DeepBlueJoy

Create something everyone wants and market it properly. MP works. I've friends who make decent money selling their creations, but it requires a lot of work and a learning curve to learn how to build stuff in SL. Manage something significant, like a larger store. Offer a service that people are willing to pay you for and be prepared to work quite a few hours and still maybe not make a consistent sum (DJ or photography for example). Own land and be a landlord. (this last one has been quite lucrative at times in SL, not sure about now, especially for a newcomer without land and resources already) All of these require either a skill-set, an outlay of money, or both. Most also require marketing skill and good people skills. And of course, sex work... not my cuppa either. Shrug. I do know people who do it and make money, but they don't seem to be thrilled and they are more of the mindset than me. I think I'd rather work a menial RL job than do sex work, even in pixel form, but that is just me. It only takes about a semester to become a home care aide or some kind of med tech (there are various kinds, some work in hospitals, some work in client's homes). It probably will give you more than $200 per week in most parts of the country (assuming you are in the US). It also offers possibilities for moving up a rung on the health care ladder if you're able to study some more. Of course, these do require that you are able bodied and able to leave home. I'm aware that some people here aren't able to get around easily for one reason or another. Medical data entry is also a possibility and that can be done from home if you have a computer. Good Luck.

Me and a friend used our allotment to instead purchase adjoining land on the mainland (in our case, very cheaply b/c we were extra lucky) -- once purchased, the land is rent free just like your Linden house. Unlike the linden house, you have some say where it is located (if you don't like the land, you don't buy). You will have to provide your house and whatever other decor you wish to have, but for me it worked out beautifully... I have a lovely spot next to my best friend! Oh, and I chose a house I actually love. (I hear the new houses are lovely, though) I always liked to have more land around my house (something that was sorely lacking in the old linden houses) and more outside/garden living than I could in my old Linden home. This house is smallish, but pretty, and surrounded by trees and landscaping and water... just what I love. My kittycats love it too. All our cats roam between both parcels freely and everyone's very happy. Unlike my old Linden house, I actually spend rather a lot of time here.

Is there a way for someone to change their avatar name (not just the display name) if they inadvertently chose their real name initially? (I mean, other than getting a brand new avatar). Can they file a ticket with LL?

Not sure which people you mean. I have found SL in particular to be a place where strangers are extraordinarily helpful even when it takes time out of their day often to help you sort out complicated stuff... and you have nothing to give them but thanks. Yes, that includes these forums.

I read somewhere in FS update materials that they'd turned off the streaming option for video b/c of security issues, but I cannot remember any more details than that. I think it's global (not just Firestorm). Best of luck. If you find a work around, please post it here. Also. Honey much more effective than vinegar.

Yup, if SL is a PITA bear to use, fewer people will use it. Hope this is not a sign of disinterest/disinvestment on Lindens part. I still do believe most of us will leave more for our own internal reasons than the interface... But... if you find yourself like I did (unable to log on AT ALL with the native SL viewer - for well over a year [yes, i filed a ticket with LL]) some will give up. Fortunately, Firestorm was already my primary viewer and I log on fine with it (though I have all the problems most people are complaining about right now) Major problems do cause people to quit trying. Most still want to, they just can't find the right SL v*agra to make to work!! 🙄

