diamond Marchant

What is a Threads post called? So far I have seen “post” and “message”.

Yes it is, nice view. This is a similar to the situation in the NE corner of Bellisseria, where there is a two region separation between Bellisseria and the Satori regions south of Stromberg. My expectation is that this gap will remain due to precedent. The holy grail is to connect Sansara to Bellisseria at Harter Fell/Bleaberry Tarn.

I tried to buy the Kindle version and it was not available.

To summarize my opinion... In Coffee's Original Post, she briefly describes the Maslow Hierarchy and restates the question posed by Strawberry. She states that the Maslow Hierarchy is not the issue, after calling it "pure psychology nerd garbage". Her issue is Philip's answer in which he "fundamentally misunderstood the implications of Second Life omitting the bottom two foundational tiers". She concludes by stating that "Linden homes have been successful for growth of premium membership and retention where everything else has failed", giving this as an example of "a facsimile of foundational needs for people to complete". This OP has a lot to unpack. My first response was to agree that V2 Linden Homes are important for user retention because they provide "object permanence". On further reflection, I replied that the question "Considering Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. .. what do you think Second Life says about human nature?" was an instance of the false premise fallacy (that is, the premise that Maslow's paradigm applies to virtual worlds is false). So I was disagreeing with the OP over accepting the question as other than nonsense. My reasoning is that the Maslow Hierarchy is, by definition, ascientific in that it cannot be empirically tested. Also, the requirement of completing a level before moving to the next is obviously false (as suggested in the original post). The model has evolved over 80 years to address these shortcomings but the question posed to Philip suggests the 1943 formulation. Additionally, there is timescale to consider. The path up the pyramid to self-actualization plays out over decades. It is not a loop that is occasionally repeated, such as when you enter a virtual world. It is great that the Maslow paradigm is of use to therapists, psychologists, and corporate organization development people. But that may be because it is an excellent framework for categorizing human needs. If game developers get some insight from it, that's great too. To end on a constructive note (Patch prefers that we are constructive), if I were looking to behavioral psychology to aid game design, I would go with Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow). Michael Lewis' backstory on Kahneman and Tversky is also a great read (The Undoing Project).

I even edited it AGAIN... the B.F. Skinner thing My point is that Maslow is an unsound idea and there are better alternatives. That is the position of the HBR article.

What I do understand is that Maslow has been debated for 80 years and some have altered or adapted it to their needs. You might find this instructive What Maslow’s Hierarchy Won’t Tell You About Motivation from the Harvard Business Review I read It’s All a Game: Video Games, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, & Big Data | Acxiom and discovered it's a marketing piece for a company that sells big data services. My favorite part is "Ok, enough with the psychology… Enter big data" Also this marketing piece references this https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html The section titled Critical Evaluation is interesting. I think this Maslow thing has played out. Perhaps we should start on B.F. Skinner. A little operant conditioning might get more noobs to hang around.

Actually, not. The quoted paper (Connecting Gamification and Motivation Theory by Graham White, based on an extract from Virtual Ashridge’s whitepaper: Gamification in eLearning) says... "Maslow suggested that individuals have a hierarchy of needs and that each need must be addressed and fulfilled sequentially if the individual is to become self-actualised/complete." The keyword is "suggested", not proved or gave evidence for. Eighty years later, it is still open for debate. The paper also says... "we can also assume that if an individual’s lower hierarchical needs are unfulfilled they are unlikely to participate in any gamified process" The keyword is "assume". Sounds like assuming a conclusion. Also this paper is specifically about "gamification" and "eLearning". Second Life is not "eLearning" and is not a "game" in the sense of having goals, rules, competitions, and winners/losers.

Love is correct. However, this topic really is about noob stickiness in Second Life. If Philip had dismissed the question as nonsense, we would not even be talking about Maslow. Anyone have evidence that the Hierarchy (as disclosed in 1943) has any relevance to virtual worlds? In fact, it has been revealed (in its original form), to be an idea unsupported by actual evidence involving living humans in the real world. Note that the beginning of the title of this thread is Mainstream failure of SL

There is no sex on IMVU however we can become naked and have basic interactions. hmm, perhaps this is a sweet spot... covers lots of ground but no actual sex (or maybe they misrepresenting)

Here's the thing. It is perhaps the case that the "market" (or market segment of some larger market such as "virtual worlds") for Second Life is tiny, which means that marketing and advertising doesn't really help. I was always taught that you want to be a big fish in a big pond. Our pond is a little puddle. "Adult activities" are an ocean. That is why it's all over social media and a billion other places. Second Life can only offer pixels, text chat, and maybe voice. But our animation technology is not top-of-the-line so ultimately it comes down to roleplay. So is Linden Lab gonna advertise roleplay? or the ability to make sexy avatars? or fetish clothing? Seems like a tough sell.

