Warning- Money Chair Exploit!

I don't really think it's fair to say that camping chairs are an abuse of dwell by people who can't provide good content - because several of the more "engaging and compelling" builds I've seen have added camping chairs themselves.

The big question is if it's actually possible to build anything within the world that's as "engaging and compelling" as camping. After all, that's a permanent lasting benefit, whereas events and tours are fleeting. Furthermore, the RL leisure market doesn't offer a better alternative version of "earning L$". Want to go to a beautiful build and see the sun rise? It'll look better on a photo, and you could always go there IRL. Want to play a fantasy RPG? Could boot up Guild Wars. Want to freeform role-play actually having a Second Life that's different from your first? Nearly impossible because of the skill crossover, probably way too expensive, and unless it's going to be supported by a large group the graphics don't matter so you might as well do it by IM from your camping chair. But want to earn L$? L$ is amongst the most valuable MMORPG currencies (although Entropia PED has a higher exchange rate) and you can get it effectively for free by camping (don't even have to bother going out to kill monsters). I can even imagine someone campiing and building basic stipends on SL just to trade for currency on other MMOs!

Basically camping chairs fill in the "burger flipping job" role of SL. "I'll come to your build and use my dwell points to increase your traffic and income if you pay me for it." And SL does need that role.

(Wonders if we'll get a "camping syndicate" of a bunch of people who contact landowners to get paid in advance for all hanging out in an area for a particular time, rotating alts to build teleport clicks and traffic...)

Hmmmm...
I try not to complain about neighbors, but...
Just behind me (a tiny bit south of Ross) is a big casino. On my minimap I note that there are usually 4 or 5 green dots in there. People are always flying back and forth to it.

I had never been in, I just assumed - wow - this casino thing is quite popular, and never moaned about all the lag it seemed to be generating. Live and let live. Don't moan - people are enjoying themselves.

Then about 10 days ago, I'm bored. I go in and have a look. Huge number of complex script-loaded gambling machines. Dice throwing noises, bells ringing, to entice etc etc.

And the 6 green dots ? Zombies. In these money chairs. I tried to speak to them - not one replied.

Since then I drop in two or three times a day. I have only once seen anyone gambling. They have ten chairs, I think, and they seem to get about 60% utilisation.

I have to say, I am irritated. I suffer all that lag increase and its not the viable business I thought it was. I am suffering for nothing. No-one is enjoying themselves. No-one is actually there. Except the mindless avatars, nominally, consuming system resources to no purpose.

I guess many other things are worse. But since we are discussing it - I find it irritating. This place used to be high up in the dwell ratings, but has slipped recently. Maybe I am watching the tail end of something.

Scary, guess it's time to put one of those random generated code images into the account sign-up eh?

Please verify you are not a script, enter the folowing...

Sounds like TSO... everyone was afk, skilling or peeing. Bleh.

Things to do while camping:

* work on the novel you were going to write for NaNoWrMo, 50k words in 30 days...
* clean your inventory
* roleplay Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the other campers (because you've all seen it 20 times) Fight over who gets to be Baruka
* Ask the other campers if they have toilet paper because you are done
* pull out a bomb and threaten to let it go if they don't all pay you their earnings NOW!
* Get out the toilet paper/toast shooter from Brock at Rocky Horror and shoot at the other campers
* Randomly shout out "The Sim Is Crashing! Everyone Stand up and get your money NOW!"
* Pretend you are schizophrenic in open chat
* Start chatting to the person next to you as if they are your SL boyfriend or girlfriend
* Make everyone believe you have four computers and have them guess which of the other campers are your alts
*Start a conversation about The War in Iraq/George Bush/Religion in School
* Shout out that there's a 50% off sale at XCite! or Nevermore Studios
* start doing all the gestures in your gestures file.
*Make a new gesture with appropriate sounds for sitting in camping chairs "zzzz" "I want my money NOW!" "AFK AFK AFK AFK!"
* Start a revolution by working everyone up about how bad 1.7.x is
* Ask everyone what just happened in the movie because your Quicktime crashed
*read Forums in another window and post about things to do while camping (hahaha, I'm kidding)

...feel free to add

Edited to Add:
*Mouse around and look at other avis, then comment on their nose shapes or eyebrows or shoulder sizes
*Cage people randomly with the cager weapon
*Start having open chat cyber sex with someone else
*Read all your bad poetry in open chat
*Read 1984 in open chat
*Tell everyone you are earning double for sitting here and keeping everyone amused while you do it. Use the camping chair owner's name very casually as if you are good friends

IMHO - This is a fad. It will eventually fizzle out.

