BIOlympics Triple the Clams Days!

Let's end this year and start the new year off with TWO TRIPLE THE CLAMS days! Today and tomorrow, earn TRIPLE THE CLAMS when you compete in the BIOLympics games.

BIOlympics Tutorial coming soon!

WhyPets: Are They Worth It?

Sure they're cute and playful. And yeah, there's bragging rights. But are WhyPets really worth the cost?

A Whypet costs 600 pearls, and you get 30 days worth of food included in the price. If you want, you can also buy accessories to dress up your pets, or treats to aid in training them.

You can customize your whypet's shape, colour, eyes, and mouth. You can add ears, wings, arms, horns, tails, or even tentacles!

The Create Your Pet page has similiar features as the new Pick Your Nose, such as move forward and backward, and clear.

How to Train Your Pets

When in a chatroom, type "summon pet" or "summon pet (name)" if you have more than one.

You can train your pet to blink, yawn, run, cry, dance, sleep, fetch, dig, and be happy.

To train your pet, make sure your pet is in the room and type "pet (command)". For example, "pet fetch". Reward your pet with a treat by typing "pet treat" or "(name of pet) treat" if there is more than one of your pets in the room. Eventually, they will have learned the command.

One cool thing you can train your whypet to do is dig. Just don't let your pet dig up CityHall's yard! Once you train your pet to dig, they can dig up projectiles, clams, scion decal vouchers, or even sometimes pearls! To retrieve the item, simply move your avatar over your pet and the prize. If you don't claim it, your pet will drop it, and it's anyone's game.

Now hold on to your horses, that's all fine and well, until you realize that projectiles are worth almost nothing. They're a clam a dozen these days, and most likely they're clogging up your satchel. Scion decal vouchers? Who uses those anymore? (Also probably clogging up your satchel). "But wait!", you say. "You said clams and pearls, right?" That's right I did, but this does not happen often, and when it does, it's only 1 clam or 1 pearl (at least what I've seen). So don't think buying a pet will pay for itself eventually.

Let's not forget, if you want to train your pet/s to dig, you're gonna need to buy pet treats also (which cost pearls), and then you're going to want to accessorize your pets so they can be as fab as you (which costs more pearls).

Are they worth it?

Pets cost you a lot of pearls, and trust me, they get boring after a while. To answer the question, "Are Whypets worth the cost?", I would have to say no. There are better things to spend your pearls on (like face factory vouchers).

Here are my three pets, the pink one is Lucy, the green is Rocky, and the purple is Trouble. Rocky is dancing in this picture (and jelloroks is clearly not amused).

A Guide to the BBS: BBSer's Spill All!

If you have not already, I recommend reading part one of A Guide to the BBS here.

Today, Whyville Insider interviews BBSer's to get their opinions on BBS happenings. I would like to thank MadamTaz, natnat10, XkaylaX5, HotTrent1 and ooooopppp for taking the time to be interviewed.

When did you start BBSing?

MadamTaz: I started BBSing in 2012, when I was eleven.

natnat10:  I don't really have a good guestimate, but I would say 2008-2009. There are only a few BBSers who still regularly log on from when I first started. When I first started BBSing, there was only one "hidden" section for the few of us who discovered it. We only posted on human body, no matter what the topic was.

XkaylaX5: 2012. Gah, the glory days

HotTrent1: I discovered the wonderful world of the BBS in 2011 when my friend showed me.

ooooopppp: I started being the best pest in the BBS in late 2006 or early 2007, but I don't think anybody noticed until a few years later, lol.

What's your favourite section to post on?

MadamTaz: My favourite section would probably be Life in Whyville. There's a range of posts and they're the most relevant to me.

natnat10:  There are always fun topics in the Human Body section. My other favorites are School, Life in Whyville/Other topics, Music, Beauty & Fashion, and Emotions and Coping.

XkaylaX5: For Sale/Wanted, Emotions and Coping, and the Human Body.

