Spotlight On: the Hammies — An Interview With Negative_Creep86
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
Any Home citizen worth his pixels is familiar with Hamster Freedom; they are one of Home’s oldest and most visible groups. One of my best friends in Home, Negative_Creep86, is a Hammie; I joined him at his Winter Villa and chatted with him regarding his experiences as a long-time Home community member and an active participant of one of Home’s largest clubs.
HSM – Kassadee Marie: When did you first visit Home?
Negative_Creep86: My first time there was in February of 2009, I think. I was off and on that whole year.
Tell us about your general background on Home.
Well, I started as a regular Home user, but since then I’ve become a member of one of the best clubs on Home.
And the name of that club you joined?
Hamster Freedom. It’s one of the few reasons I come back every day. I couldn’t imagine not being a Hammie.
You have been a member of Hamster Freedom (HF) since when?
July 2010.
What attracted you to HF?
The original idea I had about the club was that I would make friends and have people to hang out with. I never expected to have this many friends, though! I’ve met some incredibly interesting people.
Tell us about one of these interesting people.
That’s a tough question. It’s hard to choose just one of the characters I’ve met. Wearing the Hamster head attracts people where ever I go. Some are good and they have become club members, while some are not so good.
Let’s move on then. Do you have regular meetings?
We do. We have a meeting every Saturday.
Is attendance mandatory?
It’s not mandatory, but it is preferred. We have so many members it can be hard to keep track of them. But if someone misses several meetings in a row, we suspend them. This is only to make room for active members. Any member can be “re-instated” if they become active again.
Are there other activities?
Yes. We do other things besides meetings. We sometimes have contests where the winner can receive anything from a PSN card to “redeem codes” for Home items. A few of the things we’ve done it the past were a Hammie bowling contest, racing at Sodium2 and racing at LBP playground.
How many club rooms do you have?
I’m not really sure. At least three, maybe four or more.
Do you hold an office in that club?
I do. Casual Hamster Trainer is my title.
So, Hamster Freedom members are trained?
Yep. They go through training before becoming full-fledged members of Hamster Freedom.
And what is this training for?
It’s basically to teach all the new Hamsters the rules of the club depending on which role they choose.
Role? Choose?
Hamsters have a choice to play a role in the club. We have Casual Hamsters and Medieval Hamsters. If a Hamster chooses to be casual, they have less rules than “medieval” Hamsters. The Medieval Hamsters have more and somewhat stricter rules to go with the role-playing aspect.
Can you tell us more about the role playing?
Sure! Medieval Hamsters have different roles to choose from. They range from Squire Training to Knights to Trainers to Guards. We even have jesters!
This sounds very “courtly”. Do you have a King and Queen also?
We do. Depending on the role a Medieval Hamster chooses, they either protect our King or Queen. Knights protect the King and Guards protect the Queen. Squires also help with protecting the King until their training is complete. They can offer their protection to the Queen, if needed.
Let’s go back to the rules for a moment. Do you have rules for all members?
We all follow the same basic rules, but those who choose to be Medieval Hamsters have a few more.
What are some of these basic rules?
Well, our main rule is to have fun. But, our list of rules are these:
1. No drama within the club
2. Respect everyone – even non-Hammies
3. Hammie up (put on the Hamster head) when around two or more members
4. Greet the King and Queen properly
5. Don’t let anyone ruin your fun
6. If you have any problems with fellow members, contact the King, Queen or one of the First Knights
7. Have fun!
Before we go further, I have to ask this. You say that you have no drama in your club, but weren’t you “at war” with the Frosty Army at one time?
Yes, we had a bit of a disagreement with a small part of the club at one time. I can’t go into detail about that as I don’t know the whole story. All I can say is that we have mutual respect now. We Hamsters have the same respect for every club in Home.
Also, what is the proper way to greet the King or Queen?
As any knight would upon meeting royalty, we kneel before them.
What would you say is the purpose of your club?
Our main purpose is to bring people who use the hamster head together to have fun. We’re a hamster-only club, but we’re equal-opportunity friends to everyone.
Do you encourage new Home users to join your club or do you prefer long-time Home users?
Everyone with a Hamster head is more than welcome to hang out with us and see if joining the club is something they may be interested in doing. We ask that they meet with us in public spaces to see how we function as a group. We don’t have an age requirement for members but we do ask that everyone has a mature personality and can be respectful of others.
How would you have felt about the hamster suit being gone from the store?
I personally think it would have been a mistake on Sony’s part. The hamster head has been around for a long time and has helped turn normal Home users into club members. Those clubs have created friendships and continue to do so today.
Who can people contact for further information on your club?
If anyone has questions about Hamster Freedom they can contact KindnCruel, darkan12-nl, mj_badboys76 or myself.
Thank you for your time. I wish the best to you and your club.
It was my pleasure. Thank you for choosing me. I hope to see some of your readers become Hammies.
December 31st, 2011 by Kassadee Marie | 7 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
For further information, please contact darkan12-nl. My apologies for the typo on one of the contact names.
I think this article really allows a person who has heard of Hamster Freedom to see what is available to them and decide if they want to try em out.
I have always liked the Hammies. They are nice people, very respectful and fun. Glad to see something about them in here finally. Goos job on your first interview Kassadee.
Good*
I went and bought the hamster outfit yesterday just so I could join the Hammies…Eve and Bryan are such wonderful people to be associated with
hamster is a fam of rats or other animals that bites everthing in the house, so im just saying i dont like hamsters, but i prefer beagle.where are the beagles in pshome?
we r not rat we r hamster world oder 4 life iam proud be hamster we r one happy family coming soon hamster nation we team up with hamster freedom get bigger then ever