Kata's n00b Appreciation Week: a stat contest for players under 60 days old
In June 2017 Kata opened a week-long contest for new players in a Fun & Games thread, with donator packs as prizes. The thread drew 414 replies and was cited by later new-player competitions.
Involved: Kata [1990396] , bogie [148747] Admin , megalomaniacal [1542618] Committee , JustJanet [911066] , Mat-Senpai [952164] and 3 more
A contest for the youngest accounts
Kata [1990396] started the thread "n00b Appreciation week!" in the Fun & Games board on 14 Jun 2017. The opening post announced the TCN[1] n00b Appreciation Week and Boot Camp Challenge.[1][2]
By the archive's last fetch the thread had 414 replies and 3,256 views. 109 different players posted in it, and 3 of the posts were written by Torn staff, officers or moderators.[1]
Rules, prizes and sign-up
The opening post said players between 0-60 days old could sign up by posting their current stats. The areas were Greatest Increase in User Activity, Longest Kill Streak and Bounties Collected.[2]
Kata wrote that 25 donator packs had just been donated as prizes by Alexstrasza [1825532]. The packs were for the mini contests during the week. Participant claim[2]
The schedule in the opening post gave sign-up as June 14th - June 18th, starting stats on June 19th and final stats on June 26th. Players could also win a special prize for overdosing the most times during the competition.[2]
Entrants signed up by replying with a set sentence. xxKitKatxx [2065678] wrote on 14 Jun 2017: "My name is xxKitKatxx. I have read the whole post, understand the rules, and wish to sign up."[3]
On 28 Jun 2017 Kata posted that the mini games were over and the DPs had been sent out.[4]
Jokes, advice and complaints
Alec [1782664] posted a quoted line joking that entrants might call their primary school teacher to thank them for teaching basic math. Joke[5]
Ultrareign [1992238] said the idea suited newer players but should include a challenge for total stats gained. They wrote that it would motivate more people. Participant claim[6]
hill007 [1616770] advised new players not to argue with higher level or older players and to eat as many Xanax as they could afford. Participant claim[7]
megalomaniacal [1542618], listed as a Torn officer/committee member, advised new players to use ecstasy and happy boosters. They said they lost tons of stats by jumping straight to Xanax, and that asking for handouts usually results in bad things. Participant claim[8]
bogie [148747], listed as Torn staff (Admin), replied on 21 Jun 2017: "I misread this - but please don't mail me."[9]
Mat-Senpai [952164] wrote on 21 Jun 2017 "oh kata you suck". Kata answered on 22 Jun 2017 that Mat should "be a good sport", and added "you only have 10 bounty slots". The reply drew 2 dislikes.[10][11]
JustJanet [911066] wrote on 25 Jun 2017 that taking their words and adding others was not a collaboration, and that it had taken the joy out of their effort. Participant claim[12]
Later references
Kata listed N00b Appreciation Week as a featured item in TCN1 Ep. 10 on 17 Jun 2017.[13][14]
The sign-up sentence was still being copied in the thread in 2018. Warlock [881031] posted a version on 04 Jul 2018 and BuzzyKent420 [2148216] on 13 Jul 2018.[15][16]
On 13 Feb 2018 Actuariolam [1967959] listed n00b Appreciation Week first among four previous new-player competitions. They claimed that $2.74 billion in prizes had been awarded to date. Participant claim[17][18]
Actuariolam started a thread called "n00b Appreciation Week and Boot Camp Competition" on 09 Aug 2018. It reached 776 replies and carried final results for several groups.[19][20]
Timeline
- 14 Jun 2017 Kata opens the n00b Appreciation Week thread and sign-ups begin.[2]
- 17 Jun 2017 Kata features N00b Appreciation Week in TCN1 Ep. 10.[13]
- 21 Jun 2017 bogie, listed as Torn staff (Admin), posts that they misread the thread.[9]
- 28 Jun 2017 Kata posts that the mini games are over and the DPs have been sent out.[4]
- 13 Feb 2018 Actuariolam cites n00b Appreciation Week as the first of four earlier new-player competitions.[17]
- 9 Aug 2018 Actuariolam starts the n00b Appreciation Week and Boot Camp Competition thread with final results.[19]
Original sources 20
- Thread "n00b Appreciation week!" (Fun & Games) ·
- Post by Kata [1990396] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by xxKitKatxx [2065678] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Kata [1990396] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Alec [1782664] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Ultrareign [1992238] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by hill007 [1616770] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by megalomaniacal [1542618] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by bogie [148747] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Mat-Senpai [952164] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Kata [1990396] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by JustJanet [911066] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Kata [1990396] in "TCN[1] Ep.10: Fluffy not staff, Unrating posts" ·
- Thread "TCN[1] Ep.10: Fluffy not staff, Unrating posts" (General Discussion) ·
- Post by Warlock [881031] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by BuzzyKent420 [2148216] in "n00b Appreciation week!" ·
- Post by Actuariolam [1967959] in "New Player Faction Nomination Competition! UPDATED" ·
- Thread "New Player Faction Nomination Competition! UPDATED" (Fun & Games) ·
- Thread "n00b Appreciation Week and Boot Camp Competition" (Fun & Games) ·
- Post by Actuariolam [1967959] in "n00b Appreciation Week and Boot Camp Competition" ·
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Generated by TornLife from 20 sources · verified · model claude-sonnet-5
Drafted by a language model from the archived posts listed above, then checked three ways before publication: TornLife's validator (every number and citation must match the sources), deterministic statement rules (no unlabelled allegation, no real-world personal details, no claims about why anyone was federally jailed) and a separate critic and fact-checker that read each statement against its sources. It reports what players said; it is not Torn's own statement.