HotTrent1: My favorite section to post in is Life in Whyville. I have no favorite subsection. The section [Life inWhyville] opens up to business that can lead to millions of clams. Life in Whyville can also help people communicate about random topics.

ooooopppp: That depends; if I'm in character, I don't care what section it is, I'm just happy to derail any thread. Out of character, I actually enjoy discussing current events! Though no one can take me serious when I'm trying to make a real point, lol.

What are your biggest BBS pet-peeves?

MadamTaz: I really hate it when people do not even make an effort to use grammar. Yes, I know, call me pretentious, but it really irks me when people disregard basic grammar rules. Full stops and capital letters are REALLY basic skills, we should be able to use it. Seeing abused apostrophes makes me sad.

natnat10:  Sometimes I disagree with others' opinions, but arguments in interesting topics are my favorite.
Also, I despise the For Sale/Wanted section being more popular than the Life in Whyville and Other Topics subsections.

XkaylaX5: Jesus, posting unnecessary things, trolling (bad trolling), rude posts. Also re-bumping buying threads, like, you're not gonna get that.

HotTrent1: One pet peeve of mine has to be the trolls.They can be funny, but they're mostly annoying people. Something else that bothers me is when people lie constantly to seek attention. I also don't like it when people post in the wrong section. It's fine if it's something understandable that the thread is in the wrong section, it's annoying.

ooooopppp: The only thing that bothers me is that there aren't as many users on the BBS as there were years ago, or on any part of Whyville at all. So it's kind of boring now.

What's your opinion on trolling? Do you have a favourite or least favourite troll? Do you feed the trolls?

MadamTaz: I think trolling is okay when it's appropriate. I don't like trolls who make too many suggestive comments or post things which degrade others. It's not necessary and they should have better things to do. Trolls can liven up the BBS, so I think it's like "everything in moderation", in both senses of the word. My favourite troll would be Springtan; I'd laugh a lot at her posts. She had this thread about microwaving ants and the way that other BBS users responded had me in stitches. I don't feed the trolls because I can never think of anything witty.

natnat10: Well, usually when "trolls" post, I reply with a sarcastic or rude comment when in reality I find them hilarious.

XkaylaX5: ooooopppp is funny, but just a tad too funny. CAIR0 isn't a troll, but he's so funny. I don't think I feed them, but if it's funny, I'll reply.

HotTrent1: I should've read all the questions before I started answering. Oh well! Anyway, I think that they can be funny, but more often, they're annoying. Lemme put it like this: they're fun when there's nothing going on. My favorite troll is the Banjomann guy; he's decent. At first, I did feed the trolls, but I've learned to ignore it.

ooooopppp: I think it's funny that you ask me this question. Haha. No, I don't have a favorite or least favorite troll, and I do feed some of them; they keep things interesting.

Do you have any advice for new BBSer's?

MadamTaz: My advice would be to not throw a party for yourself and spam it all over the BBS. I did that when I first joined, and I swear most of the users hated me for months after. Also, try to use your grammar and punctuation to the best of your abilities. Think before you post; once it's out there, it's out there forever! 

natnat10:  Don't try too hard; everyone here is pretty welcoming and you can get used to the environment easily. The majority of us are accepting, and quite interesting people to get to know. Be friendly and you'll be loved.

XkaylaX5: Just don't be too needy or questioning. Just be yourself. Hit up the pinned posts, they're usually important and full of awesome information.

HotTrent1: My advice to newcomers: try not to be annoying. Be free to ask questions and everything, but try to get the grasp of everything before you go around and say something you'll "regret". Your first impression will stay, so make it good!

ooooopppp: Don't be intimidated by anybody. Don't let the bullies, or the trolls, or the rude/snobby oldbies bother you. Be active on the BBS and post often, start threads of your own and voice your opinions of things but be respectful of other people and their opinions, and everything will work out fine.

Well, I definitely got some interesting answers. Great minds think alike it seems. Until next time! Happy posting!

A Guide to the BBS

In the past few years, the BBS's popularity has skyrocketed. New categories have been added, and new Whyvillians have joined in the conversation. Here's what you need to know about the BBS, and how to be a good BBSer.

