What I Believe About SL

[Randall Ahren]

Below is a list of what I believe about SL. How about you? What do you believe about SL?

 

What I believe about SL:

● Porn is not bad.

● The world is made of prims and if you know the prims the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish.

● V2 was a bad idea.

● There are two types of residents, those that build and those that should.

● I build, therefore I am

● It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.

● The future is a great idea.

● SL does to your mind what spring does to cherry trees.

● Scripting makes you smarter.



[leyna1488303852]

I wish I could give kudos in this particular forum.  I like that Randall.

I've only been here about six months and I'm not sure what I believe about SL yet. I will say that it's got one of the steepest learning curves of anything I've attempted in recent years (and have stuck with)  Oddly enough the challenge of it has probably been one of the things that's kept me logging in. I'm such a stubborn egg.   :matte-motes-nerdy:

[MoiselleErin Teardrop]

What an Erin believes about SL -

• It is addictive and tends to rob RL.
• It tends to feed people's fantasies to the point that they forget that SL is way prettier than RL
• My poor little avatar is my buddy. I think about her even when not on. I love her as a sister.
• That I have lost part of my mind cause I love some computer generated character.
• That my avatar needs to get out of the way of the screen and to quit giving me dirty looks. 

 

[Penny Patton]

What I know about SL:

• SL is a great idea that still needs a lot of work and polish before it reaches beta.
• What success SL has had is due primarily to unrestricted user created content and the deep level of avatar customization possible.
• SL needs better default settings across the board. Sky settings, default avatars, camera settings, etc. all need to be replaced. Presentation is important if they plan to market SL.
• Adding value to land increases demand for land.
• Up-scaling everything for bad camera placement and oversized avatars greatly reduces value, therefore demand, in land.
• Starter areas, default avatars, orientation areas all need to be redone to wow, impress and engage new users to increase retention.
• V1 and V2 aren't that different. They both resemble file editing software more than virtual world interfaces. LL should take inspiration from videogames.
• LL can't dismiss much needed features (like swimming or AOs) just because someone sells a kludgy alternative to fill the hole LL left.
• SL needs scriptable "NPC" objects that act like bots but run directly off the sim server, these would be far less of a burden on the system than bots hosted outside of SL and LL could provide specific tools to allow content creators to use them in ways that make SL far more interactive, immersive and engaging.
• The new user experience should include an interactive orientation which guides a new user through a series of tasks, guiding them through setting up their avatar, guiding them through learning movement, and ultimately teaches them to head out in search of user created content on their own. Done right, this would result in greater new user retention, and impart to new users a better understanding of how to find people and content in SL on their own.
• LL should provide official, optional tutorials on building, scripting, etcetera. Instilling good content creation habits and encouraging more people to get into creating their own content. This benefits LL in the long term by creating a population of more engaged and invested users creating better content which in turn draws in more users.
• If LL encourages people to use efficient mesh modelling over polygon intensive prims and sculpts, it will add yet more value to land, make SL far more detailed and immersive while increasing performance, making SL far more marketable.
• SL could be far more successful and profitable than it was at the height of the hype bubble around 2008.
• The upcoming new starter avatar set Rodvik announced will be a good yardstick as to gauging how well LL understands what they need to do.

[Pussycat Catnap]

Naturally we don't all have the same believes about SL.