I have to say... not sure I see the problem. I mean this: Attention/interest in hobbies and entertainment changes over time -- it can change because the hobby changes, or because it doesn't. We also change. Our other lives, and even other games can take up our time and effort. SL for most people is social. If the people you enjoy most being social with aren't around any more or you have become estranged from them, there's a reason right there for why you might have lost interest. Maybe you're simply 'done'. Most people find that when they've gotten as far in a game as they want to go -- won all the levels, or just explored as much as they can -- they feel their interest wane. They may not see it, because often they've found a new game -- but the truth is, the new game only gets space because the old game no longer holds their fascination. SL isn't a win-lose/complete/adventure quest game, but it's an artificial world and some of the experience is exactly the same. SL has a significant learning curve and requires effort in order to be really enjoyable... whether that effort is in learning how to use it and to keep your avatar and built environment up to date, or it's in developing relationships/finding activities or learning stuff, it can get to be a lot of work at times and if you're not getting something significant from it, then the work doesn't feel worth the trouble. SL can be addictive. For whatever reason, some of us finally break that addiction and we feel able to stay away. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I find sometimes I come on and I end up wasting an entire day I should be working, if real life doesn't force me to get up. I am seriously thinking that taking time out is not a bad thing. For one thing, it is physically almost as damaging for us to spend hours sitting as it is to overeat or smoke. SITTING is BAD for us. So... not being here... Is not evil. If you want to rekindle interest (and it totally sounds as if you do, or you wouldn't be writing about it here) taking time away is a good way to miss the things you liked. As long as you don't stay away so long you have to start over when you come back b/c things have changed so much! Of course, maybe that's just what you need... to come back to it refreshed and eager b/c so much is new, it's a whole different experience. I often find myself helping 'oldbies' -- people who are returning after 5 or more years and have NO clue how to function in the new 2019 SL. Many of them actually enjoy 'remaking' their new/old selves. Finally... Yes, SL absolutely has issues! When things don't work (as they are massively not working for many people at the moment - [please do file reports with Linden so they have as much info as possible]) it gets to be seriously annoying just trying to get on and stay on and move around. Most of us stay for other reasons than the 'lovely' interface cough:hotmess:cough that is SL. I do think it does have a big advantage over a lot of social media (for one example). At least, LL isn't monetizing us, selling our data and forcing us to use our legal names in game, then exposing us and our info to hacks and other madness. It is far from perfect, but I don't believe that it's primarily the imperfections that are making you want to leave... though I'm sure they do not help a lot of people stay, especially newcomers. But... I remember the days when my computer was much slower than the one I have now and I was constantly getting booted, or things weren't rezzing... and I was always trying desperately hard to be here... because it met need, despite the hassle. Maybe SL no longer meets whatever need it met before? Maybe you're just ready to move on or to take a break and come back refreshed. Whichever it is, feel free to let go angst free and come back just as angst free if/when you decide you want to be here. And if you're just bored... find new things or people in world to explore. There's a ton more stuff there than most of us are even aware of, much less participate in!! Good Luck! Blue

Sadly, I will never underestimate the power of A***** to try to make someone else's life miserable. That is sadly, how they roll. I just wish that SL were more responsive to what is basically criminal behavior. Of course, even if they were responsive, a determined creep could hide behind various protections and come back as someone else. Sighs. You have my sympathy. You do not deserve any of what has happened to you. NO idea what motivates such losers to torment people. Please understand that I empathize with you deeply and I hope my question did not convey anything other than that.

I assume you've attempted to report him/her/it to linden and nothing useful happened?

I usually find gachas only predominate in searches for things that have become rare, usually because the vendor is no longer around, and/or because the item was sold as transfer originally, something that used to be more common than it is now. Otherwise, the non gachas tend to dominate the search. Older items that were transferable end up for sale, and they are, of course, one-ofs b/c makers (other than full perm sellers) seldom make copy items that are also transfer -- at least not if they want to stay in business. (any item that is copy/transfer is subject to being copied to all the buyer's friends.) So... if you're finding only gacha versions of something, it's often older and you may actually not be able to find a non gacha version anymore (though some people buy gachas from stores and sell the ones they don't want after they finally get the one they wanted) You can of course eliminate all no copy stuff by selecting 'copy' in your searches. Depending on what you're searching for, of course. If you want to make several copies of a chair or a tree or something, this is a good option. If it's a piece of clothing, it may not matter as much if you only have one copy, especially if it was cheap. Good luck, Blue I wonder if searching by 'oldest' first would help you find the 'real' vendor/earliest item?

True, but since a lot of online stores I used to like are now using their search as an advertising vehicle and I can't really search for the things I want anymore (amazon), I am actually willing to put up with SL's admitted shortcomings. The ads are on top or when you check out on 0L items, not inside the search. I am fine with that. My SL search isn't as efficient as I like, but I am grateful it's not set up to prevent you from buying the thing you want in favor of the (often more expensive) thing the advertiser has paid to have show up. Their idea of 'relevant' and mine do not mesh. Searching by price L-H often includes things that aren't even the item I'm looking for. At least, SL allows me to search for the items I want.

