Polenth Yue

The lists didn't have enough to get the top numbers in previous years. People had to wander to get in the top ten. But there was also pressure to use the lists because of buckets that got removed quickly, as the competition was almost certainly using the lists and would have got those ones. Every bucket counts when it's based on who finds the most. So this change means it's more feasible to get the numbers by only wandering, rather than less. That pressure to use lists is gone, at least for people aiming for the top. Even if the list did hit 800 buckets for the first time, it's irrelevant to wanderers, because it doesn't matter what other people do this year. I will teleport to houses that have something extra though, like they're decorated open houses. So it's worth mentioning that in the comments.

I added mine because the house is set up to explore and there will be a gift (not there yet, but will be placed ready for opening). But there's no real need to add houses that don't have other stuff, as people who want the top prizes will be wandering. As you have multiple houses, you could always add one for the yay of seeing the numbers go up and leave the rest for people searching.

There's one that was posted in the Bellisseria Citizens group notices. It has a separate form to enter details, to avoid the issues last year with the open editing. I've no idea who is running it. I'm going to prod people now and see if I can get some more info. Edit: I prodded and here's the spreadsheet link for visiting the buckets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zv_0_90O-HHijCHAj42hfdMSoCIvM5jGtcyiKbedi0c/edit#gid=420519985 The form to add locations is best not posted here because of spam bots, but if you're not in the group, you can IM me and I'll send the link. If you are in the group, check the notices. Note it isn't my spreadsheet. I think it's Dreamer's. But I asked if I could pass on the links.

Yep, checked again and you're "unknown" now.

At the moment, your profile is set so that anyone can see you're online. You can restrict this to friends and groups (it's in the privacy preferences). There are ways around this to see if someone's online, but it'll make it more annoying for them.

Initial releases are handled by using clone tiles, so that they can place houses quickly. Regions that aren't intended to be clones might have an empty region left in place. Usually this is because it'll be a community region, water channel or other open space. Sometimes these regions end up with some houses too, but they'd be added individually rather than being a region clone. So none of that happens until things settle down and there's time to work on it. In this case, they're working on something else in their build area, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're aiming for another theme release before they go back to fill out those empty regions and the coast.

At least you didn't complain about monster slippers. I'm safe!

The old styles are still listed, though are pushed to the end (unlike on the preview). The only thing after them are not available styles. Having to keep clicking those mini pages is not fun as predicted. I really wish there was a "see all" option at least. I'm unsure how the order works outside of that, as it's not based on number available or anything like that (chalets appear to have the most available and aren't first). I do like that you can see how many are available for each theme. Click on the house type to see the stats. For most, it doesn't matter much, but it means you can see when a theme only has one left.

This just went live! https://secondlife.com/land/lindenhomes

What do you mean you used the link? There are links and fake vendors that look like the real thing, but aren't.

In general, people can be too keen to spend money on stuff that will never result in anything. Adboards that nobody clicks. Staff that cost more than you make. There's this vague idea that if you throw money at random stuff, then money will return. This is not how it works. I have a Facebook page as an author, but I rarely update it because it became useless pretty fast. The more people follow you, the less likely it is that they'll see your posts. This is by design, to encourage you to spend money to boost those posts. Given that most Second Life people don't have accounts there for their avatars, this is not the best use of money. Flickr can be useful if you want to show pictures of stuff (and a number of events have shared photo pools and such). Twitter is on the way out, though more people are hitting Bluesky now as a replacement.

If that's the one I think, at a previous one, you could only use the credit as a discount on an expensive house and had to arrange it in advance. I didn't bother clicking on the gift this time, so didn't see the terms for this round. Anyway, the event running is handled by Mischievious Mole.

I sell complete clones of myself. It's a mushroom thing.

I don't have pictures, but BSHouse at the shop and hop has a Halloween macarons tray for their gift, for those who like food givers.

That's a make money fast type of thing (for the person originally starting it) and not a make friends thing. If you want friends, just stick with talking about your interests and no money stuff. However, people wanted stories of woe, so here we go! I need money to buy snacks so I can lure people into my garden to feed my pet maw Trevor. It's been a tough time as people are getting smarter and some of them even heeded the warning sign, instead of doing the exact opposite as intended. Trevor needs the bones for the calcium, because he has all those teeth to keep healthy. Think of the poor hungry monsters with lots of teeth. He will also probably avoid eating you if you pay for snacks, but no promises.

The stone reminded me of a friend who lived in the Americans suburbs, where they all had to have some stone cladding on the house under the rules. It would also make sense to have a more manicured urban environment to contrast with the ranches, so that's my guess on that.

The details are all in a pinned post now (it's tier prize levels, the critters are a new collectible, head to Millbank for the buckets and HUD), but also a picture of Patch's new house. Let the house theories begin! (I appreciate that Patch has a lurkyman like me.)

A lot of the issues being raised here aren't new (outside of the marketplace search changing, which I've given advice in other threads for how to rewrite listings to get them back up in search). Rather than looking for signs that it's bad for everyone equally, I'd suggest looking at people who are doing fine and seeing how you can apply that to your business. It's a good idea to have some cheaper products that are aimed as fun things for end users. Not only because that's extra money, but they will bring people to the shop, where they can see the more expensive goods and services. The market is much more limited when it comes to expensive things or things that are mainly for builders. If you already do that sort of little stuff, some items outside the usual can bring more people in. Events can be great, but not all events are equal. The same for hunts. I'm surprised more people don't ask about which events have worked for people. Once you find events that work, they're the best marketing. You make money and advertise at the same time, in a way that doesn't annoy the socks off potential customers. Adboards, marketplace adverts, and malls are frequently suggested by people because they've seen other people suggest them. Few giving those recommendations have personal success with them. Those who do find them useful often have circumstances that don't apply to most. Personally, these things have never worked for me. A shop hidden behind a secret door did work for me, but that's also one of those unusual circumstances things.

The tiers look good. There were more than 800 buckets in the previous years. You'll also likely hit that without needing to revisit any regions for newer buckets. This'll solve a lot of the not-so-great stuff that was going on and make it more relaxed for everyone.

They haven't given details yet. Only that there will be prizes for people who take part, which I'm assuming are the critters in the picture.

They've blogged about what's happening. There will be a candy hunt from the 12th. Millbank opens for haunted stuff tomorrow (5th October). I'm guessing we'll get the buckets from there like last year.

They're not going to do it because one person wanted it on the forums. There's no sign that this is actually something with a big demand or that it'd encourage people to spend money. Everything points to the opposite being true. But nothing is stopping a resident making a HUD for it.

I'm still pretty fuzzy on how the new image thing works and how the previews get linked to the product. Mostly because I don't have a viewer that can do it, so it's not really an option yet.

Now, if you really wanted to annoy people, create a no fly region where people have to bounce on a series of mushrooms in order to reach the vendors (which only work if people are close enough). The really special deals will be in the air, so timing is essential. Only the most worthy bouncers will get the deals.

I had a wander around Millbank and Campwich Forest, but it's still in most seasons mode at the moment. So just a reminder to check community places for sudden pumpkins!