Do AFK avatars drive new residents away?

[SorachaNicEoghain]

These days, I have been spending a lot of time in London and other newbie friendly sims and one issue has come up almost every time I've been there, AFK avatars. I usually end up explaining they should just ignore them and don't let it negatively impact their secondlife experience. It seems to be a big issue for secondlife though and very off-putting for new residents. Why do people do it? To increase traffic? Because they fell asleep? To create lag and take up space? To creep people out and make them feel ignored and lonely? 😆. Those last two are a joke. Am I the only one who finds the abundance of afk avatars at events and public sims unpleasant? I tp out as soon as I get a whiff of afk at a club; I'm very active in local chat and I tip well. So for dj's, you can make more money in tips if you invite people who tip and engage with local chat instead of logging in alts. 🙃😜.

 

So on a scale of 1 to 10 where, 1 = AFK avatars are a pestilence to 10 = AFK is awesome! Why would anyone want to engage in world and explore when you can randomly stand around waiting to be imed?

Where are you on this scale?

Edited December 13, 2022 by SorachaNicEoghain

[Kalegthepsionicist]

I am afk too.

semi afk

new resident problem is, they do not onow what todo, most new at first not look for friend they try to learn the world but,  there are no direction ,games , activity. well yeah there are activity but closed circle. and often new comer are welcome by pervert lol

so first impression is

here is pervert world

Edited December 13, 2022 by Kalegthepsionicist

[Bree Giffen]

I don't like them. Definitely a 1 if they are taking up space in a full sim during a shopping event.

[Kalegthepsionicist]

maybe need policy, away for 15 min auto logged off.. lol

lol its not gonna happen

nit all people live in SL many just use for casual

Edited December 13, 2022 by Kalegthepsionicist

[Rowan Amore]

How do you know all these people are actually AFK?  Just because people aren't chatting in local doesn't mean they aren't chatting in IM.  99% of the time, if I message someone, I get a response.  And yes, some people do ignore new residents.

[Orwar]

   I think that it depends a lot on the situation for me. People standing around AFK hogging up avatar slots in shopping events obviously are a nuisance. People stepping away, tabbing out, or nodding off I can relate to - I spend much of my in-world time sitting around my skybox whilst chatting via IMs, having a browser open, and chatting on Discord. I often step away to make tea or stretch my legs, and it happens that I totally forget I was logged in at all as I get distracted elsewhere. 

   But yeah, standing in a club with 30 people around and there not being a peep said in local is a turn-off. But then, so is standing in a club where there's 75 new messages per minute on average, with the majority of it being gesturbating, spankers, host spam, and tummy talkers, is even worse.

   As for new people, I'm not sure. I'd just advise them to steer clear of clubs and hangouts in general, as those are some of the worst places to actually meet people in SL.

[SorachaNicEoghain]

2 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

How do you know all these people are actually AFK?  Just because people aren't chatting in local doesn't mean they aren't chatting in IM.  99% of the time, if I message someone, I get a response.  And yes, some people do ignore new residents.

That could be it. I was at a club recently and nobody was dancing. It was like a scene from a Westworld warehouse 😂

[SorachaNicEoghain]

53 minutes ago, Orwar said:

   I think that it depends a lot on the situation for me. People standing around AFK hogging up avatar slots in shopping events obviously are a nuisance. People stepping away, tabbing out, or nodding off I can relate to - I spend much of my in-world time sitting around my skybox whilst chatting via IMs, having a browser open, and chatting on Discord. I often step away to make tea or stretch my legs, and it happens that I totally forget I was logged in at all as I get distracted elsewhere. 

   But yeah, standing in a club with 30 people around and there not being a peep said in local is a turn-off. But then, so is standing in a club where there's 75 new messages per minute on average, with the majority of it being gesturbating, spankers, host spam, and tummy talkers, is even worse.

   As for new people, I'm not sure. I'd just advise them to steer clear of clubs and hangouts in general, as those are some of the worst places to actually meet people in SL.

