Happy Birthday Gabrielle Christian!

Today is Gabrielle Christian's (a.k.a. Spencer Carlin from South of Nowhere) Birthday!
Use your favorite Spencer secret avi or dress up your avatar like Spencer.
Bonus points - add a quote from Spencer to your Siggy for the day.
Also a good excuse to re-watch so old SoN episodes.

Happy Canada Day!

Celebrate Canada Day - and all the good TV that we've seen because of Canada and it's people. Shoot off some fireworks, wave a Canadian flag, and maybe watch some Degrassi or listen to some Canadian artists (the odds are pretty good that someone on your ipod is from Canada.)
Viewing Suggestions:
The Canadian Thanksgiving Episode of The Best Years
Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian

Bonus points - Go to Canada to celebrate Canada Day.

Happy Birthday Jake Goldsbie!

Today is Jake Goldsbie's (a.k.a. Toby from Degrassi) Use your favorite Toby Secret Avatar - or Dress up your avi like Toby today!

Happy Birthday Valery Ortiz!

Today is Valery Ortiz's (a.k.a. Madison from South of Nowhere) Birthday!
To celebrate use your favorite Madison Secret Avi, or dress up your avatar in the South of Nowhere cheer uniform.

Bonus points - Madison (and therefore Valery) is a pretty kick ass dancer - dance today.

Instant Star is Back in iTunes!

 Find all four seasons in iTunes here. Or if you're more of a DVD person you can find seasons 1-3 on amazon. (Season 4 should be out on DVD later this year.)

In other releases:
Veronica Mars Season 1 is in iTunes in Standard Definition and High Definition. (Probably one of my all-time favorite seasons of any show.)
There's also a collection of 10 Degrassi episodes you can get as "Degrassi Love 101" in iTunes.
They've also got the cover of the complete Daria series (coming out May 11) up on Amazon. (49 5-star reviews and the DVD aren't even out yet, You rock on Daria!)
Here's a long list of CW shows that have been renewed.
And here's an annoyingly cryptic Glee promo.

TeenNick.com Tips, Tricks and Basic Guidelines for the Site

Message Boards

• General Discussion doesn't mean post whatever the hell you want.
• There are 4 General Discussions on the site - For for General Discussions about the Website, one for General Discussion about the channel, one for general discussion about the games and quizzes on the site (people post quizzes etc. there) and one that's for everything that doesn't already have a designated board (the truly "general" general discussion.)
  
• Look at the Message Board before starting a new topic
• I know, you want to tell everyone about how the site is glitching, or there's new stuff in the Avi mall or how amazing you think Twilight is - but chances are there are 20 other people that have thought the same thing and already made a post about it. (Clearly we have many great minds thinking alike on the site.) And having the General Discussion board clogged with 20 different threads about the exact same thing really annoys people. Same goes on Books, Movies, and Music boards - if you want to talk about Twilight or Micheal Jackson, post your thoughts on a thread someone else has started. If you don't see one or your wanted to have a more specific conversation on the same topic, you can totally start your own thread - we just don't want the board to become dominated by a bunch of threads essentially saying the exact same thing. (And typically the mods will start removing threads at that point.)
  
• Don't post just to get your post count up* - It's pretty easy to tell when users are not interested in the discussion and really just want more posts under their belt. It's annoying as hell and doesn't bring happy thoughts to mind.  *However the 4th General Discussion is a place where this is generally OK - the whole board is random questions, not discussions, and threads jump around from being popular or not several times a day - there's not any flow to disrupt by obsessive posting here, unlike other boards.
• Attempt proper spelling and grammar.  People will not take you seriously on a regular basis otherwise. It's OK to make mistakes, and the message boards are not your English term paper, but things like purposeful blatant misspellings, really only make you look dumb, and annoy people reading your posts.  (This is one of the things that irks me the most - I'm awful with spelling, always have been, so I have a spell-checker on my computer and genuinely try to make sure I'm not making mistakes with every post I make. It makes it hard to take someone seriously when they post tAlkinq L1kee dis. People will call you on it.)
• Check out the Talk to Teen Nick board from time to time. @M-A occasionally responds to posts here, it's good to keep up with the rules through his posts. Plus, his responses to why some people have had their accounts disabled can be pretty amusing.
  
