I'm Miss Autonomy, Miss Nowhere, I'm at the bottom of me

Again, while I'm anonymizing the names, this is clearly from Meli Imako's group, because hers is the group of designers that have never in the past, do not now in the present, and likely WILL never in the future offer demos for their mesh templates. No, I don't know why. Yes, I think it's silly. No, I don't think they're going to change their minds after six-plus years of demo-less operations.

But I found this interesting:

[21:08] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: does anyone have the MI960331 strider boots I can demo?

This is our apparent troublemaker. Troublemaker, because that's what he's doing, and apparent because to be fair, I also believe there should be demos offered in any store that sells things, flat out.

[21:08] Nxxxxxx Ox: check mp. people do demos there

True. You have to really understand what you're looking for, though. Like, for those, I'd probably be searching terms like "goth boots", "biker boots", "tall buckled boots" or "black leather flat heel boots"...and that's a lot of terrain to cover in the attempt to narrow down.

[21:10] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I need to test it out before buying
[21:11] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx: find somene selling them on MP and get their demo
[21:12] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ok
[21:13] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no luck. Hoped somoene here would be able to send me a no trans copy
[21:13] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx: They don't look rigged so you should be able to resize

This is another thing. They may not offer demos, which I am not in favor of, but the designers are pretty clear as to what bodies it's rigged for, or if it's just standard mesh sizes, if it is rigged or unrigged, if it can be resized, before anyone buys it. And if anyone still has questions beyond that, sending a notecard to a group mod or to a designer generally clears things up. I've done that.

[21:14] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx [Mxxxxxx] you were warned
[21:14] Nxxxxxx Ox: actually check mp this time..
[21:15] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I actually did check mp
[21:15] Nxxxxxx Ox: in a minute??

Yeah. I am dubious as well. At the very least it would take more than a minute to decide on search terms and check the first ten pages.

[21:15] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and as I own a thousand MI products, i'd love to buy that one too.
[21:16] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yes, i typed in the name of the boot. How else would i find what im looking for?

Yeah, so...you may not be aware of this, but...people change the names of things. You won't find that specific pair of boots with that specific name anywhere other than from that specific store. Just...so you're aware.

[21:16] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Oh, wait, i could search for 10,000 products instead? yeah no

Yeah, yes. Yes, that's exactly what you should have done. Elsewise, you're not going to find anything but the Meli boots you're already pondering.

[21:16] Nxxxxxx Ox: then you wont get to demo the boots
[21:16] Nxxxxxx Ox: :p just wait they go sale maybe

It's an option. Meli has a lot of sales, still offers group gifts on the Marketplace, now that the in-world store has shuttered, so it's worth it to belong to the group to get a heads-up on when these things happen.

[21:17] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [Txxxxxx], are you a mod?

You, uh, you couldn't tell by the fact that every time she types anything, it comes up in bold?

[21:17] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx: yes
[21:17] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: what rule precisely am i breaking?
[21:18] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx: Asking people to make you a demo is not allowed

And to be fair, I didn't know this either, but I've never asked anyone to make me a demo of whatever item I have interest in. I've just asked if anyone who has the template and is selling the template has made a demo for it.

[21:19] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx: per [Meli]

Which I'm leaving intact as a name, because yes, her group, her rules. Do I understand why? No. Do I care to stir the pot by asking why? No.

[21:19] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Ok, I didn't realize that. Used to be ok

No, it didn't. Or at least, not in all the years I've been in the group.

[21:19] Txxxxxx Fxxxxxxxx: No not okay, you just didn't get caught

There you go, then.

[21:19] sxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: someone rezzing it out on the ground for me to compare would also help

Well, that's between you and other group members; as long as you don't ask someone IN the group to do that, you're probably fine.