Is Second Life too big now?

[Prokofy Neva]

On 5/5/2021 at 12:09 AM, Tony Giffen said:

I became a Second Life member in 2006.  It was a confusing, complicated learning curve but I was hooked immediately.  I grew from my original 512 plot to moving toward larger plots and closer to water.  Moved to Fruit Islands all around for many years which was great as I love sailboats passing by my island.  Then moved to Blake Sea because I wanted more open water to Sail and Fly.  Lots of fun with sailboats and mermaids and mermen coming up to say Hi.   Now there is no one around.  I rented a Stilt in Bellissaria hoping to see people sailing around or walking the pier.  Nothing for three days.   I miss the days I can just sit on my land and watch boats, planes or avi's walking by.   Feels like COVID in SL

 

 

 

I find SL to be a terribly small world. Everywhere I go, I run into my tenants or people I knew years ago, and I have only a small rentals company on the Mainland. But it's also very sprawling and atomized, which can make you feel it is "big". I can go land on a pile of green dots that aren't bots, and I have no idea who those people are, and why they enjoy, say, dancing to C&W and listening to songs glorifying guns and "these colours don't run" and all that. Not my thing. Occasionally I discover there are people living deep, mysterious dragon lives on obscure sims where everything is still in prims and I have no idea why they can't at least go to 30L Saturday and change their planar flowers that look terrible. Etc. From what we know, SL has at most, 50,000 concurrency and the monthly uniques are obscure to me, people put out figures for that but I'm not sure if they are valid. 

[Jaylinbridges]

14 hours ago, Odaks said:

That is not strictly true. The open fly corridor is a blessing for aviation and the waters are ideal for sailing and other water-related activities, free of ban lines and send-home security devices. 

There are the social gathering areas, too, supported by the Bellisseria residents' groups.

You quoted the wrong person btw, I never said they had no zones etc.

I have been a Belli resident since the day it opened in March 2019, with two homes, and been in many of their activities.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Jaylinbridges

[Odaks]

@Jaylinbridges, I did indeed attribute the quote, ".....Bellisseria only has one purpose, a residential zone" to you, by mistake.

It should have been atributed to @SarahKB7 Koskinen.

Please accept my apology.

[Jaylinbridges]

6 hours ago, Prokofy Neva said:

I can go land on a pile of green dots that aren't bots, and I have no idea who those people are, and why they enjoy, say, dancing to C&W and listening to songs glorifying guns and "these colours don't run" and all that. Not my thing. Occasionally I discover there are people living deep, mysterious dragon lives on obscure sims where everything is still in prims

Conservatives and "elders" - both hate change.  I still like flexy hair though and I am on the left side of normal.  There were early jokes about Belli being the old SLer's retirement community, where everything was done for them.   Some had just grown tired of 15 years in SL worrying about landscaping, crazy neighbors, crap in the sky, ban lines, and paying monthly tier.

I agree on most of your assessment.  You cannot even use SL Events to list a Belli event.  Why?  Not all events are for profit.  But it does keep the riff-raff from visiting Belli.  Unless you get a private invitation...

ETC.

I am in Belli for the ocean access, and  ban-line free air space (in theory).  I wish there was more nightlife for the US West Coast, but nearly all events start at 10am and last until 4pm, when half the Americans are still working.  For whatever reason, Belli was first "organized" by Europeans, which comprise much of the event crowd even today.  Not much has changed.  Maybe one or two 8pm slt events per week now.

 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Jaylinbridges

[Malin Sabra]

 I think Linden homes lost their luster pretty quick. I got a Boat house and kept it a few days before abandoning it this last week. I just wanted to see if I could actually get one and it wasn't too hard. I didn't abandon because of the lack of population (I needed the tier free) even though not a single other person was on sim in the 2-3 days I made that my new standing spot.

