Typos of the Week, August 16 through August 22

Lotus Ceriano and Nelly Swindlehurst co-hosting just like old times at a new location. They led us through the grand opening of new club EyeQ today, September 2.

Yeah, I'm actually going back that far to bring you your typos of some week that isn't this week or last week. But they are the typos of a week. If you can remember back that far. If not, then they might even be more enigmatic until you remind yourself what they were. I seem to change the format of these a little each week. In this edition of your typo list, number 10 is (as usual of late) the Sheer Mass Typoage entry -- the answer that generated the largest number of typos in one shot during the week (that I was present for or alerted to). And then we've got nine more of which the worst were committed by only one or two people. However, in some cases, there were multiple typos in the finished product for those, as well, so I'm including more context in the section below the break: the questions, the answers in the hosts' terms, any answers that won the question, whether typoed or not, and all of the typos of a/the correct answer, even the minimal ones (people who answered correctly and spelled it correctly but weren't awarded are not included). I'm just experimenting with what works best here. And I'm sure I put more thought into it than any readers do, but that's ok. :)

NUMBER 10:
[14:48] JoshuaStephen Schism: police accademy
[14:48] Sweejen Stourmead: opolice academy
[14:48] Browman Griffith: polic admeny
[14:48] Becki Verne: police squar
[14:48] Rosalyn Python: police aadme
[14:48] Taylor Serendipity: plociuice acadmaeny\
[14:48] Hilda Static: police acadcemy

NUMBER 9:
[2009/08/20 10:12] Trebor Shelman: w graopwes'

NUMBER 8:
[2009/08/19 18:13] Hilda Static: chocoaltaed chip cooss

NUMBER 7:
[2009/08/18 13:54] Fiz Laval: luffwagfew
[2009/08/18 13:54] Mako Kungfu: loufwastche

NUMBER 6:
[13:13] Weezil Urvile: bangon
[13:13] Weezil Urvile: kok

NUMBER 5:
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: rusua
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: rusua
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: russa
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: ia

NUMBER 4:
[2009/08/17 12:55] Rain Ninetails: tinnenemanan sqaua

NUMBER 3:
[12:54] Thornton Writer: zorastianriansm

NUMBER 2:
[19:18] WannaBeA Werefox: moiutn due

NUMBER 1:
[2009/08/16 18:54] Olmstead Fanshaw: capotailpujnishjme

Bird's eye view of EyeQ at a moment when there were no virtual reality pictures being projected onto the walls of the globe. Lotus and Nelly did a great job, but I was very happy to return to a walled house when the event was over.

NUMBER 10 (SINN GETS THE HOSTING AWARD FOR INSPIRING THE MOST SHEER MASS TYPOAGE):
[14:48] Sinnamon Sands: 18). WHAT EMBARRASSINGLY BAD SERIES OF MOVIES FEATURED THE ANTICS OF SUCH CHARACTERS AS COMMANDANT LASSARD, TACKLEBERRY, HIGHTOWER, AND MAHONEY?
[14:48] Chaddington Boomhauer: police academy
[14:48] JoshuaStephen Schism: police accademy
[14:48] Sweejen Stourmead: opolice academy
[14:48] Browman Griffith: polic admeny
[14:48] Becki Verne: police squar
[14:48] Rosalyn Python: police aadme
[14:48] Taylor Serendipity: plociuice acadmaeny\
[14:48] Hilda Static: police acadcemy
[14:49] Sinnamon Sands: Winners on that one are Chad, Josh, and Sweej

NUMBER 9:
[2009/08/20 10:12] Maggie Sewell: 16) IN COOKING WHAT DOES THE TERM 'VERONIQUE' MEAN?
[2009/08/20 10:12] Trebor Shelman: w graopwes'
[2009/08/20 10:13] Maggie Sewell: YES TREB
[2009/08/20 10:13] Maggie Sewell: WITH GRAPES
VERONIQUE MEANS THAT THE DISH INCLUDES GRAPES, EXAMPLES INCLUDE LOBSTER VERONIQUE, SALMON VERONIQUE, ORANGE CHICKEN VERONIQUE BLAH BLAH...

