Reminder: Second walk-through is tomorrow

Just a little reminder that the second walk-through is happening tomorrow. At some point during tomorrow Vila and Antony will be taking a walk through your location and they'll be looking for the following:

1. Version 3.0 of the hunt sign on display at your landing point.
2. Your hunt object (the shoe) rezzed out with the sign.

Please remember: you don't need to do anything with the shoe yet. Please don't go putting your hunt gift inside it, the hunt doesn't start until next week. This is just our way of making sure that everyone got their shoe, that they still have it, that everyone got sent the right one and that the landmark inside it is correct and still working.

Also, please keep in mind that we're just over a week off the start of the hunt. If you have a group that is associated with your Femdom location or store, now might be a great time to start promoting the hunt. If you have a blog, now would be a good time to write about it there. If you know of any related groups or blogs that would welcome information on the hunt please feel free to pass them a copy of the publicity pack (if you lost your copy please let Antony Fairport know and he'll drop you another copy -- a copy was included in the second update pack you were sent on Sunday).

Also, don't forget: this hunt is designed as a circular hunt. The last shoe contains a landmark to the first. We fully encourage you to encourage people associated with your Femdom or store to treat your location as the start location. Do keep that in mind when promoting the hunt.

Oh, yes, and now's a good time to be getting your build/creation done if you've not done so already. ;-)

As always, if you have any questions about the hunt, no matter how small or simple, please don't hesitate to contact us. We'll do everything we can to help.

TFHV: What happens next

Now that the first update pack has gone out, and the first walk-through has taken place, this is a good time for us to outline what'll happen next in the hunt, how the gift will be packaged and hidden, who's responsible for what, etc.

So, over the next couple of weeks, here's what'll happen:

• No later than Tuesday (October 7th) you'll receive a second update pack from us. Please watch out for it and please let us know if you haven't received it. If you don't have it by Wednesday 8th, and we've not put out a note to say there's been a delay (there shouldn't be, but you know how SL and RL can be), let us know. This update pack will include v3.0 of the hunt sign (a version that will let you set and display your hint -- there will be a post early next week that details how you set the hint), your hunt object (the shoe -- this is the object your gift will be placed in and which you'll hide), and some items that will help you publicise the hunt.
• The hunt object (the shoe) will be pre-named for you and will have a script and a landmark inside it. Please do not change either of these things. The name is set so that hunters can easily organise the folders they'll receive from your object when they hunt. The landmark inside the shoe is the landmark for the next location in the hunt after you (in earlier hunts we've had a couple of people "fix" the landmark because it was "wrong", doing this will break the chain of the hunt so, if you think there is a problem with the landmark, please contact us first).
• On October 10th we'll be doing a second walk-through. We'll be expecting to see that you've replaced v2.0 of the hunt sign with v3.0. We will also be expecting to see the hunt object (the shoe) rezzed near the sign so we can see it. Do not put your gift inside it yet. We just want to see it so we can be sure that you've received it. It also lets us double-check that we sent you the correct shoe and that it has the correct landmark inside it.
• After that the next key date is October 16th, the evening before the hunt starts. By this time we require that you've built your gift and have placed it inside the hunt object. The hunt object itself should then be hidden at your location.
• At midnight on October 17th (just to be clear, because it can cause confusion: we're talking about the midnight between the 16th and the 17th) the hunt starts. By this time your object should be set so that people can get their gift. More on this below.

As with the last two years, the shoe now uses a script to give the gift to the hunters (they get the gift by simply touching the shoe). The script will give a copy of the gift every time it is touched. If the owner of the shoe touches it it will also give a count of how many gifts have been given out.

This approach sometimes raises a few obvious questions so we'll try and answer them here:

• Doesn't this mean that people can take multiple copies of my gift? Yes, it does. If your gift has no-transfer permissions (common for clothing, vehicles and other worn items) this isn't an issue. For some it can be a concern if your item is no-copy/transfer. Most vendors handle this by, if possible, making the item no-copy/no-transfer. It should be said that, in many years of taking part in hunts, we've often used this system and have never seen anyone abuse it. 
• Can I replace your script with one that tracks who has had a copy of my item and which doesn't give duplicates? If you wish, yes. We won't be providing such a script and we do ask that you let us know so we can note this in the location list (this helps stop hunters getting confused and it also helps us know which locations might be a problem -- these sorts of scripts can and do fail, especially if a hunter doesn't successfully get their first copy). We also ask that you have your script give the gift and landmark inside a folder that's named as per the name of your shoe when you received it.
• Does this mean that people who aren't in the hunt can get my item? Yes, it does. However, it's worth noting that there isn't really such a thing as "in the hunt". Many hunters will do the whole hunt. Some might only do part of it. Some people might be at your location, shopping or visiting, and might stumble on the gift and take a copy. In the latter case that might mean that they either get to try your build and will like to come back for more, or they might not have known about the hunt and your contribution pulls them in and they join in. Either way, they'll be walking away with something that might pull them back to your location at a later date.

Hopefully the above answers most of your questions about how the hunt will start. As always, if you have any questions, no matter how small, please don't hesitate to ask us. Just IM or drop a notecard on Antony Fairport or Zardia Avindar. We'll reply as soon as we possibly can.

Applications now closed

Applications to be a location in The Femdom Hunt V are now closed. A little later today we'll be sending an update pack to all contacts given for all locations in the hunt. This will contain an updated copy of the hunt board. This differs from the v1.0 board in that it contains information about the hunt for potential hunters (the current boards contain information for potential hunt locations). It also has a copy of the shoe attached so people will know what they'll be looking for once the hunt is under way.

