Research on why people play Second Life

[Clarissa Lowell]

I wanna know where this will be published before you can print it. Here are my answers.

1. I joined in public beta. Real life kept me very busy at the time and my computer couldn't keep up very well. When I could log in, no one was usually there. Eventually my log in didn't work. Or I lost it. I can't remember. So then I joined again in 2004. That time I really wanted to get the 4096 lifetime membership. That's how much land you got forever. I couldn't talk my SO into it. I should've done it anyway. Then they told me my log in was lost in some accident. I joined again in 2006. This time I went premium. Last time they said all the basic ones were wiped out. My 2006 log in still works, and that's me.

2. Not very often any more.

3. I read about the first virtual world in a magazine. I would have joined before public beta if I could. I remember I kept trying to sign up but it wasn't open yet. I wish I could get that log in back. I like things that are different or first.

4. That question sucks.

[Griffin Ceawlin]

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caligirl07 wrote:

I chose to write on trust in virtual communities and specifically narrowed  in on Second Life.

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One wonders why you didn't jump right in and ask any questions regarding trust in SL, if that is indeed the topic of your paper.

Will there be more surveys? Or is the type of distrust that has so far been displayed your desired "result"?

[Clarissa Lowell]

Researchers have been coming to the forums for years, caligirl. You don't have to keep apologizing. Just take their advice. Go in world. Why do researchers always refuse to do that? Guess you are looking for a few pull quotes for a preconceived paper or something easy to write. Or do you want to know what it's like in Second Life? Which one makes a better paper.

Stop apologizing so much. It just sounds patronizing. You probably don't mean it that way but it does. Over apologizing makes it sound like you are afraid we might bite you. So does not going in world, come to think of it. You joined or you couldn't post here. So go in world and hang out and see what it is like for yourself.

"I'm writing a paper" has been said hundreds of times to us and it does not impress us. It is likely to just get met with hostility which is what you are getting. I could make the same mistake in your shoes so I answered you anyway even if you are too vague about your "research" and that makes me a little suspicious. That's the other mistake most of the "researchers" make. They want people to open up and say "why they escape reality" but they don't share anything back.

PS Here is one from earlier this month. Only took looking a few pages back. We just get sick of it.

[Rufferta]

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caligirl07 wrote:

Hey all,

I am writing a research paper on why people play Second Life and what they feel they obtain from playing Second Life. I  began to play Second Life this week to help me research but I wanted the input of people who play Second Life on a daily basis. 

I am researching the different reasons people play online virtual worlds, specifically Second Life and I would greatly appreciate your opinion!

The questions I am asking are:

1. How long have you been playing second life?

I have been a resident for about seven months

2. How often do you play second life?

I log in whenever the wolves are sleeping.

3. Why did you begin playing second life?

I was doing research for an article, but by the time it was published I was hooked.

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality?

I can explore: For about a year I had been unable to travel in RL, so I traveled in SL.

I am enjoying terraforming, designing, and building.

I can forget the wolves at the door and lose myself in wonder at what other residents have created. Reality is for sissies.

You have my permission to use my answers and username in your paper; however, please correct any grammar and spelling mistakes you find.

..................

Only reply to this message if you feel comfortable with me using your answers and username in my paper; as you respond to this blog, please state that you give me permission to use or quote you in my research paper, thanks!. I greatly appreciate everyone's input and answers! Thanks! 

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[Orca Flotta]

1. How long have you been playing using second life?

Almost 6 years.

 

2. How often do you play use second life?

More or less every day, 5 mins to 10 hours.

 

3. Why did you begin playing using second life?

Read about it in a magazine and found the concept quite intriguing. Downloaded the viewer, logged on and was addicted 5 minutes later.

 

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality life?

I can be like really sexy, rich, outgoing, opinionated, can be a total **bleep**, a good girl, an artist, a business woman, a hippie, a punk, a lady, start a revolution, do everything, get away with everything. The lack of responsibility is maybe the most compelling reason for most residents for why they keep coming back, even though they won't admit it.

