I love SL, let me tell you why...

In response to another "SL sucks, I'm leaving" thread, I thought I'd share with you why I love SL and why I'm staying.

I love that it brings the world close to me. Australia's a long way from pretty much anywhere.

I love that it attracts more talented, creative people than I could hope to meet in such a short period of time in RL.

I love looking at the time, realising it's 5 in the morning, and I've been building for 12 hours.

I love the feeling of serenity I get when I stare out into the ocean void, even when the neighbours are shouting at each other.

I love getting an IM from someone I don't know, saying they like my build.

I like being able to see the sun shine when it's raining, and see snow in the peak of summer. (And I had my first ever white Christmas!)

I love that my realities are increasingly becoming blurred.

I love that my creativity has returned since I've been here, when I thought it had been extinguished by disappointment and personal tragedy. I love that I can feel again.

I love that my avi can do things that some days my body won't allow anymore.

Most of all, I love the beautiful, intelligent, fascinating and funny girl who lives far away from me, that I never would have met otherwise, whose presence I can feel as surely as if she's right beside me.

What do you love about SL?

I love it cuz I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. If some one bugs me, I just tp somewhere else. I don't have to deal with BS if I don't want to. It is a great escape for me. I like building but don't feel my stuff is ready for sale which is my choice and mine alone. I don't feel pressured into being or doing something I don't want. Everyone I have met has been really cool and I love the diversity in the backgrounds of all the people I meet here. Plus gas is cheaper.

Umm, yeah, sorry about that.

What I love about SL is all the possiblities inside of it. I've learned so much from it, and even met someone who is very close to me <3. I've learned social skills, modeling skills, *very limited* programming, and financial stuff just to name a few.

Really good post Fade.

I love SL for just about all those reasons and more. The freedom is the important thing though. Often, the only thing that limits what I can do, is my own imagination, and those around me. I think this is a very unique platform/game, any despite any problems with it, the pro's far outway the con's.

If you leave SL, where would you go? Back to 1st life?

wow, I guess I love all the same things you love... though I can't say I've ever built for 12 straight hours, that might be a record and my "most of all" is a wonderfully sweet, intimidatingly smart man an entire world away in Thailand. We can talk on skype from the US to Thailand and sit together in SL and feel like we're right there beside each other.

agree with everything you said

plus my husband who brings me so much happiness

and all of my friends here who make things so much fun

*bounce*

I love watermelon guns! I have a new love for otters too, which is strangely soothing.

But seriously, I do love the creative outlet for both myself and others. And besides the general asshattery by a lot of the kids in SL, it is a great world and I am not sure what I'd do without it.

MM

I love the things you listed plus being able to find someone to talk to or sit with not matter what the RL time is. I enjoy the classes, the discussion groups, but mostly the people. I meet people I would never have met in RL. I like seeing what others have built.

SL is a lot more fun when you're not trying to make it your real job, I'll grant you that
Now if only I had unmetered internet access. Not to mention a low ping... and a graphics card that costs as much as a whole computer ^^

I like Gestures.

I love it that I can find myself sitting outside at the tea shop in Caledon, having a very pleasant conversation about the history of the machine gun with an anthropomorphized fox (who, by the way, looks very dashing in his plum colored victorian suit with Oscar Wilde-style ruffs) and a self-described "luddite android" (who is wearing a buff tail coat and a very dapper pork-pie hat over her shiny exo-skeleton), while various beings--including a scotsman on horseback, a couple of dragons, and a steampunk chap or two--pass by.

And of course, as they pass, we all exchange polite greetings and small talk about the weather and clothing, as if this is all perfectly natural--which of course, it is, in the context of that part of SL.

My own avatar, incidentally, is a tall south Pacific Islander with Maori-style tatoos that contrast nicely (in my humble opinion) with a black vest and trousers, boiled white dress shirt with wing collar and four-in-hand cravat, and spatted shoes, that I have affected to fit in with the general ambiance of the environment.

It's all very through-the-looking-glass, yet at the same time it makes perfect sense, particularly as my avie's backstory is that he was sent out by the elders of his island home as a sort of anthropolgist to gain insight into the curious ways of Europeans and other intriguing cultures. And even better, when I explain this backstory to other folk I meet in Caledon, they smile and nod and think it makes perfect sense to them as well.

That's what I love about this world--that such things are possible.

I love SL for the social interaction.

With my job I tend to have a very messed up schedule , not leaving much room for much rl social life. SL gives me means to compensate that and I have made some cool friends here and met a lot of interesting people.

