Collabor88 is a popular monthly themed event with great designers, and the support of many bloggers in Second Life. When this event was formed, Drinkinstein Sorbet (designer and event creator) asked me personally to be part of the official press/blogging team. I accepted and covered it often on my blog. After over a year of dedicated blogging, aka giving my time and blog space to promoting this event, I was tossed out of the group by one of the managers without a word. I didn’t bother asking Drinkinstein about this, but I felt that it was a poor way to treat someone who helped promote your event since its inception. Once I got over the shock (this happened in December of 2012), I began covering Collabor88 again, on my own, not as part of the press team.
However, this blog post is not about me, it is about my friend and fellow blogger, Willow Zander. You may know Willow from her 7+ years of dedicated SL fashion coverage on her blog and various other group blogs. Like myself, Willow was invited to be part of the press team for Collabor88, and covered it every month without fail. In February, Drinkinstein banned her from the Collabor88 sim, and kicked her out of the group without a legitimate reason. Is this any way to treat your official bloggers?
Willow is too nice to mention any of this on her own blog, and continues to give Collabor88 coverage for designers who sends her review copies. I feel that since she’s not a griefer, copybotter, or has done ANYTHING that would earn a sim ban, she should be unbanned immediately. I wish the designers who enjoys her blogging, and benefits from her blogging, would speak to Drinkinstein on her behalf.
Do you think Willow should be unbanned from the Collabor88 sim? Should she still blog it, even though she is banned?
JuicyBomb readers voted in February, in favor of bloggers not providing coverage for events they are banned from attending.
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I think it’s up to Willow as to whether she wants to blog about Collabor88 or not. But given your story (unceremoniously dumped), her story (banned) and my own experience (never blogged about Collabor88 but banned anyway (I don’t even blog about fashion!)), it makes you wonder. I love many of the C88 designers and often go there using an alt, and then contact the designers directly to get copies of things, which is a little crazy.
That’s so troublesome! I hope that the designers who enjoys making sales off you, will question this and have Ziki unbanned!
I find this post disheartening and thank you for this post Gogo. This only strengthens my newfound loathing of the event, especially after seeing the prices of the event slowly skyrocket (collabor88.com claims: “Collabor88 is a fashion forward destination, where the most well loved content creators in SL get together to bring shoppers a superb selection of their well crafted merchandise at approachable, low prices.”) I agree with the masses in that she should not, nor should anyone, blog events that they are banned from.
y’know if you ask me they should take a step back from the keyboard and look at how they are behaving.. banning people on random for no reasons what so ever? and they expect their reputation to remain top notch? makes me wonder what in (censored) name they are doing. that’s just childish behavior. they need to stop act like a bunch of egocentric fools and treat people better.
Hmmm….to every story there is two sides. I don’t know anyone involved personally, nor have any ill will or intent. I just wonder if they do have reasons and just haven’t been asked. Has someone spoken to the moderator of the group and asked? Has an effort been made to clear up any misunderstanding. Often, I accidently hit buttons….make mistakes…for no other reason then I am rushing about or I clicked a name under the one I meant. It could be something as simple as that. Or not….but no one knows if no one asks. In reference to blogging …well of course that is up to the blogger I guess. As a blogger myself, I would continue to blog if only to support the brands I enjoy. But thats just me. I hope everyone has a great day!
I’m remembering a time that I was banned from a sim that I had often visited before by an automatic system that was intended to prevent copybotting. (I guess the scripts thought I was highlighting and clicking on too many objects, but the last time I had visited was for a hunt.) I hope it was just a misunderstanding.
ah, i long for the old days when speaking your mind elicited enough fear in the controllers to have you destroyed.
Well, there’s lots of power trips going around Second Life these days, but that’s the same as it ever was.
One of my favourite films is the Winona Ryder film “Heathers”, a dark comedy about mean girls. And here’s the relevant bit of dialog:
Veronica: Heather, why can’t you just be a friend? Why do you have to be such a mega-bitch?
Heather Duke: Because I can be.
And that’s why your friend got banned.
I noticed you’re not calling for a boycott of Collabor88. If Willow were my friend, I would. I’d make a principled stand, in other words. Such stands are inevitably futile in Second Life, but one either has principles or one doesn’t.