Thank you very much! I will look into both suggestions. Thank you for being so helpful to so many people over the years. I remember meeting you when I was a clueless newbie trying to learn about SL, including things like how to use the photography interface.😸

How do people connect with others to make money in SL photography? I used to do it for a living in real life and I do a lot of it here for fun... If I could make enough money not to have to buy lindens a couple times a year, that would be fine... I'm not trying to pay real life bills, but I'd love to support my SL habit by my SL earnings if that was possible... Given what I used to be paid in real life, I know there's no way I could make that much in SL. But I can't do real life photography from my armchair either...

I think this may be why some folks create opposite sex alts...

I tend not to buy gachas unless it's something that is a) unbelievably expensive in non gacha form or b) not available anymore. I more wish that I could get rid of demos in my searches for free stuff! Even looking for things for 1-10L sometimes gets me demos. Boolean searches don't tend to eliminate them. I wish the system simply kept the demo option as a clickable button on the paid item's page - b/c most of us buy only demos b/c we might want to buy the real thing eventually. Depending on how it was done, it would also make the database smaller. Anyway... I have to agree with those who want gachas to remain in their item's category, rather than a separate gacha category. I seldom search for gachas b/c they are gachas. I search for something I want (boat, hair, shoes, whatever) and I want to know all of what is out there so I can choose the thing that fits my pocket and my desire. I used to look down my nose for gachas... then I discovered my favorite home furnishing store had gachas of some of their stuff... stuff I couldn't otherwise have afforded. Even buying multiples of those items turned out cheaper than buying one of their non gacha.

Meh!! I let other people breed the pretties, then I collect the ones that result and perma* them. 😎 Then I have a pet I never have to feed, that never gets sick. I have a bunch of cats in my life in real life, so I needed to have a bunch in my SL too. As someone said above, you should breed if you love it and want to try to breed something unique. Not so much for making money. In addition to money, breeding also requires a time investment and free prims (land). Most breeders I know end up having a large collection of kittens -- and giving them most of them away. They breed b/c they enjoy it. I do see some very high priced kitties on MP, but many of them have been there for months or longer... so don't assume that just because someone is asking a high price they will be getting it. *Like pretty much all things KittyCats! related, perma-catting is not cheap - 1500 or 1800L, currently, I believe. (It depends on the age of the cat - older, post breeding age ones are slightly cheaper, though perma-catting really is more expensive than it ought to be if you have paid to feed and breed a cat during its breeding life). Anyway, in the long run, perma-catting is still cheaper than feeding a breeding pair and you know exactly what you're getting and your cat will never get sick. You can get the perma stuff at the kittycats official store. Occasionally, you can find a perma'd cat for sale that is not much more than the cost of the perma. My first cat in SL was a freebie and it was perma already -- from firestorm for their anniversary. I haven't seen them give one out in recent years, though they have given away other creatures Keep your ears open for collectable gift cats though; various groups give away 'special' kitties, though mostly they aren't perma (this includes kittycats people who recently gave out their annual pair of birthday cats. You can breed them if you wish). BTW, the quote I remember was this: the best way to make a small fortune is to start with a large one... 😉

slink or altamura. If you look around at events, you can even get an altamura for free that will look decent or occasionally one with omega for under 1000L (at an event, not normally) source: I have two alts. one is slink. the other is altamura.

NO, it isn't about me at all. I shared MY thoughts. you are welcome to yours. That was the ENTIRE POINT actually. Mine is the MINORITY opinion, one not often expressed. Since the rest of the world generally flows in the opposite direction in this particular case, I think no one else actually cares, and it doesn't matter what I think. Except people are horribly insulted I don't like their buying choices. Well, my favorite color is blue... and most people think blue hair is an odd choice... so I should be insulted by this. But I'm not. Live and let live. I get plenty of people saying things about things I like that I don't agree with. The world would be a very boring place if we all were gray people with gray minds and gray faces. The world is a kaleidoscope. I enjoy that. I enjoy arguing with people, but not hurting people. If what I said hurt you, I am sorry for causing hurt. I will never be sorry for disagreeing with you, however. And I really am done now. BC EVERYTHING else I tried to share -- about the bodies that work well for clothing... that has been lost in a discussion about one remark in a much larger post. BODIES THAT ARE EASY TO FIND CLOTHING FOR. THIS is the topic. BTW, I noticed no one was insulted by my comments about the monster body... no one was upset about that. Niramyth is quite popular with some guys. There are lots of people whose feelings conceivably were hurt when I said what I thought about it too... And I said Adam was outdated. I guess it's OK that I have some negative opinions... just as long as they are the PROPER negative opinions. That hardly seems fair. I shared what I shared to try to be of help. I really regret that I bothered b/c it blew up into something completely unnecessary.

