welcome & site updates ██████
Anti - Hi there, everybody! Welcome to Shipshape! Reviews, a quality guild reviewing service aiming to evaluate and rate guilds. We intend to provide quality reviews, constructive criticism and helpful tips to those guilds big and small who are in need of help, want a little more publicity, or who are just plain interesting! We aren't doing this out of the goodness of our hearts, you know; it's fun! 
We will be searching through the GC for guilds to review, and accepting review requests on the side. Have a guild you'd like to recommend? Want to see a review for a guild you've always admired from afar? Now is your chance to request it! Please remember to get the owner's permission before asking for a review (unless you are the owner, of course).
Read all of our blabbering on? ^^ Read below for instructions on how to request a rating, and further on for the reviews themselves. Enjoy yourself at our page, and please, don't take any negative comments personally! We simply want to do our bit to help people on the GC who may be stuck for ideas.
Ranking scheme? What ranking scheme? Oh... you mean these?
how to request a review ██████
Want your guild to be reviewed? Awesome! We can't just go around reviewing any guild, however, so we have a few criteria in order to see whether or not a guild is eligible for a review. Likewise, we must also check that you have permission to submit the guild in question!
The following can be seen as requirements in a guild, as well as guidelines on how to request a review.
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Guilds must have at least 10 members. This is simply to ensure that we aren't unfairly judging activity: you can't expect a guild with 3 members to be very active at all, especially not at whatever random time the guild is reviewed at! 10-15 is where we draw the line on this issue.
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the guild reviews ██████
guild review by anti: fateless❤
FateLess❤ has been one of the more intriguing guilds in the GC for some time now; it's one of the few that can boast being around since 2005 and probably the only one that old with such an odd name! I won't pretend to understand the strange name, even after exploring a bit for my review, but much of what I have seen of the guild has been gorgeous and very creative indeed. Not all the layouts have been at the exact same quality, but FateLess❤ is clearly a guild that does try and keep up a good standard of graphics and general originality. Judging by their advertising NeoBoard, they inspire a good deal of loyalty and sense of community in their members, which is fantastic to see! Likewise, even people from other guilds were commenting and chatting on these ad boards.
The Valentine's Day layout is lovely to look at, all in delicate colours and decorated with beautiful, shaded hearts. The layout set-up itself is unique to the guild, though it is one they've used in the past (for their "Exam Season" look); the Faerie Xweetok artwork is beautifully-done and delicately coloured, absolutely gorgeous. The update about the layout is modest, too:
...Enjoy the brand new valentines special layout. Nothing uberly amazing, just a simple love dairy by Locy with some artwork by her yet again...
Exploring around a little more, the level of creativity and the quality of graphics that are found in the guild really astounded me: the artists, coders, content-writers and graphics-makers are clearly well-practised in their work and there is no doubt about it: it all looks wonderful! It is clear that a lot of work has gone into FateLess❤ guild, which is encouraging to see. A new page, FateLess Chronicles, is similarly impressive to the other pages the guild boasts.
The guild is usually private, and their application page hosts a whole wealth of information about the potential member's future guild: precisely what one would expect from a nice, straightforward private guild. The application questions are not especially unique, but there are no nasty surprises; the obligatory "Tell us about yourself!", "Why are you interested in joining", and the for-some-reason-obligatory, but-really-pointlessHow active are you, in an imaginary percentage value of no scale?.
The website is jam-packed, just like the application page: very bright and as adorable as any of the other page layouts, it hosts plenty of information about the guild and members are certainly not lacking in pages to explore; the FateLess❤ team have thought of everything, including a 50k Per Day guide!
The guild's message board was relatively active, and pretty decent for a ~65 member guild - and conversation did seem very focused on the guild, and it was easy to work out what everybody was talking about. Even looking back through the posts, nothing really stood out except that it seems to be a very nice community: plenty of friendly people in it, and a real sense of feeling among the members that this is "their" guild. There were no 0-posters at all; and for a medium-sized guild, the majority of members had over 100-200 posts!
For a guildless Neopian looking for a nice, chilled NR guild in which to relax and make a few friendships based on light, everyday discussions, FateLess❤ seems practically ideal; and for anyone with a more artistic view on things, the guild will probably suit their needs precisely.
Two gold dubloons - a mighty commendable effort, yarr!
guild review by anti: versa
Versa is a public but exclusive (much like Kyuuten) themeless run by an amibitious team of: Emily, Lyn, Tiff, and Dylan. The guild is much-admired on the GC; with its gorgeous coding and graphics, it is one of the gems of the guild NeoBoards. I was extremely excited to be able to take a peek at this exclusive guild, and at being able to get a closer look at one that is held in such high regard.