Seraphim declared some time ago that no one would be allowed to complain that the original intent of Collabor88 to be a bargain event (http://seraphimsl.com/2013/03/08/collabor88-march/) has been corrupted by the greed of designers. There are a few designers, such as Harry Hyx of ISON, who stick to the original principle (there’s that inconvenient word again) of the sale and list their items at 88L, but most of the sellers list items at the same (or sometimes even HIGHER) prices than they will be after the current month’s event has ended.
I asked Vixen Thibodeau why she bothered to activate comments on Seraphim at all if the only comments allowed were “You guys rock!” and “These items are awesome!” Such inanity does not deserve expression.
I do not buy anything at Collabor88 that isn’t, you know, 88L. Not because I’m cheap or poor, but because of principle.
I’ve stopped reading Seraphim’s blog and never will because of their strict “no complaints, no questions” comment policy. And I don’t care if Drinkinstein Sorbet bans me from Collabor88 because there is absolutely nothing there being sold that I can’t live without, and which I can’t buy at a later time at the same price (or even a lower price).
In other words, I ain’t missin’ a thing. And neither is your friend. Instead of begging and crawling to be pretty please be allowed back into Drinkinstein’s rather capricious favour, why not just forget about her and stop promoting anything associated with her event? It’s another P word this time, not Principle but Pride. You’ve got to have some or you’re that worst P word of all–Pathetic.
And I know you will publish this, GoGo, because you’re not afraid to publish something a bit sharp. At least I hope you’re not.
i actually mentioned boycotting c88 in a plurk about willow being banned and she said she would never ask anyone to do that… and really boycotting c88 just punishes the designers who are a part of the event. most of whom might not even know what is going on.
Fortunately I’ve never been banned, but I feel sorry for those bloggers who are being blocked because of some program or just a bad day for some designer or manager. 🙁 Because of copyboot many are becoming overprotective for their creations, almost obsessed with this thing using sometimes questionable actions. Ban without checking the veracity is an action taken lightly when it should be the last resort.
I hope the situation will be resolved in the best and I hope that some people come back with your feet on the ground. Being manager or creator does not make you a superior person to the other just because they work for you or buy your stuff at the end without them you wouldn’t be nothing.
Ps: Also I am looking for cheaper prices at Collabor 88, but I did not know that some designers did them even higher than normal. This pains me to see .. and to ascertain if it is the truth, Until I have seen do not believe it XD
I so dislike one sided stories as they lack the depth, the fairness and well…let’s face it…the truth. There are always 3 sides to a story… yours… theirs and somewhere in the middle, which is usually that ugly thing people dislike…unbiased, unabashed… TRUTH.
As far as the event and the coordinators and the managers, if you choose not to clear up the reasons you were banned and you prefer to just boycott the sim ,the organizer of the event the group, et al, again…your choice. However,just as THAT is your right, it is THEIR right to ban whomever they want for whatever reason they want, even though you, your friend, or even your second cousin removed may deem it an ‘unfair ban’.
How can you possibly ask if we, the readers, think your friend should be unbanned when we don’t have all the facts? And for those people who reach a verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘innocent’ with out all the facts…Really?
Sure, any commercial sim owner can ban ANYONE for ANY reason, but they also have a business to run, and should not use it to “punish” former friends/bloggers/business associates/people who don’t deserve to be banned. Also, Drink or Willow is more than welcomed to elaborate here with their side, but I’ve already stated that Willow was banned without a legitimate reason.
This news about banning people randomly from Collabor88 is very bizarre. I can’t imagine why this would be, but I would like to hear from Drink or one of the other organizers about what could have possibly motivated it.
To address the pricing that many people have been commenting on, this event consistently has extremely high quality designs where every single color is the same price (as opposed to some events where just one color is discounted or none at all). I find that many designers still sell their items for much lower than they would sell them in their shops (188L is still an excellent price for a piece of mesh clothing). Of course, in the end it’s up to the designers how they want to price things and it’s up to the customers if they think it’s a good enough deal. I just think people shouldn’t underestimate the number of hours that creators put into their projects.
But anyway, that’s not the point of this blog post. Please let us know, Gogo, if you hear anything more about this from the moderators.
@Kellie: “188L is still an excellent price for a piece of mesh clothing”
It’s not bad. Too bad that most of the clothing at Collabor88 is sold at a price higher than 188L. Not only that, but *after* the event, some of the designers sell their clothing at a lower “regular” price in their stores.