NUMBER 8:
[2009/08/19 18:13] gwen Lexington: 3. INGREDIENTS INCLUDE BUTTER, SUGAR, FLOUR, AND OF COURSE "MORSELS". NAME THIS ALL TIME FAVORITE COOKIE?
[2009/08/19 18:13] Rhea Neiro: toll house cho chip
[2009/08/19 18:13] Starla Gurbux: cholcolat echip cookies
[2009/08/19 18:13] Hilda Static: chocoaltaed chip cooss
[2009/08/19 18:13] Rhea Neiro: *choc
[2009/08/19 18:13] gwen Lexington: RHEA HAS QUICK FINGERS
[2009/08/19 18:13] gwen Lexington: CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES...WE CANT MAKE THESE WITHOUT EATING THE CHIPS

NUMBER 7:
[2009/08/18 13:54] Cully Andel: WHAT IS THE GERMAN WORD FOR AIR FORCE?
[2009/08/18 13:54] AnaMaria Quintessa: lufwaffe
[2009/08/18 13:54] Liriel Garnet: luftwafte
[2009/08/18 13:54] Laertes Parx: luftwaffa
[2009/08/18 13:54] Fiz Laval: luffwagfew
[2009/08/18 13:54] Mako Kungfu: loufwastche
[2009/08/18 13:54] Mako Kungfu: luffwafe
[2009/08/18 13:54] Lotus Ceriano: luftwaFEF
[2009/08/18 13:54] Rain Ninetails: luftwaffa
[2009/08/18 13:54] Cully Andel: ANA THEN LIRI
[2009/08/18 13:54] Cully Andel: IT'S LUFTWAFFE

NUMBER 6:
[13:13] Loraine Alter: 17. One Night in ......
[13:13] Weezil Urvile: bangon
[13:13] bo Cordoso: bangkopk
[13:13] Weezil Urvile: kok
[13:13] Mars Rubanis: bankock
[13:13] Lotus Ceriano: bangkiokp
[2009/08/18 13:13] Loraine Alter: weezil i'm letting you have that...i accept typos

NUMBER 5:
[13:15] Loraine Alter: 16. In terms of area, what became the largest country in the world after the break up of the USSR?
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: rusua
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: rusua
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: russa
[13:15] Lotus Ceriano: ia
[13:15] Loraine Alter: wtg lotus
[13:15] Loraine Alter: russia

NUMBER 4:
[2009/08/17 12:55] AnaMaria Quintessa: Q12. WHERE WAS A PAPIER MACHE STATUE CALLED “THE GODDESS OF DEMOCRACY & FREEDOM” UNVEILED BY STUDENTS IN MAY 1989?
[2009/08/17 12:55] Rain Ninetails: tinnenemanan sqaua
[2009/08/17 12:55] Lotus Ceriano: tianemne sq
[2009/08/17 12:55] Esperanza Merlin: tainemen square
[2009/08/17 12:55] AnaMaria Quintessa: THE ANSWER IS TIANANMEN SQUARE, BEIJING
[2009/08/17 12:56] Esperanza Merlin: teniman square
[2009/08/17 12:56] AnaMaria Quintessa: WELL DONE RAIN THERE

NUMBER 3:
[12:54] Lebn Bucyk: It was founded in Persia, and may indeed be the oldest monotheistic religion in the world.
[12:54] AnaMaria Quintessa: zorastraism
[12:54] Thornton Writer: zorastianriansm
[12:54] Lebn Bucyk: Yes Ana
[12:55] Lebn Bucyk: Zoroastrianism - a minority remains in Iran, but many adherants now live in India and Pakistan

NUMBER 2 (AND WORD OF THE WEEK):
[2009/08/18 21:29] Blaize Korobase: 1. Drinking lots of this soda will decrease sperm count, and thus prevent pregnancy, thanks to the coloring agent Yellow No. 5.
[2009/08/18 21:29] Ruby Miggins: mount duew
[2009/08/18 21:29] Luce Portland: mounteain dew
[2009/08/18 21:29] Rexx Capalini: mt doew
[2009/08/18 21:29] Blaize Korobase: RUBY!!
[2009/08/18 21:29] Blaize Korobase: MT DEW!
[2009/08/18 21:29] Blaize Korobase: Yellow No 5 is a safe chemical, used for adding a yellow color to Mountain Dew, as well as many other food products. The chemical has no effect on sperm count, thus rendering it ineffective as a contraceptive. Even if it did lower your sperm count, you would still have sperm, and it only takes one to get pregnant.

