This term....Elitist....why is it HERE?

Desmond, it comes up quite often in the other forum, concerning commerce discussions. I saw it last night again, in Vongk's thread about dumping cheapo products in Xstreet. Oh dear god, please don't make me try to find something in that forum (?).

The official blog thing? sluniverse? secondcitizen? I have really spotty coverage and don't peek in on stuff that doesn't interest me too much.

I fear and loathe the commerce forum too much to go hunting there myself, but I can imagine "elitism" used as an epithet against those who object to "cheapies" and "freebies" on XstreetSL. In a recent thread here, it could have been used against those who think merchants should have an in-world presence in addition to their XstreetSL listings.

One might assume that the intent would be to discredit any other arguments the alleged "elitist" might make to support their position.

(Personally, I have one freebie on XstreetSL, but also have confessed trusting merchants with in-world presences more than those without. So I'm not sure if I qualify for "elitist" on those grounds. In my defense, She Who Must Not Be Named once criticized me for not having enough land to justify my involvement in any Community Partnership Program, which I claim forever excludes me from the Elite. )

yeah, that official blog thingy. I could have asked the question there - but I find it hard to discuss there.

...... Other than that, there's really not anything anyone is doing in here worthy of major attention. Seriously, a sharp liquor store owner or a dry cleaning biz owner can make more money than the richest SL entepreneur ever did.

That's nice of you to say, Treasure....but not successful based on sales figures, as compared to the other merchants.....just at a level of mediocrity....and the times I see it creep up, it seems to be directed toward some average producing merchants, who are simply trying to get to the next level, with some productive suggestions. They would not be considered elite based on sales figures if you were to reserve, say the top 5% of production in SL for the elite. "If" it is being used to describe production.

In those cases then, Qie...it is probably being used incorrectly?

So it is being used to describe someone else's attitude about themselves, and not necessarily cold hard facts/data/qualifications that would actually classify them as "Elite."

I would tend to put someone with a crappy attitude and condescending tone into a less-than-elite category. But when I see the term pop up, it is often directed toward some people who have had a degree of success, without the Tude, and are merely offering some suggestions that might translate to some success for others down the road.

Oh, now you've done it. It's only a matter of time before Yumi shows up and complains about how badly his SLife sucks.

Holy Shit , Lin.

Next can you tell me what the winning Powerball numbers will be?

It never comes up in a business discussion in RL, where people most certainly were not handed an equal opportunity.

Isn't it used to define a premium or payment info on file account versus a no payment info on file account or basic account?

yeah, that official blog thingy. I could have asked the question there - but I find it hard to discuss there.

According to the OED, "elitist" means "one who advocates, or relies on, rule or dominance by an elite"; and "elite" means "the choice part or flower, of society or of any body or class of persons; from Old French 'elite': that which is chosen."

People who keep claiming that they, themselves, are elite aren't elitists by that definition. They're just big-headed.

As for why it's targeted at upwardly mobile merchants - because it's arguably correct in that case: those people tend to want a reduced number of people to have more power in the economy.

It's actually nothing to do with fairness. If out of 100 people, 10 have much greater power, there are going to be 90 people losing out no matter how "fairly" those 10 people were picked.

Isn't it used to define a premium or payment info on file account versus a no payment info on file account or basic account?

I have heard it used in RL business discussions, so I am not surprised at all that it comes up in SL business discussions.

Like many things though, SL seems to exaggerate some aspects of RL - maybe due to the the fact that is it the internet.

I'm trying to decide if it is truly negative or not. That definition doesn't really imply negativity....or does it?

But it's directed toward people who have generally good attitudes....not snobs....not necessarily in the top 5% of production...not people who have excessive power....and is used mainly to make a separation on the above argument. To me then....it is being used incorrectly, and off base.

"The above argument" - being premium vs free users?

Well, I'm fairly sure that isn't elitism. Premium users aren't an "elite", because they're not chosen - anyone can go Premium.

And yea, I think that Premium users do feel a bit hard-done-by since some of the changes that were made. (Well, ok, plenty of people might feel "a bit hard-done-by", but Premium users have a bit more legitimacy to complain, since they're paying.)

Um, I don't think I was complaining about my SL there..

I'm fairly sure, too. Just to make sure....the cost per quarter is 22.50? So that's just shy of 8 bucks a month?

So 8 bucks a month is the qualification to set someone into the elitist category? Is that what we're talking here?
And if a good portion of the population is paying the 8 bucks....rather than a select few, say only 5%....then the elitist title really isn't warranted.