If I can give my opinion, I am Owner of a shop in SL too. I tried to register my shop to 88collabor, and I quickly realized that this group was closed snob. They laughed at me. For my part, I prefer to participate in Events Missy, owner of American Bazaar, she is very nice and even AFK, she always found time to answer me.
This is not because a group is 12 000 members. That managers must snubbed-owners, other owners and bloggers willing to participate. It is anti-business, and SL is a game of trade.
(Sorry for my bad english,I hope you understand)
Willow? banned? That strikes me as a bit absurd since in the old days one of the standard marketing techniques was to drop items on Willow! (And Celeb, Sabrina and Salome) Designers wanted Willow to shop and show off their stuff. And the same applies to you, Gogo, as well.
Course things are different now.
I am not a big fan of “offical blogger” groups, I personally think bloggers should stay more independent, because we’re the only things that put pressure on designers to stay “honest” and not treat customers poorly. But of course designers know that there’s a lot of girls out there who will do anything to get in an offical blogger group for the free stuff, so they have the upper hand.
I am no big fan of C88, as was said, it was originally intended to be a discount event with EVERYTHING at 88L$ and it’s not anymore. And being at C88 doesn’t guarantee quality. I’ve picked up mediocre items from big name designers at c88.
These events are basically cliques… designers that can’t get into one fet a group togheter and start yet another one. C88 doesn’t showcase new or varied talent…just the same set of designers over and over.
I think it’s long past time we as bloggers started thinking ourselves as press and not be afraid to state our opinions or call designers out on bad practices.
Hi, Crono. You wrote: “I think it’s long past time we as bloggers started thinking ourselves as press and not be afraid to state our opinions or call designers out on bad practices.”
I agree, but there’s two problems with that: (1) Many bloggers blog not to inform the public, but to get free stuff. Period. And, as we’ve seen in many instances, event coordinators/design creators don’t like honest criticism, which means (2) Honest bloggers will get banned and won’t get their free stuff. Period.
Whenever I read a blog, I remember that the person telling me I should buy this or that has been paid to do it (paid by receiving the clothes for free). The only blog I read is JuicyBomb because GoGo has actually had the nerve to say when she didn’t like an item! I can pick out my own clothes and I don’t need bloggers to “screen” it for me.
Let’s be honest: most SL bloggers don’t have any credibility. They’re shills for (insert name of designer here). I’d like to say that most people can see right through that game, but that’s not the case. Shilling is done because it works.
Hi Veronika.
First I’m going to make a joke: “Bloggers get Free stuff? No one told me! Where are my free fatpacks of everything?””
I understand what you’re saying. In the old days most bloggers would identify in their post if an item was a review copy. I also agree that bloggers don’t mention item flaws enough…and trust me, there are items I’ve not mentioned the flaws of because I was afraid of backlash over even the slightest criticism.
I got a little taste of the anger of a designer when I’ve left honest reviews for items I’ve purchased on The Marketplace. Angry IMs in-word ensue in which I’m accused of ruining the designer’s life and plotting to undermine the intricate system of global capitalism.
Hell hath no fury like a spurned designer, I guess. Oddly enough, none of them have ever contacted me to thank me for a positive review (and I’ve left far more positive than negative), which gives you a glimpse into the sense of entitlement and specialness a lot of them feel. I can name a few designers who have forever lost my business because of a I-make-mesh-and-therefore-I-am-better-than-you mentality…as if they are doing me a favor by taking my Lindens in return for their product.
I fully realize that bloggers come under enormous pressure, but yes, I would like bloggers to make it explicit that they are wearing FREE clothes from the designer they are “reviewing”. I would also like to have a herd of unicorns to graze in my gumdrop pastures. Ain’t gonna happen.
“Many bloggers blog not to inform the public, but to get free stuff. Period.” Maybe I’m in the minority of bloggers but I spend much more money and lindens in order to keep my blog going than I ever receive back in free review copies. However, I doubt I’m in the minority. Keeping a fashion blog going is not cheap (unless maybe you’re one of the biggies), the one thing you have to have a lot of is lindens, especially for the first year (I’ve been blogging for just under a year now). Keeping up with the latest trends, having a new outfit multiple times a week (indluding hair, sometimes skin, accessories, shoes, etc), making sure to cover the major brands on new releases, covering fairs and other major events …well, you do the addition. Certainly, I receive some cltohes for free, but this is far outweighed by the number of clothes I buy and actually blog. So, yes, I find this contention absurd but maybe you know more about fashion bloggers than I do.
