Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Helping At Hunts

I was writing a comment in this post over at Baking Cupcakes, but it grew too long, so I decided it deserves its own post.

So yesterday word spread that there was a hunt at Magika. Magika is a store that I really really like, and I was bummed that people were telling me that the hunt was going to be over last night. I had a party to DJ, and I knew afterwards I would be doing something else. How lucky for me that someone was sweet enough to drop a notecard with the locations on me! The hunt hadn't been on more than 30 minutes when it was given to me. I quickly passed it out to my group, because we LIKE hunt cheat sheets. Of course, I attempted several times to go to the sim, but it was full every time. I figured that this hunt was just simply not going to be happening for me. I realized that even if I COULD get into the sim, I would be lagged out beyond belief, and I was double happy for the locations notecard because at least THAT way I could hop from place to place happily. But I never did get in, and pretty much forgot all about it a few hours later.

Cut to early this afternoon and my adorable friend Laleeta was saying that the Magika owner had changed the locations due to the fact that Baking Cupcakes had posted the hunt locations on their blog. Although she was not the one who posted the locations, she was the one to take the flack and do the apologizing. She's cool like that. There were a bunch of [of COURSE anonymous] comments bitching about how boo hoo, the blog ruined their experience by posting coordinates.

To this I ask... What. The. Fuck?

Ok ok, you know what? Some of us have LIMITED SL time in which to waste on hunting. Sorry about that, but it's true. Not to mention a great many of us are hunted OUT. We're oversaturated with hunts and we're still weeping with joy that we ever managed to finish that insane Ghost hunt. Also, some designers delight in hiding their gifts in such weird and out of the way spots that it really really frustrates people to the point of them just leaving the store. Not to mention the fact that 75% of the people who show up at these hunts come wearing 10,000 prim outfits, super flexi laggy hair, 15 face lights, clicky ugly boots, and scripts up the wazzoo, so even if you CAN get into the sim, you can't move due to all the lag people are creating. And hey, I have a pretty good video card. A lot of people don't so it's hard for them to move in some stores on a regular basis.

I don't understand why people scream about having the hunt locations posted. Guess what? No one's forcing you to click on them. And it is VERY freaking unlikely that you can look at a SLurl and know EXACTLY the location. If you do, then YOU need a life because you obviously spend too much time in a certain location. If you can look at this: http://slurl.com/secondlife/NoobersBoobers/100/69/25 and immediately think, "Oh yeah, that's in the northwest corner right next to the 2nd plant on the left," then you really better get your head checked.

Designers, get this straight. No matter what you say, people are going to help each other with these hunts. Maybe the coordinates are not going to be posted on a blog, but they WILL be on a notecard somewhere, passed out to someone, who will pass it out to someone else. There will be someone standing in your store who has completed the hunt who will be telling people where things are. There will be group chats open with people asking where to find a certain prize. There is NOTHING you can do about it, other than get that kind of prize thing that moves when someone gets the gift out of it. And honestly, that kind of thing will piss off your customers.

I am deeply disappointed that the owner of Magika did not go directly to the writer of the blog post and privately ask her to remove the coordinates rather than make a big deal about it in the blog. It is a store that I have sent many people to when they ask me where I've gotten some of my cool hair, but I no longer feel right in doing that any longer. I don't like it when designers get pissy over something this small, so it's not a store that I feel like I will be returning to. And that's a true shame, because I did enjoy the products there.

And to the other anonymous commenters who whined that their fun was ruined - Get over yourselves.

9 comments:

C said...

It would take someone 1000 times more brilliant than me to look at a coordinate and have a location ruined for them. Me, I actually have to copy and past and actively USE the coordinates in order to find something.

I'm all for those that don't want "spoilers" but they can not read it at all, or not USE the coordinates.

The ones who put on hunts, ok I see where they might have a point, but those that complain their hunting experience was ruined I'm not getting at all.

Asthenia said...

