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Have you found yourself questioning why Whyville just isn't as fun as
it was in the past? Well, maybe not all of you think that, but I've
definitely found myself asking that exact question recently. I
finally decided it was my duty to find what could spark that fun
feeling that I once had!
1. Play the Games!
I tried playing a good old game of traditional checkers. I actually
won! I hadn't played for months and months! Then I decided to check out
tic-tac-toe, chinese checkers, and kalah. I spent an hour or two just
playing these. I'm sure many other Whyvillians have underestimated the
impact these games can have on you! About once a day now, I'll play a
game. If I don't have a lot of time, I head on over to the tic-tac-toe
rooms. If I seem to have an endless amount of time, I'll go over to
checkers. Just try them out again!
2. Chat Randomly!
Most of you all have little groups of friends or a specific "genre" of
people you usually talk to. Well, instead of heading on over to where
you usually hang out, try going to another place you haven't been to in
a very long time. Especially one with people you usually don't talk to.
Step out of your comfort zone! Don't be afraid of being made fun of.
For me, my "out of comfort zone" place was Sector Y. Sure, most of the
goths started yelling at me and told me that I was too preppy to be
there, but I just was friendly to a random person, and they were
actually quite nice! We Whymail back and forth now.
Don't underestimate people just because they look completely different
from you. If you go and talk to a random person and they aren't very
nice, don't let it get to you! Maybe they just aren't ready to step out
of their comfort zone, like you're doing. Maybe they don't want to be
made fun of by their friends! Just talk to people and try them out.
Maybe you'll find a whole new possy! Then your old group of friends can
hang out with your new group of friends with you, and voila! Two
different types of people just bridged the gap between each other!
3. Organize a B/C
Believe me, putting together a b/c (beauty contest) is hard and
chaotic! Try advertising it in different rooms, and you might also want
to find a partner to help you lead it. I found that getting a partner
makes organization TONS easier! You might even give out a prize to the
winner. You'll make that person's day and you'll probably have fun with
it! Just remember that not everyone may agree with you. They might even
start yelling at you. Just ignore those people and congradulate
everyone, because everyone is a winner on Whyville! LoL!
4. Whymail an Old Friend
Remember any names of people you used to be friends with but lost track
of? I certainly do. I could name 10 people right off the bat. Well,
Whymail them! See what they are up to these days! Plan to meet
somewhere in Whyville -- I bet it would be fun to catch up on old
times. "Make new friends, but KEEP THE OLD! One is silver and the
other's gold!"
5. Try to Make Chat Interesting
When you're talking to someone, don't depend on them for all the
conversation starters. When people say, "What's new?" try not to say,
"Nothing much," because that often makes for a boring conversation. Try
to think up a short and catchy summary of what is actually happening to
you, because I'm sure you've all done SOMETHING worthwhile in the past
week or two! You could reply with something short and funny, like,
"Just breathing!" It might start up an interesting conversation... you
never know! Also, when there's an awkward moment in the conversation or
you can't think of anything to say, don't depend on "lol" (laugh out
loud) to get you out of it. Don't overuse it! By now, "lol" is used so
frequently, I think it's lost all sense of "That was very very funny!"
Use it, but don't overuse it. Try to reply with an actual sentence, and
no, don't spell out lol as your sentence! Contribute to the
conversation!
6. Try Raising Your Salary Even More!
Raising your salary is always fun! You're pretty much just playing
games! In every game on Whyville there are instructions, and most have
help articles that you can look over if you get stuck. There is no
reason why you shouldn't reach for the stars and get to the highest
level! For those people who think you don't need to earn any more clams
-- You can pretty much always use more clams. Only a few folks have the
maximum salary possible (112 clams a day?). Even if you already are
filthy rich, you can still use your extra earnings by donating some to
newbies, or helping someone get into Club Why. Someone actually paid
the whole entire price of Club Why for me! I was stunned that someone
would do something that generous! If you have enough money to do that,
give a little to people in need. It's a wonderful thing to do.
6. Read the Times
Now, because this article is IN the Times, you probably already read
the Times, but there are always articles that some people skip. This is
why the crossword is so helpful. You really get into the articles,
reading them word for word instead of skimming the articles that don't
seem as interesting at first glance, or not reading them at all. Just
read the Times thoroughly, then do the crossword and get rewarded some
clams. It will be worth it!
