Vaughn Highwater

__________________________________________________________________ Why? First off, people can vote with their TP button. Second, what about those people who do enjoy the things the majority don't like? Maybe some people LOVE gesturbating. Their World, Their Imagination. Are you advocating depriving them of this? ETA, while you did not say this, my impression was you were trying to arrive at 'best practices' for YOUR CLUB, not for what other people do. I didn't realise you had an aggenda here. __________________________________________________________________ Always the critic but just like in my other thread I value that . I started this because I wanna see what people think and of course I am also very curious where I stand with my opinion. Of course it's very helpful for my own club, too, no need to deny that. If you wanna call that an agenda I don't have a problem with it as it doesn't mislead anyone. About advocating: Imagine more clubs would follow the majority of opinions of this poll. That would open a niche that clubs can go for and gather a more specialized following where everyone is happy to have found exactly what they were looking for. So this would rather help building a focus, not depriving anyone of what they love.

Results so far... tell your friends to participate so this poll gains more weight [1] - 23 votes overall - 43% of partons expect the respect of a more or less timely greeting. 57% either don't mind at all or look at it as a nice but not altogether necessary thing. a) 3 = 13% b) 7 = 30% c) 8 = 35% d) 5 = 22% [2] - 23 votes overall - 96% of patrons hate gestures or are bored seeing the same gestures over and over everywhere. 4% don't mind gestures of any kind and 0% are crazy about them. a) 11 = 48% b) 11 = 48% c) 1 = 4% d) 0 = 0% [3] - 23 votes overall - 61% hate CAPS completely, 13% only like them in notices but not in chat, 26% think they're ok in general announcements but not in conversations, 0% think caps are helpful so they miss nothing the host says. a) 14 = 61% b) 3 = 13% c) 6 = 26% d) 0 = 0% [4] - 22 votes overall - 73% think words like OMG, OMFG, AWESOME, SEXY etc. are boring and/or annoying. 27% think it's ok when it's not just a phrase. 0% think they help upping the mood. a) 16 = 73% b) 6 = 27% c) 0 = 0% [5] - 22 votes overall - 45% think asking for tips is begging. 32% say once an hour is ok. 23% say every 30 minutes is ok. 0% think it should be said often. a) 10 = 45% b) 7 = 32% c) 5 = 23% d) 0 = 0% [6] - 20 votes overall - Notices: 10% prefer a quick overview with caps, 20% without caps. 25% want something unique and creative so its fun/interesting to read. 45% just ignore them and check with their favorite DJ/host for their times. a) 2 = 10% b) 4 = 20% c) 5 = 25% d) 9 = 45% I repeat: Ask your friends to participate and when you run a club send a notice to the VIP group so we can make this a poll that really has some weight. Maybe we can change the clubbing experience at many places for real

Now that this thread has been running for a while I should add my own opinion, lol. Almost forgot adding that. [1] WELCOME MESSAGE - When you enter a club the host should welcome you... a) at once! The see my name pop up on radar and should show me they watch for new arrivals (also means you are often greeted by your original SL name as the one you chose later isn't shown on most radars). b) when I come into view, closer to the stage. c) don't mind if they don't say "hi" all that soon but at some point it'd be nice. d) think DILLIGAF (do I look like a give a f...) [2] GESTURES a) I hate gestures! b) Some gestures are OK but I'm bored seeing the same gestures all the time and everywhere. c) Some gestures are OK and I don't mind if the same ones recur. d) I love gestures, can't get enough of it! [3] CAPITAL LETTERS a) Oh my god, stop the shouting! It's totally impersonal and I don't read that stuff. Also makes notices harder to read. b) I hate it in chat but it makes notices more readable. c) For general announcements everyone in the club should see they are ok. But not for normal talk. d) I don't wanna miss anything the host is saying and caps are really helpful. [4] WOW WORDS (e.g. wow, omg, sexy, awesome) a) I'm so damn bored by it... is really every DJ awesome and every host sexy? Be more creative in notices and chat! b) Hey, sometimes it's just true, no need to hide that. But don't overuse it! c) It totally energizes me when hosts do mood upping shouts! [5] TIP SHOUTS (hosts asking patrons to tip the DJ, DJ's asking on mic to tip the host) a) If a DJ/host is good they'll get tipped. No need to beg for it. b) Once in an hour is ok. Sometimes you get lost in talk but actually wanted to tip. c) Once every 30 minutes is ok. It doesn't hurt to friendly remind people that someone is working for their entertainment. d) People should be reminded often that there are people on stage doing a show. [6] NOTICES a) I prefer a quick overview (DJ, Host, When, Where, What), preferably in caps. b) I prefer a quick overview (DJ, Host, When, Where, What), preferably WITHOUT caps. c) Most of them look all the same, I want a more creative touch so it's actually fun reading them. d) I usually ignore them because they don't say anything of interest to me. When I wanna know when a specific person hosts or DJs I ask them.