[19:18] Dakota Carson: 5. In 1925, Bill Jones started selling a lithiated lemon-lime soda under a revived trademark that had been used to sell "zero proof hillbilly moonshine." What is this drink?
[19:18] Less Juliesse: mountainn dew
[19:18] Lillian Shippe: mountian dwew
[19:18] Laertes Parx: ountaind ew
[19:18] Austyn Redstar: mt dwe
[19:18] WannaBeA Werefox: moiutn due
[19:18] Zelliah Cookie: Less Lillian Laertes

NUMBER 1:
[2009/08/16 18:54] Honey Potez: What was abolished in Britain in 1965 for all crimes except treason?
[2009/08/16 18:54] Lillian Shippe: hanging
[2009/08/16 18:54] Olmstead Fanshaw: capotailpujnishjme
[2009/08/16 18:54] Honey Potez: WD LILLIAN!
[2009/08/16 18:54] Honey Potez: HANGING (CAPITAL PUNISHMENT)

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Typos of the Week, May 17 through May 23

10. [14:34] Sweejen Stourmead: digitia;l
[14:34] Boris Serrao: digia\
[14:34] Lou Netizen: digti

9. [18:47] Darren Berithos: van healna

8. [17:48] Maelstrom Janus: twin pekasks
[17:48] Kay Darkwatch: tewin piaks

7. [9:49] Laertes Parx: aruiplaenh
[9:49] Clynt Easterwood: aitplanre
[9:49] Masairo Absent: airplaoine

6. [18:50] Lette Ponnier: burtdch caddcicy and ;sundCNE KID

5. [21:14] Thornton Writer: robpeboeres
[21:14] Olmstead Fanshaw: robesoiree

4. [18:55] Browman Griffith: ,uham,med ali
[18:55] Askytyleon Proudfoot: muohaa li

3. [19:01] Askytyleon Proudfoot: popchints
[19:01] Browman Griffith: oochtnatsa

2. [14:09] Boris Serrao: leage of dnanr3
[14:09] Boris Serrao: a\

1. And because I couldn't pick just one:
[12:08] Lotus Ceriano: baebadois
[13:05] Lotus Ceriano: isrwa
[9:55] Lotus Ceriano: talonh hrads
[13:39] Lotus Ceriano: racua;

Lotus hosting her Early Birds and Night Owls trivia at Lilly's Irish Pub

10. digital
9. Van Halen
8. Twin Peaks
7. Airplane!
6. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5. Robespierre
4. Muhammad Ali
3. Pocahontas
2. League of Nations
1. Barbados, Israel, Talking Heads, Dracula

There is trivia at Lilly's on Wednesdays and Fridays from 12:00 to 2:00pm and from 11:00pm Friday night to 1:00am Saturday morning. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Glendalough/104/132/26

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Up For Discussion: Contested Terrain

Most of the time we're able to get along just fine and dandy in trivia games: the host asks the questions, the players give the answers, and even if a question is a little weak, we realize that at all but a few games, the prizes essentially add up to around ten cents in American money per question, so we might comment (kindly or snarkily) and move on. But inevitably, eventually, someone has a much bigger bone to pick over a question. I've also seen and experienced a minor grumble about the phrasing of a question get interpreted as a challenge to the host and escalate beyond where the complainer intended it to go (because after all, Puerto Rico is not a country, I promise).

So here are some questions. As a player, have you ever challenged a host on a question? Under what circumstances? What kinds of challenges do you believe are legitimate and what kinds aren't? Have you seen any challenges take place that especially rankled you or that you thought were appropriate? If you're a host, have you had any particularly uncomfortable run-ins? And most importantly, how do you handle it when one of your questions is challenged?

I want to thank Lotus Ceriano for providing this idea for a discussion topic.

Lacey Lukas and Cybershot Dover cut a hardwood floor at Shorty's Ice House

Lacey hosts trivia there Thursdays at noon: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Magnolia%20Falls/205/40/22

News and Editorial: Trouble in the Village

The Hotel at The Village

For all intents and purposes, it began on April 4. During Thornton Writer's popular Saturday morning game at Double Standards, a couple of people mentioned that trivia at the Village -- a region styled after the town of Portmeirion, Wales -- would be taking place shortly. They did not make this announcement in order to promote a little-known but high-quality game that they thought should receive more exposure but to call attention to a host described by one as "the wors most eveil trivia host in SL," a host whose strict rules required exact spelling and full names for people and places, as well as prohibiting "UNNECESSARY COMMENTS AND PERSON SPOILING THE ENVIRONMENT" (from the host's introduction). The host's tendency to typo and to draw his quizzes from the internet in full were also raised as evidence of his incompetence. The atmosphere of the conversation was such that curiosity -- including my own -- was raised very quickly, and a large number of players chose to attend the event to see how a person could come to be regarded as the worst trivia host in Second Life.

