This layout doesn't work perfectly in all versions of IE. If/when we figure out what's going on, we promise to fix it cx.
Welcome
As you can see, this is technically our activities page (though we've ended up putting everything we can't put elsewhere on this page ^^). So... have fun poking around, and enjoy!
Roleplayer of the Month
Muse of Xohlia
Fonts
Avatar lending
Guild Shop
Art and Short Stories
Xohlian Quotes
Xohlian Reviews and Awards
Roleplayer of the Month
Fear the wrath of our dedicated Xohlian minions!
July, 2008: Avalon
August, 2008: Quix
September, 2008: Kysa
October, 2008: Val
November, 2008: Foxeh
December, 2008: Sebbie! (Yes, the '-bie' part was included =P).
January, 2009: Avalon
February, 2009: Elena
March, 2009: Lilie
April, 2009: Humpheth
May, 2009: Kit
June, 2009: Leaf
July, 2009: Stella
August, 2009: Katie
September, 2009: Quix
October, 2009: Val
November, 2009: Catsitta
December, 2009: Quix
January, 2010: Rose
February, 2010: Val
March, 2010: Catsitta
April, 2010: Matt
May, 2010: Humph
June, 2010: Seb
July, 2010: Rose
August, 2010: Catsitta
September, 2010: Elena
October, 2010: Catsitta
RPotM was not voted on from 11/10 through 3/11, since Mist was on hiatus. It'll continue from 4/11. ^^
Muse of Xohlia
-twitches nose-
It would appear that we have our own version of this bunny here on Xohlia, like it or not. Who knows where he appeared from - he just was there one day, relaxing on the Xohlian layout which he'd taken over without so much as a by your leave. We got him off, eventually, but we had to agree for him to become our muse before he'd budge so much as an inch. (Apparently, being a plain mascot just was too far beneath this bunny's notice.) And now... well, he's a part of Xohlia, whether we like him or not. (Of course we do, though - please don't zap us, Lord Smudge!)
So, you might ask, what is there to stop us from ridding ourselves of this bunny? Well... he has the remote. It doesn't sound like much, does it? The only problem is, the remote has been used to turn innocent Xohlians into anything from a fish, to a koala, to grass, to the word 'Tiger'. How this is possible we don't know, but we'd rather not find out; just don't get the bunny mad, if you value your current form.
Smudge has also inspired a few activities, which just might be fun... Maybe xD. If you're hyper and rather bored.
Facts about Smudge
For the curious, these are the Xohlian version of Chuck Norris facts. Any and all submissions will be accepted and put up here, with credit to your name if you like- it's time to show just how proud you are of Xohlia and our bunny =3.
-- Smudge is so amazing, he lives on one of the unnamed continents without any mutations at all. (Then again, maybe that explains a lot... =P)
-- There is no ruling Council - it's just an illusion created by Smudge, who is lord of all Xohlia.
-- Smudge has counted all the way to infinity - twice.
-- Smudge eats carrots... just not the orange ones.
-- Smudge doesn't wear a watch. HE decides what time it is.
-- Smudge's tears can save Xohlia. Too bad he never cries.
-- Smudge is precisely Smudge-sized, duh. He's just that awesome.
-- The cake is not a lie, it's Smudge's.
-- Smudge only accepts 25 carat gold.
-- Smudge has his own season. It lasts all year.
Poems/Stories about Smudge
Have something to say about our muse? Ever written an Ode to Smudge? (Maybe because Smudge threatened you with the remote?) Well, here's the place to get them posted! Neomail your submission to Mist, who will put it up here. We may have contests featuring Smudge at a later point.
Oh, Smudge
Written by Val.
Oh Smudge, that bunny,
he's not very funny
but never say that to his face.
Oh Smudge, that rabbit,
for him it is habit
to use the remote without grace.
Oh Smudge, the scary,
as cute as a fairy,
but like an orc with a mace,
he'll use that remote,
and then there's no hope
for the rest of the whole human race.
Smudge's Gallery
What kind of muse would Smudge-san be if he didn't inspire art, now? Any and all Smudge-related art will be put up here. If he likes it, anyway.The usual drag-to-address-bar rules apply ^^.
This was put up as a hint before our 18-month anniversary layout. (It'll make sense if you look at the layout's screenie. Really.) Mist is quite fond of it, though, so she's left it up permanently. You'll just have to put up with it in its terribleness. o.O
A wonderful picture by Una, getting into the SAD (Smudge Appreciation Day) spirit!
