Are you the kind of person who is good at puzzles that apparently lead to nowhere? Well, Neo Avatars and Blingking502 must be, since they were the first persons to finish Cameron’s latest treasure trail. In this article, we will be interviewing Blingking502.

What does it feel to be the first person to get into that super-secret forum?

It's pretty good. I've always done the trails since the first and I'm usually in the first few to get in, but this time being the absolute first with Neo was awesome.

So why did you and Neo decide to work on this together?

Teams just kind of fell together on the other trails and I had worked with Neo a few times on the others. Plus, he was the only one on #Novus doing it.

How much time did you spend on this?

I had gotten a start on it, not much, before Neo got on, but together it was about 4 hours on and off-ish.

Did you ever get stuck on a clue for a long period of time (if so, how long)?

Haha, the one after you get into the first Secret Forum we went in the completely wrong direction, then finally realised the vertical text and got it, but Cam had screwed up, so the pass was off a bit, which we luckily found without too much hassle. Not sure how long it was.

I tried sending you a private message, your inbox was full. Approximately, how many PMs did you receive asking for the password?

I just deleted those, there were 5 or 6 people who had messaged me, 1 person a few times.

What do you think of the multiple-subforums idea?

Great idea on Cam's part so someone can't just give away the pass.

What was your favorite part of the trail?

Oh there's a little surprise at the end to get into the final forum in the form of an odd crossword that's full of Cam's awesome puns and thinking that Neo and I had a good time with.

Changing the topic, where did you find out about Sal’s?

Back in the first few weeks of playing I was stuck on Ernest the Chicken and a person told me to go to Sal's and use the guide there. I used the site all the time and then found the forum I've been kicking around here ever since, just a little less lately.

What do you like most about our community?

When I joined the community was a lot smaller, which was really nice. Everyone knew everyone else. I had join just a bit before the Christmas party, and that locked me in when I saw everyone coming together then.

Congratulations and thanks for your time! Would you like to give any advice on solving this kind of games to our readers?

Patience and a cool composure helps. Don't get frustrated when something doesn't work. Cam always works really logically and everything he says matters, don't over look anything.

The sea shines in light
Beautiful and bright
I sit on the sandy shore
To wait, to go explore

Far away, she is calling
I feel as if I am nothing
She is the sea
And she, she wants only me

So I then walk
For my heart is locked
But then I begin to run
To her, beneath the sun

She greets me
So wonderful the sea
I am hers forever, and
She, she is mine

We all know the friendly salmon guy, the guy who started it all. And today, I will be presenting to you an interview with...FRIENDLY SALMON MAN AKA SALMONEUS, EXCLUSIVELY FOR SAL'S NEWSPAPER ONLY!!!!

Hey Sal! How're you today?

Hey Paddington, I’m doing pretty well today… definitely can’t complain. With my final exams (and consequently the semester) being finished as of 9:33am on Tuesday morning, I’m happy knowing that I’ll have more time to do things that I want to do (and the things that I’ve had to put off since the semester began).

How did you find out about Sals...oh crap. Why did you create Sals?

I found Sal’s while looking for a ques… doh, you got me!
Around the time I created the site, RuneScape itself seemed like it was surrounded in mystery. The information on the official RuneScape site was very basic – just enough to give you a taste – and it left the game’s community feeling unsure of “what to do next.” For example, when I started playing in 2001, there were all sorts of different foods you could make, but the official site lacked info on them. The average RuneScape diet consisted of cabbage and rat meat, since those things were readily available and didn’t require any special instructions to make (unlike things like pizzas or cakes). Quests were another thing – a few quests always seemed to stump people, and they would spend all sorts of cash to get other people to help them out (thus defeating the purpose)! The main idea behind the site was to kind of balance out the inadequacies of the existing game documentation.
In short, I just wanted to help create a friendly, helpful, organized and accurate center of information for people to use.

How long did you take to finally get Sals started?

