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Special Edition Newsletter
Topic Started: Apr 1 2014, 04:39 PM (5,219 Views)
Orca Freak
Member Avatar
Killer Whales rule the World

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[anchor]intro[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: fridooh

HellPosted Image everyone.

The round table is celebrating its first year. The forum has had its ups and down, but we are still alive and standing strong! We would like to thank all the staff we've had over the year that kept the page active with contests, events and also keeping the forum clean and family friendly. But TRT would be nothing without all the dedicated members who helped to keep the site active with all your beautiful zoos, wonderful designs, stunning artwork and kind nature.

We are celebrating this birthday with a very special newsletter for you. Here you can read about the sites history and creators, all the fun events and competitions, all our features, get to know the staff better and also news that made a difference to the community. We have also included a special puzzle corner for you where you can win great prizes :)

Thank you for a great year and we hope for many many more!

  • [go2=intro]Introduction[/go2]
  • [go2=history]History[/go2]
  • [go2=events]Events[/go2]
  • [go2=marathons]Marathons[/go2]
  • [go2=features]Features[/go2]
  • [go2=spotlight]Spotlight[/go2]
  • [go2=encyclopedia]Encyclopedia[/go2]
  • [go2=RTZI]RTZI[/go2]
  • [go2=animal]Focus[/go2]
  • [go2=interviews]Interviews[/go2]
  • [go2=games]Games[/go2]


[anchor]history[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: Zebrasorus

It’s been said so often, but I’m still amazed that the Round Table even survived two months, let alone an entire year, yet here it is, still alive and well. It’s undergone a good deal of change, but many things have also stayed the same; the things that attracted people in the first place.

One thing I always thought notable about this forum, was simply how different it was, and still is. Many of the past websites in this community often seemed to be the same thing with a different forum skin on it, but the Round Table stood out. This wasn’t always to its benefit, but for people wanting something different, we were there.

The start of TRT is interesting, though. It was first thought of in a time when Gaia was going through some difficulty between staff and members. There were issues being brought up or thought about quietly that weren’t being resolved, and like many members, three friends weren’t quite satisfied. They were, of course, Danny, Josh, and I. Since then Gaia’s made a great deal of change for the better, and that’s wonderful for them, but much of the originality found here came out of wanting something different.

So we had topics upon topics of ideas and plans; some were made a reality, others got lost in our mess of a staff forum. If I had to choose a time when my friendship with Danny or Josh was most fun, it was probably then. Would you believe that one of our most defining features, the Pointies Zoo, almost didn’t happen? I believe Danny and I were both rather skeptical of the idea at first, but go figure; Josh was right. (This was something we learned happened a lot.)

But of all our ideas, I think it’s our main inspiration that attracted people the most. The Round Table was based on the idea of equality and kindness. We all agreed that staff shouldn’t act better than a member for any reason. Our original “target audience” was actually the n00bs of the community, with hopes of helping them into the community, but anyone was welcome to join.

I don’t think anyone really took the site seriously at first, but over time we earned respect and loyal members, whom we would not still be here without.

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[anchor]events[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: fridooh

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One of the biggest events here at TRT, the Swinter Party! The event contained a bunch of fun activities, such as exiting contests, two new community games and a new theme; Snowflakes in the Sand! There were also new special downloads, fun goodies, new silhouettes and titles! The staff worked long and hard for this event and we'd like to thank them for their work. I'm sure we all enjoyed this event a lot!
A fun game was the snow wars. The aim of the game was to have as much snowflakes by the end of the swinter party as possible. Another game was the Shell Collecting Competition, where staff had hidden 32 different shells around the board. It was up to the members to search for them!
And let’s not forget the new emoticons
B-) :snow: (:^)

Would you like to revisit the swinter party? Check it out here!

The swinter party also included a total of three contests - in-game photography, sets and photography. We had lots of great entries, but some of them stood out and came top three.

In-game photography, Strangers in a New World
Trademark with the entry “A Giant in the Woods”, 1st place
Farkle with the entry “Artic Alligator”, 2nd Place.
Imp with the entry “Bad Bet”, 3rd Place
1993 with the entry “Swinter Holidays”, 3rd Place

Swinter Set
Adam with the entry “Graceful Gruidaes”, 1st Place
Farkle with the entry “Polar Paradise”, 2nd Place
Stephen with the entry “Good Flight”, 3rd Place

Swinter Photography
Orca Freak with the entry “Winter Wonder Land”, 1st Place
Ultamateterex2 with the entry “Icy Morning”, 2nd Place
Furka with the entry “Isola d'Elba”, 3rd Place

A huge thank you to all the participants and congratulations to the winners! :)

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At the end of October, Halloween came to the site! This event contained fun games, two contests, new exclusive silhouettes and a new theme - Midnight Green. The game "pick a pumpkin" became a huge hit, the members had to choose a pumpkin that could contain a price, maybe some pointies or a special Mythical silhouette. The trick or truth game also became a hit, where members visited staff teams "houses" and guessed who the house belonged to and if the statement made was true or false.
RTZI also had their Halloween celebration with a Creatures of Darkness challenge. And of course, a huge thank you to Royboy who gave us a Halloween gift, the Columbian Mammoth!
Let’s not forget the new Emoticons :pumpkin: :boo:

Revisit here!

One of the contests was the "Spooky Story" contest where members wrote their own horror story!
Tyranachu with the story "Computer 16", 1st Place
Snoopy with the story "You Can't Scream", 2nd Place
Flower with the story "Hell Girl", 2nd Place
Murdock129 with the story "Unhinged", 2nd Place
Myrtle Snow with the story "Shadows", 3rd Place
JurassicMT with the story "Terror at Praya Pong Dum", 3rd Place

The other contest was the Dress-Up contest, where members could nominate the people who they thought had the best Halloween set!
Okeanos, 1st Place
MrGorsh, 2nd Place
Furka, 3rd Place

A huge thank you to all the participants and congratulations to the winners! :)

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Merry Christmas everyone! We celebrated Christmas with lots of new fun features such as goodies & Christmas silhouettes. Santa’s Reindeers where hiding around the site and it was up to you to find as many as possible!
We also played a different version of pick a present, this time, you had to pick a present for someone else! After all, Christmas is the time for giving :) The presents could contain everything from 100 pointies to a very special Christmas silhouette; Rudolph!

Revisit here!

We had a total of three contests during Christmas, in game photography, art and zoo building.

Christmas at the Zoo
Swimming Spaghetti Monster with the entry Aurora Arctic Center, 1st Place
Izzibob with the entry Polar Bear Exhibit, 2nd Place
Knertje2208 with the entry Arctic Excursion, 3rd Place

Postcards from the North Pole
Orca Freak with the entry "A Little Reindeer", 1st place
Zoocrazy with the entry "Hard Life", 2nd place
fridooh with the entry "Lonely Christmas", 3rd place

Creative Christmas
fridooh with the entry "Polar Bear Close-up", 1st place
Robbie with the entry "Heaven", 2nd place
Mastodon28 with the entry "TRT Star", 3rd place

A huge thank you to all the participants and congratulations to the winners! :)

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[anchor]marathons[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: Danny & Orca Freak

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April 12th – May 12th

The Marathon I was a mega-competition made up of one main challenge as well as various smaller challenges which involve zoo-building, in game photography, graphics-designing, writing and project design! The contest was run in various teams with the theme: Continents.
The main challenge of the competition was to design a zoo featuring animals only from your chosen continent. The zoo may be created on multiple maps if that is easiest or it may be made on one map swapped between members of the team. Not all the members in the team had to be involved in this main challenge, however, as there were plenty of opportunities throughout the event for them to get involved. Teams were also required to discuss plans and ideas in their own special hangouts on the site as a small percentage of their total marks was based on the discussion they did as a team.

