Sceptic Tank with Nick Neopia

[Twillie]

A familiar face has rolled back into town, and he's got some big news to share!

Or, uh, less so news than what he calls "the truth." Apparently he and TNT parted ways a few years ago, and since then he's gone off the grid to uncover their nefarious plans. So what is this truth all about?

Uh... something about Illudora and cryptids and... mind control? Hm, maybe it's best to keep a skeptical mindset with all this Sceptic Tank stuff...

But be sure to give Nick Neopia a visit though if you'd like to hear some of what TNT has apparently been up to, as he may show his appreciation to those who listen well! Or, uh, maybe just anyone who will listen to him at all. And even if you don't stop by his office, it looks like he's plastered "the truth" all over the site for your viewing pleasure!

---

It looks like Jellyneo is also busy today in light of the new plot announcement! TNT is considering transforming one of the many petpets into the site's 56th Neopet species, so Jellyneo is hosting a bracket tournament to see which petpet we want to see transformed the most! Be sure to stop by to put your votes in; there will be multiple rounds throughout today with the winner will be announced by tonight NST time!

[Ian Wolf-Park]

I'm sure a lot of us can relate to Nick in terms of cynicism regarding the site, the theories, not so much. Definitely best to take those theories with a grain of salt

[Stephanie (swordlilly)]

Anyone else feel like this joke was done in poor taste? :/




These are site features that people want very badly and have been patiently advocating for. And now their legitimate concerns are just being plastered all over the site as ads, alongside "fake news" style ads?


EDIT: I figured out a way to block the joke ads. If you have UBlock Origin enabled, right-click on the space behind them and select Block element, then click "Create" in the box that pops up. On shop pages, there are two dividers, one called "AdLeft" and one called "AdRight." Blocking the individual images does nothing, but blocking the whole divider works.

On the inventory page, the name of the divider to block is "homepageAd."

[Lex]

I struggle to find sympathy for the UC people. TNT has made it clear they are actively working on it, even if its "only" happening in between other events (per their latest podcast). Its conceivable UCs might actually launch sometimes in the next year or two.

I have more sympathy for the BD crowd. TNT basically put them a shoebox and shoved them to the back of the closet. I highly doubt we'll ever seen any significant update to the dome. At this point saying stuff like "we haven't forgotten it, we prommy!!" and putting it on the roadmap just feels like unnecessary leading.

But ultimately, its a silly gag. I choose to laugh at myself for caring about either of them at this point lol

[Twillie]

I don't think it's supposed to be so deep that they're openly mocking people who care about those issues, and tbh first time I saw those gags I thought TNT was poking fun at themselves more than anything. Whether I'm right or wrong on that, though, this thread is mostly just so people can be made aware to collect their freebies and participate in Jellyneo's event if they're interested. This is just a day long event, so I'm not terribly interested in bringing to this thread debate or discussion on these site issues that already have plenty of conversation on the boards.

[Liou]

I'm really happy because Coaster *almost* called it =D

Dec 26, 2022 22:26:13 GMT -5 Coaster said:

- Nick Neopia is back!... Except he's now a grown-up businessman cringing at all the new skateboard stuff from Trudy's.

[Gelquie]

Finally, someone has come to tell us the truth!! In the only way people like us will find palatable!! Through questionable investigations and accusatory tones!! The best way to find the truth!!

I love what they're poking fun at here. xD As an actual scientist working in a field that a good segment of the US just does not understand and often refuses to, some of his lines hit very real to me, and it's nice to see those feelings vindicated.

(Alas, Nick Neopia. Pandemics and careless following of the youtube algorithm did not do well to him. But it's kind of funny to see the Radical Teen!! grow up into what's sadly too common. xD )

The theories are also fun to read! Heck, some of them might have a grain of truth to them.

And the ads are fun. xD I don't see any issue with the UC and Defenders ads; looks like they're self aware about the issues with site backlog and are poking fun at themselves for it. (The Defenders did disappear! Our heroes are gone! We're doomed!!)
My favorite ad is probably "Is tnt_stone actually just a rock?".

Also, on the Illusen-Jhudora theory:

SPOILER: Click to show

Heh, that reminds me of Nut's recent comic series on something similar. Inspiration? Shout-out? Coincidence? Regardless, that's fun. x3

Anyway, this is a fun joke that I can tell they put a lot of heart into. That's good. Heart is half the site, so I'm glad to see more of it.

[Breakingchains]

This one definitely got some laughs out of me. Somehow I feel like Nick would have sided with Xandra if only he'd been far enough down the conspiracy pipeline at the time.

I enjoy some of these weird swerves in character development, too (see also Topsi secretly having been an evil robot.)

EDIT:



Nick. No. Stop that. Put some back

[downrightdude]

There's also an exclusive avvie released today!

[Gelquie]

Ah yeah, good point on pointing out the avvie! All you have to do is visit the Sceptic Tank to get it.

There's also a background available if you click on all the conspiracy theories.

[June Scarlet]

Also, maybe try a nice game of Jordle?

www.jellyneo.net/jordle/

Remember there's a hint feature... and get your mind out of the gutter.