That depends on what you mean by “get started.” In 2001, I started a website on Geocities just to document the things that I had learned while playing – essentially just how to make certain foodstuffs, locations of NPCs and other basic info. It never took off (more or less because it was more or less a notepad called “Salmoneus’ Realm of RuneScape”) and I closed it down after awhile. In 2002 I re-started the project using Freewebs, and while it was pretty slow traffic-wise, I ended up getting the basis for the main site complete. I’d say that the site initially started picking up around the end of 2003 after its initial redesign, and really began to “get started” around February 2004, after buying the salmoneus.net domain and moving away from Freewebs.
I’d like to think that the Realm was “born” in February 2004, because that’s really when we started getting a larger userbase, and the site began to expand to include more than just skill guides.

How did people get to Sals, and make Sals not just those normal small fansites but one of THE biggest fansites?

That’s a really good question, and to be honest I don’t really have a good answer for you! My best guess is that our users passed our site link on to their friends and other RuneScapers who needed help, and it was essentially advertised by word of mouth at the beginning. It just goes to show how effective this method can be at getting the word out about something!

Now let’s talk about Runescape! How did you get introduced to RuneScape?

I owe it to my friend James for introducing me to RuneScape. We were both in the same Computer class in Jr. High School and for our final projects had to present something computer-related. He did his presentation on RuneScape, and I thought it looked really interesting. It didn’t have super-graphics or music, but the fact that it was an (MMO)RPG, it was free, and could actually play on my PC was enough for me to try it out. I was addicted the first time I played (even though I ended up lost behind Lumbridge Castle for over an hour).

From where did you get the name Salmoneus, and want to use it?

At the time I found RuneScape, I was addicted to the Hercules/Xena TV shows. I really wanted to use a medieval-sounding name, and both “Hercules” and “Autolycus” (the thief) were taken. So I thought of “Salmoneus” – the funny, kind guy who’s always trying to make a quick buck and never able to – and here we are!

How old were you when you started Runescape? (hurray for off-topic!)

I was 13 (a couple months before turning 14) when I started playing.

Was anybody an inspiration to you in Runescape?

Piranha. I always wanted to mine head to head with him and see who could outmine the other.

Give me one paragraph about your addiction to Mining.

Mining is one of those simple pleasures that many people seem to take for granted. Mining takes skill, determination, dedication and patience, but if you put in 100%, you’ll get something back from RuneScape. I think that John Locke from Lost sums it up perfectly “What I know is that this island might just give you what you're looking for, but you have to give the island something.” What you’re looking for could be a lump of Coal or a pile of Runite, but you may just end up finding a shiny Sapphire or a valuable diamond – you just never know. It’s all about anticipation. If you look at it like that – not just a job, but an opportunity – nothing can stop you from reaching your dreams and aspiring to become one of the greatest miners in the [RuneScape] world.

Now let’s talk about Real Life! Do you love Salmon in real life?

Well, it’s alright. It’s not my favorite dish, as I’d prefer something from AppleBees or Outback, but I like salmon too.

Are you a teacher's pet, a naughty student or just a normal student in school?

It depends on the class. During interesting classes, I’m more likely to ask questions, comment on what the professor has said, and generally get involved in the class. Otherwise, I’m either sitting in the back trying not to fall asleep, or browsing the net on my laptop. I probably fit the profile of the average college student.

When are you going to graduate and get 99 mining? (I know I said real life, but w/e)

That’s on the top of my list of things to do when I start playing again, which might happen this summer. We’ll see. If I ever intend to get 99 Mining, I’m definitely hosting a public “Push 99 Mining” party!

Do you like fast food?

Every now and then it’s great, and I admit that it’s saved my life a few times during those long days of classes, but it’s not good for you at all! Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing better than an extra cheese pizza or a couple of cheeseburgers while studying, but it’s a bad idea to eat it all the time.

Do you think you're sexy?

Oh yes. It’s all about attitude and confidence – if you have those two things, you’re sexy.

Thank you for your time for this interview, friendly salmon man! Do you have anything else you want to say?

You’re welcome - it was my pleasure! I’d just like to say two things:

1. Stay in school.
2. Don’t do drugs.

Thanks for listening!

