Personal Profile: Cinna Xaris and Karmel Kips, Part 2 of 2

Karmel hosting trivia at Lilly's

Lette Ponnier: So what do you both do in SL besides trivia? Karmel, you've mentioned being an MM [Midnight Mania] enthusiast?
Karmel Kips: Yes, I explore something for a while until I get my fill, and right now, still MM.
Cinna Xaris: Mainly I chat with friends, play Greedy or games like Zyngo and Gelliz. I'm a bit interested in learning more about creating things but still a total noob in that aspect of things.
KK: I think trivia is an enduring interest, though. Before MM i was checking out dance parties.
LP: Any you still go to?
KK: Yes, but less often than a couple months ago. My favorites are The Merry Pranksters, Alohas (Australian, not Hawaiian), and Club Arouse... very nice strip club.
CX: Yeah, I'm with Karmel on the enduring interest. So many places have trivia and each has their own style.

LL: That's a good segue, Cinna. What do y'all think about various styles? I have a question I've asked every time so far, but it seemed to make most people uncomfortable answering it the way I had it... so instead of asking what your favorite games are, I was wondering if you'd say which ones you tend to go to most.
CX: I think its nice having so many different trivia styles since each trivia goer is going to have a preference. I like the light hearted, slightly "crazy" ones best. DS, Inferno are always tops on my list. Zoobar and Monochrome are also on my weekly to do list.
KK: Hmmm, this is difficult because it is constantly changing .
LP: You try to make it to a range, Karmel?
KK: Yes, see how Double Standards has evolved just over the last month or so. So whatever I say about a certain event may be somewhat obsolete before it is read, with DS as only one example... Thorn's new formats, changes in hosting, changes in hours.
CX: That is one game I need to get too more, Thorn's.
KK: And other places change a lot too. The village – totally different than a month ago. New host, new room, new rules… new furniture lol.
CX: I haven't been over there lately either.

KK: I will say something in general about your question. The only thing that turns me off to a place is if I feel like it is always a typing contest. My computer is not that fast.
CX: I second that thought as well.
KK: It is frustrating to know the answer, type like mad, and be consistently 6th. Paying the first 3 is just salt in the wound. It is a combination of the difficulty of the question and who is there. When a lot of good players go, I probably won't attend much if the questions are like that. That is why I try to track who wins my questions and figure out why.

LP: How interesting! Have you figured out anything helpful so far?
CX: Investigative trivia hosting!
KK: Yes. But I'm not telling :) Just notice... a variety of people usually get my questions.
LP: Which is a very good thing!
KK: Uh oh, now I have to live up to that bragging.
CX: Same tends to be happening with mine, decent amount of spread on who wins.
KK: Great!


LP: You take a very organized approach to hosting.
KK: Basically I keep a lot of questions at the ready and do not have a set in order ahead of time.
CX: Ditto. I usually have them ordered before hand, but I've jumped around or totally tossed out a few questions at times.
KK: I think some hosts have a set and stick to it. I can understand because it is a lot going on to pick questions, too. I pull from the category I want at the time. Fast, slow, dull, funny, etc
CX: Tonight I won't have that option since I have a pattern I plan to follow. It’s just the red white blue. First question has something to do with red, and so on.

LP: Lotus recently posted in her blog about themed events. What do you two think of them, in terms of either hosting or playing?
CX: I actually just saw Lotus's blog today. I need to read her stuff. I like themes, but I wouldn't do every night as a theme.
KK: I agree with Lotus thinking they are generally not as good. I can't say I would never do one... mainly I think they turn more people off than attract people, but I could be wrong. I like to be inclusive. That is very important to me.
CX: I think Circe pulls off themes quite well at Inferno.
LP: For my part, I like loose themes... when all of the questions have a common thread but don't pander to any particular knowledge set.
KK: Yes, "theme" can mean different things.
LP: So for instance, I love how Sharon does themes... like it'll be "rats," but there aren't actually any questions about rats. Rather than confining the questions to a particular topic, the theme turns into a hint.
KK: Lotus and I had a bantering revolution theme today, but the questions were not exactly that subject.
LP: Yeah, that's a really good example of that sort of thing.
KK: Sharon is a master of the no theme theme, I think.
CX: I really need to check out Sharon's more often

LP: Which brings me to the next general question: if you have any role models or people you just generally admire around the circuit?
KK: Many.
LP: Heh... I should have included, "that you'd like to give a shout-out to."
CX: Ok, I have 5 to list. You Lette, since your events always are different - Bucc Bowl and Chaos are pretty innovative and have become staples.
Lette Ponnier blushes... thanks!
CX: Devin and Lucinda also, they are both pretty light hearted and I know their events will always be fun. Lou for always having a variety of questions that really make me think. And last but not least Circe - for pulling off the themed events so well and having such a way with words (even if her color trivias make my head explode).

