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Will you buy a userbar?

I like them, so yes. :) 0.25170068027211 25.2% [ 37 ]
I like them, but I don't want one. 0.13605442176871 13.6% [ 20 ]
I already have one. :) 0.061224489795918 6.1% [ 9 ]
I'm here to keep you company / keep you bumped 0.10884353741497 10.9% [ 16 ]
I don't really like them, I don't want one 0.047619047619048 4.8% [ 7 ]
I'm a pollwhore 0.39455782312925 39.5% [ 58 ]
Total Votes:[ 147 ]
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1 2 3 4 5 6 ... 28 29 30 > >>

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Welcome to Miss Elvy's Userbar Studio



Hello everyone, welcome to my little shop of pixel art.

PSP has been my loyal friend for years. I've made lj icons, banners, layouts for my lj and layouts for my sites with it, and now I'm using it to make userbars. I've played around with it for a bit and I've found my own way of creating them- my own size and style, if 'style' is the right word for something like a userbar. xd

What is a userbar? A userbar is a banner which Gaians put in their sig or on their profiles. They use them to portray themselves with their name, (dream) avi, their quest, their petition, their shop and so forth. A userbar generally looks something like this:

User Image

For a small fee (300 gold, to be precise) I will take the time to make one for you. Please come in, browse around and place an order, or just stay around and chat. I like the company. I use the funds I earn with making userbars for my quest, my charity, and my 1k shop, in case you were wondering. 3nodding

Be sure to read the entire front page carefully before posting.





The Studio

[+] Intro
[+] Samples
[+] Rules & Regs
[+] Updates
[+] Concerning Payment
[+] Q&A
[+] Requesting
[+] Pending Orders
[+] Completed Orders
[+] Freebees
[+] Links & Affiliates
[+] Link To Me
[+] Hall of Shame
[+] Reserved
[+] Reserved

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Samples



Some of the userbars I've made, put up in the showroom for you to check out.


User Image
User Image
User Image
User Image
User Image
User Image
User Image
User Image

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Rules & Regs



Rules are rules.
Ignore them and be ignored or be blacklisted.
Read them carefully.


Last update: September 19, 2006



1. You will stick to the Gaia TOS. Always.
2. Be literate. I can forgive typos and the occasional grammar error, but I can't forgive t41|<!||g 1!|<3 d!5. It gives me a headache. Don't do it.
3. Be polite and friendly, both to me and to your fellow posters. It makes it that much nicer to be here.
4. Be patient. Contrary to popular belief I do have a life and that means that I may not be able to make you a userbar the instant you request it. Depending on how busy my life is and how many pending orders there are before you, it could take between half an hour and a week before you get your userbar.
5. Be grateful. I don't expect you to worship me or to praise me all the way into heaven, but something like 'thank you' would be greatly appreciated. If you link back to me, I will love you forever.
6. No spamming, no begging, and no advertising outside of your signature. It's rude and annoying.
7. No random PMing. I like to keep my inbox tidy, and I don't want it to flooded with messages that could just as easily have been put in the thread.
8. Don't quote anything on the first page.
9. Read the entire front page before placing an order, and always pay according to the Payment Process as explained in Concerning Payment.


Rules are subject to any change I wish to make and all posters are to stick to any new or changed rules I put up.
Any edit of the rules will be posted among the Updates.

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Updates



September 2, 2006
Grand Opening of the shop. smile

September 14, 2006
I am currently experiencing difficulties with PSP 9 of unknown origins. This makes it impossible for me to work on ani userbars at this time. Since I'm very busy this week, there will be a delay in userbar delivery as I need to fix this problem first. My apologies for the delay, you will get your userbar, it will simply take a little longer than expected. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this causes you. sad

September 16, 2006
I seem to have found the cause of the problem, and I think I may be able to work around it while I think of a way to fix it. I'm not sure if the method works, but I hope it will. Thank you for your understanding.

September 19, 2006
I can make userbars for you again, so at least the greater part of the problem has been solved. 3nodding

September 19, 2006 (II)
Have updated the front page to include a detailed post about payments (including a price list), as well as an FAQ section. The rules have been updated to make it clear that the Payment Process is mandatory. Discounts have now been added to the store!

October 2, 2006
I haven't mentioned this before, but the past two weeks I've been ill and rather than recovering I've slowly gotten worse. As of this past Friday I'm on meds, and I've been feeling so sick that staying up and sitting behind a computer costs me too much energy to keep up. For this reason I've temporarily closing the shop, until I get better and am able to make userbars again. If you really want one you can still order, but you'll have to bear in mind that it probably won't be coming within the span of a week.

