Pics by Peep

So, yesterday I ranted about the things that annoy me concerning creators and the shopping experience. I thought it was only fair to give equal air to the things that annoy me about other shoppers.

I am not a merchant, other than my photography business, which opens a whole ‘nother box of irritation. I am sure store owners have their own set of shopping woes and please, if you are one and would like to chime in, please feel free to do so! Being so dedicated to shopping, the last thing I want to do is annoy a favourite creator by doing something that makes their virtual blood boil.

And here we go, my list of things that annoy me about other shoppers.

1. Staying on the landing point after arriving. For the love of the totem pole, when you arrive at a shopping venue, take a couple of steps off of the landing point! Yes, sometimes lag prevents movement immediately, but at least try to move away from where you have rezzed. This will prevent other shoppers from becoming stacked on your head or left flailing in mid-air while they wait for you to mosey on along. Even if you can’t see yourself rezzing, you can still move to give a clear drop zone for avatars coming in behind you.

2. Leave your gestures at home. I’m not a complete Gesture Nazi, but when a venue is stacked to the gills with shoppers the last thing I want to see is a wall-o’-text blocking my view of the vendors that have finally rezzed. I have sound turned off for gestures via my viewer, but I do know that constant giggles and shouts are just as annoying as the text (thus, my preference for muting the sounds).

3. Don’t wear your thousand-script outfit to a sales event. This is the greatest contributor to lag (or so I have been led to believe). While I don’t usually go with a full-alpha look, I am conscious of my script count. I generally wear system clothes or no-script mesh clothing and hair and the only gadget I wear is a low-script AO, but I will take it off if the venue is overly crowded. I check my script count before leaving home (via my viewer, but there are free script counters available on Marketplace). I love the events that have script traps and bar entry to those avatars who insist on shopping while wearing full battle-gear or their pretty-as-a-princess ballgown, complete with jewelry and hair that have listening scripts in all 3000 prims!

4. Don’t flog your own store (or another competitor) in someone else’s shop. This is a guaranteed way for me to boycott your store and probably mute you. It is in poor taste and if I were a store owner who came across someone doing this I would be very likely to ban the offender first and ask questions later. I’m probably going to document your actions and report it to the shop owner, too.

5. Don’t beg. I’m not sure how often beggers in SL actually receive Lindens from other SL residents, but it’s not going to be me. Very little spoils my shopping experience more than having a complete stranger IM me asking for money. I have never heard a sob story that moved me enough to want to part with my hard-earned cash to give to a random panhandler. I can be helpful to people looking for freebies or how to upgrade their avatar or find free or low-cost items. But that is a question I am rarely – if ever – asked. I will also be happy to give suggestions on how to earn money in Second Life. I can also be generous to my friends and people I choose to share with. But call me mean if you want; I have better things to spend my L’s on than a moocher: namely that cute dress in the corner or that sparkly pair of earrings to my left 😉

6. Don’t hit on me. I am not an unfriendly sort, but I am taken. Read my profile; it’s right there on the front page. It is also highlighted in my Picks. Even when I was single I was never charmed by a blind IM making suggestions about what visions danced through the sender’s head when my AO had me bending over. Honestly, I was just adjusting my shoe, not trying to feed your fantasies.

7. Don’t IM me and just say “Hi.” By this I don’t mean I don’t want you to strike up a conversation. I mean, don’t just say “Hi” and then go silent. You are the one who initiated the chat; please don’t expect me to come up with a topic to discuss. I’m busy shopping so my focus is on the pretty, shiny stuff in the store.

8. Don’t stop to have a conversation with your half a dozen co-shoppers right in the middle of the store. I’m not opposed to local chat in shopping venues (as long as it isn’t offensive or gesture-laden), but by stopping your avatars in the main traffic areas, you are keeping me from easily accessing the goodies I am trying to buy. I don’t want to have to dodge your head as I attempt to pay the vendor and I don’t want to have to derender you just so I can view the latest releases. If you must stop to determine which one of your acquaintances is cheating on his/her lover this week, please step to a quiet corner and feel free to open up a conference. The rest of us there really aren’t interested. What we are interested in is shopping.

