A Guide to Random Acts of Kindness in Neopia

     For this very special 1000th issue of the Neopian Times, the best way I could think to celebrate was to write an article that listed the many different ways that we can continue to be kind to each other throughout Neopia. What better way than through random acts of kindness?!

     Here are some examples of how you can spread random acts of kindness throughout Neopia:

     1. Answer questions on the Help Neoboard.

     The simplest and most obvious way to spread kindness on Neopets is to help someone. On the Help Neoboard, users can ask questions that range from a simple, “How do I feed my Pets?” to the more complicated, “Can someone PLEASE explain Food Club to me?? I DON’T GET IT!” Most of us only click on the Help board when we need to ask our own questions, but next time you have five minutes to spare, you should try answering someone else’s question! As a bonus for lurking on the Help board, you’ll usually end up learning something new yourself, which makes it a win/win.

     2. Give someone a free “good luck” bump on their Neoboard post.

     This is probably the easiest one on this list! On any of the boards where people are trading items or Pets, post on their board wishing them good luck. By doing this, you also bump their board to the top of the list, which helps their post get seen by more people. I usually say something like, “Free good luck bump!!” It’s a small gesture, but it’s always appreciated!

     3. Give another user a compliment.

     I usually pair this with #2, since I’m already posting on someone’s board anyway. You can compliment their username, a hilarious customization they’ve given one of their Pets, their Neoboard font… anything that catches your eye. Trust me, after someone has spent months seeking the specific item they finished customizing their Krawk with, they’ll be so happy that someone noticed!

     4. Surprise someone with a random present.

     This is one of my favourite things to do, but sometimes you have to wait until the perfect opportunity presents itself… no pun intended! If you see someone post their wishlist on the NC Trading board and one of their wishlist items is something you have but never use, maybe you could surprise them with it! Or maybe next time you’re lurking on the Help board and you see a new user ask how to change their Pet’s colour, you could send them a Cloud Paint Brush just because. A really fun way to surprise someone with a random present is to overoffer on an item in the Trading Post — like offering a Codestone on someone’s Half Eaten Glowing Jelly. Depending on how many Neopoints you have, a random present can be cheap or expensive, but the main point of doing it is to be thoughtful and put a smile on someone’s face.

     5. Adopt a Pet from the Pound, morph and/or paint the Pet, and then send it back to the Pound for someone else to adopt.

     Nothing is sadder than seeing a Red JubJub in the Pound named coolguy_____683626 because deep down, you know that he’s probably going to stay there forever. Except… he doesn’t have to! A really fun way to spend a few Neopoints is to paint or morph an unfortunate Pet in the Pound and send it back. Usually, within a few minutes, you’ll find that someone has adopted them. It feels great knowing that coolguy_____683626 finally has a home and that you were able to help someone else out.

          6. Help someone with a Faerie Quest.

     On the Quests Neoboard, people can post an item that a faerie has tasked them to find. Since they don’t have access to the Shop Wizard when they are on a Faerie Quest, other users can use their Shop Wizard to help that person complete the quest simply by searching for the item and posting a link to the cheapest shop they can find.

          7. Vote in the Beauty Contest.

     If you’re not the type of person to enter your Pets into the Beauty Contest, you might not even think about it at all from week to week. Why not head over there and cast some votes? Less popular Neopet species tend to have fewer weekly entries and fewer votes overall, so I like to filter the entries by species so I can make sure to cast votes for the Pets that don’t get as much love. What, you think a Skeith can’t win a beauty competition?! Think again!!

     8. Help someone with their Tutorial quest items.

     Now that Neopets has introduced the Daily Quest log, you might have noticed that there are also Tutorial quests that you can complete. Some of the quest items include adding three Neofriends, sending a Neomail, or painting your Pet at the Rainbow Pool. These things can be difficult to achieve if you’re new or don’t know anyone on the site. There isn’t a designated Neoboard for the Daily Quest log, but whenever I poke around the boards I do see people asking for Neofriends to help them complete their quests. Keep an eye out for these boards and help whenever you can.

     9. Use your Secret Laboratory Ray for a good deed.

     If you’ve been on Neopets for as long as I have, you might find yourself in a situation where you’ve achieved all of your dream Pets. Until they come out with a new paint colour that you’re dying to have, what is the point of even using the Lab Ray anymore? Not everyone on Neopets has access to the Secret Lab, and even those who do, don’t always get the luckiest zaps, so one great thing you can do with your Secret Lab is to zap Pets with the intention of giving them away. There are even groups and Guilds that post on the Pet Trading board that are dedicated to this exact purpose! Create a Pet, zap until you get a nice or interesting colour, and then see if you can find someone to adopt that Pet out to (you could also send the Pet to the Pound if you want, but it’s always better if you can find someone who really wants that specific colour). It’s fun to grant someone else’s dream Pet, and it makes your daily zaps way more exciting.

     10. Donate Neopoints to the Money Tree.

     When you click on an item in your inventory, you can select Donate Item and it will either go to the Money Tree or the Second Hand Shoppe, depending on if it’s wearable or not. Anyone can then click on that item and take it for free. If you’re feeling generous, you can donate a higher-value item to the Money Tree as a random act of kindness, but it’s not necessarily guaranteed to go to someone who needs it (it’s still a nice thing to do, of course). When you donate Neopoints, however, you can be sure that it’s going to someone who can use it. Only users with less than 20,000 Neopoints can take Neopoints from the Money Tree. If you have some to spare, donate ‘em!

          There you have it! These are just a few of the many ways that we can spread random acts of kindness all throughout Neopia. Just remember that every time you interact with another Neopets user, there is a real person on the other side of that screen. Continue to be kind to each other, and Neopets will continue to be the great place it always has been!