Here's why:

1. The amount paid out in free money vs. money gained from Dwell does not add up. At all.

2. They're lame.

I'm really not concerned. If someone wants to put up camp chairs to increase their dwell, I say knock yourself out.

In the long run, I think they'll find that creating an atmosphere people actually want to spend time in and/or content people will truly want to buy is a much more productive use of their time/money/energy.

While Dwellnor showers them with higher traffic, may Laggnor have mercy on their soul.

This is certainly true, but do bear in mind:

a) they can do all of this and have camping chairs as well;
b) creating content people truly want to buy is no use if people don't have money to buy it. Camp chairs provide at least some way they can get that money;
c) it's impossible to create a "social atmosphere" on SL that's unique to a particular area because anyone can make a "my buddies" group and IM in it from anywhere on the grid.

Of course, all of us who run campgrounds in SL now don't even begin to show up when someone searches for the word 'camp' in Places...

Assuming the motivation behind camping chairs is ultimately profit, I'm suggesting that the money spent on camping chairs doesn't offset the revenue generated by them.


You're absolutely right. But if you're giving money away so that folks can buy your products - why not just make freebies? Again, for this to be viable, the money spent on camping chairs needs to be less than revenue generated.


I think its very possible to cultivate a compelling social atmosphere (for those receptive to one). Check out the Shelter, Elbow Room, or Lusk sometime

It's certainly possible. But there's large numbers of chairs being placed, and at least some of the people placing them are experienced business folks - I doubt that they're as obviously non-viable as seems to be being suggested.



If 100% of the money you pay out to your chairs gets spent on your products, that the loss cancels out and you just get the profit from dwell. If you just give away freebies, people will visit once, clean out the containers, and leave.

Also, you can't show off a free item, because anyone can get it. You can show off an item you've camped for, because you can have camped longer than someone else, or spent your camping money in a different way.

Ever heard of a game called Ping Pals? It's a little Nintendo doobry where, basically, you accumulate money over time, can play a few simple gambling games to try and build it quicker, then spend it on modifications to your image. You can then show them off to others, because they can't just get them instantly for the asking, even if they can get them eventually. If it was just a free choice, anyone could copy you. And it's my belief that basically, Ping Pals exists inside SL as a subgame for those who are off the creation/capitalism loop.



Not if the money is getting paid back in product sales.



Ok, I'll give you that one

Here's an example. Lets say I run one of these camping grounds. I just want teh Monthly Dwell and can really care less about the weekly dweel or could live with half? (you said there was a lesser payoff). In return I offer people a PROMIS of XXXX amount of Lindens if they sit and camp to raise my dwell so that they can help me reach my goal and in return get a garuntee of L$ as opposed to money balls, contests, etc where usually the payoff is random, unreliable, and usually goes towards an in crowd in most cases.

Some Owner know this that it does not add up. So they do it because the do because like the person (kaza) the peson who does this for fun does not care if he make a money or not. Ok so much for me favoring him over otehrs. Its just to reinforce my past remart.

I'll point again to something I've mentioned before - the fact that a block of camping chairs was installed in the Four Seasons Theme Park by the landowner.

This is not a "bad build that wasn't attracting people". It did have traffic before, and it was well enough built that it got investment in the first place.

The person who put them there is the owner of IceDragon's Playpen, and as such not somebody who is likely to be making obviously bad business decisions.

There may be other reasons in force, of course, but it doesn't look like something that "just can't pay off" to me.

The first money chair that I remember seeing pays you when you get up. I have seen some that pay when the timer ticks.

However, the simplest method is simply to pay when the agent stands up. If the agent never stands up (because they log off), then the money simply never gets paid out.

Problem solved.

As to the pros/cons of money chairs: the free market will eventually have its way. People will have to pay more and more to draw sitters, and over time this will raise the cost of using money chairs to the point that they are no longer a sound investment.

Personally, I think that whoever invented it was brilliant. But I also noted that the idea was quickly going to spread.

It's just too bad that SL doesn't have patent rules. I could see the original inventor going after all the imitators.