[Jo Yardley]

1. How long have you been playing second life?

I joined in 2007, hated it and left.

Returned in 2009, have been here ever since.

2. How often do you play second life?

Every day, at least an hour.

3. Why did you begin playing second life?

First time I tried it because I heard about it and was curious.

Second time I rejoined just to test the abilities of my new computer.

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality?

Time travel.

SL allows me to create (historical) worlds and share my passion for the past with others from all over the globe.

To me SL is a great and unique educational tool and a way to share my passion.

[SilverBear Lykin]

I assume you are collage level, so I will try to give detailed answers, you may quote, paraphrase or whatever else is needed as you see fit.

1. How long have you been playing second life?

Since 8/27/2007, so about 5 years now.

2. How often do you play second life?

Everyday for a few hours.

3. Why did you begin playing second life?

My husband at the time played and wanted me to try it, at first I hated it, it seemed so pointless. I stuck with it though, found a few fun things to do and here I sit 5 years later. The game outlasted the marriage.

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality?

Instant customization. In SL I can change my look in a matter of minutes from thin to heavy, human to creature, there are no limitations. If I want to move a wall in my home, I do so there is no contractor to be hired, no money to be paid, no hassle to deal with. I enjoy watching dancers, social interactions and other 'normal' SL facets, if I just sat down in a random real world place to observe people for a couple hours someone would find it weird. Overall though my favorite thing about secondlife is what almost made me quit the game to begin with, there is no point to it. It has no requirements, nothing you HAVE to do it is all by choice.

[Tex Monday]

I do hope this is a legitimate research paper, although I don't know what you could get out of this if it wasn't...people's names..spam them inworld???

Being a former marketing major (too many lifetimes ago to remember)..here are my answers to your questions.

 

1. How long have you been playing second life?

I started my first account in February 2008...my second in November 2009.

2. How often do you play second life?

I am inworld almost every weekday(not as much on the weekends)...usually for about 3-4 hours per day.

3. Why did you begin playing second life?

Initially, I found out about it from an adult website that I was a member of. I thought it would be fun to expand on that fetish in a fantasy world.

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality?

Mostly the ability to act out fantasies that I would be unable to do in real life and to find likeminded people..which I have had the good fortune to do.

 

[Czari Zenovka]

In my opinion, this is the proper format in which to conduct research online.  Granted, this example was for a Masters Thesis, but some crucial information (name of school, name of research supervisor/professor, specifics on the research, etc) is noted which immediately makes this request much more professional and believeable.

I am certainly not adverse to online mediums utilized for educational research considering I did so for my grad. school Masters Thesis; however, it was quite awhile ago, thus the medium I chose was Internet Relay Chat (IRC).  My topic concerned a specific type of activity; I joined an IRC channel where people were involved in/discussed that activity and, as others have suggested, participated, watched, and learned. 

I don't expect a Junior in college writing a report to be as detailed as the example given in my first paragraph, but more information given comes across as more credible than, "I have some questions," especially given the number of people who post similarly on a regular basis within these forums.  You haven't upset or insulted me, just a few pointers that might be helpful going forward.

 

 

 

 

[Locke Nider]

Caligirl, I'm sorry that some of the people here seem a bit rude to you; some of the forum regulars can be snarky dicks at times  But even then, you're not the first (and certainly not the last person) to have these types of surveys on the message board.

[Perrie Juran]

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caligirl07 wrote:

Hi Perrie Juran,

I apologize for not giving any credientials or background information on my research. I  am a junior in college and we have to write a 12 page paper on any topic of our choice. I chose to write on trust in virtual communities and specifically narrowed  in on Second Life. I have spent many hours researching why people become a resident and participate in Second Life. I began to study this because it is extremely interesting to me. I definitely did not mean to insult or upset anyone with my research question. The reason my question is so basic is because my topic is basic and I wanted the opinion of residents on Second Life. The way I chose to word my questions was not meant to be exclusive or meant in any way specificially. I apologize if I insulted anyone because that was definitely not my intent. I greatly appreciate everyone's responses and help! Thanks !