LP: Excellent... well, that's everything I had planned.. was there anything either of you wanted to bring up?
CX: Please put the head exploding part in the blog. :P
KK: I think it is exciting how trivia seems to be exploding in popularity and there are many new events and formats. I am an explorer at heart and I think that is why trivia will be an enduring interest for me, since it continues to evolve.
CX: I have to say it is a TON of hard work. I really had no clue until I started hosting, usually I'm exhausted after the events.
KK: It is a surprising amount of work! Playing is easier and pays about the same.
LP: Oh... yeah, it is.... maybe we should start a Trivia Host Appreciation Day.
CX: Free vodka for trivia hosts!

Personal Profile: Cinna Xaris and Karmel Kips, Part 1 of 2

Cinna hosting at Double Standards

I thought I’d switch up the personal profile focus this time and talk to people who are new at hosting, rather than long-timers. Cinna Xaris at Double Standards and Karmel Kips at Lilly’s Pub began hosting on the same day a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d take advantage of the timing to talk with them both at the “front end” of the hosting gig. We headed to Artropolis, where we sat on deck chairs on the top of a hill, surrounded by open-air art galleries. The sim’s owner and renowned RL/SL artist Filthy Fluno flew in long enough to exchange hellos. The conversation had the tendency to veer off into lighter territory every so often, which meant I learned about Karmel’s kooking and the fact that Cinna and I have the same freezer contents.

Lette Ponnier: So let's start as we usually do, shall we? How did you both end up getting involved in trivia in SL? And that means as a player, since I know you were both playing and hanging out before hosting.
Cinna Xaris: Well during my first day or two in SL I stumbled upon Double Standards. I ran into two awesome ladies (Hummingbird and Lucinda) who were sitting there watching a movie. I was amazed by being able to watch a movie in SL, and sat down to join them. Right afterwards Luci was hosting a trivia and I stuck around....I got hooked.
Karmel Kips: I was exploring and found a place that paid 1L per correct answer auto trivia.

LP: Oh cool, so right at the beginning. And Karmel, that made you seek out other trivia places?
CX: Yeah, addicted young.
KK: So I was there and liked the auto trivia. I searched and found Double Standards. Lucky I found it since I love the smartass!
CX: Agreed!
LP: And then it was just snowball effect from there.
KK: Yes.

LP: And what eventually made you both decide to host?
KK: Lotus asked me!
LP: You hadn't thought of hosting prior to that?
KK: I was flattered to be asked to host at Lilly's. I hardly felt good enough to PLAY at Lilly's.
CX: I'd been thinking about giving it a try when I was off for the summer, then we found out Devin would be moving. Seeing as they needed someone to fill in I thought it would be a good time to try it out.

LP: Did you have any transition period or did you just jump in having an idea of what you were doing?
KK: Well, actually I really jumped because I was just experimenting with Sharon’s BYOT to see how I liked it. I had not thought about a real gig, just playing to see how to do it.
CX: Well I'd started thinking about applying to host at DS about 2 months beforehand, so I was watching the hostesses and how they handled trivias, and talking to Devin and Luci about it. However my first night I still was thinking, "Oh crap...how am I gonna pull this off!"
LP: Sharon's is kind of like an audition stage now.
KK: It is nice that she does that.

LP: Cinna, through observing others, what kind of things did you make mental note of in preparation?
CX: Well I picked up the idea that countdowns are good, and Devin gave me her gesture to use. Also since DS is a two hour event the host usually chats a bit in between questions.


LP: True, true... how about the content of the game? Question writing? Was it a struggle at all to start writing good ones?
KK: I thought a lot about the mechanics and practiced gestures and timing... but most important to me was the content of the questions. I have definite ideas about what makes good questions. 1) a range of categories. 2) include international questions. 3) make sure your questions are written so not the same person or couple of people get them all the time. 4) research so disputed answers don't happen. and 5) alternate easy and hard, so timing is fun.
CX: I saw different styles of content – sometimes there would be themes and other times random questions. I talked to people both at DS and other places about how they write questions – some use some trivia books and others use Wikipedia surfing or random knowledge they happen to know. I try to blend all that together when I'm hosting.

