second life Would you do it again? Or differently?

[Pancake]

So I think just about every one here is, or was, a Second Life resident. I myself logged in daily from 2007 to about 2013, then tapered to a couple times a week, then once a week, then...some of you know how it goes.

So before I give away too much of my answers, here are the questions:

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

 

[Amigo Uriza]

So before I give away too much of my answers, here are the questions:

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

1. If I could keep all the skills I have right now thanks to Second Life, I wouldn't do it again. Not business at least and no other aspect actually interests me in Second Life
2. -
3. In terms of business, leaving is a terrible scenario because it takes a long time to catch up if you ever do. You could lose customers that would never come back. So If I left, I would not be tempted to go back.

 

[Kathryn Elisabeth]

1) Yup.

2) Get land and learn to script sooner. Not that I actually can script now, or maybe I can... Stuff I make works. Sometimes I even understand why! But it was the having a small plot to leave works in progress. That got me started on my current slice of SL.

3) Ain't left, still like it. Is this. In SL, just like RL

You just have to learn to play with other people & learn to play with yourself. That way you can always find something fun to do.

 

[Myficals]

1) Yes.

2) With perfect hindsight? Maybe I'd have joined up with certain communities sooner and not bothered with others. Maybe I'd have gotten round to picking up certain skills sooner. I wish for example, I'd learnt how to DJ, or that I'd started the Kino Haus a few years earlier.

3) Not applicable yet.

I actually sometimes find myself wishing I'd gotten into Second Life a couple of years earlier. I wish I'd been around for some of the developmental years of the platform, as opposed to joining during the great hype waves. It sounds like it was once a much more colourful experience.

 

[Raindrop Drinkwater]

So I think just about every one here is, or was, a Second Life resident. I myself logged in daily from 2007 to about 2013, then tapered to a couple times a week, then once a week, then...some of you know how it goes.

So before I give away too much of my answers, here are the questions:

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

1. Most definitely.

2. More or less the same, yes, but rather than creating latex clothes I'd go straight into something that's more relevant to my interests. Don't get me wrong, I like latex -- it looks great, and it can be very creative. The technical aspects of painting highlights, back then, was really a fun project to tackle, but I much prefer Victorian/Steampunk stuff or traditional outfits.

3. I was on "forced leave" for a long time because of computer issues, and also not enough head space for SL and everything else. I'm kinda sorted on both counts. I was missing it hugely. On the plus side, the break did me good -- SL feels fresh again.

 

[Jupiter]

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

Yes.

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

I would have bought land and maybe tried to learn about designing clothes. I often complain I can't find the clothes I want so it would be great to have that skill.

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

I've recently returned after a six year hiatus and I still like it. A lot is the same, but a lot is different too.

 

[Plurabelle Laszlo]

1. Yes
2. My early years were really fun in all aspects, nice communities, exciting roleplay experiences, new people from all over the world, a lot of learning by doing and experimenting. The only 'regrets' are business related - I should have trusted my creative skills more and started my business sooner, for some reason I kept thinking I am not good enough - probably because I was surrounded by those gifted crazy people in the Wastelands who did magic to prims. And I hesitated to invest in land and build my own sim(s). It took me a while to take the business aspects of SL seriously - and when I finally realized that I could (and wanted to) make some money, the big boom was already over. That is so typical me.

 

[Ashiri]

1) I would sign up earlier, like the day I got broadband instead of months later.

 

[Amelia Freund]

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

1. For sure. I wouldn't have done it sooner though, because otherwise my account wouldn't have been free lol.

2. I think I would find a way to spend my SL more productively. I've had grand business ideas in my head and I've even started and shelved smaller projects (I sold avatar shapes for a short while in 2009). I would have also tried to use SL for more social enrichment. I mean, actually try to put in a concentrated effort to make [and maintain] some good long term friendships and belong to a community or two. But I have an inventory overflowing with all the things so I guess it hasn't been an entire waste.

3. I'm still there sadly

 

[Sid]

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

1. Yes, SL was a lot of fun.
Especially the first years. Hanging around on a beach, goofing around, exploring, experimenting, being playful kids again.