As most of you know, this forum is connected to the internet. While that statement might be an obvious and even stupid statement it implies a lot. Despite being mainly centered around Runescape related things, the true internet once in awhile filters in, largely categorized with nonsensical phrases and images that usually allow for a cheap laugh. So what specifically is this article about? What could possibly be breaching the walls of our fortress of censorship and watered down internet culture?

4chan. Before I begin, I am sure I will anger some of you /b/tards and the moderating team, as 4chan is taboo around here, but the issue of 4chan is something not to be ignored. Our fair forum has been penetrated by the likes of this lewd, vulgar imageboard, mostly by memes, but this article will no doubt not satisfy most of you. If I wrote and depicted the true nature of 4chan's insanity, I would receive an IP ban, 16 warns and no doubt a personal visit by finisterra to come and personally punch me in my crotch. 4chan is a subject that is not for the easily offended nor is it for person who does not laugh easily. 4chan's humour is largely derived from its ability to turn pop culture, absurdity, and your most horrific thoughts into something that so ridiculous that it forces a laugh from you immediately. But first, some history of the site.

4chan was started by moot, a teenager who had a dream to start an imageboard in the tradition of the Japanese Futaba Channel to discuss such things as Japanese comics and television. He purchased the server space with his mom's credit card, which gives a hint to the economic and social standing of this kid. Boards include such innocent topics as manga, technology, music, torrents, travel, fitness to the adult boards such as pornography, the infamous random board and many other random forms of japanese pornography. It's a very diverse site, as you can undoubtedly tell.

What gives 4chan, in my opinion, its power is the practice of not having to register at all. Users can post anything with no identity at all, rendering them "anonymous". This shield of identity brings out the true nature of the users. As /b/ has very few rules, users do not have much to fear if they post something offensive. And in this fact breeds 4chan's warped culture, full of racism, misogyny, black comedy, and simply the need to offend and shock. If I had to pick one place to exhibit humanity's worst qualities, I would pick 4chan.

4chan is a force of nature. Whatever your feelings may be, there is no denying that 4chan is a force that is not to be messed with. 4chan participates in raids against Hal Turner, Google, and even Time to force moot as one of the 100 most influential people of 2008. Its influence has spread, turning Rick Rolling into a phenomenon that has been used by Youtube on April Fools Day, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, the New York Mets and every single fake link in this forum by some person that still thinks it's fresh and original.

What does this all mean for this forum? This means an increasing trend of forumers that will use memes and what some view as inappropriate content that requires censorship. 4chan's influence is apparent, such as the topic "Favorite Meme" in the Scape Lounge or daily use of 4chan's less offensive memes. But unless action is taken to lessen censorship rules, some 4chan images that will eventually be used by a new wave of internet forumers will be deemed to be breaking the rules, leading to more unjustified warns and more banned members. If I can say cabbage in Runescape, why the hell shouldn't I be able to say it here? The new tide of 4chan's content without the necessary preparations to ensure the integrity of the warn system is essential to the growth of this forum, and without reform, we cannot hope to attract or sustain new forumers that are accustomed to edgier content.

Note: This article doesn't endorse 4chan, as it is an adult website, so don't go there.

I sit in the soothing dark, listening to the quiet murmur of the dishes around me. We whisper of times before and after The Darkness, when we were first made, and what we know of the outside world. I tell my friends, the bowls, of my birth in a warm iron pit, and they listen with great interest. In turn, they tell me of their forging on a great wheel, and of that first moment when they felt the sticky substance they were formed of harden, and how they felt a mixture of pride and regret. Pride, that they were now as hard as everything they had known but the Wheel itself, but regret that they were no longer the soft, light pieces of putty that they had been, but a firmer and colder thing, useful at last but moldable no more.

The darkness we are in intensifies. The noises we have heard from beyond the Wall subside. It is night, and the bowls are silent. The platter I rest on gives a sigh of contentment followed by a quiet little clatter so we know that it is resting. On the left side of me, the side closest to the thin part of my crust, are the plates. Unlike my friends the bowls and I, these fellows are old, months old. I am but newly made, and I know little of the outside world. I can hear the plates stirring, making low, hollow sounds as they twitch, so I know that I can speak to them without disturbing their rest.