Versa's layout at time of writing was one of my favourites yet - and I have been quite the guild-stalker! I remember Dylan showing me this one some time ago and I still like it as much as I did then: a curious infusion of bright colour and light brightens up what is otherwise a dark layout, and the colour-scheme works perfectly with this running theme. The shade of brown for the background is very appealing - Versa's layouts just seem to be getting better and better as time goes by!
I adore the guild's coding and have since it was first opened: perfectly readable and neat content is neither too much nor too little, and the odd dashes of colour that are allowed into the scheme complement one another perfectly. I could - and would - stare at the guild's front-page for a long time without growing bored, and I assume that reaction is much the same for many other fans of Versa!
Strangely, the guild is without any sort of logo at all, which, though matching the guild's plain colour-scheme inside, seemed very odd and out-of-place in a guild that is so well-established.
Versa's application page (hosted on the apt /~versapplication) is equally gorgeous, not to mention unique: the graphic is strange but mesmerising, and the coding beautiful. The page is simple and easy-to-read, though Versa's concept (why it requires an application at all) is left unexplained: the guild is not literate, has no requirements, and is public, too. The application is short and uncomplicated, but, quote, "heart-to-heart". The unneccesary use of negative reinforcement describes "non-Versa people" as being dull - gee, thanks, Versa! xD Not sure that I agree, there.
The website has the same gorgeous coding and graphics as the guild and application page do - with the added bonus of some elegant navigation links, split up to come under headings. The website contains much of the same information as the information page does - rules, ranks, links - but also includes pages like an extensive FAQ, information about the owners, and activities like "Impact" and "Reader's Corner", Versa's book club, where recommendations and reviews are posted. "Impact" is the FreeRice high score table for the guild - a good cause, but a leaf taken straight out of Soleil's book, who hosted an extremely popular and succcessful Rice Drive. Every one of the website's guides is under construction - to be added to when the website is revamped, I assume.
I was in the guild for a few hours and, disappointingly, didn't get to see any conversation at all: Versa seems to be very inactive in the "morning" to "midday" hours of NST, although my review was written on a weekday. Building up membership in different timezones would greatly improve this area of the guild, allowing it to be active practically around the clock. With 65~ members, the guild has the potential to easily be active in several timezones, and I can see from past conversation that this has been managed easily enough in the "late night" period of NST.
Discussion on the board seems very scattered and short - blissfully lacking in "hi, bye" syndrome but veering dangerously close to it, what I could see from 14 hours past was that there wasn't too much real discussion going on and much seemed to be centred around a KeyQuest game between guild members, or nonsense ("AHHHHHHHHHHHH i sware i saw a ghost" sic, which was the beginning and end of a conversation). Versa's promise of a friendly, laid-back atmosphere is definitely followed through with - but "wonderful conversation" leaves something to be desired, with room for improvements that, though small, could make a huge difference - like advertising for different timezones.
For those with a great appreciation of a quality guild in terms of graphics, coding, and so on - but without the need for literacy, Versa is definitely recommended.
Two gold dubloons - yarr, that be a mighty fine guild there, arr matey!
guild review by anti: by tooth and claw dragons™
By Tooth And Claw Dragons™ Guild
Lurker, reads my guild rank, and that's exactly right. By Tooth And Claw Dragons™ (a name which I, admittedly, copied-and-pasted and probably will continue to do throughout the article - even the acronym takes a second to work out) is a "literate advanced original fantasy role-play" that, I can only assume, revolves around dragons. I have heard a little about the guild in the past, but had no idea it was so established: created all the way back in 2003, and with more than 115,000 messages in the guild board, it's quite an astonishing feat to create and keep active such a large, interesting roleplay guild.
BTACD has 23 members at time of writing (excluding my own "lurking" account, naturally); and it's easy to see why. Taking a glance at the boards, the roleplay is fairly well-written and, though difficult to follow for a non-roleplayer like me, clearly appealing: the ideas conveyed in the guild are interesting and involving; the front-page is beautiful and convincingly written (though it almost seems like politician speak in places!).
