Dazed and Confused

[funkilicous]

Ok im fairly young to SL just over 400 days but im confused about a few things but 1 thing that really confuses me is when I buy a product or service and it comes with a NC and a issue may arise, I will contact the creator and then he/she will reply by copying and pasting the NC or just send me another note card, to me that is very insulting. So my question is do people really not read the NC that comes with the products they purchase?

[Griffin Ceawlin]

---

funkilicous wrote:

So my question is do people really not read the NC that comes with the products they purchase?

---

Yes.

[Naughty Caramel]

Yes, some delete it without reading it.  Then again, for some English isn't their first language.

I do agree that was rude.  Depending on what your notecard said, the person should've IM'd you.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Kind of like everyone agrees to the ToS upon entering SL for the first time..........do they really read what they agreed to? 

[Rival Destiny]

Some people do read and some people don't.  But, it has been my experience, that those that IM or drop me a NC for help, have not read the notecard/instructions/rules & regulations/etc.  99% of the time, the issue that they IM me with is covered in the NC.

So I would do the same if the issue is covered in the NC.

If you contacted these people with issues that weren't covered in the notecards and they copy pasted or passed you another, then I'd say you have very bad luck with vendors. 

 

[Hugsy Penguin]

Like others have said, my understanding is that many customers don't read the instructions.  I also believe that many customers don't send detailed messages when IMing a creator.  I don't know how you're writing your messages, but I suggest trying something similar to this format:

Hello.  I purchased [product_name_version].  I'm trying to [do_something].  I've read the instructions and tried doing [x], [y], and [z].  I expected it to [do_this], but it's actually [doing_that].  Can you please help?

That may be tough to fit into an IM, but the gist is to give detail.

If you're doing that and still just getting a notecard thrown back at you, then that's pretty rude.

[Sassy Romano]

I hate notecards, I dislike the constant swapping of notes particularly if the other person is online, for me it just gets silly.  If you're online... IM!

I also find it "impersonal" when a notecard is replied to with another notecard and there's the problem.  Some LOVE notecards for communications, some HATE notecards.

If the merchants prefers IM to notecards because they can and will respond via offline email to IM, that's ok but then what if the customer doesn't do the same and doesn't send IM's to email and their IM's get capped.  Now the merchant is blamed for not responding to their notecard!

It would be helpful for LL to remove this cap, especially for avatar to avatar IM's.  They can cap object IM's all day long for most but basic human typed IM's should not be capped in my opinion.

It would also be helpful if everyone else set IM to email and used email filters if claims of "I get too many IM's" but this is just wishful thinking.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

My own experience is that customers rarely read notecards.  So if what they ask is answered in the notecard I will just send them the notecard again and tell them to read it.  However if it isn't, they I will send them a notecard with the answer to their question and if I think that their issue may come up again, I add the information to the instructions.

I take a lot of time writing instructions that are detailed and that assume that the purchaser knows nothing so they give step by step instructions.  A lot of other creators due the same.  However most don't have time to get into a tutor session with you to learn what are considered basic SL skills.  Unless the product was expensive, in terms of RL money, you really can't expect a merchant to spend a whole lot of time with you for the small amount you pay for most items especially when the answer is in the instructions.  Many times customers pay less than the equivalent of 1US dollar or even just pennies for an item, but they expect you to spend an hour teaching them basic skills or reading the instructions to them.  After all would you work in RL for an hour for nothing or just a penny or two?

Having said all this, I will have to say that some things don't come with instructions that should, or the instructions are poorly written or leave out things.  If that's the case, you have a right to ask questions, however don't expect a lot of help or they would have given you good instructions. 

[Syo Emerald]

I just read notecards if I have the feeling they could tell me something interesting for important. I read a notecard when the product I'm buying is new to me (I remember reading one when I got my first jacuzzi, to see where I need to click for which option). But I don't need a notecard for clothes and hair.

Also I hate it, when there is a picture opening itself when I open a box, thats nearly as useless as those sweet thank you notecards which both will up my inventory after a while.

[Lucinda Bulloch]

I have stopped giving note cards, I am making a website for each product with their own feedback form.

http://msdcs.co.uk/

I feel this is a lot better, every product now has a help button that leads to one of the websites, the forms come though to my main machine that is on all day, so don't matter if I am online, I think is the way forward, I am also making a blog that has FAQ's and lots of examples.

 

[funkilicous]

Thank you all for your responses im a very curious person and this helps me to understand both the vendor and the buyers view. I will be more clear in my IM's and I understand better why its done. =-)

 

Ok One more then ill stop asking questions, this question has perplexed me ever since I started SL, Its my understanding that a sim no matter the maturity rating has the same cost, I also understand when you purchase a sim you have every right to set the rules as you see fit.I have noticed a lot of mature sims with PG clubs or these police pig tip jars that issue a ticket if your a "potty mouth"  Now im not attacking any particular sim or owner but if you own such or a sim or know of someone that does please help me to understand why you would go through the headache of trying to enforce PG rules on a mature sim? Please forgive me if I offend you I just want to understand the human thought process better.

