On a positive note :)

Ok i thourght as there was so many neagtive comments, mine included on this forum i wanted to ask the question, What has SL given to you? and i dont mean Ulcers, cardiac arrests, headaches etc. & lets not be negative people, lets forget the problems & i only want positive answers to my question

For me its the people i have met, some of whom i now know in RL and we are firm friends and also the many people that have helped me along the way in SL. Im sure that without this crazy world, that we all love to hate, but wont leave, i would never have met them, so im glad im here and look forward to the new friends yet to come I have also learnt so much about so many different places around the world from the people that live there and care about thier country and thats a priceless education imho.

So what has SL given you?

Well, I enjoy building, and there is NO other place yet that allows you to create whatever you want - and it's completely yours, not just some variation of something already in the game - and then have the satisfaction of selling it to other people who enjoy using it. ("There" doesn't count because you can only make a few kinds of things, and they have to be approved.)

coco

I love building and making clothes. Not that I'm any good at those two things but it gives me excuses (and sometimes inspirations) for making textures. I also have found live music events to be such fun and have gotten to "know" several singers who are real life singers in their "day job"...........no other way could I ever get on a first name basis with people like that.

SL has given me a renewed interest in programming, actually. I have been a professional software developer for approximately 13 years, and over that time I have had so many high-stress deadlines with 23 hour days and bullshit marketing requirements that I was COMPLETELY ready to get out of the industry altogether. Even if that meant starting all over at minimum wage :|

When I found Second Life and LSL scripting, I wasn't all that excited. As limited as LSL is, and as hard as it is to do common tasks within a mostly procedural and severely constrained language, I wasn't all that thrilled.

But then it started to impress me how immersive this kind of programming is... I was making things I was going to USE in this virtual world. How cool is that? People started asking me what the latest gadget was, and I started giving them out to friends and such. Then I started actually making products to sell, and making an actual RL income at it (disproportionate to time spent, obviously), and I was enjoying myself while doing it. I may not quit my day job anytime in the forseeable future, but a few hundred extra dollars a month is quite nice indeed.

Now I am working with llHTTPRequest and a PHP/MySQL backend to enable even more interesting and cool stuff, and I am excited about programming again. I had to learn PHP and MySQL, but that is trivial once you've already been forced to learn so many other languages and databases, and I LOVE learning new stuff.

It has also given my family as a whole a hobby that we can do together, as my wife and teenage kids are also Second Life citizens, and we enjoy talking about the latest LL screwups, what we are going to make next, and all kinds of SL related topics.

It has enabled my wife to use her artistic skills productively rather than just for her enjoyment, and although she's still learning how to translate her (prodigious in my opinion) artistic skills to the digital medium she is having fun with the process.

My kids are learning about 3D technology (I take every opportunity I can to describe what goes on "behind the scenes" and 3D modelling (such as it is in SL). On top of that they are learning about social networks, marketing, running a business and doing regular P/L reports and projections, etc.

Another cool thing is that although LSL is limited in capabilities and is primarily procedural, it is not half bad to use as a starter language to teach the kids the fundamentals of programming. I am quite excited about that as well

Overall Second Life has been a very positive thing for me and my family, and that's why even though I spend a fair bit of time bitching about the warts I still love it and have no intention of leaving.

I realised after my greetings card store had been open for a short time, that this was the first time people had paid real money (well, L$ for things that *I* had created In RL I do some creative stuff, but nothing that people pay money for

It is still new enough that I'm really pleased every time someone buys a new card or product for the first time - I hope that it always stays that way!

It's still that way for me, and I've been here since June '06

Great thread !

SL has given me friendship, an ability to do things I could not do in RL by transcending social issues (Dance, host parties etc !), freed my imagination, helped me to quit drinking, reassess my own real life, express things and dreams then see them come to 'life' in front of me. So much.

When you stack it all up, its a pretty good deal imho.

Wow, I should say so!!! Congrats especially on one of those items, and I am quite glad to hear the rest as well!!!

SL has given me many hours of entertainment. That's all I expect.

Awesome thread, Lord. Thanks for starting this. Here's my list (no particular order):

1. Good friends, the majority of whom I never would have met any other way.
   
   
   
2. A wonderful creative outlet, unlike any other.
   
   
   
3. A great learning experience. I was good with digital arts before, but my daily immersion into SL has directly caused my skills to improve immeasurably.
   
