Reporter Who Only Gets Expert Tour of Second Life Only Gets Part of Second Life's Story Right (UPDATED)

A reporter named Eric Grundhauser recently visited Second Life for a site called Atlas Obscura ("the definitive guide to the world's wondrous and curious places"), and came to this conclusion:

To be honest, when I decided to delve into Second Life, I half-expected to find a dying world of outsiders and bronies gleefully recreating pornographic impossibilities. But that simply doesn’t seem to be true. What I found, and mind you, I was only able to visit a strikingly miniscule portion of the available spaces, was that Second Life is still a fascinating and vital world that is constantly changing and pushing the boundaries of what a virtual space can be.

The article itself is worth checking out, because it's a compendium of truly great locations and builds in Second Life, but the summary above is not accurate at all. So why did he reach it? Probably because Grundhouser's visit through SL was tightly guided by Linden Lab staff and the excellent Ziki Questi, one of Second Life's best community curators. Consequently, Grundhouser gets to visit places like the Petrovsky Flux (above) and other classics like Insilico, Kowloon, and AM Radio's "Faraway". (Notably, most of the regions/locations featured in the article have been around well over 5 years, a whole generation in Internet time.)

Which is all fine, but by presenting this wonderful content with that conclusion, it presents a distorted picture of Second Life that ultimately does a disservice to SL and its best creators, while doing nothing to help grow its userbase. Here's why: 

In fact, Second Life is a dying world [Please see update below] (which is why its successor is currently being developed) with a lot of outsiders and bronies (a very large usergroup in SL, actually!) who do often recreate pornographic impossibilities. (Over half of the most popular locations in Second Life are Adult-rated for pornographic and other extreme content pornographic.) Anyone without as great a guide as Ziki Questi is likely to reach that conclusion (if they can even figure out how to use the software at all), and is liable to conclude the article is a distortion. 

The other problem? The very fact that most Second Life content is offensive/banal/crude/just plain bad [Please see update below] makes the sliver of greatness that shines through all the more precious -- both for new users, and those who've stayed through all these years, to create and foster it. Which is why, when I profiled AM Radio for Polygon, I made a point of pointing this contrast out:

At the height of Second Life's hype wave, the world resembled a libertarian fever dream with garish sci-fi cities and fantasy sex palaces strewn right alongside official corporate headquarters and high-toned shopping malls, and everywhere above you, it seemed, were blinking billboards. (Not to mention intermittent storms of giant, flying dildos.) It was crass, endlessly chaotic and mostly ugly.

And then amid all that, often by accident or via word of a friend, players come across a work by AM Radio. And the light itself seems to change — the outside cacophony is forgotten.

Which in my opinion is still a better, more honest way of seeing Second Life (except that the hype and the corporate towers have since gone away). And if Second Life's successor is going to be better, it's better if we remember everything about SL -- including and especially SL at its worst -- then learn and build from there.

Update, 8:55pm: Some readers have interpreted this post to infer I'm bashing Second Life, which is sort of surprising, given that it includes this link to a long Polygon article I wrote fairly recently about great SL art. It's not a criticism of Second Life itself to say most of the content in SL is offensive/banal/crude/just plain bad, because the very nature of any user-generated platform makes that so. (Most content on YouTube, Minecraft, Twitter, etc. etc. is also bad.) My only point is that basic honesty and self-interest requires Second Life advocates (which basically includes myself) to point that out upfront, so as not to be accused of being misleading. 

As for Second Life dying, no one disputes the fact that its revenue model is unsustainable -- including and especially Linden Lab, which is investing profits from SL into building SL 2. That doesn't mean Second Life is entirely going away any time soon -- it can probably exist in a much attenuated state for years to come. But then it becomes an ontological question if that's Second Life, or a shell of its former self. (Which we can all energetically discuss... in Second Life 2.) 

5/17: Corrected Adult sim description to note they're not only rated for graphic sex.

Hat tip: Fellow Linden alum Haney Armstrong.

