Voice of the Neopian Pound Circulation: 192,686,136 Issue: 656 | 1st day of Hiding, Y16
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Editorial


Hey, TNT! So, I was just playing Nimmo's Pond and I realized that, while I can shoot pretty quickly by rapidly slamming my fingers down on the space bar of my laptop, it would be possible for me to shoot even faster if I were to plug a spare keyboard into my laptop so that I would have two space bars to pound on (one for each of my hands; I'd only be able to use both keyboards when I wasn't actively steering with the arrow keys). However, it also occurred to me that this seems kind of... cheat-ish. Would playing with two keyboards be against the rules? Also, please remove my username. Thanks! ~username removed
While we salute your creative problem-solving skills, we do require that all players enjoy our games in the manner that they were clearly intended to be played.

TNT, would you mind making us a pretty cloud smiley? ~sugarypixiestix2
How come nobody ever asks for ugly smilies? We'll give you a fluffy white cloud smiley... but you're getting a dreary grey cloud one, too!

This is not a joke: can I paint my toenails before clipping them to make art, so I can have colored toenail clipping art? ~mermaid_sibling
The idea of possibly coming across this while going through Art Gallery submissions makes us gag a bit, but we suppose it's allowable...

I've noticed that you guys type 'pet (with an apostrophe before it) instead of just pet. Why? The word isn't just a shortened form of "Neopet"; they ARE pets, albeit virtual ones... ~mystical_magic__42
It's an old site tradition that Neopets should be referred to as Neopets and not simply "pets." As a compromise (like for poems, where changing it from pets to Neopets could create a rhythmic issue, or in the case of a haiku, cause it not to conform to the intended structure), 'pets is allowed as a substitute.

So, TNT, I'm a huge fan of the Storytelling Contest, and I always write an entry whenever I have free time. Sometimes, however, even though it's a lot of fun to see what other users do with the story, I have something else in my mind for where I want to take things and what I want to do with the characters. Therefore, my question for you is: are we allowed to take the plot of a Storytelling Contest story and use it to write a Neopian Times story with different events? If so, how much would we be allowed to keep the same? Should we just stick to using the stories as inspiration, but with different characters? I've been curious about this for a while. Thanks a bunch and stay safe from the Meepits. ~nebuloid
We're going to say no to this one. Either you're taking someone else's work (the person who wrote the beginning, as well as any additional entries they might want to incorporate into their variation) and interpolating it with your own, or (if you're doing an alternate version based on your own beginning) you're using the same piece of content for multiple writing competitions.

In America we have the "$$$" dollar sign for our currency. Is there an official symbol for Neopoint currency? ~icedfrostings
"NP" is the official symbol for Neopian currency.

I know that you are not allowed to mention names anywhere in Neopia, but I thought you were allowed to Neomail your name to a friend because it is private. I also thought that, if Neopets sent us to an offsite web site, then we were able to mention that in a Neomail, as well (offsite being Facebook). So, why was I silenced for privately Neomailing someone my name and mentioning an allowed offsite web site? Also, none of the help buttons are working. ~daisy_chick73
Sharing private information is not allowed on Neopets in order to create the safest environment possible for our players. While we do our best to act as a shield between you and those that could have malicious intentions, we can't be everywhere at once. That's why we have a blanket rule that no private information may be shared. It was not the mention of Facebook that caused the warning, but the sharing of information (especially the kind that could be used to identify you in real life). Chat rules are the same across all avenues of communication on Neopets, whether you're on the boards, Neomailing, or chatting in your guild.

I was watching the Neocam and I noticed that all of the lights and computers were on with nobody in there, and it's clearly written below that "our tech guys don't like us leaving the computers on all day and night." WHY WAS NOBODY THERE?!? ~uvcat2bkittenme
Oh, that's weird. Perhaps, if you keep watching, then someone will eventually show up!

Hello, TNT! In Editorial #653, you said that sketches aren't allowed in the Art Gallery. May I ask what constitutes a sketch? For example, if an entry has tones and shading but is drawn in a sketchy style, would that be acceptable? Thanks! ~dragonair23

This is, of course, a judgement call by our judges, as there is no fine line. Something unlikely to be accepted as possible winners are rough sketches or things like very simple pencil line drawings with no shading. A sketchy style is just fine as long as it comes across as a finished work of art, and not an incomplete one. Here are some compositions to help you get a better visual idea of what we're looking for:


Incomplete. Would not be accepted as an entry.


