A New, Improved way of Presenting these Fairs is needed

[ByteDreams Slade]

Hair Fair started this weekend.  it took me 2 days to get in.  then when i get there, i freeze up and cant move...  and then the designers will create just for the event and you cant get the item anywhere else  except at the event - ok that's expected, but not very efficient and quite frustrating...

my thoughts are, why not save us the lag and make some other kind of delivery device for these events - sorta like how the marketplace itself functions, but just for these events/fairs....

sure i love strutting and flying around SL, but sometimes i jus wanna see whats there to offer and grab it and go!!! smdh

 

Divas Unite!

[JoJo Aurelia]

They did put out boxes to sit and edit and slide around on... but overall, that particular fair is always slammed. There isn't much that can be done with the SL platform unless someone knows something they can add.

[ByteDreams Slade]

yes, thats why i was thinking -- of separating out events like this across some workable platforms - put the merchandise on a web or flash based page-- like Izuu, or wix.com or whatever -- the merchants get more looks - the entertainers get attention, and i get my new hairdo before the style is a week old!  *winks!

[Suki Hirano]

I find it funny that "SAVE ON PRIMS AND SCRIPTS" is an all-time high in these events when targetted towards customers, yet hair fair's shop owners display one of the most prominent examples of absolute abuse of prim usage and land space ever. Each shop is given a huge space despite the fact they only sell like 3-5 items, and even though the product vendors themselves might take up 10 prims or so, the shop's unnecessary decorations take up like 100 prims. Huge piles of unused panels, boxes that don't give anything, complete duplicates of objects serving the sole purpose of making it look like a "reflection", you name it. Ironic?

[Charolotte Caxton]

Hair Fair has put out a pretty good guide on how to get a better experience, and also what they have done to help. I really like the one about reducing the amount of avatars your viewer renders.

http://hairfair.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/hair-fair-info/

[Tiffy Vella]

I haven't visited Hair Fair yet, so can't comment on the lag. I do know some ways for helping though, and am big on not lobbing up with a squazillion scripted flexi-alpha-prims. One trick is to derender anyone with an ungodly arc (not wishing to begin another arc-debate here, I just swear, anecdotally,  that this works quite well).

Being part of Fairs can be really fun as a creator. I love it, and really enjoy setting up a display. Most I've been in allow no scripts at all in booths...even landmark givers must be "buy for $L0 prims", not inventory-giving scripts. Usually, sculpts are not allowed, except for a few merchants who pay a premium to do so, and even then they are limited.

Personally, I dislike the push away from inworld shopping and inworld experiences in favour of Website-based shopping. Events should be just that....3D events where people gather inworld.....not soulless opportunities to click on yet another link and go to a new page. Here's to improving the way they are done, however, as I know we need to keep trying to get it right.

[Tiffy Vella]

I notice that demo packs can be picked up before visiting, so that shoppers can hone their lists. Not a bad idea

[Charolotte Caxton]

Oh yes! All the demos can be had before even going to the event and also, the Hair Fair website has the slurls of the individual vendors, so if you don't like to shop (I know, what planet are they from?) you could just go directly to wherever you wanted, get your item, and go back to just chillin at your spot.

http://hairfair.wordpress.com/

You can copy this link into local chat to join the demo group. If you are inworld atm you can just click it. The demos are in notices, so you can just try the ones you want, or try tem all! lol

secondlife:///app/group/2e30d166-f3e5-e2de-ff72-b3da2d06ded2/about

[Tiffy Vella]

I did go Fairing today, and found the first mesh hair I've ever demoed that looked not only acceptable but really fantastic on me (even if I do say so myself). So now I have it in a few colours.  A couple of times the sim crossings needed a little patience, but all went very smoothly.

This is odd, or maybe not so much odd, but despite joining the group, I still preferred to visit with each store to get a feel of the creator's style. Maybe later I'll rethink that, and sit down somewhere comfy and quiet and sift through more demos.