The BBS stands for Bulletin Board System. It's basically a forums board where you can discuss a myriad of topics with other whyvillians. Whyville's BBS is commonly used to debate, critique Times articles, buy and sell faceparts, talk about events in Whyville, ask questions, and more.

First of all, before you start BBSing, real the rules and guidelines here.

Now, those are just Whyville's rules. There are some unwritten rules of the BBS that you should know about too.

1. Please, please, PLEASE use proper spelling and grammar. Wen u tipe lyk ur 5 years old u aint gonna B very likalbe. We understand typos, and the occasional text speak is okay, but remember, you have brain cells, don't talk like you don't.

2. Don't overdo it with bold, underlining, colours, and punctuation marks!!!!1!!1 No one will take you seriously.

3. NEVER type in a light colour. (Examples of this: Cyan, yellow, etc.) You're hurting our eyes.

4. If you're gonna troll, at least be a good troll

5. Don't overuse emoticons.

6. Don't spam.

7. Don't bump your threads every five seconds.

8. Don't abuse the report tool. Don't try "deleting" someone's post, just because you don't like them. Most likely, their post will be put back up and you will be punished.

9. Know what section to put your topic in. A big example of this is the Current Events section.

Things That DO Go in the Current Events Section

• Nationwide or worldwide events (natural disasters, war, politics, etc.)
• Current REAL WORLD events that have an impact on many people

Things That DO NOT Go in the Current Events Section

• Birthday announcements
• Whyville announcements (there's an "announcements" thread in the section 'Ask the City Workers')
• Your local news
• Celebrity gossip
• Anything that fits into the "Life in Whyville" category
• "My (relative)(friend)(etc.) passed away"
• "i pooped"/any kind of trolling

Everything has it's place on the BBS, and if you commonly misplace your threads, people will begin to resent you.

10. Don't bring up old threads. As a rule of thumb, if it's irrelevant (an old Whyville announcement, a not-so-current event, etc.), if the last post on it was made 3+ months ago, or it's not on the first page, don't bring it back up.

and finally

11. Be kind to one another! (Wait, did I just steal Ellen's catchphrase? Whoops. Oh well, she won't mind).

In general, BBSer's are kind and accepting of newbies. If you follow the status-quo, you'll be joining in on the discussion in no time! Happy posting!

Everything You Need To Know About Pearls (Including How To Get Them FREE)

**Note** Scroll to the bottom of this post to get to the good part, how to get FREE pearls!

What are pearls?

Pearls are a form of Whyville currency that are purchased with real money that give you special perks to enjoy on Whyville. Pearls replaced the whypass and buying clams features that Whyville had years ago, but you still have mostly the same benefits. When you buy pearls, you are contributing to helping keep Whyville running.

What can I do with pearls?

• You can purchase face factory vouchers to create your own faceparts.
• You can buy premium Elvis and Raven Simmone themed face parts.
• You can buy a WhyPet.
• You can beautify your chat with Chat Candy.
• You can use your pearls like clams in Akbar's Face Mall, the Projectile Shop, The Furniture Farm, and The Brick Emporium. Sorry, you cannot use pearls to use at the Style Studio or the Trading Post.
• With a monthly pearls allowance, your satchel holds twice as many items (1000).
• With a monthly pearls allowance, your address book holds twice as many people (100).
• With a monthly pearls allowance, you can wear twice as many face parts (50).
• With a monthly pearls allowance, you get on-the-grass seating at the Greek Theater.
• With a monthly pearls allowance, you can buy animated face parts.
• With a monthly pearls allowance, you have twice as many friend finder locations (10).

How Do I Buy Pearls?

Ask a parent and click the pearls icon at the top of your screen when you log in or select *Buy Pearls on the destination bar.

How Much Are Pearls?

• 500 pearls costs $5
• 1200 pearls costs $8
• 2500 pearls costs $15

Do pearls expire?

Nope!

Can I Buy Pearls With Clams?

