TEENAGE WASTELAND?

Sir Squeegee sends notes from the Teen Grid

Totally without my prompting, a mouse with spiked armor contacted me from the forbidden Teen Second Life, where adults are barred from even visitation unless they undergo a rigorous vetting procedure that includes a criminal background check.  (Which would, considering my run-in with an obscure but totally fascist ordinance prohibiting fishing with hand grenades in a Federal preserve, count me right out.)  But Sir Squeegee wanted to tell me about the Teen Grid, as it's usually called, and he sent out a message seeking more opinions from other TG members.  A few responded, as did he, and many screenshots were sent.  Curiously, a disproportionate number of avatars in them were furries, including Squeegee himself.  I was curious about that, so he told me about them and the general state of avatars on the Teen Grid:

"Seems to be a bit of a fad to me, to be honest," he e-mailed me back.  "Although I know several real life furries. And I think they look cool. The older fads were 'pimp' avatars with 'bling' and six pack skins. Ugh. And then there were goths with eye shadow and spiked necklaces and the like. And now it's furries, I suppose."

I wondered aloud if the teens might be gravitating toward anthromorphic avatars because they were still uncomfortable within their real life bodies-- puberty and all that-- and he relayed that question to some of his TG friends.  Why do so many of them prefer to be furries?

Crimson Kaos: Because Humans are boring? And People like animals.
Moogle Hansen: They want to be reincarnated as doggies and cats?
Pete Twang: Because I feel like an animal inside. ^_^
Sir Squeegee: He asked if it was because some were insecure with an avatar that looks like themselves...
Pete Twang: I am insecure looking like a human.  Because humans are corrupt and greedy.

So there's that.  Some more opinions from the Teen Grid after the break.

Our World, Our Abomination? - An Editorial by Sir Squeegee

Teen Second Life is in a state of reverse evolution. It was at its prime during the beginning. With a small population of those who had received invites, and an amnesty week where teens [in the Main Grid were] transferred over, it was a highly secluded population. Though I was not around at this time, I still arrived substantially before a few major milestones that would seal the fate of the TG.

I joined in September 2005, while the population was still small. Registration was difficult for teens at that point, as a valid credit card was required to create an account. It would be untrue to suggest that the TG was perfect at that point, but it would be ludicrous to suggest that this time was before the rapid decline. There was low greifing, and high trend-setting. The TG was a simple mould at that point. I knew (of) almost everyone I saw. The whole population was like a community. It was also not terribly mainstream friendly in terms of marketing, as the grid wasn't even at the size where Linden Lab could afford to keep it opened for 24 hours at a time. Also, the TG was more of a forum of creation, as opposed to a consumer-friendly marketplace. Soon after this point, complications occurred. Linden Lab was trying to make the game more 'accessible', much to the distress of the current residents. So, LL started to make it easier to register, allowing for the initiation of an account simply with a valid mobile phone number. Almost instantaneously, the population throbbed. With the value of the account dropping, more people started joining and simply harassing other members. With the rush of new residents, there was also a moderate rise in the amount of premium accounts, making the consistency and quality of builds drop. Originality started to diminish, and simple copies of already unoriginal items started to pop up. A more recent and hugely damaging milestone in the short history of TSL was the even easier way to register.

At this point, the TG is over-populated, unproductive, and a complete pain to be in. It could get a whole lot worse, but I am pretty sure that I know which direction we are going in. - SS

Elitesniper223 Qin:
The teen side of Second Life is, sadly, for the most part what you'd expect.  The majority of the population is either inactive, not creative, lazy, or just plain ignorant.  The economy is based majorly off of rip-offs from real life, "bling", freebies, and teen Second Life's idea of a multigadget.  The objects and scripts created in TSL are, with a few exceptions, mediocre at best.  I believe that I'm not being negative, just realistic, and that there is little hope for it to get much better. 