• Some pron is not so bad. But SL taught me that a lot of it is much more misogynistic that I try to make myself believe.
• There are too many darn libertarians in this thing, keeping the potential of a great community from ever being realized.
• SL is about communities.
• V2 is a great improvement.
• Some people really don't like it when their cheese gets up and moves across the table.
• SL was built by people who have no concept of art or visual appeal, gave us the worst possible presets imaginable, and every last appealing thing you might find in this virtual world is a creation built in defiance of the original developers - including much of what later lindens themselves have put out.
• Some of the best builders in SL are the moles who leave behind random hidden works of beauty. Its a good thing they're not true Linden employees or they'd all be fired for being so good.
• SL is a chance to explore yourself.
• But SL is also a great culture clash between those for whome imagination means 'a better self' and those for whom it means 'a different self.' (where better and different can vary in definition - but one is rooted in being some version of what you are on the outside, and the other is some version of some that appeals to you. Very much like the culture clash between 'literary fiction' and 'science fiction.'
• SL is a game. This statement only offends those with a narrow sense of what a game is.
• SL is to virtual worlds what Autocad is to art programs.
• SL is to MUSH what World of Warcraft is to MUD.
• No one needed to teach me how to use the UI in world of warcraft, and I'm not a gamer. But I had to work at it to figure the UI of SL. SL lacks an excuse to justify this common experience.
• SL needs more furries that are not ravers, less lesbians, more guys that have more outfits beyond the starter AV, skins that aren't caucasian and hair that isn't only blond.
• Anybody in SL that hovers 30m above the ground without an AO is a landbot - even if they say hi, I refuse to believe they are anything else. This is my delusion, this is my cheese, and you can't move it.
• SL has way less griefers and dramaz and rude people and ugly builds than the forums would make one think.
• 2011 is the year for SL best known as 'The Lindens have left the building.' There just don't seem to be any of them left anymore inworld.
• SL is now run mostly by people who don't seem to even have SL-accounts, and merely see us as an asset to be monetized.

 

[Celestiall Nightfire]

---

Pussycat Catnap wrote:

• There are too many darn libertarians in this thing, keeping the potential of a great community from ever being realized.

 

---

Hi Pussycat.   

I'm a libertarian.   So, how are people like me keeping the potential of a great community from being realized?   : (

[Pussycat Catnap]

Libertarianism is the ultimate expression of selfish needs above others - my way or die because personal freedom of oneself ranks above others or even the survival of the species.

All of this SL nonsense about 'my land my rules and everyone else be [bleeped] - and similar such sentiments, do a lot to prevent SL from being something grander. Its a "tragedy of the commons" crisis in SL on a regular basis.

But this is not a political forum. I'd just say look to their wikipedia entry and contrast it with that found under Communitarian.

You've got my belief about SL there, and that's that. If we start arguing all our various beliefs this thread will go down in nasty flames by page 2. I've already read some from others that I personally consider crazy, but I'm willing to let them just slide for sake of the thread and seeing what interesting views it will show.

 

 

[Randall Ahren]

I thought you might be interested in seeing the inspiration for this, which is this old Reebok ad entitled You Are What You Believe.

Even though I am replying to the last post in the thread, this reply is intended for everyone. The commercial was directed towards women and there are some pretty funny lines in the ad. One woman says she believes in cowboys and another  says that she believes construction workers wear their pants that way on purpose. The ad ends with the line "I believe there's an athlete in all of us." Accordingly, I would like to add one more line to the OP:

 

I believe there's a builder in all of us.

On the issue of V2 and display names, I guess I can make my peace with that. Ending the first name, last name sign up procedure though was pretty cruel. And yes, I think it is bad to spend to too much time on SL and become addicted to it. Get outside and get some exercise like the women in the commercial. As the mountain climber says in the ad, the thinner the air gets, the clearer your head gets. Life is short, play hard.

[Tiffy Vella]

I am never going to be able to come up with a definitive List, but here goes-

-We live in an increasingly over-controlled, over-politicised, over-censored, over child-centred, over guilt-ridden, over correct society. There are no wilds left to explore for us adults, no forests to run through freely and all alone, no continents to map or unexplored un-suburbanised corners available to the average person. SL is a poor substitute, but it is a great way to at least let our minds roam free.

-The antidote to this is not neccessarily the creation of a virtual world full of all the opposites to the above. Let's get some sanity.

-I doubt we will ever satisfy many of the issues that are raised through the SL community, but the debates that ensue through the related forums are essential parts of human thought. Is it ok to portray a child in an AO area? Can anyone be raped? Is being a **bleep** a symbol of owning a historically insulting label and being an empowered modern woman, or is it playing into the hands of popular entertainment forces which then desire to use you for it's own ends? Do digital designers own their creations, or do they owe it all to previous artists and rl, and should others have free access to their work, is sampling ok, and where does creativity start? Define 'original', anyway; does it exist with the individual, or the mass of humanity? None of this is easily answerable, but it's very healthy, and great that we have SL to throw the questions up into the light.

