Are You Experiencing the Summer Doldrums in Second Life?

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.

John Steinbeck 

           Where I am in the world in Real Life (RL) right now, the summer solstice is almost upon us.  (Significant Other groans having never been a fan of warm, let alone hot, weather.) 

          There has already been some nice summer weather here (Significant Other frowns inquiring just whose side am I on.) and the pace of life in RL is beginning to slow down as

it’s wont to do at this time of the year.  

          Having spent many years in Second Life (SL) now, my thoughts turn to RL summer’s impact inworld.   

          In SL, the change of seasons is arbitrary. 

          Some sims such as First UCC and 1920’s Berlin change seasons regularly.  (Or, in Berlin’s case if Frau Jo remembers to turn the snow making machine on!)  

          Some sims never change.  These tend to be always in a perpetual summer.  (I’ve always suspected that the owners of these are from California in RL.)  

          But, even without someone remembering to change the seasons inworld, there seem to be certain signs that remind me that RL, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is experiencing summer. 

          The level of activity drops off.  Fewer people seem to be around.  Friends go walkabout.  Scheduled activities seem to go into a void until September.  Even the hits on

my blog trail off some.  (I’ll ignore Significant Other’s suggestion that maybe it has something to do either with the writer or his work.)

          For me, there is definitely a correlation between the level of activity inworld and summer in the Northern Hemisphere in RL.  

          What about you?

          Do you either slip away to enjoy summer on a RL beach somewhere or hang out inworld?  

          How about giving me a shout out and letting the rest of us know what you’re up to inworld during the summer?  

          I’d like to drop by and meet with you and your friends and blog about your experiences.  Maybe we can get a few more folks to come around and hang out with you! 

          (Of course, if you want to remain private and secluded then I’ll respect your wishes!  But, I’d still like to meet with you!) 

          So, whatever you’re doing this summer, be it in SL or in RL, have a happy and safe

time!  

          Don’t forget to part hearty!

          See you in the fall! (Significant Other begins to hum See You in September.)

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!  

Art Imitates Art in Second Life

 

Not all those who wander are lost.

J.R.R. Tolkien

                                                                

 

          Recently, I was having a conversation via Skype with a good friend of mine from Second Life (SL), Augusta von Nassau. 

Speaking with Augusta von Nassau in 1920's Berlin.

          We were Skyping because I’m no longer welcome on Facebook. 

          I gave vent to my frustration, and that of other Facebook refugees, with Augusta (Significant Other is happy that someone else gets to listen to me for a change.) about having to use multiple social media applications and not being able to have the experience that I had had with Facebook.

Augusta, in her infinite wisdom and patient manner, suggested that I write about my experience.  (I suspect that this also got me off her hands.) 

          She was right!

          I had my epiphany and am now blogging about my feelings.  (Please don’t blame Augusta for this story.  This is all me.  Significant Other bolts for the next room.)

          Here’s where I’m coming from.

          Inworld, I’m normally who I am.  An explorer and writer who wanders across the Grid blogging about his various misadventures.

          I don’t have a role playing backstory for my avi with one exception.

       

Working Class District in 1920's Berlin.

   When I visit 1920’s Berlin, I have a backstory.  And, of course, being me, it can’t be simple.  (What fun would that be?)

          In 1920’s Berlin, I play a political exile from the Bolshevik Revolution.  I’m a Menshevik who’s on the run from the CHEKA.  Once, I was on friendly terms with Ilyich but political disagreements and a few too many chess games won by me sent me to the West.

          I have no home and wander about living on the streets testing the good nature of my friends with my continually quoting Marx.  A certain young librarian allows me to hang out in her library as long as I quit whistling The Internationale.  (She’s also promised to add a section for the collected works of Marx for services rendered on my part.  I think I’ll wait until the spring before I start reminding her.  1920’s Berlin is a hard city to be homeless in when Frau Jo turns on the snow.) 

Why this character and not some comfortable bourgeois character?

That wouldn’t be me.

The wandering writer is more my style.  (Significant Other’s, who has now returned, eyes roll.)

It was a part.  A role.  I didn’t give it any thought.  (Significant Other asks, “What’s new there?”)

Then I left Facebook.  (Or, not to put too fine a point on it, Facebook left me.)

Here’s where I began to complain to Augusta.

Whereas with Facebook, I had one tool which connected to a large group of friends, let me know who was on, and permitted me to chat with them easily. 

Now, I have multiple applications each with its own subset of my friends. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’ve met some great new people and a few old friends have followed me into exile.  But, everyone is scattered.

On the Avatar Social Network, I’ve made new friends but still only part of what I once

had access to.  Google+ has great functionality but I still don’t know who’s on.

I Skype with Augusta and go somewhere else to chat with others.

I’ve begun to experiment with Ello. 

Facebook friends reach out to me and ask me where I’ve gone to.  They commiserate but can’t leave Facebook because of their own social investment there.  They’re also reluctant to load up on additional social media applications.

I feel like my role playing avatar. 

I wander aimlessly looking for friends.  Never knowing where I’ll be or whom I’ll end up with.

Is this what it’s like for the homeless in Real Life (RL)?

Has the vagaries of a tool like Facebook shown me what some people experience in RL at least on a social level?

Please don’t get me wrong and don’t feel sorry for me.

That’s not what I’m writing this piece.    

          I have family and friends in RL.  (Significant Other gives a warm hug right now.)

I have a roof over my head.

Yet, somehow, this virtual world has made me think about others who don’t have it as fortunate as me. 