But you’re right about one thing, most fashion bloggers don’t blog to inform. We’re not necessarily a set of reporters here to bestow upon our public the pros and cons of buying a product (unfortunately, there isn’t a Consumer Reports for SL). I blog what I like and (I think)I have high standards for what I like. I like to keep my blog upbeat and positive, so I don’t blog things that I feel need a critique. This includes the brands that sponsor me or for whom I blog; I simply won’t blog their new release if I don’t like it or it doesn’t suit my style. Call me a shill if you like, but my goal is to present fashion the way I see it and hopefully my readers have a little fun along the way–maybe they learn a bit about me, and hopefully they see what they like (and don’t like) and can take that with them.
“I can pick out my own clothes and I don’t need bloggers to “screen” it for me.”
It seems strange that you want fashion bloggers to screen clothes, be reporters, critique items, but then you come back and say that you don’t actually need this. If you don’t need this as a service, why then are you demanding it from fashion bloggers? Personally, I don’t read fashion blogs because I think they screen clothes for me. I read them to keep up on all the new releases (you can’t possibly be in enough store groups); I read them to learn a bit about the blogger if their writing is clever and interesting; I read them for the eyecandy and picture viewing; I even read them to get new ideas on fashion. But, no, I don’t think anyone needs their clothes screened by someone–and you are no exception.
“Let’s be honest: most SL bloggers don’t have any credibility. They’re shills for (insert name of designer here). ”
Credibility by your standard requires fashion bloggers to critique clothing which is a service you already admitted you don’t even need. I’m certain there may be fashion bloggers whose sole purpose for being is to obtain free clothes, who are merely shills for the designer, but you’re overstating the case here. How many designers does a blogger blog? How many designers are they sponsored by? I’m going to guess the numbers don’t come close to being equivalent.
Hello.
I wasn’t going to come here and comment, I am not one to make a huge fuss and I’ve accepted the fact that I am banned now, but I can tell you that I was not the only person removed and banned, so it’s not that I’ve been singled out specifically. This has been talked about since it happened on various platforms and I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever found out or understood why, except for the fact that another event started that myself and the others were a part of in some way, shape or form.
I did attempt to ask questions, clear the situation up and talk to organizers, but alas, the ban remains. And that is about as much as I an happy to share, this isn’t a big drama, it’s just a very sad, unfortunate situation that one day I hope can be resolved. There are some amazing people involved in the event that I really enjoy blogging, and I won’t let this stop me supporting them
Thanks!
I guess you didn’t get the memo that bloggers can only be a part of one fashion event at time. That is on page 4 paragraph 2E of the blogger handbook we are all required to sign the day we start posting. 🙂
I’d never last a day as a blogger. I only read books that have pictures. Pop-up pictures.
Really exist these rules? do not think I’ve ever read or seen them o.O
It is really sad that there seems to be this kind of power trip stuff happening in SL, but I suppose it is inevitable that this kind of thing happens. I had a similar experience with male SL magazine editor a while ago. Well not that similar, but kind of. He had published one of my articles, and it was a pretty darned good bit of reporting if i do say so myself! Upon mailing him another article, which I had been asked to write, he didn’t reply, and never has to this day. I thought it was rude and unprofessional. If he didn’t want to publish it, he should have at least responded and let me know. He fancies himself as a bit of a SL/RL business man, with fingers in a lot of SL pies, so to speak, and I think it was a case of him thinking that he didn’t need to bother replying for whatever reason, and would just never get back to me, even though I had put work and RL time into it. Maybe ‘just cos i can’ syndrome. It seems it’s not just a female trait.
Funny how we’re always yelling “My blog/plurk/sim/store/event/…, my rules” until someone does exactly that and we don’t agree.
Is it a good idea to kick out a good blogger from your blogger list and ban her from your event? Probably not.
I won’t let this affect my shopping, and it’s obviously not affecting Willow’s blogging, so my pitchfork is staying the closet.
Banning someone in Second Life is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. People will just create an alt and go right around the ban. What’s the point?
I’ve been in Second Life a long time, and I’ve observed that many people lack the social skills to deal with other people. Just because you can ban, doesn’t mean you should.
It might be something else if banning a person was your last resort; but for many Slers, it’s their only tool. No negotiations, no explanations, no compromise–you know, acting like an adult. Instead, it’s a bunch of infantilized adults acting like two year olds who won’t share their toys and banning anybody who looks slant-eyed at them.
