SL has an unsustainable lack of community

I think SL has gotten too big and too diverse to have *one* unified community. And indisputably, there are lots of little communities, none large enough to embrace all of SL. (And the forum "crowd" is itself one such.) Seems to me, that's just as it ought to be; to each his own.

And while some of the various little societies are insular and closed, I think they are far less so than in real life. After all, if a comparative newbie like Torley can come along and take the world by storm, how closed can it really be?

You know... I'm inclined to throw in my two cents.

Yes, Second Life is too large of a world for us to all be one honking huge community.
Just like it is in First Life, there are factions, cliques, groups, clusters, whatever stupid title you wish to give to them.
This leads to another First Lifeism: Hate. One group of people hate another group of people, just because of something that is ever so trivial, when you think about it.

So what if Bawb Yerhed likes his stuffed animals and sleeps with a bed full every night?
So what if Janey123 Fourfivesixerson likes to play Tringo all day (and do well at it, mind you)?
Everyone finds a place in their own personal circles of life to dig their heels into.

We're not here to judge.
We're here to escape from the stupid things that plague us in First Life, but we subconsciously recreate these demons inside a world painted with polygons and video cards, polished off with a little prim and script magick.

This said, if there is something you don't like, then put forth a strong effort to change it.
When the weight of the (virtual) world bears heavy on your shoulders, know when to let it go, and realize it's just a game.

JM2¢, however.

Great points.

It only stands to reason that people will, over time, coalesce into groups. That may be because of similar interests, the fact that they were "born" about the same time, or a variety other reasons. Human nature. In of itself, not a bad thing.

I think in SL, many times people don't just belong to one group. I don't. I have several groups I move within and some of them are completely independent of the others.

Enter the compartmentalizers and labelers. I think that they are the real culprits and do more damage to the community as a whole than any single group. Indeed I am beginning to see that this may well be orchestrated, what with the propensity for said posters to turn any given thread into a vehicle to further promote their absurdist notions.

I am beginning to think that their goal is to damage these groups or SL as a whole because they are fixated on baggage they carry over from RL and or simple envy.

This is not maxis, sony or blizzard, there is no guiding hand of developer gods to make SL fun for you. You need to make your own fun or the fault lies with YOU (the unhappy ones), not those who participate in activities which you apparently cannot tolerate.

Being part of a community is simple. It starts with having an open mind and being accepting of those that differ from you. It requires building on the foundations that others have laid rather than attempting to tear them down... branch out from the trunk of the tree instead of trying to cut it down. Extend a respectful and friendly hand and you'll most likely get many hands extended back to shake it. If all you do is extend your middle finger you're not likely to find much sense of community.

If you don't feel that you can have a real conversation here, the problem lies with you, not the medium. The fact that SL has brought many people the loves of their real lives, even across oceans, is testament to it. You have to open yourself up to the people here, not judge them, label them, belittle them, have hostility towards them, or expect them to conform to your expectations.

If the common ground you seek to establish with people is based on nothing more than mutual hatred for others that aren't like you, all you'll find is bitterness and closed doors.

If you don't like it, change it. Ages ago Mark Busch and I got together and said "we're bored of wandering, clint eastwood style, lets make a game". And we did. And it's been fun! Chose a projct or a group or an idea and run with it. Second Life is like lego. Building blocks are boring, what you do with them, now that's cool

Well Cristiano and Chip (surprise surprise...Chip and I agree) said it best I think.

Actually, before this thread, if anybody were to ask me about Second Life's sense of community, I honestly would have gushed non-stop about it. We form our cliques. That's just what happens. But the times I have ventured out of Umber, I have seen nothing but the most admirable people with open minds ready to expand their own social circles.

So sorry. If SL lacks a sense of community, It does so beyond anyplace I have looked.

I wonder if there's a market for sub-orbital wank boxes.

/late
//threadjack
///sorry

Prokofy,

You have not had a good thing to say about SL since you entered it - the only thing that is open, it appears, is your proverbial mouth, certainly not your mind. If you come into SL and act the uppity, know it all asshole, quelle surprise, people do not bend over to welcome you and acknowledge your perceived superiority. You like to paint yourself as this bemused, enlightened champion of the little man, when all you have ever shown yourself to be is, well, a little man. You stand outside of a community and bash it like there is no tomorrow, then lament that it's not a community you want to be part anyway of out of one side of your mouth while criticizing SL for having no community out of the other side of your mouth.

Bravo, you have succeeded in rising out of obscurity on the curmudgeon ticket, which you have ridden much more stylishly than the similarly minded Korg (who weighed himself down in the occasional attack on women and gays to bolster his image), but like all things that are overplayed, familiarity breeds contempt. If you don't like your reality in SL, change it - it's a big bad world out there that is yours for the taking, dear Prokofy. I am sure there must be a community of bitchy, whiny, self-referential savants that you could join. See now, there is something for everyone. The wonders of life, first and second, never cease.

