Um...Posts?
When you first visit the NeoBoards or join a guild and post a message, you will notice that the posts are displayed differently (in different fonts, sizes, colors, and arrangement) and are accompanied by an image called an avatar. How do you change these details to add creativity to your account? Well, this guide is here to help you. By reading this page you will learn the tricks to choosing avatars and NeoSignatures that will impress other users, how to edit your siggie, and different tricks you can use to be creative.
Wait- What’s All That Terminology?
If you don’t understand what some of the words mentioned in the above paragraph mean, keep reading. It’s important to understand what everyone is talking about on the NeoBoards.
- Avatar: a small image displayed with your post, username, account age, gender, and NeoTitle. There are three kinds of avatars: standard, easy, and secret.
- NeoTitle: a word or phrase displayed under your username next to your posts. NeoTitles are present in a dropdown list on the NeoBoards Preferences page.
- Siggie: words, images, or phrases that you can edit to reflect your personality or advertise a petpage, guild, gallery, or shop. The siggies show up underneath your post but you can change it to put it above with some clever coding.
- Siggie Line: a dotted line that divides your siggie from your post but can be removed with simple brackets.
A is for Avatar
As I already stated, there are three types of avatars. Standard avatars are not counted on your userlookup. Every Neopets account comes with them, so choosing a standard avatar to display is not a good idea (unless you want to look like a newbie or n00b). There are currently sixty-one standard avatars. One is the default yellow avatar, a second is a Christmas Rock, six are Faeries, and the rest are Neopets. Standard avatars are okay, but if you can unlock some other ones then you can improve what other users think of you.
Easy avatars are called "easy" for a reason- they are extremely easy to find. Examples of an easy avatar would be the ones you get for going to a certain pet’s userlookup or searching certain words in the search box. You can easily get about one hundred easy avatars. If you use one, other users will know that you’re an experienced Neopets member but overall these avatars aren’t too great.
Secret avatars range from easy to hard to get. Most of these avatars involve owning certain pets, petpets, or items. The most sought after secret avatar is the Packrat, in which you need to collect one thousand different items in your safety deposit box. All of these avatars involve some amount of spending, whether it is buying an item or even a paintbrush! Secret avatars are the best to use because other users will think that you are wise and a Neopets master. They inspire admiration and also tend to look better than easy or standard avatars.
Avatars are called secret for another reason: only the user who collected them knows which ones he/she has. Other viewers can see the amount of avatars you’ve collected, but they only know what your current avatar is. Most users put three avatars on the userlookup that show their current, newest, and favorite avatar. This is mainly to allow other people to see their collection. I have, however, seen several petpages covered in a user’s avatar collection. It’s actually fun to look at all the avatars a person has and be able to say "I have one that they don’t!"
NeoSignatures
We already know what NeoSignatures (commonly called siggies or siggys) are, so let’s get over how to change them. When you visit the Neopets site, put your cursor over the Boards title. Click on "Preferences" so that your site path is Boards >> Preferences. This is the page where you can change your avatar, NeoTitle, and NeoSignature.
When changing your siggie, remember to keep the colors corresponding with your avatar. There is nothing more annoying than a non-matching siggie. If you can’t choose good color combos, you might want to visit a site that has siggie designs for you to use.
You also need to make sure that the font you are using is easy to read. If the font is too small, enlarge it. Small fonts might look "pretty" or "organized", but they can hurt peoples’ eyes. For example, my font is Calibri and is size 2.
When you are coding your siggie, make sure to look at both boxes. One box is designed for text to appear above your post while the second box is designed for text to appear below your post (this is technically the siggie box.) To get rid of that annoying siggie line, put [ at the end of the first box and ] at the beginning of the second. All of the siggie coding is based on brackets. Anything inside brackets with coding will not be displayed. Remember that you have a limited amount of characters per box, so try to keep the coding short.
Lots of people like to use their siggies as advertising space for their shop or guild. Others like to keep counters for their goals. Most users use their siggies to make witty comments that describe their personality. My siggie, for example, is "Saph By Nature. You’ve Gotta Get Over My Nature." It’s not really witty but describes who I am and what I stand for- getting rid of judgment.
Afterthoughts
By now you probably know enough to start decorating your own posts. Remember that if you are a member of a guild, you might want to make sure that your colors do not clash with the guild layout or are hard to read because of contrast. I hope this guide has helped you out!
Original Guide By Shalane edited by Anne