Please don't forget that the first walk-through takes place at some point this coming Friday. We'll be looking to see that your SLURLs are correct and that you have the latest hunt sign on display.

We'd really like to thank everyone who has helped get the word out about the hunt -- if you've blogged about the hunt already do please let us know. We'd especially like to thank everyone who has applied to be in the hunt; without your support this wouldn't be the fun event it always is.

As always, if you have any questions about the hunt, please do drop a line to Antony Fairport or Zardia Avindar and we'll do everything we can to help.

TFHV: Last few hours for applications

Just a little reminder to everyone that applications to be in The Femdom Hunt V close at midnight tonight (Second Life time).

We're processing the applications as they come in and, generally, nobody has had to wait more than 48 hours to receive a reply. So if your favourite Femdom or Femdom-friendly store isn't displaying the hunt sign you might want to prompt them to check if they'd like to apply.

Also, as we do each year, we're maintaining a page where we keep track of blogs where the hunt has been mentioned. If you've blogged about the hunt, or you know of a mention somewhere, do please drop Antony Fairport a line and he'd be delighted to add it to that page.

Vendors are Femdom owners: expect to receive a package from Antony some time in the next 24 hours or so. This will be a small update pack that will include the next version of the hunt sign (the one that contains information for hunters) ready for Friday's walk-trough. More information about this will follow.

As always, if you have any questions about the hunt, please don't hesitate to drop us a line.

Announcing... The Femdom Hunt V

Z&A Productions are excited and delighted to announce that the dates for The Femdom Hunt V have been decided and that applications are now open.

The hunt will run from October 17th until November 2nd 2014, inclusive. As with the first four hunts we'll be taking applications from a mixture of vendors and Femdom regions and hangouts, making the hunt a journey through the wider Second Life Femdom community.

Applications are now open. Please note that applications are made online and that vendors and Femdoms have separate forms. If you have any issues or problems filling out your application please don't hesitate to contact Antony Fairport or Zardia Avindar.

We will start processing applications (sending out welcome packs, etc) early next week and, once processing has started, an application will probably be processed within 24 hours -- a little longer at weekends. If, once the processing of applications has started, you make an application and don't hear from us within 48 hours, please do make a point of getting in contact with Antony.

And, as always, if you have any questions about the hunt, any at all, just get in contact with us and we'll do our very best to help out.

PS: If you are fairly new to hunts, either as a location owner, or as a hunter, we'd like to recommend a read of this post from Evelock. There's some great advice in there.

About The Femdom Hunt

The Femdom Hunt V is a grid-wide treasure hunt created by and organised by Z&A Productions. It was first thought of around September 2010 and four hunts have taken place since (in April 2011, October 2011, October 2012 and October 2013).

The idea behind the hunt is to interweave a traditional grid-wide hunt (one that includes shops of all types (fashion, household, fetish, RLV toys, etc...)) with a hunt that links together and showcases many of the Femdom sims and locations to be found in Second Life. To this end the Femdoms who are supporting the hunt are spaced evenly throughout the location list, and the hunt itself is designed as a circular hunt. The last location in the hunt points to the first and we encourage everyone to treat any Femdom region (or indeed any location on the hunt) as their starting location.

The hunt starts at midnight on October 17th (the midnight between the 16th and the 17th, Second Life time) and runs until the end of November 2nd (Second Life time).

There is a group for the hunt:

secondlife:///app/group/4ca9753e-395a-0d59-ec7c-a9c72233a896/about

The group will be used to keep people informed of hunt-related news and everyone will be encouraged to use group chat to support and help each other -- and possibly have some Femdom-related fun along the way.

TFHIV: Thank you

Here we are, a fourth time, saying thank you. When we originally had the idea to try and run a Femdom Hunt we never imagined it'd be what it has become, or last as long as it has. And it has lasted and seems to have become something rather big.

Because of this we wanted, once again, to give our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has made the hunt what it is. Without the support of shops, builders, Femdom owners and the hunters this wouldn't be the fun event that it is.

We'd also, once again, like to give particular thanks to Eve Terr and Reven Rosca. Both of them have, again, provided invaluable help by being our eyes and ears when we're not online or have been busy with other issues. The same thanks goes to all other hunters who alerted us to issues that needed addressing.

As for what happens now: over the next few days we'll be tidying up the blog and hiding the pages that aren't needed until the next hunt. We will leave the location list in place should you want to go back and find a particular location. We'll also do the usual cleanup of the vendor tag in the in-world group. We do encourage staying with the group, especially if you're a vendor, as that will be the first place that TFHV will be announced if and when we decide on dates.

And... that's it. For this year, at least. All being well we'll see you next time.

Vila Pixelmaid/Zardia Avindar

Antony Fairport

The Femdom Hunt IV closing dance

Last night we had the "not quite but pretty close to the end of Femdom Hunt IV" dance at the Z&A main store. The evening was filled with great music, silly banter, creative path-abuse artwork, a display of a selection of gifts from the hunt and a surprise visit from two hunt celebrities.

Here's a selection of photos from the event:

At this point two stars of many path-abuse images turned
up, unannounced!

Apparently they expected a dance.

Much to her amusement, and his horror,
Antony's Mistress was more than happy to allow this.

We'd like to thank everyone who came along and added to the fun. We really appreciated it.

For now it'll be back to the normal Raven Park dances but given how much fun these were we think it'll be a feature of TFHV. ;)