Hi, TNT! *throws Neggs* So, the Obelisk War was about... three weeks ago, I think? Are those Tyrannians still having trouble counting up the points, or are things just pretty hectic around the office with the Festival of Neggs and other site events around Neopia? I'm just anxious to find out the results; this has to be one of my favorite site events by far! ~jackjack1234
Nothing's interrupting our efforts! We're just still running the numbers. We had the faction winner figured out in the first day or two, and we're just as anxious to get the results out as you are! It's the individual points that take a while to get right. To give you a bit of context, it works something like this:

We check on the massive amount of fight data we have and try to get a basic idea of the different buckets of participation we can put players in and what percentage of participants fall within these buckets. This is just a rough point we can start from, and then it gets crazy. We do a base set of point numbers, run sample queries and compare to various levels of participation, tweak numbers, re-run queries, run different queries to get more information on certain buckets, etc., etc. Some of those individual queries can take a while to run by themselves, so we work furiously, wait, work furiously again, wait some more... and that’s just for point values! After that, we have to actually price the prizes. During all of this, we're also working on building the prize shop and... some other things. We discovered long ago that to do it properly takes time. (Ask folks who were around for the Curse of Maraqua prize shop. ;_;) When we're comfortable with the numbers -- which we actually never are, so... comfortable enough -- and we think everyone will be justly rewarded for their efforts, then we'll release the prize shop. We definitely know it's a pain to wait, but we think that's better than being disappointed with your reward.

We don't have an estimate right now. We're really trying to finish up by next week, but we can't tell yet if that will happen.

Many of us gamers know that it is against the rules on Neopets to exchange friend codes on the site. I am curious why, though, since they give no personal information (at least for the games that I have played), and they don't give addresses or phone numbers. The most they could possibly give is a first name, which you could get off Neopets in the first place. I would really appreciate it if you could explain why they are banned. Thank you! ~king_m0b
It's not allowed as it basically falls under the "no leading offsite" rule. It's the same reason why you can't share instant messaging information, even if it's just a username. On a very related note, make sure to discuss any item trading or borrowing on site, so there's supporting evidence for you if you're scammed.

I realize that it will take you guys an unknown number of days / weeks / months / years, etc. to finish counting our points from the obelisk war, and I'm fine with that. What I want to know is: will I need to have the actual Neopet that fought in the war on my main account in order to claim any prizes that may someday be awarded for participating in the war? (After all of that fighting, my Lenny would really like a nice, quiet vacation on my side account.) Thanks! ~mystie06
Nope, feel free to transfer your Neopet for a well-deserved vacation. Battling is a lot of work!

Good morning / evening! If I submit two pictures to the Art Gallery at the same time, will the first picture be replaced by the second? I would like to enter a whole bunch of pictures (each for a specific Pet Day) in bulk, but I don't know if each new entry cancels out the last. Should I instead wait until each respective Pet Day passes to enter for the next Pet Day? Is one way easier than another for the art judge? ~vindarten
You may submit up to three pieces of art to the Art Gallery each day. No pieces will ever overwrite the other. We suggest submitting art for Pet Days within the few days prior to the Pet Day for the best chances and sanity of our art judge. :)

I would like to try for the Neopian Times avatar and submit an article for the 600th edition. How can I make sure that my article is submitted for this exact edition? Is it possible to get feedback on my article to make sure it's perfect before the 600th edition? ~0bibi0
If you'd prefer your entry to appear in a particular issue, make sure to mention the issue name or number in the comments when you submit. We cannot give individual feedback, so if you think your entry can be improved, you might ask friends or the Neopian Writers board for advice.

Yo, TNT. I'm a tad (okay, a lot) curious: how far in advance do you start planning your hilarious April Fool's pranks for the unsuspecting Neopian public? ~kura
It varies from year to year, depending on whatever else is going on. This year the whole process from brainstorm to live on the site was about two months, fitting working into it when we had a chance. We had a lot of fun coming up with items and making them! Each item that wasn't digitally produced was hand-crafted by a member of The Neopets Team, using things like printed images, construction paper, plants, Super Sculpy, and anything else we could use!

I'mmm muuuch mmmoooore haaandsooome
and teeeeal thaaaan thaaaat!

