I am getting tired of people complaining there is nothing to do in Second Life.

[Lindal Kidd]

I was agreeing with you, Love.

[Chase01]

On 10/24/2018 at 12:50 PM, LittleMe Jewell said:

I realize that this is really about the complainers, however I just wanted to point out that there are some of us that do not create but still contribute by the L$ that we spend for everyone else's creations.  I do not 'create' in any way - hell, I don't have a creative bone in me and I'm perfectly happy with that.  I am nothing but a "consumer" of goods in SL, but creators would be in dire straights if there weren't folks like me willing to constantly buy, buy, buy. 

Just to piggyback off of what Little said; the economic climate for many businesses in SL could be quite different if a lot more users created saleable content. Competition is good, but just imagine what would happen if consumers had even more outlets to buy goods or services. In these types of communities, it is generally assumed that a larger portion of that community will consume content rather than create it.

 

[Madelaine McMasters]

2 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

I think it's a very astute observation, Maddy.  On a number of occasions, I've had someone in SL tell me, "I'm bored", or "this is a boring game".  Usually newbies.  Usually when I've just spent twenty minutes or an hour helping them with the basics, or answering their questions about SL.  Or worse, interrupting when I'm busy answering someone else's questions with that self-centered whine, "I'm bored."

Yes, they ARE boring.

But, if you find them interesting, kudos to you!

After spending 20-60 minutes helping a newbie, and then hearing "I'm bored", I think I'd say they were infuriating not boring.

[BelindaN]

It will soon be my six month rezzday and I've not been bored once so far.

Way too much to do and way too little time in SL.

Maybe I'll get bored eventually but it hasn't happened yet.  Most of my time yesterday was spent chatting with various people. Now that can be distracting!!!

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

But have we established yet whether being bored is a good thing or a bad thing?

[Ethan Paslong]

i'm here for 13 years next month...

mostly it's like this:

but very rarely the arrow goes really down .. if it does, simply go for a walk   i took one for nearly 2 yrs once.

 

[Cindy Evanier]

In almost 10 years, the longest break I took from SL was 5 days. Enforced because of hospital.  Even on holiday I make sure there's wifi so I can at least touch base and log in a little.  I don't think I have been "bored"  I have moments of standing around on my platform in a daze and no idea what to do but I wouldn't call it boredom, more like anything to avoid tidying my invent.  If you're that bored, I am sure there's another life for you.  It's called real.  

Edited October 26, 2018 by Cindy Evanier
typo

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, Cindy Evanier said:

In almost 10 years, the longest break I took from SL was 5 days. Enforced because of hospital.  Even on holiday I make sure there's wifi so I can at least touch base and log in a little.  I don't think I have been "bored"  I have moments of standing around on my platform in a daze and no idea what to do but I wouldn't call it boredom, more like anything to avoid tidying my invent.  If you're that bored, I am sure there's another life for you.  It's called real.  

*breathes a small sigh of relief that she isn't the only one standing around in a daze wondering what to do besides sorting inventory and boxing up 30k plus of ancient stuff*

Oh I know! I'll go demo and freebie shopping! 

 

[greek Wingtips]

Jules if your getting tired then maybe you need a break from SL

[norajulian]

Those millennials! *shakes fist in the air* 

 

In reality- people complain because it’s their god-given right to do so. Mouths, fingers, toes - whatever they use to express their frustrations. Yes, it would be nice if everyone was a creator, but then who would buy the things you create if everyone could just make what they thought up? Others don’t want to invest in the time to make new friends and we KNOW that and they KNOW that, but sometimes it’s nice to jusy vent a little. Ignore the IMs. They obviously continue to log in day after day, so maybe what they want to do with their SL is complain, and you don’t want to spend your SL listening so you walk away. 

Easy peasy. 

[Kittyn Fuhr]

kindof going back to the op's point...I believe when she means "creative", she doesn't mean "make things", i.e. clothes/furniture.

 

I think she also means "create experiences".  People complain that there's nothing to do, yet there's clubs with DJ's that have no attendance, game areas unused, walkable sims that are not used, etc.

 

To create, does not necessarily mean "make clothes or a building or something to sit on", but craft something others can enjoy, also.  Make a games area.  Go help out on Noob Island.  Create a church area.  Make a group for x theme..and hold trivia contests for them.  Choose random areas in SL, go explore...then take others into "the wild".

 

I hear a lot of people say "there isn't anything to do", yet do not want to put energy back into it.  And it does not necessarily involve $L to do.  I know I can find things...and heck, I get an IM every day from a person asking as a friend's convo "what's out there to do, send me an IM if you are involved in something fun"...