Like any mmo , it's not just about the eyecandy or the cool stuff you can get. It's also about who you spend time with. Otherwise you might as well play an offline game. Or in the case of SL , go to a toystore and buy yourself a box of lego.

For me the people are more important then anything else.

Just my 2 cents worth

[edit: corrected some typo's ... god still can't type]

I love logging in at 6am to do some 'work' and ending up having an impromptu chat about anything and everything, and then finding out my conversation partners are from 4 different countries, age groups and social classes.

I love having complete creative control over anything I decide I may want to do on any given day, without the restriction of laws, physics or practicality.

I love being able to change my environment on a whim, from small things like moving my plants or retexturing, to larger things like wiping a build and putting up a new one, or changing my scenery alltogether by moving to new land.

I love being able to 'work' with no deadlines, no bosses, no company policies, no major restrictions, no demands and no pressure.

I agree with Jenny
SL is about the people for me

I love SL for a number of reasons.

I can create in SL in a manner that works for me. I have horrible handwriting and can't draw a consistent line if has a ruler, pencil, and my life depended on it. And trying to draw something from my mind just never comes out right. But here, I can mold and shape objects in 3D and I can make the images in my mind reality.

A character I created but could never draw, I'm able to not only bring into reality, but can walk and talk as this character

I am building my favorite motorcycle of all time! And it'll be mine, ALLL mine! I'm sure I could sell copies when I'm done, but I don't think I could take seeing someone else on my bike, so I'll probably keep it to myself. Maybe I'll make an original design when I'm done.

I can meet people of all kinds. Other social mediums usually have one 'niche' that they fall into, so you only meet people who fit in the niche. In SL, there's space for everyone, so you can go out there and meet anyone.

Did I mention I can finally create Art?

And they're also handy to have around when you're dealing with crocodiles. Makes Rikki Tikki Tavi look like a piker.

I love being able to create environments impossible in real life.

I love being able to change my avatar at a whim. Sexy woman, terrrrable raptor, adorable mini robot... all at the drop of a folder.

I love the friends from all over the world that I made in SL.

I enjoy a lot of things here, but my special pleasure is my late-night sandbox patrol.

I'm a fairly old dude, SL-wise, and I *still* can't count on going to a sandbox without being awe-struck by somebody's imagination and creativity.

-- teep

Dang, Fade, you made me tear up a bit this morning!

It's so easy to grouse and moan about the problems with SL, but to me, it's sheer magic.

I love that I have found a place where I am younger and stronger and healthier and braver than rl. I love being fearless!

I love exploring my own creativity, learning from what I see others do. I love encouraging my friends -- sharing and passing along the tips I've picked up along the way.

I love doing the impossible, the improbable. I love flirting. I love da furries. I love my tiny pink kitty avatar! I love flying. I love sitting on hippos and giant gorillas and I love riding around on the big bees in my garden. I love my flowing auburn hair.

More than anything, though, I love the people. I have a tremendous family of folks who I look forward to seeing each day. I treasure their caring and love for me, and I'm so honored when I'm able to offer a shoulder or an ear when they need a bit of comfort.

And, yes, I too have found a dear love here -- someone I never would have met, but who has given me so much and helped me to blossom.

I could go on and on... it's a pretty swell place (even when it's gray!)

I think one of the reasons so many people do grouse and moan about the problems in SL is because we do love it, and because we expect so much of it.

If another program on my computer goes down, or an online game is off for maintanance or crashes, it illicits little more than a Pfft from me, and I go do something else. But SL has so much potential, and invokes so much of my creativity and imagination, that it becomes very frustrating when you want to realize that potential and can't.

If we didn't care about SL, we wouldn't care about it not being available or not living up to its potential.

I love ....

... just farting around.

My best ideas come when I'm sitting around doing bugger all and I just think 'hey why don't I just [insert retarded thing here]' - of course best done when in the company of my extroverted, and equally idiotic freinds.

Where else can you say 'hmm I bored - you ever blow up a cow?'

No, but dang, sounds like fun

I love the Australians in SL. If only we could get them on teamspeak or some variation ALL THE TIME.

Umm....I mean...building stuff.

I used to do a radio show in SL - but time got too busy, even after 9 years here my accent is still there.

thats another thing I love - you can do ANYTHING here - anything you set your mind to

Even be in SL for longer than it's been around? That makes my brain hurt.

MM

PS: I know you meant 9 years in the states, but it's still funny sounding.