The Infohub Zoo Effect

Do you have an opinion as to the cause of infohubs being wacko magnets?

I've been wanting to get into the Bay City Infohub area on Moose Beach for some time to see why there is a crowd there. Usually it's too full to enter. Tonight I sneaked a nondescript alt in and stood in the middle of the throng and watched and listened.

There was a girlish or teen-like avatar emitting a loud Euro-pop loop over and over. A warrior type avatar emitted an endless jazzy loop. Someone else frequently emitted a segment of the Adams Family theme music. A scantily clad lady walked around in swimming flippers while an androgynous avatar extolled the virtues of Hitler and also proclaimed that money is rubbish. Several noobish types wandered around. A couple of ladies had so much seizure inducing bling they looked like 4th of July sparklers. A couple of ladies, normal in appearance at least, hung on the outskirts as if they wanted to participate in something, but not even they knew what. There was at least one avatar stretched out almost as wide as he was tall who wandered around bumping into others. Several avs seemed to have rezzed in the same place and just stood there merged into each other. Someone's device kept whispering non sequitur phrases and somehow incorporated the surrounding avs names into them.

All this was very surreal and entertaining for about five minutes. Then it dawned on me, they may all be crying out for attention and must try to out-weird each other to get it. Failing that, they have to try harder until it becomes a vicious cycle. Then it seemed not quite so interesting to me.

But, I'm still puzzled. Why infohubs?

Do you have infohub zoo experiences worth sharing?

I've been to one one time, and I saw people trying to sell expensive houses to noobies.

I think they are everything magnets. Defaults are powerful like that.

It's the not-very-useful-or-effective compromise that results when a 'leave the Residents alone to find their own way' philosophy crashes into the dismal statistics on retention of new registrants past that first hour.

Don't get me wrong--I think the Hubs are likely to continue to be physically impressive and beautiful (the Hau Koda airport is well worth a visit if you can squeeze in).

But the extent to which they will actually improve the First Hour Experience isn't something on which I'd bet any large sum.

It's possible to set your home there when you don't have any other place to.

There's no private landowner with an atmosphere to protect supervising things.

The green dots are mostly real people, instead of traffic bots.

There's a history of people going there, so people asking for places to go to meet people get told to go to infohubs.

You can't build at infohubs, so a lack of building skills or ideas doesn't stand out.

Folks who are drunk, stoned, etc., find the wacky antics amusing because they are drunk, stoned, etc., and act wacky themselves because they are drunk, stoned, etc., which appeals to the other inebriates, making a self reinforcing pattern. It's fun till you burn your liver out.

I think the idea that all the crazies have, is that they will be able to prey upon clueless new residents in some manner. For money, attention, a feeling of superiority... whatever.

We sometimes get them at Oxbridge. Once in a while there's an amusing one, but most find out just what happens when you try to be a tard there. Hence their gathering at infohubs.

(I so know where this thread is heading)

I think yer spot on, Weston. Actually,I think there's three things at work.

1. Attention seeking. it doens't matter if the attention is good or bad, and gestures are just so darn easy to trigger.

2. simple griefing. Another way of saying #1, I suppose, but in a more malicious fashion.

3. Boredom. it's the virtual equivalent of hanging out in front of the Kwik-Stop, and people will try to find something to pass the time.

I agree with all that. But: it was utterly predictable the gorgeous builds of new Hubs such as Hau Koda would do nothing whatsoever to change the Newbie Experience---the domination of that experience by the antics of the bored/malicious/exploitative Residents who always throng to such places.

And that's a shame.

Absolutely. You can put in some great things - that Bay City Airport hub is fantastic, and includes some good content. But the inmates run those particular asylums. Not sure of an *effective* way to fix that, either.

If I had the time to dedicate to it, I'd be at that hub daily, trying to engage the bored ones and deal with the others. In a lot of ways, I wish I did have that time!

Hell is other avatars?

Jean-Paul somebody said so.

Gaultier?

George-Ringo?

All together now....

(singing)
He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans
For Nobody

I used to dress to the hilt in evening gown and diamonds, and go to the info hub, and watch a little. People arriving for the first day were very curious about an av dressed like that when they are stuck in newbie attire.

If I chatted with a woman...I would hand her some clothes from inventory, and give her some LMs to cool places....would give her a LM to my home on the beach, and tell her to hang out at the pool for a while. I would get messages back like..."OMG! this is so cool!"

Some times I would find a guy that was only a few days old, and take him dancing, and get him set up in a tux. They were always in awe when they hit the dance clubs and saw everyone dressed up in great looking avs with somewhat decent profiles to read. Some of those guys turned out quite nicely in a week or two.

