Hideous Rules Page: ideas to improve?

[Mari]

After literal years of espousing the "well, spiff up your rules page, but all I find important is putting the rules there clearly" mentality, I've become seriously disenchanted with my rules page. I think it's horrible, shows no real effort, and...well, just isn't that fun to look at, which I believe doesn't show that much effort of me as a foster parent. My first question is how to put pet's pictures: I keep getting the semitransparent gear and don't know how to *feels silly and misses the days of standard url pics*. Next is the page's overall look: my agency's name is the Obsidian Stone, so I'd like to keep the theme. But I don't really have any idea what else to do with it Any ideas?

The petpage, if you're curious. There isn't anything much to look at.

[Jacinta]

You've almost got the pet image code right.
Just add an n to the "cp" and then put the pets' name in where your string of randomness is, and it should show your pet as it looks on the userlookup. So:
http://pets.neopets.com/cpn/PETSNAMEHERE/1/2.png
and remember the 1 and 2 on the end give you the picture size and the emotion of the pet, so you can play around with those too.

[Vicky]

The url you want to use for pet pics is this (change 2 to a 4 for larger dimensions):

Code: Select all

http://pets.neopets.com/cpn/PETNAME/1/2.png

I would try to improve the legibility of the page. These are all my opinions, so you can take or leave them as you wish:

This is really personal preference, but I feel that white text on black backgrounds is too much contrast.
I noticed you used the font 'gautami' on your page. This is fine, except not everyone has this font (and I'm not sure what it looks like, because I googled it and got something strange). It shows up as Times New Roman for me, so you should add several alternative fonts to control how the page looks.
The words stretch across the screen, which makes the eye/neck work harder if the user's screen is very wide. Mine is 1440px across, making some of your lines over 30 words long! You can limit the width of your div. 500-600px... ish... is a good range for 12-16pt fonts.
At least on my computer, the lines are too close together. You can add "line-height: 1.3;" to your css (with your own value) to alter this.
There is -a lot- of text on this page! Maybe you can differentiate the sections more clearly by changing the background, changing the font color, the size, etc. (I recommend using the <h2> tag or its siblings, because that's what it's there for. ) Plus, this makes it easier for the reader to skip to the section they want.
also, this isn't as important, but underlining things on the web makes them look kind of like links. So if they're not links...
Page navigation is always helpful. You can create one easily with page anchors.

Here's a sample of the page with the above changes (sans navigation): http://www.neopets.com/~tanzinu

If you need help or elaboration on any of these, let me know. (I didn't think about 'obsidian stone' when I changed the colors, sorry! Maybe white headlines and light gray font? Or keep the black background and make the center div a different color. or dark purples perhaps! hehe.) I updated a page a bit to reflect obsidian-y colors.

[Mari]

That's exactly the layout I'd been thinking of for a base, thank you Vicky. Is it alright if I take it and tweak it (giving you credit, of course)? I haven't really looked at my rules page for a long, long time, so I hadn't thought of any of the things you're pointing out . They really are a headache: thank you for pointing it out.

[Vicky]

Yup, go ahead and take whatever you need. Here's the code:

Code: Select all

<style type="text/css">

   body {
      background: url(http://vicky.flyatmidnight.com/grad-blackgray.png) repeat-x fixed #2f2f2f;
      color:#ffffff;
      font-size: 13pt;
      font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;
      text-align: center;
}

#frame {
   margin: auto;
   width: 600px;
   text-align:left;
   border: 10px #fff solid;
   padding: 20px;
   background: #2f2f2f;   
   line-height: 1.5;
   font-size: 12pt;
}
   h1 { text-align: center; }

   h2 {
      color: #AD8ECF;
      text-transform: uppercase;
      border-bottom: #FFF6CF dashed 1px;
      text-align: right;
}