While most of the dozen or so people who shuttled over from DS to experience Trinka Breen's trivia for the first time -- and the several who had been there previously -- were perfectly considerate and respectful while everything that was rumored to be true of Trinka's trivia style came to pass, there was nonetheless an undercurrent of sarcasm and mockery in the proverbial peanut gallery. After all, when the first mention of Trinka's name earlier had been in one person's statement to another, "we could go to harrass trinka in 20 minutes," the tone was more or less set for at least a portion of the interaction that would ensue between some of SL's more active trivia players and the people who run and work at the Village, not only for that day but for the next several weeks.

Not all of the chiding took place during the trivia; typos like "uestio" and "naswer" became part of the SL trivia lexicon for some, and I myself hosted an Impromptu event all about the great "country" of South America. Before long, Trinka had become the Ed Wood of SL trivia, liked for his positive and friendly personality but something of a spectacle insofar as his style of trivia hosting strays from some of the practices that many of the more popular hosts take for granted. Such dubious beginnings were likely to spiral downward rather than remaining jocular for long.

Host Trinka Breen

In the meantime, a second series of events began taking place that seemed to be foreshadowed when, on April 22, Trinka asked Lotus Ceriano to remove her tag from Lilly's Irish Pub, at which she is a trivia host, or in his words, "LOTUS DNT PROPOTE NAY OTHER LCUB PLZ." Lotus complied, and the game commenced without further incident, but it provides context for understanding events that have taken place in the meantime because it suggests that staff at the Village have a broader view of what constitutes promotion than what many of us are accustomed to. Specifically, Lotus's cohost at Lilly's, Nelly Swindlehurst, found herself banned from the Village on or about Tuesday, May 5. And this is where the story becomes less straightforward. This began the trainwreck that makes the series of events news today.

Some trivia spots in Second Life are known to have owners who are especially prone to deliver bannings, including some that take place under circumstances widely deemed to be unfair, for offenses as seemingly innocuous as speaking between questions. Some will ban for advertising other events -- as Nelly was accused of doing -- and will do so without a cease-and-desist warning beforehand. When it happens, there is always grumbling, usually sympathy, and sometimes a decision on others' part not to return to the establishment in question. However, this is the first time of which I am aware that friends of the hastily banned individual responded as swiftly and vocally to protest the action. Since Nelly's banning, several other people who have complained about the incident have themselves had encounters with Village owner Catty Erde ending in their own banning.

Why so many people would be as ready to come to Nelly's defense might be due in part to her likability among those who know her, but likable people have been banned from other places before without the types of repercussions that have followed, including additional bannings, accusations of racism, snippets of conversation spammed across unrelated trivia group IMs, and a generally elevated level of tension among all of the parties involved. It is worth considering to what extent the aftermath of Nelly's banning is due as well to the fact that it happened at a place that people went to not for the quality of the questions or the amount of possible winnings (the Village only pays L$10 for each of 25 questions) but to get some amusement out of the host's inadequacies.

Since a large number of people had trouble taking Village trivia altogether seriously, that is, a severe reaction to an incident that may not have taken place was bound to draw more ire than it might have done at a more respected club. Whether that hypothetical club were respected for having good events, a longstanding history with the trivia community, or simply a lot of money to give away is less important; the fact remains that the Village has none of these, so being banned from it for an offense that the accused party (one who does not have a reputation for troublemaking) denies she committed seemed like a joke at best and an insult at worst and was unlikely to be ignored or quietly accepted. Thereafter followed protests that sometimes took on the same type of mocking undertone that laced previous ventures to Trinka's trivia.

With regard to Trinka, he began to fade into the background as a participant in the events while Catty Erde became the focal point. Less and less did people comment on Trinka's failings, while various people's conversations with Catty began to surface in public fora, including open chat and several group IM channels such as Trivia Fiends, Sharon's Diner, and (though Hummingbird Forster appropriately asked the person responsible not to use her group to spam drama) Double Standards.

The text on this sign by the Hotel entrance reads, "This is an international sim... If you do not understand have some patience and respect for those who are multi lingual." There is another sign, identical but much larger, just inside the doorway.