That was fun. Not everyone hanging out at an info hub is a complete moron. Some are just New. And I always went with the concept that George Clooney had a break from movies, was between women, and logged into SL....standing in newbie body and clothes at the info hub. You never know.

Exactly. In the same way that competition pushes content creators to ever greater innovation, it pushes sociopaths to... well, to ever greater innovation.
It's the current approach to the New User Experience: set up some places that anybody can attend and set as their home, places with a steady supply of the uninitiated, places that never host events, and that nobody present has the authority to supervise.

What could possibly go wrong?

I wish there were more "yous" at the hubs; would make a huge difference in them, I bet!

The Infohubs are the default Home place for new people. If you dont move on to buy or rent your own or meet someone who does, then thats your Home, and for many people they simply get attached to it and it remains their Home pretty much forever.

As far as Moose Beach goes, it always full mostly because its the current default Home place for any avatar that leaves the LL Help Islands or the Community Gateways through means other than the marked Exit. (those who leave by Map or are TPed out by friends they are joining in SL).

And yeah, people at Infohubs can get a bit manic at times, disorderly even, but yeah whatever really about that.

I think that what Ive seen of the new Community Gateways is pretty good. While SL Mentors do what they can at the Help Islands, the CGs have it all over the HIs at least in the sense that most of the CGs seem to run a roster system for the Helpers to provide coverage.

Unlike the LL Help Islands which appear to run on a turn-up-and-help-out-when-you-feel-like-it basis.Not sure what thats about really, as the CGs Helpers seem to me anyway to be mostly volunteers as well. Something that LL needs to address I think. As anyone who does work as a volunteer providing help in any community, turning up when you feel like it is not the way to assist people. Successful volunteer organisations are run professionally and the first thing they do is provide structure (rostering) for assistance. Volunteers maybe not get paid but they do much prefer to work in a professional and structured environment. Knowing that its expected that you will turn up at the agreed time, everytime, soon sorts out the volunteers from the posers.

Would also be good for genuinely new residents if the CGs allowed the new residents to Set Home to the Community Gateways (As not alot of them do. Hardly any of them actually) Even if it was time-limited to a month or so. Something maybe CG owners could chat to LL about implementing if its not possible to do with the current Set Home To Here system.

Some people (mostly young) enjoy thronging together in a disorderly way - I don't see anything wrong with it unless there's noobie baiting/scamming. In most cases they eventually move on to things like building, but hanging about on street corners irritating your elders is a time-honoured activity for the young.

I was one of the normal-looking "ladies" at Moose Beach and Hau Koda last night. I actually enjoy helping out at the busier infohubs occasionally, at least until the chaos gives me a headache. I liken it to pet rescue. It's that much more rewarding if I can divert a newbie from the madness. But a lot of the behavior is atrocious and there needs to be someone there to eject troublemakers. How many of last night's newbies do you think survived an introduction consisting of an avatar shouting Heil Hitler, public Gorean roleplay, and farting animations?

I go to WAs, I spend way too much time in SL,
during idle moments, I park it at a WA, over read/hear,
watch the silliness, gossip, share a laugh.
Usually I am reading, chatting in IMs, sorting Inventory etc.
Some of my 1st friends I met are still! standing at them after all these 3 yrs.
I also throw newbs LMs and things to wear or mention basic interface.
I really don't talk much, nor do I think I am better then anyone else.

We need some geezer infohubs. They could have a lout-repulsing code name like "educational."

I never lose an opportunity to promote my geezer scheme, however it has yet to reach the tipping point.

Love that idea! I volunteer to be the mentor in the rocking chair, knitting and handing out cookies....

In RL there's a device called "the Mosquito" that emits a high frequency noise that's annoying to teens but few people over 25 can hear. It's used to discourage loitering outside convenience stores. We need the SL equivalent, but one specific to people who practice annoying behaviors.

Me, too. (I could really do with 50 hours per day and 12 days per week, but I suppose I'm not going to get them.)

(My hat is off to those who put in regularly-scheduled time with the new folks...I've devoted some fair number of hours talking with people who ask me questions, but haven't gone so far as to make it official.)

Of course the reliable answer would be for LL to hire enough people to staff the hubs. But that won't happen.

at one time, that was called Barry Manilow...

This is a great idea!

But the problem is finding a name that will truly make the louts say 'ah, that sounds boring'...."Educational" is the right direction, but....

"Scrapbooking Central"...?

"SL-Base Tax Accountancy"....?

"Hydrolysis Headquarters"....?

"Hall of Municipal Ordinances"....?