Need an opening paragraph about the purpose of a guild—to find like minded people to talk with and share their tips for playing neopets. No specific tone really as this is an informational article. Feel free to change anything or beef it up in any way…I'd like to see it before submission so just let me know when it is done…no rush!


I. Types of Guilds

-- Age Specific Guilds – Our first type of guild brings together users of a certain age group. Usually the age group you see the most is 18+ but there are some that do fall outside of this range. These are preferred by the adult users on the site sometimes because the users have similar interests and ideas. These are often very laid back and chatty. If you are looking for these guilds, you can find them on most of the Chat Boards, as they are not usually connected to any specific board.
-- Art/Writing Guilds – Can you draw? Do you want to learn how to draw? Can you write verbose and flowing stories? Do you need tips for your techniques? Then your best guild type may be the art or writing guilds. Often you see these grouped together as they are both artistic endeavors. A lot of times you can find roleplaying activities and art/writing tips. Sometimes there are requirements to join, it depends on the guild. Look for these guilds in the Beauty Contest Chat, Neopian Writers Chat, Role Playing Chat or any of the World Type Chats (like Virtupets).
-- Avatar Guilds - These are guilds that center on the collection of avatars. If you have a genuine interest in collecting avatars, then this may be the guild type for you. Often these guilds will have pet and item lending, as well as links to game guides for the games that have an avatar associated with them. However, most require that you fulfill certain time/post/other requirements before being lent so don't join just for those perks. Most of the time, you can find advertisements for these guilds on the Avatar Chat Boards.
-- Battle Guilds – If battling is more your speed, then these guilds might fit your needs. These guilds can be fun – they have tournaments amongst players and also with other battling guilds. They can also help with set building and training tips! They range from the beginner battling guilds that have no set requirements to the higher end battler groups that require a certain amount of training and/or set value before you can join. For these guilds, check out the Battledome Chat Boards for more information.
-- Beginner Guilds – Now contrary to the type name, these guilds are NOT always for beginners. These groups can be for those who want to create more connections on the site and don't have a particular affiliation interest. Because of this, the beginner guilds are often known as general guilds. Often, people stay in these groups long after they are "seasoned" because they have made a lot of friends! A good place to look for these types of guilds is on the Help Chat Boards.
-- Collectors Guilds – Also commonly known as a mixed guild, these guilds are a combination of several types. They concentrate on the different types of collections on the site—avatars, gallery, gaming trophies, battling stats, collector cards, stamps. If you like one or more of these collections onsite_ then a collecting guild may be your cup of tea! Some of the perks you will see in this group include collecting guides, tips on how to choose a collection, item/pet lending, gaming guides and more.
-- Gaming Guilds – For serious gamers only! Whether you like monthly tournament games, World Challenges, or any game, these guilds can help you out! Known for their game guides and tips, these groups can assist you with anything from the Kadoatery to the Caption Contest. Expect that some of the higher requirement gaming guilds to have members with blazing trophy cabinets!
-- Off-site Themed Guilds – These guilds bring together users that enjoy a certain theme that is not related to Neopets. They can focus on a particular movie, musical artist/genre, book, or even a group of people. If you want a place to discuss the hottest new book in a series or the latest tune that came out, then this is the type of guild for you!
No matter which type you decide to go with, each provides the opportunity for lasting friendships and a positive experience on the site.


II. Common Requirements/Ranking

a. Time – There are many guilds that require that you be in a guild for a certain amount of time before you reach a certain rank or before you can start borrowing items/pets (if that is something that the guild offers). If you are serious about your guild, you will join for more than just the borrowing perks.
b. Contributions – First off, let me point out that np contribution requirements are against the Terms and Conditions of the site. Do not join a guild that requires a certain np contribution to join or rank up. There are however other things you can contribute. We will talk more about this in the third section of this article.
c. Stats – You see this mostly in battling guilds but you may also see it elsewhere, like for example in collection guilds. Most guilds with stat requirements go for a combination of strength, defense, health, and level, but you will find that some have specific requirements for each statistic. This can be a requirement to get in or rank up.
d. Posting – Some guilds require that you maintain a certain amount of posts to stay in or achieve a certain amount to rank up. This is to ensure that the guild flourishes. A guild thrives on its members!
e. Item Count/Value – Again these usually are for battling and collecting guilds but you also see this with avatar guilds and even gaming guilds. This requirement can come in many forms such as avatar count, battle set value, gallery/collection value, and stamp count. This is to make sure that their members share a certain amount of enthusiasm for the theme of the guild.