Not surprised that people are still going to shop at Collabor88. I can’t say why, really; I just visited and once again, was underwhelmed by the quality and variety. I supposed I might be impressed if I were just starting out in Second Life and didn’t know about Mon Tissu, Maitreya, Monso, GOS, et al, but I didn’t see anything for sale there that hadn’t already been done elsewhere and by others.
I really think that a collaborative event is a different cup of tea for managers than looking after a creator’s mainstore / blog / sim / etc. It comes with a lot of responsibility towards the participating creators – just as well as much responsibility if you employ a dedicated bloggers group.
Not being able to handle conflicts in a professional manner and simply kicking folks in a “I’m not telling you why, I don’t like you anymore” manner doesn’t really leave the kicked person in a bad light, but rather shows that the manager might be a self-absorbed a**hole of the douchebag kind.
You might have your favourites and you might have the foes… ok. But be honest about it. Anything else seems barely above highschool drama of “only the cool kids may play”.
In this case, it certainly wasn’t the first instance of strange management behaviour, but probably the most popular one. Similar stunts already happened way before they claimed their current location and at that point, I already trashed my LMs and all “The Sea Hole” items, simply because I do not want to give L$ to support such behaviour, no matter what stores are participating.
A couple of months ago I spent a lot of lindens at Collaror88 on the Scarlet/Apple Barn building only to find out that part of the roof tiling (a big black mark) was showing through the white interior and it wasn’t able to be fixed!
I watched as blogger after blogger gushed their praises and photos were posted on Flickr all with the offending black mark in full view yet NONE of them ever mentioned it. I spoke to someone (who I won’t name) who is an avid landscaper and decorator and they also said they noticed it and would mention it on their decor blog but of course they never did!! It seems there are a lot of bloggers and people who are scared of talking out for fear of bans ot being excluded from the clique!
Your story is one of many, and that’s why SL bloggers have zero credibility. They take photos of themselves wearing free clothes and conveniently forget to mention that these clothes are gifts, not purchases. What’s more, you’ll find that most of the blogger photos are HEAVILY Photoshopped and that they’ll also conveniently forget to mention that these clothes only look good in static poses (for example, hoodies where your hair will stick through if you move around look great in a Photoshopped still pose, but useless for anything else).
What’s truly disturbing is this “It’s my store, it’s my blog, I’ll do exactly what I want!” as if people owe nothing to anyone else in Second Life.
Oh really? Don’t designers need people to buy their merchandise? I know some designers who are abusive, rude, and dismissive towards their customers, and whose reputations and sales have suffered as a result.
The saddest thing of all is to see how many people will fall on their knees and beg to be unbanned. It reminds me of little kids in the schoolyard, ostracizing an unpopular kid so they can make the poor wretch crawl and beg.
Ban me without a reason and I’ll tell you to go fuck yourself. I do not negotiate with bullies and petty tyrants. Begging bullies to pretty please let you back into their sad little clique has got to be the most embarrassing spectacle in Second Life, but I’ve seen it so many times I’ve lost count.
For whatever reason, too many folks stick to the “if you can’t say something nice”, … like, literally, every freaking word being nice, “don’t say anything at all” principle. Which comes hand in hand with a typical reaction like “OMG, stop bashing me!!!11!” if the comment was written like, “There is an issue with the texture blending / the shading seems a bit off / an attachment comes with the wrong permissions. If you could fix that, that’d be great.”
As a small store owner, I would be PISSED if someone was banned from an event that I took part in. Granted there is a lot of ass kissing in blogs these days, I would prefer an honest opinion of what I make so I can progress into a better creator. There are some designers I have seen that NEVER improved on texturing, building, meshing, or scripting. How can one improve without criticism? If I was a blogger I wouldn’t personally go out my way to obtain anything from collabor88 to blog or even buy as a customer if I was banned from an event. It seems that these event coordinators are taking business personally if they are banning you from their sim for participating in another event.
Times like this that I miss a certain snarky SL site.
