Is it just me or are there less stores now? And where do you find a place with non-AFK people? Virtual worlds really are in decline, sadly.

[LennoxGregor 18]

Hi. Sorry if this is in the wrong subforum and I hope you don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that SL is dying, but it does seem emptier now. This post may turn out to be long.

Let's just say that I'm a semi-noob. I don't know how to do many things, but I know how to at least open boxes, resize items and I can get by with the camera controls. I used to inform myself about SL, so I am not that stupid on how things work around here - and I've loved the metaverse idea since forever.

Despite my young age (20), I have always been involved with SL (and virtual worlds) in some capacity. I came here, made a character, dressed up, chatted with people, tried things out for a bit, then left. I first created an account here in late 2006 (I believe). They still had last names! 

Throughout the years there were many other accounts, but I never stayed for too long. I was a minor then, and I didn't want to get in trouble. My computer(s) sucked too so I wasn't able to have the best experience. When I was finally old enough to try out the Teen Grid, they had gotten rid of it, and I wouldn't have been able to afford the membership fee anyway. I also recall Teen Grid being mostly comprised of US/Canada members because other countries had problems or something like that.

Now I am old enough to enjoy SL without restrictions, and I am going to get a new machine soon (this one is extremely obsolete). I may consider verifying my age and buying Lindens too.

From my previous time here, I remember seeing lots of places, but I never knew where the action was; if I searched for locations I usually found an empty lot. I did find people to chat with however, and it was interesting. There are also times when SL is a trend/has a spike in popularity, but now it seems that it is largely ignored. There are barely any newbies now. They used to be so much more common. I would go to other grids but they are empty - so main is the way to go.

There were also so many cool products especially for alternative/subculture avatars, but now it is harder to find things like that, or other things I want. This wasn't a problem before, but I didn't have money so I couldn't afford anything. It seems like the marketplace search algorithms have gotten wonky. It's frustrating because it took me and my friend 2 days to find actually good clothing that fit our personal style. I use the classic avatar currently due to lack of Lindens, but now everything is for mesh bodies.

Where the h*ck are people now? Where are the shops? I can't find what I need either in-world or the marketplace. It doesn't help that now I am using a male character (long story) and there are less options for menswear in general. I don't mind doing drag and wearing a dress once in a while, but I want nice male clothing.

I log in at night so this might be the problem, but still, I never see more than 50 people in any given region now, and the most popular places seem to be clubs or nude beaches... as always. (Oh, the lag!). How do I find clubs that play alternative and electronic music? I lucked out once, but that was 2 years ago.

I want to roleplay, but it seems like a lot of sims have closed down in the past few years, and I'm still not very good at roleplaying, much less on SL. I would need other players to have patience. I'm planning to RP casually with some friends.

I've always wanted to get a job here, but I never had a presentable avatar before, and I don't have any marketable skills (such as building). Least I could do is work as a DJ or a dancer/escort (lol).

I know that many previously active members of the community are leaving in droves because of certain reasons - mostly boredom/RL issues, but also due to Linden Lab's changing policies.

99% of the online games and virtual worlds I frequented are dead or in limbo, and I lost contact with nearly everyone from the past. This makes me sad because I see so much potential in things like this. Just as an example, I used to hang out with my friend in Habbo Hotel, but he's been super busy with RL affairs and lost interest in online games now that he's grown up. I decided to come back here again and I'm trying to show this place to some friends - one of them loved it and I'm glad.

I might even show SL to my mother. She is older and has a lot of free time. I think she'd enjoy socialising here and exploring.

It does seem like VR worlds are on the rise, so that's another cool idea.

Edited October 23, 2018 by LennoxGregor

[SAULGOODiE 441]

*Shops* in the traditional sense are definitely on the decline. Majority of shopping is done on marketplace, and social shopping tends to be done and "Exclusive Events"

All of the things you mention still exist, though perhaps not as widespread as before. There are plenty of clubs that feature unique alternative/electronic music. I would honestly recommend you spend some time with "Groups", there are many groups I am a part of that I rely on for club announcements and events where I can meet up with other people. Groups have become one of my favorite tools to "Find" people actually online and active. Think about it - if you join a Science Fiction group, for example, if you jump in the chat you are instantly connected to people with a similar interest all across the grid - it is such a better method than hopping around sims trying to find other residents or start random conversations.