-There are two types of people; those who invest into SL (emotionally, or as builders, or merchants, or sim owners, or members of communities, or teachers, or students) and those that don't. If you are the first type, never engage in debate with the second as they have absolutley nothing to lose, having ventured nothing.

-Don't even go down the road of saying "What do you know- you've ventured nothing!" as to them, any caring is to lose the game.

-People don't use local chat or openly greet each other anymore, and this is a sad indication of something or other.

-There are two types of people; those who get Mainland, with all it's inconsistencies, and those who live on idyllic tropical paradises. I still don't know which type is more insane.

-We should treasure our noob days. Never again will we look as ugly, make as many social faux-pas, or believe that it's cool to live in freebie gorean castles rezzed 2000m up in sandboxes, but those days will form sweet memories and senses of wonder, which we should never forget. Don't rob the next generation of it's rights to experience the same.

-There are two types of people; those who want to tell you about their broken ride-on lawnmower the second you log in, and those who really value SL for it's wondrous creative potential.

-There are two types of people; those who build and stuff and those who like to bop about in clubs yelling "Whoooo me wuvs dis choooo-oooon". Okay I'm openly trolling here, but sometimes that second type have a good reason for just wanting to do nothing for a bit. Or sometimes not...grin.

-SL is still BETA, and hopefully will never be declared as anything else. I want it to be perpetually evolving.

-You should never respond to any semi-noobie looking man who hovers 19m over you and IMs you with "hi" while you are out and about, especially if you are already with a male friend. The ensuing conversation will always make you want to weep after 2 minutes.

-To log off naked is just asking for trouble. Or logging off with a compromising log-in screen. Always consider the end game.

edited to add that my List drifted into sort of general advice a bit...sorry

 

[Celestiall Nightfire]

---

Pussycat Catnap wrote:

Libertarianism is the ultimate expression of selfish needs above others - my way or die because personal freedom of oneself ranks above others or even the survival of the species.

---

It is out of concern for the individual, and their rights, that Libertarians advocate personal freedom.   It is from this well-spring of freedom that more people can live better lives, have better chances of survival, and most importantly, have liberty.  If you think that this means that Libertarians do not care what happens to other people, then you are mistaken.

 

---

Pussycat Catnap wrote:

But this is not a political forum.

 

---

Oh?  You brought politics into it Pussycat. 

 

---

Pussycat Catnap wrote:

You've got my belief about SL there, and that's that. If we start arguing all our various beliefs this thread will go down in nasty flames by page 2. I've already read some from others that I personally consider crazy, but I'm willing to let them just slide for sake of the thread and seeing what interesting views it will show.

---

 

First, you want to trash other people's political belief system, and say that my views are tantamount to letting people "die", and then you want to play the neutrality card and say your willing to let it slide for the sake of the thread?!

Agent Jay:  "My attitude is: don't start nothing, won't BE nothing!"  

I guess this explains why you never even bothered to reply to my second IM I sent you a while back regarding exploring SL and being friends?   *shakes head sadly*

Carry on Pussycat, carry on with your version of a kinder, gentler world.    But, I'll say this...I'd be happy to compare my RL to yours, for actions that have saved lives and helped other people.  Difference being, is that as a Libertarian, I do it by choice.

[Willow Danube]

What I believe about SL:

• Randall says the darnedest thing
• Porn is the number one cause of Repetitive Wrist Strain Injury among SL users
• V2 makes me human
• There are 3 types of residents in SL; The Energizer, The Regular Folks and The Drainers.
• You have the right to remove those last 2 types of residents from your friends list if the situation is justified. Mine was always justified.
• The key to all builds is texture. Dating a texture artist is the best money saver you can get.
• The children are our future. Our time shall come when we have to make way for them. 
• SL makes me yearn for a RL adventure.
• Scripting DOES make me realise that I don't know much.

[Suella Ember]

What I know about SL:

- It is made up of a diverse array of people from many different cultures around the world with different opinions about what is good or bad about SL.

- There will therefore never be a complete consensus and the management of SL will always be about balancing enough choice to catar for all these opinions, but no so much choice as to make SL hard for new users to understand.

- There will always be people who love certain things about SL and people who hate certain things about SL.

- Because of this diversity it is impossible to say all residents should like (viewers!) or do (building!) certain things.