This is true! When there are so many people chatting in local that you can't follow what's going on 😆

[HeathcliffMontague]

3 hours ago, SorachaNicEoghain said:

To creep people out and make them feel ignored and lonely?

That's why I do it... But seriously, I normally just TP home if I know I'm gonna be AFK for a while.  Or if in a group of friends/aquaintances just let the folks around me know. There are legitimate reasons for going AFK, life happens, it's not really a big deal for me,  but a lot of the time I feel it's just laziness or not caring that much.  Yeah, I think it tends to give newbs a bad experience.

[cunomar]

Yes .

Newbies think whats the point in this place , so move on to the next . And guess what everyone is afk there as well . Third time unlucky - no point - log out .

Its usually assumed that i'm a bot or afk though i'm present 90% of the time stood some place that gets very few visitors . Thing is i don't talk unless im spoken to and if i am afk im usually reading a news story and will reply to whoever later .

[Aethelwine]

If it is a music venue then why not login, set yourself dancing and then go afk to listen to the music while you do something else.

[wrable Amat]

It's all for traffic, nothing else but is the truth after 16 years of playing SL I see not any other use for them.

Sure some people keep their AV log in and do other things once and a while checking in to see if a friend is on, I do that all the time, but I keep my AV at my LL home if so.

There so much bad marketing with shopping events, designation sims and hang outs that I just do not go them any more, and most people if they stick with SL do not either.

 

[Resi Pfeffer]

8 hours ago, SorachaNicEoghain said:

Why do people do it? To increase traffic? Because they fell asleep? To create lag and take up space? To creep people out and make them feel ignored and lonely?

Sure! Im logging in to SL for nefarious reasons only. All the time, money and passion i put into SL is dedicated to make others feel bad, because my misanthropic personality is evil enough not wanting to entertain them.

Of course, it never could be that im AFK because:
-im chatting with 5 friends at the same time and running out of attention for other things happening around me
-im doing household chores in RL like cooking, ironing, etc
-im trying to finally learn blender
-im working at the home office
-im doing a paintjob for a SL vehicle in Photoshop
-im writing Sl forum posts about why im not paying attention 100% to everyone around me.

But no need to worry, i dont hang at places as described above. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Resi Pfeffer
typo

[HeathcliffMontague]

Heh. We constantly try to convince people that SL is not a game, all the while acting like NPCs

[Love Zhaoying]

I would not trust an AFK avatar driving, they would drive off the road.

[Lewis Luminos]

I sometimes log in, drop in at one of my fave clubs and go semi-AFK, browsing the web etc, switching over to look at local chat every so often (if there is any), usually waiting to see if Madison will log in or not. Yes I could just listen to my own music, but the advantage of listening to a DJ in SL is finding new music that I like and haven't heard of before.

If I get an IM, I will know cos I get a ping.

I don't typically receive IMs from newbies, so it appears that no, me being AFK doesn't impact them at all.

[Ceka Cianci]

It may be more to the benefit of new users, to explain to them early on that second life is more like a mimic of RL socially nowadays, than anything else..

Look around your RL next time you are out and about and see how many people are AFK from it.. By that I mean , How many do you see socializing with the people around them vs the ones AFK from it and on their phone?

Also, informing them of just how important it is to have some information filled out on their profile.. Because, Veterans are used to being pounded relentlessly with bots and spam tricks of the trade.. An avatar with an empty profile and a young age IMimg in an end game area, sends up some red flags to many..

Sure there are many of us that will answer, but then there are many of us that are going to have our popup blockers on as well..

Also Hi or Hi HRU, won't be the best opener for a new user to use when IMing someone that's been around for awhile..

Many times I'll be at a beach laying out on a towel talking  in a few group chats ,sorting my inventory.. Why? B'cuzz that's what I'm enjoying doing at the time..