“My good plates,” I say softly. I see nothing, but I hear the china in question swivel as they turn to face me. “I am but a young pie, but I have longings to know more of the world beyond these wooden walls. Many a time, I know, you are taken from this chamber into the world of light and sound beyond. What lies beyond the brilliant light that often penetrates our dwelling?”

There is a long silence, deeper and heavier than the preceding one. I wait patiently. Finally, the top plate answers, his voice grave and worn with sorrow. “Please do not speak to us of such things,” he says. “It is a cruel place, filled with unspeakable doings. The last thing we want to do is pass knowledge of what takes place in it to those most susceptible to its ills.”

“He’s got a right to know,” says the plate two below the top plate. Her voice is sharper and quicker than her leader. “Sheltering him will only make it worse when he is called for. Is it Christmas yet? Does anyone know the day?”

“What is a day?” murmurs a teacup from the corner. Part of it has broken off, and the sharp edges jutting from its frame have marked it for permanent exclusion. The plate who is now speaking ignores it and speaks again to me, this time even more quickly.

“The thing you have to understand is that the hands that take hold of us three times per day are part of a greater and more sinister being than any mere food article like yourself can comprehend. Bowls and cups are good at seeing inside themselves, but only a flat plate such as me can see all around her. They are merely instruments to transport us high above the earth at the whim of a great gaping Hole that has consumed countless creatures like yourself — food articles, in other words. No one knows what is —”

“Stop,” I say. My breath has been taken away. “There are more things like me? I thought I was the only being that was made from crust and fruit! Have there been others before me? Am I not alone?”

“Others?” laughs the plate darkly, speaking even more quickly. “In my time, hundreds of unwitting youths like yourself have been placed here, only to —”

“Be silent,” demands the plate on the top. “You’ve poisoned the mind of this pie enough. He doesn’t need to know the details of the horror world outside yet.”

“Everyone deserves to know his fate,” snarls a plate at the bottom of the pile.”

“It’s all lies!” squeaks a bowl from the top of one of the stacks. It has been awakened by our raised voices. “I have seen the world myself, between my times spent with plants within my rim! It is beautiful! A green-and-yellow checkered pattern hovers six feet above me at all times. A great warmth comes from the side of the room, with light dancing on the pattern above me! Other than that, I see nothing!”

“You see what you wish to see!” hisses the second plate to speak, the one who has told me the most frightening tale of my short days in this world. “Your walls blind you to the outside world! I, on the other hand, see the truth in all things! And it is horrible!”

The bowls I see are trembling with agitation. Insulting their perception is the most offensive thing that could ever be done to them. One of them launches itself off the stack with a loud rattle. We all watch, half-stupefied, half-horrorstruck. None of us have ever moved half so much as this one bowl is doing now.

It flies high over me, crashing straight into the third-from-the-top plate, she who claims to sees the truth in all things. The bowl bounces off of her and falls to the floor below with a deafening crash. He splits in two, as does the plate he has struck.

My own platter has awoken. Horror-struck by the carnage he has seen, he pulls himself towards the Wall, no doubt hoping for a little light of day to relieve the panic this night has become. He is not a good judge of time, I think, until I remember that he was slumbering and cannot be expected to know how much time has passed. The scraping sound he makes as he moves rattles my nerves. We have never made half of a quarter so much noise as this before. I hear soft thumps and an unintelligible, booming voice from beyond the Wall. What is happening?

The Wall flies open before me. We all freeze as a small fragment of light pours into our chamber. A great hand reaches in and feels around. It is smoother than others I have seen, and smaller. Suddenly, I feel its touch on me. It grips my crust. I wiggle to get away, remembering the cryptic words of the plate who has passed beyond our sight. A second hand grips me! I am unable to move, and slowly I am pulled out, past the Wall. Back to the side where I was created. Hope rises in me as I think of this, but it vanishes when I behold the massive thing that has me in its hands.

