Does SL have classes and levels after all?

I just had to post this link here when I saw this article, because it's so spectacularly unusual, and yet seemingly clueful at the same time:

http://brokentoys.org/2007/07/14/utopia-hidden-underground-another-look-at-sl/#comments

Summary: the author argues that SL is effectively a class-level based MMO. "Classes" are social communities, "levels" are your level of integration/influence in that community, "grinding" is networking.

Do people agree with this?

In those terms, is real life a MMORPG?

This is like comparing Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm...

Really, there isn't a tie, but there is a tie. You can compare anything if you word it correctly.

I think SL has similarities to an MMORPG...but it is not a game. You can create your own game in SL, but the Universe of SL is not a game--it is inter-reality. Virtual reality. With this comes elements of RPG and MMO.

I think there certainly is a "class system" in Second Life, but I do not think there are "levels." There is a social structure, and this structure is as clear-as-day if you do business in SL.

People that walk around begging for money, or camping all day (yes, I lump them together, I'm sorry), are on a different class-shelf than someone operating their own profitable business.

Someone who manages a store, is on a different class-shelf than one of the Lindens that run Second Life. These kinds of distinctions are inevitable.

Does this mean I judge people by their occupation or hobby in SL? Absolutely not. I judge someone by how they treat others. And although I don't judge someone by their occupation, I must say, I'm much more inclined to interact with someone who is creative and passionate, as opposed to someone who plays Slingo all day.

*shrugs*

I've got 10 levels in Scripter with a World Domination focus. I mostly grind on Flying Fish 8's in Cardova, since crafting was taking up all my time and quests didn't pay out a lot. I do have some legendary artifacts, but I'm looking to get some better gear and more gold. That way I can try one of the raids in Morris.

Anyone have a Root of Timbar? I need 215 of them for the Grey Goo IV quest.

10/10...i almost choked on my drink!!!



...Posting in what has the potential to be a legendary thread!!

I'm at the fifth Circle of FIC; only 5 more to go. I gave up on the GreyGoo Quest, I heard that the way of the libsecondlife was easier. Next week there will be bonus points on newbies. The furries need more members in their war with the pinkies so they are offering 2 levels just for joining. BTW the greenies are gainging ranks so we have to be careful of them.

I don't have Root of Timbar but I've duped a +100 Prim of Overwhelming Size, I can provide some of those!

I'd help you with your quest, but I'm a level boss myself. Which comes with certain responsibilities, you see!

To get me, you have to defeat all my estate managers first, and they are pretty powerful. They have the Ejectus! spell, are equipped with +10 Banhammers, and can even cast Rollback.

And unlike the Orc King, I'm not stupid enough to accept debit permissions or type my SL password into a bot site...

* * * * *

Seriously, turning the topic on it's head, let's look at MMO's.

Can you win with a good sword and armour, and a lot of gold pieces? Don't even bother trying.

Nobody wins MMO's off solo-ing, pure personal individual effort and personal skill. Does the CEO of General Motors have a +50 rivet gun? Ah, no.

The sword you carry or craft in any of those games is almost worthless.

Realise that, and suddenly, you'll win any MMO you want.

Very clever. Well written (coming from an EX-WoW addict).

As I've said before, Second Life is an MMO that has THE best crafting and merchant guild ever.

I too am a refugee from WoW. WoW is a GREAT game! But this is a world...

*farms gold*

I think the author is projecting, and very much oversimplifying what SL is. If your whole reason for being in SL is to gain popularity and find your way into the "in crowd" (whatever that is) then it stands to reason that you might see SL the way he does. It's an entirely self-imposed condition. If SL is your creative outlet and that creative exercise isn't dependent on the approval or recognition of others then I can't imagine seeing SL as a caste system. I think for people who do, it's all in their heads.

It's kinda like life in general. When I was in middle school all I wanted was to fit in and to get into the cliques with the "cool kids." It was a miserable way to go through life and very self-defeating. I outgrew that in highschool and became my own person, and started to enjoy myself and my life a whole lot more, and lo and behold I started to become more popular as a result. Amazing what happens when you put the cart behind the horse where it belongs. You stop getting trampled by arbitrary expectations.

There are people who judge their success in life by the number of "friends" they have on MySpace, and there are those who don't. Which type you are isn't something forced on you by the world around you. It's something you do to yourself.

I think this is a bit difficult though.

