clraik Quarterly #1 [04/23/17]

[Aura]

January 1st, 2017 - April 23rd, 2017

Welcome to the 1st edition of clraik Quarterly. Here, we will be recapping on news that have happened on clraik, Neopets, and even a few memorable world events. A new edition will be released every 3 months, but this edition will cover events from the beginning of this year. Feedback and suggestions are much appreciated, and let me know if there's anything I missed! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the read. clraik News Master clraik The 'Master clraik' rank requirements have been reduced to 500 reputation points from the original 1000 reputation points requirement. This change resulted in our first qualifying Master clraik members ranking up. New Downloads (you need an account to see links) by Daviid (you need an account to see links) by Daviid (you need an account to see links) by Daviid Rank-ups Official clraik: hectorvazc Nyu Shichibukai Urbex Top clraik: None! Master clraik: Ana Accelerator Cath Daviid Drizzy Mophead Zachafer Notable Bans Naked Gamer Massacrador Statistics Our top statistics to see how they change over time. Top Posters: Infamous Joe (9,017) John (5,853) Bettser (5,698) Top Reputations: Accelerator (812) Zachafer (673) Daviid (638) Top Thanked: Infamous Joe (14,581) I_royalty_I (7,238) Drizzy (6,910) Top Referrers: Infamous Joe (3,818) Savant (217) Vinko (174) Interview I asked @(you need an account to see links) for an interview and he politely agreed to it. See what he had to say: What inspired you to start up clraik? I had co-owned another forum before clraik but a few disagreements made me realize I should just branch off and create my own forum where I ran everything. It was a tough point in my life, I think. I didn't know just how many members would follow me to my new site. Once I left, I started getting e-mails asking where I went and what my new website was called. I think that in itself was inspiring for me and made me realize I made the right choice. Why did you start coding, and what are your favourite languages to develop in? I started coding to learn how to make "trainers" for the Neopets flash games. My first program was an Escape From Meridell Castle trainer which @SoreDavide helped me make. I was actually sitting on my computer sharing my screen with him while he pasted the code for it to work, and I was only 14 years old. After that, I started to learn all about programming and now I'm happy to say it has become my career. I'd say my favourite languages to develop in would be C#.NET and Visual Basic. What do you think are some of the main reasons that have contributed to clraik’s success? The crowd that followed me when I left my old community to start my own. That was like a kick-start... I think our success is grown from being able to provide the community with the Neopets bots they want as well as the content only found here. Our staff does a great job as well. Also, a bit of drama here and there. What is your favourite part about the community? My favourite part is the community. Can I have your cat? No. Events & Giveaways Current: (you need an account to see links) (you need an account to see links) (you need an account to see links) (you need an account to see links) (Major) Former: (you need an account to see links) (you need an account to see links) (you need an account to see links) Neopets News New Paintbrush Colours A poll was created in February in which users could vote for their choice of a new paintbrush colour. The options, displayed on Elephantes, were Candy, Marble, and Floral. Although Candy emerged as the winner, both Candy and Marble were released as colours. Battledome Plot Speculated After a new BD dome was added, rumours of a plot were confirmed by questions answered in the editorial. TNT verified that the event was being planned, but wouldn't release any other details aside from the fact that it would be a plot and not an update. Frisbee tosses giant holiday cookie! Let's say an event is coming to the battledome, will Neopians be given advanced warning to train their pets? ~ johnnysslorg Consider this your advance warning I don't have a timeline yet, as we had to focus on the recurring site events that go on this time of year! But nonetheless, as y'all know, something may or may not be in the works... Howdy Neopets Team! We know there is something on the horizon involving The Battledome. Without giving too much away, can you mention whether it involves more of a plot/war, more of an alteration/update to the Battledome structure, both or something completely different?! The entire community has been waiting since 2012 for something and everyone is just very excited - Thank you =) ~ _mariokart_ I don't want to give anything away, so all I will say is that it is an event, not just a structural update. As for the rest, you'll have to wait and see! Country Queen resigns Country Queen has resigned from being the editorial editor on the Neopian Times. She has been replaced by Scrappy but says she will still be around to work on other things. Editors Note: I have absolutely loved being the Neopian Times Editor and working with this incredibly talented group of writers and artists! However, it is time for me to pass the torch (Don't worry, I'm still around, just focusing on other things)! I've been training my successor for quite a while, so she's run normal issues, collabs, and holiday specials - as well as running some site content (you have her to thank for the return of the Pet, Petpet, and PPL spotlights!). I'm confident I'm leaving you in excellent hands! She doesn't have a formal staff identity yet, but you'll certainly be introduced during the upcoming Altador Cup staff tournament. Until then, you just keep creating wonderful works, you fabulous writers you! Events Charity Corner The Charity Corner returned in February with TNT avatars helping to collect the items. The eligible items for donation were Books, Coffee and Beverages, Food, Furniture and Gardening, and Gifts. There was an avatar awarded that you could receive if you donated over 100 times. Daily Faerie Quest Event Visiting the Faeries would grant you the ability to accept one free random quest per day. You would also be given a prize by Fyora for each day you visited, and, if you visited every day to collect the daily reward, you were given Psychedelic Wings as a bonus prize. Daily Dare The Daily Dare rolled around once again for quotidian game challenges from March 20th to April 9th. Chadley stood in for AAA, but Abigail was playing as usual. The prizes included a site theme, a trophy, and other prizes depending on which tier you finished in. Festival of Neggs Topsi is once again hosting the Festival of Neggs, which is currently ongoing. Daily clues are revealed, which correspond to a hidden Negg that has to be found. There is expected to be an avatar awarded at the end of the hunt for everyone who finds the Neggs on their release dates. New Avatars New Pet Colours International News (you need an account to see links) North Korea has made headlines this year for their missile and nuclear development, prompting reactions from global leaders. On the threat of nuclear war, US President Trump tweeted that the United States will deal with them with or without China. Feb. 12, 2017: North Korea fires an intermediate-range Pukguksong-2 ballistic missile into nearby seas, drawing a joint rebuke from Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who were meeting in Florida March 6, 2017: North Korea fires four ballistic missiles, with three falling into Japan’s exclusive economic zone April 16, 2017: North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile that exploded almost immediately after launch, defying warnings from the Trump administration to avoid any further provocations (you need an account to see links) The US Military’s Massive Ordnance Air Blast (dubbed the "Mother of all Bombs") was dropped on Afghanistan. It was the "largest, non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat" that was used to destroy caves and tunnels being used by Daesh militants, which reportedly killed 94 militants and no civilians in the process. (you need an account to see links) April the pregnant giraffe from the Animal Adventure Park in New York quickly became an internet sensation due to a livestream setup for viewers to watch as they waited for her to go in labour. After months of livestreaming, she finally went into labour on April 15th and over one million viewers watched as she gave birth to her calf, who was reported healthy and 'perfect'. The name will be decided by voting, which can be done (you need an account to see links) for $1/vote with a minimum of 5 votes. Quarterly Video s/o to @(you need an account to see links) for linking me to this video