[Klytyna]

4 hours ago, Kittyn Fuhr said:

yet there's clubs with DJ's that have no attendance, game areas unused, walkable sims that are not used, etc.

4 hours ago, Kittyn Fuhr said:

Make a games area.

One of the unused ones?

4 hours ago, Kittyn Fuhr said:

Go help out on Noob Island

I once terrified somebody by threatening to strand them on Noob Island with their ability to TP out restricted by RLV, with a float text over their head that said "I answer questions"...

4 hours ago, Kittyn Fuhr said:

Create a church area.

You did pick up on the fact that people were complaining about a lack of FUN things to do?

4 hours ago, Kittyn Fuhr said:

then take others into "the wild".

Erm yeah... The Wiki/Knowledge-base... Thing is, a lot of that is obsolete and essentially worthless crud, and by the time you have enough experience and knowledge to tell which bits are worthless crud, you have enough experience and knowledge to never go anywhere near the wiki/knowledge-base...

 

[LamyaeNeferati]

The worst thing IS when several ppls Come on a sim and simply stay, doing nothing, nor talking... That IS killing thing for any RP or discussion attempt. I do not understand what these ppls are doing on sl.

[Kia Kiyori]

47 minutes ago, LamyaeNeferati said:

The worst thing IS when several ppls Come on a sim and simply stay, doing nothing, nor talking... That IS killing thing for any RP or discussion attempt. I do not understand what these ppls are doing on sl.

And sometimes they're sim photographers, which isn't always quick job for HQ photos; requires a lot of standing still while appearing to be doing absolutely nothing...

[purrrkitten]

On 10/24/2018 at 11:45 AM, Jules Catlyn said:

I am used to being surrounded by creative people. Not just creative in items but also they write, create sims, create events and do things that are fun to them and keep Second Life alive. Nowadays it seems there is a whole new generation of users that only want to consume and not contribute. They should read up on what Second Life is. It is a user generated world. Which means that us, the residents, create it. So may be it is time that instead of complain, the consumers find ways to contribute instead of complain. Be it by having a business, creating art, making places and groups for people to meet etc. Don't expect anything to be handed on a gold platter and spoon fed to you. *end of rant*

This doesn't even make sense.

Where would the creators be without consumers?

[Jules Catlyn]

1 hour ago, purrrkitten said:

Where would the creators be without consumers?

A: I did not say that everybody should be a creator. There are other ways to contribute to SL which keep it more interesting.

B: Creators are consumers as well

[purrrkitten]

11 minutes ago, Jules Catlyn said:

I did not say that everybody should be a creator.

You sure did imply it.

 

Anyways, stop telling people how to live their SL.

 

If people want to complain, so be it. People will complain no matter what. You know, kind of how you complained in your original post.

 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 hour ago, Jules Catlyn said:

I did not say that everybody should be a creator. There are other ways to contribute to SL which keep it more interesting.

I'm going to quickly and briefly intrude to say that, while I don't necessarily agree with Jules' perception that residents are less involved or engaged with SL from a creative side anymore (I don't know the answer to that), she's right in suggesting (as Kittyn noted above) that there are a great many ways to be a creator in SL other than making and selling items. It's a rather limited definition of what "creation" entails to limit it to a cycle of production/consumerism.

I owned a bookstore in SL: I "made" the books. It made a minimal amount of money and contribution to the SL economy -- it earned me enough to keep me in new boots -- but it became a hub of a kind of community. The store closed some 5 years ago: I still get asked about it, and people still have it in their picks. That's not because they loved the objects I made: it was because it gave people a kind of handle to engage with each other in all sorts of ways.

Similarly, I ran or helped run a number of activist groups in SL (the largest of which peaked at about 1200 members?).* No prims were tortured, but these groups gave people an outlet through which to build their own communities.

And, for me, that's what's most important about "creativity" in SL. We need content creators, god knows, and I'm no less a consumer than anyone else. But the mesh and prim content is nothing without the communities that we build through a different, but equally valid, form of "creation." SL would be a lonely and depressing place without that kind of creative engagement.

 

 

 

* Lest someone think that this is a sort of humblebrag, I want to make it clear that I didn't create this group, but rather helped run it, and eventually inherited it. The group was created by a brilliant woman doctor from Mexico whose vitality and engagement and creativity I admired enormously. She transformed this from a mere "group" into a community.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Scylla Rhiadra
Edited to add disclaimer

[Hollie Leavitt]

On 10/26/2018 at 2:30 AM, Madelaine McMasters said:

While I like this analogy, it is flawed. During my years in community theater, we'd have been mortified if we bored an audience. And I have seen subpar performances of long running plays that lingered past their prime, wearing out the cast to the point they phoned it in. At post-run cast parties, I'd see a mix of lamentation over leaving interesting characters behind and eagerness for new roles. Those eager for new opportunities don't complain about being bored by the old ones. They're too busy being eager.