Aren't linden homes just the place you go to when your real home region is restarting? 🤣

 

 

On 5/5/2021 at 11:00 AM, Janet Voxel said:

As long as there’s a limit to how many people you can have on a sim, you’re never going to experience a truly crowded place in Second life.

Just visit Zindra the adult area, You will find plenty of crowded sims full of AFK sex people, some to the point you cant even get in because the sim is full 😂

Which really sucks that they let a single parcel owner ruin the sim for all other people that live there.

[Sid Nagy]

In Zindra everybody can at least take their clothes of, so that a few more people can be crammed in if needed.

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, Sid Nagy said:

In Zindra everybody can at least take their clothes of, so that a few more people can be crammed in if needed.

Somehow, tiptoeing through the tulips with Tiny Tim (naked) has suddenly become more appealing. 🤔

[AnaM28]

On 5/5/2021 at 8:56 PM, Sid Nagy said:

All true there are events, but still, Bellisseria looks and feels totally empty just like most of the mainland only it is far better decorated.

My main point was and is, that a lot of people don't really want to socialize that much in SL.
They simply ain't the socializing type in RL and are in the end not really different in SL.
If you hate events with more than a few people in RL, you simply don't go to them in SL all of a sudden.

People who like going to events in RL, logically don't hang out in SL as much. They find their entertainment in RL.

That’s true.While bellisseria is beautiful,it’s just a residential continent featuring little other kinds of places,while sailing along the coast or river is relaxing there’s too little places u can go,just endless empty big town thus somewhat discouraging socializing.Decorating own home is never the main theme of SL.SL is about exploring new destinations making new friends and expect the unexpected.While having a Linden home is cool, an entire continent of homes is somewhat umm....

For many people Bellisseria is barely more than a waterway connecting Sansara and Jeogeot and that’s where the problem lies .How am I supposed to explore the continent when I have almost no major airport to land on ,no major harbor to sail to ,and no obvious popular destination to tp to,it doesn’t make sense.Many people including me would rather fly across the entire continent enjoying the beautiful scenery beneath without stopping and head for somewhere else. I personally suggest LL add some places of interest, somewhere for us to gather  to the beautiful continent .

.I don’t have a Linden home ,just a free user,And I call my D-737 (gift from a really nice guy )home,Jetting around the grid going to new places.I never decorate my flying home due to the jet being unmodifiable. Maybe I can save those time for traveling and exploring!

[rasterscan]

Belliseria Fairground gigs are seldome empty mind ...

[Silent Mistwalker]

3 minutes ago, rasterscan said:

Belliseria Fairground gigs are seldome empty mind ...

 

I know how to put a stop to all that.  All I have to do is show up. They'll all scatter.

[Katherine Heartsong]

On 5/5/2021 at 6:30 AM, SarahKB7 Koskinen said:

@Tony Giffen , move back to the Blake Sea!

I'd love to live on a 1024 seaside spot on Blake where I can sail my BBX or Oceanic without veering for 20 minutes through a maze of crowded little parcels to get out into open water. Or find out one person has blocked access at then very end of that weaving. Yeah, right on the Blake shore, wind in my hair, jumping on my boat and sailing open waters with the sun glittering on the waves. 

Can anyone send me the 100,000L that would cost?

I kid .. but not by much.

[Jackson Redstar]

SL should be marketed as a introvert's paradise. Most of the time you are alone, and even if you go out to a place like shopping or a club or listen to a live singer, you rarely have to worry about trying to have a conversation with someone cause nobody ever talks to you! (except of course, the nice hosts/hostesses who say Hi -insert name here-! - but never expect a reply. but I do feel for the hosts/hostess as some names are more difficult to translate than ancient Egyptian heiroglyths) lol

[Arielle Popstar]

2 hours ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

 

I know how to put a stop to all that.  All I have to do is show up. They'll all scatter.

A naked Tiny Tim spreading tulips and strumming his ukulele while leading the way, would do that.

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, Arielle Popstar said:

A naked Tiny Tim spreading tulips and strumming his ukulele while leading the way, would do that.