It was nice to get off my buildy platform and join the great unwashed for once

 

[JoJo Aurelia]

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

Oh yes! All the demos can be had before even going to the event and also, the Hair Fair website has the slurls of the individual vendors, so if you don't like to shop (I know, what planet are they from?) you could just go directly to wherever you wanted, get your item, and go back to just chillin at your spot.

http://hairfair.wordpress.com/

You can copy this link into local chat to join the demo group. If you are inworld atm you can just click it. The demos are in notices, so you can just try the ones you want, or try tem all! lol

secondlife:///app/group/2e30d166-f3e5-e2de-ff72-b3da2d06ded2/about

 

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All of this is great but who is finding this info? I couldn't even find the landmark in search inworld. I Googled it to find it, then it took awhile. I added it to my blog so someone else might find it!  99%of the residents I know or talk to, have no clue about changing their preferences to make things easier. i know oldies who don't know this stuff! Yes making the experience better can be had through all of these suggestions, but when I popped into the fair, I saw avi's loaded down with scripts, from hair to jewelry and ball gowns. The average Jane and Joe which seems to be everyone who doesn't read forums, and I don't know anyone who follows blogs for SL, is just going to go lag down these fairs and complain. Somehow this info has to be made available without having to search high and low for it, and if only we had a setting on our viewer that just dropped us into "event mode." The OP obviously didn't know any of this stuff, but it's not her fault...it's not easy to find. Again, a lot of ppl log into SL, but alot never open their dashboard and gazzillions don't read forums or search blogs for SL info.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

Oh yes! All the demos can be had before even going to the event and also, the Hair Fair website has the slurls of the individual vendors, so if you don't like to shop (I know, what planet are they from?) you could just go directly to wherever you wanted, get your item, and go back to just chillin at your spot.

---

I tried demo's before going to the fair and knew exactly what I wanted.  Even had a slurl and landmark to go directly to the shop I wanted to go to.  But the region landing point was set to a specific point  making everyone land in the same spot,  Using the landmark once you got there just made you return to the same spot. Then you had to slog through the lag to get where you wanted to go.  So that "improvement" was a fail.

I'm from another planet because I don't really like the actual  shopping which I view only as a necessary evil because I do like my avi to look good.  In world I usually go in the dead of the night when most avi's are home sleeping or clubbing.  Fairs drive me nuts due to the lag.  I went this year only because the demos were available in advance, I found one I had to have, and I thought I could just TP right to the place wanted, grab an go. 

[Charolotte Caxton]

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

Oh yes! All the demos can be had before even going to the event and also, the Hair Fair website has the slurls of the individual vendors, so if you don't like to shop (I know, what planet are they from?) you could just go directly to wherever you wanted, get your item, and go back to just chillin at your spot.

---

I tried demo's before going to the fair and knew exactly what I wanted.  Even had a slurl and landmark to go directly to the shop I wanted to go to.  But the region landing point was set to a specific point  making everyone land in the same spot,  Using the landmark once you got there just made you return to the same spot. Then you had to slog through the lag to get where you wanted to go.  So that "improvement" was a fail.

I'm from another planet because I don't really like the actual  shopping which I view only as a necessary evil because I do like my avi to look good.  In world I usually go in the dead of the night when most avi's are home sleeping or clubbing.  Fairs drive me nuts due to the lag.  I went this year only because the demos were available in advance, I found one I had to have, and I thought I could just TP right to the place wanted, grab an go. 

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Oh, well if you have your mini map open you can walk to the red circle.

 

[Charolotte Caxton]

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Faye Feldragonne wrote:

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Charolotte Caxton wrote:

Oh yes! All the demos can be had before even going to the event and also, the Hair Fair website has the slurls of the individual vendors, so if you don't like to shop (I know, what planet are they from?) you could just go directly to wherever you wanted, get your item, and go back to just chillin at your spot.

http://hairfair.wordpress.com/

You can copy this link into local chat to join the demo group. If you are inworld atm you can just click it. The demos are in notices, so you can just try the ones you want, or try tem all! lol

secondlife:///app/group/2e30d166-f3e5-e2de-ff72-b3da2d06ded2/about

 

---

All of this is great but who is finding this info? I couldn't even find the landmark in search inworld. I Googled it to find it, then it took awhile. I added it to my blog so someone else might find it!  99%of the residents I know or talk to, have no clue about changing their preferences to make things easier. i know oldies who don't know this stuff! Yes making the experience better can be had through all of these suggestions, but when I popped into the fair, I saw avi's loaded down with scripts, from hair to jewelry and ball gowns. The average Jane and Joe which seems to be everyone who doesn't read forums, and I don't know anyone who follows blogs for SL, is just going to go lag down these fairs and complain. Somehow this info has to be made available without having to search high and low for it, and if only we had a setting on our viewer that just dropped us into "event mode." The OP obviously didn't know any of this stuff, but it's not her fault...it's not easy to find. Again, a lot of ppl log into SL, but alot never open their dashboard and gazzillions don't read forums or search blogs for SL info.

