The virtual world of Second life is loved and revered by
many. It provides an escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of real life.
Allowing people to be free to be themselves, explore fantasies, or to become
their alter ego. With something that brings so much joy, there are always
issues one much endures to enjoy such wonderful things. I decided to poll avies
from all walks of life to see what people thought were the most troubling
issues that plagues avies across the grid, and what they think would be the
best possible solution to the problem.
Spirit Wingtips, owner of Espiritu Photography
SLE: What do you think are the Biggest Issues for Avies in SL?
Spirit Wingtips: LAG the age old problem of lag and the HUGELY disproportionate
LACK of men’s clothing and items as compared to women’s. Us men like to shop
and like to have choices too. Designers need to stop being lazy and bias. Support
us men !
SLE: What do you think would be a proper solution to these
problems?
Spirit Wingtips: Linden Labs and the entire SL community
getting up and proactively doing something to help combat the issue of
lag. Also, Incorporate Education
programs so people know the REAL cause of LAG and what to do about it. That
would be a start.
As for
designers in SL, they need to realize that us men want and need options as
well. we are more than jeans and a tee shirt, we want QUALITY items and well
designed items as well and not half
hearted effort prefabs "just to say we carry men’s items". This is
not to say all designers do this but if you teleport around to most events and
shops they have 90% women’s clothing.
Oriana Robertson, Interior Blogger extraordinaire
SLE: What do you think are the Biggest Issues for Avies in SL?
Oriana Robertson: The biggest
issues that I believe are facing Second Life are the lack of positive
interactive activities. Granted, the major draw to second life (or as it was
promoted in the beginning) is that everything that exist in-world is created by
its residents. Still, there are not enough events and things to do on the grid
that will encourage the residents to get creative, help one another, and
generate positive social interactions. As a result, second life is full of
people who are bored, lonely, and in need of attention so they turn to negative
ways to fill that void.
SLE: What do you think would be a proper solution to these
problems?
Oriana Robertson: A possible
solution would be for the Lindens to create better incentives for people who
are hosting events that will bring residents together; especially activities
that will help those who are having trouble finding their way or
"niche" within the community. They can do this perhaps by offering
free or low cost classes for those who would like to learn a special skill. If
not low cost courses then as an alternative they can offer affordable rent for
people who host events like these.
Chocolate Voom-Wingtips, Creator, Wife, and Mother
SLE: What do you think are the Biggest Issues for Avies in SL?
Chocolate Voom: The biggest
issues that me and many avas that I know have are: inventory loss and
copybotting. I have had my share of
inventory loss over my 8 years in SL.
The loss that really irked me was during December 2014. I lost two rare gacha items that are next to
impossible to replace without spending a small fortune. This loss occurred during unscheduled
maintenance. I did not rez them; the
items simply vanished from my inventory.
There is no way to get the items back from either the creator or
LL. Inventory loss is not always
discovered immediately; usually I am searching for the objects when I discover
they have vanished. SLers should be
compensated even if a small percentage of their loss is returned, by Linden Labs.
Another big issue that avies are facing is
the increasing risk of purchasing copybotted items on MarketPlace and
inworld. Thieves are more brazen than
ever and rip off hardworking legitimate creators all of the time. I see so many illegal items on
MarketPlace. It's terrible for the creators
and the SL community as a whole.
Possible Solution:
If
more measures were taken against the botters, content theft could slowly but
surely change. Ban viewers that have
security flaws that allow copybotting.
Ban scripts that allow copybotting.
Ban the thieves swiftly and consistently.
Esther Bailey Prata, Creator and Owner of LAGO DE PRATA
Problem:
Esther : The amount of scripts most
avies unknowingly carry with them and create lag.
Possible solution: Better education
on script usage.
Autumn Yap, Owner of Hiϛh V
Problem:
Autumn: I think it depends on how long
they’ve been here. For newbies or people who are revisiting sl I think catching
up to get their look updated. Maybe that is a big issue for everyone though,
staying up to date with what’s going on and improving in world.
Possible solution:
Autumn: I think stores do a good job
with their groups and subscribomatics keeping buyers aware of what’s new but so
many groups and notifications are overwhelming. Not sure of how to fix such a
thing but I think outlets like Second life Inventory and Seraphinsl.com are
great resources.
Forever Tracei Moore, Owner of Foil
Problem:
Forever Tracei Moore : Trusting
others with my most personal feelings, I’m normally guarded and only allow
selective people in. However, I find that the people that hurt you the most are
normally the ones you let in and know which choices of actions will cause you
the most damage.
Possible Solution:
Forever Tracei Moore: There is no
solution to this, it's a risk you take to love others and allow them to love
you back, even if it’s just for a moment.
Addressing the Problems & Solutions
Lanai Jarrico: I’ve been in
Second Life a very long time. I wouldn’t have survived it without knowing how
to handle situations thrown in my path so I am offering you all some advice. From Lag, copybotting and
the lack of men’s clothes to overwhelming subscribotic notices and emotional
attacks, there are issues in Second life that could use some much needed
attention. Overcoming these obstacles can be a challenge but there are
solutions that can at least lessen the impact on how they will personally
effect you. Lag is something that has been around since the beginning of
virtual world. We can look at it as poor weather that we cannot control or we
can do things to help reduce it such as lighten the load of scripts and prims
on your land and or avatar and encourage your friends to do the same. Working
together on this issue can make a difference.
Copybotting is just like having burglars in your rl
neighborhoods or cities. We all know they are there but never know who they are
or when they will strike. The best way to discourage thieves is to report them
to authorities whenever you see suspicious activity. But for the most part LL needs to step up to
the plate and really do something about it.
The issue with men’s clothes seems to be parallel to the
real world. Woman have always had it better when it comes to the assortment of
fashion and accessories available. If more male designers fill the demand then
the women would be the ones complaining. lol
Emotional Attacks have got to be one of the
worst problems between people in Second Life. The best way to avoid personal
attacks is to be selective with the information you share with others.
Especially, things that might make you vulnerable to attacks the minute things
go south. This doesn’t mean you are lying to someone you care about. You don’t
have to share every detail of your life. Caring about someone is more about
what you would do to protect them and show them they mean something to you. All
the extra information is just sprinkles on the cake. The cake should be good on
its own. The sprinkles don’t make it what it really is.
Last but not
least, the overwhelming subscribomatics notices. This seems to be one of the
biggest issues when it comes to mass spamming and bombardment of advertisement.
I’m currently dealing with this issue myself. It is definitely a violation of SL etiquette
and needs to be stopped. Anyone who owns a subscribomatic should ask before
adding people to the system. It is rude and inconsiderate. The best solution to
this problem is contact them and ask them to please exclude you from the friend
list spamming. If that doesn’t work make yourself appear offline to the
violators or simply delete that person off your friend list. If they don’t talk
to you any other time but to spam you, they aren’t really a friend anyway.
Got a Comment? We would like to hear it. Use the comment box below.
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