 

Or this guy.

[Doris Johnsky]

On 6/7/2021 at 11:09 PM, Jaylinbridges said:

Conservatives and "elders" - both hate change.   

 

 

 

I beg to differ. I am a conservative and I have no issue with "change".  

 

I do dislike people who lump everyone in a demographic into "they are all like that"

It is just as bad to say what you said as it would be for a white person to say "All Blacks look alike"   Both are ignorant statements and both show an unthinking bias toward others.  

[Muffinstuff]

On 5/5/2021 at 11:08 PM, Lucia Nightfire said:

And it would also be a nexus for trolling/spamming/lagging/crashing on a scale 1000x bigger than infohubs and LL isn't going to moderate it.

Member the days of voice enabled welcome centers? I do, and I don't want to. 

[Jaylinbridges]

15 hours ago, Doris Johnsky said:

I beg to differ. I am a conservative and I have no issue with "change".  

I do dislike people who lump everyone in a demographic into "they are all like that"

So you are attacking me for stating an accepted definition of a conservative?   From the Cambridge Dictionary:

conservative

US /kənˈsɝː.və.t̬ɪv/ 

UK /kənˈsɜː.və.tɪv/

conservative adjective (AGAINST CHANGE)

 

not usually liking or trusting change, especially sudden change:

a conservative society/outlook

Older people tend to be more conservative and a little suspicious of anything new.

Compare

liberal adjective (SOCIETY)

 

If you are conservative in your appearance, you usually do not like fashionable or modern clothes or hairstyles:

He's a very conservative dresser - he always looks like he's wearing his father's clothes!

 More examples

• He has a very conservative approach to management  

Edited August 27, 2021 by Jaylinbridges

[Jaylinbridges]

I was also answering this question from Prok - which you failed to provide as context:

 

On 6/7/2021 at 3:31 PM, Prokofy Neva said:

I can go land on a pile of green dots that aren't bots, and I have no idea who those people are, and why they enjoy, say, dancing to C&W and listening to songs glorifying guns and "these colours don't run" and all that. Not my thing. Occasionally I discover there are people living deep, mysterious dragon lives on obscure sims where everything is still in prims and I have no idea why they can't at least go to 30L Saturday and change their planar flowers that look terrible.

Those peeps are probably older and conservatives.  I didn't say all conservatives and elders were like the classic definition - there are always some outliers.   If you love change and the latest music, and can't wait to get the latest Ipod, and dye your hair 15 colors with 7 nose rings, and claim to be a conservative, you might be an outlier.

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Jaylinbridges

[Velk Kerang]

I'd say SL has definitely gotten a lot smaller. There are way less sims now then there used to be back in the day. People just don't want to pay those prices anymore. Take Bloodlines for example. People were spending insane amounts of money on clan sims. I am talking around three thousand dollars a month. I mean I thought it was crazy even back then. Especially to a guy from Star Wars Galaxies who ran an entire Fleet/Guild/Clan of 500 members up where we had to lay more then one hall for and we had our own entire player built city. I about fell out my chair laughing the first time I looked at sim prices because that was just to crazy to me. lol🤦‍♂️

The prices haven't really changed much either, but the economy has. People just don't want to pay stupid amounts of money to own land on here anymore. I know I don't and why should I? I mean I can build everything I build on here either in a sandbox or on OS Grid or in games like Garry's Mod where it doesn't cost me nothing at all. So really what motivation do people have in purchasing sims other then to have more prims or try their hand at a business or something? The average person will look at those prices and laugh just like I did and think they are out of their ever loving minds. lol🤦‍♂️

As for activities on SL I believe the reason we see less of it is because for one the population is smaller and for two why deal with lag on SL when you can fire up a game on Steam and do the same thing and get better performance on top of visuals? A lot of stuff I used to do on SL I find myself doing them in other games now. Like racing for example. I used to race all the time on SL and now I find myself more likely to fire up a Need For Speed game instead. Why? Performance on SL is steadily worse over the years.🤦‍♂️

