Begging!
I’ve read several forum posts of late which begin with a terribly sad story and then go on to ask for your Lindens (to help the cause, of course). Then today I was handed a notecard while out shopping which told me about the terrible plight of a single Mother in Colorado whose house burnt down. Her youngest child was killed in the fire, apparently and her elder child is severely ill in hospital. She needed my Lindens (and those of every other person she handed this out to) to help.
Now, call me a cynic (and I am sure I will go to Hell if I am wrong about this) but seriously, why would anyone believe it? It’s a terribly sad scenario if it is true (something I indeed doubt) but even if so, why is she not at the bedside of her child? How did she manage to get back online from home (she did tell me in detail about looking around the room around her at blackened walls) if the house is unliveable?
Perhaps it’s just me, but these begging efforts appear to be becoming more frequent. Do people think that because Lindens aren’t a world currency, we’ll be more likely to just hand them over? Is it because of the convenience of transferring money between people in game that this happens so much?
Whichever way, it is incredibly annoying. First up, if you have a terrible real life scenario, then go deal with it! Turn your computer off and get it fixed. You’ll fix nothing while staring at your pixels! This really makes people feel wary of genuine charity fundraising efforts in game. And the setup in game really is ideal for people to raise money for registered and genuine charities, so it would be a real shame if people became more reluctant to help charity causes because of a few greedy beggars.
Anyway, rant over.
Categories: Second Life