The fact of the matter, as I always mention, is that you aren't going to find people standing around in public places. Active residents tend to frequent shopping events, featured sims, or just stay home for a photo shoot! The grid might not be the same as it used to be, but it's certainly not dead ?good luck with everything!

 

[BelindaN 14,028]

Stores may be less in number, but the ones I go to are often packed with active Avis..........The popular clubs and beaches are also packed but with the consequence of lag.

So it's just a matter of exploring the right sims.

[LennoxGregor 18]

13 minutes ago, SAULGOODiE said:

*Shops* in the traditional sense are definitely on the decline. Majority of shopping is done on marketplace, and social shopping tends to be done and "Exclusive Events"

All of the things you mention still exist, though perhaps not as widespread as before. There are plenty of clubs that feature unique alternative/electronic music. I would honestly recommend you spend some time with "Groups", there are many groups I am a part of that I rely on for club announcements and events where I can meet up with other people. Groups have become one of my favorite tools to "Find" people actually online and active. Think about it - if you join a Science Fiction group, for example, if you jump in the chat you are instantly connected to people with a similar interest all across the grid - it is such a better method than hopping around sims trying to find other residents or start random conversations.

The fact of the matter, as I always mention, is that you aren't going to find people standing around in public places. Active residents tend to frequent shopping events, featured sims, or just stay home for a photo shoot! The grid might not be the same as it used to be, but it's certainly not dead ?good luck with everything!

 

Thank you. I used to join groups just for freebies/gifts so I never knew their true potential. Good idea, I want to find more people who have things in common with me. I check out featured sims but a lot of them tend to be themed and sometimes you just want a café or a place to relax.

This post makes me more optimistic.

In regards to shopping, I don't know if the marketplace search algorithm is borked but I used to get way better results before. Maybe I haven't been using the filters properly.

[Cindy Evanier 12,826]

23 minutes ago, LennoxGregor said:

Despite my young age (20)

 

23 minutes ago, LennoxGregor said:

I first created an account here in late 2006

You were 8? 

I don't think people hang out in shops much unless there's some new grab it now item.  Events are where you find a crowd in the first few days.  There are still plenty of clubs around.  You are right about marketplace search, it does take a lot of work to find what you want.  Sometimes I find it easier to google something and include secondlife marketplace in the search and see what comes up

[SAULGOODiE 441]

@LennoxGregor I hope you can find everything you're looking for! ?

Gatchas have definitely made a bit of a mess of marketplace, but I still manage to find what I need! 

[LennoxGregor 18]

9 minutes ago, Cindy Evanier said:

 

You were 8? 

I don't think people hang out in shops much unless there's some new grab it now item.  Events are where you find a crowd in the first few days.  There are still plenty of clubs around.  You are right about marketplace search, it does take a lot of work to find what you want.  Sometimes I find it easier to google something and include secondlife marketplace in the search and see what comes up

Yeah, I was around that age, but now I am old enough (over 18) to come here without LL hating me forever, and like I said, I want to verify my age and buy Lindens now (as soon as I can). And I signed up in 2006 but didn't actually use the software until much later.

If the Teen Grid was available when I was an actual teenager I would have joined it. But it doesn't matter now lol.

Before I just wanted to make an avatar and in the past SL was a trend so everybody was signing up (especially in 2007 when they created international grids).

In regards to the marketplace, I do find things on Google sometimes when I'm not even looking specifically. I might have to try that again.