I reached out to both Catty and Nelly to get their respective statements regarding the precipitating events and to get a better idea of why Catty has responded as she has. The incident regarding Lotus's tag illustrated that the Village is unusually sensitive to people promoting outside events within its doors. It is thus unsurprising that they would ban someone if that person blatantly advertised for another location on multiple occasions, and it is within a sim owner's right to do so if she wishes. The question, however, is whether Nelly actually did what Catty claims that she and her staff witnessed her doing. Thus, my principal question for both of them was what exactly the charge had been. I was able to gather from both that Nelly arrived at the Village, came into the Hotel, and typed this:

[2009/05/01 12:10] Nelly Swindlehurst: Nelly Swindlehurst: Trivia at lilly's!!! starts very very soon! and I escaped in time to be here! yay :) come get trivial with us!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Glendalough/208/126/36

Where the stories diverge, however, is that Nelly reports that this message appeared in the Trivia Fiends group IM, whereas Catty insists that it was posted in local chat. Since these perspectives are clearly in conflict (and since I tend to try to err on the side of misunderstanding rather than deception), I suggest that one of two things happened: either Nelly posted the message into local chat by accident while posting it to the several usual channels or else the message appeared in the Trivia Fiends group IM but someone -- Catty or another staff member -- believed that the timing of the announcement was fishy and copied the message into a notecard or another IM without taking note of which communication window it first appeared in. Unless someone who was present at the time is able to produce local chat logs that confirm one side or the other, we might never know for sure.

Another theme that emerged in my conversation with Catty, however, as well as in the statements she has released to me and to those who repost her words in public contexts, speaks to the question of how the tension developed between her and the staff members, on the one hand, and members of the larger trivia community, on the other. She has consistently emphasized that the Village is an international sim and that visitors can expect to interact with people who may not be speaking English as a first language.

The fact that this is true of Trinka was never in doubt; on the very first day that Thorn's regulars journeyed to the Village, JoshuaStephen Schism informed the group that Trinka is from India. Although English is an official language in India, it is not the only one, and regional variations can influence one's frequency of English usage. Even for those who don't know his national origin, it is clear from reading even a little of his syntax that it's not his most fluent language. In addition, many aspects of his trivia hosting style can be traced to language and cultural barriers, such as cribbing full quizzes from the internet, requiring exact spelling and full names because he might be unfamiliar with acceptable variations, and of course his neverending stream of typographical errors. In this context, the fad of attending Trinka's games in order to get a chuckle -- whether out loud or in private, at the time or after the fact -- was also a practice in finding amusement in someone's linguistic and cultural disadvantage and could thus be construed legitimately as racism. [Note, 5/14: Thorn suggested that "xenophobia" would be a better word here than "racism," but it doesn't look like he's going to comment on that himself, so I'm throwing it in there on his behalf. :) - LP]

I make this suggestion not to point fingers or to assign the R-word to anyone in particular but to call attention to how easily we can get caught up in the fun of the moment without thinking of the consequences or the social influences attached to what we do. I was as easily seduced by how goshdarn easy a target we had before us as anyone. And now in the aftermath, I believe that the best thing we can do is to stop acting defensively to such accusations simply because they come from Catty Erde, whose other accusations of late have been more questionable, and instead learn from the situation and move on.

When Catty points out that the Village's home of Dolphin Island is an international sim, it isn't to imply that the rest of SL -- or, indeed, the trivia circuit -- is not. It is to point out that it's a sim accepting enough of all nationalities that someone can host a trivia event in a language he is only semi-fluent in, with all the accompanying limitations, and have his quirks and foibles embraced rather than mocked. The multiple bannings and the irate communications from Catty that have been broadcast across external channels have, as I noted earlier, shifted the negative attention to her, and not without some reason; she is still the only person so far who has resorted to name-calling in the conflict, for instance, and seems to do so without apology. Nevertheless, her emphasis on the Village's international composition serves as a reminder that those who visit ought to be respectful of the location's intent, which may not actually be to draw the smartest and fastest trivia stars in SL but to attract those most interested in being part of a diverse and mutually appreciative international community.

The fact that some players conducted themselves counter to this goal could easily have raised the tension level in this environment, increasing the likelihood that someone like Nelly would take the fall and collapse the house of cards. Although her banning was very likely unjust, it occurred in an atmosphere that a large number of people were complicit in creating, or at least failing to prevent. The bulk of it seems to be over now and most of the damage done. It's time to try and have fun, be respectful, and get down to some good old fashioned trivia.


Photos taken at the Village: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dolphin%20Island/191/155/28