Winners:
1st Place: Team Desana (South America) ~ AuroraFang • dp197 • Flishstar • Franco • MIBound • Titan
2nd Place: Ushindi (Africa) ~ Alex • Animalboy • Danny • Imp • TradeMark • zozmonster
3rd Place: Europe's Finest (Europe) ~ Crookedjaw • monoslocos • Stephen • The Dragon Whisperer • uolym
Star of the Competition: MiBound

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October 12th – December 1st

The two biggest sites of the moment, TRT and Gaia, have worked hard to create what we hope was the most fun, challenging and exciting contest in the history of the Zoo Tycoon Community. Marathon II is the first event hosted by both Gaia and the Round Table. Because of this cooperation, there will be several differences between this marathon and the original. Challenges and polls will be posted on both sites and members will be able to sign-up for the contest on either site as well. Hangouts were available on each site to promote activity between the two forums. We had 5 judges for each site. As with the previous Marathon, the judges decided the scoring for all of the challenges, however the final entries was scored based on a poll. The theme for the first Marathon was "Continents". This time, we chose the theme "Biomes".

Winners:
1st Place: Team Sach'arara (Forest) ~ caviar • Okeanos • Farkle • keenakeen• RockY• Esmerelda
2nd Place: Team Ex Aqua Emergens (Wetlands) ~ Barackobamasaurus• Cat • Julien • Laura• Stephen
3rd Place: Team Kubwa Kaliba (Savannah) ~ l993• Hudson• Neonraptor• OwlEye• Panthera leo• Yur
Star of the Competition: Okeanos

A huge thank you to all the participants and everyone who helped behind the scenes; and congratulations to the winners!

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[anchor]features[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: fridooh

Here at TRT we have a wide range of features for your use, and all to get TRT to be as funny and original as possible. Here we have listed the websites largest features so you can read, and maybe find something you did not already know!

You can also read about our features here!

Pointies system:
Every post you make, you get three pointies. If you participate in competitions, events, have the right answers in the newsletter's tricky questions, you can win pointies. There are many opportunities for you to earn some extra pointies as long as you are active. For your pointies you can buy a silhouette for your Mini Profile zoo, or maybe give a silhouette to a Friend. You can also buy a brand new rank, such as the Bird Handler, Carnivore Specialist or Head Zookeeper. You can do all this in our pointies shop here! You can read more about pointies here.

Mini Profile ZoPosted Image
In our pointies shop you can find a variety of animals that you can buy for your pointies. These animals are called silhouettes and appear under your avatar. Hold the mouse over them , you can see an explanation for them and how the member received it. You can win silhouettes if you get a good placement in a contest, or been involved in an event, or in any other way earned a silhouette. Sometimes a rare, very rare or limited normal silhouettes are avalible in the shop during for example events. These can be bought for a certain time and then disappears again.

Make your own silhouette here or see all sillhouettes at the site here!

Staff PM Box:
The Staff PM Box is another cool feature we have brought here from the old Round Table. The idea is that, rather than PMing an individual staff member, you can post it in the PM Box and every staff member can view the post. If you have a download to upload, a contest entry to post or just an idea you only want the staff to know, the PM Box is the place to put it! - Danny

Creativity Panel:
The Creativity Panel offers a lot of art, such as photography, classic art, digital art and littrature. Are you artistic. you should definitely open a topic and display your artwork. Otherwise, you can look at other people's art, and feel free to leave a comment. In this section you can also find blogs that users have started, these can be about anything, members interests, everyday life or something entirely different. Feel free to open your own blog and share your interests. You can also find game designing, here members share their personal use designs. These designs will not be released as downloads, but there are many talented members showing incredible designs. If you design yourself, but do not want to release your designs as downloads, this is the place to show your art!

Downloads:
You can find lot of downloads in our download section, here but do not forget to check members' own topics where they show and sometimes release their designs as downloads. You will find our designing section here. If you design and want to share your designs, this is where you want to open a topic. There are also expansion and Designing Team Projects. Some members are the really talented and it's great fun to see everything they come up with. If you'd like to release a download, you can fill out a form that you will find here! This way, your design an official download on TRT!

Emoticons:
We have a variety of emoticons that are completely exclusive for TRT. These must not be used outside of TRT without permission. You can find them on the left side, if you use the full reply screen. - Danny

You can even make your own emoticons, check our tutorial!

Joinable Groups:
One of the features we have brought over here from the old RT is that members can have their own section in the "The Rooms" category. All you have to do is fill out a form and add members to your group! These sections are private and only the members you choose can even see them. You could make a group for your design team, a hangout for friends or a fan group for a book or movie you like. - Danny

Find the form here!

Tutorial Library
This section has grown in recent weeks and now contains a lot of tutorials divided into sections, like art, designing and zoobuilding. You can find a lot of cool stuff here, things you did not know and things you've always wondered how to do. Feel free to make your own tutorial and share your knowledge!

Newsletter
Every month we release our very own newsletter. There you can read the month's events, news, interviews with members and information about a specific animal. Each month, a selected animal becomes Animal of the month and is also released into our pointies shop. We also have polls where members answer questions and the resilts are displayed in the newsletter. But of course the newsletter is also full of fun and games, where you can ponder on riddles, math problems and more fun. Find the right answer, and you can get a small prize!

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[anchor]spotlight[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: Danny, Zebrasorus and jragonizer

GENERAL
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Name: Daniel (Isaac)
Birthday: 3 December, 1997
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Favourite colour: Blue
Favourite food: My favourite food would have to be chocolate, followed closely by mango.
Pets: Our family has always kept a few pets. Our pet history includes rabbits, guinea pigs, finches, yabbies, hermit crabs, canaries, goldfish, quails, budgerigars and fighting fish. Currently, we have six pets: a golden labrador named Romey, a central bearded dragon named Gimli and three almost-two-month-old chickens named Snuggles, Pebbles, Pip and Darth Vader.
Favourite animals: My favourite animals would have to be big cats. Ever since I was a little kid, my favourite animal has been the Amur tiger, but I also love snow leopards, amur leopards and cheetahs, among other large feline species. My favourite non-feline animals would be red pandas, bears, rhinoceroses, leopard seals and platypuses.
Studying: I am currently studying 5 subjects in Year 11, the second-last year level in Victorian Secondary Education. These subjects are Biology, Chemistry, English, Information Technology and Specialist Mathematics. I am also studying Year 12 Mathematics Methods.
Future Plans: I currently plan to go to university after school to study to get into a Bachelor of Science course, focusing on Biological science (zoology in particular). I then wish to be able to work in a zoo (possibly as I continue further study) and hopefully, one day, succeed in my dream to run my own zoo.

INTERESTS:
Hobbies: I have many hobbies including drawing, graphic design, playing sports, singing in the shower, reading about animals, making things, creating games with powerpoint and so on.
Collections: I currently collect Schleich animal models and have a total collection of about 220 figurines. As well as this, I used to collect stamps and plush animals.
Animals: My interest in animals started as a young boy. I don't remember exactly what started it, because for as long as I can remember, I have loved animals, but my mum believes it may be because my grandma bought me an animal book when I was three. At that age, using that book, I taught myself to read and write. Ever since then, I have loved learning about animals, going to the zoo, drawing animals and writing about animals.
Art: Another interest of mine is art. For years, I've loved drawing and have since then, have really improved in my abilities. I have begun learning computer art and have attempted other forms of art as well. My favourite art form is sketching, but I am only any good at drawing animals.
Sport: Another major passion of mine would have to be sport, which is almost considered a religion here in Melbourne :P My two favourite sports are cricket and footy, although I don't play footy in a team. Cricket is a gentleman's sport played by many Commonwealth countries and involves a fielding team and a batting team, much like baseball. Footy (Australian Rules Football) on the other hand is a very rough sport which first became popular in my home state, Victoria. The footy team I support won the premiership last year.

COMMUNITY:
Best known for: Being a founding admin at the Round Table.
Reason for joining TRT: Originally, I didn't actually want to help staff this site because every site I had ever worked on before this one had not worked out and all the staff had left the place for me to deal with. Eventually though, I agreed just because my friend, Josh, and my girlfriend, Susan, were running it. What attracted me to the idea was that the plan of the site was to be a place where newer members would feel comfortable, be able to get involved in the community and have fun.
Community Achievements: I was Member of the Month at Northern Skies in January 2012, Member of the Season at Gaia in Spring 2012. My major staffing history includes being VIP at Gaia and an Admin at the Round Table
Skills: The things I have loved to do in the community include running contests and festivals, building zoos, designing graphics and chatting with members. My designing abilities include skinning and some coding edits.
History: I joined the community about three or four years ago but never got involved until I joined Aurora Designs Forums, where I made my first friend, OkapiSnowlio. A few months later, ADF became Northern Skies, which is the site I started to become more well-known at. After the fall of Northern Skies, I moved to Gaia and from Gaia, I helped found the Round Table.
Memorable Moment: The most memorable part of my time in the community was meeting Susan, my girlfriend, over a year and a half ago.
What I Want to be Remembered by: I want to be remembered as someone who always wanted to be fair, include everyone and have fun.




