Luna Bliss

YW Jura Rene...thanks for the kind words the other month when my business was doing so poorly. I like those signs, but would be good to check for script time...a simple URL Giver script might use less time and cut down on script usage if you place a lot of them. Phil...yeah it can be a hard decision...when is any thing/person so corrupt or so troubling that you totally write them off. I would just hate to see you not do something you enjoy because of your bad experiences here.

Phil, I totally understand your frustration regarding all the changes that cause in-world stores to have less visibility. I love the store I worked so hard creating, with the gardens below, and to have the Marketplace shoved down my throat (if I wanted my store to survive) wasn't what I wanted....another huge task...it takes mega amounts of time to make those listings and get them up on the web. But the fact is, I don't think many stores will survive in the future that don't have a MP presence. The good news is that since I started getting more listing onto the MP my sales are finally improving, so ironically my best in-world marketing at this time is to have a good MP presence. And I"m looking at how it's beneficial in other ways too - for example, all these photos I take of my content and all the descriptions I write - all of this packaging can be taken to other grids. Who knows, maybe SL will even be connected to other grids one day and deliveries will go to multiple grids. So get that stuff packaged up Phil ! One best business practice I'd like to share regards how I make the connection between the MP @ my in-world store. I've started putting out an info cube with an URL giver in it next to my in-world store items so that shoppers can click this and go directly to the item at my MP store. I know, at first I thought this might be stupid since I'd be getting less money if they purchased it on the MP, but I believe it actually increases sales overall - you can see all the details of the item so much better on the MP - so much more detail than a note card can provide (and note cards often don't open). Plus, there is a certain percentage of people that seem to trust purchasing @ the MP store more than in-world. But back to the changes SL forces on us, it is very hard to keep going sometimes with so many changes. Many of them seem like errors in judgement, and probably some are and some aren't, but what can we do but keep adapting as best we can. This recent plan...the march to Sesame Street/Disneyland...seems like a big error to me at this time (I hope I'm wrong though). We are pretty much dragged along as SL tries to find fame and fortune, and most of the time they don't seem to see that the people already in the world are the ones they should be focusing on (well, the ones that are still left anyway). In other words, it's a niche market...but it's a big world and could create a big niche - can't this be enough?

Can you tell me how to get... how to get to Sesame Street?

Thanks Brooke...nice tip. And I really like the look/format of the new forums.

@ Renee Unfortunately many of those hogging the worlds resources don't include the needs of others outside their circle in their construct of reality or concept of 'winning'. As to what game those victimized might be playing, as you asked, - all oppressed people still have a choice in how they respond emotionally, but only that particular oppressed person can judge if they structured their reality/response in the best way possible. I may not understand what exactly you were implying, but it seems to be that you think I believe because people can structure their reality that they have control over everything? I don't believe that.

Hmmm an interesting topic...makes me consider just what reality is, and how this affects the future economy of SL. My belief is that a game is simply a structured reality with a set of rules, and in so-called 'real life' we are all playing games too, although the rules might not be so noticeable, and many are even unaware of the game they are playing. Commonly however, it seems most only consider something a game if the structure is very noticeable or defined, or perhaps contains an agreed upon fantasy element. All of life is a game because we all structure our reality in some way, with our own rules and concepts of winning/losing/competing/how to experience - even if we are only competing against ourselves or our own standards. The notion of 'games' in modern times seems to have a negative connotation - as if they are 'less than' - so I can see why there is such a resistance to the idea of SL being defined as a game. That seems strange to me however, as my definition of 'game' includes all of reality - a game is simply a more structured reality,and every person on the planet structures their reality in some way. Furthermore people can learn a lot about themselves and derive benefit from roleplaying and participating in games, sometimes even in the so-called 'mindless' games. Have you ever been approached by someone in SL talking like they're in 17th century England? I have at my store, and I'm usually bemused... on the one hand it's a little bit fun, but on another level I can feel offended - I resent being shoved into someone elses 'game' when I haven't agreed to play yet. Depending on my mood I might play along or not. This seems an important aspect of any game (in any world ) - that you maintain the ability to participate or not. And I think this could be another source of resistance to the concept of 'game' - for some this denotes a sense of manipulation, especially if the game playing is more conscious (once again...in any world). But all that aside, how should LL present itself to the public? It does seem that most people want a more structured reality during much of their time. Maybe LL's emphasis on games and roleplaying of late is a good thing. However I feel they are losing sight of those who don't want ONLY that reality - I think there's a big group of people that think LL's definition of this game disregards their reality. Some people want a 'game' of community that doesn't involve breeding animals or fantasy roleplay. Some people want to play the 'economy game' where artists can actually earn a living. LL always seems to chase the next big thing while ignoring the people already here, and I can only hope they will rethink their game plan.