Almost a month old in SL and i dont "get it"

Agree with those who have said that whether the monetary costs of SL are "worth it" is an individual matter, and a matter of perspective.

My husband and I would think nothing in RL of spending $120 on a really nice meal and a good bottle of wine - it's the sort of thing we would do not only for a special occasion but also just some night because we feel like it, without much thought.

And yet at the moment I am not comfortable tiering up another $10, even though I would love to have the extra space and prims to play with - and even though that increase in tier would take a whole year to add up to the cost of the one meal my husband and I could purchase on a whim.

Still, it would take only a small shift in personality - a person with exactly my income and expenses, but who likes to indulge in fine food and wine just a little less than I do - to say "sure, why not tier up?"

Whether one's activities in SL are "worth it" depends upon one's desires and expectations. The cafe that I built and operate in SL does not make a profit. How can it? All the drinks are free, there's no cover charge to hang out there, and there's no mall attached. People do sometimes leave donations - I appreciate these greatly but so far they don't even cover my tier.

But I don't operate the cafe for money. I operate it because it's a great way to meet people from all over the world (and proselytize my musical tastes to them ) and because I am pleased and proud to provide a space in SL that others enjoy using. The cafe might not be a huge SL success story by some measures, but I get about 15-20 visitors a day - many who are repeat visitors - and my group grew from nothing to 140 members in just a little more than two months, and to me that is a massive success, even if I never make enough to cover my tier.

Oh, and when it stops being fun, I'll stop working so hard on it.

It's not that you don't get it, it's that you aren't seeing the bigger picture. SL is something different to everyone. You've found, at least in part, a community. That's one part of SL, and I think it's the best part, although perfectly reasonable people would disagree. There are people in SL who share your interests and with whom you can interact, even though you couldn't in real life. What an incredible tool for communication and friendship! It's a place to play and be young and healthy and whatever you want to be. For others, it's a place to try and supplement their income. For others it's a place to practice coding skills, or graphic design or showcase their art or share their musical talent or, or, or...

You don't have to own land, but some people enjoy it. I'm not a big science fiction fan, but I'm glad that community is so well represented in SL. It really is completely what you make of it.

As far as cost, Markubis was dead on correct. Other hobbies can be way more expensive than SL. People spend money on their hobbies.

As far as "getting SL"

It took me far longer than 1 month for the novelty of SL to even wear off.

I've never known anyone who was bored after a week or two that stayed long term.

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As far as "getting" why people spend the money they do --

I've noticed a lot of people who have trouble earning money in SL / and do not want to (or cant) spend US dollars on SL share this attitude.

Basically they would like to be involved in all the moving and shaking going on, but they feel left out because they see the money as a barrier to access.

Generally back in the day those were the people who came onto the forums every week trying to reinvent the SL economy system so they could be included at the expense of the status quo.


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As far as not "getting" the whole concept of spending money on Second Life

I wonder if people like this "get" the concept of spending money on other hobbies.

I've been in SL since September 2006. I've built (and rebuilt) my own home and shop, dealt in land a bit, made stuff to sell, taken lots of pics for my Flickr site, danced in dozens of clubs, chatted to all sorts, helped newbies, talked my head off on these forums - in all I've had a wonderful time.......... but I STILL don't 'get' SL!!!!

I own about 1/2 sim of land that just sits around doing nothing sometimes. I have my home there usually. Sometimes, I offer to my friends a place to stay till they find their own. I have run RP on my land. I have had vendors on my land. With the exception of a couple of years ago, I never charge to rent out my land. Why? SL is my entertainment, and I try to share my good fortune with others. I don't want to worry about the hassle or drama that comes with running a business in SL.

I chose to spend my entertainment $$ on something that makes me happy...SL, for the most part, makes me happy. I get to meet and socially interact with people from around the world and learn things...like what an English pudding is or explain to others that no, not everyone in the US supports the President and his ideas. Also, I get to create things such as buildings, textures, clothing, etc. which I give to my friends or sell for a cheap price or just give away.

SL is what you want it to be or what you make of it. And, I hope everyone has as much fun as I do.

I have been in SL for a little more than 3 months. As of last week I am up to the 1/4 sim level of tier. All my land is mainland.

I was first fasinated by owning a skyscraper, then skyboxes, then a mall, a car dealership and on and on. Two weeks ago I was building a maze of pipes big enough to walk through and get totally lost. Now I am on to another project. I have always been fasicinated by the building process both in RL and SL.

So as I build and try things I come up with ideas to build more things. While my other hobbies have suffered I have enjoyed my time in SL and made some good friends. I can't explain it either because I came here with a totally different goal in mind. When I read about people like Desmond Shang I am inspired to keep trying different things.

Look me up Inworld and I'll happily add you to my friends list. Good luck and all the best with your illness.

"CX"

About empty places, yes there are lot of empty places, but also there are lot other very nice places that get many visitors a day.

I can provide you with some LM's if you want them IM me.

Also I think that the 3D Web is very young. At the beginning of html visitor's numbers werent that high.

The future is in metaverses. LL would do a very big step if they finally add the html on a prim feature.

But now, we are in the prehistory, who knows what will happen in 10 or 20 years.

And 30.000 / 40.000 ppl a day is not a small number.