GENERAL
Posted Image

Name: Susan (Helen)
Birthday: February 24th, 1997
Location: California, USA
Favourite color: Green
Favourite food: Pizza; I could eat pizza for a week straight and not get sick of it. xD
Pets: Greeting me daily with the greatest look of disgust possible, is Chili, my very grumpy bearded dragon.
Favourite animals: My favorite animal/aquatic creature is the Manta Ray, and it's been that way since I first got the Marine Mania expansion for ZT2, at which point I proceeded to have at least four of them in every zoo I made. xD
Future Plans: I'm hoping to get into an art and architecture university located in Australia and major in Architecture. I'm particularly interested in things like exhibit design, but even designing buildings sounds exciting, and I can't wait.

INTERESTS:
Hobbies: Skateboarding is something I like doing in my free time; just riding a longboard to a park or something to clear my mind is really relaxing. I guess ZT2 designing could also be considered a hobby of mine.
Art: This is probably one of my biggest passions in life. Be it drawing, painting, or graphic design, art is something I absolutely love. I haven't been in the most creative streak lately, but whenever I feel the need to express myself, there's an art desk full of supplies to help.
Music: This would be my other major passion. There's hardly any kind of music I don't like, and I can listen to the same song over and over again for hours before I get tired of it, because each time I listen in for certain parts of the song; maybe a bassline, or some supporting synthesizer patterns. The same song can sound different to me this way, and I feel it helps my musical understanding as well. On that note, I play three instruments. I've been taking piano lessons (so technique and theory) for 7 or 8 years now, guitar (acoustic) for one, and bass for about a month. I dreamed of playing bass for years before I finally got one last Christmas, and I've been learning as fast as I can since; I also play in my church's youth group band, which is a lot of fun.

COMMUNITY:
Best known for: Helping start TRT or my design projects
Reason for joining TRT: Boredom, mostly. :D
Community Achievements: I've been Member of the Season (Summer 2013) at Gaia, Admin and Founder here, as well as Moderator at Gaia and Taiga.
Skills: A while ago I mentioned wanting to acquire every skill in the community, and I think I accomplished what I wanted with that goal. I now can create graphics, take decent ingame photography, build zoos and exhibits, and do all of the common parts of designing. I'm also beginning to learn about creating animations for ZT2, so I'll be able to add that to the skills I possess soon.
History: I first became active when I started making PowerPoint graphics at Tesara, which is also when I met my first real community friend, Waldo. Being the n00b I was, I missed all of the drama, and only moved to Northern Skies when everyone had disappeared from Tesara. That's where I met most of my closer friends; JRA, Danny, Jasper, Jimmy, and so on. That's also when I started designing, encouraged by people like Okapi Rainforest, Jasper, and -JimmyzHoopz-. Eventually NS fell as well and I moved to Gaia, and then from Gaia to TRT, but I've since started being active at both sites. In my time in the community, I met some of the greatest friends I've ever had, and I'm most grateful for that.
Memorable Moment: I guess I just touched on this, but the close friends I've made are going to be the part I never forget when I move on from the community. Josh and Danny are/have been the best friends I could ever ask for; not too many people could put up with someone like me (let alone enjoy it), but these two have always done that for me. Neither have been afraid to tell me the truth when I need to hear it, or cheer me up when I felt too down to get better. I don't think I'd be who I am now if it weren't for them. I guess sometimes things happen and distance will fall between some of us, but I don't think I'll ever forget or repay them for all they've done.
What I Want to be Remembered by: I feel like I've done a lot in this community; designed, built, etc.; but none of that really matters in the end. If there's anything I want to be remembered for in this community, I'd want it to be that I was a genuinely good person, even when things were tough. I might not be that yet, but that's my goal, and I guess that's a start.




GENERAL
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Name: Joshua
Known By: Jragonizer, Josh or JRA
Birthday: 3 April, 1997
Location: Louisville, Kentucky {USA}
Food: Yes I love food. I will eat just about anything... but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate something REALLY good ;) I love "Italian Food:" The stereotypical pizza, noodles and salads. But honestly I could write a book on food and my love for it... wonder if Jennifer Lawrence would want to co-write it with me...
Pets: I'm completely obsessed with my puppy named Pixar. He's been with us since Christmas and is FINALLY nearing the end of his potty-training experience! (I say this as he pees on the tile...)

Posted Image Posted Image
lots of text for the win wootPixar the Puppythis is a large bloc of invisible text and i dont care aSome of my arts

Studying: Hopefully I will begin college clepping by the end of this year, so as a Homeschooler I still have to finish arithmetic, an advanced course in history, theology, reasoning and composition, along with finishing this Biology textbook {woot}. Hopefully I will register for some online coding and programing courses as well. As for actually going to a University, I'm still undecided. I'm currently interning at a business development and strategic marketing organization which I could work full time at once I've completed my studies. The education being invested into me there has been optimal and hopefully I can skip an institution all together because of the experience I'm gaining firsthand there. At the same time I would love to go to seminary, so we'll just have to see how that all works out.

Future Plans: My hopes are to be a business developer and maybe have some ties with marketing and other business roles. Within that career I dream to be able to develop upon my other interests of graphic design, coding, writing and computer technology. Most importantly I want to have a family and have time to homeschool my children and follow my god in whatever He leads me.

INTERESTS:
Hobbies: My hobbies consist of just about anything that will get me out of doing my school and cleaning. This includes sleeping, showering and eating. :) I also enjoy several outdoor activities, socializing, and the stuffs I listed up there^
Music: I love love love music, of almost every genera. I don't really play any, though I do know some songs on the guitar. Mostly though, I just prefer listing to it, particularly electronic, pop, country, INDIE, rock, rap, classical... yeah, as long as the song is good and catchy, it doesn't matter the kind of music it is xD
Art: I do enjoy art, mostly in computer graphics, but I also do some drawing and hope to paint someday.
Sports: I'm not a huge sports guy, but I am rather athletic. I'm a black-belt in martial arts, a yogi {one of those weird people who do yoga}, a soccer player and an exuberant ultimate frisbee player.
Current Projects: Currently I am trying to finish up highschool before the end of the year, while I intern at a business {more on that later} I'm also developing a couple websites and a few other things as well, which I'm not sure when I'l be able to finish. If you want to keep up with that, sign-up for my email bellow.

COMMUNITY:

Best known for: Being outspoken and opinionated... and probably for founding this site :P

Reason for starting TRT: Because I was bored and wanted to have fun with my friends and meet a need that many people were seeing as necessary. I also wanted to fresh start on my attitude towards people and how I expressed my beliefs and thoughts.

Skills: I've put my hand in just about everything Zoo Tycoon and suck at it all. From the time I started working on this site with Danny and Susan, till now, I haven't played ZT2 a single time. I don't have a zoo, animal, download or anything to show either... or at least that I remember releasing :P

History: I became active during the mid reign of Northern Skies, and began working on the first TRT with Susan, CRG and many others about two months later. Danny, Jasper, Jimmy, Waldo are only a few who assisted in it's creation. I had an extremely large circle of friends for only being in the forums for two months, and I really can't give credit to anyone but CRG for that because he introduced me to so many people. In the summer of 2012 I retired from the community temporarily and then later returned with new dreams of making this forum with absolute confidence that with Danny and Susan it could be done. I'm not sure if they just didn't want to disappoint me or what, but I'm not ashamed to say I was right! We did it! Of course not without TONS and I mean TONS of work from so many others who also saw the dream of TRT and worked SO hard to make it a reality!

