PC Archetypes

However, that isn't what this article's about; it's about the archetypes that exist on the PC. For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of 'archetypes', an archetype is a very typical example of a certain person, character or item, and in a person it frequently refers to a dominant character trait or disposition.

To the person who doesn't know a single thing about the PC - this is for you. To the weather-beaten PCer, this something written about you; it's time for a seasoned PCer to expose what the PC really is about.

The desperate trader

Many people fall into this archetype. The desperate trader is someone who's been trying to trade a pet for about 25 million years (that's an approximate figure), and has had nothing but under offers and/ or no offers at all. The desperation manifests itself in different ways:

i. The trader will put the pet UFA (up for adoption) because they just can't handle fruitlessly bumping another board

ii. The trader will make a "NO OFFERS AND I'M POUNDING" board, usually the title being fully capitalised, in a desperate last bid for offers.

iii. The trader will make an "omg why is no one offering is my pet really that horrible *sobs*" board, in hope of a similar result as (ii), but also in search of someone's cardigan to cry into.

The serial applicant

The serial applicant is usually always seen with an application for a pet, and since application processes take a rather long time to conclude, in many cases lasting months, it's no surprise that none of us are not in a short supply of pets to apply for.

The serial applicant will also be going through one of these three phases:

i. "omg, xxx just came UFA!"

ii. "phew, just finished my app for xxx!" and

iii. "SQUEE! I JUST GOT xxx!" OR "aw, I didn't get xxx. Cheer me up? :("

After stage three is over, the cycle will begin anew back to stage one. Notice that the last alternative in stage three is the much more common outcome. There's only one pet after all, right? :(

The betrayed foster/ applicant

These are usually hardened individuals who have become stoic and cynical after being double-crossed during the application process, either by a foster that has disappeared after months of postponement on adopting the pet out or by an applicant who has not kept their promises after adopting a pet.

Be wary! There's no wrath like the scorn of someone betrayed by the application process.

The re-re-re-re-hiatus taker

Someone who tries again and again to quit, but fails time and time again. Usually these people will be seen giving away all of their pets, due to reasons such as exams and other commitments. However, they will be back 2 to 12 months later, and the whole process will simply repeat itself in an endless spiral of despair! (no not really)

The lurker

"Here, up in this rare plant specimen, called the 'Lurker Tree', we see the even rarer creature that the tree is named after, the Lurker. Lurkers are very shy creatures, only posting once or twice on any board if something intrigues them, and cannot be coaxed out by anything other than natural conversation. Many a person will try to persuade the Lurker from showing itself by offering cookies, bacon or other snacked goods, but these are more often than not set out in vain.

There is also a creature that closely resembles the Lurker, named the pseudo-Lurker. It attempts to mimic the Lurker in its shyness and reserve, but fails when it posts 'kay sure I'm just gonna lurk', as a genuine Lurker will never tell the board that it is lurking."

- Nature notes by a PCer

The BCer

The BCer is also a multi-boarder (see below), but is included as a separate category due to their prevalence and how easily recognisable they are. They're advertisers for their Beauty Contest (BC) entries, and will be spotted posting on most boards with a BC link or two in their signature.

The BCer is most frequent in numbers when the Beauty Contest resets on a Friday; that is the time when they leave their caves to feed on the unsuspecting! (again, not really)

The app chatter (aka "when was the last time I did any work")

It's a little known fact that app chats (aka, applicants' chat) are actually a hinderance for applicants trying to actually do any work. These boards offer a supportive environment where applicants can procrastinate on their applications and sob into each other's cardigans because of their artist's/ writer's block. App Chats either flag really quickly, or get to the stage where there's about 20 people talking to each other, 8 conversations happening, and the board is moving at the lightning speed of 1 page per 2 minutes.

The multi-boarder (NC, BDC, AC)

There are plenty of multi-boarders, and many PCers are very frequently NCers, BDers or ACers. These three boards in particular are interlinked with the PC more so than the other boards.

AC: pet avatars; the AC/PCer will usually be seeking pets that give avatars, and are most frequently seeking the elusive Pea Chia.

BD: battledomer; the BD/PCer will usually be seen trading a 2000+HSD pet, and they - unsurprisingly - will know more about the battledome and battling than the average PCer does. Note: the BDer usually does not care about pet names, and will more often than not have an unbelievably high stat BD pet with a name along the lines of "booboo0194372" or "princess_sparkle_234".

NC: the customiser; the NC/PCer will frequently be seen with a NC tradelist/ wish list in their siggy and have their pets completely decked out in NeoCash items. They're also usually penniless in terms of Neopoints, since they concentrate their energies on customisation, and spend most of their NP on wearables.

Note: also usually seen with a White Kacheek.

The name picky

This encompasses a large portion of the PC; name pickiness is a very common attitude in pet trading today. For a very logical reason, too - names are the one thing about a pet that you cannot change. Names are also the one thing that makes a pet unique, and can make or break a trade.

Anyone saying that name's aren't important is either trading in the high UC tiers or probably a BDer...

The species hoarder

Not as numerous as they used to be, the species hoarder is a fairly simple concept: their accounts are entirely or mostly populated by a single species. During the earlier days, it was frequently Lupes, because what other species would be better to role-play vampire-werewolf hybrid academy with?

The penniless artist

Because the status of an artist is only justified by being destitute. Van Gogh wasn't appreciated or understood by the mass public until it was too late, and it's the same for you.

"If you're penniless, why don't you enter the Art Gallery? They give pretty good priz-"

"TELL THAT TO VAN GOGH."

"Omg I just realised your art is really good, can I get an art trad-"

"TOO LATE."

etc.

The old timer

Someone with a 150+ month old account, accompanied by an rare obsolete avatar, the old timer usually visits boards and say "have Draiks deflated this much? I remember they could get UCs back in the day..." or "is that what Krawks go for now? I must be really out of touch with trading". Most of the time, you will see their comments qualified with the phrase "in my time..." or "back in the day...", creating the idea that they've been painted Elderly and are sitting in a rocking chair, knitting you a 5 armed jumper.

"In my day, Elderly didn't exist as a colou-" Okay that's enough.

The purge stalker

While the the purge sounds like the name of a bad science-fiction B-movie where Meepits purge all Neopets and take over Neopia, that's not what it is. While the purge is inactive now, it was in full swing not so long ago, and it was an event that deleted old, inactive accounts along with the pets on those accounts, meaning that a lot of very common names and words were once again createable.

The purge stalker has an account or accounts filled with very common RN/RW (Real Names/ Real Words), and is frequently seen chatting no the purge boards, which still exist in order to be ready for another purge.

Notice that purge stalkers will very frequently have an account that is a common real name or word as well. *shifty eyes*

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This concludes my study on the main PC archetypes. Of course, in reality many of us are more than one of these stereotypes, but ultimately one trait overrides the rest, and we all become a parody of ourselves.

As for myself... well, it's up to you to decide, after reading all of those archetypes.

Author's note: This is a satirical piece. Anyone who's offended by this article should be aware of this.