Leaf drew this image of adorable Smudge pwn on our second anniversary! And she -gasp- invented Smudge's eye color =3. (The little critter hanging off the cloud is Leaf's fursona).
Smudge makes things go BOOM. Thanks, Catsitta!
Thanks to Jai for this luffly picture, created in honor of SADII!
Fonts
Wonderful fonts, made by Seb (lostreveries). Enjoy them as much as you like, and don't forget to give credit where it belongs!http://www.neopets.com/~Rain_Dancer__
The fonts are for members of Xohlia, only.
Avatar Lending
The Xohlian Avvie Lending Program (affectionately called the T-XALP) has been taken over by Elena. Our thanks to her!http://www.neopets.com/~Akiinaii.
Xohlian Shop
Want some powdered newt? Genuine lucky Smudge's foot?All right - maybe not quite those two items (And you should be grateful, too - just think how angry Smudge would be if we started selling genuine Smudge feet! =o). But if you feel like doing a little something for the guild, this is one way to do it ^^.
Please note - as per TNT rules, donating is not compulsory. Nor do you get anything for it, except for a warm fuzzy feeling.
Hosted by Val - our thanks to her!
Visit the Shop
Xohlian Art and Short Stories
We've moved our art and short stories to a location ideally suited for them - deviantART! Look up xohlia at dA, or simply google "xohlia" to find the Xohlian group. (Do it now... you know you want to. c=)Xohlian Quotes
Quotes of Xohlia - originally hosted by Quix, they've been taken over by Val, who is absolutely pwnsome for volunteering c=. From all of us, with love... or, possibly, utter and complete insanity.http://www.neopets.com/~Heysolfedd.
Reviews and Awards
So, Mist decided that we might as well find somewhere to put up our guild reviews -nods-. (Reviews, as defined here, are where an outsider agrees to join the guild, and then comment on it in-depth. These usually go on review pages, and are rather long.) Any testimonials, should you ever feel the need to give one, will go here as well ^^.All reviews are posted here, regardless of the outcome.
Reviews
Review 1: Sadly, this one has been lost. It happened around February 2008, though, and Xohlia got a solid four stars (out of five).Review 2: From StopThePresses, hosted at the petpage of the same name. Unfortunately, this one has been taken down temporarily due to remodeling of the site (although I imagine it's still there, somewhere.) I believe Xohlia ranked with a solid 4 stars. Review took place in the summer of 2008.
Review 3: From this site, our third review in December of '08 =3. Read and enjoy, yes?
Review 4: Done on 1/11/2009; rather short, but very positive. Since it was taken down shortly afterwards, it's posted here:
I absolutely loved this guild's layout. xD This is supposed to be a full page layout, though. Why do I have to scroll down to see the last bit of your layout? =/ I love how this guild has the council chat in a separate blog, great idea! ^^ The text is easy to read, love that. I love the simplicity of the webbie, nothing too bright or too... shocking. Nothing hurts my eyes on this page. You have all the info a webbie should have, and I salute to you guys on that. x3 I love that fact that you guys have a "Wall of Shame." The info page gets everyone up to date on all the things that they need to know, very informative. ^^ I love this guild's overall outlook. +9.4/10
Rated by Mutt (_jonas_2go_)
Review 5: From this review site. Done on 1/14/09; Xohlia got a 9/10 rating.
Review 6: From lucky6189, owner of the GC blog Collaborite. Not posted on Collaborite, but completed 1/4/10.
First off, I have never been in a roleplay guild, nor do I know a lot about how they function, but I hope that I am giving relevant feedback.
My first impression of Xohlia is a great one (once I got in the guild). The layout is appealing, clean and creative. I see you used a hover code for the div, however, I feel that this code is way overused, and I don't believe that it adds anything to your layout. Also, the vertical scroll on your guild homepage is much too large. The page scrolls down farther than required. Though this is not a big problem, it's something that could be fixed.
The information that you have on your guild homepage is extremely relevant to your guild. I love how you have information on the season, as it gives background to the RPers in your guild. The only thing I would change on the home page is the "Obviously, this isn't a complete ad." in the advertising section. Perhaps this is me being too politically correct, but I found it a little stark. It may be a good idea to change the wording a little bit.