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Well, I said I'd get back to this so here I am.

 

1. How long have you been playing a Resident of Second Life?

A little over 5 years.

2. How often do you play Second Life  go In World?

On average, about 3 to 4 hours a day.

3. Why did you begin playing logging in to Second Life?

I was looking for a diversion and something to do.  I had heard people mentioning it on a Forum I used to post on.  I also had read an article about it and it sounded interesting, that it might be what I was looking for.  So I made an account, logged in, and have been here ever since.

4. What do you gain from Second Life that you can’t get from reality?

Actually, I consider Second Life a Reality.  It is just that it is taking place in a Virtual World.  I am not interacting with a computer.  I am interacting with other people, Residents of Second Life.  It does afford me the ability to explore other life styles in ways that I can't in the real world in a safe environment.  Should I discover I don't like something I can always click the red X at the top of my screen.  There were sides to me that I learned how to express in SL that might have been much more difficult to do in the real world.  I feel more unified as a person.

--------------------------------------------------

As to the question of trust, I really don't think it functions any different in an On Line Community than in the so called Real World Community other than it can be harder to earn.  That is the sad side of the Internet to me.  People can and will do things they wouldn't normally do or could not get away with doing because they can hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.

Right now I am trusting you are who you said you are.  To a degree you earned that trust by your initial responses.  It could still be that you aren't who you said and hence I would deem you a totally untrustworthy person.

I want to believe you are trustworthy, but I don't give that trust easily. 

I once read in someones profile, "Of all the things a person can choose to be here, why would anyone choose to be a jack@@s?"

Those are strong words but to me they are very true.

Perrie

[VRprofessor]

And if your college is located in the U.S. you will need permission from your institutional review board before collecting data from human subjects.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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caligirl07 wrote:

Hi Perrie Juran,

I apologize for not giving any credientials or background information on my research. I  am a junior in college and we have to write a 12 page paper on any topic of our choice. I chose to write on

trust in virtual communities

and specifically narrowed  in on Second Life. I have spent many hours researching why people become a resident and participate in Second Life. I began to study this because it is extremely interesting to me. I definitely did not mean to insult or upset anyone with my research question. The reason my question is so basic is because my topic is basic and I wanted the opinion of residents on Second Life. The way I chose to word my questions was not meant to be exclusive or meant in any way specificially. I apologize if I insulted anyone because that was definitely not my intent. I greatly appreciate everyone's responses and help! Thanks !

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trust?!?! in SL?!?!?! stop stop stop, i can't breathe!! 

in all seriousness.. search survey and research and use the answers you find there.

[Feldspar Millgrove]

Here are typical rules; check with your particular school.

http://research.unc.edu/ccm/groups/public/@research/@hre/documents/content/ccm3_021320.pdf

[Phil Deakins]

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caligirl07 wrote:

1. How long have you been playing second life?

Second Life isn't a game so I don't play it. I've been using it for 6 years.

2. How often do you [use] second life?

Daily.

3. Why did you begin [us]ing second life?

A friend told me about it and I had a look.

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality?

 

For me, Second Life

is

reality. I am real at the keyboard. My thoughts, feelings, conversations, etc. are all the real me and Second Life doesn't give me anything that I can't get from anywhere else. If I were a roleplayer, it might be different, but I'm not.

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[Drake1 Nightfire]

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Locke Nider wrote:

Caligirl, I'm sorry that some of the people here seem a bit rude to you; some of the forum regulars can be

snarky

dicks at times  But even then, you're not the first (and certainly not the last person) to have these types of surveys on the message board.

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I'm not snarky.... I'm sharky, get it right.

