A Positive Brainstorming / Suggestion Box Thread - Ideas for Improving Second Life Sociability, Usability and Retention

[Ayashe Ninetails]

1 hour ago, Cali Souther said:

I’m a simple person.  I can play games that allow me to be creative and all I have to spend is the initial purchase price of the game and maybe a bit more for DLC now and then.   It’s infinitely less “complicated” and less expensive than my efforts (to be creative) have been in Second Life.

This is pretty much where I'm at ever since I returned a few years ago. In its favor, Second Life allows for the most sophisticated building I've seen. Most games and platforms allow you to build objects and structures and buildings - maybe vehicles, but here, you can also make clothing, hair, jewelry, pets, etc. But it all requires tabbing out and really dedicating yourself to the 3D modeling process, and I just have no motivation for that. I did it once many years ago with animation, but I've no desire to get back into that again.

I'll also say it's in-world photography tools are unmatched, and that's pretty much the only creative outlet I've got left. However, if I ever get in the mood to put my feet up and do some relaxing building and crafting (which is pretty often these days), I'll just go fire up something else that makes that process a lot easier.

[EliseAnne85]

1 hour ago, Cali Souther said:

If everything about SL was simplified and less expensive (to be honest).   No you don’t have to pay for premium or spend a lot of houses and clothes … but that brings us back to …   you still need to have things to do for fun….   being creative is fun for me,  and I wish I was better at it in SL is really all I was

Cali's post made me think of some of the reasons SL may lose users or user retention, and I think the main ones are:

    *  It can be expensive.  Even events or DJ shows can be an expense.  I've heard the expense for mesh avatars may come down once NUX is here, and that could be a plus.  Plus, NUX comes with it's own DEV Kit, which sounds very interesting.

    *  Technical issues.  SL really needs to spell out new SPECS if it hasn't already.  (I'd need to check on that, as I think specs haven't changed in at least 10 years.)

    * Lack of friends or attachment to others.  Don't know how we can add more socialization here...?

    *  Lack of creative outlet in SL.  So many creative people come here and we find it's difficult to compete with those who spend a lot on advertising plus are probably 3D schooled not hobbyists.  

   *  What is there to do in SL?  Well, there is a lot but some say it's difficult to find or full of bots.

I think those are FIVE main issues that need to be looked at to retain users.   Well, that's my .16 cents, anyways.   I thought it *might* help to look at some of the issues, but, I know full well, I may have missed some.  

Edited February 24, 2023 by EliseAnne85

[Love Zhaoying]

20 hours ago, EliseAnne85 said:

*  What is there to do in SL?  Well, there is a lot but some say it's difficult to find or full of bots.

I think those are FIVE main issues that need to be looked at to retain users.   Well, that's my .16 cents, anyways.   I thought it *might* help to look at some of the issues, but, I know full well, I may have missed some.  

I think, that there is a LOT to do in Second Life.

However, Second Life is so big, and spread out, with empty spaces (spaces with no other avatars), that it can be hard to "find" things to do.  Especially if you're new.

Because of this a lot of suggestions (mine included) are for things like "improved guides", etc.