The hands that grip me are connected to long, spoon-like appendages that are attached to a great body, higher than I am wide. Two knifelike sticks hold this body twice my diameter from the ground. I look down in fright. If I fall, I will perish.

Then I look up. Long, curly yellow wires hang from around a round-shaped pale blob. From the blob two orbs point at me. A red lump twice the size of any of my fruit sits between these. And below this is the Hole. I see in it and fear. It is enormous!

The thing grips me as it moves me swiftly across a great open space, one thousand times the size of my shelter. I tremble violently but cannot break free from its grasp. We head for the convergence of two great Walls, higher and stronger by far than the one that now separates me from all that I thought I knew. I make one last effort to break free from the thing’s hands. It fails. The thing reaches the convergence and lowers me as well as itself. What is going to happen to me? I wish I didn’t know so much about what was going on, but I couldn’t take my knowledge back.

Then a hand reaches straight into me! My whole body is on fire as my crust parts and the fruit inside me bubbles out. I feel the hand distending my very structure. It will not reach my heart before the worst has come. But no! It has found the plum at my center and is tearing it out through my insides. I am falling apart. With a great wrench, my plum breaks out of me and disappears into the Hole.

As I pass into whatever comes after Piehood, my mind transcends all boundaries and I understand the world and everything that goes on in it. I can comprehend the thing’s speech and know its name. As I leave I hear it say “What a good boy am I!”

December 10th, 2007. A day that shook the Runescape world, bringing the end of an era for the PKers of the wildy, and ceasing unbalanced trade for all new accounts, with current accounts being given a deadline of January 1st before they too were shackled with trade restrictions. In the aftermath of this great change, huge riots formed on certain worlds with vast amounts of pkers shouting "No PK No Pay". I was personally a bystander in Falador of world 66, using the fast free laws service in its dying days, while the great riots spread. People were handing out pink and blue skirts all over the map, and all of the major cities were crowded with protesters trying to get a message through to Jagex that they wanted their wilderness back.

While these riots carried on, a large proportion of the population were enjoying a new update: the freeplayers. For the first time, the freeplayers were given a minigame in the duel arena, along with the new bounty hunter and clan wars games. Team capes became the latest fashion item and were worn by everyone, filling up the extra bank space that was also added on a day that is mostly remembered as being a terrible day for all players. Is this not the vocal minority's opinion as we so often see in RS history?

In came 2008, and the traditional yearly freeplay update came in the form of the Stronghold of Player Safety, which people assumed, at the time, as being the only thing that the freeplayers would get, as they had what was believed to be the only replacement for the old wildy.

Fist of Guthix brought a new PvP minigame to members and freeplayers alike, providing fun for lots of players and signalling the start of Jagex's scheme for restoring full PvP to the old PKers who were still unhappy with the offerings of Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars. This however brought a change in the update schedule for freeplayers, breaking the usual schedule of one update a year. Players dismissed it as being part of the reconciliation for the removal of PKing.

The Lumbridge and Draynor achievement diary also brought the previously members only diaries to the masses. This proving that freeplay were certainly getting a bumper year and giving them a better taste of the members life than the doomed to fail Gnomecopters that were an obvious advert for membership.

Then came the big one - the graphics update. In what was the biggest update since RS1 became RS2 every player gained the improved graphics that brought RS into the 21st century. Although it was always assumed that freeplayers would get the new graphics, it was by no means guaranteed but once again they came out with something new to enjoy.

The Runecrafting Guild came in August, providing yet another minigame to the freeplayers along with more staves and some assorted other items that soon became fashion items among the freeplay community. This provided another much needed way to train the most difficult skill in the game, but especially so in freeplay.

Finally, in the last replacement for the old wilderness, PvP worlds brought in a new era and possibly a final replacement for old PKing. The whole world became a battle and perhaps it was the greatest one yet. Players still complained about the drops being wrong and the losses they could face for the smallest of rewards, but it brought new armour in the corrupt dragon set and a new way to play and enjoy.

