Large communities with plenty of activities

I'm easing back into SL after a prolonged sabbatical and have a number of questions and comments.

The builds (textures, prims) have improved considerably ... lots of eye candy!

The number online seems to have been static over the past months (years?) and I wonder if SL has ceased growing, especially if the # online excluded bots and multiple accounts.

Lag and slow rezzing are worse than ever! It's impossible to shop due to the length of time it takes for vendors to rez.

That said, I'm interested in finding a large community such as Caledon (almost 50 contiguous sims on a single theme) with a variety of activities (air forces, navies, libraries, frequent balls, open waters and skies, no ban lines allowed, a benevolent guvnah ... again, like Caledon). A period theme would be fine but with enough technological space to permit flying ... hence, a paleolithic theme wouldn't interest me although sculpties seem ideal for making rocks.

Hey, I know a place JUST like this. It's called . . . um . . . Caledon . . .

Welcome back!

Ah... I could make myself look really goofy here if I respond in the wrong way, so let me do this: I'll send an invite to Caledon citizenship to you, that's a group actually, and you can get maybe 80% of the fun for 0% of the cost. Expect it in 24 hours or so; no obligations of course.

Second...

Caledon is now really part of what is generally known as "The Steamlands" ~ a vast range of places in a sort of Steampunk/Victorian/gaslight fantasy/19th century era theme. I guess technically we are all competitors, but honestly, it's not like that. Too much fun to be had.

So regardless if you hung your hat in Caledon or one of the others, you'll find yourself quite possibly in Steelhead, Winterfell, New Babbage, New Toulouse, Steeltopia, Victoriana, the Confederation of Democratic Simulators (yes! them too!), Lovelace, or even seemingly counterpoint places like The Wastelands (millenia into our future) or Raglanshire (land of the Tinies).

To make a terrible analogy, thing of us as a shopping plaza food court. We might all be competitors, but hanging sorta together has made the whole experience much richer. And people will know what you are talking about, when you say you are from this country or that.

Also ~ to be perfectly clear, none of us hold a monopoly on fun.

There are small, independent operators who may not quite have our backstory, but use their smaller size as an advantage, to provide a very rich experience. At the end of the day, it's just people and 3D props, and what you make of it.

Good luck!

I'm very impressed by the result of your hardwork and will welcome a connection to Caledon as I investigate the possibilities!

thank you!

There are also SL inhabitants of that mythical place, RealLife. It can be entertaining to visit RL from within SL, through such events as the Metanomics interviews and community discussions (group is free to join, search for Metanomics), Science Friday, and various religious, irreligious, and educational organizations. Though not enough to sustain a fun Second Life, membership in SL/RL groups can augment one!

Also, if you wish to consult forum folks while inworld, you can join "The Forum Cartel" group and ask questions in group chat. Cartel chat can be silly, but you can also learn from it.

Welcome back!

Hmm...

There's only one Caledon, to be sure.

But, you can find some of those qualities in various other sims. If you like the WW2 era, and frequent dances, try the USO club. It is a sim and a group both.

I think Bay City Municipal Airport might have some flying space.

So much to explore in SL, though. Why not start completely fresh. Type random words into search and go from there.