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Comments

[Ever Afterr]

A well-balanced and thoughtful article that examines *all* of Second Life's unique angles and nuances would likely prove to be quite the challenge for a metaverse newcomer. Particularly considering that Atlas Obscura surely wanted their piece to be appealing and interesting to those with little-to-no interest or prior knowledge of virtual worlds.

It's true that SL is sadly and overwhelmingly only known for its potential for virtual sexual experimentation and gratification. Indeed, I was recently questioned by another freshly-rezzed resident about the availability of pixel sex before even leaving the tutorial zone of Learning Island. That's why I hope people like Ziki and other notable bloggers and Flickr contributors continue to pursue and highlight SL's artistic endeavors, visually stunning builds, charitable events and causes, creative and insightful residents, and more. There's so much more to Second Life than meets the eye (or the genitalia, as the case may be!)

[Ezra]

Gotta ask, where was this article and tone when you were promoting SL Go? I don't recall you featuring Skinny Dip Inn or showing off bronies in the "SL Go Places" series.

Is it only fine to paint a positive picture of Second Life when you're offered money?

[chryblnd]

Help me out here, Mr Au. Is your point "well that (finally, at last) positive article about Second Life and all it's potential is no good because it's not as for realz as my article that runs the same old tropes up the flagpole"? Seriously, this is the number one journal in Second Life?
I agree, the future of virtual worlds must include the dark side of the moon, but you know what? It was a bloody relief to finally open a link and find that someone got to see the wonder, and took the time or, sure, opportunity to look past the many forms of porn humans will create, to see what else we do here.
Whenever I read New World Notes examining it's own orifices I realise what a vastly different Second Life you are living from mine. Let the flying penises go, Wags. We've all moved on, you can too. Gotta get your chin up though ;)

[Cathrine Agnes Simone]

I only stumbled upon here, because it was shared by a friend on Facebook.
I am appalled that with all the struggle "regular" SL users have made to be noted for their art, educational and game pursuits, that when we finally get it after YEARS OF BEING ON IGNORE< someone who should know better decides to take a great article and toss it back to the porn bin.
I mean WTF???? Seriously I am not one to flip my lid often, but dude, you're a jackass.
IF all SL is to one person is a dying world of porn fantasies, then that is YOUR WORLD. GOT IT? YOUR WORLD. Keep Dismissing the artists, the educators, and more... doesn't do any great service to yourself.
I suggest stop writing articles about the SL world all together if that is all you see.
You do a disservice not only for the echo of what SL was,... but you handicap all the future of what it will and can be. Because like it or not, SL is the VR world, and like it or not by 2016 O-Rift will be out.
Keep painting a picture of what everyone assumes, then that is what will manifest.
I'll be sure not to follow or share anymore from this site... because DAM, if someone happens upon one day on crappolla like this!
This porn world of SL, isn't my world! And I'll be damned if I am thrown into the fucking Porn Bin. Stunad.

[TheaDee]

There are a lot of people continuing to create vibrant content in Second Life that does not involve sex. Music, 2d art, 3d art, dance, gorgeous sims.. these are the things in SL that I choose, as do the majority of people I know. The AtlasObscura article actually represents the Second Life I enjoy. The fact that there are people gaming the numbers to get their adult sims in the top sim listings does not mean that those sims are the best sims in SL - it just means they use means to manipulate numbers - another reason I don't go by traffic numbers when deciding where to spend my time in SL. Why do you feel the need to diminish something positive like this article? There's been enough that points at the seedy side without showing the non-seedy - it's nice to have *one* that is the other way around.

[Marianne McCann]

Maaaaybe all those sex clubs -- while a good quick buck for the service -- are also what held back SL from ever reaching mainstream relevance? Sex does sell, but it doesn't bring in the big boys.

Claiming "these places are more popular and therefore better represent what SL is is akin to saying "'Fifty Shades of Gray' has sold 100 million copies worldwide, and therefore is a better example of Westen Culture than fine art." Claiming "more sold" as your only barometer for relevance of the sex sims is a flawed metric.

Anyway, I'm sure this article will serve as good click bait to folks like me who will come in to point our the errors of it all.

