Oooo Shiny: Is SL Just as Engaging to You Now as it Once Was?

I'm intrigued by some of the responses in the recent addiction thread (/327/39/277876/3.html#post2122221).

Some people have addictive personalities and I can only speculate are as passionately absorbed in their activity of choice at pretty much every stage. For those who know you are, please chime in with clarifying responses.

However, I'm wondering about non-addictive personalities. Are you as involved or engaged with SL now than you were in the beginning? Or moreso? Do you know why or what happened to make you more or less involved?

For myself, I'm not in SL as much as I used to be, but that's largely because my RL activities are pretty absorbing as well. I'm building more now and exploring a little less than I used to, but still having tonnes of fun. In fact, I enjoy all of my time in SL, and think I always have. But due to RL, haven't been as involved as I was formerly. But, SL has in now way lost it's lustre and I still find many aspects very shiny.

And You?

i go up and down, down at the moment, i'v been playing a bit of WOW and getting back into playing guitar (RL), but i can garuntee next week or the one after i'll be in world 6+ hours a day till i get over it again. i like to call it 'The "i'm so over SL" Blues' everyone gets it i think

-Crunch

i spend more time in the forums than inworld, so in that way i have become less 'addicted to' SL (the client) than before.

but i think i prefer this hobby over any others (besides reading), and still allow myself to 'be addicted' by the shiny things SL has to offer.

I don't have as many in-world friends as I used to, so I shop more.

I still can't seem to resist logging in for more than a few days though.

*hugs*

I don't like SL, but the forums still make me laugh.

Basically, as you stay in world you learn SL's limits, which are basically the limits of humans in an environment with full freedom of action and usually relatively little investment (ie, you can act freely alone, but as soon as you want to do anything with a group, you find yourself herding cats).

So, honestly SL-as-a-world isn't really engaging to me at all right now - I only come on to learn about how it goes, talk to people I know or care about, and help out with projects. I have a strong suspicion that many of the "it's a PLATFORM!" types have similar feelings.

I find I mostly go in world to make something from a texture I've made off line. Then after I do that I find out who's online so I can give what I made to them. Time ratio? 20% online, 20% here and the rest making some texture I dreamed up in my head.........which is very seldom what I wind up making. LOL

But the time frame is usually from about 4pm SLT to about now (10pm). Subtract time for dinner, a little TV and a shower.

Yeah, it's lost some of the shinniness.........but when I do go out and shop it's fun. And on weekends I try to make some live music events too.......which is way more fun.

it is ever more exciting everyday! I make it that way.

Can't wait to finally go out there and have fun for real! Was dragged into corporate work for the longest time, and always felt like I had to watch my back, even as an alt. So in a way, it's all brand new this week, but without the awkward newbness.

I'm an aspie... with typical cycles of monomania...
Luckilly every time I get bored with one shiny thing in SL, six million others grab my attention.

I don't think it's possible to be completely bored in SL.

Just got inspired by The Golden Compass to see if I can try to make some of the kewl stuff there... or maybe it's already out there, in which case, "oooh shiny!"

I've recently been kind of taking an SL break. I have done so in the past but it only lasted a few days at most. I'm going on my 3rd week of the current break. I still log in every other day to uncap IM's and answer customers, but other than that I have been enjoying RL a little bit more lately. I was spending every spare moment on SL and I'm going to try and bring it back in slowly because I do still find it engaging, it was just a little too engaging. I'm looking for that healthy mix of SL & RL I guess.

I took an SL break too. I am *making* it shiny again, because now and then you have to.

Like most things in life, you only get out what you put in.

I've been taking it easy on SL since last November.

I'm in-world about 2-4 times a week rather than the previous Every Day of the Week.

My fiancee says its because I'm a Gemini, and tend to lose interest quickly.

I just get bored & move on to the next thrill of the moment. Probably why I never got into WoW. RPG's tend to bore me after some time. I prefer the Thrill-A-Minute-Dont-Stop-To-Catch-Your-Breath stuff.

Yet, with each venture back into SL, I find something to distract me

Hmmmm.... I do notice that, when I worked a shitty job that left plenty of spare time, I spent more time in SL. Now that I'm working a better job, I have less time for SL.

in the past month more people have asked to be added to my friends list, than in the previous 17 months together I've been here. so yeah it gets more shiny for me everyday.

i build everyday, i learn everyday and I try to visit a new place everyday, even if its just a TP in and 'whooo, I wish I thought of that'

"Is SL Just as Engaging to You Now as it Once Was?"

