Personal Profile: Rickson Barbosa

After starting the series of personal profiles off last week with Honey Potez, who is a woman, an American, and already a close friend of mine, I wanted my second profile to be on someone who is none of those things. Rickson Barbosa seemed like a good choice. Although he always seemed like a cool person, he was nonetheless only a passing acquaintance until I IMed him recently to ask if he’d like to hang out and chat a bit for the blog. I think he was a splendid choice with some very interesting points about the trivia writing process. It’s also been fascinating to me to see by what different kinds of routes people find their way into the trivia community. Rickson recommended the SL Botanical Garden.

Lette Ponnier: So... why don't we start by talking about what you do now, as a host and as a player. I know host Café Trivia, and you've filled in at Lilly's. Would you like to talk about those?
Rickson Barbosa: I host once every two weeks at CT, it's a fairly straightforward game with simple rules - it's the ruleset I inherited, and I'm happy to leave it as it is without it getting complicated. The opportunity at Lilly's came about largely by chance. A good while before I did my stand-in duty, I had hosted an impromptu game there. That must have been about December 2008 or January 2009, SL was having some downtime that day and other games got cancelled. By then I had it in mind I wanted to put on a game and had stored away a set of questions for a rainy day, and this just so happened to be that rainy day.

LP: Way to prepare! What's your writing process? Has it changed since you started hosting?
RB: I Google a lot, and Wikipedia is invaluable. The archive of their "Did you know..." section is a terrific starting point. Also, I am naturally drawn to strange but true stories in the news. If it's something that's just happened recently you can be sure it's stuck in a few people's minds. Sometimes stories I'll come across just seem too bizarre to be true and then I'll look to Snopes to get verification if I possibly can. Recently I've also started hitting the charity shops for good cheap fact books. A few weeks ago I got a movie history book that has so far proven invaluable - I'm not going to divulge exactly which one in case someone runs out and gets it to get one up on me next time I'm hosting. :D

Rickson in his native habitat: Cafe Trivia

LP: You have certain topics you tend toward, then. Do you have any trouble coming up with questions that are outside your expertise?
RB: Actually, I'm more comfortable with them because I know roughly what the right level to pitch them at is, because it's the level I myself would deal with. With my own specialist interests, I might be a little complacent in setting the right level and assume it's the same for everyone. I think every host can potentially be vulnerable to that problem. It's difficult to step outside oneself sometimes. But that's the good thing about the trivia community, all the hosts tend to be players themselves and it helps them see both sides of the floor. After my first few months in SL I was pretty jaded on the [SL] experience, and was more or less ready to quit when I found Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong, and even without any hosted games I was immediately won over. It was basically Gogomodo. That's how I found out about the existence of hosted trivia. MLGHK closed suddenly on New year's day 2008 and the Mr. Lee's Refugees group sprung up hastily to keep the regulars in touch, and as events were being advertised in there, I found my way into new places.

LP: What hosted games did you end up at during that period? And are there other hosts who have served as role models for you?
RB: AllieKatt's was the first, then she took up a regular game at the Demented Souls club. So by this point I'm getting into more and more groups, and getting more and more notices. So before long it was on to Lilly's as well, Double Standards, the Zoo Bar etc. Allie, being the first live host whose games I regularly attended, sort of set the benchmark. But I think in their own way all the hosts have been an influence on me. Particularly Lotus Ceriano and Nelly Swindlehurst from having an opportunity to work with one in turn when standing in for the other. I just love the atmosphere [of hosting]. There's a certain excitement that's difficult to put into words. What I particularly enjoy about the games at CT is there's a spontaneity. Ruby, who is in charge of paying the winners, gets to decide which questions are bonuses. She doesn't see my questions in advance and I never know when she's going to step it up, so there is a very genuine sense that anything can happen. After the first game I wondered if I should have a word with her and maybe come up with a system, but then on further consideration, I thought, "no, just leave it, it's fun the way it is.”

I don't think he knew I took this one ;)

LP: What games are your favorites to go to these days, as a player?
RB: Sharon's Diner, daily, then Lilly's twice a week and Shotgun at the Zoo Bar. I'm at Double Standards on occasion but living in the UK scheduling can be an issue.

LP: Do you think scheduling continues to be too heavily North America-weighted?
RB: I think there are probably adequate opportunities for members for the UK and Central Europe. Ultimately it's not possible to cater for everyone in a global community - if you have an event that is convenient for both the North American and European markets, it's going to be completely useless for Australia and New Zealand

LP: Thanks so much, Rickson! I think we've exhausted everything I particularly wanted to cover. Is there anything you wanted to ask me? Or that you wanted to talk about that I'm missing?
RB: I think we've covered everything :)

Specs:
=> Host: Rickson Barbosa
=> Times: 1:00 every other Tuesday. Last one was May 12, so the next will be May 26.
=> Location: Cafe Trivia, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pimushe/129/123/56

Except where otherwise noted, all photos were shot at the Second Life Botanical Gardens, http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Botanical%20Gardens/194/60/38

Rickson and I are sharing a big boots bonding moment