Hope Hunt + Race Update

As we promised in-world earlier today, a decision has been made regarding the Hope Hunt + Race. With great sadness, we have determined that the event should be halted and rescheduled for later this year. This is the best way to preserve the integrity of the Hope Hunt + Race, and the Relay for Life which is the reason behind it all.

The problems we experienced were not due to a lack of preparation. We were well prepared. We have an excellent database system, and the scripts were all thoroughly tested during May and early June. The scripts and database worked as expected during the event.

The problem, without being too technical, is that each click of a Rose created an HTTP request/response between SL and the database ... and the servers simply could not handle the volume. Our problem, as has been said before, was that this event has been such a HUGE success. We were too successful for the servers to handle.

That is what caused the problems you experienced--Roses giving messages with bad or missing information, and Roses "locking up" (due to lag in the HTTP communications). The script/database system was good--but it did not have the server resources needed to process the volume of information generated.

These issues will be resolved, and the Hope Hunt + Race will be successful. This is not something that can be fixed easily or quickly, though. Any solution that would enable us to finish the event on schedule would be a quick-fix, degrading the experience for everyone involved. Therefore, we will reschedule the event when the server issues have been ironed out.

For the participating merchants, the Roses which are currently out will automatically delete themselves, as planned, on July 5; you can delete them before that time if you would like to do so. When the Hope Hunt + Race is rescheduled, you will be given the same number of Roses for the event.

For the hunters, the event will restart when it is rescheduled. This is the fairest and most equitable solution for everyone.

We appreciate your patience and understanding. This has been exciting and fun ... and a bit frustrating, perhaps. Know that we look forward to continuing to work with you as we make this event a success, and we will keep you posted as those plans unfold.

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and participation. Please let us know if you have any questions.

As we near the 24th Hour

Yes there are still issues, Yes we are working on them :) Yes you are frustrated, Yes we are too.

Picture this...SLwith a pipline to the database...information is going out....to the datebase the database is giving information back to sl.....but there is a clog in the pipe. This is basically what is happening to sum it up.

Here are the current stats:

[5:35] Arete Diplomat: when i got in, just a bit ago -- 260 merchants and 2,918 Roses -- 1,338 hunters with 20,475 finds - the increase in the roses set out are because of sims that were down and are finally up.

Who knew that you hunters would be so ruthless :D, We are humbled by your diligence :)

Please be patient, and be kind, and remember this is a hunt for cancer awareness. If we could find a medicine that is as determined as you are in this hunt to wipe out cancer, I believe we would be a cancer free world Take Care

Well the first day is under our belt, but not without issues lol. Despite sl borkness, wierd script messages, the stats are as follows:


240,679L has been made for the Relay for Life
2880 Roses registered on the grid
260 Merchants participating
Ten hours into the hunt - 995 Hunters, 14608 roses found

The database is working and keeping track, once Arete can unclog the sl pipeline, so data can get back in, all figures will be up to date. We tested every scenario before we launched the Hope Hunt Script, however there was no way we could have anticipated the SL emergency maintenance nor the new SL viewer. We apologise for any frustration you are feeling, but please know we are just as frustrated to. Please be patient. This hunt is for Relay for Life and cancer awareness. Please keep that in mind.

Despite adversities....we fight on
SL has given us adversities in the start of this hunt,
but we fight on just as in life cancer gives us adversities,
but we fight on for a cure by Trena Chenille

See you all tomorrow and despite it all I will keep smiling :)

SL and the Hope Hunt

We tested for every scenario before presenting this script to the Hope Hunt. We however, did not, and cannot predict Second Life emergency maintenance. Please be patient. I know its frustrating to all especially to us. This hunt was designed to spread cancer awareness and to make money for relay for life, that part has been a huge success. Thank you all for that.

The database is keeping track. Stats as of now:

16:32] Arete Diplomat: 7.5 hours into the hunt ........... 260 merchants, 2880 roses .......... 824 hunters with 12,309 finds

Hopefully, SL engineers will work out their issues and we can carry on. Good Luck to all and again thank you for participating in the Hope Hunt + Race

Who's In First?

Would you like to keep up with who is leading in the "race" portion of the event? Leader boards are located at several locations in-world ... but we also have a Leader Board website! Just click here if you'd like to see those who have found the most Hope Hunt Roses!!!

Let the countdown begin :)

First I would like to say a big THANK YOU! to each and everyone of you:) I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Here are the latest stats as of June 19, 2009
$201,135 Lindens have been raised
2671 Roses have been purchased
1629 Roses have been registered
1042 have not been registered...(note to self, Bad Sidda, put your roses out)
27 Merchants have yet to purchase
252 Merchants/parcels have been registered to the database

If any of you would like a kiosk to gather donations from the hunters, please let me know, I will gladly provide you with one. Stay tuned, more information to come!

Kick OFF Party for the Hope Hunt!

