There Is Good in Second Life!

Feeling lost, crazy and desperate belongs to a good life as much as optimism, certainty and reason. 

Alain de Botton

Several of my recent stories have not been about the best in Second Life (SL).

The story before this one was about the sexual harassment of women inworld.  An earlier one was concerned with the fear that some residents have experienced at the hands of other residents.  And, over time, I’ve put a harsh light on dark spots in SL. 

Some of my friends, both in SL and in Real Life (RL), have asked me if maybe I’ve been overdoing things a bit.  Or, if things are so bad, why do I even stay?

Significant Other remarked that I seem to enjoy my time inworld and being with my friends.  There hadn’t ever been a sense of dread on my part in rezzing inworld. 

Others have asked if things are really that bad?

My answer is this:

No, SL is really not that bad overall!

I genuinely enjoy my time inworld and being with the people whom I meet.

Yes, there are bad actors who need to be called out.  But, I never intended to tar the entire community.

Let me explain my thinking.  (Significant Other claims to have done the work and leaves.) 

My reasons for returning to SL are threefold. 

First, there are the people whom I meet.

They are friendly, helpful, and caring.

Next, are the communities that I visit.

They have highly developed social lives, they are supportive of their members and strangers like myself who wander in, and are diverse in more ways than I can list here. 

Finally, there is the sense of belong that I experience by being part of this virtual

community.  Yes, it’s different from RL and offers its own challenges but it’s still an engaging environment.  In many ways, it complements RL.  Remember, SL was one of the earliest forms of social media. 

There are advantages to being in SL.

I’ve just gone over the social benefits.

Next, being involved inworld helps develop a certain technical expertise in order to function inworld.  For some (like me), it’s just the basics.  For others, they become highly skilled in the mechanics of living inworld. 

Last, SL helps those who can’t enjoy RL like many of us.  Health considerations, geographic remoteness, and social constraints preclude some from having the everyday real lives that many of us take for granted.  They can experience inworld what they can’t in RL.

For that matter, how many of us come inworld to do things that we’d never do in RL.  (Trust me, I don’t wander around nude in public in RL.)

Bad behavior should always be called out whenever encountered. 

This should happen in both SL and RL. 

But, let’s never forget that those exhibiting the bad behavior are a small minority.  Although, many times this vocal minority seems like the majority, they’re not. 

RL is no better than SL.  We have losers there too.

But, we don’t abandon RL because of them and we shouldn’t abandon SL either.

If the decent SL residents whom I described above were all to leave then yes, SL would a far worse place than it is today.

But, I’m not leaving.

What about you? 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

          Open roads and kind fires!

Are You Ever Afraid in Second Life?

 

An unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger : a feeling of respect and wonder for something very powerful.

Definition of “afraid” from Merriam-Webster  

 

What is fear? 

(Significant Other already doesn’t like where this one is going.)

OK, we’ve all been afraid at one time or another.

In Real Life (RL), we experience nightmares, (No, I’m not Significant Other’s!) we go to horror films, or we go to staff meetings where we work.  (Sorry, hope I didn’t freak anyone

out with that last one.)

But, what about Second Life (SL)?

Have you ever been afraid inworld?

Let’s talk about that!

I believe that there are two types of fear in SL.

The first type is the good type, it’s fun and innocent.

(Significant Other would like to remind everyone who is making this statement.)

We go to scary places during Halloween.   

Or, there was the time a “good” friend locked in a fun house inworld with a bunch of homicidal clowns.  (Significant Other almost made me stop going inworld after that one.)

Or, any number of experiences and places that are created for us to scare ourselves.  We know it’s not real.  We place ourselves there voluntarily and can walk away whenever we want.

Then there’s the other type, the bad.

The bad is when others go about harming others and the victims are become fearful. 

What am I talking about?

I’m talking about bullying, sexism, homophobia, and harassment.

The victims of these behaviors become afraid.

They either don’t return to SL or they modify their behaviors to avoid the fear and have a less than enjoyable experience inworld accordingly. 

Let’s talk about that last point for a moment.

Whenever good, decent residents who could add to the community in any number of ways curtail their participation because they’re fearful then we all lose.

Who knows what the implications are for these victims?

Many are already fearful in RL.  SL behaviors can have an adverse effect on their RL situations. 

All this contributes to a coarsening of our culture in both SL and and RL.

(Lord knows, the recent US Presidential campaign has shown us just how coarse things can get.)

Why do people do this to other people?

Alright, I know, if I could answer this question then I won’t need my day job.

I’m going to take a stab anyway.

The anonymity we all enjoy inworld gives some a feeling of empowerment that they can get away with things inworld that they would never do in RL. 

There’s the objectification of victims.  (SL really seems to let this one run wild.)

But, what do we do about this?

We can’t just stand by and watch helplessly.

We have to call out this behavior and let people know it’s wrong. 

We have to support its victims, befriend them, and bring them into our groups.

Both SL and RL are at a crossroads now, let’s not lose this chance to show some decency somewhere, even if it’s only virtual!

(Significant Other likes how this one turned out, was afraid I was going to do something stupid.)

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk

with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

          Open roads and kind fires!