Newbie Guide

 

So you’re new? Great! Welcome to ChibiPaws! Starting out on a new pet site can be a very overwhelming task, and it's my job to help make you more comfortable around the site!

 
THE RULES:

First things first! The very first thing that you should do when joining a new pet site is to read the Terms and Conditions (The Rules)! I know that it's really boring, and probably the very least fun thing that you’ll ever do in your time here on ChibiPaws, but trust me! It will make your time within our community much more enjoyable!!

 
GENERAL ETIQUETTE:

Fitting in while on ChibiPaws is really, really easy because there are only a few things that you must remember!

 The ChibiStaff and members don't like spam, so remember what spam stands for: Short Pointless Annoying Messages.

 On many other petsites, scamming is a problem. We're glad to say that it really isn't on ChibiPaws. However, that doesn't mean that everyone is willing to send over their items without collateral. We don't frown on boards asking to borrow items, but just like any other site, please don't beg for other users to lend the items they don't wish to lend!

Also, just because we don't have a large population of scammers doesn't mean that we don't have consequences set up! Remember: ChibiPaws is a smaller, more intimate community than other sites you might be used to-it's very easy for the moderation team and staff in general to catch those who are scamming and punish them!

That's pretty much it! If you can remember those three points, you'll do great in our wonderful community!

NAVIGATING THE SITE:

Next, you'll want to learn how to navigate the site itself. There are many links on ChibiPaws and some of them aren't very easy to find-those are the ones I'll list here. Please note: None of these will contain links! I will phrase each link exactly as it appears on the site, but it will be much easier for you to find each location again if you do it yourself! :o)

-Your Inventory: Your inventory will be, most likely, your most visited page for the first few days at least. To get to your inventory, click on the amount of ChibiPoints (CPs) that you have on hand (Hint: Try bookmarking this for your convenience!). This is usually found on the side or on the top of your layout underneath your username.

-Your Bank: While your bank account isn't the fastest way to gain CPs (because, let’s face it-we all want to be ChibiMillionaires!), it is a good way to help you save up for that cookie that you've had your eye on! To get to your bank account, go to your inventory and click on CHIBIBANK ACCOUNT (Hint: Try bookmarking this for your convenience!).

  -Your Shop Till: Your shop is the easiest way that will help you gain CPs. But Jared (ChibiPaws owner) has decided that we should actually work to be able to get those points out of our till! To get to your shop till, click on USER SHOPS on the left-hand toolbar, and then EDIT SHOP on the top toolbar that will show up after the page has loaded. Choose the shop you’d like to take CPs out of. Along the top of the space where you can type in a description, click the CHECK SHOP EARNINGS link. Click that and voila! If you have more than 500CPs in your till, you can withdraw some (Hint: Try bookmarking this for your convenience!)!

-Creating a New Topic: The forums are the absolute most active page on ChibiPaws. There are over ten different forums where you can post threads on just about any subject you want (so long as you keep your posts at a G rating!). To post a new topic, choose the forum which suits the subject of your post best (for example, you wouldn’t post a shop advertisement in the General Site Chat forum when the Shops Forum is just two rows down, now would you?), then look up in the top toolbar, under where you can change your mood. See the NEW THREAD link? Click that (Hint: Bookmarking this link will NOT work!)!

-Changing Your Preferences: Want a new layout to use while browsing the site? Want to update your profile? What about change your avatar? You can do all of this (and a lot more!) under USER PREFS in the left-hand toolbar (Hint: Try bookmarking this for your convenience!)!

  -Adoption Center/Pound: Looking for that special pet to give a loving home? Or perhaps you feel that someone else could give your pet more of the attention that it deserves? Either way, you're looking for the Pound. Click on PET CREATOR, and up top there will be a link for the PET ADMINISTRATION CENTER. From there, you will choose to disown (WARNING: This will cost you 5k!) or adopt (WARNING: This will cost you 1k!).

