Virtual World Pioneer There Contemplating Relaunch as Subscription-Based Service for Ages 18+

There, the pioneering virtual world which closed in March 2010 for lack of revenue, is now contemplating relaunch as a subscription-based world for users 18 and up. The above screenshot is from the homepage which links to a survey which explains it's checking "to see if there's enough interest, financially, to re-open what we're calling for now, 'There2' [which]... would be a PAID service." Also interesting, There2 would be for adults.* As the survey explains, with the original There, "[o]ne of the biggest expenses was supporting a PG-13 environment." The original There also allowed free accounts and pushed its teen-friendly content as an important competitive point against Second Life, so There2 would be a departure on both counts. There CEO Michael Wilson has posted the results of the survey on his blog, and it sure seems like there's a market for a re-made There:

The poll respondents also say they're willing to have an adults-only There by a rate of nearly 90%. In 2009, There had a reported 1 million members, with (my estimate) about 10-25% of that number monthly active. It included user-created content, though submissions were tightly regulated by the company. With a relaunch, the survey explains, "Approvals will be much slower. The world would move to a peer-to-peer approval system over time." Will be interesting to see if the poll numbers are enough to get There back here.

Big thanks to Troy McLuhan for the tip!

*Just to be clear, "for adults" is not a euphemism for porn: "This does not mean we would allow pornography, hate speeches, or copyrighted materials," the There survey says, "we just won't be responsible for people under 18 using the service."

Comments

[GoSpeed Racer]

I would hope that in the interim they'd at least update the avatars to the SL standard and support much more user created content.

[Feoh]

Also, I always found it frustrating that There was 100% Windows only from its inception, while SL always provided a Mac client at least.

[Ann Otoole InSL]

I'd love to click a link on this blog but it appears to be engineered to move the links up and down and position the spam where the comments links appear.

[gamegrrrl]

Thanks for posting this James! I studied players in There from 2003 until its closure last year (apparently it's my lot in life to study refugees from games that close.) There was on par with Second Life both in terms of subscriber numbers and in terms of what it offered as a product, but was highly under-publicized by comparison (Case in point: There's no NWN for There.com!) Many "Thereians" have migrated to Second Life, some reluctantly, and others were left in a refugee limbo status. Some of the newer worlds currently in development have also been courting There refugees to create a new client base, as There did with the 400+ Uru refugees who migrated there in 2004. It will be interesting to see what happens with this! If people want to know more about There, as far as I know I am the sole researcher who has written about it to date. You can find my publications as well as info about my book at my home page: http://www.cpandfriends.com

[therian]

I have been with There since 2007 for about two years before they closed it's doors. When I joined, I didn't know what I was expecting. One of things I loved about There were the staff. The staff was amazing, and very grateful for taking the time to be with the members and trying to make a world a better place for us. There was a unique world that NO ONE could replicate it. It's physics, and textures, and everything about it is what made There a home. The people were friendly, and I've met amazing staff and members. If There does return, I recommend everyone who is 18 + to try it out. The world is a user friendly and very easy to understand.

[qarl]

point of order - the two founders of there.com are Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella (aka Ventrella Linden).

[Ann Otoole InSL]

@qarl so is Ventrella somehow (openly or privately) involved in this "There Reloaded" effort?

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I won't play There -- too many restrictions on players and content.

But I do wish it all the best. I think it brings in players who wouldn't even look at Second Life, thereby increasing the market space for everybody.

[Kimberly Rufer-Bach]

I used to work in-house at There and I'd be thrilled to see it return. It was very different from SL, more limited in many ways, but so comfortable. In particular, I think There had a better handle than their competitors on the new user experience.

The moment the world shut off I was riding my gryphon hoverbike, looking at a map and deciding where to go next... I'd like a chance to continue the journey.

[Hamlet Au]

"the two founders of there.com are Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella (aka Ventrella Linden)"

Thanks Qarl, corrected Michael's title to CEO.

[Winston]

"Also, I always found it frustrating that There was 100% Windows only from its inception, while SL always provided a Mac client at least."

On his blog in comments, MR. Wilson states it will have Mac support now. Part of the content restrictions came from being a PG-13 world. If it reopens there still won't be "pornography" but the content may be less restricted.

[shockwave yareach]

If they have UGC and permit people to "misbehave" like SL used to do (back when LL comprehended that it wasn't real and therefore rules didn't need to be created), I'll be there. Oh, but I don't have the time for There and SL both. Guess I'll be dropping the police state of SL then...