[Jo Yardley]

Seriously?
Do you only write positive stories about SL when you have to write about a sponsor or something?
If I show SL to people, I show them the places I like, the places that are interesting and look good.
And oddly enough, none of those are Adult themed sims.
XXX themed sims are not part of my Second Life.

If someone asks me to show them what the internet has to offer, guess what, I won't be showing them adult pages or ones that look like they haven't been updated since 2007.

His summary IS accurate, to me anyway.
It may be to you.
Second Life IS "a fascinating and vital world that is constantly changing and pushing the boundaries of what a virtual space can be."

Is it dying?
No, it is declining.
Small difference in choice of words there.
SL can go on for ever as long as there are enough sims to pay the costs Linden Lab makes to run them.
There are countries in RL where the population is also declining, do you think they will doon DIE OUT?

The article does NOT present a distorted picture of Second Life, it shows A SIDE of SL that does not include some thing.
The things everyone already knows are there...

I guess it all depends on your SL experience and the words you use when describing it.
Some tabloids prefer 'The sky is falling' kind of rhetoric.
While other sources go for a less dramatic way of writing.

To me the article showed SL as it is to me.
I am sorry if it left out all the pervy stuff that you seem to be obsessed with.

[Lyl Witch]

A hell of a lot of people use SL in wildly divergent ways, many may use it for sex but that is often a tiny part of the game or role play they are engaged in. Is sex a part of SL? Yes.Is it the sum total of it? No. Nor has it ever been.

[Skye Donardson]

Jeebus cripes. Most of the long time SL residents I know despair because of the overhype of the seedy side of SL, so when one article...ONE...is written that shows just the marvelous things that SL has to offer, why can't you just let it be?

With a new virtual world coming out, maybe Linden Labs is more interested in building up the hype for the wonderful things that are going to be possible in the new world, by showcasing the best of the old. Is that really so bad?

[nimil]

why exactly do you bother writing about second life if it is a dying world? why don't you pack up shop and move on to some other virtual world that is continuing to show promise in your eyes?

this article did a great job showing people that second life isn't just about sex. yes those sex sims and roleplay sims which may contain sex and violence are at the top of the list but that's because the media has continuously written up stories about how we're all a bunch of freaks getting dirty in a virtual setting, so people who want to do that flock in and join the crowd. its articles like the one you are tearing apart that brings up second life in a positive light and allows people to come here not looking for sex, but for art instead. shouldn't that be a good thing?

i am an adult, i enjoy sex, however i get my sex in the real world, so for me sl is not about sex. i would love for more people who, like me, do not spend all day shagging on sex sims, to find sl. articles like this one show them that they can reside in this place and not worry about it being for sexually overactive adults only. this is not utherverse. more avatars would go to amazing art sims if they knew they existed. why don't you talk about those instead of down talking someone who is trying to do that?

[Uccello Poultry]

Your continued emphasis on sex in Second Life makes me wonder if that is all you log into the world for these days. You certainly don't seem to take time to explore. That you farm out to guest columnists and contributors, or merely point to an article or two by Daniel Voyager for coverage. Come visit SL for more than a quickie sometime, Hamlet, and you might find Our World is far more relevant than you think. Far more relevant than you blog has become over the years, at least.

[Wagner James Au]

"why exactly do you bother writing about second life if it is a dying world? why don't you pack up shop and move on to some other virtual world that is continuing to show promise in your eyes?"

Just because Second Life is aging doesn't mean it's not interesting and thought provoking. All online worlds die, or become so moribund, they basically exist on the life support of its very most hardcore users. Nothing wrong with that at all. But New World Notes was never *only* about great SL content, even when Linden Lab was financing it.

But it is odd to read all these comments when it cites an article I wrote for a huge publication that's about a great Second Life artist and the SL art scene in general, and it's published on a blog with about a dozen posts about great SL content on just the front page alone. But we seem to have a lot of new visitors to NWN in Comments (or regular readers who might want to read a bit more closely), so I hope they take a look!