Edited October 23, 2018 by LennoxGregor

[Alyona Su 10,698]

28 minutes ago, LennoxGregor said:

Yeah, I was around that age, but now I am old enough (over 18) to come here without LL hating me forever,

You must be that newbie avatar I ran into back in 2006 (true story) who wanted to badly be friends with me and was asking all kinds of questions about the kid-looking avatars (pointing to one in the immediate area) and why they looked like that and I told you how they role-play being adopted to have other avatars as mom and dad and you freaked out saying something along the lines of "Wait, you mean that 8 year-old kid is like some 50 year old man? GROSS!" - to which me and my friend laughed, the kid avatar poofed away, and we walked away and you followed us like a puppy dog for a half hour as we tried to ignore you and we were saying in IM:

Quote

• "Obvious kid sneaking into the adult grid, huh?"
• "Yeah, most likely, should we report him?"
• "No, let him have his fun, besides, there's stuff here that may scare him straight in real life"

 

 

 

 

WELCOME BACK!

Edited October 23, 2018 by Alyona Su

[Paul Hexem 2,657]

SL used to offer features that no other "game" offered.

Now other games are offering the same features, plus gameplay, plus optimization and better performance. 

There's just no incentive anymore. 

[LennoxGregor 18]

59 minutes ago, Alyona Su said:

You must be that newbie avatar I ran into back in 2006 (true story) who wanted to badly be friends with me and was asking all kinds of questions about the kid-looking avatars (pointing to one in the immediate area) and why they looked like that and I told you how they role-play being adopted to have other avatars as mom and dad and you freaked out saying something along the lines of "Wait, you mean that 8 year-old kid is like some 50 year old man? GROSS!" - to which me and my friend laughed, the kid avatar poofed away, and we walked away and you followed us like a puppy dog for a half hour as we tried to ignore you and we were saying in IM:

 

WELCOME BACK!

Haha, I wasn't that kid, but it sounds like a good story. Virtual worlds were a huge thing for kids around that time because you could create an avatar and chat with others. And thanks for the "welcome back!".

I made many friends in different virtual worlds and social networks but sadly I lost contact with pretty much everyone.

Second Life in particular sounded exciting because you could fly, ride a skateboard, play games like capture-the-flag, etc.

This is off-topic but while I agree that SL isn't for kids, I don't see a problem with teenagers here as long as they aren't bothering anyone and going to places they shouldn't. Maturity plays a part, too. Of course the official LL policy is that you need to be 16+ and stay in General-rated areas or 13+ if you have permission from an organisation.

Speaking from my experience at least, you really only encounter nudity if you're looking for it or if there is a griefer trying to annoy you. There is educational and artistic content on the grid and I know there were schools and universities offering inworld courses so SL can be beneficial for pretty much every user.

I remember seeing a lot of teenagers in 2010-11 but they always pretended to be older.

Ahem... we are beating a dead horse

57 minutes ago, Gadget Portal said:

SL used to offer features that no other "game" offered.

Now other games are offering the same features, plus gameplay, plus optimization and better performance. 

There's just no incentive anymore. 

I don't know much new games. I know that GTA Online and VRchat are quite big, but from what I hear, in GTA everything is server-based so you end up with random people who may or may not be rude. VRchat looks exciting but I don't have a machine that would run that well yet.

Edited October 23, 2018 by LennoxGregor

[Phorumities 870]

1 hour ago, LennoxGregor said:

Hi. Sorry if this is in the wrong subforum and I hope you don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that SL is dying, but it does seem emptier now. This post may turn out to be long.

Let's just say that I'm a semi-noob. I don't know how to do many things, but I know how to at least open boxes, resize items and I can get by with the camera controls. I used to inform myself about SL, so I am not that stupid on how things work around here - and I've loved the metaverse idea since forever.

Despite my young age (20), I have always been involved with SL (and virtual worlds) in some capacity. I came here, made a character, dressed up, chatted with people, tried things out for a bit, then left. I first created an account here in late 2006 (I believe). They still had last names! 

Throughout the years there were many other accounts, but I never stayed for too long. I was a minor then, and I didn't want to get in trouble. My computer(s) sucked too so I wasn't able to have the best experience. When I was finally old enough to try out the Teen Grid, they had gotten rid of it, and I wouldn't have been able to afford the membership fee anyway. I also recall Teen Grid being mostly comprised of US/Canada members because other countries had problems or something like that.