- Whenever anyone tries to force an opinion about, for example, viewer choice on someone else they are entirely missing this point about diversity and choice. There's nothing wrong with expressing an opinion, but there is no need to force an opinion on others and their choices should be respected too.

- It is all this diversity that makes SL both amazing and sometimes frustrating at the same time!

[Phil Deakins]

What I believe about SL:

 

• It is run by a company that doesn't care about it's customers.
• It is run by a company that's intent on extracting as much money as possible from its customers - while there's still time to do it.
• It is possible for users to make decent RL money from SL.

[Phil Deakins]

LOL. Darnit! I just had to see where the red line link in your signature went to

[Mayalily]

1)  That there are players who pretend to be your friend when all they want is your money - meaning they give nothing back for your kindness.  Nothing.  Run from those kind of people.

2) Each person should be responsible for their own behaviors on SL and know that behaviors have consequences to their own SL happiness.

3) That SL seems to be a game made for the next generation of computer users and  leaves some of us out.

4) That SL is a lot more fun than twitter or faceback, but also a lot more complicated.

5) Needs better structuring for troubleshooting on the forum area (some advice is outdated for V2 or incorrect).

6) That SL is set up as some kind of dating/mating game, which leaves some of us who'd prefer our rl love anyday over a robot, but there's not much for permanent singles to do.  It's like slow dance equates to jumping next to sex.   

7) That business owners should hire a team to help when they are on vacation or in the hospital, etc.

8) That people will call people a troll when they've been taken of their money and report it here. 

9) That SL is always last to RL. 

Positives, it can be a lot fun at times, but when you've lost money because of uncaring and unprofessional people, it starts to be less fun. 

[Randall Ahren]

Your post reminded me of something important that I left out regarding what I believe about SL. Unless they're Brokeback Mountain types, cowboys should not cross swords in group activities.

@Tiffy, I understand. Being successful brings responsibilities. I suggest one more entry for your list: I believe all work and no play makes for a dull resident. Sometimes you need to cut loose and howl at the moon. Get yourself one blue eye and one brown eye like Immy and some elf ears like Ishtara and take a walk on the wild side. You can be a merchant and rave every once in a while. 

 

[Ceka Cianci]

i believe it's a nice place to visit but i wouldn't want to live there.........without the option to come home

[Lanas Criss]

• Scripts are from Mars
• Creating is wonderful therapy
• Special creations take a village
• Enthusiasm is contagious
• Scripts may actually be from somewhere worse than Mars

Not a very long list but I wanted to share how much relaxation and reward I’ve found making fun stuff that puts smiles on faces.  Seems like a theme with several other folks as well.  It’s also an agonizing reality that a script maker, texturizer, prim organizer, and animator rarely come in single package, but when gathered together (pretty much out of necessity) they can do all sorts of magical things together.

And yes, I do believe scripts are alien technology most likely from Mars, but just like those on this planet who are from Mars in spirit I’m compelled to need and appreciate them despite my suspicions about their true master plan.

Enjoy Creating

Lanas

[Tiffy Vella]

Thanks Randall..it's a thoughtful reminder, as some days many of us are in danger of getting mired up in all the "should-dos". Please know that I get excellent amounts of funs in all worlds.

Let me add this to my List-

-I believe SL is extremely fun. (Sometimes the most obvious truths are too obvious to think of including.)

[Dillon Levenque]

---

Randall Ahren wrote:

Below is a list of what I believe about SL. How about you? What do you believe about SL?

 

What I believe about SL:

● Porn is not bad.

● The world is made of prims and if you know the prims the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish.

● V2 was a bad idea.

● There are two types of residents, those that build and those that should.

● I build, therefore I am

● It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.

● The future is a great idea.

● SL does to your mind what spring does to cherry trees.

● Scripting makes you smarter.



---

A very interesting topic. Since I lack the editing skill to address them one at a time I'll just pretend your bullets have numbers:

1,2: Agree

3,4,5: Disagree. I have built a few things and I love doing so but it seems to me that those that DO build in SL have provided a universe of ways for others to exist here. I don't think my slife would be any less fulfilling had I never created a single thing. As for V2: not for me, but I am not knowledgeable enough to say it's a bad idea.

6,7,8: Completely agree. Especially 8.

