Reap as ye sew.

I've been a member of SL for a little while now. I saw a lot of changes before I stopped coming in too much. Some good, some bad, most simply obvious. On here I see people blaming LL for the way SL is commercialised, for the griefing, for just about everything. Well guess what people, it's your own damn faults.

We were all given a world without frontiers, a world where not even the fundamental laws of physics really applied. So what did "we" do? Let me tell you. "we" strove to make this opportunity into a carbon copy of the real world. It's all about turning a dime, about wanting stairs in your house (You can FLY why do you want stairs?). It's about four walls and a roof. Every time I log in now I see more people trying to manipulate their AV's into some incredibly dull tanned example of glossy magazine perfection.

Some shining lights remain. But for the ones I read complaining in the forums. I'm afraid you got exactly what you deserved. Stop blaming Linden Lab people, they just gave you the tools.

Some of us have tried, and some of us continue to try.

Lewis

Bah! Reaping is too much work. (I have a bad back.)
And, sewing is for girls.

I didn't realise having stairs in your SL house was the reason for us now having no age or identity verification

Stairs no longer offer protection.

Well now you do, shame on you for having a stair fixation. All joking aside, LL have simply moved their business to match the dynamic of the "world". Whilst there will always be peope who do fully realise the wonder of freedom (And I do not claim to be even CLOSE to being one of the more wonderfully imaginative people I have met in SL) I believe the majority are simply wating it to mirror our own ordinary world.

As for verification, or lack thereof, I think there could be equally as many positives in this as it will attract many people who otherwise wouldn't have bothered. Griefers too, but that just adds to the spice.

Good luck with it too

There isn't nearly as much swearing in this thread as I thought there would be.

Is that good?

Thankyou. Whilst there is a minimal amount of 'commercial activity' on my property, I believe the 'overcommercialisation' is the biggest problem SL faces.

Think about it. Modern day USA is full of advertising "in your face" everywhere you turn, there's a commercial break even before the opening credits have finished. Everything screams "buy me". Given the limitless tools available to us to create whatever we like... that's the best we can recreate?

Not I, that's for sure.

Lewis

I'm being on my very best behaviour. I didn't even swear in the grim baby thread, which I personally found to be highly entertaining.

Wow, my mate Hayden in the forums!

While I agree that much of SL is tending to mirror RL - just look at how Anshe markets, with everything being waterfront property - there are plenty of pockets I've found where the boundless possibilities are explored, including your work, Hayden. It used to be a much larger percentage of the world, but let's face it: waterfront property and a beach house are what a lot of people consider a dream scenario in real life, so its natural that many would create this is Second Life.

While a beach house with waterfront is a re-creation of something that exists in real life, it is only a dream for most people, therefore, they're recreating an ideal rather than something that exists in their real life. While I've always found beachfront property to be fairly boring in RL and SL, I can understand its appeal. Many people in Second Life create things that are possible in real life if you're wealthy, but not possible in THEIR real life. Rather than dreaming up builds that don't require stairs (I still use stairs for the aestetic value sometimes, but tend to build without a roof), I think many people would rather experience something in Second Life that resembled a dream they have about how they could be living their real life. Thus, the muscle bound tan man with bling and the barbie doll girl instead of being a phoenix, dinosuar, something resembling the RL user, or a purple haired freak.

My main problem with the removal of the credit card verification is that is was done before Linden Lab provided us with the necessary tools to police ourselves. This is creating a problem for everyone. While I've been accused of being an LL cheerleader, this is one issue where I part ways with them. However, I'll still thank them for making a place where I can build anything I can dream, and have met so many wonderful people - you included, matey!

Regards,

-Flip

You are interrupting my gentle trolling man!! Don't worry, I still love you. Only in more of a manly "Burt Reynolds" way rather than "Brokeback Mountain". You dig?

Save some of that ranting for July 1st! Rumor has it that Willow may be joining us in Manchester, and I think the four of us plus some booze may require quite a bit of HaydenRanting (TM).

Oh, and I dig, but Bub doesn't believe you!

Regards,

-Flip

Well, Bub has that whole toned ass thing going on. And I was drunk and vulnerable dammit. He shouldn't have worn his hair long. I SAID SORRY WONT YOU EVER LET IT DROP?????

I am totally there! Gimme the place, I need to book me a hotel BABY! Or you know, if anyone has a spare bathroom going.

Don't make me take you two to the art galleries again!

That was an art gallery? I thought it was a frame shop!

I agree that Second Life is mirroring real life in so many ways, but still I try and savor the moments of abject surreality.

I was standing in a tree in Luskwood the other night in a ginormous octopus avatar - then it struck me that I used to have recurrent dreams about octopuses falling out of trees onto my head. Then I realized I was that octopus in the tree and flung myself to the ground. It was oddly cathartic. Only in Second Life, octopuses could fall from trees. I wonder if that converts my dream to a prophecy? I have extremely vivid dreams and need to invest more time bringing those dreams out of my brain and into the virtual realm.

Yah, check out that electric socket oh look BOOOOOBIES.

Was that the place with all those naked chicks and the attractive wooden flooring?

y'alls need some cultcha

/me squints to see Ingrid's post.

She's got a point. I mean just think about all the cool little things the grid has, like the "Thinker" (man on toilet in Blue), the crazy Giraffe's Toasty made running around, Starax's wand gets a ton of deserved mentions, Khamon's gardens, the SL Parks & Rec Service Higbee runs, and so on. Too many possibilities to name!

A lot of the businesses cropping up in SL have a keen eye for beauty too; some of the builds done by avalon., Infinite Visions, Electric Sheep Company and Millions of Us are quite stunning. A personal favorite of mine is the NMC campus, which was built by an SL business, used for education, and is still stunningly beautiful.

Regards,

-Flip

Nice signature.

Oh is there a UK meet? *checks diary*