There’s always Plurk:
http://paste.plurk.com/show/xwMoZu8Bz3zLP0yhGcSm/
wow. that plurk post was just brutal.
i blog sometimes, i keep low key. i’ve gotten maybe one or two items from designers to wear and post. luckily they were cute so i gave them a good review. i would never want to get famous. i do all my fashion stuff for myself. i think it’s really neat when people read my blog, but i don’t want free stuff at all! i don’t want that kind of responsibility. besides, i only wear like five or six different brands. haha. i really admire those of you who do this for a long time, keep up with it, try to cover all the events and are brave enough to give honest opinions. i hope that this is a misunderstanding or can be worked out.. i really like collabor88 and like someone else said, it shouldn’t be trashed because it’s the designers in the showcase who suffer in the end. and i like lots of them, and have no probs paying 48L for one of drinkenstein’s lovely items or 488L for a good skin from auxiliary, that’s still a deal to me.
Oh wow, that was pretty hardcore. There’s snarky, and then there’s being an enormous jerk.
This is a legitimate rule stated by The Arcade. We aren’t trying to deprive anyone of items, or take anyone’s money, just following the rules given to us by the event. We greatly appreciate everyone’s business and want to keep it fair for every customer who chooses to play our machined. Just wanted to add my input so this dialog wasn’t taken the wrong way.
I don’t think that Tegan comes off as the bad party in that exchange.
Fortunately, there are many groups of promotions and events on SL. (Positive Attitude =p)
C88 is a drop in the ocean.
Personally, I’m a handywoman on the game, I receive regularly note-cards for events and requests for bloggers. I do not respond to everyone, lack of time, furthermore, I do not speak English, I spend hours to translate.
When I enjoy visiting a blog (with nice photos), I look at regularly (every day), sometimes with great timidity, I contacted the blogger. I ask if she would be interested in my work. If the answer is “Yes” I send a “gift box”. But, I’m not trying to be post on blogs, I do not seek glory, criticism etc … LoL. “Coup de coeur” (Favorite) for a blog, only. That’s just, the heart which speaks.
I’m sorry for bloggers who have been banned. I do not know if it was really helpful. It’s strange. 🙁
Note bene: Learn to speak English correctly, and not the Google translation.
IF they cant handle constructive criticism then they shouldn’t be selling items. if i contact a creator about one of their items has wrong perms i keep my tone polite and say something along “i’m not sure you noticed but item x has bad perms, instead of perm this and that they got perms that and this” and not “OI jackass your trashy item is garbage! fix the perms now!!”
also manna you have no rights to demand something like this “Note bene: Learn to speak English correctly, and not the Google translation.”
“nota bene” is French for “note well”; it’s the French equivalent of “I must remember to…”
As for people’s egos out of control, well..
Hoorenbeek threatened somebody because he didn’t get his way:
http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/general-sl-discussion/82365-you-should-probably-avoid-hoorenbeek.html
For the “nota bene” I was talking about me, Angy. 😉 I’m French. xD
Sometimes I have a lot of difficulty understanding the note-cards sent to me, that’s all. :p
If I can give my opinion, for me, SL is a game, I’m having fun and sharing. I’m not trying to be the best, compliments or criticisms do not touch me. We are not obliged to think business. There are more important things in RL.
Since 2007, I create items on the game, I do it because I like it. If people like or dislike, whatever. The most important thing is to have fun and spend a good time.
manna i read it the wrong way i apologize.
second life is more then just a game its a virtual world.. but some people i have meet and talked to in world is even bigger jackasses, they treat people with disrespect and when you tell them to grow up or stop act like a asshole they use “its just a game” as a excuse every time (no it was not aimed at you manna it was aimed at other people)
Nota bene is latin ….
I’ve been banned from the sim too and I have no idea why, I’ve only been there a couple of times and tried to go there the other day with a friend, to be honest until i saw this story not a single f*%k was given, just weighing in that they do indeed appear to ban for no reason.
Does anyone realize this is a video game…?
In response to Alurabee’s comment, as someone earlier pointed out, it is a bit more than that. It is a virtual world, and there’s no excuse for people to treat others badly. We are all human beings behind our avatars, and some people are working within their second lives, as an extension of their work in real life. For example, there are promotional sims which run as real life businesses, or avatars who promote and sell real life products. One of the biggest car manufacturers in the world had virtual offices in SL not so long ago, and may still have. Another example is land owners who rent out their land in SL. Some change their Linden dollars to Real life currency, and I know of a couple who were for a while running this as a real life business, making enough to live on. I don’t think it really matters whether people in SL are running a business venture, or if it’s for pure creative enjoyment without making any money. People should at least show one another basic consideration, shouldn’t they…?
