High Quality Sims Category and Instances

We're all aware of how awful the mainland looks right now. I can't say that I see the situation improving, even with recent plans to hire a few people to build parks and roads, it makes very little sense to me. There'll still be those who build in the air and make the most ugly things imaginable. All most people want to do in SL is create a private space, that's why they go to such great lengths to distance themselves from their neighbours.

Yes, we all want to socialize, but it needs to be done on our own terms. What is the point of having a virtual landscape if it is constantly obscured by floating cubes with pr0n slapped all over them? It scares people away, SL is mocked because of this.

Why would anyone choose SL over some of the more 'casual' MMO's due to come out in the next few years? They could get all the standardization and cohesion they want without having to deal with the problems that plague SL.

Why not give people the option of buying a space that doesn't exist on the mainland but in a void where nothing but itself exists. They'd still have the same amount of land everyone else has (small parcels) but they wouldn't have to deal with neighbours. Most people don't want an entire house, they just want a small space they can personalize. Look at games like EQII, people rent rooms and decorate them with player crafted items (not crafted in the sense that they're designed by players) and invite others inside to socialize. People wouldn't have to stream content from neighbouring parcels either, it'd reduce network traffic.

Why oh why have Linden Labs decided to recreate all the problems that exist in the real world when they have such an incredible opportunity here? Is this financially motivated? Have any feasibility studies been done, what were the alternatives?

People can still create communities in public sims but why does everything have to be thrown into one giant melting pot? Why not let people decide for themselves whether or not they want to be part of a community? Land is so scarce that many take whatever they can get. Then after a few weeks have passed they leave SL altogether.

I guess the biggest problem here is that people, in general, can't work with 3D for peanuts. Give them space to practice, I'm not talking about overcrowded sandboxes. An offline building tool would make so much sense yet it still isn't here. Give them pre-made structures, examples they can follow. Tell them about texture resolutions for Pete's sake.

Part of Linden Labs, as they are now, ought to be devoted entirely to finding high quality sims and putting them on the front page of the website. A massive directory should be there and made easy to find.

Are you sure that the user base is still growing?
Or is it that more people are giving SL a try for 5 minutes, get scared and never come back?

It's supposed to be a place of intrigue and freedom of expression yet land owners are restricted in the worst ways imaginable. Imagine the feeling someone gets when they finally obtain some land to build on only to find that it's surrounded by crap. Why would they even bother? Not everyone wants to feel responsible for having to raise the bar.

See: Parcel Basements

Yeah mainland is such a mess right now I don't know how anyone puts up with it. Here's just a random sampling of the horrror out there.

http://secondlife.com/app/image/e87d8295-eccd-67a9-c571-737f95fa2ced/1

http://secondlife.com/app/image/f401a4d5-6d8c-edb5-da70-00a82f697c38/1

http://secondlife.com/app/image/bf07c076-3415-6201-27ac-bc792c2209b2/1

http://secondlife.com/app/image/985fa2fe-7827-e17a-1667-69a41c9cfaa0/1

http://secondlife.com/app/image/acbbf7ef-9062-995d-d2b8-b1f9fe76e294/1

http://secondlife.com/app/image/0ba93429-0494-26f6-6de0-9b8911ad727d/1

To be honest I could go on and on.

Yeah it looks an eyesore right enough. Tho why youd want to collect pics of such horrors is a bit of a mystery

If you want mainland to look pretty then buy an entire sim and beautify it. That really is the only way unless you are lucky enough to have like minded neighbors.

This is precisely why many opt to live on Private Estates. They are managed, many are themed, and if you really work the system, you can come out paying less than you would for mainland. It's a very viable option.

Those pics are too small to see much detail...but I don't see what you're moaning about. They didn't look all that bad to me.

To the OP: Your wish has been granted. Buy your own private island from LL, and you (and your friends) can build as you please without worrying about the neighbors. If you can't afford your own island, rent a piece of one from an estate owner with a good reputation, and a covenant that corresponds with your desires.

None of these links look bad at all, either Zante and Elanthius are trying to be sarcastic and it's not working at all (it just doesn't in a textual medium) or they have very different ideas on what's ugly.

One alternative is to make open-space sims more accessible, by removing the requirement that the purchaser already own a full-blown simulator:
http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/MISC-1005

Elanthius is trying to be sarcastic. The links I gave are part of my build in response to the advice Lindal gave, that I should try building something on my own.

Not sure what Elanthius is trying to accomplish by choosing one or two 'ok' examples when 99% of SL is rubbish.