interviews

Interview questions

General

Why did you start using Habbo?
How long have you been on Habbo?
How do you spend your time on Habbo?
Do your friends use Habbo? If so, how many?
Did Covid-19 affect the way you use Habbo?
How often do you use Habbo? How many hours? Was this different before covid?

Fashion

What makes a look fashionable on Habbo?
How would you call your fashion style on Habbo?
Is your fashion style the same in real life?
How different do you look as your Habbo user vs real life? (the same, slightly different, different, completely different)
Do you have one style or different styles on Habbo?
Do you think users on Habbo would treat you differently if you looked female/male instead?

Wealth and furniture

What makes someone ‘successful’ on Habbo?
What do you think of paying for a HC membership?
Are HC Habbo users better than normal users? If yes; why?
How would you describe ‘rich’ and ‘cool’ furniture on Habbo? What makes it cool?
What is important to have in a cool/popular room on Habbo Hotel?
How would you describe ‘bad’ Habbo furniture? What makes it bad?
What should you absolutely NOT have in your Habbo room?
When you come to a room, what is the first thing you do?
Are you HC or ‘normal’? If HC; Do you mostly socialise with other HC users, normal users or both?
Does being HC affect the way people look at you? What’s the difference?
How do you feel about spending money on HC memberships and credits?
Do/did you ever pay for something with real money on Habbo?
What do you think of the aesthetic/looks of Habbo?

Negative situations

Did you ever get harrassed/bullied on Habbo? (and if you want to answer: Why/how did that happen?)
What do you do when you see someone harrass someone on Habbo?
What makes you uncomfortable on Habbo?
Have you ever met or seen a moderator on Habbo
What is an experience on Habbo you’ll never forget?
Hello! I’m an art student and I’m doing a small project about Habbo! Are here any people here who I can interview?

I made a list of questions I wanted to ask Habbo users.

I divided those questions in groups: general, fashion, wealth, interior and negative situations.

I didn't ask everyone the same things, because some people don't care about fashion or furniture. I chose the questions depending on the person I was talking to.

I noticed that it was pretty hard to find people to interview. Some people told me 'don't troll' or said their account is empty and there's nothing worth hacking. I found out that if I'd engage in social activities with someone first and then ask them if I could interview them, there'd be a bigger chance they say yes.

Interview 1:
Club NX (public)

I interviewed this guy because he was the only one who actually replied to me in Club NX. I got no reaction from others.

Tonixit had no interest in fashion, wealth or furniture, so I stuck to the general questions and questions about negative situations.

Something that I found interesting was that he started playing Habbo again because he has more time on his hands since Covid-19.

Interview 2:
Coffee house (public)

I found her sitting on her own in a corner and decided to join her and ask if I could ask her some questions. She cares about fashion and looks and knows to name styles. She did sound kind of stoic and did not seem to trust me. She told me her account is empty and there's nothing to hack. She also seemed in kind of a rush.

A thing I noticed is that if you interview in a busy place, random people will stand in front of you and say inappropriate things, or block your view completely.

Interview 3:
LGBTQ+ room (personal)

I went into a LGBTQ+ room made by a user. There were only two people, of which only one responded to me. I interviewed her. She's bisexual and thinks Habbo is LGBTQ+ friendly! But she also added that it really depends on the people you meet there.

It kind of felt like she didn't trust me and only gave me very short answers. She said a lot of 'idk' and didn't really elaborate on what she said. It felt kind of like a one way conversation.

Interview 4:
Halloween room (public)

I decided to go into an event room for Halloween where they show the new Halloween decorations and made it into some sort of haunted labyrinth. Two people were roleplaying there and one guy, who got chained on a table by a skeleton lady screamed my name and asked me to help him. I played along, my head got bitten off somehow. It was fun! After that I asked them if I could interview them for a project and they instantly said yes. We went to Krezzo's room and infariousz joined us for the interview as well.

These two users were very kind and open and for the first time I felt like I was getting actual valuable information from people on Habbo hotel. They really took their time to reply to my questions in depth and there was even some room for deeper questions and conversation. I really enjoyed talking to them! I think they really gave me more insight in the way people use habbo, how important the 'agencies' (fake jobs) are.