Not at all. I used to look at SL like a child would look at presents under the christmas tree.. full of wonder and possibility. Nowdays its become a mostly boring cycle of making stuff to feed the creative urge, socializing/dancing at the same old places, or shopping when neither of those other 2 pan out. The somewhat addictive personality in me still has me log in each night with optimism, but only rarely does anything fun or engaging become of it.

I suppose the novelty has worn off after nearly 2 years but I still hook up a lot. I've got my home how I want it, same for my appearance. I do build a few things and some are on sale but I'm not in the big-business business! I explore a lot still, I go to my favourite clubs and other haunts and there are always new things to learn. I come on the forums quite a bit too. I also do SL photography and have a Flickr site.

New features, or the anticipation of them, maintains interest. WindLight and Havok4 have made the experience much richer, or at least with a good PC they have. The next thing I'm eagerly awaiting is dynamic shadows, as shown on some YouTube demos - they are the next 'must-have' as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not into any other computer games or worlds except the SL clones. I go on Open Life from time to time, where I have re-created my authentic SL appearance. I also have a 2-sim standalone OpenSim island to play with, also with my SL appearance.

I wouldn't say I'm addicted as I don't hook up for 8 or 10 hour stretches, but I like a session of a couple of hours most evenings.

Hmm.. I no longer spend every waking moment in SL, so I'd have to say no. I do however love building and exploring, so it does occasionally drag me back in for long stretches.

I joined in 2003 and due to work and going overseas i left in late 2003 then i rejoined SL in 2005 then spent my time here playing with projects until i met my now RL partner in SL in March 2007. I then left the UK and moved to Holland in June 2007 and we then took almost a year out of SL to develop our relationship in RL and we also started a RL business as well and well RL was much more fun than the pose balls here

2/3 months ago we came back to SL as it was a natural extension to the profile website we run. We purchased over half a sim to see if it will be worth buying a whole sim if this pilot project continues to grow as it is here now

I have noticed tho some things never change like the whining and moaning and the suppositions, scandals, assumptions and conspiracies here on the forums, but that for me is what makes SL shiny lol Human beings are a funny lot when bunched together

I love this place for all its foibles and problems, there is none other like it so yes SL is still as engaging as it was the first day i ever rezzed in a WA many moons ago now

QFT.

Mind you, a lot of the time I just have it running unless I am actively socialising ... and I know that come winter it will get lively again when the nice shiny sunshine is gone and people want to cosy up indoors with their virtual beach life instead.

I guess SL is getting less relavent since my partner has little access time now, so I could also be sitting in SL or doodling with objects whilst on MSN with him.

Gemini? Good grief - amazed you can sit down in one place for 10 seconds then Todd!

I *DO* have an addictive personality, and I was fairy addicted to SL when I first got into it almost 2 years ago. I was addicted to the "I can build stuff in 3D" aspect, rather than anything else. I'm a bit of a techo geek - I loved the idea that I could build a persistent, 3D object that I could script to talk to other objects and do "stuff", and that anyone else could interact with my object.

I saw a lot of potential.

But that has all worn thin. I really feel like it is still fairly limited as far as what I can do with building things that will interact with stuff outside SL (ie - talking to the rest of the internet), and just about anything I can think of making has already been done.

I guess I am just disappointed that it hasn't really progressed very much in 2 years.

The only reason I really logon these days is to socialise with friends. It has become to me what I always argued it wasn't - a 3D chat room.

For almost a year, it stimulated my techo creative side probably more than anything else ever has. But then I started to think .... what's the point?

[eta]I know I can talk to web servers. I have my own server with PHP scripts that SL objects talk to. But it all just seems so .... clunky... and primitive.[/eta]

That's about the same as where I am, to be honest. Even if you make virtual world-based items, ultimately they can only be used as chat background. And "functionality items" have only a very limited useful range.

its tended to be the same ole for me. I take many short breaks anymore and would prolly leave for good if it wasnt for friends Ive made in SL over the years.

I'm definitely not addicted to SL anymore. When I first started, I was playing like 8 hours/day on weekends & 4 hours/day on weekdays...it was insane!!! The past few months I've just been playing about an hour/month. I find SL very redundant & it doesn't entertain me anymore.