I think if your paypal account is also linked to a credit card paypall works with SL. So you are save from giving your credit card details to Linden Labs and have the comfortability of paypal. Of course that doesn't help much if you don't have a credit card .

A while ago I started a discussion about what hosts should and shouldn't do. That turned into a very interesting thread about clubs and club staff in general and can be read here: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/General-Discussion-Forum/Hosts-in-SL-rock-clubs/m-p/2044747/highlight/true#M111292 At my main club I am currently talking to a few people on staff about hosting. I also started hosting myself so no one can say I have never been there as I usually am a DJ ;). Some opinions we share, some we don't, and I have to admit that both sides base their views not always on the right amount of feedback and not always on feedback from the right people. Sooo I thought, let's do a poll and get as many opinions as possible :) If you are a host, please, don't answer from your host point of view (things you've been advised to do by management, things you think the crowd likes) but solely from your personal view as a patron in a club enjoying the show. [1] WELCOME MESSAGE - When you enter a club the host should welcome you... a) at once! The see my name pop up on radar and should show me they watch for new arrivals (also means you are often greeted by your original SL name as the one you chose later isn't shown on most radars). b) when I come into view, closer to the stage. c) don't mind if they don't say "hi" all that soon but at some point it'd be nice. d) think DILLIGAF (do I look like a give a f...) [2] GESTURES a) I hate gestures! b) Some gestures are OK but I'm bored seeing the same gestures all the time and everywhere. c) Some gestures are OK and I don't mind if the same ones recur. d) I love gestures, can't get enough of it! [3] CAPITAL LETTERS a) Oh my god, stop the shouting! It's totally impersonal and I don't read that stuff. Also makes notices harder to read. b) I hate it in chat but it makes notices more readable. c) For general announcements everyone in the club should see they are ok. But not for normal talk. d) I don't wanna miss anything the host is saying and caps are really helpful. [4] WOW WORDS (e.g. wow, omg, sexy, awesome) a) I'm so damn bored by it... is really every DJ awesome and every host sexy? Be more creative in notices and chat! b) Hey, sometimes it's just true, no need to hide that. But don't overuse it! c) It totally energizes me when hosts do mood upping shouts! [5] TIP SHOUTS (hosts asking patrons to tip the DJ, DJ's asking on mic to tip the host) a) If a DJ/host is good they'll get tipped. No need to beg for it. b) Once in an hour is ok. Sometimes you get lost in talk but actually wanted to tip. c) Once every 30 minutes is ok. It doesn't hurt to friendly remind people that someone is working for their entertainment. d) People should be reminded often that there are people on stage doing a show. [6] NOTICES a) I prefer a quick overview (DJ, Host, When, Where, What), preferably in caps. b) I prefer a quick overview (DJ, Host, When, Where, What), preferably WITHOUT caps. c) Most of them look all the same, I want a more creative touch so it's actually fun reading them. d) I usually ignore them because they don't say anything of interest to me. When I wanna know when a specific person hosts or DJs I ask them. If you have a completely different answer from the ones given, feel free to add it :) I'm looking forward to get a real feel for what you all want and like and discussing it with fellow staff members at my main club!

Thank you very much for the info

To me it's always a matter of how extensive the problem/question is and what kind of person I'm talking to. When I'm talking to a kid with the attention span of a fly I tell them where they could find a good answer. To me it's a waste of time talking to impatient people that only know you for as long as it takes for you to fix their problems without them learning anything about it. And then probably asking someone else the same question a couple of days later because they didn't write anything down or even gave it a try to remember the solution. When I'm talking to someone who is not very tech savy or has problems with the language I look up an easy to understand solution (if that is faster than just explaining it myself) and stick around in case they don't understand some steps. When someone is tech savy and speaks the language well they'll probably be grateful for a link with the solution as they usually built their understanding of technology finding the right resources for answers and now have a new one. In any case, if I offer a link I usually say a few words about it. That's a little more friendly than just posting a link and saying nothing .

