New Users FAQ! [Updated- Oct. 2014]

[Lime]

Hello, all! Lime here!

So we've noticed a whole bunch of new people, and I'd like to give a big official welcome to everybody! Especially those who I haven't had a chance to welcome yet.

We're really excited to make Windlyn an exciting place with lots of colourful events and cool things to do -- although we're still fresh and new, with only two current staff members (Diana and myself) -- so things are a little slow to get rolling, and we appreciate your support and interest in our site. It really means a lot to us.

We've had several questions that I'd be happy to answer. I've sectioned them off for easier reading, so you can check them out below! Thanks!


What is WindlynOnline all about, anywho?

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WindlynOnline is a site for people to talk about anything from TV shows, movies, comic books, video games, anime and manga, role-playing, and more! It's a spot for all of us to be able to meet new people and hang out in a fun environment. Diana and I realize that it's hard for people like us to find a cool community to talk about nerdy/geeky things, or have fun and relax without worrying about people trolling or being jerks, or fishing for money. We really hope things stay this way, and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we do!

Why do you have so little items, and why do you use hand-drawn avatars?

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This is a common question, so I'm glad to answer. Diana and I wanted something different from every other avatar site. Most sites use pixel or vector art for theirs, and we wanted a new experience that gave Windlyn a unique look- so every item is hand-drawn, from scratch to completion by either Diana or myself. We're also a two-person-army who also work on everything else you see here- so yes, we're a little slow! But we update as frequently as possible!

Is there going to be male/female avatars? Or are they all unisex?

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Currently, all avatars will be unisex bases with the option to have male/female faces, and male/female clothing. This is because we don't want to make gender-specific items that you can't equip to either (or that will look weird with layering!), and make it easy and fun for people to dress up their avatar. Currently, it is also easier to have one base, since Diana and I are the only people working on this site, so it also makes our jobs a little easier.

So it's only you two working on this site? Can I help?

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We appreciate these kind of offers so much! It means a lot knowing that people are interested in helping out, and wanting to make Windlyn a better place. Unfortunately, we're not big enough to have need for new staff, although in the future once Windlyn grows, we might be accepting volunteers to help out. This is because all costs of this site are coming out of our own pockets, so we cannot afford to pay anybody else.

So what do you and Diana do?

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Diana and I are splitting the work on Windlyn, with her doing all the coding behind the scenes (it's a huge job), and myself dealing with help/support/users/etc. We also split the avatar art/work, which is why you will currently see two different styles! Whether this will change in the future, we're not entirely sure. But it's how we're doing it so far, and it seems to be working fine.

Can I donate? And will you have donation items?

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Yes- actually! We're working on making a donation system through Paypal that will allow people to donate real money to get a currency called wings -> . Although donation items won't be our primary focus, like a lot of other avatar sites, because we realize not everybody has money to spend! This is purely for people to help out, and we appreciate your willingness to help us get moving!

You can donate to our Paypal directly, as we accept donations of any kind! But we will be manually giving out wings, so it may take a little longer. $1 USD is the equivalent to 100 . Although we won't have any donation items until after the avatars are redone, you can still save them until then! If you'd like to donate, please PM me and I'll give you the information and walk you through it if need-be. Thanks!

So are you guys going to have lore behind Windlyn, or just be a generic community site?

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Oh boy, we plan to have story- and lots of it! Nothing is better than being able to read along what happens within a world, and even being able to shape the people and events around it. We want to create cool and fun stories and events, based off of a fictional fantasy world called Windlyn (where we got the title!) that people can participate in. Although this is purely flesh and cosmetics, we have to work on coding and making sure this site is functional before we can begin on that! But it's definitely important!

Are you guys affiliated with anybody?

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Nope- none! WindlynOnline is run by just two people who have spare time and want to make something enjoyable for everybody. All expenses, effort, time, etc, comes out of our own pockets and schedules! Due to people advertising our site in signatures from other avatar sites, you may see some people that seem familiar. This isn't uncommon! It's only out of the kindness of their hearts that they're advertising for us. We appreciate it all, thank you!

Is there a way for us to follow your progress through social media sites?

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Why yes there is! We currently have a Facebook and Tumblr for WindlynOnline. If you don't like social media, don't worry! Anything important will be updated directly through our site! Facebook and Tumblr are for side projects, small updates, and little things! They're not crucial, although we encourage anyone who has one of those accounts to pop on and say hi, and check us out!

I haven't heard updates recently! Are you dead?

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Nope! Since this site is run by two people, sometimes life gets in the way, and we don't have time to post updates. We're not going to give up working on WindlynOnline. We're passionate about this site, and we want our users to know we're here 100% working on things, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it! Unless we come out with an official statement for some reason saying we've died, we're not going anywhere!

Lastly, if you have any comments, questions, concerns, or even feedback, please let us know here in our support forums. Don't be shy!
Otherwise, feel free to send me a PM with any concerns you have. I always try to reply within a day or two of receiving it! Thanks so much guys!

[Lime]

Here are some more follow-up questions we want to answer for you!

New questions will be posted below, so users who have already read them won't need to search for updates ones.


Why is my name green? What do all these name colors mean?

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Green colored names are for new users. Once you've made a few posts, this will go away and you'll have a regular black name.

Purple names are lead admins only. This includes just Diana and I.

Blue names are for mods. Although we don't have many yet.

Red names are NPCs (non-played characters). These are characters for shops, events, etc. They are not real users.

Black names are currently regular registered users, who have made a few posts, and are active on Windlyn.

I see some items you and Diana have that I can't find in the shop- what's that about?

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Diana and I have some specific "exclusive" items that we each own (and usually) wear on our avatars. This is to easily differentiate us from other users on the site- so you can easily pick us out in threads and forums. Whether we release these exclusive items in the future or not, we're not sure! But if we do, we'll let you know.

There's items that other people have that I can't find! Help!

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Some items are event-only items, that users can acquire by being a member and claiming it within a certain amount of time. These items are only one per person, and once the event is over and they're gone- they're gone! So if you missed an event you won't be able to pick up one of the items later.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to PM me! I'll answer everything I can, and it might be added to the list. Thanks everyone!