My inworld wanderings have also made me suspicious for some time that there are some in SL who may be comfortable in RL but are among us because they are looking for something on a social level.

I just wanted to get these thoughts off my chest and share them with my readers.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Eventually, I’ll sort this out.

Thanks to the efforts of the LGBT community, maybe someday folks like me could return to Facebook.

Let’s see what happens!

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!

My 200th Story about Second Life

Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments.

Rose Kennedy

 

OK, I made it!

I’m at my 200^th entry in this blog! 

To be honest there were times when I wondered if I’d make it.  Blogging once a week seems easy but to try and have a good story ready each and every time takes some effort and planning.  Not to mention juggling Real Life (RL) to make it all happen.  (My thanks to Significant Other for allowing the time away to work on this little project of mine.)

When I look back on my time in Second Life (SL) since I blogged about reaching the 100 story mark, I wonder where the time has gone.  A lot happening in RL (Don’t worry, all good!) has probably contributed to its quick passage.

People whom I meet inworld always ask me why I blog.  Why not just wander about and enjoy myself?

I have a few reasons.

The first and most important to me is the variety of places inworld, the people in them, and the experiences offered are something which should be shared.  If I don’t share these stories there are fewer and fewer forums talking about SL.  I don’t think they should be forgotten. 

Next, I enjoy writing.  (Significant Other rolls eyes at this point.)  I’ll never be published in RL and the types of travel and experiences I once had are no longer available to me.  (No regrets here, mutual decision with Significant Other.)  Blogging about SL lets me have some fun, and hopefully for both of my readers, as I wander across the Grid and bring back my tales of wonder and misadventure.  (Significant Other’s eyes are in danger of rolling out of head now.)

Finally, people (OK, a few.) are following me and they tell me they enjoy my writing and look forward to it.  I feel obligated to do a good job and write regularly in order not to disappoint them.  (Not to lay a guilt trip on anyone!)

The next question I’m asked a lot is, what have I learned from my travels inworld?

Oddly, the answer is a lot.

The primary thing I’ve learned about SL is that there is a strong sense of community inworld.  People are here for a variety of reasons but being together with folks of similar minds is the big one.  There are tight bonds of friendship and sometimes even love among the residents.  I’ve made several very good friends in SL and when I came in I wasn’t expecting that.  (Significant Other suggests I ask them if they consider me as good a friend.) 

The other thing I’ve learned about SL is the incredible amount of creativity that exists here.  Some of the work created by residents beggar description and many times I feel I don’t do them justice with my scribblings.  (Significant Other admits that I have realistic expectations about my own work and can discern the truly great works of others.  Hey, that’s something, isn’t it?)

But, one thing I’m learning is that storm clouds may be threatening our world.  This I’ve learned only recently and will be a downer in what I’d hoped would be a more upbeat piece on my time in SL. 

As I was preparing this story I came across another one of those timely posts by Frau Jo Yardley that she is famous for.  In her blog, she informs us of a new virtual being developed by Linden Lab (LL) which won’t be backward compatible with the current SL.

(Being the cynic that I am, I found it more than a little coincidental that after I blogged about the lack of activity in SL since the arrival of the new CEO all of a sudden this news breaks.  Did I ever mention that I don’t believe in coincidence?)

Another piece of bad news is that the new world won’t be open source.  Sounds like LL doesn’t want to lose control like it did early on with SL.

While Frau Jo subsequently posted an official announcement from LL on this subject there are still more questions than answers right now.  I’ve learned from bitter experience how to read Corporate America’s press releases.  What’s left unsaid is more important than what’s said.  Anyone who doubts me should just follow how General Motors handled its ignition key problem for years until finally admitting what was going on. 

Here’s my concern.  (And, it’s only a concern for now.)  For well over ten years, residents inworld have made a big sweat equity investment to create some of the most beautiful virtual worlds ever seen by humankind.  In addition, many of these made significant RL financial investments as well. 

What happens to these?

What happens to the communities built around them?

Will everyone just be tossed off and told to re-up in the next Brave New World established by LL?

A lot could be lost forever here. 

What type of fee structure will be used?

In a brief moment, I believe Ebbe Altberg has wiped away all the good will he received when he came aboard earlier this year. I don’t want to rush to judgment here.  Maybe there’s a grand plan which will be fair and balanced.

My advice to the corporate luminaries at LL is that if they do have a grand plan then they’d better start communicating it in detail to the SL community before they lose us forever.

Sorry to end what I’d planned originally to be an upbeat piece on my milestone.  But, this latest news saddens me a little because the future of SL is in doubt.  I’ll write more about this as I learn more and its implications become apparent. 

Will SL be around long enough for me to write another 100 stories?

Below, I’ve included links to pictures that represent a few of the highlights of my last 100 stories.  Some have already joined #lostsims but others are still with us and I encourage you to go see them while you still can!

Thanks to all who read and follow me!

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 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.

Photo No. 1 Beach Scene at Half Moon Nude Beach

Photo No. 2 Christmas 2012

Photo No. 3 Exhibit at Doors Art Gallery

Photo No. 4 Chinese Junk

Photo No. 5 Waves Breaking on the Rocks at Utopia Naked Isle Resort

Photo No. 6 Gorean Busker

Photo No. 7 Regency Somerset – Harbor View

Photo No. 8 Christmas 2013

Photo No. 9 SS Mark Twain Steam Paddle Wheeler

Photo No. 10 Hobbiton