October 6, 2006
Thanks to antibiotics and plenty of rest I'm beginning to mend, and I feel that I can get back to Gaia some more. Not that my brain's working again, but hey, who needs it anyway?

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Concerning Payment


Shops in this forum are highly scam-sensitive, and I am well-aware of this. Both shopkeeper and customer are never 100% sure about the other, and this can prove difficult when it comes to agreeing on the method of payment. For this reason I have set up a little time-line of events I follow with each order. It provides a measure of security on both sides and although it's not 100% fool proof, it's better than nothing. 3nodding

exclaim Don't forget to label your trade! exclaim


The Payment Process (aka the Don't-Get-Scammed Method):

1. You come in and have a look around, reading all the information carefully.
2. You place your order in the thread (so don't PM it to me).
3. You send me a trade with 300 gold. I will see this as I browse around or the moment I come online, and then I check the thread.
4. I see your order in the thread, and send my half of the trade (0 gold or items), without accepting it.
5. You see my trade offer and know that I have seen your order. You accept the trade.
6. I see that you have accepted the trade and will then start working on your order, leaving the trade unaccepted on my side.
7. Unless I'm having computer trouble of some sort, your userbar will be done within 1 week, and will be posted in the thread. I accept and complete the trade as soon as I post your userbar. New trading activity for you is your notice that you should check the thread.


So why do it this way?
Because it gives the most security on both sides. I have an accepted trade and know that you actually intend to pay, and you have an open trade until the minute I post your userbar. That means that if it takes me 6 days, I won't complete the trade for 6 days.

Why leave the trade open that long? Why not do the trade in full when you post?
It takes me time to make a userbar. If it's a really simple one it could be just 15 minutes, but when for some reason it's complicated (or I don't like what I make) it takes me an hour or more. I'm not a rich Gaian, and I work for my gold. I want to see my hard-earned gold. If I post the userbar before there's any sort of trade, there's a chance that you simply take it and run without paying me. It's sad, but these things happen. I don't want to get scammed. In this same way, you want your security that I'm not running off with your cash- it's why I don't complete the trade until I'm done. If it should take me the aforementioned 6 days, you can check back every day to see that I haven't simply run off with your gold.

What happens when I cancel the trade?
I won't post your userbar, even if it's done. Why not? Because I didn't get my gold. There can be any number of reasons why you cancel a trade (by accident, because you want to change something etc.), but I will always assume that you have changed your mind and wish to cancel your order, unless you tell me otherwise.

What happens when you cancel the trade?
Something may have gone wrong, and it could be unintentional or some weird glitch on Gaia. With all the glitches we have, not to mention the faulty trade log of the Bank of Gambino, it wouldn't surprise me if this happened at random. Whatever the case may be, I will PM you. Do not PM me, I will send you a PM myself. Most likely I will ask you to re-send the trade, or (in case I'm feeling extremely generous) I will inform you that I'm giving you the userbar for free.


Discounts, Freebees and Alternative Payment Methods

Charity discounts
All charities may apply for a 100 gold discount, provided that the userbar is solely meant for the charity, and the charity's thread has at least 50 pages. Charities with less than 50 pages may still apply for a discount of 50 gold. All charities of all sizes have a chance of getting their order for free. This happens entirely at random and is dependent on my fickleness, so there are no promises. By default, any order you place is one you have to pay for unless we have agreed otherwise.

Bumper discounts
If you've bumped me a lot and have been here regularly for at least one week, you may apply for a discount on an order. Depending on how long you've been here and how often, this could be anywhere from 50 to 150 gold. In rare instances I may even give it to you for free.

Loyal Customer discounts
I am happy to say that I have been able to make all my customers happy so far, and I hope to be able to do so in the future. Some people like their userbar so much that they ask me to make them another, and then there are people who come back every single time they need a new one. Therefore, every fifth order gets a 200 gold discount. That's right, order number 5, 10, 15 andsoforth comes for just 100 gold.

Freebees
Don't ask me to make you a free userbar. It's almost as bad as begging, and I don't like beggars. I don't care if it's a gift for a friend or simply because your dog just died and you want to hide on Gaia- if you want a userbar, you'll have to pay for it. 300 gold can be earned in 10 minutes or less, so I doubt it will kill you. I may offer you the opportunity to get a free userbar, but I won't give you a free userbar when you give me a sob story. Just no. See the 'Freebees' post for more detailed information on how you do get one for free.

Alternative Payment Methods - Avi Art
So you're questing and you can't miss the gold, can you? You like art and would rather give something else in return? That's debatable. I like avatar art, and if you show me some samples of your work I'm probably willing to trade you a userbar for your version of my avi. (Of course, if you DO want to give me the most gorgeous piece of art in the world, I won't stop you.) The only times I'll say no to art are when I really need the cash myself, or if I really don't like your art. (That's a matter of taste, and if so, don't take it personally.) I won't demand top-of-the-list art for a userbar, so most artists will have a good chance of getting a deal that way.

