NeoBoards

So you feel like you have gotten the hang of the basic every day neopian life? You have a small shop and things are running pretty smoothly. Perhaps you discovered a game that you like extra much. That's all good and well, but sometimes it's just great fun to chat with others and share your neopets experiences. Of course, you can do this by joining some Neo-Related forums such as ours, but by now you will have noticed the "Boards" button on the Neopets sidebar. This little tutorial is set to prepare you for the boards and it will tell you what you should do and what you'd better not. Be aware that some parts of this tutorial were already touched by Jen in her "Staying Safe" tutorial - this is just to remind you :).

Rules & Warnings
By going to the Neopian boards and posting there - thousands of other neopians will see your name. That means that they may be tempted to try and steal your account. Of course this is not allowed. Read the Staying Safe guide to prepare yourself.
Chain letters are also not allowed. Anything that tells you "post this # times" (it's usually all in caps and says its approved by the neopets team) is classified as a "chain letter" and not allowed. This could get your account frozen so beware!
People are generally very rude to newbies. You may experience being called a "n00b". That's a stupid, annoying, begging person who usually only has a very young account. In order to avoid being classed as a n00b, be polite (no need to over do it - just say thanks when someone helps you), never beg and keep the chatspeak down to a minimum. No one minds a quick "u" or if you don't capitalize your "I"s. However, when people have to re-read your post to understand it, they will be annoyed. Generally, chatspeak makes you seem like you're too dumb to type out "for" and that's not the impression you want to give. Other things to avoid are all caps posts, StIcKy CaPs, begging, whinging, etc. Basically the behavior we would expect from a 3 year old is not okay. Keep in mind that Neopets is not a dating service.

First Post
There is one more thing that symbolizes a n00b or newbie - the default yellow avatar. So before you venture into the boards, how about we change that avatar to something a little nicer? Go to Boards and then click on "Chat Preferences". Here you can change around all the settings for your chatting appearance. I advise searching though the avatar list until you find something cute (or maybe something hideous - whatever strikes your fancy). Set everything else the way you want it and then press Submit. Below is a basic font you could use:

[center][b][font s=2 c=green]neoHTML[/font][/b][/center]

There are many different fonts you could use and this applies to your neosignature as well, but the above is a very basic example that would differentiate you from a n00b.

So to post. First you need to find a board to post on. I wouldn't advise posting on the Newbie Board, even if that seems most obvious. Just as I flipped onto it these were the topics that jumped out "i got a pet chinchilla! His name is ted", "anyone no how to make sure parent s dont read past aol convos", "Beauty Tips" and "DoEs AnY1 H8 DeR nAmE??". And, of course, all the datiing ads. It's seriously the quickest way to get reported. It's a rule that you need to stay on topic. It's basically the spammiest/trashiest board around and really just very very unpleasent to go to. It's a bunch of teenagers wailing about their love life or evil people trying to scam you. Personally, I like the Help board or the Gallery board. Anything apart from Newbie is alright. I advise you go to the help boards first and read through everything.

By now maybe you developed some interest. Go into whichever board interests you. When posting, keep the chatspeak down & try to post reasonable questions. Don't ask for donations or break the Neopets Rules in any way. That's all you really need to keep in mind for a proper first impression. You can ask questions but "I need Help -- could someone please tell me how to trade items? Is that possible? I know its probally I dumb question but I just joined xD" will get a better reaction than "OMG HELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WNT 2 TRAD!111!!". You will get a better turn out if you're acting sane.

General Vocabulary
Below is a list of words that people often use on the boards but you might not understand and is embarrassed to ask the meaning of:

Other Stuff
That's it reallly. If you're nice to the others they will generally be nice to you. Chatspeak makes you seem stupid and people will be annoyed at you. Read the rules and pay attention to them. Ask proper questions and everything should be all righty. If you're still confused, post on the Neo-Reality Forums or drop me a neomail at Kathrin433, I'd love to hear from you.

~ Kathrin