Hosts at the club I DJ at post events. When you go to Community -> Events on the SL Website they show and they can also be found using search in viewers. But they don't show on "upcoming events" on the start page of the SL website. It's an adult sim, are they filtered out on the home/start page "upcoming events" overview?

Are you a troll? Do you enjoy providing agressive and cynical short comments that don't really add much to the discussion? We all have our opinions and everyone else in this thread takes their time to express them in a useful and (mostly) respectful way.

I ran a successful webradio station for 6 years and you learn a lot there if you want to do it right. Fist of, you can't do it right without investing a lot of money into licences, equipment and promotion. It's a lot of hard work. On SL many things are much easier and people SEEM to expect less in staff and club quality. That's corret in so far as the average quality of club experience is almost a nonexistant quality. But it's very wrong of club staff to think people wouldn't love to HAVE a better experience as can be clearly seen by all the posts in this thread. The biggest problem is that, with webradio and SL, it's actually pretty easy to get the basic things together if you leave legality out of the equasion. So everyone does it and few know more about it than some basic settings. I've seen it often enough that owners/managers ask a lot of people they like if they don't wanna try hosting or DJing and then they say "OK, I give it a try". But if you really have to talk someone into doing it you can see and feel it wasn't a wish of their own. They might enjoy it but as soon as people expect more and they have to learn and try out new things it becomes work and they get pissy. It gets worse when a couple of their friends tell them they are doing good and they believe in it. Friends are the worst critics as they more often than not don't tell you that what you are doing isn't good at all. Then along comes someone who doesn't know you at all and says something negative and people go like "you are rude". Entertainers should have better basic communication skills to understand what is useful criticism and what is someone just being an ass.

Nothing is good if done to the uttmost extreme. It's neither good to say nothing because many people at clubs want more than just music and it's just annoying if someone is so in love with hearing himself talk (too often without any substance) that you wanna shout "shut the EFF up". I also hate it when DJs talk into the songs.

I didn't think about name dropping when I mentioned the host above, nor is she actively looking to get many new job offers. But after reading what you wrote, I have to admit from another persons point of view it can really look like name dropping. Therefore I have removed her name in my initial post. I also welcome your questions, as it is totally valid to ask back "what do you as a DJ do?". The problem lies not solely with hosts. A lot of DJs have a very bad sound setup and even if there stream quality is ok they often use bad quality youtube rips that sound like crap.And then there are the issues you named. So, to answer your questions: - So, as a DJ, can you tell me what you do to entertain your guests, other than play music? That question sounds loaded, and a lot more cynical than it ought to. But you've perked my interest ever so slightly. * I don't think it's loaded and cynical. When I write about what I miss about hosts it's only fair to ask me what I do as a DJ - Do you chat in local with all the guessts consistently, or only occasionaly? * I'd get really bored if I would just let my playlist run through. I always participate in running conversations and try to start one when it's quiet and the host is not help. Of course when it takes a moment to look up a song request I can't focus on local but at least I let the requestee know whether I'll have it up soon or if it could take a moment longer. - Do you engage them on mic while spinning? * I love picking up stuff that was said in local when going on mic. If there are only a few people in the club I also greet everyone by name most of the time (not always though, I have bad days, too). - Do you play a playlist you've pre-selected before beginning your set, adding in only requests? When I'm not filling in on short notice I always prepare a full playlist before I start DJing and have certain 2-4 song blocks on my mind, so that I can place requests as fitting as possible into the set without the requestee having to wait ages. Placing a fast metal tune directly after a ballade can be fun sometimes but most of the times it's more like a hammer to the head . - When asked for requests, do you make them more than the standard"oh so and so would like to hear" or "so and so would like to dedicate such and such to this and that"? * I don't always say more than "NAME-A has a request with a special dedication to his love NAME-B". But when I keep it this short I either don't know much about the people or don't know much about the song to say more. At least I don't go through it as if I was going through a check list and give it the appropriate tone of voice and talking rhythm so it really sounds like a special request. - Do you make guests feel welcome? * I think I do. I get very positive reactions from people in the club. Then again, those who don't like something don't always let you know... something everyone should keep in mind. - Do you encourage your fellow employees and help them better perform their duties? Because when they perform theirs, you're better able to perform yours. You sort of work hand in hand. * I tried to talk to a couple of hosts in a pretty sugarcoated way and got either pissed off replies or was told they've been doing this for a long time and know what's good. Here and there I tried talking to a manger or owner about the gernral topic and the most positive reply I ever got was "I know, but what can you do? We're just happy to have enough hosts to keep the schedule filled." DJs seem to be a bit more aproachable, probably because they know I'm a DJ, too. I give them pointers how to sound better and when they use certain phrases to often or just don't talk at all. - Do you do a lot of "don't forget to tip" on air?(even once an hour to many can be seen as begging). * If a host does absolutely nothing but shoot some guestures and maybe send a notice at the start and at half time I don't at all. If a host at least tries to be part of local chat I do it once per hour or after she did/said something especially entertaining/funny/interesting. And then I don't standard phrases but make it personal. - What do you do, to make your sets so unique that you deserve more than every other DJ in sl gets? * First of I don't do it for the Linden or to get more job offers. If no one tips but the chat was just awesome, funny and entertaining I am one happy camper. My intention is to make people really have fun and I think that can be heard when I am on mic and when I write in local. Some people just love the music I play but that's always a matter of taste. Another person would say "that's so not my thing". So whether my music is unique and makes me deserve anything is something I can't say "yes" or "no" to. - You seem(and I will agree, as it's very true) to be finding that many hosts are pretty cookie cutter. So what do you bring to the table that would make a host say "damn, I can do better than this"? Not that anyone expects you ought to. Anyone, but me, of course. * I am talkative and personal in local and work on the chat not staying completely quiet. If there is only a handful of people, some deep in IM and some afk there is not much you can do but I am never silent for endless minutes. Actually I asked a host to show me some of the technical stuff like notices and posting events on the SL webite so I can do some hosting myself in the near future. I invite you to send me a friend request in SL. When I see you online and am DJing I'll let you know so you can judge for yourself and post your findings here I play classic rock, hard rock and some metal in between.