Boxing? Nope. Same goes for that. I was a professional boxer on here. Now days people show up trying to box wearing all kinds of mesh and bento. Step in a ring with me I'll more then likely just laugh in your face and tell you out right that you can't be serious. lol School you on how to get whipped and then advise you to loose all that mesh and bento crap the very next time you step in to the ring. lol It's one of the reasons I don't even so much as bother to even spar on here anymore. To many pretty boxers and no challenge at all. lol🤣

So ya most people have and are basically moving on to other platforms for a lot of things they want to do and most people I know only come on here for either business, social aspects, and/or role play. I won't even go in to my opinions on the other services and stuff. All I will say is they need to step up their A game and they'd need to sweeten that pot and come way entirely down on those sim prices in order to bring a lot of people back. If not then all I can say is enjoy it while it lasts mates. Enjoy it while it lasts.😎

Edited August 27, 2021 by Velk Kerang
Corrections.

[Ted McGregor]

6 hours ago, Jaylinbridges said:

If you love change and the latest music, and can't wait to get the latest Ipod, and dye your hair 15 colors with 7 nose rings, and claim to be a conservative, you might be an outlier.

[Sid Nagy]

 

4 hours ago, Velk Kerang said:

I'd say SL has definitely gotten a lot smaller. There are way less sims now then there used to be back in the day. People just don't want to pay those prices anymore.

According to Tyche Shepherd's latest survey on gridsurvey.com from August 24 2021:
Mainland 27,149 sims
Linden owned 8832 sims
Private owned 18317 sims

The numbers are slowly but steadily climbing for some time already, after years with slow declining.

So that SL has definitely gotten a lot smaller is based on personal perception only, not on the actual figures.

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Sid Nagy

[Velk Kerang]

2 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

 

According to the latest survey on gridsurvey.com from August 24 2021:
Mainland 27,149 sims
Linden owned 8832 sims
Private owned 18317 sims

The numbers are slowly but steadily climbing for some time already, after a years very slow declining.

So that SL has definitely gotten a lot smaller is based on personal perception only, not on the actual figures.

 

Well all I can really say mate is that I hope those numbers are actually correct and that they are signs of a comeback. We still got a long way before we hit the numbers we had back in the day. That personal perception is common among the masses. The sim searches alone are proof of that. The other thing to keep in mind is a lot of those sims are not a reflection on SL's actual active community because most of those are inactive. Especially on Mainland. I keep a small amount of land in world. I know for a fact I am not active like I used to be. I come on for social aspects or to maybe watch a movie and to help friends when I can and then I am out.👍

The point being just because I pay the land bill doesn't exactly make me an active member of SL anymore. In fact I dropped a lot of land on here that I used to own down to a small parcel until the day I decide to become more active on here because it made no sense to maintain land that was hardly ever being used. So to me all those numbers really reflect is how many people still bother to even pay their land bills on here. lol😎

[Sid Nagy]

Tyche is monitoring the grid since like for ever. Her survey bots have walking shoes.  She knows what she is doing.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Sid Nagy

[Velk Kerang]

Just now, Sid Nagy said:

Tyche is monitoring the grid since like for ever. Her bots have walking shoes.  She knows what she is doing.

I'm sure she does. Just simply saying you can't monitor how active a community is by land numbers and statistics alone.😎

[Sid Nagy]

SL is mainly to big for the activities that are taking place.
Somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 people online on any given time and more than 54,000 sims.
That means a sim per person online available.
And because people tend to go places where others go to as well, it means a lot of sims are empty. Running idle.
An enormous waist of energy and resources.

LL should introduce home parcels IMHO, running on ones own PC where you can invite 3-4 people when you are online.  It could be a really nice perk for premium plus ( a 4096 m home plot for about USD 20 a month) and it would save them a nice stash of money they now have to pay on idle running sims.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Sid Nagy