Memorable Moment: Meeting Susan was one of the most memorable moments. Following that would be much later when I watched many people who I once called friends, dis me and turn against me in the name of humanity. A couple of those people I highly respected and trusted. It's kind of hard to trust anyone after something like that, and what little I had left was scattered thinner in following events that I wont embellish upon.

What I Want to be Remembered by: Several people have tried to spread crap about me, by misquoting me, mis-interpreting me and bringing up things from years ago which remain irrelevant to my current state of thought. I don't want to be remembered for something or someone I wasn't. When I created TRT I wanted to have a new chance to express myself as I really am, and not as the jerk I often portrayed myself as prior, when I was trying to be cool and over-confedent. Unfortunately some wouldn't let go of that, and many still won't, so while I will state what I WANT to be remembered for, the only ones who will remember me are the ones who knew me, and they already have memories of their own. Regardless, let me be remembered as Josh, co-creator of TRT, friend of some, kinda cool, slightly awesome, and a Warrior of his Lord, Jesus Christ.

To End this little bio thingy, I want to give a BIG hug to all my dear people here on the forums, lovers and haters alike. Don't care if you were the ones encouraging me everyday or doing the opposite, I dearly miss you all, and I literally have tried to think of someone here who I'm passionately upset with and I can honestly say you are all dearly missed. I still have no plans of returning, my life only becomes more and more busy, but you never know, maybe someday I'll pop-in for a bit ;)

Until then, you can follow me on Twitter @JoshuaAhlers, Facebook (message me so I know who you are) or Email me your email address, TRT username and general location. and I'll keep you get-to-you every few months on what I'm up-to.

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[anchor]encyclopedia[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: Furka

Some of you may remember a site that was opened in 2012 known as "AnimalEncyclopedia". This site was largely unsuccessful but the idea was so great that we wanted to have that same concept here as well - a little Encyclopedia for animals of the world. With the permission of the original AE staff, we have been able to do just that. This new Animal Encyclopedia section is specifically made for members to read and create their own fact sheets.

We didn't want to make this just like any other fact file, though. The fact sheets have some basic information about the animals but also contain information specifically for how these animals are kept in zoos. Members can create their own fact sheets and edit existing ones with a simple reply. At first there were only a few made by the staff, but it didn't take long before members added their own FS to the Encyclopedia.

Credit goes to Umpaloompa for designing and creating the TRT "Animal Encyclopedia!"
Check it out here!

The Animal Encyclopedia is one part of the site that has been lacking in activity for a while, so we have come up with a contest to start getting it active again! For over a month, all complete fact sheets that any members created would have given them a certain amount of pointies and go towards unlocking new animals for the pointies shop! As well as this, the three members who made the most pointies were given their choice of one of the animals that were unlocked during the contest for free.

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[anchor]RTZI[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: Snoopy & Hippopotamus.

The Round Table of Zoos Incorporated was open to the public in august 2013. The very first two managers were Umpaloompa and Snoopy, who did an amazing job at keeping RTZI active. Sadly, Umpa left the RTZI Manager position, meaning that Snoopy was by himself. But then in February 2014, Hippopotamus. joined the Staff Team as a RTZI Manager. The current two RTZI Managers are Snoopy and Hippopotamus.

Being a part of RTZI means that you want to take your zoo building experience to the next level of realism. The services that become open to you as RTZI member are:

Currency: That's right, you get your very own bank account when you become a part of RTZI! Our currency is in ZooPoints. You can earn them in many ways; selling your animals, participating in events, etc. and use them for buying new species, buying something in one of our high quality exhibit or art shops, etc.

Trading Animals: Another step-up to realism is trading animals between the companies! It's a very simple procedure to set-up a trade topic and offer on other companies animals. Just remember to be fair and clear with your intentions!

Events, Campaigns and Challenges: Probably one of the more "hands-on" experiences you get as a part of RTZI! The events are when something that endangers the welfare and well-being of animals, happens, and RTZI provides you an opportunity to adopt these animals for free and give them a home. Campaigns are slightly more complicated, as when you get the animal, there's a small price to pay for it, like releasing the off-spring into the wild, or perhaps even the actual animal once it's recovered, but you get to keep the off-spring and likewise. Challenges are a bit like normal contests, a part from you get prizes that benefit you in RTZI rather than the forum in general.

To conclude, we, the manager's of the RTZI, would like to thank the members who have and are participating in the RTZI. Without you, we wouldn't have a RTZI to run. Thank you, the members, for always wanting to make the game more interesting and fun. Our goal is to always help you have more fun each day while being engaged in the RTZI. We hope to help all of our members who have a great experience playing Zoo Tycoon 2.

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[anchor]animal[/anchor]Posted ImageWritten by: Orca Freak
Banner by: Orca Freak


Posted Image

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. lePosted Imagepersica


Posted Image


Range:

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Asiatic lions formerly occurred in Persia, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Baluchistan. They survived in regions adjoining Mesopotamia and Syria until the middle of the 19th century, and were still sighted in the upper reaches of the Euphrates River in the early 1870s. They were widespread in Iran, but in the 1870s were sighted only on the western slopes of the Zagros Mountains and in the forest regions south of Shiraz.
Today, the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Gujarat is the only habitat for the Asiatic lion where an area of 1,412.1 km2 (545.2 sq mi) was declared as a sanctuary for their conservation in 1965. Later, a national park covering an area of 258.71 km2 (99.89 sq mi) was established where no human activity is allowed.

General:

The Asiatic lion, also known as the Indian lion, is a lion subspecies that exists as a single isolated population in India's Gujarat State. It is listed as Endangered by IUCN based on the small population size. The lion population has steadily increased in Gir Forest National Park, more than doubling from a low of 180 individuals in 1974 to a level of 411 individuals consisting of 97 adult males, 162 adult females, 75 sub-adults, and 77 cubs as of April 2010.
The most striking morphological character, which is always seen in Asiatic lions, and rarely in African lions, is a longitudinal fold of skin running along its belly.
The fur ranges in color from ruddy-tawny, heavily speckled with black, to sandy or buffish-grey, sometimes with a silvery sheen in certain lights. Males have only moderate mane growth at the top of the head, so that their ears are always visible. The mane is scanty on the cheeks and throat with where it is only 4 in (10 cm) long.
Female Asiatic lions live an average of 17 to 18 years, with a maximum of 21 years. Male Asiatic lions generally live for 16 years. Adult Asiatic lions have a less than 10% mortality rate. In the Gir forest, 33% of cubs die during their first year of life.

Habitat:

They occupy remnant forest habitats in the two hill systems of Gir and Girnar that comprise Gujarat’s largest tracts of dry deciduous forest, thorny forest and savanna.

Diet:

Lions are predatory carnivores. They usually hunt in groups, but the actual killing is done by an individual lion. They frequently bring down prey much bigger than they are themselves. Showy males have more difficulty hunting than females because of their conspicuousness; therefore females in a pride do the majority of hunting. Males are still more aggressive during feeding than the females, even though they are less likely to have killed the prey.

Threats:

The Asiatic lion currently exists as a single subpopulation, and is thus vulnerable to extinction from unpredictable events, such as an epidemic or large forest fire. There are indications of poaching incidents in recent years. There are reports that organized gangs have switched attention from tigers to these lions. There have also been a number of drowning incidents after lions fell into wells.
Prior to the resettlement of Maldharis, the Gir forest was heavily degraded and used by livestock, which competed with and restricted the population sizes of native ungulates. Various studies reveal tremendous habitat recovery and increases in wild ungulate populations following the Maldhari resettlement during the last four decades. Farmers on the periphery of the Gir Forest frequently use crude and illegal electrical fences by powering them with high voltage overhead power lines. These are usually intended to protect their crops from nilgai, but lions and other wildlife are also killed. Nearly 20,000 open wells dug by farmers in the area for irrigation have also acted as traps, which led to many lions drowning. To counteract the problem, suggestions for walls around the wells, as well as the use of "drilled tube wells" have been made.
The wild population of Asiatic lions derived from just a dozen individuals that survived in the early 20th century. The population was thus thought to be highly inbred, and especially vulnerable to disease.