No. However, you can ask someone who has pearls to buy you face factory vouchers or animated face parts in exchange for clams. Be cautious about this though, they could try to scam you.

and finally...

How do I get FREE pearls?

Good question, there are lots of ways to earn FREE pearls!

• For Y-mail Helpers, earn pearls for being the Y-mail Helper of the Month. First place gets 500 pearls, second and third places get 250 pearls, and the rest of the top ten get 100 pearls.
• Log- in Challenges. These happen every so often, and all you have to do is log in on 15 seperate days during the month to earn 100 free pearls. BONUS: If you log in on 30 seperate days during the month, you will not only get the pearls, you will also get a FREE one-month WhyPass, which gives you all the perks of a pearls allowance!
• For Club Why Members, you can test the PlayMath Beta games, and when you review four out of five games, you will receive 100 free pearls!
• When you own a Whypet, you can train it how to dig. They can dig up clams, projectiles, vouchers, and sometimes even FREE pearls!
• Vampire Power. Earn the most points playing Vampire Power and you could earn 100 FREE pearls. If you come in second place, you will receive 50 FREE pearls, and in third, you will receive 25 FREE pearls. This contest goes on every week, so get to unplugging!
• Wilson City Rescue. Earn the most points in Wilson City Rescue and get 100 FREE pearls. Second place, receive 50 FREE pearls, and third place, receive 25 FREE pearls.

What is Whyville Insider All About?

So you may be wondering, what IS Whyville Insider? Well, I can tell you what it's not.

Whyville Insider is NOT a cheat site.  If you're looking for cheats, you've come to the wrong place. I do, however, post game tutorials and helpful tips. I do NOT give the answers or cheats to games, I don't show you how to remake or how to hack an account or scam. I believe in fair play, both in real life and in Whyville.

Whyville Insider was originally created a few years ago by me, jelloroks, to write an article to win the coveted Whylitzer. I had seen so many useless blogs created on the internet, where a person would win the Whylitzer, and never post on it again. I didn't want to do that. I stuck with my blog. I updated it with Whyville news and events, games, contests, quizzes, game guides and reviews, and more. And to my surprise, Whyville Insider was a hit! Many Whyvillians had commented on blog posts or y-mailed me and told me how much they loved my blog. I even had a few city workers mention it! I was thrilled.

As I got older, I stopped visiting Whyville as much and consequently stopped updating my blog as often. One day I decided I would log into Whyville again and check up on Whyville Insider, and to my dismay, Whyville Insider was POOF, gone. Erased from the internet. Non-existant. And why? I have no idea. So after trying and failing to revive my blog, I recreated it. I was able to find and repost some old articles I wrote on the new Whyville Insider. Unfortunately, I could not find my Whylitzer article.

Anyway, here's to the rebirth of Whyville Insider! *clink*

~Jello

What the Heck Does That Mean?!

In Whyville chatrooms or in the BBS you may see people "lol"-ing and "brb"-ing left and right. But what does that even mean? Lots of lollipops? Bring rat babies? I'm here to decode all these abbreviations and whatchamacallits for you.

Whyville Related:

• TP- trading post
• SS- style studio
• WC- whycash
• BC- beauty contest
• FS- For sale
• CG- clamgram
• RP- Roleplay
• BBS- Bulletin Board System
• Comp- computer
• Lag- slow loading
• Boot- kick out
• Scion- Car
• MTM- Meet The Makers (meet the city workers)
• CW- city worker
• CH- City Hall (the place or the city worker)
• WW- wishing well/warp wagon
• CR- City records
• GGC- Girl Game Co.
• PYN- Pick Your Nose
• FF- Friend Find(er)
• HC- Help Center
• FFV- Face Factory Voucher
• SDV- Scion Decal Voucher
• null- (when relating to the forums) dead/no longer relevant
• Poof- to disappear from a chatroom
• Bump- to bump your thread to the top of the list on the BBS
• SR- sun roof
• Tables- food court tables
• Y/Why (anything)- whyville related

General:

• lol- laugh out loud
• lmbo- laughing my butt off
• rofl/rotfl- rolling on the floor laughing
• Wb- Welcome Back
• BRB- Be right back
• Ty- Thank you
• yw- You're welcome
• Hmu- Hit me up
• U- you
• R- are
• gr8- great
• BF- boyfriend
• GF- girlfriend
• BFF- Best Friend Forever
• BFFL- Best Friends For Life
• <3/x3- heart
• ily- I love you
• omg- oh my gosh/god/goodness
• FTW- for the win
• AKA- Also known as
• AWK- away from keyboard
• AWC- away from computer
• BTS- Back to school
• bc- because
• Hbu/Wbu?- How/what about you?
• HB- Happy Birthday
• BTW- By the Way
• JSYK- Just so you know
• imo/imho- in my (humble) opinion
• ASL- Age/Sex/Location
• DIY- Do-it-yourself
• Tl;dr- Too long; didn't read
• (on the) dl- on the down-low
• IDTS- I don't think so
• IDK- I don't know
• DW- Don't worry
• IRL- In real life
• FAQ- Frequently Asked Questions
• gtg/g2g- got to go
• TTYS/TTYL- talk to you soon/later
• GL- good luck
• X- kiss
• O- hug
• hw- homework
• Imy/imu- I miss you
• Jw- just wondering
• Jk- just kidding
• Kk- okay, cool
• LMK- let me know
• Nvm- nevermind
• S/O- significant other
• Srsly- seriously
• TBH- To be honest
• TTFN- Ta ta for now
• IDC- I don't care
• WTG- way to go

Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments, tell me your whyville username and I'll mention you!

Updates: December 2014

A couple of updates since I've last been on. (Whether they're brand new or not, I can't say. But here you go!)

• Easier BBSing. No more typing the coding! Just select, click and go.
• Dragon games and Vampire Power games
• Bizzy Girls is now a sponsor.
• Updated Christmas Party rooms
• Updated (Animated) Emoticons
• New Five Kingdoms Wishing Well
• Home Page update: Events are shown on the right side
• Log-in Challenges: Win prizes for logging on a certain amount of days in a month
• Mood Gems and more Wellness Center activities
• New Pick Your Nose app for Android
• New Wardrobe feature, save your favourite looks to wear at another time.
• Playmath (beta) games
• "Sent" box in y-mail
• Akbar went on vacation (May '14) and ScyllaCat didn't have what it takes to take over Akbar's job
• Zombies and Vampires battled once again this Halloween

Doesn't seem like much changed since I left, but I know the city workers are hard at work! Enjoy the new stuff!

2014 Annual Christmas Party Pics

Whyville's annual Christmas party was a hit, as always. With new games and rooms, how could it not be? Everyone enjoyed playing dreidel, tossing gifts into Santa's bag, playing the new game "Find Me", taking pictures in the photo booth, and voting for the King and Queen. Here are some pictures to document the night.

I rode to the party in style in a limousine. I have like a hundred scions so a limo was a nice change. Not that I'm bragging or anything. ;)

I tried to unscramble these words, but alas, everyone solved it before me. :( Yeah... anagrams are not my specialty.

And then I tossed gifts into Santa's bag.

And of course I got my picture taken.

I loved the new changes to the party, it was a good one! Thanks City Workers! Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! And hopefully many more blog posts on Whyville Insider in 2015!

Critter Care Tutorial: Part 5, Rat

Critter Care is a fun game that can earn you instant clams as well as up to 15 clams of salary. In Critter Care, you work in a lab and help take care of animals. You feed them, give them water, clean the cages, and help keep them healthy.

There are 5 animals in Critter Care you can take care of: fish, frog, pig, pigeon, and rat. In this tutorial, I will show you how to take care of the rat.

First, go to the Critter Care lobby and click on the clipboard that says "rat". Next, click on a rat cage to begin. On the right of the screen, you will see a little white piece of paper. Click on it to see the animal's history report (and I don't mean on the Civil War).