Alternative Payment Methods - Items
Short on cash but stacked with items you don't like? That's cool too. I'll make you a userbar for items instead of gold so long as their Marketplace value is 300 gold or very close to it. I don't care if it costs 600 gold in Barton Boutique- I can't sell it for that much. How much I can sell it for is what's important. If you offer me an item I can sell for, say, 500 gold, then I will give you the difference in return (200 gold in this case) unless you decide to be generous and tell me to 'keep the change'. You can also use this method to pay for multiple userbars at once. A 600 gold item is worth 2 userbars, after all.



Price List
Individual orders: 300 gold
Small charities: 250 gold
Big charities: 200 gold
Loyal bumpers: 150-250 gold
Loyal customers: 100 gold for every 5th userbar
Changing Fee: 50 gold*

exclaim Don't forget to label your trade! exclaim



*see Q&A, question #3 for reference

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Q&A


If there is anything you don't understand or are unsure about, don't be shy to ask me. Just drop me a line here in the thread, and I'll get back to you. I'll even put the question and answer up here with the other questions so that other users can benefit from it as well.

exclaim Before you ask me anything, please read this through carefully to make sure your question isn't answered already and make sure to check the rest of the first page as well. More likely than not your question is already answered somewhere, and so there's no need to ask me. I won't ignore you if you do, but I will be annoyed if I have to quote any part of any post for you.


1. Can I PM you about my order?
I'd really prefer it if you didn't. I like to keep my inbox tidy, and I'm sure most issues can be solved within the confines of this thread. If you have anything you wish to change or to add to your order, simply quote your order and state your issue below it. I will see it, I will reply, and I will deal with it. The only real reason you could have for PMing me is if it takes me longer than 7 days to complete your order and you haven't heard from me. Before you do so, please check the thread to see if I haven't posted an update that could concern you and your order.

2. Can you PM me when my userbar is done?
No. I'm a chaotic person, and I'm always doing twenty things at once. I'm in Uni, which takes up a lot of time, and so does having a social life. The time I have left to spend on Gaia is time I wish to spend with my friends. I post your userbar in the thread and complete the trade, and the new trading activity should be all the notice you need to know that your order is done. I don't want to have to keep track of PMs for every order. I'd most likely forget to do it between everything else I'm already doing anyway.

3. What if I don't like something? What if I want something changed when it's done?
I'm a nice person, and I do my best to make all my customers happy. Often enough this means that when I'm not sure what you prefer for your userbar, I will post several different versions for you to pick from. This works for most people. However, it could be that you still want something slightly different. If I happen to be online at the same time, I may still have the file open and will be able to edit it for you without much effort. If I'm not, then there's a 90% chance that I have also closed all files, and any changes that need to be made will require me to make a whole new userbar, since all my backgrounds are custom-made for my customers. Should this be the case, I will most likely ask you to pay an additional 50 gold, unless I can make the change without having to readjust several layers.

4. So why close the files? Isn't it easier to leave them open?
No. You see, it's all a matter of time zones and the frequency of being online. I'm usually online at least once a day since I'm doing some work for Uni anyway, but you could just as easily not be online for three days or more. The only way I can keep a file open is by leaving PSP open and my computer switched on. I can do that if I'm posting in the morning and I go to Uni, leaving my computer on for a few hours if someone else is at home anyway, but I can't leave it on for three days straight or more. This isn't just a matter of energy use, it's also a matter of safety. I don't want my house to burn down for the sake of your userbar.

5. What about sleep mode?
Sleep mode eats a lot of energy. I use it sometimes, but I don't want it to be a habit. Energy costs a lot of real life money, you know?

6. Why do bigger charities get bigger discounts?
Because bigger charities have generally done more charitable work than a small charity that's just starting up. Therefore a bigger charity deserves to get a bigger discount. This doesn't mean that smaller charities aren't also incredibly nice or cool, it just means that another charity has been a little cooler than you and deserves more of a discount. It's not like I charge a fortune anyway, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. And hey- I do check out charities, and if I decided that you really rock my socks, I may just decide to give you your order for free even if you're small.

7. If I ask to pay in an alternative manner, do I always get my way?
No. If you would, there would be no sense in asking. You'd simply inform me that you will. Basically, it works like this: in your order form you fill out how you would like to pay me (unless you just want to give me the gold, of course). In the case of avi art, just say that you'd like to give me avi art, and I'll ask for samples. You give me some samples, and I will give you 'yea' or 'nay'. In case of an item or items, put your offer in the order form, along with its Marketplace value. I will check, so don't bother lying. I will reply with 'yea' or 'nay'. If you get a 'nay' for an application for alternative payment, you can either go and pay the 300 gold anyway or cancel your order.