III. Ways to Contribute

a. Guild activities – A lot of guilds hold daily, weekly, and monthly activities…the monthly activity is the most common. Some of the bigger guilds even have plots! These can be creative and can help the members interact more closely with each other. If you sponsor a guild activity, that shows that you care about your guild. And since item/np prizes are against the Terms and Conditions, you can reward participating members with custom trophies or items to show that they participated!
b. Guides – Do you have a certain game that you are good at? Or do you know a cool technique for line art? Or do you just know so much about a particular item/pet/petpet? Creating a petpage guide to help out your fellow members is a great way to contribute! These don't have to be flashy or image heavy, but a well thought out and laid out informational petpage can assist your guildies with something that both of you love! Can't make a layout? No worries! There are many premades out there that you can use!
c. Posting Activity – As stated before, a guild's survival is dependent heavily on its members. Keeping the message boards active is the perfect way to contribute to your guild. Now, spamming will often get you into trouble, but actual chat allows you to get to know your fellow members.
d. Art/Graphics – Are you an artist? Coder? Then you might be able to contribute creatively! Guilds are always looking for good graphic artists and coding geniuses to make layouts for the guild. And if drawing is more your style, you can always create graphics for the layouts and even trophies and items for the guild activities that the guild holds!


IV. Becoming Council

If you are interested in becoming a guild council member, remember that the most important thing is that you have to contribute to your guild. Longevity and post count are not everything that they look for in a council member, but very rarely will you get a position if you are new or inactive. Staying active is also important. Letting your fellow council members if you are going to be gone for an extended period or vacation is a good way to let them know you are still here but may be MIA for a bit. Some guilds require applications to become a council member so be sure to keep up with things when a spot becomes available. Overall, being a helpful member will show others that you can be a helpful council member!


V. Starting your own Guild

Can't find a guild to suit your needs? Council spots not open in your guild and you are set on being one? Well, if you are sure that you cannot fit into a current guild, then maybe starting your own guild is the answer! But beware, it is not as easy as it sounds.

a. Theme – Do you have a particular theme in mind? Or is this a general guild? Either way, you have to find some selling point that will attract members. If you have friends that are already ready to join then you may not have to worry so much about this, but it still builds a good foundation to have a theme to bring members together.
b. Layout – A layout is another way that you can attract members. If you can't make them yourself, you have to either rely on someone to make it for you or find a premade layout.
c. Council – Do you have council members in mind? If not, how will you recruit them? A good way to recruit council members is to know what you want them to do in the guild. Some guilds have council with very specific jobs—whether it is layout design, activities coordinator or member assistant.
d. Public vs. Private – Are you allowing anyone to come and join? If not then you might want to consider making your guild private. It allows the leader and council to choose who comes into the guild. Applications are a good way to get to know a member before allowing them to join.
e. Advertising – A guild doesn't get members just by sitting there! You have to advertise! Sometimes the guild boards are a little slow but no worries. If your guild fits a particular theme that has a separate board set up then that could be a great place to recruit members. Catchy board titles and active chatting can help draw in people to join.
f. Staying Alive – Once you have your members, you need to keep them. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your council and regular members. They can help with activities and other things to keep your guild active.


VI. Multiple Guilding

Your guild needs you to be as active as possible! Multiple guilding can leave you feeling stretched out and worn. And if you are in too many guilds, you may not be able to do the things that drew you to these guilds in the first place. So the best advice is pick a guild that fits you in the best way possible so that you don't feel the need to engage in multiple guilding. However, if you feel that you can handle it, remember that you can only be in one guild per account. This means that you have to juggle being on more than one account to stay active. Be careful when doing this because this may cause other problems. Please make sure that you still only do daily neopet activities and make nps on your main account. Always check the top of the page to see that you are on that account before doing anything other than chatting. Other than that, make sure to give each guild that you decide to join as equal amount of time as you can!