Now I am old enough to enjoy SL without restrictions, and I am going to get a new machine soon (this one is extremely obsolete). I may consider verifying my age and buying Lindens too.

From my previous time here, I remember seeing lots of places, but I never knew where the action was; if I searched for locations I usually found an empty lot. I did find people to chat with however, and it was interesting. There are also times when SL is a trend/has a spike in popularity, but now it seems that it is largely ignored. There are barely any newbies now. They used to be so much more common. I would go to other grids but they are empty - so main is the way to go.

There were also so many cool products especially for alternative/subculture avatars, but now it is harder to find things like that, or other things I want. This wasn't a problem before, but I didn't have money so I couldn't afford anything. It seems like the marketplace search algorithms have gotten wonky. It's frustrating because it took me and my friend 2 days to find actually good clothing that fit our personal style. I use the classic avatar currently due to lack of Lindens, but now everything is for mesh bodies.

Where the h*ck are people now? Where are the shops? I can't find what I need either in-world or the marketplace. It doesn't help that now I am using a male character (long story) and there are less options for menswear in general. I don't mind doing drag and wearing a dress once in a while, but I want nice male clothing.

I log in at night so this might be the problem, but still, I never see more than 50 people in any given region now, and the most popular places seem to be clubs or nude beaches... as always. (Oh, the lag!). How do I find clubs that play alternative and electronic music? I lucked out once, but that was 3-4 years ago.

I want to roleplay, but it seems like a lot of sims have closed down in the past few years, and I'm still not very good at roleplaying, much less on SL. I would need other players to have patience. I'm planning to RP casually with some friends.

I've always wanted to get a job here, but I never had a presentable avatar before, and I don't have any marketable skills (such as building). Least I could do is work as a DJ or a dancer/escort (lol).

I know that many previously active members of the community are leaving in droves because of certain reasons - mostly boredom/RL issues, but also due to Linden Lab's changing policies.

99% of the online games and virtual worlds I frequented are dead or in limbo, and I lost contact with nearly everyone from the past. This makes me sad because I see so much potential in things like this. Just as an example, I used to hang out with my friend in Habbo Hotel, but he's been super busy with RL affairs and lost interest in online games now that he's grown up. I decided to come back here again and I'm trying to show this place to some friends - one of them loved it and I'm glad.

I might even show SL to my mother. She is older and has a lot of free time. I think she'd enjoy socialising here and exploring.

It does seem like VR worlds are on the rise, so that's another cool idea.

so you say you are now 20, you say you got your first account in 2006, so the first time you joined SL you were eight years old?

[LennoxGregor 18]

9 minutes ago, Phorumities said:

so you say you are now 20, you say you got your first account in 2006, so the first time you joined SL you were eight years old?

Yes, I have already said that. But I had just registered then. I wasn't a part of the "in-game world". I know this wasn't allowed, but it's in the past anyway and I can't change it.

Nowadays I want to connect with people on here, and maybe have fun. I want to find more friends on the Internet, but forums are often serious and cutthroat. SL tends to be more relaxed I guess.

I keep checking the Destination Guide - I might find something to do with friends. I worry if my friends are bored so I need a place where we can have fun and destress.

I want to buy Lindens/Premium so I can get a house but I need to connect Paypal to a bank or card first. This might take a while 

Edited October 23, 2018 by LennoxGregor

[Jameson2001 1,308]

1 hour ago, LennoxGregor said:

 I was around that age, but now I am old enough (over 18) to come here without LL hating me forever

One thing I have noticed compared to ten years ago is the average age of SL users seems to be increasing  (just like you 8 to 20).  When I first started I routinely ran into people in their late teens, early twenties and i usually visited popular sims.  Now, it is rare when I run into anyone under the age of 25 and even rarer to meet teens on SL (only two in the last year).   It may be that SL is not a fast paced enough gaming environment for young adults, or it could be that I am 10 years older and not going to the "cool" sims anymore.  Enjoy your time back on SL and I am sure you will find friends to hang out and have fun?