LP: That's an interesting last one, Karmel, because not everyone has a good sense of easy and hard, especially when it comes to stuff that is in your area of expertise or something you don't know anything about at all
CX: Yeah that is something I try to balance well in my games too.
LP: Are there topics that you feel more comfortable writing about?
KK: 5 was alternating fast and slow. :)
LP: Oh ok, not easy and hard?
KK: Kooking! Lotus suggested I pick a specialty Kategory, and I have a VERY large library of Kookbooks.

LP: Seems like people are increasingly developing signature... um... for lack of a better word, gimmicks, which I think is cute and fun. Do you cook (or kook) a lot?
KK: Every day :) Keep getting hungry every day.
CX: Yeah I'd be so done for at your trivias :P
Cinna Xaris is NOT domesticated.
LP: Is it what you do for a living? Or you just like preparing good stuff for yourself?
KK: I have my own business selling (not making) jewelry in RL.

LP: I used to cook all the time, but now I'm trying to balance a dissertation and an SL addiction, and I mostly eat frozen burritos.
CX: Omg Lette I live on those.
KK: When I decided what business to start in RL 15 yrs ago, I read some good advice: do not turn your hobby into a business or you will not have a hobby.
LP: Amy's, Cinna?
CX: Yes! The non-dairy ones.

LP: Same with me. That does sound like good advice, Karmel.
CX: Very true.
LP: Though I violate it all the time.
CX: Your hobby is your school project. As it’s becoming for me as well.
LP: Um, yeah... my dissertation is on SL. :/
KK: I thought your hobby was eroticism.
CX: I would love to read it someday when you have it done, Lette.
LP: Maybe I have many. Though that's interesting... didn't know I was "known" for that.
KK: I don't know what anyone else thinks
CX: You are.
KK: Only my own thought, Lette.
LP: Oh definitely, Cinna... with any luck, it'll be publishable, and I'll be trying to get everyone to buy it lol.
KK: lol

Personal Profile: Chaddington Boomhauer and Shale Nightfire, Part 2/2

Here's the continuation of my chat with Chadd and Shale. Enjoy!


Lette Ponnier: Is there any trivia writing process either or both of you follow in deciding on questions for events?
Shale Nightfire: Both of us have played trivia a lot pre-SL, so we have a bit of a trivia collection mentality, I think? Usually, we aim for variety. Anything can trigger a trivia question: a conversation with a friend or colleague, a current event that triggers some deep-hidden knowledge. I retain it til I can enter into a wiki we use for collaboration (typed into my laptop if I have that with me or jotted on a napkin at a café). We always strive for primary sources when we do our fact checking.
Chaddington Boomhauer: There's a balance to get between hard and easy. Sometimes I will try to get very far away from a current news story or the "on this day" news to get hard decent variety. I search the web and use ones I make up, like "who will get this first" kind of thing.
SN: We have a lot of fun writing the questions – I've even pulled up articles in newspapers from other centuries at the library. I think sometimes a bit too much of our humour comes through. Usually one of us will say something to the other if something seems a bit too off/difficult/etc., but we give each other a lot of leeway. The ordering we do at the end, putting together what we've both come up with and seeing if there are any natural segues.

CB: There's only one version of them even if one of us wrote most of them that week.
SN: One feature of wikis that is very overlooked is the ability to view history and discussion of previous versions. So if you are looking up an issue that you suspect is "contentious" on Wikipedia, it's good to read the previous discussion and history. True, a few "griefers" might post there, but a lot of experts also provide their opinions with backup links to authoritative, primary sources.
CB: It amazes me times when we think it's varied and someone gets more than half of them at an event. If anyone has complaints we would love to hear them :)

LP: That's everything I had planned. Is there anything that the two of you wanted to talk about?
CB: There aren't enough early trivias. I wish there were some between 2-7AM. Sure that means people actually in SLT will be drunk or asleep. Lotus has been having one but it's a little too early.
SN: We really do try to do questions from every perspective. We have tried very hard to include European and Australian questions, for example. We tried hosting that time period too, but the scheduling was ad hoc, so no chance to build-up regulars. We still play Gogomodo Trivia; some people don't see the point of it, but I find it really helps my memory. Always learning (or re-learning) new things. It can be quite fun when you get a competitive group together, too.