Loved the responses all, didnt expect this many in a short period of time >.<

Maybe thats where i was going wrong in looking at SL. For some folks it's actually their hobby. True, a lot of hobbies cost a lot more cash outlay per year like fishing for instance.

However if i was the owner of one of those big sims, wether it be an estate sim or mainland sim and i had built all that up from scratch, opened up a coffee house, park, smalll mall and then made a few small low prim cheap rented beach houses and then 2 months down the road the sim was dead I would be disheartened. The problem i've seen and a lot of others have seen is that there is too much of...well...everything. Clubs, rented accomodation, malls, land for rent, a veritable surplus.

With a market close to saturation point (lots of land, with a slowly growing user base...very slowly growing) Second Life must have been a whole different world back 2 or 3 years ago when there wasnt enough land and the user base wanted "stuff". I bet even a couple of years ago there was a lesser percentage of "dead sims" then their is now.

As for me...i'm having fun, running around in my TARDIS during random portals, landing in the middle of a Gorean SIM in full RP action...literally...right in the middle of them....

...i dont know who was more scared...them or me...

Victor, I am glad you are having fun - that is the most important thing!

One thing I love about SL (I am quite young myself - not quite 4 months old yet) is that I never have a shortage of giggles. Whether I am hanging out at my place or somewhere else, as long as I have friends around I can always have fun.

Argh - fishing. I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to know how many sims I could have bought for what I've dumped into fishing over the years. Why do I need a fancy Italian tying vise to tie flies? Why do I need more than 12 rods? Why won't my wading boots hurry up and wear out so I can buy those fancy new superlight ones with the interchangable soles? Yeesh. Even if I fished for sustenance and traded fish for vegetables and never bought groceries again, I'd lose money.

On the other hand, I've seen the sun rise over a solitary lake in the middle of the alpine wilderness and watched it turn the glaciers of Mt Adams the most incredible shade of pink and orange. I've relaxed in the shade of old growth forest and watched salmon jump up a small waterfall as they make their way to the spawning beds in a ritual as old as Nature herself. I've watched deer, elk, bald eagles, bear and any number of other wild animals lead their lives. It has been worth every penny it cost me and then some.

See? A lot of people don't get it when I tell them about fishing. It's my deal, though and it's what I make of it. Just like SL. It can be anything it needs to be to anyone who takes the effort to look for what they want. I think you're well on the way to defining SL for yourself, Victor1st.

I have the same story about all the sailboats I have owned and the five VWs in my yard right now. Of course I do have an hour a day with nothing to do so I guess I need another hobby.

"CX"

lol - I figured I needed a new hobby, too, and since I didn't have any other time, I thought I'd use the time I spent shopping and cooking. I picked up Asian cooking. I love Asian food, so I figured no prob. First of all, The Rang Dong Oriental Market up the street is an adventure in weird food. Chicken feet? REALLY? Secondly, when they say a sauce it spicy hot, trust them. It is. Third - don't make fresh wasabi and then rub your eyes. Big mistake.

Other than that, it's been an adventure. I've either been really succesful or hilariously unsuccessful. My "mixed tentacle and black fungus" stirfry was excellent.

On a business trip one time we were traveling with a Vietnamese man who also spoke Cantonese.

He asked for and got a special menu in Cantonese when we went to an upscale Chinese restaurant.

He explained that the English language menus typically didn't include any of the really spicy dishes.

Even though there were half a dozen things labeled as "hot and spicy" on the menu

Hey Victor!

It's the nature of a virtual world to mirror many aspects of the real world, except for a major difference: in the real world, you have no choice but to BE SOMEWHERE at all times. In SL, even active participants only spend a relatively small percentage of their time "in existance" so to speak. And that's why compared to real life, much of SL looks "dead," even when it isn't.

I own residential sims which do well enough to pay for their tier costs, and make back an amount that goes toward paying back their initial cost. These places are generally open to the public, and filled with parks, rides, bars, swimming pools, and lots of other things to do. And although they are doing well, you can pick any random time of day to visit them, and there might only be 1 or 2 people there, or nobody. But that's just the nature of virtual worlds, and doesn't mean that the sims are dying.

Good luck beating your illness, and congratulations for accomplishing so much in SL so fast!

My car is empty 23 hours out of every day. However, I consider the convenience of having one at the ready worth the cost. It's the same with sims, they may not be utilized 24 hours a day, but when you need them, they are there, along with all your 'possessions'. When people lament that sims are 'always' empty, they probably just aren't there at the right times.

I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain. But you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is but it's there, like a splinter in your mind driving you mad. ...

Like everyone else you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison for your mind....

After this there is no turning back. You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes....

(heh heh, I think I just nerded out for a sec there)

Yeah, crazy, innit?

Of course... some people crazier than others... heh, I should sit down and be quiet now...

ffffffcrazy here!! no game per-se.... make it up as you go, if you like. otherwise, make up your own!!

^^^ Been here MORE than a month - Just doesn't get it. We're working on him. Someday he'll get it.

Which reminds me. I drive by "Desmond Drive" almost every day. I am completely unable to read the street sign without adding "Shang" to it. Sometimes I even read it Desmond Shang, Small Business Mang Drive.

SL has ruined me.