ok...lets look at SL a bit from the critical side instead of yay SL all the time....
when I started in SL...not too long ago....GOM/IGE and who they all are...were not a prominent thing...they just kinda evolved. Yes, I have used them and very likely will again....
And this isn't against them...its actually against no one..its just a bunch of observations....
With the increase of RL money going in and out of SL....things have changed....
It isn't all that important how you are rated or what you do as....it has becpme way more important to make RL bucks....which is a feature the Lindens seem to promote, as it is a main point on the website. of course a 'game', that encourages RL money flow....leaves the realm of game and fun very quickly. It becomes a business.....and the entertainment factor definitely is more on the monopoly side then on the actual entertainment avenue.
Now, since this RL flow is an established factor....people - as is human nature - of course try to take advantage of that....engaging in all sorts of endeavors of the more entrepreneur nature. Starting with real estate deals...more or less controllable by the Lindens.... to event marketing....well 500 L$ a couple times a day for not much more then saying you have an event...easy money....to all sorts of other nicer...or less nice developments. The fact of course is that most money is taken/earned from newcomers...
Also this development attracts less the artistically creative...unless you count capitalism as art.... then the more money oriented people in all shades of existence.
As some may have noticed...no...not saying there was no drama before....but the intensity of debates and the way debates are handled..inworld as much as here in the forums...has changed. A way more aggressive tone has spread, logivcally since the fact that the borderline between RL and SL has , at least in one instance faded.
SL is very quickly fading from a creative, very communicative and community oriented world...into a very aggressive and capitalistic business. No doubt that running SL is a business. We all know that. But does SL have to be a money market that has no other function then to make cash....for that is exactly where its headed and with that...it will very likely not be the end of SL....but the death of actual creativity in SL.
Yes, to a point we form SL...to a point we don't though. The question is....is the capitalistic approach to a game..inworld...the right one or does it kill the game and make it a business? And is that what the people 'playing' actually want .....or is it just a development that is changing to a different type of player?