[LennoxGregor 18]

10 minutes ago, Jameson2001 said:

One thing I have noticed compared to ten years ago is the average age of SL users seems to be increasing  (just like you 8 to 20).  When I first started I routinely ran into people in their late teens, early twenties and i usually visited popular sims.  Now, it is rare when I run into anyone under the age of 25 and even rarer to meet teens on SL (only two in the last year).   It may be that SL is not a fast paced enough gaming environment for young adults, or it could be that I am 10 years older and not going to the "cool" sims anymore.  Enjoy your time back on SL and I am sure you will find friends to hang out and have fun?

Interesting observation

It's not you. You are right that things have changed. Virtual worlds have been in decline since around 2010 - basically when Facebook really exploded in popularity. Younger people prefer to watch YouTube and play other games. Second Life is too much of a relaxed environment for them to be in. And to be honest the engine is quite outdated (despite there being mesh avatars)... nowadays you have games that are super realistic and not as complex, you can just start the game and play. Second Life requires patience both to learn how to get by and to find places to go. I must be an old soul lol. This place seems more appealing to me than ever especially now that I am experimenting with gender expression via my avatar. Now I can talk with adults with no problems, and that's great.

Edited October 23, 2018 by LennoxGregor

[Klytyna 3,561]

59 minutes ago, LennoxGregor said:

everything is server-based so you end up with random people who may or may not be rude.

Sounds like FirstLife, and every other "world" imaginary or real...

Your account is created, you wander about a lot, surrounded by random people, some of whom may tell you to stick your head in a pig, and then your account gets deleted...

Get used to it. We call it "Life"
 

[LennoxGregor 18]

23 minutes ago, Klytyna said:

Sounds like FirstLife, and every other "world" imaginary or real...

Your account is created, you wander about a lot, surrounded by random people, some of whom may tell you to stick your head in a pig, and then your account gets deleted...

Get used to it. We call it "Life"
 

That's true! I have yet to learn how to deal with rude people effectively. But bad treatment is often unwarranted. I think once you get older and older you stop caring about what others think.

[Sandy Schnook 213]

Join a fun event, and not all are for shopping.  I'm doing the MadPea hunt right now and meeting lots of others doing the same hunt.  Most have been really great to run into, some become long term friends.  The group chat can also be quite chatty and entertaining. 

[Sylvannas Zulaman 1,753]

People are less AFK than you think they are, most of them just like to stand and look pretty and fish for compliments. I for one like to park at places and meet people but I'm the shy type so I'll hardly start a conversation. So if you ever see an avatar and you think "hey this person might be cool" check their profile firstl, I'm an avid profile reader and I can tell it usually helps a lot to find common interests.

As for shops, there are still PLENTY of shops, but for some weird reason some of them have names with few letters in it so the in world search won't like you typing it, which can make it harder to find. I'm a marketplace shopper myself, but I know that there are a few good stores that didn't transition to the website, or if they did they only added a few products and nothing else.

Male fashion in SL is REALLY annoying compared to female, that's the reason why I never got to do a male alt myself, I'd be frustrated and probably find it too hard to achieve the look I like. BUT there are a few saviors that can contribute to your search like @Skell Dagger and @Orwar, they both dress really well and will probably be able to direct you to good stores for male stuff.

[Callum Meriman 7,154]

3 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

Despite my young age (20), I have always been involved with SL (and virtual worlds) in some capacity. I came here, made a character, dressed up, chatted with people, tried things out for a bit, then left. I first created an account here in late 2006 (I believe).

2006 was 12 years ago. If you are 20 now that means you created a character when you were 8 years old?

[Orwar 18,102]

   The male fashion scene is... Not at its most diverse at the moment. If you enjoy looking like a Malibu beach wannabe gangster gone hipster, you're in luck though. Board shorts, tank tops and hoodies aplenty. If you want something more laid back or formal, there are a few great options though. 