The problem with new users isn't the veteran users trying to enjoy their own second life.. It's the, leaving learning centers too early and wanting to jump right into the end game or  the entry areas are just not getting them ready enough for the world.. Many want to get in and get an avatar going and hit the ground running..

As they say in Kingsmen, This isn't that kind of a movie.  hehehe

There is a huge learning curve and socializing skills to learn.. Night clubs and party places and shopping events aren't the best places to go find mentors that are just waiting for their call..

 

 

 

[Resi Pfeffer]

13 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

The problem with new users isn't the veteran users trying to enjoy their own second life.. It's the, leaving learning centers too early and wanting to jump right into the end game or  the entry areas are just not getting them ready enough for the world.. Many want to get in and get an avatar going and hit the ground running..

100% this.

As a veteran myself i came across a few newbies. Either they didnt know what to do at all, as SL is a open world with no predefined goals to reach, or they wanted everything "the end game" within one to two weeks.
It did include going from starter to full mesh avatar, renting an island close to blake sea, buying but struggling to rez and setup the huge house and furniture they bought for, getting a sail boat and using it once by turning on the engine because... wind, you know

There are memories in my head about some of them impatient ones never have been seen online again after that quick SL sidequest.

[EliseAnne85]

12 hours ago, SorachaNicEoghain said:

So on a scale of 1 to 10 where, 1 = AFK avatars are a pestilence to 10 = AFK is awesome!

Low number about a 1 overall.  

I signal with my 'be right back' when going AFK and often give a time frame, such as 10 mins and then I join local chat.  It is extremely rare for me to be in IM the whole time during an event.  It happened once, it was an urgent situation.  If I am leaving the party early, I also say goodbye and may even give a reason I have to leave.  I am a Dinkie which is not a human.  The Dinkies and Tinies of the Shire actually want to be together for group fun.  It's a different scene then being human.  We are not together for slex nor have any particular agenda other than friendship and sharing from the get-go.  Dinkies and Tinies are almost always in local chat during an event.  Of course, we talk in IM's also but not usually during the events.  The events can be really good, such as we had a Dinkies Got Talent show recently and a circus that was amazingly scripted.  IM's are for after event.  

Edited December 13, 2022 by EliseAnne85

[Nick0678]

7 hours ago, SorachaNicEoghain said:

That could be it. I was at a club recently and nobody was dancing. It was like a scene from a Westworld warehouse 😂

AFK is something common but there are also Anti AFK scripts a club/land owner could use, for example 511 requires you

to click a warning message every 30 minutes or so otherwise Teleports your avatar home.

During the day i park the avatar in one of the crowded places and then either minimize the client and check sporadically

what's going on or use text mode(*see photo), so my avatar does appear to be AFK doesn't mean i am not at the PC though.

 

About the other place that you originally spoke of, i 've been there once and i get it that Second Life can be rather boring but

that place was the epitome of boredom with noob looking folks burping on voice chat. Cmon...

 

[EliseAnne85]

44 minutes ago, Nick0678 said:

About the other place that you originally spoke of, i 've been there once and i get it that Second Life can be rather boring but

that place was the epitome of boredom with noob looking folks burping on voice chat. Cmon...

If it's boring why do people stay at places with their avatar?  If SL is boring, is it the people or is it that the human scene is just all over the place, if not downright directionless.  If she is speaking of London City, that place is noob friendly I think.  Noobs cannot go everywhere, which is a different thing in and of itself.  But, SL appearing boring to newbies is not generally a good thing.  

Edited December 13, 2022 by EliseAnne85

[Ayashe Ninetails]

Lots of reasons for someone to not be actively moving around in SL at a public place.

Chatting in IMs, chatting in a private group chat, chatting in a public group chat, lost in inventory/sorting, working in Photoshop/Blender/etc., actually working (at home or at work), browsing the marketplace, searching Flickr, browsing Flickr, browsing Seraphim, reading/posting on the forums, chatting on Discord, blogging something at the event, stepped away for a moment and is actually temporarily AFK, taking photos, left their avatar to dance with the music cranked up while they go off and cook something, grabbing a drink/making tea, updating their profile, writing an email, reading email, trying to find a specific song on their playlist to jam out to, fiddling with EEP/windlights, responding to texts, answering the phone, etc. forever.