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Requesting



1. Read the entire front page and the rules in particular.
2. Read the order guidelines in the form carefully.
3. Fill out the entire form using correct, coherent English and put it in a separate post.
4. Send a trade to Miss Elvy with the required 300 gold and pleaseohplease label it for the sake of clarity. Follow the Payment Process as stated earlier.


[color=orange][b]Name:[/b] Your username goes here.
[b]Image:[/b] The image, or images, you want me to use. This could be your current avi, your dream avi, the item(s) you are questing for etc. Please post the actual image(s) or a link to it/them.
[b]Theme:[/b] Are there any special colours you would like me to use? Certain patterns or symbols?
[b]Text:[/b] What text do you want on your userbar? Your username? A nickname? A witty line? Tell me. Just remember that there's only so much room on a userbar, and it may need to be shortened.
[b]Font:[/b] The default font I use is the pixel font you can see in most of the samples. Unless otherwise specified I will use it. If you would rather have me use a different kind of font, tell me here. If it's a specific font, provide me with a link so I can download it if I don't have it.
[b]Other:[/b] Any other special wishes you may have.
[b]Discount:[/b] If you are eligible for any kind of discount, tell me here. If you wish to pay in an alternative manner, this is the place to ask.[/color]



IMPORTANT: Depending on how busy I am in real life and on how many pending orders there are before you, it could take between half an hour and a week before you get your userbar. DO NOT PM ME ASKING ABOUT YOUR ORDER. You will get it. If a week has passed and you still didn't get your userbar you are allowed to PM me, but no sooner than a week after I accepted the trade.

I reserve the right not to take certain orders. I will accept most, but some things I will not do. If I find your request offensive somehow, I will reject it and cancel the trade. I won't make userbars with obscene or offensive symbols or images, nor will I make a userbar with a text that offends me or could offend others.

Asking me to use a certain font is fine, but I may not have it installed. Providing me with a link is alright, but only if the font is free. Let's be reasonable- I'm not going to pay a huge amount of real cash just so you'll give me 300 gold. If your font is not a free font, I will ask you to pick another. Due to the nature of the default font, it is difficult to include symbols like '~' and '*'. Please remember this when placing your order- either ask for a different font, or leave them out.

Lastly, I want you to save your userbar to your computer and upload it to your own host. This is for the sake of my own storage space and my bandwidth limit, so pleaseohplease do this. I will delete older userbars eventually once they have been picked up, so it's best to do this straight away to avoid losing it and pissing me off in the process when you come back to ask me what happened. Your own host, savvy?

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Pending Orders



People currently awaiting a userbar:

No pending orders.

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Completed Orders



People who received their userbars:

TillyVanilla
Mashuu-sann
Xen Dominion (2)
Kayako Kinata (4)
Shisou_Tenma
Elazi
hatchi-san
[-Jaay-] (3)
ztarreh
wall flower003
The_VR
wju2004

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Freebees



Every once in a while I will do a round of freebees. Why? Because I can, and because I may feel like it. I'll do this when I have time to kill, am feeling incredibly bored, or in case I should be feeling incredibly nice. Such a freebee event will occur randomly in any thread I am active in (this thread, my quest thread and a few others), and whoever gets there first gets lucky. 3nodding

Like a random round of freebees, I could also decide to donate a freebee to a random person. When does this happen? When I find someone who's incredibly nice to me personally, or who runs an awesome giveaway, charity or charitable shop (like 1k shops, 1k=1g shops etc). This does not mean that charities can come in and ask for a free userbar- any charity coming in to place an order is expected to pay. It simply means that if I see your thread and like it, I may just make you a userbar for free.


Receivers of Freebees:

[ ~ Peach Melba ~ ]
wall flower003
firephoenix867
~Mrz.Cena~
Mr.Biscuit
Schmexy Penguin
LadyNess
[-Kay-] (charitable shop)
BeachFeet (charity)
Kineta Storm (charity)
[+Misty_Kitness+] (charitable shop)

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Links & Affiliates



User Image

User Image

User Image

User Image

User Image

User Image

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Link To Me



Banners and codes for you to link back to me with. 3nodding


User Image
[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17320639][img]http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/elvea_aure/shopbar.png[/img][/url]

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Hall of Shame



Not everyone will stick to the rules even when they're clear, and not everyone will be polite.
I'm hoping that I won't be needing this blacklist, but hey, you never know.


No misbehavers so far. 3nodding



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reserved

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reserved
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