The holiday events are now even bigger with the new quests. We can see how the usual yearly update has been done many times over last year, and all because of the removal of the wilderness. Some may say this is too much of a price, but as a freeplayer who never used it anyway, I can but hope that this stream of updates keeps on flowing.

So, December 10th. Perhaps a day that changed the world, but also the start of the year of freeplay.

There has been an off and on civil war in Sri Lanka for over 25 years. It is being fought between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE although more commonly known throughout the world as the Tamil Tigers. The Tamil Tigers are a separatist paramilitary group that wants a country in the north east of Sri Lanka for the Tamil minority. It is one of the most deadly ongoing conflicts in the world; the tactics that the Tamil Tigers have used has resulted in them being listed as a terrorist organization in 32 countries. The civil war has its origins all the way back when Sri Lanka first gained its independence from Britain in 1948. While writing the first post-independence constitution tempers flared between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. Things boiled over with the passing of a law establishing the Sinhalese language as the sole official language of the Sri Lankan government. This was the spark that started the lead up to the civil war. The actual beginning of the civil war is a little hard to pin point because beginning in about the mid-70's the Tamil Tigers began carrying out assassinations. They targeted mainly policemen and moderate Tamil politicians who attempted to talk with the government of Sri Lanka. This campaign of assassinations would extend into a full scale armed conflict in July 1983 (known as Black July), following the killings of between 1,000 and 3,000 Tamils in response to an ambush by a Tamil militant group.

In 2006, the government of Sri Lanka resumed a major offensive against the strongholds of the Tamil Tigers in the north and east of the country. Over the course of the last 3 years, the government has completely driven the Tigers out of the eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, and is driving them farther and farther north. The Tamil Tigers are left with only 3% of the territory that they at one time possessed. The remaining Tigers are trapped, and there final strongholds will soon fall.

However, the Tigers are not the only ones trapped with little hope for escape. As of March 27, there are over 150,000 civilians that are under direct fire from both sides, and in desperate need of food, clothing, water, and medical attention. Out of those, the International Red Cross states that some 150,000 that are trapped, only 2,000 have been able to evacuate by ship, and those 2,000 are only those that are the most severely injured. The remainder, are near the middle of a war, even those that are in what has been declared a "safe zone". There has been intense pressure on the Tigers and the government of Sri Lanka to declare a ceasefire that would allow the civilians to leave the area. However with the victory so close, the government of Sri Lanka has flatly denied any idea of a cease fire. They have promised to open two "safe" lanes which civilians can safely leave through. So, for the time being, a brutal war is being fought in a small patch of land with almost 150,000 civilians packed in along with both sides fighting forces.

On May 16 the president of Sri Lanka declared victory over the Tigers, but the war didn't officially end until the following day when the final pockets of resistance were cleared out. On May 18 the government of Sri Lanka confirmed that the leader of the Tigers along with his top aides had been killed by a rocket propelled grenade attack as they were trying to flee the war zone. With the fighting over it remains to be seen how the government will respond, will they allow international aid and attempt to ensure that the displaced civilians are treated well, or will they further alienate the Tamil minority and set the stage for a second civil war.

What makes the avatar so special? It's what gives people on any forum their first impression of you. Are you a fun person? An intelligent person? An angry flamer? The avatar is what people identity as your "face" online, and it's something that is practically a necessity on any forum or message board. No one wants to be face-less, right?

People are judgmental on instinct. If you see an avatar of a smiley face, you may identify that person immediately as a happy-go-lucky, and probably young, person. If someone's avatar is a vampire drinking blood, most people would expect them to be sadistic, dark, or just plain creepy.That's why an avatar is so important. Not only is it the way you can best represent yourself on a forum, it gives people an idea to who you are without even reading your posts! People are like that, and constantly judge a book by its cover. So naturally you want to have an accurate cover or people may not bother reading the book.

The Newspaper Team decided to test this out on other forums. 5 people volunteered their avatars to be examined by strangers who had probably never seen the avatar before and most definitely had never met the user of it.