CHOOSING YOUR PET:

Now that you've read the rules and gotten the site navigation down, it's time to choose a pet of your own. There are 19 different species of pets that you can create or adopt, including the elusive Kari, which is only available through adoption or a fake Kari Wing (see our section on Fake Pet Parts!). As for the other 18, they're available all the time for anyone to create! Choosing a pet is a personal choice: Some like the looks of one species over another, some like the combination of a Chibi (a pet for your pet) and a pet together. Either way, once you choose the pet you’d like to create, you will be able to name your pet and choose a gender for it! My advice, also, is to take into consideration all of your Cookifying (see our section on Cookies!) options before making a final decision!

PLAYING WITH AND FEEDING

YOUR PET:

Your pet has 3 levels each of happiness and hunger. Each day at midnight (ChibiPawsTime), your pet(s) happiness and hunger will go down one level, whether you fed him/her an hour ago or 24 hours ago. To feed and play with your pet is very simple. Click on EXPLORE on the left-hand navigation bar and then click on the center of the map-this will bring you to ChibiMaina, the main location of Chibi! There are 9 shops there, including the toy and food shop. You will then be able to buy food and toys (so long as the shops aren't sold out!). If the shops are sold out, have no fear! You can click on SEARCH in the left-hand navigation bar, and then choose the SHOPS DATABASE. Type in the exact name of the item and the search will bring up the shops with the lowest prices. If you don’t know what item(s) you're looking for, try making a thread in the Shops Forum!

  Once you have your food and toy(s) in your inventory, click on the item you'd like to use. The first option in the drop-down menu should be "Feed to your pet" or "Play with your pet" (depending on if it's a food item or a toy item). Click SUBMIT. Then choose the pet you'd like to feed or play with. Click SUBMIT again. VOILA! Your pet has been fed or played with!

INTRODUCING YOURSELF ON THE
FORUMS: 

As stated before, the forums are the most active part on ChibiPaws. It is highly encouraged that after you read the rules and learn to navigate the site a little bit, you post a thread in the New Here? forum and introduce yourself! And even though this sounds really simple and straight forward, there are a few things that Chibi does differently than other pet sites, and it's really important for you to know them! 

First: Even though we have almost twenty THOUSAND members, our forums are really slow going! New topics aren't created every three seconds, so therefore it's not necessary to "bump" your topic (or post a new post in your topic every two seconds)-Chibi considers this spamming and it is the single most thing that keeps our Moderators the busiest! If you've posted your post and then think "D'oh!" and want to add something else, there is an EDIT YOUR POST button that you can use to your heart's content! (NOTE: Please do not create a topic, have someone answer it and then change the topic title and the first post! It makes it look like our other users who answered your first post had gone a bit crazy! If you find you have more questions, you can either create a new topic or send a message to one of our staff members.) 

Another thing that Chibi does differently is its definition of "on topic". On other pet sites, they generally consider a post of how to make a banner on topic if it's asked on a user's thread that is requesting a banner be made for them. On Chibi, it's not really on topic and a Moderator can (and likely will) ask you to keep on topic after answering your question in a short version. For instance: if you were the one asking how to make a banner in the example above, I might come along and tell you that you need special programs to do it and leave it at that, instead of explaining what programs might be best, what I prefer to use, and a few steps in the right direction. We don't do this to be mean, we simply do it so that each topic is about what the title says it's about! 

As with all other G rated pet sites, posting your personal information (full birthday (posting a topic letting us know it's your birthday is fine! Just don't give the year out!), messenger names, your full name etc) is against the Terms and Conditions. You're also not allowed to post someone else's information! 

 
GAMES:

Alright, alright. So you want to earn ChibiPoints (CPs). I get it. Here's a quick guide (to be expanded upon later!)

 There are three flash games on ChibiPaws to play. These are the easiest, quickest ways for you to earn CPs. You can submit a score for each of these three games up to three times a day so choose which scores you send in wisely!!