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I found the info by typing Hair Fair 2012 into Google. It is the very first result.

 

 

[Tiffy Vella]

Faye...I searched for "Hair Fair" (Everything) and got a lm to each sim. Perhaps it's a viewer difference?

I know what you mean about the average visitor, who statistically doesn't read up on these things...Problem is that you can't start "educating" them at the actual event because that causes bad feeling more often than not. People are there to simply do their thing.

Today, I also popped into One Voice, had forgotten to de-script first, and was sent home with a polite and clear dropdown message about de-scripting before returning. This was no issue, and within seconds I was back and all was smiley. But another avvy was booted every minute, and kept returning only to be booted again, so obviously there is a language barrier, or an unwillingness to read. After so many years of bloggings and forum threads,  the average SL user today still doesn't know how to reduce their pull on sim resources, and so I doubt they ever will, or will even want to.

Honestly, I mute anyone in the red before they get close enough to have to rezz fully, not because I don't like them, but just because I'd rather be rendering what I came to see first. In a perfect world, I'd prefer to see all visitors in full primmy splendour as well as everything else, and not have to take such an antisocial step.

 (editing to add that I'm not in the habit of muting...it's a short-term method to make it through the busiest events)

[Charolotte Caxton]

I've kept the number of avatars my viewer renders set to 5 even when not at the Fair. So far, it has made my Viewer performance better no matter where I go.

[Maryanne Solo]

Do we get to see a pic of your new mesh hair Tiffy?

Be great if you could show it.

I agree that the whole event should be presented via a flash catalogue or something.

Opening it in-world would count as being a visitor to the event itself.

[Tiffy Vella]

 

 

[Tiffy Vella]

Sorry, Marianne, I had a completely crappy time trying to reply to you with an image. I hate these forums I still doubt whether my words will turn up with the photo. Anyway, I'll repeat and say that I have a weird-shaped head, and I hate hair shopping. But this hair is fantastic. It's sold by D!va, and is the best to suit my weirdie head. It will also suit non-weirdie heads, I'm sure

Woo ...its great hair, but does eat into my cheeks a bit when my ao gets extreme ( I took this photo at the worst point, which is probably not too bad) Also, it doesn't react well with my prim lashes, as there's alpha fighting, so I ditched my lashes and used makeup- tattoo layers instead.

This is brilliant hair. Everything else I say is just silly.

see...now you know why i never got a job in sales   Buy this hair. It looks ok on my stupid-shaped head

[Cerridwen Magic]

The Hair Fair is always a lag fest disaster.  If it is not lagging, the sims are full. What would really help the Hair Fair  is to extend the time from two weeks to at least six to allow time for everyone to access the sims.  Two weeks is simply not enough time. I honestly don't need new hair.  I don't want the "just lays there mesh hair".   I must be pretty vain cause I want others to see all of  me and not some headless bald girl on non-mesh viewers.

Sends anti-lag prayers to Hair Fair attendees.

 

[Maryanne Solo]

It does look nice thank you so much Tiffy.

I hadn't imagined the cheek thing would happen but it makes sense I suppose.

(I'm pretty new to mesh making so any examples are excellent thank you).

My area will be clothes not hair. A bit easier I think

Thank you!!!

[Kristin Burner]

mew mew ma mew ma mew mew ma mewps :matte-motes-tongue:

 

I have dropped in about 5 times so far, and had no issues at all.  They do have a blog that shows every new hair style there, so you can record what you like and go exactly where you need to get it, thats what i did.

 

 

[Melita Magic]

This hair fair is the first fair I was able to go to that wasn't annoying. I didn't encounter lag, or intrusive scripts forcing me to strip everything but my avatar skin (even when the entire sim was empty, some other fair or bazaar did that.) (I usually do go in just paint, but sometimes I only have a ten minute chunk of time and that makes stripping down and redressing afterward a bit cumbersome just to go shopping.

I avoid all of these things the first week or at least first few days. In the past, that hasn't always helped. 

I also liked that this hair fair made all the buildings phantom. Didn't have to wait for the thing to rez just to find the doorway. I never understand why most buildings in SL aren't phantom at least on top, for that reason.

As others have said there was a Demo group. FabFree did a good job of blogging the gift hairs, with links directly to them.