If you land at OSFest 2022, you may meet the Lead Greeter, Banker Ibor, also known as Rob the Gammer. This quiet guy is a core player in the fest. He and his merry crew of avatars will make attendees feel at home, direct ‘lost souls’ seeking guidance (literally), and remind those who forget that they should be traveling ‘light’ with regards to their suitcase and avatar.
Banker got involved in virtual worlds seventeen years ago when Second Life was young and novel. “I decided to check it out, and I got addicted like the second week,” he says with a grin. “I mainly did roleplay and fundraising in my years in SL. The fundraising thing was for Relay for Life.” Banker closed his first account in Second Life but opened a second one – still in use – in 2009. And then, in 2015, he made the jump to a newer virtual world server named Digiworldz. “The regions were cheaper. I used to own a Digiworldz Pro server, too.” He adds, “Now I am settled. I don’t grid-hop.”
Banker got involved in OSFest 2022 from old friendship ties to Shelenn Ayres. “I wasn’t involved in previous fests. This event is my first, but it’s a lot of fun. Greeting is a lot of fun if you make it fun! I have a few volunteer helpers and am still looking for more!” (Yes, he is!) “I might have my volunteers do a dance or something while playing a ‘dance monkey’ song.” (No, he won’t!)
“The job of greeters is not very complicated. Each greeter will work for just one hour a day, but every day of the event. Of course, a greeter is free to work more….”
We asked him about his RL and discovered he rents servers and web hosts out of Arizona. He agreed to let us disclose this, adding, “It’s like you have my complete address.” When asked about his other life as an undercover CIA agent living in Bulgaria, he denied that, adding, “If I give away details of my RL job as a secret agent, then I’d have to shoot you.” When asked if that would include virtual bullets, Banker just chuckled. With an evil chuckle. We decided to drop that topic.
Rob or Banker or whatever his real name is (shh) is ready for his job as Lead Greeter. He’s good at making people feel comfortable – and what more could one ask from a greeter?
If you would like to join the fun as a volunteer greeter, there are two easy steps:
1) Join us on Discord
2) Choose one or more slots to on the signup schedule https://www.opensimfest.com/volunteer