CB: The adult regions opened. Heh, well, one! There's a new test adult area. It's not the "real" place. You can test how many of your friends won't be able to get in.
LP: Do you think that trivia games that move to adult regions will take a hit?
CB: I get the impression the large number of unverified users would be an issue. I did one quick poll once and it was more than half the people I asked. The grief-free part is somewhat appealing, but I think many of them don't have a credit card they can use.
SN: Or are leery to? But isn't that changing? What's the current percentage of online shoppers? The comfort level has definitely risen.
CB: It seems higher in there, though. In the circles where this is a secret life for them, they don't want to get ID'd.
SN: Identity is a fascinating topic and ties in with the use of alts.
CB: Some days I pretend everyone is an alt.
SN: When I was new, Chadd told me there were really only 10 people on SL; everyone else is an alt.
CB: It mostly freaks me out when I meet a new person who is not new and knows everyone around me well, i.e. acting chummy. It's confusing. Friends who "leave" due to bad relationship drama, then you make a great new friend a few days later who likes all the same places. Gets you paranoid.
SN: Yes, but you don't want to make assumptions either. Each new person needs to be treated as an individual, not an alt or "reincarnation." I did find SL was better for this though. On IRC, there were quite a few different networks, channels and bots, but often a big chunk of the questions all came from one initial source. You could become an expert in one place, then show up in a new place and you already knew all the questions. People suspecting you of being an oldbie in disguise could be quite nasty. Here on SL, however you personally feel about using one, alts are a fact of SL life. We've only done one "trivia redux," where we did an actual replay. And no one swept it.
CB: It was on a different day though. I recycled some questions for Sharon's BYOT.
SN: We do love to reuse questions though that weren't answered on previous weeks. We thought everyone would catch on to that quickly, but there have been questions that went 5 or 6 weeks I think. It surprises me when there is headline news on NASCAR, for example, and no one comes prepared with an answer. We also like to make sure new people are welcome and that everyone has a chance at winning something. That's one reason our random prizes came about. Plus, we just like to have fun! We've given out some crazy ones.
CB: The first few times we just made them up.

SN: We did a "guess the theme" trivia, where the answer had to be specific to fit the theme. We asked 20+ questions and they all related to a theme. Knowing us though, there was a bit of quirkiness involved. At the end, you could guess the theme for 1000 or 2000 Lindens. No one got that one. We might try it again with an easier theme.
CB: I don't think anyone got the first one, it was impossible
LP: What was the theme?
SN: Well, I don't think we should tell... In case we want to use it again.
LP: Haha, ok.

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Personal Profile: Chaddington Boomhauer and Shale Nightfire, Part 1/2

Lette Ponnier: Could you both tell me how you ended up doing trivia in SL? Were you doing other stuff in SL first?
Chaddington Boomhauer: I was doing random stuff before trivia, mostly being confused at how to do things, and how-to classes on SL at TUI, NCI, classes on building, land, clothes, etc. Definitely useful. After figuring it out, I was looking for stuff to do, and had played trivia online elsewhere so searched for it.
Shale Nightfire: Friends had told me about SL and in a way that made me scared of all the sex-fiends I would come across. I've played trivia in other places too so I searched for it on SL, and found that the trivia people are a really good crowd!

LP: Were you both involved in other virtual worlds before SL?
CB: I played NTN and pub quizzes, I BBS'd, played trivia in IRC.
SN: Similar for me, plus hosting in real life venues.

LP: Were there any particular spots you found early on here when you started looking?
CB: Cafe Trivia would always come up first in my searches. The Shelter one was one of the first ones I went to that wasn't Gogomodo.
SN: I think I tried all of the Gogomodo spots that were listed when I started and found a few that had good people to talk to and a nice atmosphere. The Angry Penguin Tavern was one of my early favourites, and the campfire at AMS.

LP: Another question that is sort of related has to do with your creating Shotgun. It started in the fall, right?
CB: I think October but I'm not sure.
SN: We had been planning to open up our own trivia spot for a long time, but I was away for the summer. We bought Zoo La La in August; our first Shotgun Trivia was September 5th. In October we started having it in the Zoo Bar, but we still hold it on the mountain or the waterfront.


LP: What were your goals for it? It’s a higher paying game than average. Was it your intention to create a game that stood out for that reason?
CB: I think the prize money was to make sure people came at first.
SN: We got our own land so we could be creative - to build and experiment. Plus to have our own Gogomodo spot and host fast-paced trivia contests, since we had been to some slow ones. Games where you can learn something and have some fun. We found that the higher prizes do bring out a more competitive crowd, but it isn't so much about the actual money.
CB: Ones where you go nuts waiting 3-5 minutes between and it's not that talkative are annoying.
SN: A lot of the winners are other trivia hosts, who then give out money in prizes too.
CB: I do like some where it's slower and not much money, but mainly because of the people talking between questions.
SN: We did try holding Molasses Trivia btw. It wasn't as popular.
CB: Shelter trivia is fun but feels very slow compared to other ones. I got there from NCI. It's a good place if you need some help with SL.