The guild's layout is beautiful and well-made - the only issue I would have with it would be the fact that the artwork is "found on Google", without a real credit - however, the edits that the layout-maker has made are very nice indeed. The guild named is proclaimed as jauntily as possible on a graphic, and the hover effects on the links bring the whole thing to life even more than ever. An excellent choice of artwork and added extras really make this guild very appealing indeed! The content made me laugh at times, and though it could do with a little more punctuation ("literate advanced original fantasy role-play", indeed! ) and doesn't really say what the guild is about - the rhetorical question, "So what is BTACD, you ask?" is asked, but isn't actually answered! xD
The website is very interesting, and my first impression is that it is very good indeed: however, the font that is used for the links is very difficult-to-read and doesn't really fit in with much else in the guild. The pages look to be extensive and very informative indeed: it is easy to see why they took these pages off-site! A wealth of information is contained on the website, from detailed and creative descriptions of different dragon breeds to an intricate members/characters page. Some of it seems to be incomplete - but what more is to be expected, with such an amount of content in other places?
In the boards, it's not all hard work; from my snapshot of the boards, about 40% was "ooc" chat, and the other 60% in-depth roleplay. The members seem to be very serious about their RP: after all, most of them do have over a few hundred posts! Very few of the members were "last seen" longer than two weeks ago, and most of them were seen within the last week - pretty good for a roleplay guild, from my limited experience. The guild poll asks members for their opinion on the next developments in the plot: it is clear that the members are able to be involved in the roleplay itself right down to the planning (even if only 5 people have voted at time of writing!).
All in all, this seems to be like an excellent roleplay guild: well-deserving of its established status and the loyalty of its members! I am not at all a fan of RP guilds, and yet I found myself being very much in admiration of By Tooth And Claw Dragons™ - kudos to the owners! I probably would not recommend this to an inexperienced RPer, but if you are literate-advanced and on the lookout for a quality challenge, BTACD would be first on my mind.
Three gold dubloons? I be spyin' a fellow pirate thar, yarr.
guild review by anti: charlot
Charlot, the front page proclaims, is a "rather unique guild", and for once, I'm quite inclined to agree with that statement. The layout's theme at time of writing is, after all, "Woodstock". Has any guild at all ever had a layout quite like Charlot's? Possibly, but I highly doubt it. With neat coding and an intriguing layout, the guild celebrates its "seven month anniversary" - as it is plain to see, Charlot is quite happy where it is, and is planning to stick around for at least a little longer.
The guild is one that doesn't seem to get very much attention at all, and it is quite mind-boggling to see why and conversely why the opposite should be true, all at once. The guild is well put-together, sturdy-looking and -sounding, unique and, I can see from personal experience of knowing the owners, run by two very accomplished and experienced Neopians. (Those two have certainly proved themselves in keeping Charlot around for 7+ months, after all!) It isn't very big - in fact, it's very small, with around 12 members. A few thousand messages between 12 people isn't too bad at all and as I can see from checking up on the guild for a few days, it's pretty active, or as active as would be possible for it to be for so long and with so few.
The message board is pretty consistent, with interesting and literate chat throughout - nothing too spectacular, but perfectly normal, friendly chat between a group of people who are clearly close. It's wonderful to see a truly tight-knit guild, all friends and friendly with one another. The member count stayed steady during the time I was in Charlot, and it is clear to see, from the post-counts, that the owners and members love their guild - enough to get most people's post counts into the hundreds! A few more inactive members could have been cleared out, but I get the impression that Charlot is not so concerned with the appearances of activity as many guilds are nowadays.
The website is simple and straightforward, with a pretty and intriguing layout in all different colours. The colour-scheme is constant for the coding, but the layout of the website and the front-page are quite different indeed. There isn't too much content, and this really reflects the atmosphere as a whole - to criticise the lack of content would seem to be unrealistic. The amount of content is perfect for the guild itself.
Through the whole guild, there is truly a sense of honesty and peacefulness - there is no rush to improve, and no falsification. What you see is what you get - and if that is what Charlot is going for, then I can't say anything but that it seems to be working. There really isn't much that could be said about the guild, besides the obvious; small touches like the discussion topic make the guild homey and not too complicated; I only wish that they advertised more!
Charlot seems to me, to be perfect for anyone who is looking for a nice, calm guild with friendly members. For those looking for plenty to do - though let's be honest; most people don't even use many activities or services - this is probably not the guild for you right now, though I can certainly imagine the dedicated owners improving their guild steadily in the future, if that is what the members wish for.
Five silver dubloons! Tha' there guild be shipshape, mateys!
guild review by anti: kyuuten
Always a pleasure to follow, Kyuuten is a literate, anime/manga-based guild that I have been personally enjoying from afar for quite some time now. With some fantastic layouts, wonderful members and interesting, energetic ad boards, it's no wonder - the guild is not, by any stretch of the imagination, lacking in features that'll draw the guildless, anime-loving eye.
