We love new hosts! Our goal is to see as many different regions and grids as possible. Read on - Here are some tips that we've discovered during more than 250 Safari events.
A few quick facts:
How many people come on Safari? Between 10 and 30, and there's no way of knowing ahead of time how many will show up.
How long do we stay at each destination? Just under an hour.
Does the day and time of Safari trips vary? No, it's always Wednesdays, from 12-2pm Pacific time.
How many people come on Safari? Between 10 and 30, and there's no way of knowing ahead of time how many will show up.
How long do we stay at each destination? Just under an hour.
Does the day and time of Safari trips vary? No, it's always Wednesdays, from 12-2pm Pacific time.
What kind of regions does the Safari visit? All kinds: science and tech projects, art sims, outstanding architecture or landscapes, 'famous names' from around opensim, bits of opensim history... things like that.
SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS PAGE FOR THE ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST
1. Lag
"Lag won't be a problem"... famous last words. We try not to use very complex avatars but our arrival often gives a region a bit of a shock. You may see everything fine, but your visitors won't, if there is lag.
Possible lag reducing tactics: 1. Turn off contiguous regions you don't plan to show us. 2. Remove texture-heavy items not on our itinerary. 3. Check your scripts are at optimal performance. 4 Let your Grid Owner know we are coming, so they can do their magic behind the scenes.
Notecards! People don't read them. Handing out Notecards on our arrival makes lag, and many will not even get it. HG Visitors may not be able to remove LMs from a notecard during the tour. WAIT till the end of our trip to share general info 'souvenir' Notecards about your builds.
Please provide ALL LMs for ALL the places you plan to bring the Safari BEFORE the event, so we can provide accurate Pre-trip info - but the fewer tps, the better.
Drip feed us your story. Any stuff you have written on a notecard can be dropped, one paragraph at a time, into Local text chat during our visit - that way, people will actually read it.
Chat Bots are fun but they will drive us all crazy - consider turning them off during the hour we are with you. Above all, be zen - Safari people know there may be lag. If they don't see the region right, they will relog, or they will return another day to see what they missed.
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| Chat Bots don't react well to big, chatty groups like the Safari |
2. Time is limited
How long have you got? We have only about 50 minutes of useful time during our visit, allowing for rezzing, greeting etc, but remember, we can always have a return event later in the year, so don't try to show us everything, we will just end up rushed and confused. Pick one or two things to show us. Then, if you want, you can share a LM pack of other interesting destinations on your grid, or point us to your website. Wait before making your introductions until we're all arrived and settled.
Please, plan to have us for one hour - no 'just one extra thing'. If we make an exception for you, we have to make it for everyone, and the Safari will end up way too long. Be considerate!
3. Safari birds flock together
People tend to stay in a group. If you want the group to follow you by foot, please walk slowly! Remember - it's all new to us. We are taking pictures and reading/writing in Chat, so will not be fast at responding to requests to move. We can't walk and type!Point to point teleporting often makes life easier, but we are happy to go by foot too. Do you have a bus or train or boat we can all ride in together? Even better! It's also good if you, as the host, can stay where the maximum people are. That way, they can ask you questions in Local Text Chat. Consider setting your Region so that Local Chat can be read from anywhere on the sim.
4. Presentations, and pre-loaders
Please remember, we use Local Chat Text to communicate, not Voice. The reasons for this?
- not everyone understands spoken English well,
- not everyone has Voice enabled,
- some are at work, so can't participate in Voice
- some have hearing problems
- Voice can increase lag and confusion and rob you of your tour time
Many people like to pre-load the region before the Safari event, so please make your region available some hours in advance of our arrival - it's in your best interests.
5. Keep in touch
Do you need to confirm our appointment? Yes!
Don't disappear! This is to avoid confusion or last minute changes of plan. There are 'Thirza Ember' avatars on many grids, please ONLY leave IMs for me on my OSGrid Thirza, as I may not see your message sent to some other Thirza. REMEMBER - generally speaking, offline IMs only work if you go to the grid of the person who you're trying to reach, and send the IM from there!
Don't disappear! This is to avoid confusion or last minute changes of plan. There are 'Thirza Ember' avatars on many grids, please ONLY leave IMs for me on my OSGrid Thirza, as I may not see your message sent to some other Thirza. REMEMBER - generally speaking, offline IMs only work if you go to the grid of the person who you're trying to reach, and send the IM from there!
If I do not hear from you in the days leading up to our visit,
I will assume something happened and you can't do the event,
and will postpone our visit to you, substituting another destination.
6. Join the Safari
To really get an idea of the Safari experience, consider joining us for a week or two, on trips to other grids, if your schedule permits. Why?
- You'll learn from the mistakes of others and get a feel for the experience
- It gives you a chance to get to know the Safari Regulars.
- It shows a nice community spirit when hosts are also willing to be guests.
CHECKLIST
- Contact Thirza Ember on Social media or inworld to check time/date of the Safari arrival, and stay in touch in the days before our trip.
- Choose the optimal Landing Point on your sim. At least 4 days before our trip, meet with Thirza Ember to set the HG LM(s). Please don't change the location(s) after that!
- Plan your itinerary around the region. Come to terms with the fact that YOU CAN'T SHOW US EVERYTHING IN ONE VISIT. Choose the highlights, and feature them.
- Prepare for a crowd. Check scripts for potential lag, and consider turning off chatbots for the hour we are with you. Get your grid owner involved.
- Remember, we don't use Voice during these visits, so prepare a few notes, telling the story of your grid, your region, your own OpenSim story. Be ready to share this info with us in Local Text Chat on the day.
- Don't panic - your region is great, and we are going love it.
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