When I wrote about the impressive Stranger Things tribute in Second Life last week, I should have been more precise about its "admission fee" of L$1000. It's not actually a fee to access The Upside Down, but a membership fee to join the private SL group Elysion (Flickr page here). I've since corrected the original posts, and in the process, found out there's an even more interesting story here. Elysion is a gargantuan group: As of last week, group founder and manager Syn Beresford tells me, it counts over 18,000 members, amassed since its founding in 2013.
That size, and the Elysion membership fee, does much to cover the costs of its Second Life sims, and the complex, temporary experiences they create, such as the Stranger tribute:
"My fee has increased over the years as more and more things have been added to Elysion," Syn tells me. "However, it is not a public sim; never has been, never will be. I do this because it affords the people who join a level of privacy (setting my land to group access). Land like everything else in SL in my view is not a entitlement. Most of that member base has grown simply because people come, they enjoy the sim, and they bring their friends, which to me speaks volumes." (She doesn't advertise her sims beyond her Flickr account and within the group message boards, she tells me.)
Perhaps thanks to that exclusivity, the Elysion community has thrived, and now owns six regions, with weekly DJs and live singers, performance art, a residential sim, and a diverse community, albeit with a decided gothic edge:
Pic above and below from the Elysion Flickr group (some pics are NSFW)
"My group is full of people who visit Elysion for multiple reasons. The sims, music, singers, photography, or to meet others. I do a LOT of varied building projects in SL because as an artist, the level creativity achievable in creating atmospheres for others to enjoy is one of the reasons I remain in Second Life for over 11 years. The other is the sense of community, that I see every single event, or sim opening that Elysion has."
So the group fee helps goes into covering sim titer, and is not a profit center per se: "I have created sims for others, I have donated my time in building to charities such as Fantasy Faire," as Syn puts it. "For me its about putting a bit of myself into Second Life, not about how much Linden I can make."
Nearly every month we get news of another great Second Life sim closing due to inability to cover the costly monthly tier. Elysion points to a better, more sustainable model, demonstrating that's it not only about creating great-looking 3D experiences, but fostering a large and active community of people who want to support them.
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