can only benefit. Their formula is strong, and potential is there, but only so many people are willing to track down a private guild and go through the ropes to get in. Having outside activites would not hurt, but should be avoided until the roleplay is stronger, as it is the focus. Define the rules so that new members will be aware of what goes and what doesn't. Current members are encouraged to be more active. Lastly, the guild front and page are your most important billboards for advertisement. Form follows function. Make the readability of the pages the main focus of the design.

I. Stats Overview

• Current Members - 40+
  
• Messages - 1500+
  
• Most messages by one single person - 250+
  
• Posts - Daily by multiple members
  
• Guild Benefits through activity
  
• Well enforced rules
  
• Good overall design and accessability
  

II. Presentation/Layout - Good
► Changed often, acceptable navigation, does not deviate from 'blog' style, but generally pleasing to look at and read. Occasional interference of text and its background, sacrificing readability for consistency within the color palette.

III. Guild Page/Resources - Excellent
► Has all needed resources for joining and activities after doing so. Links to member petpages and adoptables and unique buttons for advertisement. Intelligent setup and graphics, and easy to read and navigate. Strong knowledge of page coding is obvious. Compatible on multiple browsers. It is a strong, effective tool. Design unrelated to guild front.

IV. Participation - Fair
► The average quality of roleplaying is good and long-lasting, though much occurs in selective groups of people. There is a minimal amount of activity outside the guild board. Nonetheless, other opportunities exist whether there is full participation or not.

V. Activities: Good
► Battle Royal - Rare but interesting/possibly competative
► Petpage Award - Once a month
► Roleplay night - Every day
► Oekaki - Good participation

VI. Roleplay Direction and Plot - Fair
► Simple setting open for creativity, no plot but there is the possibility of such. Very little direction, most roleplay consists of common conversation. Often does not deviate from first meetings.

VII. Other Comments -
► Guild council constantly refreshed. Great maintenance, however lack of engagement in guild overall. Friendly, all activies and ideas are open to all members, including council positions. Sometimes hard to get a longstanding roleplay with someone, but starting one is not difficult.

VIII. Member Commentary -
►impazzire : "I honestly dont think that there is anything bad about this guild o__o Autumn makes wonderful layouts, and everyone (who is active) has a roleplay that is going on. Urbanity is a wonderful guild, and you dont have to be insanley literate to join :3 The rules here are just right, not like some other guilds I have joined. And the people here are great roleplayers.
► Anonymous : I've been a member of urbanity for a while now, and stay just for a lack of somewhere better to go. (I want )not just one on one or with a few people, but with several people at once (group roleplaying). Urbanity is also lacking plots or any sort of interest. For people like me who can barely imagine a grassy field (and who are really, bad at roleplaying) I need some sort of guideline, you know?

IX. Our Advice -
► Athough there is a strong commitment to maitenence, Urbanity is not growing and lacks encouraging/inspiring leadership. Some members wish for more indepth group roleplay while others are content with one on one roleplay. Most members do not engage in other activies. Overall, the guild hasn't grown enough, but has all necessary components for growth. Members should seek out someone inspirational with time that could help pump the 'creative juices', and could activate an interesting plot. It is my (reneselle's) observation that the guild members generally do not realize there could be more than there is for roleplaying, setting, and activity. What makes Urbanity special, refined, and glorious? What makes Urbanity worth your time? Ask yourselves and help your leader, it's obvious she's hopeful for engaging members.