Auld Desmond's Almanac: such a thing as Drama Season?

Alright folks, I got a crazy question to put out there.

I tend to deal with lots and lots and lots of people; the starry-eyed newcomers, the bitter oldbies, the philosophic ascetics, the social butterflies, the artists, the merchant-barons... you name it. Gazillions of people.

So sometimes I see trends. Maybe it's not what everyone else sees, I can't be sure. So I'm asking all of you if what I am seeing is true, or not. It's an open, honest question.

Is there such a thing as a drama season?

* * * * *

I'll start with September. Generally this is a time of low drama, young people going off to school and leaving the grid, their parents kinda coming back. Sorta peaceful. A few snippy words on the breeze, but generally pretty quiet.

October - sort of the same thing. A sense of fun in the air as autumn and halloween comes along. Some drama, sure, but nothing scary or spooky.

November. Generally in November there is some drama with our service provider. This year it seemed to strike a little early. With regard to residents, it's now dark and cold, and people are starting to spend more time online. Flurries of drama, slipping friendships and icy conversations are becoming commonplace.

December. Now many are huddled over the computer for countless hours, as dark cold nights keep them confined in the northern hemisphere. Everyone starts to notice the little things; the goofy dance is now kind of overdone and the gregarious neighbour has gone from friendly-chatty to please-let-him-bother-someone-else. The joy of the season offsets a lot, but some substantial drama storms roll in with ferocity.

January. A brief lull in the aftermath of December. But not for long. Massive drama storms roll in, as people still reeling from their holiday bills do the one thing they can still do: go online. Well, the castle's been built, the shop is... meh, but nobody feels like working or marketing or... whatever. The snowy ground that looked so delightful in November is starting to look bleak.

February. Folks, beware the ides of February. Valentine's Day is, for countless relationships on the grid, the Grim Reaper of Romantic Holidays. Tear drops, and tier drops... as all the people who waited until 'after Valentine's day' to break up - start breaking up. Expectations shatter; people are getting back to their real lives and about sick of their overuse of the grid for the past three months. Some of the worst decisions about land are made at this time, as drama utterly overwhelms the unprepared in gigantic, blustery drifts. Thought you began your winter den with a cute little vixen? Met a suave, gallant wolf last fall? If you thought reality was nasty after waking up in the morning, try coming out of winter hibernation with them. Spring cleaning is just around the corner.

* * * * *

That's a sort of folksy seasonal forecast; not very scientific, but I think we'll get more advanced predictions later as technology improves.

Maybe someday our green dots can turn red when we are angry, blue when sad (or something) and we can see the storms roll across the grid with the gyre of the seasons.

But until then, I ask everyone: does this ring true for you too?

I'd have attributed it to phases of the moon, myself. The roads are certainly different around a full moon...

It all makes far too much sense.....

Sounds about right except that, sadly, I think the holiday season is, for many, the source of more drama than less. Starting around mid-November, just before the relatives that are dearly loved but only in moderation, start camping out in the spare bedroom.

Drama strikes anytime..anywhere..

The same with the Shadow.

Who knows what evil lllllurks in the heart of men? The Desmond knows!

It may not be a complete scientific analysis, but every scientific analysis has to start with an observation, and a good hypothesis about that observation. Your observation seems on target to me, and your hypothesis makes a lot of sense.

The one thing I would point out is that Second Life has such an internation reach, that not everyone is experiencing the same seasons that we are in the U.S. right now. How do our friends in other parts of the globe fit in?

I have to say that Desmond's forecast is all too accurate. I have observed similar patterns myself both RL and SL.

For some of us, like me, who suffer from S.A.D., this time of year signals the onset of short tempers, frazzled nerves and Christmas is anything BUT merry.

But, whether it is S.A.D. or just cabin fever, I do tend to see more drama as the northern winter sets in.

And the Spanish Inquisition.

Put Desmond in the comfy chair!! Muhahahah!!!

Winter months, Cabin Fever and Holiday or seasonal changes can be drama producing because those times of the year people sleep clocks are more out of whack, exhausted, stressed, more pressures, moods out of whack, over doing it perhaps with the eggnog and sweets and also people tend to get more lonely during certain times of year depending on their real life circumstances this all can be more or less for some.
I notice certain amount of crankiness with myself and friends during certain times of the year but I figure it has to do with day light savings, sleep changes, cold and flu season,etc.
I

When will you cover the other half of the year? The spring/summery side?

Hopefully that's more tra-la-la.
.

Remember, only you can prevent 'drama fires'

Vast majority are in the same hemisphere though, so going through winter.

It's not just SL, Des. I saw the same thing on Everquest with the guilds there.

And Star Wars Galaxies guilds.

And World of Warcraft guilds.

I'm sure it's the same with other morepigs as well.

Am I old enough to be a "bitter oldbie" yet?



Yes. It runs from January through December.

In SL years, you are way past that and on to the "Walter" stage.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kXOg23pGeA

truetrue :0 ... in terms of countries logging in, it is predominantly northern-hemisphere, so yah could still apply in a generalized way. (if 'poor desmond's almanac' ever turns into 'dear dezzy', beware! ;0

/me's hoping maybe south america'll get a nice fast fiberline someday - i miss the brazilians; they seem to have disappeared from the top ten anymore. (i think access/performance proved to be too much from that distance - they need a colo at least, lindens!! ;0 lol they sure do love bodyoil ;0 and i'd sure love to see carnival someday myself...

speak of which, i'd love to see some latest login statistics, but last time i searched i had a hard time finding anything past sept 07!! ;0 anybody know where i'm supposedta be looking?? :\

Every season is drama season, unless of course its duck season...

i think it's usually just PMS/PTS based.

more importantly, are you gonna have space for me in May? i'm almost desperate now - and never heard back from you. =/

Eeeeep! Give me just a few days! I can set you up pretty well now actually; PM me!

Des

Hmmmm...interesting and timely as I'm thinking of boxing up the whole metathing for a month or so and as a part of that contemplating making 2009 "a project." Your observations and musing have reminded me to be mindful of seasons and trends and not be too hasty in who or what I consign to the dustbin of history. It's not drama, per se, but definitely a reaction to inescapable RL cycles. Mostly it seems a shame to retire after spending so much time and effort on finding the right skin and shape....

We clearly need an "Olde Guvnah's Alminak" to tell us what the coming year has in store.

Oooh! Don't scare the man off the forums, now!

Drama season started in September 1993, when AOL joined the Internet.