The population is for the most part annoying to be around.  While there are some nice, intelligent, and clever people, the population is riddled with people that are trying to be "gangsta", that are constantly copying other people's ideas, and that are just plain stupid... The few exceptions to what I have stated are amazing individuals.  One of the most noteworthy is Tin Bling.  He has developed multiple games and owns one of the three or four private islands in TSL. - EQ

Tin Bling

Mecca, a noteworthy TG area

Relk Akula - "Teen Second Life Economy Overview"
TSL's economy is something often the subject of concern. Freebie selling is considered a major problem, and while some consider it simply capitalism, it really is taking advantage of people and selling possibly copyrighted work. Often however people become prosperous from their own scripts and builds. Take Tin Bling. He succesfully owns an island and Bling Buy, a take-off on Best Buy where he sells many things. Also there's Brooke Barmy. He owns an island and avatar furniture...

There's also many "clubs".  Some of them have a weird atmosphere and I personally tend to avoid them and therefore cannot describe them. There are many gathering places such as my own "Relk Akula Cafe", which is a coffee house-themed gathering place.  Overall, TSL's economy is an amazing and fascinating thing.  I have noticed some interesting controversies, such as contact with the Main Grid. There is concern of traded objects [sent from the MG] demolishing the [Teen Grid] economy. It seems to me that with the addition of a tariff, the problem could be solved.

Unfortunately most builds are of horrible quality. Except for the two islands, Unreal and Mecca.

Actually, Mecca isn't exactly well built either. - RA

Trent Davis and friend

Observations by Trent Davis

Like the main grid, TSL also has some downsides. For one thing, there are some teens that enter into the Teen Grid and start shooting people. Another problem is the lack of variety in most builds. Although these problems will continue to happen, we will just have to deal with them...

When I first came onto the Teen Grid on June 23, 2005, I didn't know what to expect. My friend said it wasn't that bad, but I gave it a shot. After playing for a few days, I had a feeling that I was in the
right place. Most of the people at the time were very interested in learning what to do in TSL and they didn't seem interested in making gangs. Instead, most of us were interested in making businesses.

Right after the Teen Grid became open to the public, it started changing a bit. That friendly atmosphere where everyone knew your name changed into something that's nearly indescribable. It started becoming less about making the biggest corporation to making the biggest and best mall. The friends I met over the summer during the Beta stages of TSL started leaving. I also started to see the formation of gangs.

Times have changed since then. Most residents have moved on from making malls. Now they're focusing on making places for people to hang out and have fun. It'll be interesting to see TSL's future since the Residents are always looking for something new or something improved.  - TD

Comments

[Ben Lineker (from thar TG)]

Hey, we got an article. Anyway, yeah. All of that is true. But, you just have to find the niché for you. Might it be the firrues, "The Collection of People That Have an IQ over 45", or the "I don't know the rules, and I want to see what an orbiter does in the sandbox."

I missed the deadline somewhat of submitting a story, but, the times changed, so I scrapped it. And am doing one on the spot.

I joined TSL in October, about, 4 or 5 days after free basic was announced. In an indirect comparison, the size of the MG is about the size of Texas, and we are the size of Pennsylvania. Population, and all.

Here come the real details, though. 4 Void sims, 4 Snow Sims, about 10 linden owned sims, 2 "project sims" and 4 Private Islands. Our welcome area is spread over 4 sims, and we only have one WA.

Yeah. That's all I have to say. -BL.

[Dolus Naumova]

Great article. Yeah. The Teen Grid SUCKS. Aesop wrote a short article he posted on the forums about how there's a TINY amount of content creators that make anything good.

If you look at the Teen Grid, our BEST stuff would be insulting to compare to the Main Grid's worst.

And also, Hammy, you've got a typo. Brooke doesn't own avatar furniture, he owns avani furniture. :P

[Pete Twang]

Good article :]

[Andrew]

"considering my run-in with an obscure but totally fascist ordinance prohibiting fishing with hand grenades in a Federal preserve, count me right out."

LOL! That is one of the funniest things I've read in a while.

