The Virtupet Chat Board (VPC) prior to 2003 was private and hidden on the site Neopets.com. It was home to a community of folk who often had to deal with N00bs' and Spammers. The Community of this time frowned upon their spam, lack of grammar and of course not being on topic. Some VPCers wished to have a board that would be open to all forms of discussion while some wanted to limit it only to topics relating to Doctor Sloth.
The N00B wars/The First VPC Struggle[]
The following information is related to the fanfiction The Fall of the VPC, the full text can be found here The Fall of the VPC
This fanfiction, The Fall of the VPC by the Spidergrundo, covers the event of the VPC finally being made public in late 2003. Prior to this, many adversaries had been manageable on the private chat board. An event referred to as the Grey Menace, and someone in particular called Summersands was frozen. The N00b list that created a whole host of trouble for the VPC was created as a means of sectioning the VPCers from those who spammed. However, a user known as EntertheBattledome demanded the list be deleted or the VPC would be exposed to all boards. When this didn't happen ETB invited a bunch N00bs on to the board, and then only after this happened the list was deleted. It could be argued that this escalation of conflict is what finally lead to TNT revealing the private board to the rest of the site.
2003 - THE VPC GOES PUBLIC[]
The secret that had been hidden, was now exposed. The VPC was now revealed to all on Neopets, and this would ultimately change the community forever. The revealing of the board was met with distaste by many Vpcers as Spidergrundo comments in his fanfic on a thread that was titled - 'I can't believe the board is public now. It's awful'
Will's Wacky World: The Virtupet Chat Board[]
A link to the Blog - THE VIRTUPETS CHAT- THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE GOOFY by Will, Pub Sept 26 2004
A blog was published on September 26th 2004 by Will and goes into a little more detail about the off-topic spamming that occurred during 2004, he adds how users such as Ihtnk and later side their side Ihtnk_res constantly posted utter nonsense and pointless threads. At some point during the Reformation Movement, this user was frozen and never heard of again. The VPCers also developed their own coded language which was basically FF10 language Al Bhed, and was devised to annoy Francis and many other users. Francis also had a massive habit of reporting any topic that wasn't necessarily VPC related. That led to most VPCers wanting to annoy him more. Francis in particular had long rivalry with three other users, Ebgonboy, Trauwyn, and Slinky. Francis also had an alliance with someone called Omega. Will also adds how around this time the VPCers began doing new things such as Roleplaying. Other games that became popular was one that was devised by Egonyboy but given to Trauwyn and was called NeoKaut; it helped VPCers create machines and robots for Sloth's army. Furthermore, other threads appeared that allowed users to roleplay, they were known as Slothyful Coffee Shop and Sloth Burgers. On that familiar note, a few years later the Virtupet Café would also make its round on the VPC. The shops disappeared when Egon devised the VPCRP, that would later move and become the RP Site.
During all this a new spammer emerged called Dianketo. Who made a total nuisance of himself. It got the point where the VPCers put him on trial, however, he later apologized and joined the VPC as a regular. Will further adds that as spam got so bad, a website called Virtupets Website was created, however, it no longer exists presently following Freewebs falling under new management. The blog explains that the site was largely successful and was moderated by VPCers. The site further grew until Egonboy the creator of the site left and handed his position over to Velo. Since then the site went downhill.
Will further adds that he believes the Vpcers will defeat the spammers that are attacking the chat board, and that they were plans to introduce new minions onto the board, as well as make treaties with other boards.
The following extracts are taken from the Blog ---
catewilliams talked about what she is trying to do to the VPC in relation to other boards - “The VPC is really full of people that are really tough, it’s cool to be in a board that has tough people and ones that don’t stand the spam. I am really working had on trying to make a treaty with every board, but I know how hard that would be, and the risk of getting frozen, so I choose not to. But I like the VPC because it’s really addicting board, you know most of the people there... and its also friendly in a manner.”
sweet_little_saiyan3 has this to say about the VPC. “Well, the VPC is pretty cool when all the regs are on which is at night for me but during the day its rather boring. hardly any minions or antis for that matter. just a lot of annoying people spamming but still its fun to see people making fools out of themselves.”
pichuthunder777 said this about the types of people at the VPC. “The VPC is a great board (if you ignore the spammers) and its got very interesting people in it, such as the brainwashed minions like me, or the goody-goodies who want to protect Neopia.” So, what will happen to the VPC? Will Sloth come, and make the minions happy and the antis suffer? Will the spammers when the battle with the VPC regs? --- Will concludes with the fact that the blog meant no offense, and that whilst some topics on the VPC are off-topic, not all spammers are necessarily bad. He further invites others to come visit the board.
==
The following is a poem on the Fanfic by Evilshamanofdarkness ==
When we rest tonight
And think of the day
Remember Virtupets
And what the Evil Ones had to pay.
For Virtupets was the place
Where we felt truly content
Now look at the chat, see for yourself
All the m00fs TNT has sent.
This is is where Sloth
Formerly noogen
Was the most popular person here
Now infested with n00bs, how sad I feel
Now stay awhile and remember this place
Sit and shed a tear.
So sit here and remember
This place and Virtupets
Weep and mourn for the loss of the board
What a memory it sets!
This memory you feel inside
You feel so angry and sad
You wonder how the m00fs must feel
Hopefully awful and bad.
If you're a m00f
I bid you farewell
This is only for those
Who understand what I tell
I feel betrayed and alone
For Virtupets was my safe dwelling
I tell m00fs this, if any are here
Please do not listen to this telling
When n00bs invaded it began
This terrible feeling in my heart
For then I realized this had happened
And with the VPC I had to part
When Vira was frozen I realized
These m00fs will fight to the end
But moving here will not erase this
There is by far too much to mend
When in need of courage think of Vira
She gave her account and neostuff
To try to save the VPC
So think of her when times grow tough. --Evilshamanofdarkness
Then and Now[]
It can be gathered from the accounts at that time by those who were there, many felt the revealing of the VPC was a sign of its fall, that it would be overrun by folk who just didn't understand what it stood for. The Poem is right in many respects, because we did fight on, we fought to the bitter end. The events after 2003 would serve as a prelude to what was to come later over the years. New faces would come, and a Sloth plot dawned. But in the end all good stories have an end.
--- Additional points
I could only gather so much information from Spider Grundos account, however, if you were on the VPC around this time, and faced Summersands, Grey Menace and other then please add them to this section. It's going to prove difficult recovering every drop of detail but anything will do
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1668920/1/The-Fall-of-the-VPC - The Fall of the VPC
http://www.neopets.com/~belie62963 - Petpage that also features above poem and belongs to username - faerie_queen_fyora49 </references>