Hey TNT, how long do we have to choose the prizes for the Festival of Neggs? Thanks! Please remove my username. ~username removed
You should have until next year's festival, but please try to avoid cutting it too close.

What, if anything, is the relationship between the Desert Scarabs and the Thieves Guild? I meant to ask this last week in regard to Hanso's crack about Nabile, but my initiative ended up stolen, somehow (make my question anonymous, please). ~username removed
There's no official relationship between the two groups. The Scarabs aren't nearly as organised, being more of a ragtag group of street urchins who have turned to thievery to get by. The Thieves Guild is an official oganisation with different goals (some that may have changed since Kanrik took over). The Thieves Guild is aware of the Scarabs, and generally leave them be unless they interfere with any plans in the Lost Desert. They may have even recruited some of the more skilled thieves from the Desert Scarabs.

In issue 588 of The Neopian Times, why were there articles, stories, and comics about "Grandma Boochi"? ~username removed
We believe those writers engaged in a... a prank in our esteemed newspaper! Why, the very idea! We are quite shocked.

Dear TNT,
I have been a member of this wonderful web site for over 11 years (come May it will be 12!). I have watched it grow and change, and with that change has come some amazing experiences and memories. I know it would be a huge request, but I was wondering if you guys might be open to a "Blast From the Past" page. The idea would be that either once a week or once a month you guys would upload an old image. It could be an item that has been retired, the original artwork for a Neopet, the original Uber Faeries, or even from an old plot like the Terror Mountain Mystery Lodge. I think it would be an amazing way for newer users to see how far Neopets has come and at the same time it would allow older users a chance to reminisce. Please think about it! You guys are great. ~starling91361
We've been wanting to do a Neopian Museum of sorts for quite some time, but it'd be a large project, and it tends to get pushed back for newer site content. We'd love to do it someday, though. :)

Hey, TNT! In your last Editorial, there was a question about whether or not a Neopian Times entry should be resubmitted or not. As an add-on to that question, if you have received a held-over Neomail, when is it okay to resubmit it? I ask because it's been about three weeks since I received the email and I'm wondering whether to resubmit the entry. Please remove my username and don't forget to do so, please. T_T ~username removed
We're never going to live that down, are we? To answer your question, sometimes we hold entries longer than others, whether because there are older entries that have been waiting longer or simply because there is an upcoming issue more suited for that entry.

Hi, TNT! *shifty eyes* *throws imaginary jelly at you* So, I have been collecting jelly for a while, and recently you released some jelly items (Oil and Grease Jelly, Nuts and Bolts Jelly, Banana Jelly, Jelly Trumpet, Jelly Drum), but they haven't shown up anywhere! Not even in Galleries. My question is: have you activated them yet, or is it just that no one has been lucky enough to get these items? If you could leave my username out I would appreciate it! :) ~username removed
Hmm... we looked into it and added it into an array so they'll now be properly released from a non-existent place instead of just being completely non-existent. It's a slight improvement, we think.

Hey there! I've recently traded my way to my long time dream Neopet! While I'm quite excited, I was a bit bummed after my Petpet search to find that Darigan Raindorfs (which are super duper, by the way) have yet to be released. The art for them has been known about for some time, though. So, my question is this: is there a specific day you're waiting for to release them? Maybe it could be pushed forward a bit so Neopia can enjoy their awesomeness? 0-:) ~sk8zac
Huh. It is pretty darn cute. We're not sure why it was never released or announced. Perhaps an artist did it on the sly, or its content got bumped off the schedule after the art was already complete. None of us can seem to remember, so we're just going to go ahead and release it, because it's the Darigan Raindorf Neopia deserves.

OOPS! I dropped my pet Kepru. She fell to the bottom of this issue of The Neopian Times. My bad. ~ppowergirl
FOUND HER! *hands her back to you* Be more careful next time! :)

*wags tail*

**HAPPY THOUGHTS**

I just want to say that I thought your April Fool's idea was hilarious! As a tax preparer, I loved the Tax Beast software and the details about it! Thank you for giving me a giggle, especially at this time of year for me! Keep up the awesome work! ~humorme

Loved the merchandise joke this year! Hilarious, creative, and witty -- great job! ~raynbow_light

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