Acceptable, but feels incomplete.
Highly unlikely to win.


Completed pencil drawing with good chance to win.


Finished line art. Could be a complete composition,
but unlikely to win unless high quality
with good use of line weight.

Hi, TNT. In last week's Editorial, you said that once a drawing gets accepted into the Art Gallery, it then cannot be used for any other creative contests. Yet, on Monday, someone won the Art Gallery and the Pet Spotlight with the same drawing of their Ruki. So, can we submit the same drawing for the Pet Spotlight and the Art Gallery? Please remove my username. ~username removed
Perhaps we should word it as other "visual art" contests. The Neopet spotlight is considered a writing contest. The image is there to fancy things up and show effort, but it's the writing that wins, not the art. Also, an image that appeared in the Art Gallery could be used in a User Lookup or Gallery design, and that wouldn't count as a win for the image, either.

Visual art contests in which winning entries can't be used to win again in another contest include: Art Gallery, Beauty Contest, and the Random Contest.

TNT, I have the perfect idea: put a Golden Mr Irgo Stamp up for auction at 1 NP increases. It would be very entertaining! ~ivoryrosefrost
Entertaining for you, but perhaps not for our servers or anyone trying to load a page with thousands of auction bids. ;) If anyone is curious, this is the reason why Dr. Sloth auctions have such high starting and bid prices. If they're set too low then it becomes a headache for us or anyone attempting to bid or watch the auction.

Hey, TNT! I'd like to start by saying just how much I love The Neopian Times! It's an absolutely wonderful way for me to practice my writing skills so that I can fulfill my dreams and become an author one day. Here's my question: can Neopets be born colours? I mean, can a 'pet be born desert-coloured or eventide-coloured, or can they only be born colours like red and blue and have to be painted those fancier colours? I just want to make sure that this is okay so I can make my new story a masterpiece for The Neopian Times! ~cadetbush
For the NT, we allow some creative license. If you want a tale about a Xweetok born eventide, for example, that is all right.

The amazing TNT, I thought you could only have one article per issue. Issue 655 has two articles by the same person (please remove my username). Thanks! ~username removed
That was our mistake. We will endeavour to do better!

If this is in the next Editorial, then everyone on TNT's staff must go on a 30 second dance break. Ready? GO! (▷*-*)▷ (^*-*)▷ ◁(*-*^) ◁(*-*◁) ^(*-*)^ ◁(*-*◁) (▷*-*)▷ ◁(*-*)▷ ~anti_guy
PHEW! Okay, back. Thanks. We needed a good workout.

In your last Editorial, you mentioned a Lawyerbot 2.0 that nearly "ran [you] over in her haste" to give legal advice. As a Lawyerbot Clone and a fanatic of the original Lawyerbot, I would love for her to make an appearance on the site in some way! *rolls red carpet out to my Lawyerbot gallery* Thank you! ~x3karina
We'll see if we can slow her down long enough to jot down her countenance. This may take a while.

Dear TNT,
Would there ever be a chance to put your profile on "private"? (Like, only Neofriends or nobody could see your profile?) I think this would come in handy for people like me, who have put a lot of time (and money) into their accounts and are incredibly afraid of getting their account scammed because scammers probably wouldn't want to scam an account they don't know anything about, right? Please remove my username. :) ~username removed

Unfortunately, it could also work the other way around, with scammers hiding their site profiles, which people often use to help them make a judgement call about a player when considering whether to trade or interact with them. To keep your account as safe as possible, please avoid cheat sites, sharing account information, or using the same password on different sites.

Hi there, TNT! First time writer, long time reader. It hadn't really bothered me before now, but I realized that, at the bottom of the page in the default site theme, there sometimes appears what looks like a relic 'pet whose species I can't quite pin down. The closest guess I came up with was maybe a Krawk, but the snout isn't quite like a Krawk's. In short, what is this mysterious Neopet's species? ~twibon
We're guessing you mean the Zombie Moltenore? The art is originally from a TCG card featuring this Petpet.


Grrrrr. Arrrgh.

**HAPPY THOUGHTS**

I must say, I LOVE the new Coal War Tactics game. I think I've found a new favorite. :) So, I wanted to thank whoever worked on it for creating it. ^___^ ~eevee0011

**NEBULOUS AREA BETWEEN WUT AND HAPPY THOUGHTS**

I dreamt I was a hotel and I ordered a smoothie. Guess what flavor it was? Chokato. ~cool_rabbit_35


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