[Vida]

SL dying? Oh well, I keep hearing that since ... yeah, 2009!!, when I joined. Mainly in all sorts of help chats from people being frustrated because things didn't work out as fast and the way they wanted. Kept hearing that in all internet games I ever tried, be it EVE online, WOW or others. They all still exist and prosper. They all might keep on living, as this darn sentence does. Well, some people seem to be so obsessed with porn and death that they hardly see anything else. We should tell them that we have that in RL too. Tons of it. And it still doesnt make EVERY headline! So as irrelevant as the SL-is-dying-theory is, the porn one is too. But gave me a good laugh that some people still follow the old crap instead of writing something new. The forever teenagers ...

[A.J.]

This article just makes me feel sorry for Second Life-1

It's just like a poor step child that's been used and abused because it never fed some people's giant egos and unrealistic expectations quite enough. Boo Hoo! It was supposed to make me a Superstar.

I think Second Life is a success...sex and all. It's a great business that I would love to own. It's fed a lot of hungry bellies and made a lot of people happy. It's far from dead, even though it hasn't been properly cared for...ever.

Now all of the unrealistic expectations are falling on the new step child... SL2. And those with a watchful eye already know it's gonna fail miserably.
Why? Because it has the same lousy parents.

[HaveWhat]

In Eric Grundhauser's article, he did a fine job of covering many of the main aspects of SL, and please note, he did mention the sexual angle as well. Sex is alive and well on Second Life, but it is by no means the sum of it. The same is true for the internet as a whole, there is enough sex there for everyone and their dog. But, when introducing the internet to some remote village in a far away land, do you classify the internet as a primarily pornographic tool? The fact that it has a large seductive presence should not distract from the fact that there are vital sites with valuable information on any subject known to humankind, at your finger tips. A warning to a new audience is necessary, but coverage of its positive features is both helpful and rounds out the experience with accuracy. SL has a static, biased reputation, even though it contains gems all over the grid (The arts, music, machinima film, literary events, vast charity fund raising, schools, social gatherings for specific interests, and for those with various handicaps, and many more venues besides). Eric's article if anything, will promote what is already good in SL. So please keep in mind, his article was written as an introduction of Second Life to Real Lifers. I think we deserve to finally be heard beyond our formerly tainted reputation.

[Amanda Dallin]

The thesis of Hamlet's article is demonstrably incorrect. The last paragraph of Atlas Obscura article is,

"More telling I think, is the somewhat widespread perception that Second Life is no longer an active digital playground. The Grid is still a vital and evolving space that hundreds of thousands of users create and evolve each day. And yes, Ziki mentioned that Second Life is a place where "you can certainly explore any sexual fantasy you could imagine." So while we didn’t see any, there is probably plenty of weird sex stuff too."

He was not hiding sex on the grid. He addressed it. I think Hamlet was just jealous that the Lindens didn't ask him to show the guy around. Hamlet's view of SL is stuck in 2009.

[Fauve]

The top sites on the web itself are search engines and social media. :) I don't judge the whole web by that.
It was an opinion piece so of course it WAS correct if this is what he saw and thought and I smiled to think that people today can see much of what I first discovered and experienced in 2008 as a noob and it's nice to know they are still being charmed and fascinated by it too.
If I read it correctly, he spoke with Lindens who referred him when he wanted a guide and at least some of what he saw was also by request. He's not naive regarding the less lofty aspects since he referenced them but just chose to not focus on them. Much like many of us do all the time. A nicely written piece, I'm glad you linked it.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

"SL unsustainable"?

Looks like that's based solely on some anecdotal rants like "Ooh, SL people won't buy my virtual crap anymore!" And, yes, there's a slight decline in land rent. As Jo Yardly mentioned above: decline≠ dying.

Then how does LL manage to keep adding features to it on a regular basis?

We've seen a steady flux of many new features like mesh, materials, pathfinding, numerous performance improvements, both in-world, on dashboard and on the marketplace websites, the in-world Experience feature, continuing Oculus Rift integration. The list is long: https://community.secondlife.com/t5/Tools-and-Technology/bg-p/blog_technology

This article definitely didn't convince me. SL is doing fine.

