Posting err, yeah, that would be good. I’ve spent a lot of time in the last two weeks goofing around in either Slashdot and Neopets. (And SecondLife- but that deserves a separate post.)
Our Slashdot presentation is today. I ended up reading quite a few articles and spending time on the boards and in the FAQ sections trying to get a feel for the community. Although I have never commented on Slashdot, I plan on still checking in on the discussions from time to time. I am interested in technology but I’m not sure that I have enough expertise to add to the conversation yet. I guess I will be a peripheral participant for a while before I attempt to join in the fray.
In Neopets I have been trying to learn more about the community outside the halls of my guild. There are many discussion boards that are available and groups that form using the discussion board. Recently I have been spending time on the premium boards. I started doing this to look for some pets for an alias account. There are a number of people that make a habit of adopting unwanted pets in the attempt to change their color and make them more desirable. For example, since I have the labray, I adopted a blue shoyru from the pound and ended up with an island kacheek. I then put her up for adoption and one of my guild mates who dreamed of owning an island kacheek ended up adopting her from me. Only basic colors (red, green, blue, yellow) can be created – every other color can only be earned by purchasing the very expensive lab ray (unlimited uses but you have no control), by buying an expensive paintbrush that is one use or by doing a fountain faerie quest (a random event I have never received) to get the color.
I have been looking for a biscuit chomby on the boards. It ends up there are a number of adoption related boards – some are the no chat variety while others advertise particular pets and want you to chat with them if you want to adopt. The no chat pounding boards are much like wanted or job ads. A person posts if they are pounding or looking and what type and color of pet it is. Agencies will also be advertised where a group of people who have pets up for adoption will list all the pets on one webpage. The individual pet(s) boards will only be offering a pet or two owned by the same person. You might see Ghost Lupe and Starry Xweetok UFA. People will post to the board which pet they are interested in and will stick around to chat and find out what the requirements are. Some people require applications, petpages (a website explaining why you should get the pet), or have requirements that the pet go on main account, not be labbed, or be on an account of a certain age. Sometimes the requirements are extensive wanting pictures, role playing, and a petpage – it is so ridiculous that a group has formed named STIR (Stop The Insane Rules). Others times you can adopt with just a simple neomail answering some basic questions. I have adopted a fire chomby and a mallow grundo without spending more than a few minutes of time.
There appears to be a community that has formed around the placement of unwanted pets. The same people post pets on the no chat boards and adopt more pets to put UFA. Many of these people keep records on pets they have adopted out and check up on them. They expect you to contact them before repounding the pet or giving them away because many will adopt him/her back from you. People that disobey these “rules” can get themselves put on lists that no one will adopt to them in the future. It is clear that this community believes they are providing a service to the Neopian community at large.
No comments:
Post a Comment