The organizers of the Hope Hunt are so grateful for all your excitement, support, and involvement in our upcoming hunt, and we would like to express our gratitude by throwing our merchants a PARTY!~!~~
The day before the Hope Hunt begins, we are holding a special celebration for YOU!~!~ Two of SL's incredibly talented musicians will perform back-to-back private concerts at Sentiments by Sidda, Saturday June 20, 2 PM SLTGrace McDunnough and Saturday June 20, 3 PM SLTL0riz Whitfield the slurl for the Kick off party is http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sentiments%20by%20Sidda/39/53/22 and below you can read about our generous musicians, who are offering their time and talents to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the fight against cancer. so .. GO RELAY for LIFE!~!~ Thanks for all your hard work, patience, and support for our first Hope Hunt :)
Grace McDunnough ... Grace McDunnough is a poet, artist, live musician and virtual world experience developer. Creator of Musimmersion, founder of the Mill Pond Folk Festival and regularly performing live musician, Grace is dedicated embracing the Second Life platform to combine the emotional response of audio and visual immersion to deliver unique experiences around the grid.
Grace McDunnough is an indie singer/songwriter from Atlanta, GA. Grace draws her inspiration from an eclectic mix of folk, soul, alternative rock and blues, and from singer-songwriters such as Damien Rice, k. d. lang, Joan Armatrading and KT Tunstall, but her music defies categorization. A modern bard with sass and soul to spare, Grace throws down a variety of acoustic sets with an old guitar, rich lyrics and powerfully raw vocals that will leave your heart pounding.http://myspace.com/gracemcdunnough
L0riz Whitfield ... L0riZ began his career in SL as a DJ then "switched" to singing live in SL in October 2007. He has been a DJ in RL for almost 20 years, and began singing live in 1994.
L0riZ's genre/style is impossible to define. His "repertoire" counts over 600 songs (3/4 of them already recorded, plus 126 on YouTube), from C&W to Jazz, and from Rock to Blues. He sings In Italian, English and French and even has one Portuguese song in his comprehensive available playlist. L0riZ was honoured to be amongst the artists participating in Best of SL Live 2008.http://www.youtube.com/marlboro2k7

Thanks for writing this Bourque Rau:)

3 Days till we go live and updated Stats :)

All i can say is WOW! You guys rock

$182,636 L has been raised for Relay for Life so far
2363 roses have been purchased
1307 roses have been rezzed (approximate)
1056 roses have not been rezzed
230 Merchants are participating
21 Merchants still need to make their purchases - Roses go off sale on June 21, 2009 7:00 AM SLT

Lets make the top 3 avatars work for those lindens and kick cancer's butt as well!

The Blog has been updated

For the members of the Hope Hunt who have chose to follow the blog for information, please confirm that your store name and slurl is correct. Please IM me with corrections if needed. Please be patient with us we are trying to make everything perfect before the Hope Hunt goes Live on Sunday, June 21, 9:00 AM SLT

If you submitted an application and I have not......

responded, it is because SL hates me :(. I have went over every transaction from my transaction log and I have made every effort to contact anyone who has given me inventory. However, because is SL is well...SL, I want to make sure I have gotten your applications and have responded to you. If you have submitted an application and have received no response or you do not see your store on this blog, please hunt me down :D or just do the following:

Please drop me a notecard with the following information: Your Name, Store Name, slurl and the parcel name (please open the about land tab, and copy and paste that in the notecard)

Thank you so much.

Applications have been extended :)

Due to the passing of my brother in law Tom, who had burketts, a very rare form of cancer, we are extending date of the applications until June 17th. Rest in peace Tom, you are one of the very reasons I Relay for Life!

The Roses have been set out for sale :)

After all the hard work my friend Arete Diplomat put in (he's a genius btw) the roses have been set up in vendors and set out for sale. The price for Roses are as follows:

1 Rose is 175L, 2 Roses are 350L, 5 Roses are 750L, 10 Roses are 1000L, 15 Roses are 1350L, 20 Roses are 1600L, 25 Roses are 1800L and 100 Roses are 4000L.

Here is the slurl where you can purchase the roses: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sentiments%20by%20Sidda/168/129/22

Please make sure you are registered with the Hope Hunt + Race and your land parcel name is in the database before you try to register the roses. You will get an error if your parcel has not been entered into the data base, but no worries, IM me, Sidda Jubilee or Arete Dipolmat with the land parcel name and we will get you fixed right up!

Special Thanks to Trena Chenille, who has been helping me with the blog and entering the names of stores participating and the slurls, to Summer Tantalus, Bourque Rau, and Alexandra Solderberg who have painstakingly sought merchants who might be interested in this hunt and help send invitations, Snacki Sinatra who runs to land parcels for names for me, Tim Mirat, who has helped me with PR, not to mention make me laugh from his silly comments and most of all Arete who without his genius knowledge this hunt would not have not been possible. And I cant forget you, those who are participating, because of you and your participation, we are one step closer to banning cancer from our lives.

The meaning of a yellow rose stands for joy and happiness, but most of all yellow roses mean friendship. The meaning of yellow roses are very special because it's associated with true friendship. A true friend is so important to people of all ages; it's like a gift from God. And now the yellow Rose means Hope for the Hope Hunt + Race. And I consider all of YOU, a gift from God. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart ~ Sidda Jubilee