Why Do More Residents Want Hippos Than Fixes?

For the longest time, the official Second Life viewer had a cute if unspectacular Easter egg, whereby hitting Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H simultaneously would cause the word "Hippo" to flash across the screen.  (As I recall, a Resident told me about it when SL was still in Beta, in mid-2003.)  Somewhere in more recent development iterations, however, the Hippo command has been removed, and Residents have been lobbying for its restoration in JIRA, the Lindens' online bug/feature tracker.  JIRA has a voting function to track user interest in a particular request, and after developer Soft Linden promised to add it back to the client "If this gets 1,000 votes", campaigning has been fierce.  At the moment, over 900 votes have been received.  (Want the Hippo command restored to your Second Life?  Go to this JIRA entry, log in with your SL user name/password, and vote on it.)

Here's the strange thing, though, and it suggests the challenges inherent with democratic processes in general, especially with Web 2.0 voting systems:

The Hippo's 900 plus supporters currently make it the most popular feature/bug fix request on the entire system, by far.  (Far more, for example, than a request to fix group chat delays, which you'd think is more important in users' day-to-day lives.)  And let us be clear: the Hippo easter egg is not, for example, a flock of animated, sculpted hippos suddenly dropping from the sky in an explosion of fireworks.  It's the word "Hippo" on your screen.  Why do so many clamor for its return anyway?

Two factors seem to be at play: when people don't perceive their votes will make a difference or the stakes aren't high, they're less likely to vote-- unless a particular vote comes with drama and a modicum of fun.  (It's why more Californians were way more apt to vote in the gubernatorial race, when the Terminator was running.) 

Even more than that, however, is the fact that a Linden developer agreed to act on the issue, if an acheivable number of votes were received.  (Lindens have previously said they only use voting numbers on a JIRA request as a non-obligatory guide, which largely defeats any incentive of voting on it at all.)

Which may be the most important lesson here.  Democratic action is not enough-- it's also crucial that the authorities also actively participate, and commit themselves to respond. 

Heed, oh Lindens, the wisdom of the Hippo.

Hippo image credit: Marianne McCann

Comments

[Marianne McCann]

(Above photo by me: permission granted for use my New World Notes)

[Madame Maracas]

Why bother to vote on this vs. other JIRA items?

For one, it is something that more folks seem to agree upon. Hippos! was a positive, whimsical element of SL that older folks see as part of their SL heritage.

What else might drive folks to vote? When looking at voting for say an animation fix vs. a coding fix vs. a lag fix, not everyone is interested in the same thing. Not everyone cares or understands the impact that these items or their resolution might have upon their daily SL experience.

Hippos! however, is easy. Either we have the easter egg or we don't. Having them again won't (presumeably) break anything. It won't undo Mono or Havok upgrades, one would expect.

Having Hippos! again will, however, put some fun back into all of our SL. And after all, we're all here to some extent or another for some fun, amusement and diversion.

Besides, who doesn't find a hippo kinda cute with those little bitty ears on the outsized form?

[Otenth Paderborn]

As you've noted, the Lindens themselves have told us that the JIRA is meaningless. So, if it's a joke, why not go all the way?

I think Madame Maracas is right in suggesting that this appeals to oldbies or to middlebies who value the quirky parts of Second Life. I also think you're right that the fact a Linden is reported to have said he'll restore it if there are 1,000 votes makes a difference.

I only go to the JIRA when a blogger brings an issue to my attention. I do vote, and sometimes I follow an issue, but I largely treat it as irrelevant window dressing.

[Crap Mariner]

I haven't voted for it. In fact, how do I vote against it?

-ls/cm

[Sue Baskerville]

1. Go to http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-11118

2. Click "Log In" at the upper right, and enter your SL avatars name and password.

3. When the page refreshes and take you back to VWR-1118, click "Vote" in the "operations" sidebar to the left

-- from Mari's post in the SL forums.

[Hamlet Au]

Thanks, Marianne, it's hard to figure out the image credit on the JIRA.

[Peter Stindberg]

This is folklore. SL history. It is an easy to grasp feature, it does not seem to hurt anybody. It does not seem to have side effects. and it is part of the SL folklore. A tie in into the past, when the grid was young. Having a feature like this gives a sense of security. An anchor in a constantly changing virtual world.

It's the easy things with an emotional touch you can rally voters for. A JIRA feature that is too complex to understand for 90% of potential voters will never be as attractive. People will be reluctant to vote if they don't understand the issue or its implications.

The Hippo voting is how populism works. An emotional issue, easy to understand. We want our hippos back. Five words without room for interpretation.

[Solange]

Me? I voted because I couldn't resist the challenge.

[Uccello Poultry]

Have you ever laughed during a grim moment? Do you remember when the American television show Saturday Night Live reminded us that it was okay to laugh after 9/11? That is how I see the Hippo Vote: humor breaking the tension. Seemingly endless grid issues, tension over the XStreet/OnRez acquisitions, the RL/SL economic downturn, and more have residents on edge. This vote is a somewhat whimsical protest by pitchfork-wielding townies marching on Dr. Frankentein's castle. It shows we are fed up and we need a break but shows we can still be light at heart. The residents want the Grid to be fun again and we need the Lab to show us that they do, too.

[camilla]

1006 now !

[Arcadia Codesmith]

If the Hippo campaign raises awareness of and participation in the JIRA system, I'd rate that as a plus.

And if you're over there voting for the Hippo, see what's open in relation to the alpha transparency bug, please? This has been an unpaid political announcement by Citizens for Augmented Transparency. Thank you.

[Nexii Malthus]

We should try to reach 2000 votes for emphasis, just in case. MORE VOTES!

Just to show to the lindens...

..not how much we want the hippo back..

But how much we want them to LISTEN TO US!