Which is worse for our Second Life culture as a whole: LL’s OpenSpace pricing change, or hysterical rants and calls for a mass exodus?

It’s hard to deny that LL has handled this OpenSpace issue poorly. They lower prices, increase prims, then wonder why people are actually using these sims for more than just empty waterways. They really should have known that folks would squeeze in every last prim and script that they could - that’s the way it goes on every other piece of land in SL. Raising the prices without first enforcing some sort of limits was a serious blunder and a slap in the face to anyone who uses OpenSpace sims as they were intended.

Mistake? Yes. World-ending, grid-shattering mistake. No - not unless we compound the issue by overreacting.

I’m leaving. I’m never spending money in SL again. Let’s sue. You’ve shattered my dreams. Let’s all leave SL.

It seems to me that this massive outpouring of negative energy is doing more to harm SL than the OpenSpace price hike. How can people claim to be supporting the residents while urging them to leave? Abandoning our land and walking away will hurt the residents more than it hurts LL. We do have every right to be upset. But there has to be a more constructive way of letting LL know how we feel.

I have a long history of supporting most of LL’s crazy decisions, and even I am angry. I rent an OpenSpace sim that I probably can’t afford after the price hike. Shoot, I can barely afford it now. :) But i’m not going to let this ruin my Second Life. I’m going to adapt, move on, and continue to enjoy this amazing world that we’ve created.

I’m a big fan of Robbie Dingo’s machinima videos. They’re always so well made and carry quite a bit of emotional weight without resorting to sappy dialogue. Don’t know how I missed this one: Meteors.

Short but sweet view of Lainy’s folder full of avatars. What a neat idea. :)

Avatar (Short Project) from Lainy Voom on Vimeo.

A non-narrative video about coorporate control and consumerism. With bunny suits. 0.O

Arthole Presents: Orientation from Chantal Harvey on Vimeo.

An interesting 20 minute interview with Philip during last month’s Picnic 08 conference in Amsterdam. Covers the basics like ‘What is SL’,  ‘How are people using SL’, ‘What are some of the problems’ - plus deeper topics such as ‘ Is SL detrimental to your Real Life?’.

“The question is whether you’re being challenged and learning in a way that is less than or greater than the Real World experience that you would otherwise be having. I think that virtual worlds, like Second Life, have the potential to provide a more challenging intellectual environment than, in many cases, the Real World around you. And so time spent in the Virtual World, I suspect, will come to be almost an educational requirement rather than something that is viewed as potentially a problem for you.”

secondlife: better than the real world? - philip rosedale @ picnic from Tiburon-TV - Viktoria Trosien on Vimeo.