Last Thursday's discussion!

Thursday was discussion day at LnL! The topic for this week's event was "SHHHHHHH!! I'm huntin' wabbits!! Sane "Game" or abrupt obsession in SL?!!". The group started by defining what a hunt was. All agreed it was a fun way of promoting sales and of finding new stores and the right products to buy, not to mention meeting new friends. Despite the fact that nowadays one can dress up an avatar simplywith hunt prizes and get a good look that way, it was interesting to see that many discussers thought the "freebie-factor" was a secondary issue. Despite the fact that many new residents have no idea about hunts (some suggested it would be a relevant information to add to SL tutorials), hunts could be a interesting activity, though frustrating at times. Many of the group members refuse to do hunts where a fee is charged per prize, unless it is for donation purposes. On the other hand, it was defended that the symbolic fee could serve as an incentive to boost quality amongst the participant stores. Hunting in SL can easily go from being a game to becoming a compulsion; some of the participants (well, the majority... but shhhhh!!!) said they have a lot of unopened boxes from previous hunts! Now, one aspect a lot of the participants agreed upon was the fact that there is an overflow of hunts especially during certain times of the year when celebrations are held; there are so many different hunts, grid-wide hunts, store hunts, mini hunts, with so many diferent themes, that it is often difficult to decide which one to select. The group then went on to discuss aspects they find annoying in hunts, such as store owners making it too difficult to find the prizes, too many decoys (this writer adds, extreme resizing and recolouring of the prize ...), or when it's a pay hunt having no pictures available so the hunter can decide whether to get the prize or not. On the topic of cheating, all agreed that it does defeat the purpose of a hunt but when it gets frustrating and after several failed attempts to find the prize, then...! Curiously enough, not many thought that the proliferation of hunts could be one of the causes for less sales in SL, because where there is quality, there will be sales regardless of any hunts, freebies, Midnight Mania boards or other types of gift givers. In relation to the quality of the prizes, the group agreed that hunt organisers would definitely benefit from being more selective regarding the stores they approve for their hunts, and that they should also do a follow-up on the prizes to check if they match the quality of the items sold in the store. Time was up so quickly! So, as a conclusion, the moderator stated that "Consumerism in SL is certainly a tricky question, it serves the purpose of showing who and what we are, or the expectations and ways of living that we have. But at the end, whatever makes us virtually happy is what counts, never forgeting that this metaverse is just a "Game" made for us to enjoy and be happy. So get the nets out, wear comfy shoes and LET'S GO HUNTING, we might find something pweety cool!!". Thank you everyone for a fun discussion! Join us next week, Thursday at 2pm SLT, for another interesting topic!