I don’t disagree. My comment was directed more towards Collabor88 being upset at a blogger (or group of bloggers) for supporting an indirect competitor. If you can’t be nice & civil in a virtual world, what do you do in your real life?
I think I’ve always gotten excited for some things at C88. I’m a little confused by the pricing there, but it’s an event now and some things are still a bargain. Onto the bigger issue…
It’s really the C88 organizers’ loss to not have great bloggers on board. I don’t think they realize what they’re turning down, but it’s also just a computer game. It’s something that I take seriously and so do others, but some really take it to the point of a “power trip machine.” I’m better than you because I control this and I don’t have to tell you why i’m doing this and I’m going to talk badly about you to make it seem like you deserved it. That statement can be applied to all sorts of situations stemming from SL drama.
I think in this scenario. I wouldn’t blog any of the items at C88 either. I wouldn’t mention the event. I wouldn’t give any sort of praise to something that ostracized me and made me feel shabby. I would continue to blog the clothes but I would only state the designer of that clothing item or choose to blog about the clothing item when it was in their store, not in the event.
However, like others have said. It seems very strange to be banned for no apparent reason. If there was some rule broken and it’s caused this much fuss, then why not try to resolve? That’s when you realize, oh the organizer(s) didn’t want to resolve it. They’d rather make someone feel badly. I would never support anything run by people who approve that message.
However, Gogo is fabulous and has plenty of fashionable things to keep her busy. I’ve been thinking. Awhile ago, you overhauled your inventory. What’s your number now? Mine is creeping up to 60,000 again and it’s hell!
63!!! I haven’t been brutal with the cleaning in months, I really need to cut about 5K!
I support a full-on boycott and a “name and shame” campaign against every “creator” who acts in such a petty manner, as well as against everyone that uses spyware like the the Gemini CDS Ban Relay or derivatives of RedZone (whose creator was a con artist that eventually ended up in prison).
But I digress… There are so many idiotic trashionistas out there who will still buy the crap produced by douches, even though said douches treat customers as potential thieves of their intellectual property (even if said “intellectual property” is often merely badge-engineered and repackaged full perm material that’s readily available in ready-to-wear form on the SL marketplace) and as utter trash.
I know I’m a little late to comment but I thought I would anyway 🙂 I’ve just read through everything and I was a bit shocked to hear some of these things, but at the same time, some of my feelings have been shared with others. I’ve seen the prices rise consistently over the last year at C88, and it is a bit frustrating tbh. I usually always go there and head straight for Glam Affairs skins, because I horde them, and even at 288L that is a STEAL. As for the clothes, not so much. It used to be you could go in and expect a nice low price and could get EVERYTHING but not I have to be picky because there are other products from other events I wanna grab. I wish it had stuck to its idea of 88L or 188L (for things like furniture, skins, etc). I’d sure be buying more if it did, and would justify spending more money there for the price.
As for some of the things I read about bloggers, it made me a bit sad. I don’t really think its fair to lump a lot of fashion bloggers together, making them out to be useless. Yes, there are many who are in it for free stuff, but you can usually tell who those are by the quality of their blogs. I only recently gained some sponsors, and before that and still now spend a LOT of my own money on items, more than I would be spending without a blog. But I do it because I love fashion in SL, I love the way it changes, and I love the way it feels to help somebody who is new or doesn’t know all that much about where to find good deals or quality items, even if I am doing it through a blog. I spent a lot of time doing that in world and thought “hey, I should just blog about this stuff, it would make it so much easier!” and when I get confirmation from people that they are inspired, it makes it worth it. Somebody mentioned that bloggers will blog anything they get, even if it sucks, and that is simply not true. Quality, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I do not blog 50% of the items I am sent, maybe more. If it doesn’t look stylish to me, poorly textured, same template everyone uses, etc etc. it will stay in a folder, unblogged. The reason you don’t much critiquing of styles is because many of us just simply omit the item that is poor and don’t blog it. As for crediting free items from sponsors, well, most bloggers list their sponsors, so anything from them is pretty much a given that it is a review copy.
There are bad bloggers and good bloggers, bad designers and good designers. Personal opinions separate the two. People may consider me a bad blogger, or a good one, doesn’t much matter to me if I am passionate about what I do and enjoy it. But my confirmation and will to continue blogging comes from those who do read my blog daily and are excited enough to tell me about it, thats what drives me. Not the free stuff 🙂