• The Society and Current Events boards are the major places for debate on the site. When posting here it's good to remember this. Don't be surprised if someone with different opinions responds - generally some kind of discussion or debate is expected on these boards.
• Don't post "spectacle"-y kinds of threads - stuff like "Person microwaves 7 turtles" or "Person does something horrible to innocent children" then say - "Isn't this awful!" Yes it is awful - in fact all you're going to get is 5 pages of posts agreeing with you about how awful it is. There's really no point to a thread like that other than to tell sad stories and have a thread full of people agreeing with you.  There's no discussion or thought really involved in it, and people usually like coming to the Society and Current Events boards of have discussions or debates and think about the topics. (And it really just makes it seem like you were only looking for attention in the form of many message board responses.)  

Avatar Mall Suggestion Box Message Board

• Keep copyright laws in mind when requesting things in the Avatar Mall Suggestion Box.  The only way we can get Harry Potter scars or Green Day tees is if they're sponsored. There can be ways around this, by describing the item then causally throwing in the copyrighted thing. Ex. I think we should have a yellow T-shirt with a black sqwiggly line across the middle - kind of like the shirt Charlie Brown wears.
• Keep pixel sizes in mind - Nose rings would be really cool but our noses are only 1 pixel big, our avi's entire nose would be pierced. 
• Avoid stereotypes/labels/generalizations/brand names when describing what you want - these kinds of descriptions are waaay subjective - the designers' interpretation of "scene" could be different from yours. Describe specific items you want to see Ex. small bows for our hair, hot pink leg warmers, long straight brown hair with streaks of blue in it etc.

GamePony

• If you're confused about a game - don't post something asking for help in the game comments - post it on the game's Message Board
• Don't post walk-troughs in game comments - it's essentially a spoiler and can ruin the game for some users. (Plus it'll get reported, your warning level will go up yada yada.)
• Don't ask for people to add you send you mail or read your blog - it's off-topic and pretty annoying. You can request these kinds of things on the Newbies Message Board.
• Read the directions before playing a multi-player game - it's really not fair to others if they have to teach you what to do.
• If you want to contact somewhat at the site to get help with a game having technical issues, do it through the FAQ. Don't post about it in the comments, techies will not see it there.

Other site related tips

• Read the @TeenNick blog - occasionally they'll post news about the site and/or channel there that you'll want to know.
• Just because you don't see any comments on an article/blog post/picture - doesn't mean that yours will be the first. Comments take time to show up, like Message Board posts, so avoid the whole "OMGeee 1st commmehnt!"stuff - odds are more towards you not having the 1st comment and later looking stupid. 
  

It doesn't actually take 30 minutes for your post to show up on the Message Boards. It can vary from browser to browser or computer to computer, but unless the site is overloadingly busy - message board posts hardly ever take 30 minutes to show up any more. (And complaining about it will usually result in several vets talking about how it used to take up to a day for stuff to be posted because the mods had to read every post before it showed up.) If you arrange to see posts by "Newest First" you can see posts nearly instantly.

Friends

How do I find my friends on TeenNick.com?

Send them a Friend Request from the friends page on your profile by entering their username or email. currently TeenNick.com doesn't have one of those nifty "we'll go through your address book and tell you if any of your friends already have an account on the site" yet, so you'll have to rely on a nice old-fashioned Myspace message or maybe a phone call to ask if they have an account.
If you know a username and you want to see their profile, you can use this link: http://www.teennick.com/pf/index.php?u=SnarkyTeen
Just erase my username and add the one you're looking for after the u=

I tried to go to someone's profile and just got brought back to my own, why is that?

That happens when a user has been disabled.

How do I become "TeenNick.com Famous"?!

Honestly, there's no such thing as being "famous" on TeenNick - and the site isn't really about being famous or having everyone know your name.