The first thing I saw upon joining the guild (without applying, I might add - teeheehee, I'm such a pirate) was the guild's logo, featuring a sparkly Edward Cullen. Clearly, Kyuuten is a guild which is not afraid to defer from anime/manga references; likewise, the hilarious poll quizzed members on which "team" they were on: Team Jacob, Team Edward, or Team Rocket!
Kyuuten has had a succession of gorgeous layouts, both on its front-page and on the website itself. A guild with a system of, quote, "open privacy", the guild is technically public, but requires an application to access the "Join" link. A vulnerable but interesting method of ensuring member-quality, it certainly seems to be working so far! Non-members are able to access the guild's front page, decked with a beautiful anime-themed layout created by one of the guild's owners. I couldn't tell you a thing about what it's based on, but it sure does look good! Similarly, the website layout was beautifully coded and designed, containing every little piece of information that a guild reviewer would ever want to see. The coding is neat, and the coding easily readable. The guild's content on its website and front-page is open and inviting, being well-written and accessible.
With plenty of pop-culture references contained within even the games and activities, Kyuuten seems very much to me to be a guild run seriously, by people with a lot of humour. And that's a great thing - the "Pikachu" activity made me laugh as much as the logo and poll did! The website hosts the standards, like avatar lending and a guild yearbook. Other great touches, like the "MP3 Rotation" and "Classifieds" section provide excellent services that members, or potential ones, might not even realise they wanted. (My only possible suggestion would be to expand this range to other things - perhaps add more activities, or provide even more interesting little bits and bobs that are not necessarily the first thing you think of when helping members comes to mind!)
The guild boards were friendly and fun, with plenty of jokes abound - however, I'm not sure how well the "very literate" standard was kept to in them. About half of the conversation I saw were long, very literate posts; a few conversation topics later, with a few more members joining in and leaving the board, standards of post were declining swiftly. Stricter enforcement of literacy - or softening of literacy requirements - would bring the guild's promise more in line with the board itself. ^^
The members I met were active, very proud of their guild, and very friendly and welcoming: with around 65 members, it was neither too large nor too small for a very active message board. Kyuuten's sense of humour stands out in every side you see of it, and the members clearly share this; an advantage of requiring an application, I suppose; getting to make sure that the members are pleasant and friendly! With a guild that was created relatively recently (only being a few months old) the boards were fantastic, and members' post-counts were quite high, especially considering expectations nowadays.
All-in-all, this is one of my favourite guilds out there right now. I would definitely recommend Kyuuten to anyone who has an love and knowledge of anime and manga, and who is looking for a nice guild with a great sense of humour and an absolutely fantastic, welcoming atmosphere!
Four gold dubloons? Land ho! We be making port an' staying with this one fer a while.
guild review by anti: studio64
Studio64 is a well-known graphics/web design guild dedicated to providing tutorials, guides, and design/coding help. With around 30 members and a decent amount of posts, the guild is an active and popular graphic design guild.
The front-page is reasonably impressive, and well-suited to the week's theme (Vectors); "made by Rise in Photoshop" using "the pen tool and vectors", the only real drawback to the website is the overused hover code and awkward coding - without a very wide monitor, the right-side content would completely obscure the guild name. The white background of the text area itself matches little on the website, and the semi-transparency matches even less: it would probably be better with a black background. Nonetheless, the layout is a cut above many other guild layouts and the home-made feel with excellently textured backgrounds gives the guild a really genuine atmosphere. Unlike many other "graphics" guilds - they take the quest for originality and creativity seriously.
One especially interesting feature on the front-page is the favicon entry section - I found this to be an excellent way to get members really involved in the website (studio64), which is an especially relevant part of this guild's entire existance. All three entries for a possible favicon were beautiful, and it really showed off the amount of skill that some designers in the guild possess. The "please turn guild mailing on" was a nice touch, likewise, showing an acute sense when it comes to refining important aspects of the guild - which was slightly offset and let down with the statement that "a lot of quality was lost whilst saving [the layout]", and yet it was still put up without finding a solution for the problem first. However, I was still extremely impressed.
The website link in fact leads to the information page (which also hosted the website link); an appropriate and innovative measure, as the website is not simply revolving around the guild but Neopets and graphics in general. The layout was above average, and very reminiscent of the designs of early Paint Shop Pro graphics programs (woot woot, old PSP7 users! Excellent program). To-the-point and clear, the information page suits its purpose, making up for what it lacks in flair with enthusiasm, clarity and an excellent sense of atmsophere.
