Location: Welcome Area, Hippiepay Island
By Guest Writer Tempest Homewood

Like The Iggster’s columnist Dianna Defiant, I’m a non-paying resident of the Metaverse. No way on earth I’m giving the Lindens my credit card info—their world is about as stable as a Third-World stock market.  But I need Linden Dollars to have fun. I don’t have the patience for most SL jobs, but I found one that combines two of my favorite activities: being kind to nice newcomers and beating the virtual snot out of griefers.

Yes, darlings. I’m the self-proclaimed “Bouncy-Bouncy Bouncer” of Hippiepay Island. For those who’ve not been there, it is a place where you can fill out marketing surveys for Linden Dollars—surveys by real companies that pay a few hundred Lindens each.  We have greeters for those who teleport in. There’s a constant hippie party going, too. We have dance-pads and other PG-rated activities to earn money, and we crank classic rock for much of the day. 

I started hanging out just to check the scene and flirt.  Soon enough, Wizardspike Dagger, who goes about in a Kermit the Frog avatar, invited me to join his Free Spirit Group (so I can jam in his virtual band) and, later, he interviewed me in-world about being a helper.

It’s like any real job except I set my own schedule. I have to orient folks and enforce rules: no use of weapons, no nudity, no spamming or advertising.  We don’t spam those who fill out our surveys, either.  Advertisers might send e-mail, but I found that using my gmail address sorts out the incoming and besides, you don’t get something for nothing, not even in a virtual world.

The best part is chilling with my co-workers. First we warn a violator, then either eject or ban permanently. And we have to un-ruffle feathers for a multi-lingual audience (I use my decent Spanish and bad French frequently).  Sometimes visitors do not get paid quickly enough for a survey or lose dance-money when their computers crash.  I have to explain “Hun, you lost 30 Lindens. That’s 10 whole cents.  Please calm down….”

I’m paid well for my work….But we are Hippies, man.  Money is, like, such a….square concept.  My job is about love, baby.

And occasional discipline for very stupid and mean people.

Peace out, flower-children. See you on Hippiepay Island. Just keep your clothes on, your language clean, and your weapons holstered, dig?

Be sure to check the “In a Strange Land” Archive for old posts

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