More about an Old Fashioned Halloween in Second Life

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

John Donne

 

          Recently, I blogged about this year’s Old Fashioned Halloween in Second Life (SL) hosted by Perryn Peterson and the good folks of Mieville. 

          While I wrote this last story, I felt the need to write another about this festival. 

          Why you may ask?

          (Significant Other wants to know why I ask that question because I’m going to tell you anyway.)

          First, because I’m taken with the spirit of the Mieville community and the effort that they put into these events.

          Next, new merchants and team members are always joining to participate and to help out.  This tells me that this is a dynamic and growing community.

          All these reasons got me wondering about the motivations behind all these folks so I decided to find out more about them. 

          I sent out a short questionnaire to members of the Mieville community and this is

timed to start with the mini-hunt in the Old Fashioned Halloween festival.

          I received almost a dozen replies. 

          My thanks to all of you!

          What follows is a summary of those replies.

          The questions were:

1.     Why do you participate?

2.     What satisfaction do you receive by participating?

3.     Do you have a favorite story about this event?

 

And for those free spirits out there (You know who you are!) I gave them an option to tell me what they thought in their own words. 

The replies to the first question went along the following lines.

People enjoy being part of a lively, vibrant, and unique community in SL. 

They love steampunk.

They love, one said adores, Perryn Peterson who was described by one respondent as an “excellent and affable hunt manager.” 

(No, that reply wasn’t from Perryn!)

          Others said that they like getting out of their stores and being with others.

          For some, it’s a chance to make a little money and to assist in the branding of their products. 

          Several replied that Halloween was their favorite season in Real Life (RL) and this was chance to get out and enjoy it with others.

          My favorite reply came from Brian Landar who designed the haunted house for the

event and said that Halloween is RL wife’s birthday and he goes all out because of her. 

          Happy birthday to Mrs. Landar wherever you are!

          People had different answers to the second question but in similar vein.

          They love the people of Mieville.

          Their best friends inworld are in Mieville. 

          They enjoy the freedom and the challenge of the event and give full credit to Perryn for this. 

          The hustle and bustle along with the fun appeals to some. 

          Interacting with the other merchants and learning new things appeals to others.

          In replying to the last question, no one had any stories about this event but that didn’t stop them from writing replies! 

          Some were amazed that a community could put on one successful event after the other so flawlessly. 

        

  Others enjoyed the fun and the “low pressure” environment.

          People see things they haven’t seen before and might not have but for this event.

          Finally, people enjoy making new friends at this event.

          And, isn’t that what this is all about? 

          Looking over the replies I received I’m struck by how there wasn’t one word of complaint.

          People were enthusiastic and obviously enjoyed being part of this event.

          So, if you have time check out an Old Fashioned Halloween!

          It can be found here!

          My thanks to all who took the time to reply to my questionnaire and especially for all their hard work to make it all possible in Mieville!

          More pictures from my visit to an Old Fashioned Halloween can be found on this Flickr page.             

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!