[Esteth Eponym]

TG resident since 5th janurary 2006, but been stalking since late 2004 (parents and "OMG Mature content! pedos! rapists! murderers! etc...) then, im EU, so TG was useless until it went 24/7, and my parents still wouldnt let me on the MG.

so, after being on the TG for 7 months or so now, i can conclude that the majority of people here are annoying, irritating, stupid, or illitterate.

there are of course, a few exceptions. notably the ones who post on blogs, such as dolus, pete, andrew, and ben above.

in general, i find members of (TG)nexus to be skilled and members of Vox Populi to be intelligent, literate, and skilled :)

once again, there are allways exceptions, but i know im not looking at a gangsta when i see one of these players.

i try never to visit the 3 public sandbox sims, as not only are they hyper-overcrowded, laggy, and riddled with horrificly bad architecture, and people who dont clean up behind them, but shooting and oribting is common practice.

in short: TG architecture sucks in general. TG people suck in general. TG imagination sucks in general. What keeps me going is the desire to turn 18 and move to the MG, aswell as the few intelligent people you find.

[Aesop Thatch]

Ooh, wow, that's a lot more critical of the grid than I've ever been. Not that is has some truth, but it seems like thse people have focused on the worst of the grid.

Aso foro ur content creators not holding a candle to MG competitors, I'd say that that's a load of bull. Our -best- is right up there with the MG's best. We just have a lot fewer at that level.

[Elitesniper223 Qin]

After writing that article, I began to think about how the TG is good. We do have some amazing artists (builders) on it, some of which can compete with the MG's best. And the economy is getting better. We still are cluttered with griefers, but they either learn to stop griefing or just leave! ^.^
-EQ

[Corporal Candour]

Interesting article...it really views from two different perspectives. I've been considering having an alternate account on TSL for a while, and I think this article has inspired me to check it out. However, one question. Rumors have been floating around that the Teen Grid is going to be scrapped and Linden Labs will begin moving TSL residents to the Main Grid. Is this true? I hope not, especially after reading this article. It's true; kids these days are lazy, insecure, and unimaginative. "Lazy equipment" (Televisions, Video games, etc.) has spoiled their ability to explore and modify their landscape, which seems to have rubbed off on their SL avatars. In fact, I have observed that a large percentage of MG furries are indeed teens, as you mentioned earlier. All in all, great article. I think I'll have to check TSL out.

[Sharper Weeks]

And there i was thinking the Main Grid was the New Teen Grid since the Credit Card/Validation was scrapped.

Teen SL may suck, but resently the Main Grid has started to suck. There's only so many times i can get the IM "Your gay".

[moon_custafer]

""Lazy equipment" (Televisions, Video games, etc.) has spoiled their ability to explore and modify their landscape, which seems to have rubbed off on their SL avatars."

Um - are you trying to say that residents on the main grid had no interest in tv or videogames, and then spontaneously decided to join a self-directed, quasi-immersive virtual world?

If residents of the teen grid are lacking in social/building skills, I'd chalk most of it up to the relative lack of experience.

[Sir Squeegee]

I like to have faith in the future grid. But judging by the type of teens that surround me (ISL), I find it quite difficult to. That isn' to say that we have some masters of creation on the TG, but many residets don't contribute to the TSL community. I still wouldn't attribute this to tv, because the population of the MG doesn't represent (to my understanding) the population of RL minimum wage workers who don't have the education in real life. Apart from the fact that SL isn't much of an aptitude test either. My parents would much prefer that I do something creative that would have reprocussions on the real world, although they do respect SL for what it is.

[Demian Tank]

aww man! i wanted to be in that!
2005 4ever

[Cirr Marat]

The Teen Grid has its ups and downs, but as evident in the article, the downs completely nullify any ups. If you're a content creator, you're either in a paradise or a personal hell, because the majority of TG users lack the initiative or skill to make their own objects, and will more than likely pester you for a copy of anything they haven't seen before.
New sims are rare and land shortages are frequent due to this, which is the subject of complaint for many TSL users.

