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Post by Twillie on Dec 17, 2021 2:43:00 GMT -5
I'm a fan of Neopian Times history, not only looking back at what we know, but also finding its missing pieces and analyzing it. Especially because of the Neopian Times Archive thread and its conversations, I've been motivated recently to better organize this history, and I figured why not consolidate some of what I have here and share it for others to check out. Perhaps it'll be useful, or at the very least it could be interesting for those fascinated by this stuff like me!
Some of this information I've found on the site or fansites like Jellyneo, and a large chunk I also found by browsing the threads on this forum. If you'd prefer I put my sources for each date or piece of information, I'd be willing to find them again and link them. Also, as this has so far been the efforts of just me, if you see any incorrect information do feel free to tell me and I'll correct it!
NT Editors Mr. Shankly
- January 25, 2000- January 25, 2003
- Old School 1- Issue 76
Snowflake
- February 2, 2003- June 17, 2005
- Issue 76- Issue 195
Droplet
- June 25, 2005- June 5, 2015
- Issue 196- Issue 684
Country Queen - June 12, 2015- April 7, 2017
- Issue 685- Issue 776
Scrappy - April 24, 2017- September 22, 2017
- Issue 777- Issue 798
Scrappy and Jade - September 29, 2017- March 15, 2019*
- Issue 799- Issue 859*
Jade - March 15, 2019- April 10, 2020
- Issue 859- Issue 897
Aesop - April 17, 2020- January 25, 2022
- Issue 898- Issue 951
Aesop and Mx. Macabre - January 25, 2022-?
- Issue 952-?
Mx. Macabre
- ?- September 23, 2022
- ?- Issue 969
Stone - October 7, 2022- Present
- Issue 970- Present
Goldfish - March 1, 2023- Present
- Issue 978- Present
Adler- July 28, 2023- Present
- Issue 988- Present
*While NT Editors historically have received help from other staff members, Scrappy and Jade had a unique working relationship co-editing the Times, with Jade as Scrappy's apprentice. It is unknown when Scrappy stepped away, so the end date provided instead marks when Jade confirmed that she was solo Editor after being asked in the Editorial. NT Issue Release Dates For all of the NT issues that don't show their original release date, i.e. most issues before 150, I've created a google doc to find and compile them.
For confirmed dates, I went through review threads on this forum and found the timestamps of their issue release announcements. For estimated dates, I took the date of the last confirmed release before a gap and assigned an issue for each Friday after it until I hit the next confirmed date. There are a few Old School issues that aren't listed as I don't feel confident guessing their dates, seeing as NT issue releases were much less consistent in the first couple years. For some I've estimated dates based on the content in the issues themselves, but some are harder to pinpoint than others. If you'd like to try and help figure out release dates, confirmed or estimated, based on issue content, I've also compiled all of the recovered Old School NT issues into one doc: |
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Post by Twillie on Dec 17, 2021 2:52:36 GMT -5
This idea is less fleshed out, as I only started working on it in the past week or two. For this timeline, I don't have a hard definition of what is considered "notable," but the idea is to track the basic evolution of the Neopian Times and its impacts on the site throughout the years, including some information already mentioned (like Editor eras) and some events that may not fit elsewhere (like avatar release dates).
Do feel free to suggest anything you feel is worth adding here, and I can edit it in with the appropriate date and description. I've made a skeleton timeline so far with just a few notable events:
Notable NT Events2000 - January 25: The first ever Neopian Times is released
- June: The first Editorial is released (Old School Issue 13)
2001- May 11: The Comics section is added
- August 10: Switch to the "New Neopian Times" format
2002 - December 10: Chet Flash is born
2003 - January 25: Josh (Mr. Shankly) steps down as Editor
- February 2: Felicia (Snowflake) releases her first NT as Editor
- October 22: The White Weewoo is made an official item
2004 - July 23: Switch to the modern NT format, release of the Neopian Times Star avatar
2005 - January 20: Droplet introduces herself to the NTWF
- April 1: April Fools' Day- The Comics section is being removed (Issue 184)
- June 14- 17: Snowflake announces her retirement and steps down as Editor
- June 25: Droplet releases her first issue as Editor
- July 26: Release of the Neopian Times Writer avatar
2007 - March 30: April Fools' Day- Faerie Wars (Issue 285)
2008 - March 28: April Fools' Day- NeoSchool Opens (Issue 336)
- September 5-26: Mini User Collab- The Wanderers (Issues 358-361)
2009 - March 27: April Fools' Day- Goldrun (Issue 385)
- October 2-30: Mini User Collab- Scars (Issues 412-416)
2010 - April 2: April Fools' Day- Moustaches (Issue 437)