Weight & Length:

Asiatic lions are slightly smaller than African lions. Adult males weigh 160 to 190 kg (350 to 420 lb), while females weigh 110 to 120 kg (240 to 260 lb). The height at the shoulders is about 3.5 ft (110 cm). The record total length of a male Asiatic lion is 2.92 m (115 in) including the tail.

Zoo Guidelines:

Keeping Asiatic lions is captivity is basically the same as keeping African lions. You’ll need a large enclosure with lots of room to wander; but also trees for shade; rocks to climb and rest on; a small pool or river to drink from, or even take a dip; and climbing structures.
Lions are strong animals that can jump both high and far; and are good climbers too. So to keep the visitors safe, a strong and effective fence to keep your lions inside their enclosure is necessary.
Lions will also need an indoor enclosure for the night. In areas where the winters are cold, this indoor facility needs to be big enough to keep the lions inside during the day as well.
A separation area is recommended, especially when you want to breed with these magnificent cats.

Pointies Animal:

Posted Image
Five paw prints hidden inside this newsletter.
Find each link and solve the riddles.
Put the letters together and form a word.
Post this world in the link below.
And bring our mascot back to TRT.

Code:
 
http://w11.zetaboards.com/The_Round_Table/pages/XXXXX/


Our lion will disappear after April 15th forever, so make sure you catch a glimpse of him before that.

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Edited by Orca Freak, Apr 1 2014, 04:45 PM.
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Killer Whales rule the World

[anchor]interviews[/anchor]Posted ImageInterviewed by: The members of TRT

A while ago we asked our members to post their most intriguing questions they wanted to ask the staff and former staff. Now it’s time to answer those questions :)

How often do you have to resist a desire to abuse staff power when dealing with especially annoying members? ~ MrGorsh

Thankfully, not too often. Yes, occasionally the temptation might come up, but it's rare, and usually easy to ignore, for me. ~ Zebrasorus

I usually tried my best to understand the person's situation before I took action. Sometimes I stuffed up badly and did things I shouldn't have but I don't think I ever really abused staff power. I just acted on what I thought was the right decision and sometimes it's difficult to get that right. ~ Danny

Well.. not often at all actually xD ~ fridooh

When I was staff I tried to deal as little with annoying members as possible simply because when I'm stressed I have a tendency to just do something out of pure intent to solve the problem at its current. There were at least a couple times that I used powers hastily and had I considered it, I would have done differently. ~ jragonizer

Not so far. But I’m a fairly new member of the Staff Team. But hopefully, it won’t happen too often in the future either. ~ Orca Freak

I don't actually use the staff power very often. But I generally try to see the situation in the most impartial way possible, I think that's the best way of solving problems. ~ Rafael

Considering I'm a very sadistic person, sometimes I'd love to use my powers to have fun torturing some members even if they weren't annoying >:) But then I remember I am a Staff Member here, and so I should act with more responsability.
I've actually never had to resist that desire. I hope to never have that desire really. :P ~ Snoopy

Generally I'm not really an "abusive" type of person and would rather like to see their point of view on the matter before making any decisions -- plus there's the other staff as well to help out seeing as I'm the RTZI Manager ;) ~ Hippopotamus.

Frequently. Though I would not say abuse but perhaps, "handle with a bit less tolerance. :P ~ Dylan

Were there many times that you either used the zetaboards staff toolkit to deal with your problem in an inappropriate way or your staff authority to put someone in hostile situation? ~ MrGorsh

I can't think of a time that was an issue for me; I generally prefer to talk out problems rather than use force. ~ Zebrasorus

Not particularly that I can think of. I tried my best to be fair, as all staff should try to do. ~ Danny

That's never been a problem for me :) ~ fridooh

Not many, but as I said for the first question, there were a couple of times. ~ jragonizer

Not so far, and I truly hope it’s going to stay that way. ~ Orca Freak

Not really, as far as I remember. As I said before, I don't use the staff power very often, and generally I also don't enter in arguments or anything that would lead me to do so in a wrong way. ~ Rafael

Not as far as I remember. ~ Furka

No, I've never had a situation like that. ~ Snoopy

Nope, I've never done that {{yet :devil: }} ~ Hippopotamus.

Staff authority? Not really. ~ Dylan

What do you guys want do to improve on this board? ~ Knertje2208

I think the most I could aim for would simply be to keep the atmosphere friendly and welcoming. That and figuring out how to fix the silly like/dislike system. ~ Zebrasorus

Hmm... Well I only just came back after a couple of months away but if I was to pick out some things, I'd say I want to fix up the logos for a couple of the themes that have gone missing and maybe remake the whole pointies system into a new, neat system (although I doubt people will agree with that happening as everyone wants to keep their profile zoos I imagine). ~ Danny

I like the board as it is, but of course, there's always stuff to improve. Right now, we are improving the tutorial library, for example :) ~ fridooh

I have tons of ideas for this place. But honestly that's one of the reasons I left. My ideas would likely take this place further then the community needs, because they slowly became less about how to make the user experience better, and more about keeping the forum better and more universal. ~ jragonizer

The board looks great the way it is right now, but there is always room for improvement. We’re still working on our Tutorial Database. So that’s our priority for now. After that, we’ll see :) ~ Orca Freak

Well, I'm not really active in the forums currently, but I'd like to recover the activity and to do my part in the community, both as a member and as a staff. IMO, we need to do our best to be nice members before of doing big changes or anything like that. ~ Rafael

I actually really love the board as it is now, so I don't really have many ideas for improvements. Of course, if someone has, I'd be willing to listen. ~ Furka

To be honest, I'm not sure specifically if I would improve anything at the moment. If someone was to have any new, cool ideas, I'd be happy to here them. :) ~ Snoopy

Personally -- not much!! I love TRT the way it is at the moment. All the staff are lovely, the members are awesome and active, and everyone's like a big happy family :D ~ Hippopotamus.

I think the board is the best it's been yet as far as how it is arranged actually. ~ Dylan

What were the biggest mistakes or things you would have done differently as staff if you knew the results? ~ Knertje2208

I think my biggest mistake was just letting the forum get too personal. It stressed me out and eventually ended in my leaving last time. I'm definitely planning on keeping that from happening again. ~ Zebrasorus

I'm not sure exactly. There were a couple of situations with members I could have dealt with better but I think those got sorted out fine in the end. The other thing I could have done better would have been to give the staff better warning when I left the site a couple of months ago so they could be prepared. I was rushed a little. ~ Danny

I don't have a good answer for this. Of course I've done mistakes, but nothing with big consequences as far as I know :) ~ fridooh

Honestly I should never have left so much weight on Danny. That was just immature and far from friendly. If I were to do something differently I would never do that.
Another thing is I would have made the animals a little harder to get/more expensive, so that people would not have so many xD ~ jragonizer

I don’t think I’ve made big mistakes so far. Some minor ones without big consequences, no doubt. Let’s hope I can keep it this way xD ~ Orca Freak

None that I can think of right now, but I'd like to be a better Pointies Manager, I sense I could have done a better work in that job, and also I'd like to be more active in the community at all, as staff. ~ Rafael

My biggest mistake as Staff ? Accidentally deleting one of my topic, reposting it, and accidentally deleting it again >_< ~ Furka

The biggest mistake I made was accidently deleting someone's update in the Update Box. I thought the update sounded interesting so I went to click on it, but I accidently deleted it instead. I fixed it, but I was so worried. xD ~ Snoopy

Eek! I hope there's nothing I've done wrong! Seeing as I'm one of the newer staff, I haven't had an opportunity to "muck up" yet, as far as I know. ~ Hippopotamus.

Learn to deal with people I don't like in better ways I suppose. ~ Dylan

If you were staff again, what would be the first thing you'd change? ~ Robbie

*is staff again* There isn't too much to change, in my opinion, but see my answer to question three, I suppose. ~ Zebrasorus

I guess we'll see if I do become one again. :P ~ Danny

Well, I don't know. Probably same as question three :) ~ fridooh

There are few things I'd change, but honestly I always wanted to incorporate a new Zoo system and freshen up some of the logos and mobile themes. ~ jragonizer

*Is staff for the first time* I don’t really know. Keep improving the board, I think. ~ Orca Freak

Well, I am Staff now. xD Well, see the answer of the third question. ~ Rafael

Well, I am Staff now. xD ~ Furka

Haha, I am apart of the Staff Team now. :P ~ Snoopy

Nothing, I like TRT the way it is :) ~ Hippopotamus.