actually, I do. which is why in a one on one situation i will never say a thing about the head. But... for someone who is looking to buy? i am going to discourage them from something that I think will degrade their look and make them look a lot like everyone else... Sorry, I am not gonna be shamed for having a clear, strong opinion that a product is horrible. It's not the person who wears it, but the product. I'm sorry people don't feel they have more choice. I am sorry if it makes me mean to express an opinion about a product. Just because other people have bought it doesn't make it good. There are a lot of things in the world like that. They are the options. People choose one of a handful and sadly, for reasons other than quality, these products thrive. Many (billions?) people use a horrible social media program that monetizes them and is dangerously insecure called Facebook, but there are no longer very many options out there b/c the big dog (Facebook) won. Mostly because people didn't want to spend money to join stuff that would have been more secure and wouldn't have defaulted to putting them at risk. It doesn't make me mean to have an opinion that Facebook is a horrible timesuck no one should use... look at me... I'm all alone out here and everyone's happily ignoring me 😄 As I said when I started talking about Catwa, I AM a party of one in this. I didn't say it to be popular. I won't back down. I don't hate or disrespect people who use catwa or facebook. or the monster man body I don't want to try to spell twice... Have a lovely day please. I'm done here. i said what I meant because I felt it should be said, and I won't be changing what i think in order to make others happy. In the final analysis, people will wear what they want. It's just a product. If what I said makes a handful of people think, that's great. If they ignore me, that's fine too. If Catwa comes out with a product that I think is lovely and configurable in a way I like, I will be the FIRST in line to buy it. NO offense was intended. I didn't attack any person. I stated a dislike for a PRODUCT. I even admitted that I was in the minority for my dislike. Peace. BTW: Skel, if that image in your first post to me is a Catwa head, I think it is totally awesome! If you did that with Catwa, then clearly it works for you.

Yup i'm a very bad girl. I don't mind if you WANT to look like a rent boy... it's the unintentional dumb as a post rent boy look that gets me... if you have character and that character is rent boy, then go for it. I'm kinda bent and kinda partial to people who have a unique look, whatever their gender identity.

To respond to OP re easy to clothe bodies. Altamura, especially if you want one with an included mesh head. Slink otherwise. It's supported everywhere and intelligently constructed. Both look human. I like Slink slightly more than Altamura, but altamura has some ease of use advantages and you can usually find a free version that will look decent. ALTAMURA: If you want to buy a complete male body including a head that is easy to get clothing for, I'd recommend altamura. There are free ones out there that you can try, or you can buy ones that accept omega and give you a wide open set of options for clothing and things like beards and body hair. Altamura is also easy to use b/c the HUD is very thoroughly thought out (almost a little too well thought out - there's a bit of a learning curve). The HUD means you can make clothing fit on the body even if the clothing isn't 'altamura' designed. Since men's clothing tends to be worn in blocks and less complex than women's clothing (which have straps and open backs, cleavage and other stuff that makes fitting more complicated). Anyway, a good HUD can take you a long way for wearing almost anything. SLINK: If you want a male body that is really easy to get clothing and footwear for, I'd recommend slink (You can buy hands feet and body all at the same time and never have to futz with them once you get set up), but then you'd be needing to figure out the head. My stipulation is that both of these bodies tend toward neutral normal (attractive) male rather than he man. You can create pretty much any normal looking body you'd like. If you do want a hyper-masculine monster man, feel free to get your Niramyth. Personally, as a heterosexual female, I think it looks odious on EVERYONE and you can see them coming a mile away, but it's up to you. Belleza looked fine to me, just didn't have a lot of experience with it and it didn't excite me. Don't really like the Signature Gianni, but that's a taste thing, nothing really wrong with it. I tried Adam, but he seemed very crude and needed updating. NOTE: I have two male avatars for testing stuff, and I've spent a lot of time and effort configuring them both and making things fit right and outfitting them with clothing of various types. My avi with the Slink body has an AK (Akeruka) head. I like the form of the head and it accepts omega skins, but it is no longer as cheap as it once was. The advantage of the Akeruka head is that they create a range of different heads shape and ethnicity wise, that are great starting points if you are trying to create a specific look. They are configurable enough to make for a unique look. I am probably a party of one for hating all things Catwa and also way too cheap to spend that much on something that to me mostly looks *****ty or like a hipster rent boy (girl and boy respectively) - I don't really like the 'hot stupid look' in actual humans either and no, in spite of the fact that i hate insulting my friends, I can tell what head they're wearing and I think it looks a bit like a monkey head in most cases. But vapid apparently appeals to a lot of people... or maybe it's all the stuff that is out there for them. If you buy one of those awful heads, you will get a ton of stuff that works with them. (fortunately, you asked for bodies that were easy to find clothing for, not heads, so you can ignore the rant) PS: don't fall into any trap regarding TMP (The mesh project) bodies... It ain't worth the hassle. They are outdated and just buying one is a job of work. Don't do it! Anyway... good luck!