[Melita Magic]

The fact that most of these survey takers (if not all) do not follow academic procedure or rules, nor do most (if any) seem to show any respect for the community they wish to 'study,' nor are most if any willing to come back with a link to the results, nor are they willing to spend any time in world, speaks volumes to me.

If that means people who call attention to the obvious are being "snarky dicks" then so be it.

Personally I think all the gall rests on the other side of that equation.

When did academia become so desperate for money that it allows "asking questions in a message board" to be adequate substance for a graded thesis?

[beladona Memorial]

1. How long have you been playing second life?

I first joined the beta grid back in 2003, but on dial up it was an excruciating experience that I quickly terminated.  My oldest avatar has been a resident of SL since 12.05.05

2. How often do you play second life?

*sighs a little at the reiteration of the word "play" and quietly states that I am an immersionist*  This is my 2nd Life and I am in world as often as my schedule permits,  3-5 hours in the evening on weekdays and a whole lot on seekends and holidays.

3. Why did you begin playing second life?

Curiosity.

4. What do you gain from second life that you can’t get from reality?

Social networking and connections that I cannot form in RL.  

The ability to RP and fantaxize

 

[Dillon Levenque]

Well since you feel such sympathy for caligirl perhaps you should answer her survey questions and stop acting like a snarky dick, calling other people names.

Of the seemingly endless stream of questionnaires and surveys that find their way to this forum I've seen two that seemed to me to be honestly presented by serious people. I participated on both of those (one of which is presumably on-going, the surveyor having taken our advice and gone inworld).

 

 

edited to correct one of my most common mistakes: there, their, they're

 

[Czari Zenovka]

Instead of repeating what has already been said, I agree with Melita's and Dillon's posts above.

[Melita Magic]

Thank you both. /applauds

[Perrie Juran]

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Melita Magic wrote:

The fact that most of these survey takers (if not all) do not follow academic procedure or rules, nor do most (if any) seem to show any respect for the community they wish to 'study,' nor are most if any willing to come back with a link to the results, nor are they willing to spend any time in world, speaks volumes to me.

If that means people who call attention to the obvious are being "snarky dicks" then so be it.

Personally I think all the gall rests on the other side of that equation.

When did academia become so desperate for money that it allows "asking questions in a message board" to be adequate substance for a graded thesis?

---

I also think that many if not close to all of them, even if they are legitimate, have any comprehension of the size of the task they are undertaking.  I've been here almost six years now and have been involved in innumerable discussions about Second Life.  I also think I am fairly good at expressing myself.  Yet still articulating why Second Life captured my "imagination" and why I stay can still be challenging.

I remember back before there was an Internet how we were already talking about "our shrinking world."  How high speed travel, the telephone, radio, etc, was bringing us all closer together.  Now in many ways  the Internet has accelerated this 'shrinking' even more.

 

[Melita Magic]

Well said. I agree it is not something that can be understood and translated after a simple sit down session. At best it will just be another article with preconceived notions. The best articles will come from within the place. They (almost all of them) won't even spend a half hour in world, so I can't take them seriously.

Even the ones who will go in world for the interview, have no investment in the community or the 'world' of Second Life, so I can't help but give their curiosity the side eye. It's like feeling an elephant with a blindfold on. Which bit you approach for that one session, will inform your description. But it won't be whole or accurate.

[David Cartier]

The responses that your post is getting are perhaps more telling, more valuable than the answers to your questions might have been. I'm not sure what, if any value this kind of research could bear. I would be happy to help, but for the fact that I no longer log in on a daily or sometimes even weekly basis. The developers have slowly killed off ever source of joy that SL once had for many of us.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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David Cartier wrote:

 The developers have slowly killed off ever source of joy that SL once had for many of us.

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Such as? I log in daily, spend time chatting with friends, exploring SL, visiting RP sims, building new things, creating clothing.. what did you like to do that LL took away?  Shag kids? you can still do anything your heart desires (within the law, that is) that you could back in the "good ol days" hell you can do more now.