...*is staff currently* ~ Dylan

What was the first thing you did on the board? ~ Robbie

Correct Josh's spelling errors. ~ Zebrasorus

Register, after thinking for a while whether I should bother trying to run another site. This was like the first site out of many that I worked on that actually worked out. After registering, I mainly just posted ideas to build on Josh's and Susan's. ~ Danny

That's a hard question! I've been lurking around since the beginning, but the first thing I did was probably showing my rehabilitation center! ~ fridooh

Maek a bonch off speeling erors aparenly :P
Lawl, but really the first thing I did on the forum, after making it, was close it for registration. ~ jragonizer

I don’t really remember. I was lurking around at first, just like I did on other boards. Then the Swinter Festival started, and I kind of started participating in it: entering the contests and games. ~ Orca Freak

I registered after being called here to help starting up the site, and then I helped to make topics and stuff. Nothing particularly that I can remember neither that I think is relevant to point out. ~ Rafael

I guess saying "Hi folks!" in the intro topic. ~ Furka

Played in the Staff vs. Members topic. So much fun! ~ Snoopy

I actually can't remember...*5mins later* Okay, I just looked through all my posts and apparently I:
Well, I started off in the community as TheZooDesigner15, but after I found out about TheZooTycooner14, I changed to Hippo. I posted in the Introductions topic, and also made my own topic with a tiny bit about me. Then I congratulated the Switch Exhibit winners and posted in a few zoos, then asked TBG if he could make me a set :D That seems to have been my first few posts! ~ Hippopotamus.

I believe it was registering for the mixed species contest last March which I never actually submitted, and then some spam forum discussions about the NeoTerra project and after that I think I discussed petting animals and then savannah cats with Acinonyx Jubatus in... some early GD thread I forget. All in one or two days. I wasn't very active here at first though. ~ Dylan

How did you feel when you first saw the board? ~ Robbie

Happy, because I'd gotten the theme to look okay. xD ~ Zebrasorus

Well when I first saw it, there were about a total of five posts and I don't think we even had the original theme fully installed yet, so I felt no particular emotion other than "yay here's another site I'll probably stuff up again!" ~ Danny

I was kind of skeptical towards TRT first; I didn't really understand all the features here. But after showing my rehabilitation center, I got so great response so I just couldn't leave :) ~ fridooh

Like this was going tPosted Image be the best forum the community would ever see. ~ jragonizer

When I first saw TRT, I thought it was going to be another board, like there were/are so many others. But then I discovered all those amazing features, and it was like: This is a really cool forum :D ~ Orca Freak

I thought it was a homely place to be, the small forum atmosphere really pleased me. I knew this forum had potential since the very first time I saw it. ~ Rafael

Considering that i really liked the old TRT, I was expecting great things from this site, and looks like I wasn't wrong. ~ Furka

I loved the look and it had a nice feel to it. I really hoped it would make it, and it did. :) ~ Snoopy

This is my place. ~ Hippopotamus.

I initially found it fine but was attached to other forums and reluctant to switch over. It eventually won me over though. :) ~ Dylan

What made you want to buy Zoo Tycoon or Zoo Tycoon 2? ~ Crocodile

My dad actually bought Zoo Tycoon 2 for my sister and me because of how much we'd liked Zoo Tycoon. ~ Zebrasorus

Well when I was a little boy, this guy from church five years older than me invited me to his house randomly. I knew him but we weren't really friends. He just liked doing random acts of kindness, so he invited me over. While at his place, he showed me the demo version of Zoo Tycoon on his computer and I loved it. A few months later, he actually bought me the game for my birthday. I loved the game so much that I saved up to buy the complete collection. When Zoo Tycoon 2 came, I really wanted to get it because I loved the first game so much, and so, my parents bought it the Easter after it was released. ~ Danny

I've played ZT/ZT2 since I was a little kid xD I've always loved that game. I don't remember why I bought it, I guess I thought it looked fun :) ~ fridooh

My bro bought me ZT1, and then I begged and prayed for ZT2 for months and months, and was SHOCKED when I got it for Christmas, because the $75 price tag didn't seem too hopeful... ~ jragonizer

Well, my parents bought ZT1 for my brother, because they wanted to give him a computer game for his birthday, but didn’t want to buy one in which you have to shoot/kill things. So, I saw him play with it, and I thought it was really cool. I got hooked as well. And then when ZT2 came out, I just bought it myself. ~ Orca Freak

I always loved animals at all, so this is the main reason, I guess. I remember when I was a kid, and I first saw the trailer or sneak peek of the game (ZT2) in a Animal Planet's commercial break, and I really wanted to get the game, but I couldn't find it anywhere... And then, some years later, my father bought the game to me, and that's when I started to play it. ~ Rafael

Curiosity after playing JPOG for a while and suggestion from a friend of mine. ~ Furka

My brother's friend had it on his computer, and when we visited, I couldn't stop playing it. So my parents bought it for me, and it went from there. :) ~ Snoopy

Believe it or not, I've been playing ZT2 since I was 5! Sure my zoos were crap and I had only a very basic idea of what was happening, but I loved animals and building exhibits at the time, so with a bit of help from mum I really got into it (apparently I once stayed on it for 2hrs....crazy for a 5year old!). And well, I've just never stopped loving and playing it. Oh and back to the question, ZT2 was a birthday present for me, so I had no idea what to expect :D ~ Hippopotamus.

The commercials for Zoo Tycoon were awesome to a 5 year old and I just had to have it. I bugged and bugged and bugged my mother and got it that Christmas. :3 Of course after years of the first game, I had to get ZT2, but even now I've not played it very much really. ~ Dylan

Is being a staff member enjoyable? ~ The Fluffy Raptor

It can be, but it's never felt that different from being a "regular" member to me. ~ Zebrasorus

Aspects of it are and other aspects really suck. Personally, I always enjoyed organizing games and festivals, coming up with new ideas and creating graphics. However, some things, such as writing up the codes for the pointies system, I really really really did not enjoy. ~ Danny

Yes, but it's not that different from being a regular member. We just have some more extra work once in a while :) ~ fridooh

Yes, very, but mostly because I was working next to good friends who responsible, creative and initiative. When people start getting busy though and the weight falls on one person it gets stressful and there were a few times I wished to just be a member. ~ jragonizer

It doesn’t feel that different than being a regular member too me. So I say it’s pretty enjoyable. And of course it helps a lot when you are surrounded with amazing people. ~ Orca Freak

Such a tricky question. IMO it is, but it takes so much time and some of its aspects aren't what I would call of enjoyable. ~ Rafael

Being allowed to kick butts if they do something wrong ? Sweet !
And then of course there's the rest of the staff, all very nice people to hang out with. ~ Furka

Yeah, it is. You are able to contribute and help other members, and you also get to make more friends. :) ~ Snoopy

Very enjoyable. Sure, there's more responsibility that comes along with it, but all the staff are so friendly and very welcoming, that we can work anything out, no matter how long it takes. ~ Hippopotamus.

It has its plusses. It also sometimes feels rather empty, though. There's not as much to strive to progress for, for example. Though you're looked up to, you still sometimes feel lonely atop the "totem pole", so to speak. Overall it is enjoyable, though, despite this; but different than you expect getting into it. ~ Dylan

Is there any issues being faced right now? ~ The Fluffy Raptor

The biggest issue I know of is just the like/dislike system. That's being a pain. ~ Zebrasorus

I don't know. Maybe :D ~ Danny

Nothing I can remember now, no. Maybe that ZC left, but we've got most things sorted out :) ~ fridooh

Not really. It was a bit of a mess when ZC decided to step down, but that’s all solved now. So, no issues at the moment, IMO. ~ Orca Freak

None I can remember now, or at least none out of the normal. :P ~ Rafael

I don't really think so, members aren't being troublesome lately. I guess we have been a bit inactive but hey, it's school season for many people. ~ Furka

No, no issues at the moment. Everything has been mellow. ~ Snoopy

Not that I can remember :P ~ Hippopotamus.