I took a deeper look into your guild, starting with the message board. Your guild is very active! Your members post long, literate posts to add to the roleplaying, yet they still make OOC posts to have some regular chat. More importantly, all the posts that I saw were extremely well written!
Although you don't have a lot of members, your guild doesn't need a lot. Xohlia seems to be working well with the amount that you currently have. It seems, also, that when you get members, you keep them: many of the members have been in the guild for over a year! Furthermore, for such long posts, that some members have posted over 3000+ messages is rather impressive!
I took a look at your calendar as well, and was almost shocked at how clean it was! In a lot of NR guilds, the calendars get spammed. In this one, it's practically bare! This allows council to post important dates if needed, and those dates would stand out.
When I went to the webbie, I was amazed at how organized and detailed all of the information was. I read through the information on the webbie, and continued to read (or at least skim) through the rest of your guild pages (comments are in the following paragraphs). Overall, I believe that you can greatly improve in one very important area: being concise. Your guild is extremely well established, and with that comes a lot of content; however, it was absolutely exhausting reading all of your guild pages. If I was a new member, I would probably be excited to get started, but I would unfortunately have pages and pages to read before I get started, which could be a chore. On that note, I believe the information page is a great attempt at summarizing information, but it is only really useful for someone who is not yet joined. It is very hard to be detailed and informative while still being concise. It is even something I struggle with (as you may be able to tell from this review). You just need to find a good balance.
Now, to go into more detail on each of the guild pages… First of all, I'm glad that you addressed on each page the layout problems with IE. It lets me know that you're aware of the issue and not just disorganized or negligent.
You use bold and underlined effects very well! Some guilds randomly scatter colored text throughout their content, but you have chosen to emphasize the right areas and phrases without going overboard or making the effects distracting.
The guild details on the webbie are very interesting. It's great that you give members an accurate description of your guild, saying that it is US-based, and many people tend to log on around 1:00pm NST. This way, members apply to your guild knowing full well what to expect.
I like how you even stated the "obvious" rules, because what is obvious to some may not be to others. It's good to make your guild rules clear, and you have successfully done that.
The way you've done ranks is great! I love how you give more privileges to members as they progress through the ranks. It gives added motivation to increase rank beyond simply a sense of accomplishment.
I also love how you have listed consequences for breaking the guild rules, and those consequences are legitimate ones. This is one area that most guild leaders seem to miss.
For the new members and application sections… I thought your guild was private, so I'm a little stumped on why you mention joining randomly without an application. Don't members need to first receive an invite which should be the result of an application? That aside, I love how you added the silly/fun disclaimer. While you have a lot of important, more serious information on the webbie, you've also shown that the guild can be fun with light-hearted members. Also, I love how you have smudge in your guild as it's definitely a fun addition. :)
In the application itself, you have the experience section and html/css/graphics section that you say has no importance when getting into the guild but just makes you (Mist) happy? This seems odd. Why add these to the application? If I were filling in the form, I would want to know why I'm spending time informing you on something that has no apparent relevance to the guild.
On the activities and graphics page, the layout image for the current layout is inaccurate. And looking at the old layouts, I remember seeing your guild a few months ago! (I remember the smudge layout :o!) Even thought it creeped me out, I still believe it to be one of the most creative layouts I've ever seen. {Ed. note - check the layout log for our two-year layout to see the one she's talking about ^^.}
For the banners, I'm a bit confused on why you added commentary. Like "Only too true, I'm telling you." I feel like this is unnecessary and takes away from the opportunity that members have of forming their own opinions about the banners and statements on them.
One thing that I wonder, and I'm sure other new members would too, is what the guild funds from the Xohlian Shop go to. That's something I would briefly include.
As for the yearbook, I think the text color needs to be fixed, as I was straining to read the light text on a while background.
Overall, I think that Xohlia is a great guild! If I were interested in roleplaying, I would give Xohlia a great deal of consideration. Good work on your guild! I hope your guild continues on for years to come.
This review will not be posted on Collaborite, but you may share it however you please. :)
Awards
Award 1:From scaryandbeautiful, in February of '09. (The image became inactive, so we had to take it down D= )
Credit
Coding and graphics made by Mist.Everything on this page is property of Xohlia and its members, so don't steal. Or you'll have a lovely spot on the Wall of Shame.