9. Don’t be a litter bug. Another reason I like wearable unpackers is that you can have the immediate gratification of opening your newest purchase right away. However, if a creator uses a standard rez delivery box AND is kind enough to give you a place to open your purchase, clean up after yourself! How would you like it if someone came into your home and scattered empty boxes and packing peanuts all over your living room? Not much, I imagine. In fact, you would probably be incensed and not only have a screaming hissy fit, you would be inclined to kick said offender out of your house. Why should it be any different for a shop owner whose hospitality had been trampled? It isn’t.

10. Don’t strip naked to try on a demo in the store. I know we have all been victim of the magical disappearing clothes trick in SL, but there is no need to completely disrobe to try on a new outfit. All you need to do is ADD the demo then remove your previous outfit. Even if you have run out of alpha slots, you can remove the current one then add the trial alpha. I’m not a prude, but I wouldn’t get naked in the middle of a shop in RL and I’m not going to do it (purposely) in SL. If you are shopping on an Adult sim, it’s probably not going to be an issue. If you are on a Moderate sim, it is a practice that will most likely be frowned upon (if not forbidden by the shop owner). If you are on a General sim, you are in violation of the TOS. Use the layer method if you are trying on in the shop and spare us a view of your pixel bits and bobs.

11. Please don’t do cartwheels on my head. You know the AOs I am talking about, right? The cutesy ones that have the wearer dancing, skipping and doing acrobatics rather than walking? Yes, they show your joie de vivre; but they also muss my hair and wrinkle my clothes when you run me over in your exuberance to inspect the newest release. In general, please be mindful of other shoppers when moving around, regardless of the style of your AO (or even if you’re not wearing one). I realise that movement can be a bit random in SL, especially on laggy sims, but if you have run me over more than once, I’m going to be a wee bit peeved. And if you do inadvertently bowl me over, for the love of the Flying Wallendas, apologise!

12. Keep your children under control. If you are going to bring your children shopping, the rules are pretty much the same in SL as they are in the real world. Keep them within your sight and under control. I don’t know what it is about child avatars in SL; they seem to be the worst kind of spoiled brats you dread coming across in the supermarket aisles, throwing tantrums, screaming, having fits and generally creating a commotion. Yes, we see you. Yes, you’re adorable – or at least you would be if you behaved like a well-brought-up youngster. I have come across some lovely children in SL. I have even helped a few pick out an outfit or hair when they asked politely for my opinion. But my experience has been, for the most part, bring the parents into the equation and an otherwise polite child seems to turn into a shrieking banshee that spoils the shopping experience for the rest of us.

That’s about all I can think of at the moment, but I haven’t been shopping yet today. Jump on in the comments and share any of your pet peeves I have left out. The more the merrier, I say!

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Sweater: ISON – angora sweater -S- (white) by Harry Hyx
Pants: *Fishy Strawberry* Yoga Pants – S Light Grey by Fae Eriksen (available at My Attic @ The Deck until Jan. 31)
Shoes: tulip. Suede Loafer (Gray) by Minami Susanowa (for Slink Flat Feet)
Socks: Izzie’s – Knee Socks + Applier for SLINK’s Avatar Enhancement (Plum) by Izzie Button
Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Alicia Mesh Hair – Cinnamon by MissAllSunday Lemon
Skin: [PXL] Creations – [PXL] JADE SK Bare Lips MEB C2 by Hart Larsson
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Feet: Slink Mesh Feet (Av) Flat by Siddean Munro
Hand & Feet appliers:[PXL] Creations<a – [ PXL ] Slink Hand & Feet Appliers SK by Hart Larsson
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri

Rug: my own creation
Vanity: Trompe Loeil – Vintage Vanity Desk Brown by Cory Edo
Laundry basket: LISP – Dolly Days Basket – Lemon by Pandora Popstar
Dress form: Tres Blah -tb- Vanity – Dress Form by Julliette Westerburg (gacha prize)

Pose & shoes, shopping bags and shoe boxes: {Nantra} Shoe-aholic by Tracy Redangel (available at My Attic @ The Deck until Jan. 31)