There are a couple of unnamed trouble members right now but nothing huge, nope. ~ Dylan

How do you feel about the forum in its current state? ~The Fluffy Raptor

I think it's on its way to improvement, actually. There were some periods of conflict, but I think that is ending, or at least lightening up, so it's feeling more welcome to me, at least. ~ Zebrasorus

I haven't been here for long enough really to decide. I'd have to say I'm looking forward to seeing what's been going on though. :3 ~ Danny

I enjoy this forum very much as it is right now :) ~ fridooh

It seems awesome! I'm very happy to see it doing so well, it makes me very happy :) ~ jragonizer

I’m quite happy with it, the way it is now. I think our forum is open and inviting to new members. But also friendly and respectful towards everyone who passes by. ~ Orca Freak

I think it's funny to think of how it grown up in these months and still has the homely atmosphere, not the same, of course, the things changed, but still I think it has that spirit that got me in the very beginning. ~ Rafael

I really like it, I think it still looks warm and welcoming even after it grew a lot. ~ Furka

Haha, comfy. It has been a little slow, but it is school season at the moment for most. ~ Snoopy

I think we may be at our "peak" as the whole forum is so active, we get a ton of entries for competitions and there hasn't been much negative action for a while. ~ Hippopotamus.

It's not at is best IMO but things always change, people leave (most of my friends have so that may be why I feel this way), etc. We're still doing really well and I find the forum welcoming after all this time. ~ Dylan

Which staff member (other than yourself) do you think has done the most for the site? ~ ZBD

I'm a bit undecided on this one... Josh did so much when we first opened (which is when the odds are most against a site), but at the same time Danny is the person that held this place together when both Josh and I had taken off for various reasons. ~ Zebrasorus

Hmmm... I'd have to say in the time I was staff, Susan, Josh and Rafael did a lot of work. Susan and Josh helped start up the site and were the ones who really made it succeed. Rafael was one of the hardest working staff members I ever met and he never complained. ~ Danny

Wow, I would like to say ZC, but he's not staff anymore. I'd also say Zebrasorus, and Furka, and OF.. gaah I don't know. All of them are great! ~ fridooh

Honestly, I think most of the work was on four people. So forgive me for stretching your question ;)
-Danny did, by far the most work. Once he caught the vision and committed to helping he was on this thing all the time, having ideas, and making them happen. Then he managed it for forever afterwards with no other admins to assist. I'm still not sure why he doesn't have a medal, but he also doesn't have a avatar so hey ;P
-After that I'd have to give credit to Susan, because she went through a lot in her personal life during most of this, but she didn't let any of that get in the way of her work here. I'm amazed at how she separated her life like that, because we wouldn't be here if she'd let her stress from real life influence her work here.
-Rafael was our only Pointies Manager for a long time. The staff here should allow interns here so that you guys can feel just how difficult it is to be a Pointies Manager. IT'S SO FRIKEN HARD. He never complained, he never hated, he was always kind and he never stressed. I have no idea how he did it all but he must have worked his butt off like nobody’s business.
-Zoocrazy is awesome. He was already the admin of ZooHispania and then he was thrown the responsibility of this forum with little knowledge of the system it was under, and yet the community didn't see a dip at all! He jumped in with both feet and worked like crazy and stayed cool the whole time. ~ jragonizer

I think Danny, Susan and Josh are the ones that did the most. They made it. So one of them would be a logical choice.
Zoocrazy did an awesome job as well. And the circumstances weren’t always easy for him. So he deserves it too.
But, I think every Staff member, in the past or present, has done a great job, or is doing a great job.
So, bottom line: I CAN’T CHOOSE xD ~ Orca Freak

It's hard to pick only one, but Danny worked very hard in this forum, he helped me and explained to me how to make the pointies stuff when I started to be PM, and he also held the things working when the other two creators left. He's the one who did most for this site IMO.
But I'd feel bad if I didn't mention Susan, JRA and Zoocrazy here, all the three worked hard to keep this site. Susan and JRA created this forum and kept it from the very beginning, and more recently Zoocrazy was the main Admin here, always keeping the things on and giving his best for the forum. ~ Rafael

Of course there are our three founding fathers (technically one is a she xD ), and then there are the other admins we have had, like KM and Zoocrazy, who always did an amazing job. And the rest of the mods have always done a great job too. ~ Furka

Josh, Danny, and Susan obviously have done so much great work! We've also had other great admins like Zoocrazy and KM. Not to mention all of our are amazing moderators! ~ Snoopy

Well since I've been active, I think ZC and Susan have been really exceptional. Zoocrazy, well what can I say? Very calm, nice and honest person, he did so well as being the only Admin for a while, especially when you think of all the responsibility that comes along with that! And Susan, for so many things! Very talented zoo builder, designer and clearly -- site-maker! I also have a lot of respect for her because she stepped up to Admin when ZC sadly left us. ~ Hippopotamus.

Zoocrazy really stepped in and did a lot when we needed a leader. He did a fantastic job. ~ Dylan

Is being staff hard? ~ Mastodon28

It's only hard if you're not enjoying it. Then it becomes more of a chore, and isn't fun at all, but when one is enjoying the job, it's rather easy, especially with fellow staff members who do their jobs and help out often. ~ Zebrasorus

That all depends on the members, the job you have and how much time you have. If you're busy, have a tiring and frustrating job with members constantly complaining, then yes, it's very hard. But when you have time on your hands, have an awesome job and the members appreciate the work you do, it's awesome! ~ Danny

Not really, no :) ~ fridooh

It depends. If you're talking about Pointies Manager or Download Manager, then yes. It's hard and time consuming. Admining can be hard when you have to do most of the work that should be assigned elsewhere. Regardless, it’s fun and worth it :) ~ jragonizer

I really enjoy my job(s) so far, there aren’t too many members complaining, and I’m surrounded with an amazing Team of people (both Staff and regular members) prepared to help out. So, I say, it’s not hard, a bit time consuming sometimes, but not hard :) ~ Orca Freak

It depends of what job you're taking. I was the Pointies Manager and I should say yes, it's very hard, at least by the time I was one. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. But it's a matter of how much you like it versus how much it consumes of you. ~ Rafael

I myself don't find it hard, probably because I'm not experiencing difficulties at the moment and I'm still a moderator. ~ Furka

In my position, it has not been very difficult. It is quite fun actually. It can be hard sometimes, but we (the Staff) as a whole always make it through the hard times. :) ~ Snoopy

I haven't been a staff for very long, but no, for me it's not overly hard at the moment :) ~ Hippopotamus.

I don't find it hard, no, but moderators have a fairly easy job here since we have so little drama. ~ Dylan

What would you say is the staff's greatest asset that has made TRT so popular and successful? ~ ZKG

I guess this depends. When we first opened, I feel like our best asset was simply that we were a bunch of new-ish members who hadn't really been in powerful positions before, so it allowed us to not feel any sort of superiority over members. Now that the forum is more active and run by different people, I think one of the best aspects of the members that have been running TRT is simply being good people. Kindness, patience, fairness, honesty; these are traits I think can be found in many of our staff members, and it's part of what keeps the site going. ~ Zebrasorus

I think we've always tried to be very creative and fun, as well as down-to-earth with our members. From what I can tell, the staff gets along well with the members and everyone has a lot of fun. ~ Danny

I don't feel I have a good answer for that. I'm still so new to the staff team :) ~ fridooh

I’m not really sure. I think the friendly, open, and respectful attitude towards the members is a great asset. ~ Orca Freak

Keeping the homely spirit. And also creativity, good ideas are the best path to success. ~ Rafael

I'd say a mix of friendly attitude and creativity. ~ Furka

I'd say the personality the site has in whole(themes, different sections, groups). I feel it is very welcoming and cool. A nice feeling. ~ Snoopy

Perhaps how active and honest everyone is. Without all of TRT's dedicated and active members we would be nothing! ~ Hippopotamus.

