Guilds

[Siniri]

Up until I joined PPT, I've maintained a very low profile on Neopets -- playing games, buying stock, slowly accumulating NP (not really saving for anything specific; I just like to see how much I can save -- I wish I could save in real life as quickly). Even now that I've been active on PPT, I still don't have any neofriends other than my older nephew (the younger one being too young to have NF's). I never read the NT, rarely posted on the neoboards, and as for guilds...

I tried to join a booklovers guild when I first started, but it got disbanded or something. No one ever posted, and I never really understood the point of guilds. But now I have experienced a recent surge in exposure on Neopets, having won the random contest. I've been getting several neomails a day about my submission, and also a guild invitation (which I'm assuming is related given my previous nearly-invisible profile).

I'm not sure I should list the name of the guild, but I guess I'm wondering what's the point? What do guilds really do? This guild is dedicated to making its members "rich and knowledgeable." But it seems kind of like a pyramid scheme to me -- give to the guild, and you get promoted up the guild ladder...

[Pink]

hmmm...in my opinion, a guild's purpose is to connect you with other users who have a common interest. You chat on the message board, go to the guild website, participate in contests and roleplays and such. It's all a matter of deciding which one you want to join.

[Asparagus Queen]

I joined a guild almost 4 years ago, because I wanted to learn more about stocks. I now have a bunch of friends that I hang out with in RL, chat on the phone, and other RL non neopets stuff. I originally stayed in the guild because I had a lot of fun chatting on the message board. Now I stay because I have friends there that I love to hang out with. Nps/contests/competitions/rank don't matter in the guild, because we help each other and have fun hanging out. that's why I'm in a guild anyway.

[Cranberry]

I joined Phoenix Warlords, one of the top BD guilds, a while ago because I wanted people to practice 2-player fighting with, and I also thought it would be nice to be part of a battledoming community. So far it's been okay... everyone is nice... but they seem more 1-player focused and the board is also so busy that it's hard to break in and become friendly with people. I don't know if I'm really the guild type, anyway; I'm not into the fundraisers and contests and stuff. I prefer normal messageboards like this one and IDB. But I can see why a lot of the members really love the guild.

[Siniri]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. So how do you find a guild with a common interest? That's why I tried to enter the booklovers guild, but it didn't pan out... I also briefly looked at the "Random Acts of Kindness" guild, but it seemed to be inactive.

[Asparagus Queen]

I wasn't looking for one. They found me. I was asking about stock help on the boards, and someone was really nice to me and gave me good advice, and told me about this guild that could help me more.

[Eternal8627]

Anyone have a guild that theyd recomand? Im currently in search of one..

[lothwe]

I make guilds for a living. Hehe

Where do I begin? I don't have time to type a huge explanation now, but pretty soon I'm making a site all about neopets guilds, that will explain everything.

I'll give you the basic idea; You join, you chat, you make friends, you become popular. Kinda like the AC, but more interactive/easier to become popular/more friendly.

They are something to live for, trust me! It's ALL I do on Neopets. Own guilds. Join guilds. Own more guilds (well, I've only ever owned 6, but they always get big (150+) so I don't start new ones that often).

EDIT: Shameless plug...

<img src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i209/waysideguild/buttons/03.gif" border="0">

If you want an introduction to guilds, this is mine & brand new...I am willing to help you out in getting the hang of what they are all about if you tell me you are from PPT if you join! ^^

EDIT: Fixed my link

Last edited by lothwe on Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Kess]

I was guildless for two years. I joined an avatar guild for about 6 months. I wasn't contributing much to the guild and there had been a lot of freezings and items stolen. I quit, and was guildless for another year after that.

Recently, like Cranberry, I joined Battler's Pride, mainly to get BD practice, although honestly I haven't had much time for it lately. I fight a lot more 2-player matches with Felonoius (my jetsam) from people wanting the avatar than serious battledoem matches. I think they have wars with the PW but they're mainly 1-player points wars.

The forum in my guild is too active for me to keep up with, so I mainly just stop by the front page and guild website to check in on things.

Goofyspouse started a book lovers (neopian books, not real books) guild that is very active called SpankaroonieTwo's Book World. They're a large and very active guild.

Tydans' Neopian Times Appreciation Guild is very active and a lot of NT writers and artists belong to that.

You can ask around on the chat boards, but personally I think that's asking for trouble. You're likely to end up scammed or in someone's idea of a pyramid scheme.

[Asparagus Queen]

If you're looking for a stock guild, http://www.neopets.com/guilds/guild.phtml?id=507904 SBG is awesome. It's my home.