[sirhc DeSantis]

OK, lets take the 'premise' here that Adult = Porn (feel free to debate) so time for Fun With Numbers :)

Back of envelope time
25 of top 50 at rough concurrency of 50 = 1250
lowest logged in hourly number over the last week say 30000 (yes do keep my own records)

That gives us - gasp - a little over 4% shock horror!

Now lets compare that to the 'net in general from, at random, the Beeb (just for fun) :

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23030090

Oh gosh - 4% shock horror also!

Of course your kilometrage may vary. As an aside, has anyone actually taken the time to visit this top 50 list who can give us an actual description of what they really 'are' as opposed to merely being rated Adult?

cheers :) and not in any way a valid statistical analysis needless to say...

[draxtor™ (@draxtor)]

Hamlet, I'd like to invite you to come on our podcast "The Drax Files Radio Hour with Jo Yardley" this week [we have two more shows before the season ends] & have a civilized discussion about online journalism: not necessarily SL specific but broadly - what are the rules of engagement, ethics, nuts-and-bolts techniques, are there overlaps with "RL" journalism or are they possibly very similar in approach?

We just had a show about reporting on SL with Cecilia from VICE so this would be a great follow-up.

I am not interested in a screaming match of sorts at all, I simply DO want to understand and I promise I will be a fair host [I hope Jo will too!]

I am sure SL residents and "outsiders" would really benefit from this debate :)

Thxxxx

[Grizzla]

Hamlet, were you drunk or something when you wrote this? I'm disappointed in you for writing such a bizarre post - for reasons already well-articulated by many others. The reason the successor is being developed is not because SL is "dying" but because the current SL so clearly demonstrates the potential for the future - building on advances in technology instead of being restricted by outdated code.

[zz bottom]

Well at least this topic is alive:)
Now i just hope HA is not only trying to pass the message that LL ceo wishes so.

[zz bottom]

Cause even if LL will not want to kill it's cow sooner, all the bets are on Sansar and they will push and makes us all choose between to move on or stay and die as soon as Sansar become a major flop and LL decides that the only way is to end sl for good in order to push a few more in that 1.

[zz bottom]

But i do wish that LL Ceo truly believes that SL can move on even with Sansar in parallel and so HA only wrote about His personal feelings about a world that he does not use as he once did and it keeps breathing even after he lost interest on it.

[Ice Petal]

In a way it is bashing SL though, this constant puritanical harping on what is banal/bad/x rated or whatever. If the same can be said of any user-generated platform, then singling out SL comes off as harrying, if not an attack. Now if SL had anywhere near Youtube's numbers, SL's content wouldn't be an issue. I just think you're locating SL's problems in the wrong area. IMO SL's true problem is that the cost of being a resident is too high. It's not coincidental that there are low-to-no barriers to entry with Youtube and Twitter in particular, it's free. At least for now. When YouTube starts charging fees to view content, then its numbers will start declining.

[zz bottom]

Quoting:
https://honourmcmillan.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/living-in-a-second-life-bowl-full-of-perverted-monkey-sex/
Unquote.
So true.

[Skate Foss]

I thought the article was well written and showed Second Life in a wonderful light. It made me proud of the 9 years I've 'lived' here.
When Wired Magazine released their sex on the web issue and only referred to Second Life in one sentence in the entire cover story, I jokingly tweeted what are we doing wrong? But it's not what we are doing wrong, it's what we are doing right. Second Life is a world, yes, with red light districts, but it also with people who found a place to create flourish and shine. I applaud Ziki for being our ambassador, she did great.

[Dark Draxtor™]

Second Life has become very anti-artist while doing everything it can to kill owners who offer free public sims.

No Fantasy fair is not a not for profit art event but a group of builders creating a temporary shopping mall with different themes while the 'feel good' relay for life comes in to suck whats left of the inworld economy out of the game

Every month another Relay for life event taking away money for sales and events inworld from sim owners while exporting that money out of the game to a for profit corporation.

Destination guide is a joke compared to what it once was. compare today to 4 years ago.

2 years later Ebbe Linden has not only continued ignoring redevelopment of the mainland but refuses to even lower tier 20% that is desperately needed by many.again the excuse is they need money for the new grid.

