Enter the Snowflake's lair... Circulation: 143,481,830 Issue: 301 | 20th day of Swimming, Y9
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
 

Editorial


Hi. I was wondering whether Neopoints have a certain "look." The only time we see them are as little numbers in the bank or on the toolbar, but what do they actually look like? Are they little round coins or something? ~prlim
Generally, they are thought to resemble tiny gold coins. (Just don't ask where that Skeith keeps them all. x_X)


If only these weren't broken...

Lots of people make boards on the BC saying "lending _____ free and vote for my Neopet." Needless to say, lots of people flock to these boards and vote for the Neopet. However, often the board maker doesn't actually lend anyone the item, or they "lend" it to someone and refuse to say who (therefore, no one can prove that they have). Is this reportable, and if so what category would it fall under? ~the_stripy_socks
Oh, it's very reportable. You can report such a person under "Scamming to get items or Neopoints." We understand they are trying to get votes, not items/NP, but it's the concept behind it, not the actual action that defines it as scamming. It states very clearly before you enter the BC that "Buying votes with offers of free items is not allowed, as it is unfair to those that don't have items to give away!" Basically, "Don't bribe people for votes!" The same is true if you're offering votes and trying to get something in return. Remember, the spirit of the law prevails on Neopets, not the letter.

I heard somewhere that plushie paint brushes can be turned into real paint brushes. I hope this is true! ~screendoorbreeze
No, this is just a scam made up by people trying to sell plushie paint brushes. Plushie paint brushes do absolutely nothing, like most every plushie.

Dear TNT, I was playing Whack-A-Kass and I noticed that the bat was unlocked, even though I didn't remember unlocking it. I sent my score and it worked. I then realized that, on the "Furthest Whack," it said 883, but on my High Scores Table, it said 300(ish). It then changed to 532 because of the sent score. I quickly stopped playing the game in case it was a glitch. I then told my sister, and it turns out her high score was 883! I also cleared my computer's cookies but the "glitch" remained. Can you guys fix this or look into it? Thanks! ~sockmonkeygal
Whack-A-Kass is a little bit (wait for it... wait...) wacky, in that the farthest hit/available bat information is stored on your end of things. If you use the same browser, your sister's high score will register in the game window (though not your account). If you want to reset the game entirely, you can click the "Clear markers/Farthest whack" option on the first screen of the game. Even if it doesn't immediately show the change, it does do it. Of course, this will also reduce your sister back to batting things around with bread, since the effect is linked to the browser. If you're using different browsers, this doesn't happen. In the end, though it might be a bit confusing, it's nothing anyone would get in trouble for, since it's working as programmed.


Very punny.

Hey, TNT! I have had trouble with Caption Contest since I started playing Neopets (about 5 years ago)! I always send in a caption or two, and I never see it on the "vote" page. How does picking the captions work? Thanks! ~alibiscene
Our resident Caption Contest judge extraordinaire starts by reading through as many captions as humanly possible out of the tens of thousands that are entered. As he goes through, he marks the ones he thinks are the best of the bunch into a holding area. Once there are enough in the holding area, he chooses the best of the best ("best" being extremely relative some weeks x_X) and places them on the voting page for y'all to decide on who should win!

Ok, I understand that, as a business, you have to charge for some things. That's fine. However, I was wondering, although I'm sure you intend to release new things that are only accessible through payment, are you ever going to start charging for something that is, at the moment, free? In other words, will the free things stay free, and some NEW releases (e.g. Neocash items) require payment, or will what's free now eventually cost money to access? Sorry if that's a bit confusing. ~spanna661
No, we have less than zero intent to ever take anything away from you guys and then request you pay for that same service. This includes everything from account access to The Pound, Shop Wizard, etc. Every aspect of this game that has relation to real money (Premium/Lutari Island/NC Mall) has been a new service offered to users who can decide for themselves if that service is worth it to them. They have also been designed to impact players without the paid services as little as possible while still making the service worthwhile to those who don't mind paying.

Hey TNT! You rock, etc., etc. I have quite a big concern on the Art Gallery. As a member of a Neopets-related forum, I can see other people's entries before they send them to the contest. So, I've noticed quite a lot rejected pictures, having splendid artwork -- much better than the ones that actually won. Futurism, 3D, plastic models, etc. On the contrary, the Art Gallery always gets filled with simple "traditionally-painted" pictures. Not that I don't respect them, but I do believe that you really favour them compared to other entries. Myself, I prefer 3D art and have submitted quite a few entries without any luck. Should I give up hope and turn to the traditional way? ~pokemon_lunatic
Our resident Art Gallery guru says she does enjoying seeing and displaying a variety of art mediums through the Art Gallery. Some of the reasons why they may seem under represented is because they actually are dwarfed in number by traditional pieces sent in. Other reasons she spoke of were repeats of the same idea (like the four strawberry Kiko sculptures that were sent in for Kiko Day) and our desire to put up the best artwork while still being sensitive to making sure that a variety of ages are represented. Most important of all is to be sure that the artwork you submit is of something that exists on the site. We will not spotlight any imagery of, say, a shadow baby Shoyru with Halloween wings. If the species/colour combination doesn't exist, it won't be selected as a winner in any spotlight, not just the Art Gallery.