If your creative outlet truly isn't at all dependant on the approval or recognition of others, than SL is a really expensive way of doing it - when you aren't gaining anything. After all, you can create using Blender, Photoshop, and similar; SL just serves as a way to share your creations with other people, but if you don't need/want the approval or recognition of others, why would you need to?

Plus, often having the right friends is a huge help in being able to develop creatively.

Every human society I ever heard of had "classes," or other social distinctions. This one too. But here, you don't have to care! You can do your own thing, find others who agree with you if you need to, and tell the "in-Crowd" if there really is one (I went to high school too) to go fuck themselves, and IT WILL NOT MATTER TO YOUR LIFE IN SL!!!

Who could ask for anything more than that?

I sense a small inconsistency here.

I think the article uses a really interesting lens to look at SL. I'm not a gamer or hugely competitive, so it never occurred to me to view those who put the time in to generate fabulous content as "winners". But clearly the author sees having others use your content as 'influence', the exertion of influence as 'power' and therefore as an indication of 'winning' or 'caste'. Interesting.

There are a lot of lenses. Personally, I see SL as a fabulous global playground where you get to experience a lot of small societies, micro-cultures, really quickly. And these micro-cultures are each made up of like-minded people from around the world. Wheeeeee! It's a dream for a dilletante sociologist.

Michael, you clearly look at the game through a builder's lens. Your post lets slip that, as you typed it, you saw two classes in SL -- creative, passionate builders , and Slingo-playing camping parasites. LOL!! I'm sure you didn't mean to overlook the thousands of residents who bring credit cards and have great fun touring around appreciating builds, buying objects, putting objects on land or themselves, and socializing with the mobs wafting through the game.

But mostly, I think it's really amazing that in such a short time a world has been created that is complex enough that it looks completely different when viewed through different lenses.

Word! And the word is - "complex"!

I think you are right on the money. Those who are competitive by nature, can create a scorecard of any type they like, and consult it regularly to determine whether they are one of the "winners" or one of the "losers" in SL.

But people come to SL for a huge variety of reasons. And it is already a very very very complex world.

I also completely agree with Nika. SL is far too big and far too diverse to define and it completely depends on the subjective lens any single person chooses to see it through. Well said

SO who's part of the in-crowd? and where do they hang?

is the in-crowd here the popular people who hang out in the most popular clubs or is the in-crowd the people who have the business connections in SL that will help you to climb the SL economic ladder?

Dearly Darling,

I hate to break it to you....but there are no social ladders to climb here. Maybe a step stool now and then, but no ladders.

You all have a lovely evening.
Ever Yours,

Mrs. Showdog Tiger

Word! Again!

If you have to ask who the in crowd is, they obviously aren't very 'in', are they?

I wouldn't worry about it. I think 'in crowds' are more a social manifestation of people not in them, but *want* to have a lot of friends &c.

A problem instantly solved by being nice and just saying hello. Pretty soon, those on the social fringe will be wondering how to be cool like you and your friends...

I write, from time to time. Once i was too intimidated by the writers i admire to put pen to paper.. until i read this ... from a writer i respect...

1 Write to be a better writer
2 Write for self-Fulfillment
3 THEN write for everyone else.

I apply this to everything creative i do. If Picasso had been put off by having to follow Michaelangelo or Raphael... if feeling the need for approval he had looked at Van Gogh (who never sold a painting in his lifetime) if Beethoven had compared himself to Mozart...

Creativity is sometimes a lonely road.. scary.. artists need courage.. If you do it for others, you might never start.. or at least give up the first time someone politely said "Mmm... nice..."

imogen... out there, scared, but passionate, and keeping on keeping on

All MMO's are mini social worlds with people who get different things out if it at different times. In fact, you could argue the same for any social system- Gardeners Club, corporations, even a neighborhood. The difference between MMO's like WoW and EQ is that they put distinct labels on levels of progress and provide a specific reward for advancement. The concept of social advancement is not new- nor, even, the concept of rewarded behaviors (See: Pavlov). Putting them together isn't even very new.

Any conglomeration of people will eventually devolve into a class system with winners and losers and people who don't even play for the win/loss... so in that aspect, sure you can compare SL and WoW. You can even compare a gardening club and WoW or SL or both. The differences are in names and types of reward only.

Have you guys read Snow Crash?

The better the avatar etc ...

I think it's kind of nice that the defaults aren't black and white and there's a choice of more than ONE default these days ...

I think there definitely is a class society in SL, even if people don't wish to accept that this is the case. Then again I am English and being an uppity little oik I never did know my place!

(OK ...OK ... painfully middle class ...)