Monday 22 November 2010

Harumph..don't get me started...

So after a Plurk/SL friend (zbrush genius and all round great person of note etc), Siddean of SLink posted a link to an article on Second life's failings written by a person who doesn't like it anyway I was a little annoyed and took the time to respond to the piece, yup, D Adored is meeee. Below is that response:

'Today I walked around The City of London; It was empty, it was cold, it rained a bit, there were adverts for prostitutes in a newsagents window, which means it must be full of them. I will be telling everyone this is how it is and never go again. I will not ask any real residents to show me around nor shall I investigate further, there was obviously no art, entertainment or social activity because in my wander around I didn't find any. That's my well researched and deep searching article that I shall now send off to newspapers and get published. Seriously? Where to start...I agree with almost every single thing said above, the Lindens are spoling SL with their greed, the starter experience can be shaky and the UI could be better, but there is so much more to SL than you found (again, I haven't been to Zindra since it opened, I've been in 3 years). You found what you looked for, porn and boredom; A wank in a wasteland, and it's no surprise you found it, because it's there. But it isn't the whole picture. SL is an interactive environment, there are artists and content creators everywhere and I can't believe you didn't bother looking further. Just a quick google would find you blogs with news of events and places to visit. All this shows is your lack of articulacy and willingness to look beneath an accepted stereotype; The 'look at those freaks' documentaries where the fat people meet online and get married. Sneer away, we are used to it.'

Unfortunately the comments only had a 1500 character capacity so I couldn't get on to how the graphics are more than likely his computers problem and that comparing SL to consul gaming is just wrong. He quite comprehensively missed the point, and this is the impression people will have of Second Life unless we all do something about it.

2 comments:

  1. Loved the analogy! I remember wandering around SL 4 years ago wondering where all the people were and eventually giving up. I got back in when I found other people with my interests who were in. You can't just take a trip to anywhere without doing research and having a plan. It is a shame that we've lost or are losing some great places: the van Gogh museum, Visit Mexico, and others, but the Search function provides a wealth of existing places to visit.

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  2. Oh, and here's a photo from Birmingham:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/silversprite/5201727646/

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