August 26, 2007
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Second Life
If you need to know anything at all about Second Life, then please read the following:
I floated around SL for about three hours yesterday, and a couple hours today, and this is an exhaustive list of everyone I encountered. Two were engaged in a slave/bondage type thing, and I interrupted. Two were skript kiddies who tried to shoot me with a gun because I was a newbie. One approached and tried to be helpful by telling me to search for places to go based on 'my interests or hobbies,' which is pretty funny since if I want to engage in my hobbies, I don't need Second Life. A group of five people were at an 'art gallery,' speaking Spanish to each other. Another person didn't speak very good English, so I had to wander off politely.
And that's it for the social scene. Some of the architecture is lovely, but mostly it's just crap and only speaks ill of the psychology involved in its creation (who builds castles in a place where you can fly?) The best thing I found was Greenie's, which I can't describe or it won't be fun for you.
The land is for sale. That is, it's real estate. That's their model: Sell 'land.' Everywhere you go, there are signs that a given island is owned by a holding company (an in-game holding company) and is for sale. Some sellers subdivide, which is just freakin' peachy: Build a virtual subdivision.
Oftentimes, soaring around through the sky, you bump into boundaries. I really don't understand the exclusionary aspect of this place. A couple times I would land on a building and it would tell me that I was not authorized to land there, and I would be ejected. And ten seconds later I was teleported a block over or whatever. And so I'd fly back to the same building and it would happen over again. Which made no sense at all, really, because NO ONE WAS HOME. According to login statistics, there were 40,000 people logged in. I encoutered 11 of them over two days. But this building was completely empty. The map tells you these things. So what, exactly, was being guarded?
Nothing.
Comments (6)
I've tried to get into SL on many occasions, and each time I reach the same, inevitable conclusion that it's just the world's slowest chat room.
Were the script kiddies furries? You know, anthropomorphic animals? I read an article in the New York Times recently about questionable (or perhaps not so questionable) relationships in SL. The guy featured in the article was married in real life, and his avatar was married in Second Life (to a different woman, of course). He "owns" strip clubs and bars and has "sex" with his "hot" fake wife. Strangely enough, his actual wife is a bit annoyed at all this. (Actually, what's strange is that she's still with him. Maybe she's hoping he'll snap out of it.)
I have heard that despite the media hype, SL is an empty place. Lotsa purty software, but no one's home.
obligatory satire
The whole idea kind of creeps me out. I'd like to explore it at some point but don't have time right now. I'm interested to read your reports, though. Glad you were at least able to get high. Where did you "buy" the weed from?
great. I was waiting for you to do my homework for me.. The 'first-life' parody is perfect!
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