However, I'd be lying if I said there aren't some users that are more well-known than others. Typically they're known because they're active users and make a lot of [non-pointless] message board posts. But it can really depend what boards you hang out on. Some users are well known for their Fan Fiction, or being helpful on the Newbies board, or being really into debating things on the Society & Current Events boards. Just post where you want to post, and stay active and people will start to recognize you for your posts and your awesomeness, not because you're desperate to have everyone know your name.

How do I get a ton of friends on TeenNick.com?

There is a population on the website that doesn't want to be a number on a friend list - but there's also a population that doesn't mind. TeenNick isn't quite on the "only add people you know" level as Myspace and Facebook - but it's not always an "add anyone and everyone" environment either. I think most users add people that have similar interests or make posts they really like. But we all know to not give away our personal info to people we only know online, right? I thought so. (If someone asks for this info or is being uber creepy report their ass - let the mods handle them, and you'll get 2 creds, yay!)
The basics of Friend adding:

• Check out the Newbies board - most people there are just as interested in getting a bunch of friends there.
• Click on the titles of your favorite books, movies, music etc. in the info section of your profile to find other users that like the same things you do.
• Sending friend requests results in more friends than waiting for people to add you.
• Not sending blank friend requests helps. Many users don't accept blank friend requests.
• Be active. If people see you around a lot on the Message Boards, in Screening Parties, playing Role Player etc. they'll want to add you. 

Creds

Is there a cheat for creds on Teennick.com?

No, and if one does pop up, using it will probably result in getting your account disabled.

I can't ever seem to claim creds twice in a row, why is that?

A long time ago, people sometimes clicked on the cred box twice and they would get twice the amount of creds (it was a glitch, though some people would do it on purpose, or by accident.) So to prevent this from happening, they attached a timer to creds, you can't claim creds twice within a certain amount of time. I find that counting to 10 before claiming the second cred banner sometimes lets me claim them. It also works the other way around, sometimes if you let creds sit for a long time you can't claim them anymore.

Why can't creds just be automatically added? That'd be so much easier!

True, it'd also make it so much easier for people to cheat the system. They could just set up their computer to keep refreshing the page then go see a movie, go into space etc. and come back with a bunch of creds they didn't really earn.

Why is the cred system set up the way it is?

For Ad money. Users go through pages and see ads, TeenNick gets paid. The more pages you go through, the more ads you see, the more creds you get, and the more money TeenNick gets from advertisers. Kinda clever, isn't it.  This is also why reducing the prices in the mall or making everything free won't happen - people would be less active, see less ads and TeenNick would make less money.

TeenNick

How do I get on TeenNick's Shows?!

Not by begging for a part on the message boards. First off, realize that a lot of Teennick's shows are made in Canada, and the actors on these shows have to be Canadian (or have proper visas etc.) for tax purposes. But, every few years The-N/TeenNick has had contests for Americans to win a walk-on role on Degrassi. These contests are always announced in the @TeenNick blog.
For TeenNick's shows that are made in the U.S. - they have had casting calls for them from time to time, but these are usually released on sites that keep track of open casting calls. (Also on Nickelodeon Casting's twitter.) Googling to find some sites that keep track of casting calls for actors is a good start. Bottom line: Don't expect to post something on the message board then be discovered star in a TV show and be the next Miley Cyrus. If you want a career in entertainment (or any other field) you have to work at it. Build a resume. Get an agent. A SAG card. Etc.

How do I work for TeenNick?

Again, not by posting on the Message Boards. First off, you have to be 18. Check the FAQ - if they're looking to hire any moderators they'll tell you where to submit your resume and such. For internships & jobs in other fields check out the MTV Networks Careers website.

Something about TeenNick has made me furious! How do I contact them!!

If it's about the website - through the FAQ.
If it's about the channel or the brand as a whole - through the FAQ or through Viacom's website. (Use the contact link in the lower left-hand corner, make sure to select The-N/TeenNick when submitting your comments.)

Get your free Degrassi!

You can get the 2 part season premiere of Degrassi High for free on iTunes! (And trust me, this episode is a doozy! Serious go there material.) Plus you get to see all the now-adults with interesting hairstyles.