Free Gifts and the Fine Art of Not Complaining

I love gifts in Second Life. The glittering treasures you stumble upon at Shop & Hop, the anniversary giveaways at events, the Premium membership perks, hunts and group gifts from stores. The virtual equivalent of someone handing you a warm cookie. Only instead of smiling, some people apparently feel compelled to yell:

“BUT WHY ISN’T THIS COOKIE GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN, AND TAILORED TO MY LEFT-HANDEDNESS?!”

The Myth of the Universal Freebie

The truth is, creating gifts in Second Life is already a Herculean task. Designers put time, effort, and creativity into making something nice for the community. And then what happens? A small but vocal brigade of ungrateful gremlins appears:

“Why is this not for my body? I demand a version for my ultra-rare, discontinued, one-week-only mesh body from 2018!”
“This hair gift doesn’t match my exact Pantone shade of teal!”
“Only 5 colours in the free fatpack? OUTRAGEOUS.”

Somewhere out there, a poor creator is weeping softly into their Blender screen.

Now, I am not a creator myself. I don’t have to juggle textures, rigging, or gift fatpacks. I just hate seeing those complaints fly around because they’re unnecessary, ungrateful, and frankly, a little painful to witness.

Newsflash: Free Means… Free

Here’s a radical concept: gifts cost you exactly zero Lindens. Nada. Zilch. Not even the price of that suspicious 1L gacha you bought at a yard sale in 2017, which turned out to be a pair of mismatched socks.

When you grab a freebie, you have two options:

Love it, wear it/rezz it, and twirl around like the grateful goddess you are.
Politely delete it and move on with your life.

Notice how “publicly shame the creator and demand custom versions on social media and/or group chats” is not on the list.

Entitlement in High Heels

Complaining about gifts is like walking into a birthday party, grabbing the cake, and screaming, “Ugh, chocolate again? Where’s my gluten-free lavender chiffon sponge?!”

It’s not only ungrateful, it’s a bit absurd. Nobody owes you gifts. Designers don’t have an obligation to tailor every single freebie to your specific avatar shape, colour palette, or aesthetic preference.

Wearing lots of freebies, list at the end of this rant….

Gratitude Looks Good on Everyone

So next time you pick up a free dress, pair of shoes, or a chair from an event:

Clap your little avatar’s hands together.
Say “thank you” in local, or at least in your head.
And if you don’t like it? Delete, and move on.

Because here’s the serious bit: behind every freebie is a real human who took the time to make it. Complaining doesn’t just look bad, it discourages creators from offering gifts at all. And then where will we be? Standing at an anniversary or event with empty hands, wondering why the free cookie table is gone.

So maybe, we can all take a deep breath, put on that free glittery dress, and dance around a little, complaint-free.