The website itself shares the information page's layout and coding; filled with excellent guides (including anchor coding, how to create a vector path, opacity hovers and image hovers), guild activities and even things like premade guild layouts for people to use, the website is excellent as a guild website and even better as a help site. This is certainly something to be very proud of, and it is clear that plenty of the guild members feel involved in and proud of the guild and the website.
The guild boards were the about as active as could be expected for a guild with 30 members, and were the subject of the guild poll; "Does the guild need to be more active?" with the vast majority of votes being "Yes". (In my personal opinion, activity could be higher, but realistically, this is a graphics design guild, not simply a chatting one.) The chat was very interesting and graphics/design/website oriented: the price of hosting, future guides for the website, coding, userlookups and portfolios were all discussed, and new members were welcomed with a friendly hello and invited into the guild's conversations. Literacy left something to be desired, considering that the guild was advertised as being "literate" - a claim that would probably best be changed.
The boards seem not to be so much a place for chat as a place to swap information - which isn't really a bad thing in Studio64, and in fact I find it to be encouraging. The focus of the guild is excellent, and they seem to have amassed a great group of members who are very much interested and involved in websites and graphics. Kudos, Studio64! Minor improvements could be made to this already-great guild to make it spectacular, but as it stands I would highly recommend this guild to anyone with an intense interest and love of graphics and design!
Two gold dubloons - yarr, that be a mighty fine guild there, arr matey!
guild review by anti: firebolt
One of the few "major" guilds around, Firebolt is a popular and modern HP-themed guild with more than a few familiar faces operating the machinery or simply helping out: Amy being the most well-known to those not in the "HP scene". With beautiful graphics, consistent advertising, good-quality coding and a plethora of members, it's not difficult to see why Firebolt would be the first choice for a guildless HP fan.
The very layout puts a new spin on the Harry Potter theme; not quite HP-related (in fact; barely relatable at all: Emma Watson's photoshoots make for nice layouts, but they have nothing to do with the Potterverse) but instead demonstrative of the quality and skill of the guild's graphics-makers, I have no doubt that it has drawn in many a new member. Indeed, the 90+ members that Firebolt has attracted thus far in its short history are surely due, at least in part, to the beautiful graphics that the guild's leaders and members have created.
True to its roots, Firebolt has basic ranks (Under the Hat, Gryffindor, etc.) and fast, semi-literate message boards; some features which surely attracted many of its ~100 members to the guild in the first place, and to guilds just like it, before it. The boards are welcoming, friendly, and casual - and, looking back through the past posts, it's clear that there is a practically constant state of close friendship and openness with newbies like me. ^^
The message boards seemed like a really warm, welcoming environment for new members. The first new message that I saw before posting (and trust me, they were coming fast) caught my eye with, Hey a new member! Woot!. It's heartwarming to see a guild where new members are truly noticed and made to feel welcome - even before they introduce themselves! Kudos, Firebolt, and thank you, Ravenclaw student! (Just in case anyone wants to award House Points, eh? ) Though large, it seems as though there is little chance of being lost in the crowd - and if you are, there's always a helpful Hufflepuff willing to pull you out of the mess and give you some extra attenton.
Firebolt's classically and riskily off-site website is (predictably) unique, beautifully coded (that's a given), and intricately designed with a surprising twist (oh?) - you can even choose to change the website's layout to one of four different, and all equally beautiful, designs.
The website content was less surprising, though the methods behind it were all equally fascinating; however, unimaginitive Sorting Hat questions like "What is your ideal wizarding job?" somewhat let the ingenuity behind the design down. Fun links like Gambol & Japes liven and spice up the predictablity, and the Suggestions form indicates an encouragingly positive attitude towards change and improvement.
Glancing at the members page - an average of around 90 posts per member (judging by the stats) being pretty good in my book, by the way - the statistics are pretty good: the owners all seem to be very active and involved in their guild, with all three having over 400 posts and so being the most active members in their guild. A decent amount of members who I saw in the message-board had a mention of their House, or Firebolt's name/slogan, in their font; clearly, this is a guild which is held dear to the members who it offers a home to. ^^
Graphics and the active message board are definitely Firebolt's strongest points - and really, all that makes a significance at the end of the day, to many guildless Neopians. Keep up the great work, Firebolt!
All in all, I would definitely give this guild top marks, and recommend it to most anyone I knew who was looking for a Harry Potter guild and who didn't mind a slightly intimidating, but in reality welcoming, member-count. 
Five gold dubloons? Raise the Jolly Roger, that be good!