Second Life is being bled dry the so called charities sucking the life out of whats left of the inworld economy while the lindens sucking what capital is left for another project.

Second Life dying? its not only dead but a zombie with face paint on to look alive.
A damn frog wearing lipstick!

People cannot tell me different I've watched the traffic numbers grid wide with bots for 10 years
I watch everything with detailed spreadsheets and the last 12 months has been a disaster in terms of real residents leaving with most new residents only an alternate account or more bots as times become worst then ever recorded.

[zz bottom]

Dark, even if Ebbe's visions of mainland are not what we expect, LL still add a lot of water regions near Corsica and the developments towards much better cross sims are a reality.
And i can agree that lowering the tiers should be a open choice for the Lab, now that Open sim is increasing and becoming as much reliable.
As for the rest you state the obvious, if we want only to see the dark side.
But on the bright side i do feel we will be having this discussion for years to come and still about SL.

[Uccello Poultry]

About your update: "Most" of Second Life "is offensive/banal/crude/just plain bad"? Just how much time to you spend in Our World exploring, meeting with Residents, or reading the influential blogs? I challenge you to do some investigative reporting. Visit those Adult sims you write about so often to see what really happens there versus what you assume happens. Then visit established communities like Bay City, Nova Albion, Luskwood, the Blake Sea, and more. Learn, don't infer.

[Orca Flotta]

SL is not dying, it's just patched up too often and technically kinda unsustainable. The concept of a virtual world is still intriguing and interesting, even for the labbers. They are just making a new platform that will be less laggy and crashy and more modern. Cool.

And again the real danger for our favourite virtual world are its owners. Ebbe stating that he dislikes the world concept but is looking for unrelated "experiences", and many other grave mistakes by the SL management are slowly killing our world. For once it's not us, the unruly residents, but in fact our gov'ment destroying all that once was good and fine. Taking profits from SL to finance project Sansar is another of these mistakes. It signals to us that the days of the apocalyse are upon us, so we stop buying more land and we stop developing stuff and planning events, and we stop spending money in SL. Because as it looks right now every single L$ would be wasted and be like flogging a dead horse.

Hamlet as the harbinger of SL's imminent death is probably the role he always wanted to play. Congratz.

=^.^=

[Kim Anubis]

I've been a fan of Atlas Obscura for some time. It covers interesting, often surreal, locations that photograph well. It's basically a trippy travel site for armchair travelers. I have never seen it cover any real-world brothels, strip clubs, nude beaches, or mundane slums or average neighborhoods. It's outside the scope of Atlas Obscura to cover those things.

If I feel my day is too bright and I want to look in a virtual funhouse mirror and brood about a supposedly dying world, the latest deathwatch, whackadoodles with a world-destroying fear of change, and the word "draconian", it isn't Atlas Obscura I turn to.

In all my years in SL, I only saw flying male members once, about a decade ago, and heard about one other incident at an event around the same time. Very old news about one flying weenie attack at an event nearly a decade ago is not an accurate representation of what goes on inworld, unless you are maintaining some strange flock fluttering around the NWN inworld office. Is it located in a strip club, and is the sky falling there? Perhaps your avatar just needs a Prozac. :-)

[livio korobase]

So funny read this old style old fashion post. Remember me another "journalist" gone visit sl and say there was no one, all empty. Yes, if you go at 5 in a forest can be that you are alone. The reality is that sl is so big that no one can have a true idea. You see just a part, as happen in rl, nothing new. Is bit presomptuous think to know really all sl, is impossible.

[Iggy]

"The very fact that most Second Life content is offensive/banal/crude/just plain bad"

"Most" is a big generalization. I'd unpack that a bit. "Banal" could mean poorly designed. Perhaps.

The others are matters of taste. Heck, I find most superhero flicks offend my intelligence: same story-arc ending with a boss-fight. I find most popular culture crude and just plain bad. Others lap it up.

SL uses old technology, but so does my 1950 John Deere tractor. It does was I ask of it. As for the revenue model, there you have a solid case and always have.