If I were a game (or game-not-a game) developer, I would likely disregard the Maslow Hierarchy as it was an idea Professor Maslow published in 1943 based on scant empirical evidence. The idea is still being debated. To apply the hierarchy to humans in a virtual world seems a stretch. To use it as a premise in a LabGab question is a false premise fallacy. Rather, I would focus on brain chemistry. TikTok is addictive for a reason. Also, I agree with Luna that, in games, the players should be "simply having fun". If something I do in SL turns out to not be fun, I stop doing it.

Lab Gab Special Live at SL20B with the Moles! June 30, 2023

For years I have had the JIAN Chicken Coop (7LI) which comes with a 3LI nest, which is an animated chicken sitting on a straw nest. But NO EGG. Also have JIAN :: Chicken Collection which is chickens that run around.

I am referring to this one, Second Life's Lab Gab Special Live at SL20B with Philip and Oberwolf Linden. First, @Strawberry Linden did a great job, striking a good balance between being respectful but not too softbally. I would recommend this video to anyone trying to seriously understand the state of virtual worlds in 2023 (without having to endure copious SL minutiae). My favorite Philip (Philip Rosedale) moments were his views on teleporting (which I totally agree with), his explanation of centralized vs decentralized control, and his determination to avoid the pitfalls of current social media. Oberwolf (Brad Oberwager) gave us insight into what is actually going on inside Linden Lab. The final question put specificly to him was "As an investor, what do you value the most about Second Life?" I was expecting an answer that might be given on CNBC... shareholder value, technology, user base, brand, etc. Didn't get that. Rather, he first talked about "financial consistency" which suggests that Linden Lab is stable with respect revenue and expenses... successfully treading water. Then he PIVOTED and offered another answer while repeating the phrase "As an investor" (later lampooned by Philip). My take away is that Brad views his investment in Linden Lab/Second Life as a lifestyle. He really likes his job (Executive Chairman) and really cares about Second Life and it's future. This is not about making a quick buck. The Office of Second LIfe is a manifestation of this lifestyle. I get it. My own career in Silicon Valley was significantly determined by a desire to work with people who I respected and on projects that I considered a positive contribution to society. All I can say is, "Keep up the good work Brad".

When Strawberry asked this question my first thought was "this seems like fun", as it appeared rather academic and abstract. Credit to Strawberry and Philip for dutifully playing their part. But then I recalled a conversation I had with a family member just yesterday... she started asking questions about SL, specifically land ownership. She wanted to know why anyone paid if you could just be a no-pay basic member. I replied that people in SL eventually want "object permanence". This is a strange concept to those who have never been in a virtual world. Why pay for land when you can just rez stuff when you need it. I could only offer that for many, and myself for sure, Second Life is a sandbox/dollhouse game/not-a-game. The whole point (for some) is to make stuff and/or buy/rezz stuff. We need/want our stuff to exist somewhere... hence we need to own/rent/control land to make that happen. Prior to Bellisseria, getting "object permanence" required know-how. Linden Homes (v2) changed all that... the path to "object permanence" involves web dialogs and entering credit card info... something everyone knows how to do since web 2.0. I think Coffee's statement is a good one.

In the collective, we strive for perfection. Resistance is futile.

Not an issue for me as I am only Premium and have little interest in Mooville as it has no water rezzing or airstrips. My point, restated, concerns the placement of unattractive (to some) features all over Mooville. I would have taken the opposite default said if you like poles and wires that connect to nothing, rez them yourself on your own parcel.

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

Power/Telephone Poles and Wires In RL, I live in a somewhat rural area and I wish the poles and wires were underground, as they are for many houses not far away. In the western US, "undergrounding" is an important aspect of forest fire prevention. It is more expensive initially but with lower maintenance costs. For me, the poles and wires in the Ranch Theme detract from an otherwise beautiful build. I found myself purposely avoiding them in photography. Too bad they are there. This is similar to corner posts in the stilts.

More scenery...

Shoreline being terraformed...

Country roads...

The basic layout

Post photos and your experiences here. The Ranch Theme is being released on June 26, 2023. Looky loos awaiting entry...