LP: Do you still go to NCI?
CB: Yeah I became an NCI helper.
LP: What does that involve?
CB: Just sitting around answering whatever people ask or helping them with an immediate issue like box on head, can't stop dancing, where is my penis, etc.

SN: We have had classes at Zoo La La primarily for newbies; we do like to pass on what we learn, whether it's trivia or SL information. Usually the Q&A format was most popular.
CB: Open Q&A for Newbies and Slex 101. There is a sex kit now to give to people urgently in need of slex. With free parts, landmarks.
SN: We didn't have live demonstrations, but we had volunteers! It was just a basic intro and where to go next. Tastes really vary, so we weren't going to address them all. The reason we did some of these special newbie classes was due to a huge influx of people that happened following media attention about sex on SL. So many people were signing up with the wrong impression, that we wanted to do something to help the situation.
CB: SL seems a bit small because of that, I go somewhere I see in a blog then notice half my Flickr contacts posted pics of it a few days before.


LP: There's one topic I wanted to bring up, but I didn't actually come up with a way to phrase the question. I recently joined the ranks of a special class of citizens of whom Chadd is a part as well: those who have been banned from Marine Park.
CB: heh
SN: Well, can I say something about that then? With respect to several events that have happened at trivia contests over the last couple of months...

As hosts, we've rarely had problems at our events. In fact, the only occasion we've ever had to ban a trivia player at the Zoo Bar happened two weeks ago. This was only after the player in question (not a regular) insisted on ignoring all the rules and causing a fuss that was disruptive to other players. Even after the ban, we made every attempt to be fair and to resolve the situation.

While I agree that landowners and hosts have the right to ban; moderation, tolerance, understanding and rational behaviour would be nice to see. In my opinion, responsible management includes clearly articulating a venue’s rules and/or customs. When ejecting/banning is necessary, it should be accompanied by an explanation. It would be nice if people were judged by their own individual actions, not those of their friends. Although yes, an influx of players arriving en masse to a new event who appear to be acting as a group could provoke defensive behaviour.

As for MP, I wasn’t even in attendance when Chadd got banned from MP, so I was bewildered when I was ejected from the group. When I asked the owner what happened, I got no response whatsoever. Hrm.

CB: I think they're within their rights. They act weird about everything, there's a weird vibe there, so strange, inexplicable bans don't seem too surprising. I guess I'm lucky: I know exactly why they banned me, and they warned me twice before they banned me, even told me if I behaved I could stay. But I think everyone should be free to make whatever whacky rules they want. There is a trade off between sucky events and wanting the prize money. Missfortune made me realize it is better to try to decide based on the fun or challenge involved and not the money
SN: It's "only SL," but it's all too easy to click a couple of buttons and hurt a lot of feelings. On the other hand, almost all of the regular games I attend have very tolerant hosts and focus on the fun. It's great to see, too, when hosts put a lot of effort into their questions so you leave knowing you learned something new.

Come back tomorrow -- same time, same place -- for the conclusion of "Buccy Goes To the Zoo." :)

Shale and Chadd hosting Shotgun at Zoo La La

Except where otherwise noted, all photos were taken at Midsomer Isle, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Midsomer%20Isle/149/124/27

Shotgun Trivia:
=> Times/Days: Saturdays, 3:00-5:00pm; Chadd and Shale also sometimes announce games at other times during the week in the Zoo Bar group
=> Location: Zoo La La, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ishel%20Down/58/36/317
=> Prizes: Shotgun prizes are usually L$100 per question in the first round of ten questions; players can donate money to the bonus round kitty, and the hosts calculate the prize amount for the remaining questions. Other games at Zoo La La are subject to variation.

********

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

Personal Profile: Honey Potez

In addition to event profiles and news, I would also like to use this blog to shine a spotlight on various individuals who make positive contributions to trivia games in Second Life. Honey Potez has been part of my trivia experience for a year now, both as a host (and now manager) at club Shiraz and as a friend. And so, for VirtualTrivia’s first profile, I invited her to Da Vinci Gardens for a chat and a few pictures. We ended up gabbing about trivia bots, club Shiraz, and ancient trivia history (that is, 2007).