I'm a DJ on SL and have DJed in various rock clubs. I've seen and worked with a lot of differents hosts. What surprises me all the time again is how little a lot of them do. I don't want to start a rant but I would like to share my view on what the job description "host" should include and start a friendly discussion. The situation as I see it "as is": - They welcome every guest and sometimes ask how they are. Unfortunately some use the same line (like "Hey NAME, welcome to CLUBNAME!") with everyone. Would you feel welcome and personally treasured seeing the host says the exact same thing to everyone? - More often then not they use more standard gestures you've seen a thousand times and also more often than not they use more guestures than actually do real talking - Many write in capital letters all the time. I can understand this for info standard like "PLEASE HIT THE VOTE BOX IF YOU ENJOY YOUR TIME HERE" or "PLEASE SHOW THE DJ/CLUB SOME APPRECIATION AND TIP THEM FOR THEIR WORK" but in a normal talk it looks very impersonal and like shouting. In my opinion if someone has to use capital letters when talking to specific people in the chat they just aren't able to connect enough. Lower case works for everyone else in the chat (if the host doesn't spam the chat with frequent and large gestures). - Most hosts seem to be more reactive than proactive. They comment on what is said and also join conversations. But the difference between a normal chatter and a host is that the host is supposed to get a conversation going when it's too quiet. - Hosts actually giving it a try to start a conversation use standards like "hey, how are you today?" or "Nice shoes, Sally". The idea to try and get the chat going is very nice. But why use something where "I'm good" and "thx" is usually a quick and single short answer that gets nothing going? A host should be more creative :). - Words like OMG, WOW, AWESOME, AMAZING, SEXY etc. are sooo overused that they are totally devalued. Most hosts use them and when everyone says the same it doesn't set them or anything they do appart from anyone and anything else. And me, personally, I'm bored to death by it. - Telling people in a club to tip the DJ or donate to the club every 10-15 minutes looks a lot like begging to me. In my opinion once per hour should be enough. - Notices mostly look the same in every club. Rarely do I see a host giving it her personal touch and when they write "KICK ASS TUNES!" in the "What:" field that tells me exactly nothing. I know one single host I really love watching and working with. She barely uses any gestures, writes notices people actually WANT to read because they're hillarious, involves everyone in the chat and really gets a talk going and is so funny herself a lot of people come to watch her and not necessarily listen to the DJ. This is my personal opionion on the topic and maybe it's just my mentality that I think hosts should be less generic. I'm looking forward on your points of view :)