7. Write an Article for the Times
I'm sure there is a subject about Whyville or even real life that you
would like to tackle. It's even fun to learn something new then write
about what you have learned and report it to the rest of Whyville!
Like, my very first article was about leukemia. I had always heard
about it on TV, but I never actually understood the disease and the
damage it did to the body. I learned a lot from writing that article!
Make sure, though, that before you write an article, you know the
submission rules and the format to submit, so that all your hard word
doesn't end up in the Times Editor's junk folder! Share your vast
knowledge with the rest of Whyville through writing!
Editor's
Note: To submit, check out http://www.Whyville.net/whytimes/archives/submit.html
and this article. Only send in your best
writing -- we get hundreds of articles a week, so we try to publish
only the unique, the important, the very current and newsworthy, or the
just plain super fun stories that come in. We're always on the lookout
for great science articles (question everything!), intelligent fashion
articles (really think about it!) and super useful help articles (write
a current "how to" about one of your favorite games, or better yet, one
that no one's written about!).
8. Create a Petition
Do you have a new idea for Whyville that might make it more enjoyable
for others? Whether it's an addition to Whyville or a change, like
getting rid of something, as long as the idea is for the good and
prosperity of Whyville, it would make a great petition. You could also
write out the idea in an article for the Times, but by also making a
petition, the change might actually take place.
Make sure you know the rules of making a petition before making one.
Think the idea carefully through, then perfect it in writing, and write
it up as a petition. Short, to the point -- ideas that make sense
and are clear make it far in City Hall! Always advertise your petition
to your friends. Make sure you tell them the date and time the petition
is filed under so that it's easy for them to find your petition and
read it. There are many petitions out there that they'd have to search
hard until they finally found yours if you don't give them the proper
information. Tell people, "Check out my petition! It's called Justice
in Whyville and you can find it under January 1st at 3 pm! Thanks for
your support!" That was just an example, of course. You could also
advertise your petition through the Whyville Advertising Agency, when
it opens up again. You know, the airplane with the banner flying in the
sky at Whyville Square? Yes, you can make a message to go on it, but it
costs a little bit of clams!
9. Face Factory
If the Face Factory is open, try your hand at making some face parts!
There are help articles you can read to help your face part make it
into Akbar's. But be sure to know, though, that you can't just get your
clams back after you pick a size for your face part. You'll need to
sell that part if you want to make up the cost! Now, if the Face
Factory is not open, try practicing making parts for free through
Microsoft??Paint or whatever graphic software you have on your
desktop. This way you won't waste any clams on any screw ups, and you
can practice with detail. Just remember that there aren't as many tools
in the Face Factory as Paint has, and there aren't as many colors in
Paint as the Face Factory has! The Face Factory practically has every
shade of color you'd ever need. Well, maybe not EVERY shade of color,
but they do have quite a few. Create!
And finally... 10. Take a Break
If Whyville is so boring to you that none of the steps above work and
none of your own steps and ideas work, then take a little break from
Whyville. I'm sure your friends will understand. They wouldn't want you
to get so bored you'd quit and never see them again! Just take a break
and read a book or hang out with your real-life friends (yes, they
exist too) or do anything else you take pleasure in. Just try not to
turn on the television. It's bad enough staring at the computer all the
time with Whyville, but at least Whyville is educational, and involves
social interaction! If you HAVE to watch TV, try to limit the junky
shows you watch. Or you can even get hooked on the Discovery or History
Channel! You can learn from those channels! (I bet the MediaWiz would
love for you to check out the shows he lists in the Media Menu every single
week!) For me, I don't have cable, so I don't really want to watch TV
in the first place, but it's hard with such a selection of stations.
If you need to, just take a break from Whyville for a week or two. When
you come back, your friends and you will have to catch up, you can
check out the new arrivals at Akbar's and check out what's new in
Whyville with the Times' "What's New in Whyville" article, usually
written each week by the Times Editor himself. Coming back will be a
fresh start.
Wow, that was a long but helpful article, if I do say so myself! Thanks
for sticking through with me and reading it all.
There are other ways to enjoy Whyville again -- if you have an idea,
post it in the BBS below! You could save someone from quitting Whyville
(who would have thunk it?!).
Well, I hope I helped some of you! I'm outtie!
See ya at Chinese Checkers, ;)
Sweden
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