You know what, if you organize a hunt, specify if you want your locations blogged or not. Or if you approve shout outs in chat or not.
Don't point the blame at someone else because you didn't think your hunt through.
And if you don't want to see the locations, scroll on or close the damn notecard. It's pretty sweet someone bothered to hunt all the items & noted all of the locations to help others, so be thankfull!

Heather said...

In my opinion, I would think the notecards would *increase* traffic. I'm terrible at hunts and have very little patience for them. The only way I might visit Magika or any other hunt is if I had the notecard with the coordinates. But who cares, because if I get the hunt prizes and like them, I'll be the next customer right? And isn't that the main point of a hunt, after all? To get visibility and a bigger customer base? I agree Alicia, the owner listened to the squeakiest wheel instead of the logical one.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree. I write for freebie telegraph and actually had a designer IM me in world asking NOT to blog about their freebies. So now if I see the designer in the store I always try to ask. Most are happy to have people come and visit the store.

Anonymous said...

Lol. Love it. I agree with everything you said. Thanks

signed...

sophia harlow....the hunt cheater

Natasha Burke said...

This is a great posts. I agree with it 100%.

Kesseret Steeplechase said...

I love if people ask me where my hunt items are if they can't find it. I'm HORRIBLE at hunts, I depend on cheat sheets myself. During a hunt I recently participated in if someone asked me where it was (the pumpkins were super freakin small!) I'd say "Here's where it's located, but if you can't find it IM me back when I am inworld I'll drop the items on you". Yes, traffic missed out on, but I like to think I gained on something far better than that single instance of traffic.

<3

Anonymous said...

I like hunts and saw the notice for the Magika hunt (a store I really like) and realized, there was no way I was going to get it and so I just left it at that.

I don't do all hunts any more but pick and choose which ones I think I'll like.

EarthStones had a hunt, bags were hidden and 10L, Abraxxa said don't give out the locations, don't say it in chat, no notecards, nothing. You had no idea what you were getting until AFTER you bought the gift bag and opened it (I ended up with A Rock -- which considering the Charlie Brown Halloween Special I laughed) and some nice stuff.

But someone was saying in the group chat where things were. After it was spelled out not to do it. The person doing this got banned and Abraxxa moved things around. I thought she'd shut it down.

The thing about hunts is, if the person doing the hunt says -- do not do these things (pass out notecards, post on blogs, say in open chat or group IM) then hunters shouldn't do those things.

every person can't do everything in SL, that's just life ( you can't do everything in life) and if you miss a few hunts or don't have a chance to do them because of lag or whatever, then that's life.

Personally I think it's rude to and kind of arrogant to say "well I don't have time/don't like hunts/don't do well with them" and so pass out coordinates and invalidate a lot of the hard thought and the time that designers and people put into hunts.

And then complain about designers complaining because they feel their hard work, and time and effort is ruined.

I didn't finish the Earthstones hunt becuas eI didn't have time for it. I asked for help with the Ghost hunt since that was allowed.

I don't finish most hunts, even though I like to , but I'm not bitching about, it's just life. Deal.

Anonymous said...

Was going to post this on the Cupcakes blog but she closed off comments before I could hit enter. Since it seems to have taken a life here....

First off, it appears to me that only the first anon message is from the owner, the rest appear to be from others that don't agree with posting the coords. That said, it also appears that she is not being rude at all, just stating that because the coords got posted, she's changing the locations.

That all being said, what a bunch of ingrates. If her only purpose was to just give out a bunch of freebies, she could have put them all into a box and dropped it near the front door. If you don't have time for the hunt, then don't hunt. Hunts are meant to be a fun way of getting to know a store or sim. Just popping from location to location, grabbing the loot and running off is really not their intention. Posting the coords just encourages wholesale bypassing of what the owner is trying to do.
I can't imagine any owner WANTING the coords posted. They may stay silent on the subject to avoid the whole bitch factor that ensues when one does speak up.