   Deadwool is probably my favourite store, and it has been for a long time. The new releases may be few and far between - but the quality is just simply the best when it comes to menswear, and whilst much of the style is right up my alley, there are some 'deviations' that might not be right for me, but totally could work for someone else (I guess 'urban' or 'street' is the closest term I can think of for it). 

   Cold Ash is also great, more modern casual for the most part, but some very nice formal apparel as well. Quality is great, and you can easily work most of the clothing into various outfits to suit you.

   FashionNatic probably has the best 'wide' range of quality modern apparel. They make both men's and women's clothing, and I've shopped there extensively for both my male avi and my female photo alt. Unfortunately a lot of items tend to be a little frivolous with the materials, so if you're using advanced lighting model there may be some unfortunate über-gloss on leather and metal components.

   ContraptioN / Hot Dog has plenty of very nice quality stuff, mostly accessories from ContraptioN but both now make clothes and colaborate - although if you aren't into steampunk/dieselpunk/SciFi, it might not be for you.

   Agata Mode is, as far as I can tell, a pretty small store with not too many products out yet - again, it's a bit of a mix, but it's well worth a look. Also does both men's and women's, and it appears the ladies are getting most attention. 

   Ascend has some pretty nice stuff. It's not on par with the aforementioned in my opinion, and I've decided to not do more than a few purchases due to poor rigging - but the pieces that did work for me, and that appealed to my taste, are a very solid part of my wardrobe.

   If you're looking for fantasy / Gor apparel, I'd recommend checking out PFC and Noble Creations. I use my PFC outfits quite frequently for themed shots, even if I don't do any Gor or hang out much at fantasy sims.

   If you're texture-blind like most guys in SL, there's Gabriel. It's the store I love to hate. They do make some nice stuff, but the texture job is frequently sub par and most of the 'cool' stuff ends up in Gacha machines. I abhor Gacha passionately and generally refuse to buy them - but I do have a few of GB's pieces for certain outfits that I could nab off of the MP for cheap. They still have some outfits on the market as normal though, and their store is pretty impressively stocked, so it could well be worth a visit to make your own opinion on their stuff.

   Another store that I do like is CerberusXing. It's 90% accessories, but they do have 'some' apparel, too. Very niche, very macabre, I adore it - but I get that there are people who don't like the uh... Theme. 

   One thing worth mentioning though, when it comes to menswear vs womenswear availability - there may be up to a hundred times more items on the MP labeled as womens apparel - but A LOT of it is the same mesh prefabs, retextured and rebranded. The majority of which is done without much thought or effort at all. When I made my alt I went to some very 'in the now' events and picked up essentially a wardrobe the size of my main's for free. But after a few weeks, 99% of the freebies were in the bin. Granted, I use her for photography so I'm very snobbish and picky about everything from style to fitting and rigging to texturing and materials. Finding anything 'specific' for her that I envision myself wanting before I've seen it is often as difficult as finding something for my male. Just as I used to joke 'does -every- menswear store have to make a plain suit?' back in the day when there was more variety (pre-mesh body, but still mesh clothing) - it isn't really going to help you that there are 5,492 maid's uniforms on the MP when 80% of them are with system layers and prims, and you only need one decent outfit to satisfy your needs. One good suit and you're pretty much set for all your formal needs. A handful of trouser options and a fistful of shirts and you're set for your every day needs.

   As any forumite will tell you when you go out shopping - DEMO, DEMO and DEMO before you buy. If you don't like it or don't think it's worth it, move along - the stuff is out there, and we do get new stuff monthly with all the events that are rolling on, spurring creators to put more stuff out there.

   Check out Men's Only Monthly, The Man Cave, The Men Jail Event monthly and you'll eventually find something that you'll want.

   And here I just skimmed through the OP because it felt 'too long to read' and just went on @Sylvannas Zulaman pinging me. And look what I did!

[LittleMe Jewell 36,777]

4 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

I may consider verifying my age and buying Lindens too.

There is no 'age verification' anymore.  You simply register a valid payment method -- credit card, verified paypal or skill account - and then buy L$.

