Second Life - good thing or bad thing?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

A work colleague has just introduced me to Second Life. Looks like a whole load of pointless fun, but could be useful if it parlayed into something in the real world perhaps...?

What do you think of Second Life? Is it strictly for dweebs and furries? Is it the revenge of gnostic dualism? Is it the Matrix? Do you have your own stories to tell? Please share.

Apologies if this topic's been done before - couldn't find another thread.

― moley, Thursday, 15 March 2007 06:32 (eighteen years ago)

"parlayed into something in the real world" = is this a euphemism for hoping to pick up chicks on Second Life? Cause umm...

― nabisco, Thursday, 15 March 2007 08:16 (eighteen years ago)

useless

― JW, Thursday, 15 March 2007 08:28 (eighteen years ago)

Awww I was hoping for a bit more feedback than that.

― moley, Thursday, 15 March 2007 21:22 (eighteen years ago)

I checked it out and it seemed mostly empty. Though I find it odd that I can get the NASA TV stream inside Second Life to work, but their normal stream tanks.

― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 15 March 2007 21:26 (eighteen years ago)

I desperately needed a guide to say "here's where all the cool things are, here are all the things you can do, and here's the cheat code to make it refresh more than twice a second"

― Mark C, Thursday, 15 March 2007 22:54 (eighteen years ago)

I just don't get it. I got as far as creating my character, and was told that I could only choose from a certain selection of last names, so that I would belong to one of those families, and I thought "why would I do that?" and then I thought maybe I was taking it too seriously, and then I thought that I was supposed to take it seriously, because people do, and then I gave up because I couldn't think of a name that wasn't "Sharon".

― accentmonkey, Friday, 16 March 2007 07:20 (eighteen years ago)

Hm. Isn't it just like an ordinary message board, but with a more extravagant interface? On my visits, the interface slowed the whole thing down so much that it barely worked, and the resulting delayed feedback meant that moving around, chatting, changing appearance, etc in a useful way was virtually impossible. Also, I just picked the first decent avatar I saw, which was 'clubbing chick' - whose slim yet curvy physique meant that I immediately and continuously got stalked by the kind of sad, but technologically dextrous, geeks that place was built for. All this, I accept, may be partly my fault, but I prefer to hold Second Life entirely responsible. So I say: rubbish.

On the other hand, I did get a cool pseudonym out of it.

― Ismael Klata, Friday, 16 March 2007 09:45 (eighteen years ago)

who wants to f*ck?

anybody?

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 16 March 2007 10:15 (eighteen years ago)

Oh Tracer, you had me at who...

― kv_nol, Friday, 16 March 2007 10:21 (eighteen years ago)

Well I just checked it out and mostly just played about in the turorial section "Orientation Island". It seemed fun and I like the video and music streaming effects. I didn't chat much, a couple of people approached me saying hi and asking for help but that was about it.

The chat system seems a bit basic and poor to be honest, I couldn't tell who was talking to me most of the time. And it didn't seem to want to pass me on the flight tutorial section.

The only time it slows down seems to be in flight mode, which is clumsily designed as a control mechanism anyway.

The fact that it made me almost an hour late back to work says something though, and I'll definitely look at it again tonight.

What other alternative moorgs or moops like this are there? Any decent 'themed' ones?

― Ste, Friday, 16 March 2007 14:03 (eighteen years ago)

As I muttered on the library thread, my place of employment bought an island there. This'll be interesting.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 16 March 2007 14:04 (eighteen years ago)

the irs is thinking of taxing the virtual money in it.

― akm, Friday, 16 March 2007 14:11 (eighteen years ago)

Great, then people can file a fake return.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 16 March 2007 14:15 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.ilxor.com:8080/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=40&threadid=51176

There have been other threads too, which I can't seem to find. As far as I can tell, the whole thing is primarily driven by cyber-sex fiends, shut-ins, and foolhardy "investors" and "entrepreneurs." I already get the impression that the hype is slowing, and unless they improve it significantly it will eventually be outmoded by something more sophisticated.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 16 March 2007 14:18 (eighteen years ago)

the whole thing is primarily driven by cyber-sex fiends, shut-ins, and foolhardy "investors" and "entrepreneurs."