   a {
      color: #FFF6CF;
}

</style>

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<h1><b>T</b>HE <b>O</b>BSIDIAN <b>S</b>TONE <b>A</b>DOPTION <b>A</b>GENCY </h1>
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<p>Hello faeriedragon66, and welcome to my adoptee/rules page, through which you'll have to read through before you think of adopting any of my pets. Sit back and read through nice and slowly: many of your questions may be answered here. If any doubts remain, feel free to contact me. <br><br><b><h2>READY TO ADOPT</b></h2><br><i>These are the pets who are finished with their lab treatment and may be applied for.<br><a href=http://www.neopets.com/petlookup.phtml?pet=emmadine>Emmadine, the Chocolate Scorchio</a></i><br><br><b><h2>BEING ZAPPED</h2></b><br><i>These pets aren't done with their lab treatment. However, you can contact me about adopting them in their current state if you are interested.</i><br><a href=http://www.neopets.com/petlookup.phtml?pet=sarinasaurus><img src="http://pets.neopets.com/cpn/sarinasaurus/1/2.png"></a><br><br><b>Only the pets with an "Up for Adoption" or "Being Zapped" notice are in any way adoptable. If there is no notice, assume the pet is a permie and is therefore not to be applied for.</b><br><br><b>

<h2>REQUIREMENTS</h2></b><br><i>Before you proceed to read the guidelines, you have to read these requirements. Now, keep in mind that these have been established according to Neopets Rules, as well as basic ethics: they aren't meant to annoy you. So please, act accordingly and don't skip them.<br><br>Before you think of applying for a pet of mine, you must: </i><ul><li>Be at least 4 months old on the adopting account.<li>Visit Neopets frequently enough to care for your pets<li>Have 1-3 pets in the account you will be receiving my pet in, and not have to abandon any of your pets for the sake of mine. Doing this does not further my mission as foster parent and is therefore unacceptable. <li>Have healthy pets<li><strike>EXTRA IMPORTANT: Have MSN/AIM. This is to make the transfer as safe as possible. There is no 100% safe method to transfer a pet, but having a way to immediately communicate helps make it as safe as we can make it.</strike> Obsolete as of 6/23/2008</ul><p>If you have passed these requirements, then you are ready to send in an application. Neomail is perfectly acceptable, but pet page/web page applications are accepted for all of my fosters. However, no matter what kind of application you send, you will be equally judged and observed. Web/pet page applications undoubtledly get you plenty of brownie points, but your Neolife habits are highly important. You could send me the world's loveliest application, but if I see that your pets are sick for ages without any visible attempt of yours to heal them, have no pet page, description or any sign of being cared for, you will lose all extra credit and most likely not be chosen.<p>It is also very important that you DO NOT recycle applications, steal an existing one, and generally indulge in any kind of dishonesty. That will get you <b>irrevocably</b> disqualified. <br><br>I do <b><u>not</u></b> accept owners who just want the pet for an avatar, as a "collectible item" or to display the pet as a trophy or status symbol. Playing Neopets entails a bit of appreciation for your pets, and being able to see them as actual pets instead of just items is part of it.<br><br><b><h2>Rules</h2></b><br><i>There is crucial information here (like the place where you are to send your application), so do not skip its reading</i>.<br><br>It is very important that your application:<ul>

