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Post by Blueysicle on Oct 13, 2021 20:26:39 GMT -5
Blueysicle That's such a wonderful part of going through ancient NT history, discovering the culture of the site and creative contests from back then! It really is wild looking at that stuff now and seeing what was controversial back then, and how users interacted with each other xD I haven't come across responses in comics as frequently as you have with articles, but that does remind me of one incident I uncovered. There was a Sheep of Doom comic that made light fun of Legolas from Lord of the Rings for its punchline, and then just a couple issues later, another user published a comic titled " In Response to Sheep of Doom" wherein Legolas himself defends his dignity and demand respect from Neopians xD I don't know how serious the comic creator actually was in defending Legolas, especially considering how the comic ends, but it's still very funny that they made it and got it published lol. What's also interesting is looking at Neopian Times culture on the forum from so many years ago. Earlier this year I combed through the Times Lobby board for old Review threads that had the release dates for New Neopian Times issues (which I have compiled on a google doc in case anyone else wants those dates), and in doing so I also came across interesting thread topics that ranged from milestone issue ideas to apprehension for the NT's fate after Josh stepped down as editor. Very cool to get a glimpse of that time through the eyes of those that were there!
Not only that, but it does take me off guard a little bit too coming across people talking about "Tatsus" and "Fuzios" and "Badeeks." It's one thing to go through something like the Book of Ages and read up about Neopets history that way, but certainly another when reading something that was written when that distant past was the author's present. "A glimpse of that through the eyes of those that were there," as you put it.
lol, that response comic does feel a little tongue-in-cheek, so I'm sure no ill feelings were intended. xD And the presence of a character from a totally different franchise is also something that's surprising to see in the NT, since it's so strict about keeping non-Neopia elements out in the present day. I also briefly noticed a part in one story where the owner character offers their pets a can of Coca-Cola, which the dialogue points out is the human-world version of Neo Cola. Looking back on these super-old issues also seems to show just how different the NT rules were back then too.
It's also pretty wild to think that the NTWF has been around just a few years shy of Neopets itself, for that matter. xD
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Post by RielCZ on Oct 15, 2021 2:28:44 GMT -5
I might just be totally out of the loop, but for how long has the Neopets site been HTTPS compliant?
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Post by CrimsonShroud on Oct 16, 2021 20:23:23 GMT -5
Blueysicle That's such a wonderful part of going through ancient NT history, discovering the culture of the site and creative contests from back then! It really is wild looking at that stuff now and seeing what was controversial back then, and how users interacted with each other xD I haven't come across responses in comics as frequently as you have with articles, but that does remind me of one incident I uncovered. There was a Sheep of Doom comic that made light fun of Legolas from Lord of the Rings for its punchline, and then just a couple issues later, another user published a comic titled " In Response to Sheep of Doom" wherein Legolas himself defends his dignity and demand respect from Neopians xD I don't know how serious the comic creator actually was in defending Legolas, especially considering how the comic ends, but it's still very funny that they made it and got it published lol. What's also interesting is looking at Neopian Times culture on the forum from so many years ago. Earlier this year I combed through the Times Lobby board for old Review threads that had the release dates for New Neopian Times issues (which I have compiled on a google doc in case anyone else wants those dates), and in doing so I also came across interesting thread topics that ranged from milestone issue ideas to apprehension for the NT's fate after Josh stepped down as editor. Very cool to get a glimpse of that time through the eyes of those that were there!
Not only that, but it does take me off guard a little bit too coming across people talking about "Tatsus" and "Fuzios" and "Badeeks." It's one thing to go through something like the Book of Ages and read up about Neopets history that way, but certainly another when reading something that was written when that distant past was the author's present. "A glimpse of that through the eyes of those that were there," as you put it.
lol, that response comic does feel a little tongue-in-cheek, so I'm sure no ill feelings were intended. xD And the presence of a character from a totally different franchise is also something that's surprising to see in the NT, since it's so strict about keeping non-Neopia elements out in the present day. I also briefly noticed a part in one story where the owner character offers their pets a can of Coca-Cola, which the dialogue points out is the human-world version of Neo Cola. Looking back on these super-old issues also seems to show just how different the NT rules were back then too.
It's also pretty wild to think that the NTWF has been around just a few years shy of Neopets itself, for that matter. xD
Indeed, it's quite interesting looking back on old Neopets and what was allowed and disallowed in the Ye-Olde Neopian Times, and even the site itself (I remember when Neopets was not afraid to get dark. I mean, has anyone re-read the Neopedia lately?).
Of course at around the mid to late 2000's the rules were a lot more set in stone at that point, especially for the NT. No cars or other vehicles, no phones, no references to real people or pop-culture (though that one does have a few exceptions), no Earth-based technology of any kind unless it were Virtupets-branded technology, etc.
Fast forward to now and it's pretty tough to tell how much of the old and newer rules for submissions are being enforced or rather, if they still matter at all. For as much as I remember cars and other non-Neopia based technology is still not allowed, but I've seen at least one recent story feature cars, which I was quite surprised went through, but at the same time with the new TNT being quite short-handed as of late, I can see how and why some of these are slipping through the cracks. We'll see where this goes down the line and whether, once they're able to laser-focus on the NT again, these rules will be enforced or revised.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Nov 1, 2021 1:29:23 GMT -5
Hey, does anyone else know dewdropzz? I just discovered their account was frozen! Does anyone know what happened to them?