[PeterCanessa Oh]

Not only do people not read instructions they are also likely to send IMs/notecards like:

"Hi, I bought one of your things and it's wrong" - which gives you absolutely no idea i) what 'thing', ii) what's wrong with it or iii) what they want you to do about it (did they just buy it in the wrong colour or have they found a fault?  Is there a typo somewhere or does it crash a sim?)

Since most merchants, helpers, etc. deal with many people and issues per day a message, such as this one in my in-box at the moment, really doesn't help much either:

"how do i do that" - and, of course, I have no idea what they're talking about or which of the forums, threads, IMs, notecards, emails I use I should start looking for their name in.  So I'm probably not going to bother, however rude that makes them think I am.

[Sassy Romano]

---

Lucinda Bulloch wrote:

I feel this is a lot better, every product now has a help button that leads to one of the websites, the forms come though to my main machine that is on all day, so don't matter if I am online, I think is the way forward, I am also making a blog that has FAQ's and lots of examples.

 

---

As far as providing information, I do the same.  I was concerned as to whether people preferred inworld instructions or whether having to open a browser would be seen as an inconvenience but unanimously, the member of my group said "website is fine".  It provides a more coherent, linked, richer information experience and with embedded videos and such just makes it all round easier.  Updates can be done instantly and bits of information that are missing can easily be added.

Plus, I embed the Google translate widget on each page so visitors can translate the page to their language (or rather a Google approximation of).  I used to get human translations of each major product but then when features change, it became cumbersome and too much of a limitation to go that route.  Google isn't perfect but it does cover more languages and it's consistently imperfect.

[Lucinda Bulloch]

Agree 100% I want the widget to, I have bought a business package from BT, most things i dont use yet but i am told i have the world plus a few moons worth of everything, lol, still finding out about widjets and things but I want a translator to, I feel that having all help and examples allows you to respond instantly regardless of you online situation, grid down problems or unable to use things cos your sim needs a restart and as I am main land I can wait days for a restart.

But i think it is the way forward, note cards are so messy.

[Sassy Romano]

---

funkilicous wrote:

Ok One more then ill stop asking questions, this question has perplexed me ever since I started SL, Its my understanding that a sim no matter the maturity rating has the same cost, I also understand when you purchase a sim you have every right to set the rules as you see fit.I have noticed a lot of mature sims with PG clubs or these police pig tip jars that issue a ticket if your a "potty mouth"  Now im not attacking any particular sim or owner but if you own such or a sim or know of someone that does please help me to understand why you would go through the headache of trying to enforce PG rules on a mature sim? Please forgive me if I offend you I just want to understand the human thought process better.

---

Possibly because mature says that it can host certain activities but that doesn't mean that everyone that visits wants to be bathed in a torrent of explitives, just because it's "mature" so yes, I can understand why a degree of moderation is applied.

[Polenth Yue]

---

funkilicous wrote:

Its my understanding that a sim no matter the maturity rating has the same cost, I also understand when you purchase a sim you have every right to set the rules as you see fit.I have noticed a lot of mature sims with PG clubs or these police pig tip jars that issue a ticket if your a "potty mouth"  Now im not attacking any particular sim or owner but if you own such or a sim or know of someone that does please help me to understand why you would go through the headache of trying to enforce PG rules on a mature sim? Please forgive me if I offend you I just want to understand the human thought process better.

---

I have a mature/moderate mainland sim where I ask for PG behaviour. Some reasons:

 

- The Linden version of PG is more like G (for the US) or U (for the UK) in terms of movie ratings. In other words, it has to be appropriate for toddlers. This isn't workable for someone who wants actual PG (appropriate for older children and up).

- A Linden rating means the Lindens have control over what is and isn't appropriate. I'm fine with artistic nudity, but if it were set as PG/General land, the Lindens could ban people from SL and I'd have no say in it. A moderate rating means I have full control over what is and isn't PG.

- Related to the above, if you do break my rules, I can choose to just slap you on the wrist and give a first warning. On official PG/General land, a bystander could AR you and get you banned from SL.

- Being officially PG/General doesn't stop people engaging in adult behaviour. Someone who intends to ignore the land owner's preferences won't stop because of the official land rating. So it makes it no easier/harder to enforce my land rules. There's no extra headache.

 

A reason which doesn't apply to me, but might to some:

 

- The sim has a mixture of content on different parcels. For example, there may be a skin shop on the sim or there may be private residences with sex beds. The whole sim must be moderate if that's the case, even if PG behaviour is expected in public areas.

[funkilicous]

WOW Thank you that explains a lot I didn't know they were that strict on PG sims. Thank you all for bring understanding and cordial with your replies,helps me understand a lot more =-)

[Avi Aeon]

I have to back up the "read your notecards" concept. I usually do, but sometimes I don't. I had a new swim HUD for the past two years that annoyed me. I could float above the surface, but I'd sink under when swimming. After randomly glancing through the notecard recently, I learned that not only can you change your z-offset for swimming on the surface, but it also told you how!

[SecretFromHeaven]

as a noob, you dont really understand what notecards are. i thought they were like business cards in rl, telling us where to find the stores. and so i deleted a few from the same place.  :matte-motes-crying: i save them now and even read most of them

i think it would also be helpful if all the items came with photos...