 

4 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

It seems like the marketplace search algorithms have gotten wonky.

Yeah, that is putting it nicely - MP search is pretty horrid.  Use uppercase AND and NOT in your search phrase and click things like 'copy' on the left to eliminate all the Gatchas (unless you want those).  

 

4 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

Where the h*ck are people now? Where are the shops?  I can't find what I need either in-world or the marketplace. It doesn't help that now I am using a male character (long story) and there are less options for menswear in general. I don't mind doing drag and wearing a dress once in a while, but I want nice male clothing.

Lots of people hang out at the overload of Events that have taken the place of many inworld shops and malls.  Here's one of the more popular websites that list most of the Events:  http://seraphimsl.com/     Men definitely have less clothing options.  With a classic avatar, you can wear "Standard Sizing" mesh clothing, so look for signs that say that.  Hit up the Free Dove - their quality has improved over the years.

 

4 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

I log in at night so this might be the problem, but still, I never see more than 50 people in any given region now, and the most popular places seem to be clubs or nude beaches... as always. (Oh, the lag!). How do I find clubs that play alternative and electronic music?

Night in which timezone?  Evening hours in the US times still have quite a few people logged in.  I'm pretty sure that evening hours for Europe and Asia are still pretty busy inworld too.  Given that typical region holds 40 avatar and starts lagging badly if that many are there, then you'll likely not see 50 or more in very many places.  There are still clubs and dance locations that draw a crowd -- check Destinations or Events - but yes, they can be laggy.  As to the type of music, try Search inworld and just search for Places.

 

4 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

I've always wanted to get a job here, but I never had a presentable avatar before, and I don't have any marketable skills (such as building). Least I could do is work as a DJ or a dancer/escort (lol).

Unfortunately, I think DJs are a dime a dozen in SL, so it is hard to break into the gig.  If you really want to give it a go, offer to work for tips only and possibly even offer to split tips with the venue - at least until you get some solid experience and maybe a following.   As to being a dancer/escort - these days that pretty much dictates needing a mesh body and likely a mesh head also, as well as all sorts of add-ons (in other words, it will cost a bit to get hired for such).

 

4 hours ago, LennoxGregor said:

I know that many previously active members of the community are leaving in droves because of certain reasons - mostly boredom/RL issues, but also due to Linden Lab's changing policies.

There are no statistics that indicate people are "leaving in droves" for any reason.  

 

Welcome back.

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by LittleMe Jewell

[Gabriele Graves 1,517]

5 hours ago, SAULGOODiE said:

Majority of shopping is done on marketplace.

Is this really true or just anecdotal?  Were the revenue figures for inworld and MP expenditure published or was there Linden statement to this effect?  I would love to know the source.  If it is true, it would be good to know by what ratio they differ.

[SAULGOODiE 441]

4 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:

Is this really true or just anecdotal?  Were the revenue figures for inworld and MP expenditure published or was there Linden statement to this effect?  I would love to know the source.  If it is true, it would be good to know by what ratio they differ.

Anecdotal. In my personal experience people tend to shop more at events and on marketplace. If theres evidence to the contrary I have not seen it. 

[Gabriele Graves 1,517]

1 minute ago, SAULGOODiE said:

Anecdotal. In my personal experience people tend to shop more at events and on marketplace. If theres evidence to the contrary I have not seen it. 

Well I think that is the point, no can really know unless there is something concrete to go on.  Most of the people I know for example shop in-world except for pre-owned gacha items from MP.  It is the inworld shopping experience that they enjoy.

[SAULGOODiE 441]

@Gabriele Graves that's the beauty of the forum - everyone can give their own opinion.

All I know is the OP seemed to have a difficult time finding shops in world and I don't blame them. I've found some wonderful shops inworld that I frequent for apparel, furniture, landscaping etc, but I also personally think it's easier to find and browse these things in Marketplace. My statements were never meant to be Linden-Approved or "nothing but the truth" - simply a suggestion to help another resident. If you can recommend the OP some places to shop inworld it might be more helpful than checking the sources on my statements... ?‍♀️