Though I don't get bored, I am fickle. I have a long history of dropping hobbies or fields of interest the moment I develop a working understanding of them. It's at that point that something completely foreign to me will capture my attention... because it's completely foreign to me. For me, learning is much more pleasurable than knowing.

The world has no obligation to be interesting to anyone, and that has opened the door to the creation of entertainment industries. As with other manufactured things, you can pay someone to entertain you or you can do it yourself. As with making physical things, self entertainment requires talents and skills that not everyone possesses or develops equally.

Though it's never compelled me to start a thread, I do wonder why some people brag about their boredom, just as I wonder why some people brag about their innumeracy.

"The world has no obligation to be interesting to anyone" - I find this statement to be so true and also very motivating... motivating to go find that thing that interests you (by "you", I really mean me!)... and if you don't find it, keep searching and keep trying out different things ?

[Hollie Leavitt]

On 10/26/2018 at 2:47 AM, Love Zhaoying said:

..’cause us smart, ejumakated people are elitist, or some excuse. Books are for those types. 

I've always wanted to be one of those types.. seriously.. it's my dream ?

[Hollie Leavitt]

On 10/26/2018 at 9:33 PM, Arduenn Schwartzman said:

But have we established yet whether being bored is a good thing or a bad thing?

I think being bored is a good thing. Boredom triggers you to do something different, create, explore, change... But if you're never bored and you keep doing the same thing over and over, that's a good thing too.. Happiness is the ultimate goal ?

If I wasn't bored in the first place, I would have never found SL

[Hollie Leavitt]

On 10/25/2018 at 2:45 AM, Jules Catlyn said:

I am used to being surrounded by creative people. Not just creative in items but also they write, create sims, create events and do things that are fun to them and keep Second Life alive. Nowadays it seems there is a whole new generation of users that only want to consume and not contribute. They should read up on what Second Life is. It is a user generated world. Which means that us, the residents, create it. So may be it is time that instead of complain, the consumers find ways to contribute instead of complain. Be it by having a business, creating art, making places and groups for people to meet etc. Don't expect anything to be handed on a gold platter and spoon fed to you. *end of rant*

I personally like reading complaints!

Sometimes 'cause they're interesting and funny... but also 'cause having everyone be completely happy about everything can make me wonder if something's wrong with me... you can't possibly always be happy about everything, right!? The good thing about freedom of speech and expression is... you'll never feel like you're completely alone, especially when you find other people sharing the same thoughts as your own.

Sometimes complaints can also be constructive and bring about change and improvements... just sayin.

[Hollie Leavitt]

On 10/26/2018 at 2:42 AM, Madelaine McMasters said:

I've certainly heard people brag about not liking to read. I've wondered if it's a defense mechanism, as in "I meant to do that" when we break something, or "I hate ice-cream" when your cone falls to the sidewalk.

ETA: I haven't read the entire thread, but complaints about complaints of boredom often presume some sense of entitlement. I'm not sure that's the crux.

ETA2: The idea that bored people are boring doesn't survive much scrutiny. If you engage people, you can always find something interesting about them.

This made me think of a quote from Westworld....

Boy: “My father used to say that only boring people get bored”

Ford: “Mine Too. But I used to think it's only boring people who don't feel boredom, so cannot conceive of it in others”

My bro and I spent 3 hours waiting for a connecting flight. He was on his laptop but my batt died so I spent the entire time staring into space, completely content, not one bit bored. Still can't figure out whether it's because I'm a boring person... or that I'm the most interesting person in the world! ?

You are so right with your ETA2 'cause at the end of the day, everyone will find at least something boring. You can have one person being so entertained with something, and have another person be completely bored by it... so that person will go find something else to do that they won't be so bored with.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Hollie Leavitt

[Madelaine McMasters]

2 minutes ago, Hollie Leavitt said:

Everyone will find something boring.

If given a choice between two things to do, I'll pick the most interesting. If not given a choice, I'll find something interesting about the thing I have to do. I don't know if this is a talent or a skill, but I have it. And I'm not the only one.

[Hollie Leavitt]

4 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

If given a choice between two things to do, I'll pick the most interesting. If not given a choice, I'll find something interesting about the thing I have to do. I don't know if this is a talent or a skill, but I have it. And I'm not the only one.

That is a fine approach ?