Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Saying Goodbye Is Hard.

I don't want any of you to leave.

Is anyone else feeling a shift in SL lately? I've been in world since the latter part of 2007 and I've never felt this way about it before. I don't know what it is exactly and can't really verbalize it but it seems like every other day someone or something is leaving SL. I was so shocked to hear that Digit Darkes is the latest to turn off the lights and I just feel quite sad that wonderful label is no more. There's definitely change in the air and I don't like it. I want all those familiar people and brands to stay just as they are.

On the other hand though, there's anew generation of designers and creators coming in to keep the torch burning. I hope they can manage to keep it fresh and that this isn't the beginning of the end for SL. I do wonder why my gut instincts are screaming at me right now though. Is business really that bad?

8 comments:

  1. Actually, I'd been feeling like this for awhile too, but I thought it was just me! Sure is good to know I'm not alone in this:-)))

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  2. The skin I wear is from a shop that no longer exist, my favorite hang out place is nowhere to be found on the grid anymore, yet when I first started on SL, when 30K people were connected the lag was hell and now I see over 68K people connected when I log in... I guess SL is also just a phase for a lot of people so when they move on with their lives, they just leave this virtual world...

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  3. I've been here a litte over 6 years now, since April of 2004 and i too feel it. I have felt and been through many changes in SL but never felt one like this, It does feel bad. I think 2 big things are to blame, First and foremost the content theft issues and Second, there is no way anymore for people to make money to spend here unless they are content creators. i used to make a ton of money running poker games and playing them, and i spent that money freely in sL, its not there anymore. Most of the games have died now, Tringo, Slingo, Poker. All there is to do is buy things and dance and there are so many clubs now, you can only find a few people at each one. There's no incentive for me to play anymore, all my freinds have left, some of them years ago. i sign in now and shop til im broke and then wander, mostly on the mainland remembering a time when this place was magic, its not magic anymore. =( And i terribly miss it.

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  4. SadieMae I feel exactly what you're saying to the core every time I log in.

    I've been here since 2006, almost 4 years, and I remember a time when the magic brought me back every single day. That magic is gone for me now.

    Still there are people and experiences in SL that I'm not quite ready to completely let go of yet. Who knows when that will change though...

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  5. Lol
    i was doing some things in rl and it hit me , what sl feels like now, I feel like i'm all dressed up with no place to go.....
    People and places i never thought would be gone are and more every day.

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  6. I have to agree. Although, it normally does slow down quite a bit in the summer months, it does pick up some, when it starts to cool off again. However, I don't think I have ever seen so few people on my fl logged in, as I have lately. (i'm an oldie in sl too) And I do have to agree that money has certainly gotten a lot tighter in game as well. I used to host and I used to make quite a lot at it, at one time a few years back. People are much more miserly with tips than they used to be. LL doesn't help much, by lingering issues that never seem to be resolved. I log in and I'm saddened that some of my best friends in game are never on much anymore. It's like starting over, and some days, I don't know if I have the desire to really do so, anymore. :(

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  8. I'm a bit late making a comment...work was all consuming this week (WAA I WANT TO WIN THE LOTTERY AND RETIRE TO FIJI). Thank you all for making me feel better and validating my feelings that there is a shift in SL that is almost tangible.

    Maybe we all reach a point that we've seen so many people come and go, you get tired of having to connect with people all over again.

    Friendships take time to nurture and develop. I don't seem to put the effort into things like I did in the first couple of years. Maybe its me looking at SL with jaded eyes.

    Its funny. I feel that some of the backbone is gone from SL and then I look at the fash feeds to realize that SL has never looked better. Sims, buildings, skins, hair, clothing, shoes...sensational! There is some amazing fresh talent doing great stuff. Sometimes I wish I could just go back and discover SL all over again because that was a real journey, almost like being a child again and seeing things for the first time.

    Stop Chalice. You are raving now.

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