Not forming private cliques and acting superior to other members. We're no better than anyone and I like how nobody here has let their power go to their head. ~ Dylan

Do you think there is a formula to sustaining popularity within just one community forum? ~ ZKG

That depends on if you mean personally or keeping a site popular. If you mean personal popularity, it's a simple (and pointless) formula. Post a lot, make cool stuff, and try not to annoy people more popular than you. I personally believe that sort of goal is silly, though. Invest in real friends; they matter more. However, about a forum, at least for TRT, it was being different that really attracted people here. Many people wanted change, and the Round Table had that. ~ Zebrasorus

I wouldn't say there's a formula but I would say there are definitely several things that really matter. You need to have the goal for the site in mind, good ideas, put real effort into it, get the right people supporting you as staff and you have to learn from your mistakes. There's always a bit of luck involved in getting a site that works but I think if you have all of those things and time the launch well, it has a fair chance of working out. ~ Danny

I remember when I had a Swedish site about my photography. What attracted most people was being different, but also providing with good information, fun stuff to read about, good tutorials.. If there was a formula, it would probably be something like that :) ~ fridooh

IMO, being different / unique is always good. And I think TRT is. But I doubt it is the only thing. A lot depends on the members, what they are looking for, hoping to find, and how active they want to be. Because without active members, a site can’t work properly. ~ Orca Freak

I'd say there's a set of things, you need to put goals, know how to deal with problems, learn from mistakes, treat well your members, etc. But, most important, you need to like it, want it and believe in it. ~ Rafael

I am not entirely sure about this, afterall each forum is different and thus it works in different ways. ~ Furka

I am not completely sure really. Things are always changing in the world so I don't think you could just pinpoint one formula in particular in my opinion. :P ~ Snoopy

I don't think there's a "formula", but as I said before, having honest, nice and active members makes others take another look at TRT, and well, perhaps join in the fun! ~ Hippopotamus.

Not really, people will go wherever they feel most welcome at the time I think. ~ Dylan

Would you say the TRT staff work well with other sites or do you see other sites in the community as 'competition'? (Gaia, ZH etc.) ~ Okeanos

I'm not sure I can answer this question perfectly. I don't think TRT has really "worked well" with other sites, but I also don't think the other sites are competition. I'm pretty sure this idea of rivalry has disappeared, which is a relief. The main reason is just that getting sites to team up in any way is difficult. It was attempted to work with Gaia for the Marathon, but that didn't seem to go anywhere really, but still; there's no sort of war going on. ~ Zebrasorus

I can't speak for all the staff but I've never seen Gaia or any other site as competition. I've always aimed and hoped to have a community where more than one site could be active at once, and surprisingly considering the size of the community as it currently is, that has worked relatively well. ~ Danny

I think we work well with other sites. I don't see any other site as competition. I think it's important that we cooperate instead of being rivals :) ~ fridooh

I personally don’t see the other sites as competition or rivals. But I also realize it’s not always easy to work with each other. With the last Marathon contest the attempt was made to let two sites work together, but that didn’t really work out. So, I think the best we can hope for, is that we can co-exist next to each other. And so far that’s going pretty well. ~ Orca Freak

I don't see any competition, at least from our part. We try to do the best for our site and we don't have any issues with other sites AFAIK. ~ Rafael

I myself don't see any competition, at least from our part. We try to do the best for our site and we don't have any issues with other sites AFAIK. ~ Furka

I've never seen TRT or other sights as "competitors." I believe everyone can get along peacefully. ~ Snoopy

I personally have never seen the other sites as competition, as let's be honest, we are all apart of the ZT2 community because we all love ZT2 and trying to make it better every single day. The only difference between the sites is the name, but they were all created for the same purpose, and everyone is as good as each other. ~ Hippopotamus.

I believe we've done an excellent job remaining on positive or neutral terms with all other forums, at least on our parts. ~ Dylan

What are the plans for the site? ~Raziel

To keep it going, mostly, I suppose. The general goal is to keep it interesting and fun, I think, so that's really the most of my plans. ~ Zebrasorus

As far as I'm aware, release this awesome newsletter! ~ Danny

Well, let's try to keep this site active another year. To accomplish this, we need to keep on doing fun events and contest, and trying to come up with something new :) ~ fridooh

To keep going on, to keep having fun, to keep enjoying it. For how long, I don’t know. That’s something only the future can tell us. ~ Orca Freak

I think the main goal right now is this Newsletter, dunno if there's another one. :P ~ Rafael

Free Jetpacks for the members ! :D ~ Furka

“It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.”
― Winston Churchill ~ Snoopy

Hmmmmm, I like surprises!! ~ Hippopotamus.

Well we can't just go telling you! ~ Dylan

Thanks to all members who supplied us with their questions. Without you guys, these interviews wouldn’t have been possible.

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[anchor]games[/anchor]Posted ImageCreated by: fridooh

Game 1: Find the differences

Posted Image

These images may look identical, but there are small differences, here and there. It might be an added object, an object that's disappeared, something's recolored. Can you find them all?
Edit one of the pictures, using a photo-editing program, tPosted Image mark the differences you find, and post it in the Staff Pm Box. (see further)
You will receive 10 pointies for each difference you find.

Game 2: Guess the animal

Posted Image

Nine wild animals, but all can be found in captivity as well. Can you guess them all?
Make a list, and post it in the Staff Pm Box. (see further)
You will receive 10 pointies for each animal you find.

Game 3: Guess the animal

1. I am the tallest, but not heaviest
2. Help! A fox is hunting me. I mainly feed on grass.
3. I live in the Eurasian woods. I like to eat fish and berries.
4. I live in the ocean. My eight legs are called something beginning with T.
5. I live in African lakes and rivers. I have four legs and a long tail. I eat fish and birds.
6. I carry my house around with me. I have four legs.
7. I have four legs and a flat tail. My face looks like a duck's face.
8. I live far north. I mainly hunt seals.
9. My roar can be heard from as far as 5 miles away. I sleep up to 20 hours a day.
10. Leopard is my only natural enemy in the wild. I share similarities with giraffes.


Ten wild animals, but all can be found in captivity as well. Can you guess them all?
Make a list, and post it in the Staff Pm Box. (see further)
You will receive 10 pointies for each animal you find.


To participate in these games: Make a topic in the Staff PM Box with the Title: "Special Edition Newsletter Games: Your username" and post your answers.
You are allowed to edit your answers.
Deadline for these games is April 15th, everything you add or change after that will not be taken into account for your prize.



A HUGE THANKS TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE ROUND TABLE
BECAUSE WITHOUT YOU
THIS SITE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WHAT IT IS TODAY

THANK YOU
~
THE STAFF OF THE ROUND TABLE



[go2=top]Back To Top[/go2]
Edited by Orca Freak, Apr 1 2014, 04:54 PM.
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Swimming Spaghetti Monster
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Orca Freak
Apr 1 2014, 04:39 PM
pages/XXXXX/
Must these letters be typed ABCDE, and not aBcDE or AbcDE or abCde or something? Maybe I have something wrong, however I'm pretty sure I have letters placed in the correct way.
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Ignacio
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Ex Corrupt Staff

They are not in capital letters... that is all that i can say. I solved it and it worked for me :P
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Iron Man
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I am Iron Man

I solved it and put it in the Staff PM box :D , but Im not quite sure if its in the right place of the staff PM box, never having used it before xD
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Lazardi
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Yay, I solved it! Thanks for making this game! It was so fun! :D
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pokeruto
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I have participated in all games :) , now i just need to solve the riddles but i don´t know the response of one of the riddle :(
Edited by pokeruto, Apr 3 2014, 12:25 PM.
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Mastodon28
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Stabbing Woodpecker

Solved it! :D
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pokeruto
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yeah, i solved :D
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DinoBear
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Solved the riddle!
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izzibob
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oh my goodness I can only find four clues! grrr... >:(
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Mastodon28
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Stabbing Woodpecker

I'm sure you'll find it soon, it's not hard. :)
Edited by Mastodon28, Apr 7 2014, 11:03 AM.
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fridooh
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How can she know the last letter if she only finds four clues? xD
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Avenged
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Please refrain from giving any hints to other members as this is cheating, it kinda ruins the whole fun really.
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Swimming Spaghetti Monster
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Zoocrazy
Apr 3 2014, 09:46 AM
They are not in capital letters... that is all that i can say. I solved it and it worked for me :P
Is there any clue on their size or must we guess it?
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