I would never blame it all on others without looking at myself first. My intelligence really isn't in question, but it does seem a mite illogical to suggest that thousands of people's computers have suddenly become defective. It is a fact that lot of people are suddenly having problems, people who build stuff in SL and have more expertise and superior computer equipment/knowledge to mine. No matter how buggy a system or a piece of software is, there will nearly always be someone who has no problem running it. This doesn't mean that other people aren't struggling through NO fault of their own. FTR, I ran the Valley benchmark test that someone else recommended and it ran flawlessly at the max settings (it is kind of addictive and relaxing, even though it's not a 'game' per se), Anyway, if the stress point is my machine, it's only a stresspoint in SL. Though i have considerable experience with computers, I don't have the expertise (or frankly, the interest in developing it) to diagnose precisely what the problems with SL are for everyone. I simply want it to work so I don't have to spend time I don't have futzing. I only know what I've experienced, and what those around me are experiencing... a lot of issues with crashing, particularly on TP. As those you spoke to seemed to indicate the FS beta animesh version was superior to the release version. TP crash issues persist in spite of my not using either version, though the rapid repeato crash problem went away with the animesh release version. Many people I know crash on nearly every attempt to TP. That is a serious pain in the butt.

I think the problem is definitely global, but the newer version of firestorm (animesh) seemed to make things much worse, at least for me and others I know.

When cars are recalled, it's usually because only SOME people have actually experienced the failure in question. We usually do NOT blame them for a manufacturer's defect. The recall on my particular car a number of years ago could have caused a serious accident, but I got 'lucky' even though the part was defective. In real life, a defect can be real for an entire run of vehicles, but only some of them will fail. Every computer deals with the grid slightly differently. Some are more likely to fail for a variety of reasons. Does this mean the person who is repeatedly crashing has intrinsic issues with their computer? Perhaps some do or it may simply be that their configuration doesn't play well with SL's imperfect, rapidly pushed out and very demanding code. If you have a new car with a fabulous suspension on bad road, it will probably be more tolerant of rough patches than an older car with an older suspension... but the road is still the problem if it is full of holes. If it breaks a suspension that was otherwise not prone to breakage, this doesn't mean the fault is with the person with the older car. The road should be functional for most well maintained cars. We aren't asking for the road to be suitable for a bamboo car going 80MPH. If 80% of condoms failed in normal usage, no one would use them. But in SL terms, I've experienced a 100% failure rate... on some days, I've had repeated crashes and disconnects. On most days I experience at least a couple. This is way worse than the bad old days with integrated graphics, an overheating computer and slow DSL btw.

Well, just for the record, it's the option to read messages with a greyed out screen that I get the most... but I also have instances when the screen goes white and I have to manually shut it down as well as times when the program simply vanishes... it shuts down so very completely, it's no longer running. I've also been having fun experiences with suddenly missing inventory and my friends more so than me seem to end up naked. Mostly, i just have hair or a foot missing... If I didn't have social reasons to be in SL, I probably would stop using it. I didn't sign up with SL for a trouble shooting project. I have the house that I'm rebuilding and the unfinished books that I'm writing for that. I come here for absence of drama and problems to solve...