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Post by Twillie on Nov 10, 2021 14:36:47 GMT -5
On a whim last night, I actually got to making seasonal customs for all my pets!
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Post by Allison on Nov 15, 2021 21:58:21 GMT -5
I must say, I kind of love how my pets (well, 5 of my 6) look with the birthday theme. Also, I had to laugh at my Candy Kougra's preview in the NC shop...
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Post by Twillie on Nov 22, 2021 20:58:05 GMT -5
I've been reading the old school Neopian Times issues that were recently recovered in the NT Archive thread, and in doing so came across interesting stuff in the issues that released during the discovery of Mystery Island and the Virtupets plot. It's really wild because it seems TNT used the NT as a way to announce these things back then, and might have written plot details there as well?
For example, Issue 17 has a huge header announcing Mystery Island's discovery, and it links to an article written by "Benjamin Chia." Curious to see if they were official or fan made, I found a character named Benjamin in the Book of Ages who's indeed a Chia and reporter involved in the Battledome plot, which came later. I want to believe this was an official TNT written article then, but a part of me feels the need to stay skeptical, as it can be difficult to tell what's fan made and not in these early issues lol. Not every user-made article has a credit, and those that are credited didn't always use official usernames. Issue 18 is similar in announcing the Virtupets plot, with another Benjamin Chia article detailing a spaceship crash. There's also a special link to a number of user-submitted pieces about the plot that are almost like roleplay? It's interesting, kind of similar to a themed issue, but it also leaves me questioning what's fanmade and what's official, if any of this xD
But yeah, just some interesting things I found while perusing the old issues. I started looking at them more thoroughly tonight in the hopes of estimating their release dates, and then I got caught up in the whole Virtupets saga haha.
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Post by Ryanruff13 on Jan 8, 2022 15:27:01 GMT -5
I know this seems like a weirdly small observation, but it's been hitting me and slightly blowing my mind (especially given how different the rest of their designs are) that Aishas and Chias have the most similar faces of all the Neopets.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Jan 8, 2022 17:52:37 GMT -5
I know this seems like a weirdly small observation, but it's been hitting me and slightly blowing my mind (especially given how different the rest of their designs are) that Aishas and Chias have the most similar faces of all the Neopets. Oh, is it because both have their eyes always closed? I'M KIDDING, I'M KIDDING!Though I never figured out why they decided to have the Chia keep their eyes closed. The Aisha, well, speaking of stereotypes... (now I can see why new Aisha characters they try to have their eyes open), but the Chia is just a jelly bean with legs and hair (they could star in the next Fall Guys/Among Us update and no one would notice).
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Post by Twillie on Jan 8, 2022 18:19:40 GMT -5
I'm not sure that the Aisha/Chia eye shape immediately equates to irl stereotypes, seeing as they're both creature designs with no inherent ties to any real world group or culture. Maybe if there were other features about either species that fed into said stereotypes, but as is I don't see why TNT would need to avoid the original eye shape, save for easier drawn character expressions. Not that I'm an expert of course, but I dunno I've just never heard of this brought up as a concern before.
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Post by Celestial on Jan 9, 2022 9:49:58 GMT -5
I genuinely do not see how those character designs could reflect IRL stereotypes. As Twillie said, nothing else about them suggests that, and Eyes Always Shut is a relatively common character design trait. In my opinion, anybody who complains about that is reaching.
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Post by Allison on Jan 28, 2022 20:56:19 GMT -5
As of two days ago, my oldest pet is old enough to drink (in the US). I'm really not quite sure what to do with that.
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Post by CrimsonShroud on Feb 5, 2022 3:27:20 GMT -5
Though I never figured out why they decided to have the Chia keep their eyes closed. The Aisha, well, speaking of stereotypes... (now I can see why new Aisha characters they try to have their eyes open), but the Chia is just a jelly bean with legs and hair (they could star in the next Fall Guys/Among Us update and no one would notice). What's interesting about that is apparently, in the upcoming Island Builders app, it's kinda revealed that Chias can open their eyes.
And not gonna lie, it looks a little odd:
Scratch that, it's actually a little disturbing...
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Post by Celestial on Feb 5, 2022 6:34:46 GMT -5
CrimsonShroud, I opened the spoiler and went "OH GOD." Clicked the video, thinking it might be less disturbing in motion when it is blinking. It's not. I fully support chias with no eyes, please.
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Post by CrimsonShroud on Feb 5, 2022 14:00:30 GMT -5
CrimsonShroud , I opened the spoiler and went "OH GOD." Clicked the video, thinking it might be less disturbing in motion when it is blinking. It's not. I fully support chias with no eyes, please.
Luckily, in the latest build, they "fixed" it and the Chia keeps her eyes closed the entire time. Interesting how the guy in the video says "we didn't have time to 'fix' it." as if it were somehow an animation error or something. Though, knowing how things work behind the scenes, someone back in pre-production must have asked, "I wonder what Chias would look like if they actually opened their eyes?" and apparently, everyone else in the room wondered the same thing. Thus, the aforementioned screenshot and clip.
On the trope of Eyes Always Shut, there is a saying that whenever said characters actually open their eyes...that's usually a sign that something is about to go down.
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