Like many a Hypergrid traveller, one of the attractions is shopping. Whist we are spoilt for choice in the Opensim Metaverse in terms of good quality stuff at low, low prices, (i.e. 'free') it's nice to be able to 'spread a little Linden love' as the horrible phrase goes in that evil underworld. I don't mind paying a reasonable price for some content, (though it seems that trees are my biggest indulgence) so I signed up for Gloebits, as that is the enabled currency on Speculoos. Well, there is a little more to it than that... Every time you log , or arrive at a Gloebits enabled region you get a spam greeting encouraging you to sing up to Gloebits. Personally I find that kind of thing both intrusive and annoying - I'm aware that Gloebits exist, and I don't need constant reminders that they exist, any more than I need to be reminded that cash exists in RL. Heck, not even within the confines of the evil Linden empire itself are you constantly pestered to get Linden Dollars. So, in order to do something about the harrassment every time I logged in, or returned from an HG journey, I signed up and bought $G2,150 - or £10 worth. That's not a lot, but it is a rather large amount to just leave lying dormant just in order to be free of constant nagging. Oh,no, we don't get off that lightly. Once you've signed up to Gloebits, it's true you no longer get pestered to sign up, you just get pestered to buy more Gloebits!
It wouldn't be so bad if these damned intrusions could be turned off, or blocked. But the can't, it would seem. I'm quite capable of deciding for myself whether I need more Gloebits. There's even a handy running total on the top right of my viewer informing me how many Gloebits I currently have. I don't need constant haranguing from Gloebits to buy more of them. I can manage to decide that for myself. Of course, one one has Gloebits to spend, the next problem is actually spending them. So, I HG to a grid where I know Gloebits are used, and is somewhat surprised to see my entire Gloebits total disappear entirely, which happens simultaneously with a sound of a cash register making a sale. Apparently making off with someone's entire Gloebit fortune without explanation isn't exactly going to endear you to people. Especially when you go to the Gloebits website only to discover that the only reference is that your avatar needs to be validated for that grid - only Gloebits, in their infinite wisdom don't put it in language and descriptions that your average grid hopper can fathom, oh no. We have a wonderful term in UK English to describe language that is jargon riddled and unintelligible to mere mortals, Gobbledegook. That's the fairest term I can use to describe what Gloebits say needs to be done, I appreciate that Gloebits are used in other places, and not just Opensim, but surely clarity is what is important here? What would be so wrong in including the few lines needed to explain the process as it affects avatars in Opensim. I know the webiste does provide something of a description that talks about 'product' and 'partner product' but an Opensim grid or region isn't a 'product' in that sense -it's a virtual environment. In simple, commonplace, (if strictly inaccurate) terms, it's a sim. So why not explain it thus? Confusion ended! The writers of the Gloebits website, and those who write many tutorials could do worse than take a look at the website at the link below BEFORE even considering publishing their written efforts: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ Okay, so by now I guess you've got the message that I was less than happy with my experience of Gloebits. I put out a request for help on the 3dBox chat on MeWe, and did get a few people to help me (thanks Amaranthim Talon and others) all to no avail, as they were as stumped as I was. Anyway someone informed me that not all regions on all grids are Gloebit enabled, so I thought I'd try something, and teleported to a region that I knew was Gloebit enabled, and I did get the popup that directs me to the Globits website where I can authorise my avatar on that particular grid. It really is a simple process, but I didn't know what exactly to expect, and though an attempt was made to explain that process, it was so poorly done as to be confusing even to someone whose Englsh language skills are excellent. A simple, Opensim related paragraph that described the process would have been enough to allay a lot of total confusion - something along the lines of, 'You're avatar is registered for Gloebits on your home grid, and now you want to go shopping in another grid that uses Gloebits? First you need to HG to a Gloebits enabled region on a Gloebits enabled grid. Once you've arrived there, you should see a popup asking if you wish to enable your Gloebits account on that region/grid. You'll be able to click a link that will take you to a page on the Gloebits website where you can authorise your avatar to spend your Gloebits on that region/grid. Please bear in mind that not all regions on Gloebit enabled grids are enabled for Gloebits. On these regions you will not see a popup." See, simple, not confusing, (no obscure and unintelligible jargon) and clear.
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