On a scale from super obnoxious to yay they're awesome, I'm whatever score is a "zero opinion whatsoever - I've done most of the above and more." Never bothered me at all. I'm so used to seeing it and it's been this way for as long as I can remember. SL is a pretty AFK-friendly place to hang out and doesn't require a person's full-attention all the time.

I don't go to clubs or live events much anymore, but if I'm wandering around looking for a photography location, shopping, or just hanging out at a social sim in general, you could easily find that I'm doing one or more of the things I mentioned (and/or chatting in several places at once).

[Nick0678]

3 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

If it's boring why do people stay at places with their avatar? 

Why do they indeed. That's an interesting question, someone should go there and ask them.

 

9 minutes ago, EliseAnne85 said:

If she is speaking of London City, that place is noob friendly I think.  Noobs cannot go everywhere, which is a different thing in and of itself.  

Noobs are allowed to go anywhere they like if they know how, unless a place has 'avatar age" restrictions but very few places use such scripts.

[EliseAnne85]

12 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Lots of reasons for someone to not be actively moving around in SL at a public place.

Chatting in IMs, chatting in a private group chat, chatting in a public group chat, lost in inventory/sorting, working in Photoshop/Blender/etc., actually working (at home or at work), browsing the marketplace, searching Flickr, browsing Flickr, browsing Seraphim, reading/posting on the forums, chatting on Discord, blogging something at the event, stepped away for a moment and is actually temporarily AFK, taking photos, left their avatar to dance with the music cranked up while they go off and cook something, grabbing a drink/making tea, updating their profile, writing an email, reading email, trying to find a specific song on their playlist to jam out to, fiddling with EEP/windlights, responding to texts, answering the phone, etc. forever.

On a scale from super obnoxious to yay they're awesome, I'm whatever score is a "zero opinion whatsoever - I've done most of the above and more." Never bothered me at all. I'm so used to seeing it and it's been this way for as long as I can remember. SL is a pretty AFK-friendly place to hang out and doesn't require a person's full-attention all the time.

I don't go to clubs or live events much anymore, but if I'm wandering around looking for a photography location, shopping, or just hanging out at a social sim in general, you could easily find that I'm doing one or more of the things I mentioned (and/or chatting in several places at once).

To me, those are more short  term AFK.  I did the above as a human avatar also.  That's why I say the Dinkie scene is different - when an event is happening anyways.  However, I'm asking about long term AFK, such as hours or mostly all the avatars are AFK and this is what a newbie stumbles upon and finds for a group gathering.  This thread is about newbies.

While I think Philip Rosedale designed SL to be like RL in that there really is no guide to real life, we have a lot to figure out ourselves and so is SL.  But, some times that just doesn't always work.  Gacha was a kind of "scene" I miss because it was fast paced, never sleepy.  Those were the days for me as a human.   

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by EliseAnne85

[EliseAnne85]

23 minutes ago, Nick0678 said:

Why do they indeed. That's an interesting question, someone should go there and ask them.

 

Noobs are allowed to go anywhere they like if they know how, unless a place has 'avatar age" restrictions but very few places use such scripts.

But, they are not there, so I won't take that assignment.  

When I was noob (avatar) for my second time in SL after I had taken a break, I got sent home with those scripted things.  I forgot the message now, need to be 30 days old or something like that but I needed time to make an avatar so I did not care.  First time in SL which was nearly 20 years ago now, there was no sending home that I remember.  

If people go to London City as a newbie place and the avi's are mostly afk, is it off putting to newbies?  My answer is maybe/depends.  SL is something we make happen just like we make our real life happen.  It takes perseverance, imo.  But, remember also one can be a lag drag.  If you're not engaging there, why not just go home?