Lette Ponnier: For starters, could you talk about how you got started in trivia in SL?

Honey Potez: I started with Gogomodo in a place called Trivia Monkeys. It was the best place to meet people. I have really great memories. It’s where I met Thorn, Circe, Josh, etc. I tried to play seriously for money. I ended up at Shiraz one night because I was the only one at trivia monkeys and I wanted company. I searched events for trivia and found Shiraz. At that point Shiraz had been open a little over 5 months. I started as a player. I started greeting there a week or so later. My first night of hosting trivia was 12/03/07.

LP: So nearly your entire time in SL, really.

HP: It didnt take long at all -- my rez day was 10/25/07. I was asked because at that time Coco was only hosting Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Trivia was getting popular.

LP: Oh... so was Shiraz one of the first regular events for money? Besides MP [Marine Park], that is?

HP: I believe it was. I could be mistaken, but every time I would query trivia in events, that is all that would come up. A lot of the other trivia places were Gogomodo.

LP: Ok, so you were part of creating SL trivia history :)

HP: Lol, I dont know about all that.

Honey, lounging beside a pool at the Gardens of Da Vinci.

LP: As a player, what other games do you enjoy attending?

HP: I like to play Name that Tune, Greedy Greedy. As far as trivia goes, I really liked Mako's new trivia setting and the new club that Sinn is hosting at. I had a lot of fun there.

LP: I have a question that might be a bit controversial. Club Shiraz is unique in that it's the only trivia club I know of -- with the possible exception of MP -- that does not allow staff to host elsewhere simultaneously. While it seems like this is geared toward remaining competitive, it risks the counter-effect of insulating Shiraz from the larger trivia community. How do you see each of those possible results -- is one truer than the other -- as a staff host who also attends events elsewhere?

HP: Well, the problem with having hosts work at other places is that two places in particular overlap our events, meaning that our staff, which we consider a family, competes against each other.

LP: Some trivia hosts end up with followings, people who host in multiple places and who have players who like to go to their trivia no matter where they are. It could be in Shiraz's interest to have a host who can pick up people who get introduced to them elsewhere. Do you think that sort of thing would be possible, and could it ever fit into Shiraz's practices?

HP: This is true also. For instance, if Reke [Rekeorb Wezzog, a trivia host at Shiraz] wanted to do an event elsewhere, say "name that tune," he could do it at other venues as long as they were not opposite our staff events. We don’t want to take customers away from our fellow staff, especially if they are new.

LP: So the trouble is only due to the time conflict?

HP: Exactly.

Honey and Reke, stealing a dance at Shiraz while I steal a picture on Reke's birthday this week.

LP: Let's talk about hosting. You've mentioned that when you write trivia, you don't use Wikipedia. what else can you say about your trivia-writing process?

HP: Well, Shiraz trivia. :) Ummmm, it isn't to the scale of say, MP. I like to look at Shiraz as "Beginners Trivia 101," where people new to SL are introduced to trivia and then eventually graduate to MP. A lot of my trivia is silly, or easy. I have written harder in the past and lose some new people with it. Some of the newer people need to work their way up to the MP level trivia and the speed needed to compete

LP: You try to be a training ground?

HP: I play online trivia and get ideas from that. Learned early on not to use trivia sites like "funtrivia.com" that can be googled easily. Yes, training ground is a good term. To me a good trivia question (for Shiraz) would be general knowledge. Like the other night, Trin did ice cream.

LP: What would you say has been the most frustrating moment you've experienced while hosting trivia?

HP: Lol, I can think of one: a customer saying, "This trivia bot sucks." I was so embarrassed at first, thinking to myself, do I really suck that bad? But then, out of nowhere, the majority of the customers stood up for me and made me feel better. That is one thing about Shiraz: everyone is family, close friends.

LP: What has been a particularly positive moment while hosting?

HP: Well, at the time, it was just another thing I tried to make the trivia a little easier to follow within the chat. Now, every time I see another host using a countdown, I smile. ;)

LP: Yours was the first one I remember seeing as well. Certainly the first at Shiraz. So we've covered all the questions I had planned. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?

HP: I cant think of anything else. You are very thorough. Lette Ponnier: The Barbara Walters of SL.

Specs:
=> Host: Honey Potez
=> Times: During the coming week (May 9 through May 15), Honey will be hosting from 6:00 to 8:00pm SLT on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
=> Location: club Shiraz, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cicero/225/33/254

Except where otherwise noted, all photos were shot at the Gardens of Da Vinci, http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kalepa/223/214/37