   
   
4. A freakin' awesome career. I've been a full time artist with Electric Sheep for about 5 months now, and I'm constantly amazed that I actually get paid for doing what used to be my hobby. I make stuff look pretty in SL all day long, and money appears in my bank account. It's incredible.
   
   
   
5. Lots of fun toys. I've got a top of the line computer, lots of cool accessories for it, all paid for directly by work I've done in SL.
   
   
   
6. A whole new understanding of how starships are put together.
   
   
   
7. My first ever trip to San Francisco.
   
   
   
8. An excuse to stare at Seven of Nine all day.

What is that, eight? I think that's enough for now.

I wanted to learn programming before, but SL gave me a good reason to start with it, so I bought a book on C++ and working on it =) Other than that, my interest in 3D modeling is coming back also, and Photoshop (for textures). All that creativity simply cannot be bad for you!

On top of that, most of the people I have met in SL are very nice, so it is a win-win.

* SL has given me a way to make friends and spend time and share friendships with people in other countries, whom I never woiuld have gotten together with socially anywhere else. Here I have formed closer relationships with friends who I only knew tangentally in text-based forums, and have formed new friendships with peole I met here, whi I never would have encountered anywhere else.

* SL has given me a way to stay in touch with and spend time with my "on-line best friend", my SL Partner. I came here to be closer to them, and I am glad I did.

* SL has given me a creative outlet that doesn't cost a lot of money for raw materials, and which actually makes me a few dollars profit every week. I really like building, creating and selling things in SL.

great friends that have turned into an online family and been there for me thru dark sl and rl times

the ability to make things i cant in rl
more creativity then i have in rl

the ability to go places and do things in a virtual world where my anxiety attacks dont affect what i do

a shop that will hopefully one day take off and maybe bring more $ then just the cost of my land and shops...since i cant work in rl would be nice to make even a small income from sl one day

and a renewed bond between me and my rl husband

Great people I have met from all over the earth..And my there be many more.Regards.

I found the love of my life in SL, and come July 6 she will be my rl bride.

P2

Congratulations! Are you registered at WalMart?

Congradulations Phoenix

hehe this is so rare this stuff works out for people like that. You are lucky.


I wish sometime people would admit how rare - it would reduce the number of people attempting to bring their SL dating to RL after 2 dates.

It's been pointed out to me by someone whose opiion I sorta value, that my attempt at Humor may not be taken in the lighthearted spirit it was intended. To that I say to Phoenix, please don't take offense, I do wish you well. And , I am not, nor have I ever been inside a WalMart.

To the person who pointed out my error....I'll deal with you later, in world.

Now THAT is freaking fantastic!!! Congratulations, and best wishes from my entire family.

Intellectual stimulation.

Creative outlets.

Hella good fun.

Meeting interesting people.

Virtual looks into aspects of the world I otherwise would probably never see.

An opportunity to contribute to something that will fundamentally change the world in its early days, when contributions matter the most.

And since I choose to work only with L$ garnered in-world, to me, all for FREE!

Who can beat a deal like that?!

Promisses promisses

As real life parents of Second Life citizens, it gives us foremost the ability to socialize daily with our 2 daughters on a deeper plane than just by telephone. They both live away from home now with their new families, but in Second Life they are just an IM away and the depth of interaction we can have with them makes up for some of the heartache of not seeing them in person as much anymore.

Secondly, I love the fact that a computer medium has finally been made that my wife and I can share in together. We have been computer hobbyists for years (C64 days), and even earn our living on them. I have always been a shooter enthusiast, she has never liked shooters. MMRPGS become tedious for both of us. Second Life is the first computer medium that we can participate together fully in and holds both our interests, and we are having a blast with it.

Thirdly, I love the creativity flow and building objects. I have so many more ideas than I have time, but the new ideas keep me excited about it all. I love running a little shop and interacting with people who are building their Second Life. It gives me a kick when someone likes something I have made and decides to use it in their Second Life. Along with learning building and scripting, I have also learned a bit of graphics editing... Not a bad trick for an old dog if you ask me. :^)

I will gonna create and provide some best-quality resources and services like as open source training, scripts and programs, supports, etc.. even art show and shop. currently i am ready to build my virtual space, you can surf my website at http://zhaoke.com

Lord, you have given me my sig quote and I can't thank you enough.

When you are really ready to meet and understand people you might want to consider actually talking to them before you blast them for their opinions.