Into the Wilderness: Among the Second Life Diaspora (Part I)

Sometimes we feel we straddle two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.

 Salman Rushdie

Recently, I encountered some difficulties with the laptop I use when visiting Second Life (SL).  (Someday, Linden Lab (LL) has to do something about that awkward viewer.)  A polite way of saying my hard drive died.  They certainly don’t make ‘em like they used to. 

Last week I managed to post to a blog despite my machine’s vagaries.  This week I wasn’t so lucky.  I have been unable to go inworld for almost a week now.  I’m not going through withdrawal, DT’s, or anything like that. But, I do miss my friends on the grid. 

This little technical problem is also playing havoc with my planned writing schedule.  (I was so pleased with myself with having three months of stories laid out.  I guess it’s true what they say about if you ever want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.)  With the help of inworld friends, I’ve reached out to those with whom I was a no show on our appointments.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have Real Life (RL) email addresses for all my SL friends so I’m playing catch up right about now. 

My plan right now is to acquire a new machine.  (BTW, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don’t bother with Geek Squad.  Check out my rant on their Facebook page, which was replied to nine hours later, for the gory details.)  This will take a little more time but I should be back inworld in February. 

In the interim, I plan to visit with the SL community across the Metaverse until I can go back inworld.  I want to see what they’re going and how they’re using the tools available, especially the social media ones. 

I’ve learned during my travels across SL over the last eight months that SL residents are doing a lot across the Metaverse. 

There are ezines, Inner World , The Best of Second Life , and Retropolitan  focusing on various aspects of life in SL.  Then there are blogs like New World Notes , Janey Bracken’s Janey’s place in Second Life, and Chey Palisades’ Chey’s Second Life Blog where their owners write about their experiences in SL and related worlds.  Other places on the Web where SL residents congregate are the SL Forums, Flickr, Facebook, and Google+. 

What all of these locations have in common besides SL is they don’t require a SL viewer.  (I have access to another laptop, I’m just not permitted to load additional software onto it.)  So, I can stay in contact with the SL community.  (Assuming they want to stay in contact with me!) 

So, for the time being, I’ll still be out there with the SL community.  I just won’t be inworld for a bit. 

I have a request of those reading this blog, if they run into any of my other readers inworld if they would please tell them about my current technical problems and inform them that I can be reached either at my blog or at webseplunker@gmail.com.  I’d love to hear from them! 

Finally, I want to apologize to those whom I may have appeared to have simply fallen off the grid.  I hope I haven’t caused any inconvenience and I look forward to seeing everyone again very soon!  As always, I’m open to any and all ideas for places to visit and people to meet. 

I would like to thank Perryn Peterson and Janey Bracken for helping me reach out to other SL friends.    As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.