9: I doubt that, but it will certainly teach you to concentrate your thoughts. As will any type of programming.

 

What I believe, apart from your suggestions:

There has never been anyplace anywhere ever in my lifetime that allows the free interchange of ideas and personalities and minds that Second Life does almost without even thinking about it. I really do not have words to describe how much pleasure and enlightenment it has brought me. I've been touched by the thoughts and feelings of so many people I'd never even have heard of without this place that it is no longer even remotely unusual when that happens.

 

 

ETA emphasis on Point 8 (seems to me I've seen that line before; it's accurate)

Edited a 2nd time to correct some really bad grammar.

[Mayalily]

Nice post, Dillon.

Yes, I'd probably have to add more.  I was going to write that in my other posts that there could be tons.

Another thing I believe about SL is that it has some of the best artistry as compared to any other game.  The avatars and the clothes are sometimes so gorgeous, the sims brilliant and beautiful, the rofl so funny humor in the local chat do make SL a bit like what Spring does the cherry trees.

The best artists are here on SL.  I believe that.   

[Knowl Paine]

What I believe about SL:

It is what you make of it.

A place to manifest reality digitally on virtual realty.

A receptacle for the conversion of consciousness from a bio support state to an electronic support state.

A Linden lives under the surface patch, I saw "it".

A place with secrets.

A place where anything is possible.

A place where nothing is possible.

The place where it can be proven that 1 and the 0 revolve around a 3rd component and that the binary system is critically flawed, a mis-application of science.

By the time I get old enough and wise enough to completely understand the Residents older than me, they will be gone. Then I will be them. Some of them don't even speak because everything has already been said. I did not understand that when I had first joined.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Randall Ahren]

Your concluding paragraph is very impressive. I may have to add that to my profile. However, while everything has already been said, not all has been heard. 

@Dillon, the line about cherry trees I believe is originally from a poem by Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet, but worded slightly different about what the poet wanted to do to his lover: Quiero hacer contigo lo que la primavera hace con los cerezos. I have also seen the English translation used in a song. I want to do with you what spring does with cherry trees.

@Tiffy, congratulations on your 300th post!

@Lanas, short lists are better. Mine was too long. Long lists tend to exceed my input buffer. Yes, enthusiasm is contagious.

@Deltango, the main point of your blog post seems to be that anonymous accounts made everything worse. Possibly, but it does pose less of a barrier to entry for new residents.

@Ceka, your post reminded me of a question I think about sometimes. If you could be fantastically attractive but consigned to lousy sex as it is in SL or just be ordinary but have much better sex, which would you choose? I think I would go for fantastically attractive. Sex just doesn't take that long.

@Mayalily, I especially agree with your item #9. In fact, I should really be doing something else with my time, like going to the gym.

@Phil, you're going to have let me on the decent money secret so that I can justify all the time I'm spending online.

@Suella, I misunderstood your signature. I see there were Xs by the pixel stuff. Silly me.

Sorry for the short replies. I seem to some sort of RSI problem from the porn. Anyway, it's not really porn, it's more like erotic art. As Mayalily pointed out, the best artists are in SL.

 

 

 

 

[Mayalily]

Yeah, some erotic art is good.  Porn is subjective and a difficult subject.

Another thing I believe about SL is that although it is a lot like cherry trees blooming in the Spring, SL has it's dark side also (dark side could also be subjective). 

Imo, I don't believe it is healthy to engage one's dark side fantasies too much.  Some people balance their dark side better than others.  But, for me, I don't even like Halloween.  I'm a Christimas and Valentine's girl. 

I like the cherry trees of SL the best.  I'd consider the cherry trees blooming in the Spring, the lighter side of SL.  I enjoy the cherry trees, I have a lot of fun and meet people from all over the world, and again absolutely the best artists are right here on SL.

p.s. If you can't make it to the gym, come dancing with me.  You can be afk and workout in RL while the music is playing, I don't care if you are afk, but someone told me that exercise is as important as nutrition, I believe that.  Get some exercise! 

ETA:  I don't care if you are afk on SL for a half an hour to workout.  Why?  Because I am afk on SL for a half an hour because I am working out in RL. 

[Randall Ahren]

I believe in rezzurection.