<li>Is sent to my main account, which is <a href="http://www.neopets.com/randomfriend.phtml?user=mariclaudis102">HERE</a>. That way I will be sure not to miss it. If you have made a web/pet page application, you must Neomail the link/url to me there.<li>Has the name of the pet you want to adopt. Make it clear, I want to know exactly which of my pets you want!<li>Does not call my pet "it". Whichever pet you are applying for has a gender, and this little detail shows you actually checked his/her pet lookup.<li>Has the Pledge of Good Ownership displayed. It can be put in your user lookup/gallery/shop/petpage/any random neomail, just let me know where it is. The pledge goes as follows:<br><i></i>If I am chosen, I,     (your name)    , pledge to be the best owner I can be for my new Neopet,     (pet's name)    . I understand all the sadness that he/she has already been through, and so I will provide everything he/she needs to be happy. I promise to be a friend to my new Neopet and never ever ever put him/her through the pain of neglect or abandonment again.<li>You HAVE (yes, you have) to tell me a bit about yourself (How many times you log into Neopets, how active you are etc.), your pets and the plans you have for my adoptee. Will you roleplay with him/her? Write him/her a Neopian Times Story?<li>To make sure you have read the rules thoroughly, you must have the word <b>GOOGLEPLEX</b>  somewhere on your application. It doesn't matter where it is, as long as it is there.</ul><br><br><b><h2>CONDITIONS/SUGGESTIONS</b></h2>
<ol>
<li>I find reading chatspeak a pain. It's near impossible to read, and it doesn't really show effort. So please avoid it unless it's meant to be a joke.<li>Take your time. The pets will be up for months before a deadline is established. If a deadline is established, it means that two or more suitable owners have been found for the pet. If this is the case, you may contact me for an extension up to 5 days before the deadline. <li>If you are unsure whether an application is good enough, have somebody review it. Have a friend look it over it, or swing by TNO for help from an application evaluator.<li><li>Creativity is always a plus. I will definitely prefer reading something like "Gift! Hey, Gift! You won't believe it! I was wandering around Neopia Central, when I met this really nice girl/boy/alien who wants to be my owner!" rather than seeing "can I hav y3r_______? I rely liked it.<li>You may only send in an application <i>once</i>, so make it your best. If the pets must go through various stages of judgment (usually because of lots of applicants), or any other unusual circumstances apply, I will tell you so in the pet's look up and pet page. You will be able to improve it in those circumstances.</ol><br><b>I will send you a neomail telling you whether you have been chosen or not. <strike>Avoid sending</strike> Do not send me hatemail if you are not chosen. Rudeness will not get you anywhere, at Neopets or any other place.<br><br><font color=red><h2>DISCLAIMER</h2>: I am not, in any way, shape or form selling pets, or trading them for items. </font><br><br>Do not contact me about trading my foster for your pet. The <u>only</u> way you'd ever get a foster of mine is through the application process I already described.</b>

<br><br><b><h2>F.A.Q</b></h2><br><b>Your foster already has a personality: can I change it into something else?</b>
<br>Sure, I only do those for fun and/or to give the people looking at my pet ideas when they're not feeling creative. You can write your application based on whatever personality you feel suits the pet better, I don't mind. Your vision of the pet's personality will not affect my choice either, even if it's radically different from my original idea.<br><b>If I get the pet, can I keep the petpet that's attached to it, too?</b><br>Unfortunately, no. The petpets are around to keep the pet company while they're in the Adoption Agency. When they get an owner, the petpet will stay behind waiting for the next sad pet to arrive at the agency. It's up to the new owner to get the pet a petpet or not.

<br><br><b><h2>ADIEU!</b></h2><br><br>Thank you for making it thus far. Despite any appearances to the contrary, I'm actually quite patient and always willing to accept questions concerning my fosters, once the person has read through this page of course (what would be the point of it otherwise?). All neomails will be recieved at my <a href="http://www.neopets.com/randomfriend.phtml?user=mariclaudis102">main account</a> (where they'll be read the fastest). Good luck, and happy applying!

<br><br><b><h2>USEFUL LINKS</b></h2>

<br><br><a href=http://www.neopets.com/~mymommyspoilsmemore><img src=http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y252/rainbow_daydreamer/ffb4.jpg></a><a href="http://www.neopets.com/~ladie_media">
      <img border="0" src="http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j76/kiddiekitty854/biteadd.gif" width="201" height="42"></a><br><a href=http://home.neopets.com/templates/homepage.phtml?pet_name=AmiyasPrincess><img src=http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/prispics/spacefaeireban.png border=0 target=_blank></a><a href="http://www.neopets.com/~perle_de_crystaux"><img src="http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo49/lilydreamz/requests/Anythingbutton2.png"></a><p><a href=http://petpages.neopets.com/~Verouse> <img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/OhCaffinatedOne/apphelpbanner1.jpg border="0"></a><a href="http://www.neopets.com/~Bloo10101"><img src="http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt95/MJBI/ApplicationHelp.png"></a>


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