 There are also 8 non-flash games. Some of them require CPs to play them, some don't. Some have a time limit on them, some don't. Some have a limit to how many times you can play them, some don't.

 Find de ChibiPet: You need 250CPs on hand to play this game. You may only use the 'Find de Chibi' game 3 times every 12 hours! 

 Prize-O-Matic: You may only use the Prize-O-Matic every 12 hours (6 for supporters!) (read down for information on supporters!)

 Rock Paper Scissors!: Win and you get 100 ChibiPoints! You can try 20 times daily, or 40 times if you are a supporter.

 Higher or Lower: Here, you are given a number and must choose if it is higher or lower than the number I am thinking. If you are right, you win a random amount of points. Otherwise, you win nothing. You can play 3 times a day (6 for supporters).

Pull-A-Ticket: You may only use the 'Pull a Ticket' game 3 times every 12 hours (6 for supporters)!

 ChibiIdle RPG: This isn't a game you can play on the site itself. To play, you must log into the IRC. For rules, consult the Games section of ChibiPaws (o:

 Catch the Criminal: This is a fun game...sometimes. There are criminals on the site who come and randomly steal your items that are not in your shop(s) or Safety Deposit Box. The good thing is that, if you're lucky, you'll receive a random event at the bottom of the page saying you've caught one! Click on that nasty criminal's name to earn 10k! (NOTE: Receiving an alert saying a criminal has been spotted around your profile doesn't mean you've caught one!)
 

COOKIES AND FAKE PET PARTS: 

Now that you have your pet, it's time to think about customizing him or her! Other petsites have potions or paintbrushes but...really-who paints their pet with a paintbrush?! Certainly not me!

 The way that you change the look of your pet on ChibiPaws is by feeding them a special cookie-they're so special, in fact, that we even have our own guide dedicated to only them! You can find it here!

 But I bet you're asking yourself "what are fake pet parts?" Well. I'll tell you! Fake Pet Parts are items that you use on your pet(s) to change their species.  The names of all Fake Pet Parts are:

Laun Tail, Fauna Ear, Chemillo Tail, Feathers Wing, Raito Tail, Musey Tail, Balair Tail, Vennchilla Tail, Mrawr Tail, Bouskain Tail, Raposan Tail, Valaquor Tail, Ekorron Ear, Clyde Hoof, Aenox Ears, Ribbajack Ear, Hemuke Leg, Cabir Tail, and Kari Wing.

 These Fake Pet Parts are so expensive because they're sold in a store (Fake Pet Parts Inc.) that is only open from 6:00pm to 6:30pm CPT. If you miss the time the store is open, you can always check to see if another player is selling one in their shop (o:

To use a Fake Pet Part, have one in your inventory and then click on it. Choose the option TRANSFORM YOUR PET, and then choose which pet you'd like to transform. But BE CAREFUL!  If you choose to transform a pet you've already used a cookie on, you might lose the effects of that cookie! If the species you're transforming your pet into is not available in the Cookied version your old pet is, your new pet will be the regular form of that Fake Pet Part!!

 

SITE SUPPORTER STATUS: 

So I'm sure you've heard of Site Supporter Status, or seen the blue bolded display names on the site. But what is site supporter status, you ask? Well I'll tell you!

It's exactly what it says! The people who are considered under site supporter status have all donated REAL money for special features. You pay $5 per month of supporter status (through paypal or a credit card) to Jared and this is what you get:

  1. No ads!
2. HTML is allowed on your profile and ChibiPages!
3. You can upload your own (G-rated) custom avatar!
4. A special avatar.. as before.
5. Special color in online list.
6. Free expired/retired item when order.
7. 10,000 points also when you order.
8. The thought of supporting the site to make it better for everyone.
9. Supporter trophy on your lookup.
10. Ability to adopt 3 more pets. (9 total)
11. 5% off on ALL official store purchases!
12. Play the Prize-O-Matic every 24 12 hours!