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Journalist looking for veteran Second Life residents for a game article

Fastrez

By Fastrez,
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Fastrez

Fastrez

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Hi guys, I've just signed up to Second Life to experienc it and to better understand it in the run up to the its tenth anniversary next year, and I'm looking for veteran users who have been registers and active for five years-plus who wouldn't mind being interviewed for a big article onthe subject for my site VG24.com.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd love to speak with you about your personal stories within Second Life, your love for it and why you've decided to stay as a resident for so long.
You can get me on Twitter at @davescook - give me a shout there and I can DM you my email address, or just DM me here.
 
Thanks guys, looking forward to hearing from some of you soon :)
 
Dave
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Perrie Juran

Perrie Juran

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Fastrez wrote:

Thanks very much
:)

 

Are there any prolific players that you would suggest I contact in particular? I'm looking for a breadth of people from all backgrounds.

 

Thanks again,

 

Dave

"Are there any prolific players...."

Here is where you will already begin to get in trouble.  By referring to us as "players."  You will be much safer if you use the term "users." 

I don't 'play' at SL.  I use it.  It is a medium by which I express myself and connect with others who think like me, share common interests, etc.

While it is true that there are games you can play in SL, SL itself is not a game.  It is a Virtual World Platform.  I consider myself a resident of this World.  It's really that simple to me.

 

been here six some odd years

 

ETA, Yes, I do treat it as a real place even if it is only "virtual."

 

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Fastrez

Fastrez

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This is already excellent feedback thank you, as I'm willing to learn about the way you use Second Life. I'm coming at it fresh to better understand the culture of the user base.

 

Is it a common trait for second life users to avoid the term 'player'?

 

I may ask some silly questions but I'm here to learn and investigate more than anything :)

 

Would you be interested in an interview?

 

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Perrie Juran

Perrie Juran

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Fastrez wrote:

 

Is it a common trait for second life users to avoid the term 'player'?

 

That has been and continues to be the subject of a lot of discussions.  I mainly suggest that "User" is a safer term to use.  You will find there are two camps in SL.  Those who say "it's only a game' and may even go as far as to disparage any of us who say it isn't a game and take our relationships in SL more seriously.

 

Fastrez wrote:

 

Would you be interested in an interview?

I'm considering it.

I will add you will find that we get hit here by people purporting to be college students doing papers on SL all the time.  They present us with surveys that make us wonder how they even made it out of Kindergarten.

Also, some of us are very leery because of the yellow journalism we have seen.  As a journalist you would fully understand how the Media likes to capitalize on the sensational.  A drug might save a hundred peoples lives but if one person dies from it the headline will read, "Drug Kills A Person."

In addition, you may find many of us would want to see some very solid credentials.

 

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Dillon Levenque

Dillon Levenque

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Other people have already mentioned this but I'll chime in, too. I don't qualify, btw: only starting my fifth year.

You will find very few people who HAVE been here five and more years who think of Second Life as a game, so I'd really lose that whole approach if that is the sort of responder you seek.

Also, you asked for names of 'prolific players'. While there are plenty of people who are pretty well-known in the Second Life community the fame is almost always a result of the person's creative skills. There aren't any 'really good Second Life players'. Well, maybe there are, but it's not a concept I've ever heard mentioned. There aren't levels. It's a virtual world and different people enjoy it for different reasons, but it is very un-game-like.

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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Fastrez wrote:

This is already excellent feedback thank you, as I'm willing to learn about the way you use Second Life. I'm coming at it fresh to better understand the culture of the user base.

 

Is it a common trait for second life users to avoid the term 'player'?

 

 

You've already seen that, especially among the target demographic you want, referring to us as "players" is not a good idea.  The term Linden Lab uses is "resident" which is a good representation of what we are - residents living our "second lives."

Also referring to SL as a "game" generally doesn't go over well with those of us who have been on SL 5+ years.  I personally use the term "virtual world."

Good luck!

 

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Fastrez

Fastrez

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That's understandable and to be honest I detest sensationalism. This is me:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Cook

 

I'm multi award winning, have seven years published experience and I'm curre fly working as uk news editor at VG247.com.

 

I'm fascinated at the way Second Life has sustained for so long and with such a dedicated user base. The digital landscape is volatile so it's rare for entities online - be they social hubs, tools, games and indeed user experiences like Second Life to thrive in this manner. It's impressive and I want to gain insight into this world.