2. I think that I would not start a business again. Being creator, marketing manager, customer service, shopkeeper took so much time, that I explored little, neglected SL friendships. Neglected changes in SL. It all became almost a second job. Badly paying, time consuming, but fun to do.
And now, my friends list is empty in SL. They all left one after another.

3. Yes I left. But not permanently. I now do 'vacations' in SL. Lease a plot, build up my stuff, explore a bit here and there.
Build a bit and after a month or so, I pack my bags again and leave SL alone for a few months. But it is not the same as in the early days. That special excitement is gone for ever.

 

[Bea McMahon]

No regrets. Still there, almost every day.

 

[Beebo Brink]

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

Hell yes! My only regret is that I couldn't sign up sooner. I tried, but my laptop was too old to run SL and it was another year or more before I tried again with another computer. Once I was on, however, I was so enthralled that I built a brand new box specifically to run SL.

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same.

My SL unfolded so organically that I'm not sure how it could have been any different. Even the experiences that went badly taught me a lot of valuable lessons, so I guess I'd keep those, along with all the truly wonderful ones.

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

Yes, I do wish I'd taken a break sooner. I was so burned out, then plagued by computer issues running SL, but I felt obliged to keep the Duchess going for everyone in SL except for myself. Even when I finally closed it down, I couldn't bring myself to wipe it out entirely. It still exists in a rudimentary form on donated land.

I was out for about a year, then started to miss it. I logged back in, bought land, and then it all stuttered again. I visit every few weeks and mostly just stand around, ponder some projects.... then leave. I'm basically retreading old ground (literally, I bought back a parcel I owned for years) and my SL feels stale. I want to enjoy SL again, but I haven't found the key to doing so.

 

[Archer]

1. If you could go back to the day you signed up for SL, would you do it again?

Absolutely! I loved SL from the minute I started.

2. If so, what in SL would you do more or less the same (eg: owning a sim, running a group, becoming a creator, getting involved in a business, getting partnered, etc) and what would you do differently?

I enjoyed my SL journey for the most part. I would probably have steered clear of relationships, but that's not much different than RL. I wish I had learned scripting or kept up with learning how to build as things changed. Now I'm trying to play catch up.

3. If you’ve left, do you wish you had left sooner? Or do you at times miss it and feel tempted to go back?

I left for about 7 years, mostly due to not being able to afford a PC that would run it. I went back about a year and a half ago and am having the time of my life! I've made tons of new friends, found some old ones, and log in almost every day again.

 

[Imnotgoing Sideways]

I'm not sure. In a way, I joined SL as a social experiment upon myself. In a way, I've confirmed much more than I've learned.

 

[Noodles]

1. Yes

2. Probably owned land way sooner. And probably put more effort into learning scripting. I only started owning land a few years ago and it's pretty nice. Granted back then, I couldn't afford it.

I have been playing with scripting more recently and its not nearly as daunting as I expected. Granted, kind of like land, back then I wasn't as familiar with other coding languages and the whole concept of programming.

 

[Raindrop Drinkwater]

I'm not sure. In a way, I joined SL as a social experiment upon myself. In a way, I've confirmed much more than I've learned.

Which is also very useful.

 

[Sid]

Being Elsa (so female) for a few months in SL, was a real eyeopener for me.

 

[Ann Launay]

1. Yes. I know I've mentioned before that I heard about SL on the Nine Inch Nails forums, of all places, and the first couple of years with all of those crazy people will always hold a place in my heart. You lot are pretty cool too.

2. I'd like to say that I would have wasted less money during my tenure, but I probably wouldn't have. I liked dressing up my dolly.

3. My leaving was a gradual thing, with the mesh body takeover being the final straw. I think I ultimately left at the right time for me.

 

[Kalel]

1)yes

2)seriously should of made a better effort to learn how to script and spend less time being a shopping addict... the amount of money i've spent on SL...

3) i tried to leave... i really did..went almost 6 weeks without.. it just kept sucking me back in...

 

[Adeon Writer]

I’d have joined sooner and become a charter member.

Assuming features still come out on the same dates, I would then continued my timeline as normal until Bay City came around, and then bought 4096 sqm of Bay City.

I’d actually sell my scripted stuff instead of giving it all away free/full perm.

I’d have still left when they cancelled VR support. But my time would have been more enjoyable and I’d have had 4x more land yet spent ~3.5x less on land