We honestly love seeing different mediums!

Is there any way to move the avatar preference page so that it can be accessed by those who are under 13 years old? I know they can't post on the boards, but their avatar does show up on their User Lookup. My 8 year old has 25 secret avatars and can't ever see them. Please help. ~christy_1219
Aye! This is on our giant to do list. Because it involves the boards (via the board preferences page) and under-aged users, there are lots of things that have to be taken into account and we have to make sure we get it right the first time (unless we want to endure the wrath of the United States government). As soon as it gets to the top of the list and we can sit down and make sure we're doing everything right, we'll be able to get it done. We'll then announce it in New Features when it's finished.

Are there any plans to add seven year shields to our User Lookups? I understand that the artists have been way too busy with the new site content and wearable items to probably even think about drawing more shields. I was just wondering, because I'd like to have visual confirmation of my standing as a long-time Neopian. The little date on my User Lookup just isn't big enough for me. ;) ~forevernat
*headdesk* We know. We're so embarrassed about it we just want to crawl under our desks and die. We're constantly saying, "Gah, we really need to do those!" but then it's always trumped by something like plot prizes, etc. We also have a feature in mind for shields and we don't want to waste art time doing old versions when they could be working on new ones, but we haven't had time to plan that out yet, either. ;_;

Dear TNT, could you give me an average of how many people guess "Red Scorchio Tail" for the Mystery Pic each week? ~moveover987
We looked through our amazing archive files of doom and discovered that, on average, it seems about 5 people guess "Red Scorchio Tail" for the Mystery Pic each week. (The total number of guesses each week is roughly 6,000, give or take a couple thousand in either direction.) That's probably fewer than what you were thinking, but it's still more than there should be. :P

Hi TNT! On the boards, a lot of people are saying something like "FFQ" or something. I was wondering for a while what FFQ stands for. Thanks! ~isayirock4
Ahh, the boundless acronyms of the Neopets chat boards.. don't feel bad for being a bit confused. FFQ stands for Fountain Faerie Quest. Other ones you'll often see are ZDAP (Zafara Double Agent Plushie), BGC (Bony Grarrl Club), FQD (Faerie Queen Doll), and SUAP (Super Attack Pea... it couldn't be SAP since Seasonal Attack Pea had already claimed that acronym).


ZDAP!?! Hrmf!

Even though I am against the NC Mall, I wanted to see what would happen to me if I tried purchasing an item without any Neocash. It then asked me for my password as verification. I checked the site, and it was Neopets, so I clicked out and as a precaution deleted all cookies blahblahblah... so what happened about the password thing? I thought TNT wasn't supposed to ask for passwords anytime at all? ~jennifers413
TNT are the staff members of Neopets, and we will never ask you for your password in Neomail, on the boards, etc. Neopets the actual site, however, does require your password from time to time. Right now these areas are logging in, changing your profile, and purchasing Neocash. (Also, sometimes the abuse or frozen forms will ask you to verify that you're an account's owner.) This all happens on the site itself, and is just an extra precaution to protect our players from fraudulent purchases (in the case of the NC Mall).

Hey, TNT! I've noticed that some of my friends have a trophy from the latest plot. I checked my own User Lookup, however, and there's nothing there except for the Tale of Woe trophy and my game trophies. Have you just not gotten to some of the users yet, or is something wrong? Also, when will we get something from the Altador Cup? ~allywolf3434
Doh, you must have missed New Features on July 6th. No worries, though! You just simply need to visit the Journey To The Lost Isle Prize Shop and purchase at least one item for your trophy to register. As for the Altador Cup rewards, we hope to get those to you all soon. :) Here's a sneak preview... shh!


Yes, they're wearable.


Need more help?
If you have a question that you think should be answered, click here and you can use our submission form. The most common/bizarre questions will appear here next week.

 
Search the Neopian Times




Great stories!


---------

A Story of Random Things and Daredevils
"You were the one who chose to fly off the roof. The Eizzils were just innocent bystanders..."

by bibliomaniac

---------

The Mystery of the Crystal Anubis: Part One
If you were to ask anybody else, you would be told that I am a detective, and most people consider me the best in the business...

by zach_neo_246

---------

The Time to Listen
"Hi, I'm Jordan, and it's my first day here too," I said, happy to get the sentence out without being knocked over...

by reggieman721

---------

Neo-Fizz
What REALLY happens on Jubble Bubble...

by spooky_cookie

---------

Omg!! Shiny Object
Shiny convinces Wudgie to spin the Wheel of Misfortune...

by eatmoresushi



Submit your stories, articles, and comics using the new submission form.