Nilandia
09-25-2008, 11:57 PM
Another year's Ebon Gate is fast approaching, and with it comes the much sought-after shop inventory list. A lot of people are aware of the lists that have been made, either by Vyrshkana, Berylla, Cattriona, Ramladu, or myself, among countless others. However, most people do not know of the work that goes into each list.
Even with a variety of scripts and macros to help gather and filter information from shops, crafting a list demands many hours because a huge part of it must be done by hand. The smallest festival, such as Lumnea, may require anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours, while a larger festival, such as the Wavedancer, may take up a hundred hours or more.
In a normal day, a listmaker will forsake merchants, games, storyline events and even socializing to work on the list, typically working anywhere from ten to fifteen hours a day, if not more. Sleep, obviously, becomes a second priority, as it often becomes a race to finish the list before the event closes. There have been instances where some of us have literally collapsed from exhaustion, a combination of too much work and too little sleep.
Obviously, the process of working on a list is long and intensive, but it also requires a good amount of multitasking skill. A listmaker may have two characters going through an event to gather information on things for sale in the shops while filtering logs, assembling the data into a list and monitoring multiple chat rooms in case any information is given there.
All the time the lists are being worked on, a listmaker will receive any number of questions from people. These questions can be anything from asking where the list is this time (the most common) to asking where a merchant or shop is, to asking if they can keep an eye out for certain items.
Sometimes these questions can be answered, sometimes not. I have taken to putting an away message up for IMs when I'm logged in with the address where the list can be found, so people can find it if they don't have it already. I may or may not know where a shop is, depending on whether I've been through all the shops yet. I honestly do not see what items are being sold as I work on the list unless there's something extremely unusual to catch my attention, as at that point it is nothing but data to work through. I'm always working through my own list at the end of an event to figure out what I'd like to buy!
On top of doing so much work to provide something to everyone to access for free, listmakers are the ones who find a number of bugs in the shops and on the grounds, smoothing out everyone else's experience. We find the doors that lead to nowhere, the typos in items, the items that can be pulled from the shelf without paying so no one else would be able to buy one, the weapons of an entirely wrong weapon base, or the clothing that's not worn where it should be able to. I'm still waiting for a GM to zap me because I pestered them one too many times.
But listmakers aren't paid for their work. In fact, we pay for the privilege to provide everyone with a list for free. We pay for webspace, we pay for tickets to get to an event, we pay in lost time, RP and merchant work. Listmakers don't get any advantages over the normal player, but just make the best of what they have available to them.
Still, this is not to laud what the listmaker does or beg for pity or respect. That's not what we do. Our job is to get information to you as best we can. While we put so much work into what we do, I can hardly imagine what the GMs put themselves through to put the events together and then send merchants through, only to be mobbed by hundreds of people clamoring for work. They are the true heroes of the merchant event.
I have had a number of people ask how they can help with getting the list together, or express their appreciation for our work. I cannot begin to say how much I appreciate such sentiments. In a way, that is what we live for.
If you wish to help us, please be aware that we spend a lot of time whittling logs down to get at the data we need and any extraneous movement has to be edited out by hand. Thus, if you happen to see one of our characters standing out in the open poking things or checking prices, we ask that you hold off on what you are doing just until we finish that room, either by leaving the room once more or by waiting quietly. Unless it's a room where there is a lot of things to interact with or a lot of items for sale, it should take us just a few minutes to finish up and move on.
There are many ways to help add to the list directly. This can be to let us know if a shop has recently opened, to give information on an item that can't be discerned by examining it on the shelf, or whatever else. If you do send us information, e-mailing it is preferable because it creates a more permanent record than IMs. Let me stress, however, that any information that is sent is extremely helpful, and if you would like, I will give you credit directly on the list.
Thank you very much for everything.
Gretchen
Even with a variety of scripts and macros to help gather and filter information from shops, crafting a list demands many hours because a huge part of it must be done by hand. The smallest festival, such as Lumnea, may require anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours, while a larger festival, such as the Wavedancer, may take up a hundred hours or more.
In a normal day, a listmaker will forsake merchants, games, storyline events and even socializing to work on the list, typically working anywhere from ten to fifteen hours a day, if not more. Sleep, obviously, becomes a second priority, as it often becomes a race to finish the list before the event closes. There have been instances where some of us have literally collapsed from exhaustion, a combination of too much work and too little sleep.
Obviously, the process of working on a list is long and intensive, but it also requires a good amount of multitasking skill. A listmaker may have two characters going through an event to gather information on things for sale in the shops while filtering logs, assembling the data into a list and monitoring multiple chat rooms in case any information is given there.
All the time the lists are being worked on, a listmaker will receive any number of questions from people. These questions can be anything from asking where the list is this time (the most common) to asking where a merchant or shop is, to asking if they can keep an eye out for certain items.
Sometimes these questions can be answered, sometimes not. I have taken to putting an away message up for IMs when I'm logged in with the address where the list can be found, so people can find it if they don't have it already. I may or may not know where a shop is, depending on whether I've been through all the shops yet. I honestly do not see what items are being sold as I work on the list unless there's something extremely unusual to catch my attention, as at that point it is nothing but data to work through. I'm always working through my own list at the end of an event to figure out what I'd like to buy!
On top of doing so much work to provide something to everyone to access for free, listmakers are the ones who find a number of bugs in the shops and on the grounds, smoothing out everyone else's experience. We find the doors that lead to nowhere, the typos in items, the items that can be pulled from the shelf without paying so no one else would be able to buy one, the weapons of an entirely wrong weapon base, or the clothing that's not worn where it should be able to. I'm still waiting for a GM to zap me because I pestered them one too many times.
But listmakers aren't paid for their work. In fact, we pay for the privilege to provide everyone with a list for free. We pay for webspace, we pay for tickets to get to an event, we pay in lost time, RP and merchant work. Listmakers don't get any advantages over the normal player, but just make the best of what they have available to them.
Still, this is not to laud what the listmaker does or beg for pity or respect. That's not what we do. Our job is to get information to you as best we can. While we put so much work into what we do, I can hardly imagine what the GMs put themselves through to put the events together and then send merchants through, only to be mobbed by hundreds of people clamoring for work. They are the true heroes of the merchant event.
I have had a number of people ask how they can help with getting the list together, or express their appreciation for our work. I cannot begin to say how much I appreciate such sentiments. In a way, that is what we live for.
If you wish to help us, please be aware that we spend a lot of time whittling logs down to get at the data we need and any extraneous movement has to be edited out by hand. Thus, if you happen to see one of our characters standing out in the open poking things or checking prices, we ask that you hold off on what you are doing just until we finish that room, either by leaving the room once more or by waiting quietly. Unless it's a room where there is a lot of things to interact with or a lot of items for sale, it should take us just a few minutes to finish up and move on.
There are many ways to help add to the list directly. This can be to let us know if a shop has recently opened, to give information on an item that can't be discerned by examining it on the shelf, or whatever else. If you do send us information, e-mailing it is preferable because it creates a more permanent record than IMs. Let me stress, however, that any information that is sent is extremely helpful, and if you would like, I will give you credit directly on the list.
Thank you very much for everything.
Gretchen