Us, in otherwards.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 16 March 2007 14:34 (eighteen years ago)

In fact, I've bought several threads on I Rate Everything and I'm expecting to double my money within 6 months.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:10 (eighteen years ago)

I floated a BBS and took back all my preferred stock.

― Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:17 (eighteen years ago)

As I muttered on the library thread, my place of employment bought an island there. This'll be interesting.
Ned Raggett

My place of employment funded an art exhibition there! And several Aussie bands showcased there recently as part of SxSW. I tell you what, if they had gig security like that in real life, I'd go to gigs just to ogle the security.

― moley, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:44 (eighteen years ago)

I watched part of the Kurt Vonnegut Second Life interview. It was just sort of creepy an depressing - it felt really empty and the avatars' mouths don't even move.

― Hurting 2, Friday, 16 March 2007 23:42 (eighteen years ago)

Okay thanks, I can't stop playing this now. But I don't know why.

It's full of shops, and sex pests. Though I have just found a fishing tournament area.

― Ste, Monday, 19 March 2007 14:54 (eighteen years ago)

I had a go, but it's just not intuative enough. I cannot cannot be bothered to go through all those commands and clicks just to be harrassed by people pretending to be better looking fake people. It would improve if it was point and click and something as basic as changing your avatar didn't involve scrabbling around in sub-folders.

― Anna, Monday, 19 March 2007 15:10 (eighteen years ago)

It has been interesting at times. The main French political parties have all set up Second Life offices and held conferences there. Le Pen was the first to do so and he has managed to garner quite a strong support there- his people tried to disrupt events organised by other parties. It has been talked about quite a lot and has probably gotten some people to interest themselves in the presidential election.

― Jibe, Monday, 19 March 2007 15:20 (eighteen years ago)

I had a go, but it's just not intuative enough.

According to teh wife (who plays A LOT), this was, at least to begin with, seen as a Good Thing, since it takes some dedication to the SL world to persevere, instead of every random thrillseeker jumping in and going "sup? wanna cyber?" to everyone.

― anatol_merklich, Thursday, 22 March 2007 00:21 (eighteen years ago)

IT'S SO SLOW

― Mark C, Thursday, 22 March 2007 00:36 (eighteen years ago)

http://toothpastefordinner.com/032407/the-reality-of-virtual-reality.gif

pretty much sums it up

― kingfish, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 06:39 (eighteen years ago)

I've had a good go of it and am bored of it already. I'm really unsure as to what people get from it in long term use, it was fun at first but the novelty soon wore off.

And it's so slow and cumbersome.

Most of it is just shops, selling furniture for housing. Why would you want a house here? What benefits from that?

― Ste, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 09:18 (eighteen years ago)

To pay off your debt to Tom Nook?

― Abbott, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 20:05 (eighteen years ago)

i had second life explained to me by someone who has spent a good amount of time in it, and i kept referring to "playing" it, and she kept insisting that "it's not a game!!!!"

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 20:11 (eighteen years ago)

its not that cool....

― Catsupppppppppppppp dude ‫茄蕃‪, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 20:16 (eighteen years ago)

"it's not a game!!!!"

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c30/explodingkinetoscope/lawnmowerman.jpg

― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 27 March 2007 20:33 (eighteen years ago)

At least one church has set up its own missionary/church space in the game, presumably to woo the populace away from the pleasures of eating fox ass.

― kingfish, Wednesday, 28 March 2007 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

My housemate and I had a go at this last night. It's weird and pointless. But you can fly which is cool.

― braveclub, Thursday, 29 March 2007 09:22 (eighteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.