- May 7-28: Mini User Collab- Memories of the PPL (Issue 442-445)
2011 - April 1: April Fools' Day- Lutari Island Opens! (Issue 448)
- September 30: Mini User Collab- Thieves Guild (Issue 514)
2012 - March 30: April Fools' Day- NeoQuest III (Issue 538)
2013 - March 29: April Fools' Day- Grandma Boochi (Issue 588)
- December 6: Just a Couple of Writers Mini Collab- Crash of Faerieland Anniversary (Issue 623)
2014 - February 28: User Collab #1- Ode to Villains (Issue 634)
- March 28: April Fools' Day- The Oracle Games (Issue 638)
- July 18: User Collab #2- Everyone Needs a Hero (Issue 654)
- November 7: User Collab #3- Brightvale University (Issue 668)
2015 - January 16: User Collab #4- Wibbley-Wobbley Timey-Wimey Stuff (Issue 676)
- June 5: Droplet releases her last issue as Editor
- June 12: Country Queen releases her first issue as Editor
2016 - January 15: User Collab #5- Conspiracies and Mysteries (Issue 715)
- April 1: April Fools' Day- Wraithland (Issue 726)
- June 24: User Collab #6- Dreams and Nightmares (Issue 738)
- October 7: User Collab #7- Ghosts and Monsters (Issue 752)
2017 - March 10: User Collab #8- Royalty and Leaders (Issue 772)
- March 31: April Fools' Day- Defenders Series 3 (Issue 775)
- April 7: Country Queen steps down as Editor
- April 14: Mini User Collab- Lucky #7 (Issue 777)
- April 24: Scrappy releases her first issue as Editor
- August 18: User Collab #9- In the Sky (Issue 794)
- September 29: Jade becomes Scrappy's apprentice
2018 - March 16: User Collab #10- Celebrations and Reunions (Issue 819)
- August 17: User Collab #11- Magic and Curses (Issue 837)
2019 - February 22: User Collab #12- Sidekicks (Issue 857)
- March 15: Jade confirms in the Editorial that she is solo Editor
- March 29: April Fools' Day- The Coconut (The Onion parody) (Issue 861)
- August 16: User Collab #13- Folklore and Legends (Issue 875)
2020 - March 20: User Collab #14- Neovian Gothic (Issue 895)
- March 27: April Fools' Day- Queen Fyora Abdicates (Issue 896)
- April 10: Jade steps down as Editor
- April 17: Aesop releases his first issue as Editor
- June 26: User Collab #15- Neopian Literature (Issue 905)
- October 2: User Collab #16- The Cosmic (Issue 915)
2021 - January 29: User Collab #17- Performing Arts (Issue 926)
- April 2: April Fools' Day- Chet Flash Wuz Here (RIP Flash) (Issue 932)
- July 16: User Collab #18- The Surreal (Issue 940)
- July 24: The Neopian Times schedule changes to biweekly releases
2022 - January 22: User Collab #19- Pirates Vs Ninjas (Issue 952)
- January 25: Mx. Macabre introduces themself on the Writers Neoboards for the first time
- April 1: April Fools' Day- Every Holiday at Once (Issue 957)
- July 29: User Collab #20- Meridell vs Darigan: 20 Years Later (Champions of Meridell 20th Anniversary) (Issue 965)
- October 7: Stone releases their first issue as solo Editor
2023- February 10: User Collab #21- The Sea (Issue 976)
- March 1: Aesop mentions assistant TNT Goldfish for the first time in Nosy Neopians Episode 2
- July 28: TNT Adler makes their first NT Editorial appearance (Issue 988) and is introduced on the neoboards a few days later
- August 25: User Collab #22- The Underground (Issue 990)
2024 - January 26: Issue 1000 Publishes!
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Dec 17, 2021 16:07:33 GMT -5
Hmm, I'm not sure if we should include the anniversary issues (ie 00/50). It may be recent, but we should also include when the NT switched to bi-weekly issues.
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Post by Twillie on Dec 17, 2021 17:36:53 GMT -5
Thanks, I went ahead and added that! Agreed as well that anniversary issue dates probably aren't necessary to add to this specific timeline.
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Post by June Scarlet on Dec 19, 2021 20:31:28 GMT -5
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Post by Twillie on Dec 19, 2021 21:13:03 GMT -5
I think user collabs are a good fit for this timeline, added those as well!
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Post by Twillie on Feb 3, 2022 0:57:39 GMT -5
With this year's April Fools' theme being discussed and voted on right now, it inspired me to look back on and record all the past thematic April Fools' issues for the timeline~
I perused the threads here that helped plan these organized prank issues, as well as combed through the NT's archive. The years that I didn't find a theme for, or are confirmed not to have one, I found to be 2000-2004, 2006, 2015, and 2018, however I may have missed some, so feel free to correct if so!
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Post by Twillie on Jan 28, 2024 20:28:59 GMT -5
Gave these timelines another update in light of the Issue 1000 milestone! My Editor timeline is officially a mess now that it's so hard to tell who's working on the NT and for how long these days, so my apologies for that rip.
If there's anything in either timeline you think I should add, feel free to let me know!
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