Ahania

Pfff I haven't even got a mobile phone. Let me shake your hand....

The RL me lives in Japan, so perhaps I can help. First, do you have any idea where in Japan the sim owner lives? Even if in the Northeast, for all the horror of the disaster, the numbers of dead and missing are proportionally small, and tt is statistically unlikely that she is dead, to begin with. If anywhere else, she is alive and well. Second, if her credit card is still active, I guarantee that she is alive and and financially functional. Banks here are every bit as predatory as anywhere else, and they swiftly cut off the accounts of all dead and missing, with polite and regretful bows to surviving relatives. Company balance sheets always win out over human considerations. Third, those of us not directly affected by the disaster have undergone something of a conceptual shift. Every day the weather forecast includes radiation counts and electricity usage statistics, and even escapist types who enjoy SL have experienced a jolt (though in my case this resulted in me signing up to SL, at long last, but I live in central Tokyo). If your sim owner has children (as I do not), she has reassessed her life priorities as a matter of urgency, and pixel horses, however cute and hungry, must take a back seat, for a while at least. My conclusion: don't be sad -- the sim owner is almost certainly alive and well, but probably in an area affected by the disaster to some extent, and her mind is on other things. She may return to her hobby at some point, but then again may not. Grieve for the horses, but rest assured that she is carrying on with her life, even if it is less 'sweet' (amai in Japanese, something like 'soft and easy') than before.

We all hate sim crossings, to be sure, and would love unimpeded movement across vast open spaces. But, for long-distance travel to favorite spots, teleporting is perfect, so let us keep that even when the SL grid becomes one giant super-sim. And, now that I think on it, give us teleporting in RL too, please, soonest!

I feel the same irresistible draw, the overwhelming desire to indulge in the life candy of SL. My work is immensely variable, sometimes requiring 90-100 hours in a single week, other times only 10 or 20 hours. I have been doing SL a mere month, and am struggling to find a balance. My advice, for what its worth, is shut SL down COMPLETELY for the duration of your course. Keep the life candy at the edge of your mind as a carrot, finish what you have to do with an iron will, and only afterwards slide luxuriously back into SL... The SL experience will seem all the richer when you do. Now, let me see if I now actually follow my own advice. Good luck to you!

I am still new here, and direct overland travel seems a natural way to explore, but teleporting blind onto an attractively-named island can result in anything, I am discovering. Anything from gushing welcome notices, to 10 seconds to get out. Most embarrassing was a delightful floral wonderland, where I wandered for a while, entranced, before coming across a plush honeymoon bed in the great outdoors. As I stared in delighted wonder, a lady rushed up and ordered me off in blunt, outraged terms, what are you doing here on private land? The most civilized rejection is a simple 'You do not have access to this destination' message when trying to teleport. Saves everyone trouble, but perhaps is an expensive option for landowners?

Here is an answer, thank you! A further question -- should a newbie commit to this, rather than some entirely different activity? And, if Second Life dies, will someone preserve the data, so that someone with greater interest and resources could decide to revive it, out of amusement if nothing else? Right now I am spending more time than I can afford just exploring landscapes, and it is clear that enormous creative energy has been expended here. 'It stopped growing a couple of years ago' is a chilling remark. Must it be so?

This thread seems to have stalled, but my question about the longevity of Second Life remains. A merchant unable to commit to a Third Life, but who still continues to commit substantial time and energy to Second Life, suggests that many people are still pulling for this place, and makes me all the less inclined to look elsewhere. In Second Life, what I have seen so far is, among other things, an extraordinary work of collectively-created art that should be preserved for millennia. But does the bulk of humanity know, or care? How long will it be here? My question remains. Should a 'newbie' commit to this? Will it still be here in thirty or forty years?

Pardon a Newbie opinion, but if Second Life tanks, Avination would long before have preceded it. By the way, as a Newbie, I wonder what more experienced heads think about the longevity of Second Life. We all know it won't last forever; nothing does. I have been here less than a month, but am captivated. I face a steep learning curve, I can see that, and would hate to see it die anytime soon.