I'm still not sure why everyone expects everyone else to participate in this 'community' like it's a requirement of being in Second Life.

Being in here with the rest of you is kind of a necessary by-product of wanting to play with the building tools.

Why on earth would I choose to be a member of this community? Have you seen and heard these people?!

Good response here. I'd also add that community starts with each one of us - in other words, make a group of your own. Don't be concerned with what the masses are doing out there - SL really is too big now. I tend to ignore most groups of people irl too, seeking out those that I enjoy being around and have similar interests with.

If any of you happen to notice Chip and/or Cristiano Midnight's posts in certain threads, TAKE CAREFUL NOTICE AND CONSIDERATION, for they are -always- correct. My favorite posters, all the way.

-Teh Liquid

Charlotte,

<<Then maybe we can actually start talking.>>

I honestly think you might get a more reasoned response to your postings if one didn't have to pick through the insults to other people and the sentences bolstering the implicit assumption that you are superior to everybody else.

That said, I agree with Cristiano and Chip.

When I first arrived in SL, I started looking at the forums, and found such a lot of hostility I was apprehensive about being in world. Once I had taken the plunge, I found that people were helpful, generous with time and objects, willing to explain, friendly. More or less the opposite of the impression I found from the forums.

I have always tried to pass on the help and assistance that I received. I regularly go to Ahern to see if anyone needs help, I have always shared my land with anyone who needs it, I have tried to be a friend.

I have also worked on big projects that have brought people together, and that has also developed a community feel.

I reckon, that, as in RL, community is what you make it. Don't point fingers and accuse everyone around you of not building a community - build one yourself. And don't judge what other people spend their SL time doing...you don't know what they do in RL. I yearn for adult intellectual conversation, and control of my SL, because I spend my day responding to children. If I were doing a Phd during the day I might well want to spend my time in clubs and on tringo...and that's none of anyone's business.

I don't see how you spend your time being an issue - it is how you behave with other people, how open and welcoming you are to new people, and how helpful and friendly neighbours anywhere are, which influence community. Once you are settled somewhere, then it is feeling that you have an influence over what happens around you which helps to build community - and at present this last is sometimes a bit lacking. As SL settles down I expect there will be more communities where people choose to live together and decide things as a group, and I think this is evident from some of the recent posts on the forum.

In the mean time, trying to enhance SL is a good way to start.

When I have helped someone and they ask if they can do anything for me, I always say the same thing - pass it on. I was helped by others (Baccara and Jai spring instantly to mind) and now that I can help others, I do. The best way of building a community is to get out there and help build it, prim by prim, newbie by newbie.
bws
Cali

I was suprized by the subject matter of the original poster to say the very least. I agree with Selador, Christiano, Chip and a few others.

To be a part of something a person has to reach out in an honest and kind way. A person should never expect acceptance in any group, when they lash out at any community members in a negative way. Try being a little more positive and accepting of ppl's differing opinions, it goes a very long way. Everyone can change.

In light of the irony of the last post, I would just like to make the following comment:

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled bitchathon.

Yes we ALL know how you feel about me. Nice sence of community spirit there, lets try leading by example. Lets also leave the lynching to a bad period in US history shall we.

I am sorry you found a problem with this statement;

"Try being a little more positive and accepting of ppl's differing opinions, it goes a very long way. Everyone can change. "

Really? Do tell?



When's your turn?

I do believe you just answered your own question there Kris.

Sorry. I admit to not being good at cryptic puzzles. But regardless of what you think I think about you, I don't dislike you. I've never even so much as met you inworld. I just think you're a hypocrite based on what you post.

SL needs more cherubs.

No, you don't necessarily have to be apart of the community.

Although yes, I do enjoy socializing with others to an extend, the community I'm into is entirely different from the norm. Which is why I stay quite isolated most of the time. Quite frankly, I enjoy being isolated as much as I enjoy socializing. Nothing wrong with either. .

I shall resist the temptation to have a go at Cat Cotton, despite the fact that she's come in, wooden spoons blazing ready for the usual altercation.

I fail to understand the assumption that I have done nothing for this community but moan and whine, and I should try and start things myself. I have done! With my limited building and nonexistent scripting ability, I attempted to set up the co-operative project in Cass, a progressive new model for land ownership. It fell by the wayside after not one single person turned up to any of the meetings scheduled to discuss the matter.

SL's so-called community might be there, but it is inert. New ideas, if they are not from one group of people, are simply ignored, while ideas from those people are taken on with open arms.

I think there's a bit of an uphill battle when people don't know you, but that's to be expected, isn't it? So many flakes, scammers, losers and seriously bipolar personalities have passed through SL. It just seems sensible for people to give more trust, and even attention, to residents who've been around for a while and proven themselves over time. If Hank Ramos and the recently arrived DarthNeo621 Rutledge both present grand schemes on the forums, I'm definitely going to pay more attention to Hank.

So how does one establish themselves, short of parading round Ahern twenty-four hours a day to show they can be "trusted"?

the Feted Inner Core strikes again!