[Morningstar]

To answer your first question about why people belong to guilds. Well, I found that Neo can be quite an isolating game. You play next to people, but you have such limited contact that you never really get to know any of them. Sort of like driving down an expressway, where you see people in other cars, but you are all alone in yours. You know that there is humanity out there, but don't really have any close contact with them. I joined an adult guild two years ago, just so I could have contact with other people, also adults, who were as addicted as I was to the game. And the friends that I made in that guild are the only thing that have kept me playing the game. Many of us since moved to a new guild that I now own (I didn't ask to create it, but it was sort of dropped into my lap). And, we gathered a few friends along the way, even some here from PPT.

And those of us in the guild have gotten to know those people who have shared a bit of themselves with the group--not just their neo lives, but the names of their kids, and the fact that they are moving, or just lost their job, or their house got totalled in the hurricane. And, if you are lucky and stumble upon just the right people in just the right guild (like I did), you start to consider them to be friends. And people start opening up a bit more. Sharing things that they might not tell just anyone. Like about miscarriages, or upcoming divorce, or problems with dealing with their teenage kid. And you wake up wanting to talk to them, to see how their doctor's visit went, or if their baby is feeling better. Some of them I have started to talk to on the phone. One even became a very close friend and we end up talking all of the time and are making plans to visit if a vacation ever rolls around. I know to an outsider it seems like I am a nut. How can a person have friends that they can't see or hear? But, you can. And they can touch your heart. Cheer you up when no one else seems able to. Listen. Offer advice. They are real people with real stories and real lives, just like a person you would meet in the real world. It is sort of like the internet is this whole new form of society and social "rules" about how to act haven't yet caught up yet. And, yes, our guild has the standard perqs--the "activities," the members of the month, pet of the week, a wish gallery loaded with fun items that we pass out to active people once a month, but, to me that is the gravy. The guild board and the sharing of our lives is what makes my guild so successful. And I don't know. Maybe it is an adult thing? Because so many of us are so busy in our own lives that we don't have time to make friends the old-fashioned way anymore or lost touch with them when we moved, had kids, changed jobs.

Now, your second question. I found my guild by seeing a banner in someone's shop. And I took a chance. Most of the new people who have joined my guild came because they buy neggs from me all of the time, so they sort of got to know me. You can also hang out on the boards, particularly the specialty boards, like the plot board or premium board, to see what people are posting. Or ask here on PPT on Bill. Mention your interests and see what kind of response you get.

[Asparagus Queen]

And the friends that I made in that guild are the only thing that have kept me playing the game.

*nods* I'm sure without the fellow adult RL friends I've made, I wouldn't still be playing neopets 5 years later. I agree that it's more fun to play with friends around.

[Daze]

Being in a guild is just like coming into PPT and making boards on a subject or responding to other boards - IE - interacting.

Straight and simple, you join a guild to interact with like minded people.

You can join a guild that matches your neo preference - fighting in the battledome, searching for the MP or doing the LC (makes it much easier when you hunt together), or avatar collecting (guild joins together to buy avtar items, then lends them out).

My first guild (which I outgrew) was to paint pets and re-adopt them.

Or you can join a guild that corresponds to outside Neo interests.

My guild is for mature people on Neo (a private and quite small guild). Most of us have children and busy outside Neo lives. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries etc.

We have become friends and share photos, recipes, etc on an outside forum.

Our guild was formed when we had the same group of people meeting on the boards.

Joining an already formed guild can be challenging and may take awhile to "fit in".

You could create your own guild and invite people in.

[kimiko_00]

Like most, I didn't see much of a point in guilds for months. During the Lost Desert Plot (LDP), someone started the OLDPD (obsessive LDP disorder) boards, which kept on going and going. The people who hung out there often got to know each other and found they often had the same attitudes to things in Neopia. Near the end of the plot, we wanted to keep in touch in case OLDPD ended. In a few days my neofriends list grew enormously. Then someone started a guild (OPD, obsessive plot disorder). At first it was small, but over the next few months more and more OLDPD regulars and oldtimers joined. Some joined on a secondary account, then switched guilds. Not all OLDPDers are in OPD, and officially they're not connected. I joined a few months after the guild was created, just to see what it was like to be in a guild, and because I already knew many of the members. it turned out to be a lot of fun, with many activities (puzzles, informational postings, silly floodings with items). In a short time I became one of the most active members of the guild, and still am. OLDPD is still going strong after two plots, but OPD is now a real guild, not just an extension of OLDPD.

A guild is a place for friends or like-minded people to hang out together without being disturbed by others on the neoboards. Activities can liven things up, but it's mostly about getting closer to other Neopians.

[Siniri]

Thanks again to everyone for their advice on guilds. For right now, I think I'll just stay solo -- I'm moving soon and will not be able to do much with Neopets for a while. And I'll definitely stay away from the pyramid-scheme guilds. But the stock guild sounds great -- I've been dabbling in stocks for a while, but I'd like to do more there. So maybe I'll see you there in a month or two, Asparagus Queen. Thanks for the suggestion.