Press coverage of SL in The Atlantic today.

[animats]

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/06/second-life-virtual-reality-platform-longevity/674533/

[rasterscan]

"I saw an avatar playing blues guitar, his appearance customized to look like a tall old Black man. Clicking on the user’s account, I realized that in real life he was Charles Bristol, an 87-year-old bluesman"

Awesome read thanks. 

"Some 99 percent of new users would quit, overwhelmed and aggravated, most within their first hour in the virtual world. Those who stayed long enough to learn how to use the software—usually guided by a patient “oldie” community member—found themselves welcomed into an exclusive club."

That included me. But the seed was sown and I gave it a second try a year later. Lasted a couple of logins, second go. On my third attempt I got some help in a sandbox. They explained the box on my hand that I had expected to be shoes on my feet needed rezzing to the floor and unpacking to inv. Never looked back since.

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

Nice going James!

[Qie Niangao]

Quote

By my estimate, more than 500 million people are active community members within platforms that roughly fit what Stephenson described in Snow Crash—especially VRChat, a kind of next-generation successor to Second Life. 

Am I the only one who sees this selling both platforms short?

(Sorry. I always get testy when the anointed mavens of the metaverse wax wise on how this or that virtuous virtual world assists some especially sympathetic group. That sounded ever so noble the first gazillion times it was said.)

[Sid Nagy]

Quote

To this day, the Second Life application resembles a massively multiplayer online game welded to a 3-D-graphics editor duct-taped to a social network crammed into an ancient television remote with infinite buttons.

This is so spot on.

 IMHO: A very good and balanced article about SL.

Edited June 27, 2023 by Sid Nagy

[AmeliaJ08]

That is a fantastic article.

I'm guiding a noobie right now and we're making good progress (6 hours of lessons in) so the section about new users and the infinitely complicated remote control really hits home.

[Love Zhaoying]

I think it's a well-written article. The positive things the author chose to leave out say a lot. Just for examples, the massive 20th anniversary celebration, and the "constant changes" and new offerings in Second Life from Linden Lab. 

Also, I checked the linked article about the ChatGPT "Bunny" on Au's NWN blog. That article was written as if the ChatGPT Bunny was the first, and only, ChatGPT avatar ("salesman", now "greeter") in Second Life.

Since we've read about other ChatGPT uses in Second Life, I assume this was written in ignorance, or perhaps it's just the writer's style to exaggerate and mislead the reader somewhat? I don't see that style actually doing Second Life many favors. If instead there were some attempt to quantify the number of ChatGPT applications / experiments so far in Second Life, that would give a more balanced view.

[Kimmi Zehetbauer]

Great article that gives a positive feel to our beloved Second Life!

[AmeliaJ08]

6 hours ago, rasterscan said:

"I saw an avatar playing blues guitar, his appearance customized to look like a tall old Black man. Clicking on the user’s account, I realized that in real life he was Charles Bristol, an 87-year-old bluesman"

Awesome read thanks. 

"Some 99 percent of new users would quit, overwhelmed and aggravated, most within their first hour in the virtual world. Those who stayed long enough to learn how to use the software—usually guided by a patient “oldie” community member—found themselves welcomed into an exclusive club."

That included me. But the seed was sown and I gave it a second try a year later. Lasted a couple of logins, second go. On my third attempt I got some help in a sandbox. They explained the box on my hand that I had expected to be shoes on my feet needed rezzing to the floor and unpacking to inv. Never looked back since.

This sounds similar to me, I think my account that stuck was my third also after abandoning a couple in frustration weeks after creating them.

I know it's a little off topic but what you describe is something that could be something so easily avoided by some consistency in how objects are packaged and delivered in SL. I have been explaining (and demonstrating) to a noobie that depending on what she buys/receives and how she buys/receives it objects may be a box that needs to be rezzed, they may be in a HUD unpacker that she needs to click, they may come entirely unpacked in a folder and if it came from Marketplace it will be located in an entirely separate place to the (poorly named and vague) 'Objects' folder that in-world stuff will likely end up in. Then there's the variety in dialogs and procedure to receive your item, why are some free items 'bought' (with the 'buy' dialog) for 0L while others delivered and accepted like any other object?

I know the technical reasons for all of this but try explaining it to someone who is new beyond just teaching the myriad of methods and things they will experience directly... it's nearly impossible to do anything else other than familiarise them with it all by example when it could be so much simpler.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by AmeliaJ08

[Love Zhaoying]

6 hours ago, rasterscan said:

They explained the box on my hand that I had expected to be shoes on my feet needed rezzing to the floor and unpacking to inv. Never looked back since.

And since then, most of the time you generally can "attach the box to yourself" then "open it" by touching it..

Part of the confusion is, some of us oldbies aren't quite sure if "the way" is attaching or rezzing.  After years, I decided that "attaching is the way".  If I buy something that needs to be "rezzed", it's probably really old or a build ("Rez-Faux" or something).  

But that learning curve is - and was - steep, probably worse for "new people" during the transition from "rezzing" to "attaching".

And all this for the very simplest task:  Get stuff you bought or received.

 

[Katherine Heartsong]

Yes, that's a really good article. I like how the writer doesn't hide the fact that SL really isn't a game, in a traditional sense, and almost lauds that as a major positive of the place. And this quote really has to be the best description of SL I've heard in a while ...

Quote

To this day, the Second Life application resembles a massively multiplayer online game welded to a 3-D-graphics editor duct-taped to a social network crammed into an ancient television remote with infinite buttons.

 

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Katherine Heartsong said:

Yes, that's a really good article. I like how the writer doesn't hide the fact that SL really isn't a game, in a traditional sense, and almost lauds that as a major positive of the place. And this quote really has to be the best description of SL I've heard in a while ...

 

Thank goodness Au wrote "duct-taped" instead of "DUCK-taped"!!

 

[Katherine Heartsong]

Just now, Love Zhaoying said:

Thank goodness Au wrote "duct-taped" instead of "DUCK-taped"!!

Agreed. Major peeve that.

[diamond Marchant]

Quote

To this day, the Second Life application resembles a massively multiplayer online game welded to a 3-D-graphics editor duct-taped to a social network crammed into an ancient television remote with infinite buttons.

Bingo! The "ancient television remote with infinite buttons" is priceless.

[Aime Ravenhurst]

I think that description is perfect, too! It somewhat describes why I was able to stick around and keep trying- I grew up on a farm held together with hay baling wire and hope, and I love seeing how others either come up with creative solutions or baffling complexity in SL.

[usedcars]

On 6/27/2023 at 2:01 AM, rasterscan said:

"I saw an avatar playing blues guitar, his appearance customized to look like a tall old Black man. Clicking on the user’s account, I realized that in real life he was Charles Bristol, an 87-year-old bluesman"

Awesome read thanks. 

"Some 99 percent of new users would quit, overwhelmed and aggravated, most within their first hour in the virtual world. Those who stayed long enough to learn how to use the software—usually guided by a patient “oldie” community member—found themselves welcomed into an exclusive club."

That included me. But the seed was sown and I gave it a second try a year later. Lasted a couple of logins, second go. On my third attempt I got some help in a sandbox. They explained the box on my hand that I had expected to be shoes on my feet needed rezzing to the floor and unpacking to inv. Never looked back since.

I walked around with the box in my hand too until someone  told me how it works.  She gave me a really nice skin and shape