 

My aim is to interview Linden Lab, and to speak with you, the users, to gain that insight into why people individually feel compelled to use Second Life for so long, and to give people a real sense of how people use it. Such insight is rare but I want to tell this story at a personal and frank level.

 

So, that's me. Please ask my any follow up questions about my work or the angle. Again, I'm here to learn and to talk with you guys about second life.

 

Thanks again,

 

Dave

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Fastrez

Fastrez

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That was a typo, my site VG247 is owned by the Eurogamer network. I have asked my editor Pat about this and he's happy for me to do this for VG247 rather than Eurogamer.net, if of course I can gain enough insight from the user community.

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Fastrez

Fastrez

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This is already interesting, and gives me a better understanding of Second Life. I have to keep apologising as I am coming at this cold, but I am genuinely here to learn more and steep myself in the experience. I plan on researching this feature for a few months before writing it, after all this isn't something I can just use for a long weekend and claim to be all-knowing. So I'm hoping to work with the community to better understand these terms, points of view and more.

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Echo Hermit

Echo Hermit

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This could be interesting.

I'm relatively new, having joined Second Life as a resident in November 2007.  If you want to ask me questions, you can click on my name, and to the right hand side of the screen that comes up you'll see the option to send me a private message.

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Syo Emerald

Syo Emerald

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Finally someone who shows real interest and takes care about the subject he wants to write about (as Perrie already said, we use to get hit by a lot surveys...I remember one from last week which spoke of Second Life as some sort of website).


The term of players as description for the people in Second Life and game as a term for Second Life is not really hitting the truth. A game always has goals to reach which are given by the developers. Like reaching a certain level or gaining a certain achievement. Second Life hasn't anything of this. Also there are no general quests to do (except the ones in Linden Realms). Also game and players imply that the things which happen in SL aren't as real or important as if they would happen in the real world. But since Second Life is based on social interaction of some kind there are often deep feelings included. There are people here who found love in Second Life which sometimes leed to real life marriages and others who feel the same for their friends online and offline.

Thats normally the group who feels uncomfortable, if it gets "reduced" to a game with players, cause it would mean to just "pretend" to be in love/be friends.

On the other hand some escorts like to see it more as an erotic gameplay and don't want to be seen in the same category as real life prostitues. And then there are those who mainly use Second Life for roleplay.

Sadly I'm "only" for two and a half year in SL now, so I won't fall into the group you are looking for :(

But if you are also looking for users from non-english speaking countries or people who have experiance with different avatartypes (not just human) or anything else...I will be glad to help.

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Fastrez

Fastrez

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That's a really compelling answer, thank you :) I already see the distinction you mean and I only started this thread this evening. It's this kind of insight I was hoping for. I must continually stress that there will be stupid questions but that's Ju I'm here - to learn.

 

As such I'd be happy to include you in my criteria if you'd be happy to answe some questions. Let me know what you think.

 

Dave

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Dillon Levenque

Dillon Levenque

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I agree with Syo's comment after mine—it does appear you are in earnest about learning what all this is. She's right: we get a whole lot of very bogus-sounding requests for survey answers so we're probably all a bit gun-shy.

Naturally the only way to really learn about Second Life is to get inworld. You must keep in mind that while there is a whole lot of Second Life knowledge in the posession of the forumites, we are a tiny fraction of the actual SL population, and probably one that has a much higher concentration of creators/merchants/entertainers than is found inworld.

On the other hand I would not at all mind responding to an email q&a, so if you want to include me just do as Echo Hermit suggested and send me a contact PM here.

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Bevan Whitfield

Bevan Whitfield

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Hi, 

Sent you a twitter response - hope to hear from you :-)

Bevan Whitfield

Rockcliffe University; http://www.urockcliffe.com

Kent State University VSTEM program - Virtual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education: 4th Annual Conference – March 15-18, 2012 http://www.vwbpe.org/ 

Skype : Elisa Butler (Bevan Whitfield - SL)
Twitter : Bevan Whitfield (Elisa Butler)
Facebook : http:// http://www.facebook.com/bevanwhitfield.elisabutler 
Linkedin : http://www.linkedin.com/in/eibutler
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