The Report will tell you when was the last time the rat had been fed, the water was filled, the cage had been cleaned, the rat's energy level, and and a scale that will help you determine whether the rat is underweight, overweight, or at a healthy weight.

• If the rat's energy is low, give them an apple to snack on. Click and drag the apple onto the cage.
• If the cage is dirty, clean it. Click and drag the soap onto the cage. You may have to do this a few times until all the droppings are gone.
• If the water bucket is not full, give it some water. Click and drag the water icon onto the tank. You may have to do this a few times to fill it up.
• If the rat is a healthy weight, and it's food bowl is not full, give it some food. Give one scoop if it was fed 1 day ago, and 2 if it was fed four days ago. 
• If the rat is underweight, fill up the food bowl. If the rat is overweight, keep it half-full.

Reasons to Red Tag:

• The cage has not been cleaned in a while (at least 4 days), but there are no droppings. This means the rat is not excreting waste, and there is something wrong.
• The cage is very dirty even though it was cleaned just a day ago. This means the rat is excreting too much waste.
• The rat has not been fed in a while (at least 4 days), but the food bowl is still full.
• The water bowl has not been filled in a while (at least 4 days) but the water bowl is still full.
• The rat is underweight or overweight.
• The rat's energy level has been low more than once.
• The rat has Rat Eye Disease. See image below.
• The rat has Rat Unkempt. See image below.
• The rat is pale. See image below.

Once you have correctly tagged all four cages, click "submit lab report". You will instantly earn 15 clams. Once you have done this 3 times, correctly tagging 12 cages in all, you will receive 3 clams of salary and a total of 45 instant clams.

Good luck! I hope you enjoyed these critter care tutorials!

Critter Care Tutorial: Part 4, Pigeon

Critter Care is a fun game that can earn you instant clams as well as up to 15 clams of salary. In Critter Care, you work in a lab and help take care of animals. You feed them, give them water, clean the cages, and help keep them healthy.

There are 5 animals in Critter Care you can take care of: fish, frog, pig, pigeon, and rat. In this tutorial, I will show you how to take care of the pigeon.

First, go to the Critter Care lobby and click on the clipboard that says "pigeon". Next, click on a pigeon cage to begin. On the right of the screen, you will see a little white piece of paper. Click on it to see the animal's history report (and I don't mean on the Civil War).

The Report will tell you when was the last time the pigeon had been fed, the water was filled, the cage had been cleaned, the pigeon's energy level, and and a scale that will help you determine whether the pigeon is underweight, overweight, or at a healthy weight.

• If the pigeon's energy level is low, give it a handful of seeds. Click and drag the seeds onto the cage.
• If the water is not full, fill up the water. Click and drag the water icon onto the cage. You may have to do this a few times to fill up the water completely.
• If the cage is dirty, clean it. Click and drag the brush onto the cage. You may have to do this a few times for the cage to be completely clean.
• If the pigeon is a healthy weight, fill up the food bowl.
• If the pigeon is underweight, give it one extra scoop of food. If the pigeon is overweight, keep the bowl half-full.

Reasons to Red Tag:

• The cage has not been cleaned in a while (at least 4 days), but there are no droppings. This means the pigeon is not excreting waste, and there is something wrong.
• 
  
• The cage is very dirty even though it was cleaned just a day ago. This means the pigeon is excreting too much waste.
• The pigeon has not been fed in a while (at least 4 days), but the food bowl is still full.
• The water bowl has not been filled in a while (at least 4 days) but the water bowl is still full.
• The pigeon is underweight or overweight.
• The pigeon's energy level has been low more than once.
• The pigeon has Pigeon Eye Disease. See image below.
• The pigeon has Pigeon Unkempt. See image below.
• The pigeon is pale. See image below.
  
  
  
  
  

Once you have correctly tagged all four cages, click "submit lab report". You will instantly earn 15 clams. Once you have done this 3 times, correctly tagging 12 cages in all, you will receive 3 clams of salary and a total of 45 instant clams.

Good luck! Stay tuned for the next critter care tutorial!