[Dark Draxtor™]

@Dark Draxtor™ as update

Just wanted to point i seen in breaking news the lindens saved the S.S Galaxy for residents as a mainland landmark.

Just at times we all can get over passionate regarding our world while it seems Ebbe Linden is helping mainland after all and my opinion was hyperbole at best on that. to grow is to admit when one makes errors as i did.

[Dark Draxtor™]

@ zz bottom

Your right we will years ahead for sure.while i admire hamlet also i think he believes they are going to fully abandon and that will not happen.

the brand and its market value is worth too much to let idle. the new grid will be like SL but better
we will likely find that we lose things in new grid we take for granted in the old one and that each grid will offer an opposite synergy the other grid does not have like a yin & yang.

I truly believe they want both grids to grow strong as well as blocksworlds too.but have a hard time getting past the mistakes of previous management to show us.

[ColeMarie Soleil]

We have bumped heads back and forth over the years but this is where I draw the line. Did you not JUUUUUST post about my videos from relay for life just a few days ago? (which highlight some of the best community aspects of the SL community) There is plenty going on in Second Life other than the basic standard user behavior. The community creators and activities going on in Second Life are a far cry from a "dead" world.

This article is complete click bait.

[Amanda Dallin]

@ Hamlet
"As for Second Life dying, no one disputes the fact that its revenue model is unsustainable "

LL sustained their revenue model for over a decade. No business revenue model is sustainable forever. Microsoft's revenue model is far different than it was when Bill Gates wrote the software for a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 "notebook" computer over 30 years ago. That doesn't mean it wasn't sustainable.

Using current revenue to develop future products is also pretty much standard procedure for successful companies.

You've been saying LL & SL couldn't survive for years and you've been wrong for years. I guess you hope if you keep saying it you'll be right. Maybe you will in another 10 years.

[pixels sideway]

I find it amusing Mr. Hamlet Crankypants that you just had to diss the nice article written by someone else about Second Life while noting that YOU wrote a nice article first. Ego much? You seem intent on turning NWN into the Fox News of SL.

[Jaxia Chuveau]

If that is the only thing you are looking for then yes you will find more then a few of sex sims. That is not what I look for in secondlife. I look for art, music, education. I blog fashions, hang out with friend and family , and have a clean secondlife. You sir are apparently very sick minded with a ego I would say the size of Texas. Get that stick out of your butt and maybe take a second look at second life but this time take that little check mark out of the adult box and actually avoid such nonsense. Thank you

[zz bottom]

Yes Dark, the SS Galaxy survival by LL is some I would never expected and with the new water sims i start tot think that is finnaly someone at the labs that really understands the value of mainland+private owned connected regions as a whole.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

"The other problem? The very fact that most Second Life content is offensive/banal/crude/just plain bad"

You mean, like in, what they call the 'World Wide Web'? Have you seen all the crap on there?

Yeah, this 'World Wide Web' is dying, judging from that too.

[Scarlet Vavoom]

Not sure anyone can come into SL even for a week and make a judgement on it like you have here. I have been in SL since 2006. I was a SL mentor in the beginning. Sure some people come into to see what the sex thing is in SL, but you know what? Most of my friends along this journey, or me for that matter run into these sims you speak of - of flying whang whangs. I explore but stay away from those area's, its actually easy thing to do. You can't make a statement about SL unless you have been active in there for at least 6 months. You can do anything you want in SL, if people want to explore these sex area's-let em. Who am I to judge? But that is NOT what SL is about. Yes, I agree its failing, have seen a lot of closures of stores and such. SL is the place also I met my husband, and no--we did not do it in world!!

[Indigo Mertel]

This blog is sadly turning into the equivalent of a RL tabloid by the day.

[RoblemVR]

So the lesson we are learning here is that we need to give equal coverage of the negatives anything we want to talk about to maintain balance. So architectural digest needs to give equal coverage to the septic tanks of the beautiful homes it covers? Fashion coverage should include what the clothes look like with shit stains covering them? Please. You cherry pick negative content on this site to feed the click bait monster.

Here is a point, if you don't set your viewer to Adult, you pretty much don't get Adult content. It's a choice. A choice everyone makes when they run around in SL. It's not forced on anyone.

