Popular misconceptions about Second Life...

What popular misconceptions about Second Life can you think of? These fall into 2 categories - A) miconceptions held by non-residents and B) ones held by residents.

Some I can think of:

Group A)
Second Life is a game with rules that you play in order to improve your score.
Second Life is a virtual sex game for perverts.
You can get rich very quickly by wheeling and dealing in SL.

Group B)
That other residents will be more interested in you than they are in themselves!
That Linden Lab is to blame for everything.
That 0L$ is a bargain, 1L$ is a rip-off!

any more??

In both groups A & B:

My brother's hand me down bargain basement five year old P3 900 Mhz intel graphic chip set E-Machine will run SL.........even when upgraded to 512 meg system RAM. Or that brand new $400 mini laptop.

Actually, I have seen SL running on a older Eee PC. It wasn't pretty but it worked. And the newer ones are more powerful.

Group B)
That anyone can do or be anything in Second Life (depends very much on the individual person's definitions of "do" and "be"

That an economy can support everyone making money.

Second Life is like Eharmony Online.

Second Life is WoW without Dragons, but with sex.

Second Life is some sort of Pyramid Scheme.

Second Life is only for losers living in their Mother's basement.

But so many of these are misconceptions as you have righly pointed out. Perhaps we should start a thread asking for surprising facts about people on sl (without destroying anonymity).

Yes, the sex one is a popular stereotype. As is the money-making dream. Also, one I have found to be true is that friendships (and partnerships in some cases) "don't really matter".

Group A sounds like escorts.

Second Life is not governed by real life laws.

> LL must guarantee to me that you will never make me uncomfortable.

> LL should prohibit you from doing anything I do not like. (... & I do not like anything I do not understand, or would not personally choose)

Held by many residents:

There is one type of lag, and it's the fault of other peoples' scripts/big textures/attachments/particles/sounds/animations. Or alternately, it's all LL's fault. Never mind that it could be their slow-ass modem/lack of RAM/shitty graphics card/ISP. Or gods forbid, something their avatar is doing.

When he says "see you tomorrow" he will come and see you tomorrow.

Imogen

Second Life is a Cult

That can't POSSIBLY be true! You must have no idea how fascinating I am.

(Or perhaps, how much some people bore themselves ...)

Some responses on a thread about SL on an unrelated forum I frequent:

"I tried it... ended up getting pervy men, often foreign, randomly coming up to me and wanted to know if i was up for some fun..."

"i used it once had lots of guys comming up and just tking what they wanted, i didn't have a clue what to because it was to complicated,"

"its a den of paedophiles and furries, and banned in Germany (apparently)"

"And yet as that article states people make serious money out of it... how can you make money out of something that doesn't really exist??"

"It should be re-named "Get-A-Life" and is perfect for sad ugly geeks with Aspergers."


The final comment was later edited because other users objected at the offence it might cause... to Aspergers sufferers. The same poster then added:

"Second Life is hardly for well adjusted folk who can get along in their first life. Why need an avatar when you can be yourself in this world?"

Rest assured I didn't let it go unanswered.

a)

There is some kind of structure to the land. That we have villages and cities.

You can get gold.

You need money to have fun in SL.

b)

They can make a club and everyone will flock to it.

Ban lines are somehow good.

Wearing lots of attachments at a large gathering of avatars makes you look pretty.

just because your here your going to make a lot of money

few understand how much hard work and time it takes to even produce a product, let alone a product that people will find interesting, or in the slightest way unique

This is a big one..

B)
You can do (insert antisocial thing here) in Second Life.

The problem is, there's a LOT that can go in that slot - and it closes off many of the "escapist" angles.

Second Life is the Next Internet

Second Life is a multi-functional business tool

Second Life works

Second Life is the perfect place for people who can't type, spell or form coherent and grammatically correct sentences.

Pep (Second biggest misconception: I am an attractive rich single man in real life and want to spend the rest of it with you)

people in Second Life can pronounce Pserndipity and all these other odd names.

Nor can they copytype it accurately when it is right in front of them.

Pep (Who "pronounces" names in sl?)

Another misconception in the b) category, among residents:

"If I put this 16m square of land for sale at L$99,999, someone will eventually buy it."

and "Ooh look, a megaprim wall with moutains and sky photo on it. If I put some of these round the edge of my land it will look really good from the outside.

I think he just silently takes the P.

--
Aes

Anything BUT silently actually . . .

Pep (Saves on the digital sex organs in brief)