We lack any of the unique, interesting creations that TG Residents read about here. The TG is far from something to be envied.

Just my opinions. >_>

[Interfect Sonic]

Sorry for posting to a dead story, vut I have to take issue with this. The teen grid does not suck. It has a lot of immature people, because teens can be *very* immature, but it does not suck. There are a lot of good people, and events *can* go on without being destroied by greifers.
-Interfect

[Blue]

I should point out that I get requests from MG residents, frequently, for avatars I wear that are made by teens. The tell me they're the best avs they've ever seen. And there are some amazing scripters on the TG as well.

But take into account the perspective of a teen, say ME at 17, stuck in my hometown...dying to go to college and get away from all the "kids" around me...move to the big city where there is more to do than sit at the pizza place in the two block long town center and contemplate the punishment for getting caught cow tipping. I'm loudly complaining that "this place sucks!" but in retrospect, I realize that I was more interested in defining myself by dissociation with a place and a group of people than I was by accepting and appreciating what was cool about the small town life. I'm in the city now, but it's cool to go back and see all the stuff that I really do miss about where I used to live. And I have a good laugh at how much I hated it then...because it was nowhere near as bad as it seemed at the time.

I hope Teen Second Life residents appreciate the good stuff while they are there, because unlike me going back to get that unbeatable east coast pizza that I miss so much here in San Fran...they can't go back to the Teen Grid once they leave.

[Detoxin Cork]

wow. sweet, i dunno if any of you remember me but i remember some of you. nice article and hows the buisness going elitsniper?

[Brooke Barmy]

Just a FYI, its Avani Furniture not avatar furniture. Thanks :)

[Zombie Zorger]

About the top article, most of that is pretty true..furries are becoming a fad in TSL..which makes it harder to believe who is actually a real life furry (such as myself and alot of my friends),maybe you should have interviewed some 'real' TG furries and not just random people who wear them. o_o...i have these freebies to blame..new players always just wear the freebie furs coz they duno what else to do with themselves...*sigh* i hope this fad passes by so we can have not so populated fur areas.

[Diana Hooper]

It's true. I think my main problems in my early days was griefers and nothing to spend.

I had trouble selling my items and I had trouble building them. I was afraid of going near sandbox regions.

It's really not nice standing there, in the middle of building something all the while worrying about being attacked and thrown around like a rag doll.

Nearly gives me a heart attack each time it happens-

[Asilialid Kinsei]

Hi, ive played both grids but quite a time apart. i played the mature grid or MG about 3-4 years ago. i stopped playing sl becouse i had moved to an area with no high speed internet. i have moved again and got a new internet subscription and with that started playing secondlife again. i would like to note the residence of TG are greatly differed from that of the MG. both in the attitude and quality of abbility. i had played the MG and there for had a quality of abbility to strive for. also i have noted in the amount of sims availible. there were far more sims in the MG and probably even more since i had quit. In TSL there are currently too many people cramed into such a small area creating more and more lag. i think this is a linden problem. for what else is to be expected when abunch of teens are put on a free space. most of the reasons for the TGs lag is aslo part residences fault but also i think the lindens should have put more land in on the TG that was not privately owned. beacouse of the probability of parents of the TSL residents would simply not allow the purcase of private sims.

i also think the TG lacks quality. i have come accross about eight different multi-tools that are about the same in every way. so yeah the mg is beter in quality.

the lindens dont work on the tg enogh. so yeah that just about sumsit up.-AK

[Case Damone]

Yes, I agree with Asilalid, They're some quality builders, scripters, etc on the tg, but they dont always have enough room to show their creative potential. I agree that the lindens should put some more places, maybe a group of new islands or something.

[Ben Clark]

Just started playing SL on the TG... I can comfortably agree with everything in your article.. well written!

Yeah I fly around and see horrible horrible buildings everywhere... I see a few exceptions though... gemstones in a pile of slag...

I reckon TG has a decent number of good businesses and builders... they are just far and few...