[Hanna]

I do love the artistic side of the virtual world but chose a long time ago not to "live" there, and I carefully choose now how I spend my time and how much time. Obviously many people have a huge investment in the pixel life- some perhaps even excessive. I learned when I first came into SL some years ago about the dark side which no matter what people say in defense is still a big part of SL. I found it quite disturbing though like many others decided not to opt for all that so called "freedom to explore the hidden recesses of the psyche" There's a reason it's hidden!! Yes, a lot of people still look at you strangely when you talk of being involved in a virtual world. :D - like you might be into something slightly kinky.
Today I do enjoy the developing artistic expression in SL. There is a huge amount of wonderful and imaginative talent which I hope spills over into first life. Graphic and digital art are now part of mainstream and are economically viable commodities.
Healthy criticism of anything is ok by me whether I agree or not and part of rights and freedom. If Sl died I wouldn't be devastated. I'm sure something else would take it's place. Life is about change and I suppose that applies to the virtual as well,- and of course how you react depends on your own priorities.

[Hitomi Tiponi]

'Just plain bad' may be the greatest thing that someone has ever created and they love it, and that is good enough for me. You wouldn't call someone's proud achievement at an art class 'just plain bad', you wouldn't call someone's first poem to their loved one 'just plain bad'. People are creating more in Second life than in any other computer game, and for me none of that will be 'just plain bad'.

[Jacon Cortes]

For years, SL has been trashed, as a place for sex, filled with perverts and fiends lurking in the dark corners. Rubbish. If you want to look for sex, yes you will find it, but, that is not the only thing that can be found. Just like the internet and in cities across the world, there are places for sex. But to say that sex is the only thing that can be found in these cities is ridiculous. I joined sl in 2007 and have been a part of SL since. Of those 8 years, 7 of them have been spent living in a period community called Antiquity. We dont allow public sex, we dont allow public nudity, we dont allow flying penises. And we never have. We are just one of thousands of communities across SL that fight every day, for a positive image for ourselves and SL. It is disingenuous to lump all of SL into one category. As mentioned above, Adult content and places, are easily blocked from your view with your settings. As for the bad content. Count me in as one of those. Yes, maybe my stuff does suck, but you know what? Linden Labs at least gave me the possibility to make this junk. For many, like myself, from a small rural town in the middle of nowhere, SL gave me a window to the world. Able to interact with people from around the globe. Yes, not all the content is top shelf, but at least they tried. Most people dont have an outlet for their artistic side.
That said, I am very happy to at least have one positive article come out about SL. Your entitled to your opinions, just like everyone else. That does not mean I have to agree with you. Visiting 1920's Berlin, which Jo yardley had done so well with or the old Chateau de Versailles,with its gilded hall of mirrors and baroque clothing, are a far cry from the sex and sleaze so often mentioned as the foundation of sl.
I for one, am proud of my community and others like it in SL. People work too hard, put in too much effort and heart into their project, for them to be dismissed so easily, since they are not at the top of the traffic counter.
Come to Antiquity, and I will be glad to show you around a place that does not revolve around sex.

Jacon Cortes
Owner of Antiquity and Jacon Cortes Designs, Bad Texturer, Horrible Prim Torturer, Weak Mesh Maker, And all around terrible creator. (not a bad title for a ranch boy from the sticks)

[Hanna]

I'm not sure why people protest this aspect which I think is quite present no holds barred. Sex is advertised and more than a little. No I don't go looking for it and I'm not inworld as much as some but I was in a very well know artsy sim the other day when someone nude and with a very large and erect appendage came walking through handing out some vendor name or other.
The true test of whether a place is acceptable or not to me is whether I would encourage my teenage niece or my own daughter to join SL- Unfortunately the answer is no and for this very reason.
Real life of course has it's questionable places and activities too but it's much easier to get away with bad behaviours in a virtual world I have discovered. Does this mean I won't go inworld to see the things I do enjoy. Of course not!- but I am not blind to everything that goes on there. For many it's free rein to indulge themselves in whatever takes their fancy.