Be Careful What You Wish for Department:
Upon reflection, I have to admit that the sleeker SL has gotten, the less enjoyable it has become to me. Sculpties, and then mesh, all improved the visual impact of SL. which was quite dazzling, but at the same time it made building and even just "being me" more difficult.
I loved making things, even though I was never very good at it. But then, I wasn't that bad either. I might not be able to build a castle, but I could build the bar where my social life centered. When mesh entered SL, however, the differences between that and what I could cobble together were stark and I was reduced to a consumer of other people's pretty objects. Fingers crossed that their vision and sensibilities aligned with mine.
Similarly, just putting an avatar together became exponentially more complex with the advent of mesh bodies and especially mesh heads. The result was a standardized beautification industry that made it even more difficult to be an outlier -- such as an older butch woman -- than it had been in early days, and it had been hard enough back then. I identified less and less with my avatar, and perhaps it's that which snapped my frayed ties to SL.
I've moved on to Sims 4, where I can build to my heart's content. It's an empty world, devoid of ties to real people, but it's a fun sandbox.
