Is this the end?

My experiences in second life are coming to a close. Once I graduate, I will no longer have access to the campus computers labs, nor will I have a log on. Thus, the only machines I know that are capable of running Second Life are no longer accessible. It makes me sad because I know I'll be kicked out of the only group I joined, the Moonlighters. I even voted for the rule that's going to end up kicking me out. The irony of it all! In regards to the project, I completed some goals and didn't complete some goals. The ones I did complete include: #8 buying, selling, and trading (I did this probable more than anything but change my appearance); #6 identity experiments by randomly talking with strangers; #7 (by a stretch) social activism by voting to monitor group activities; #5 job information, #4 technical information aka. how to open a box, also there are a variety of placed that give tutorials on how to make objects in SL, I watched one on creating a cube; #2 contact with others who have similar interests, aka. archery and arcade games in the 3-D. The ones I do not feel I completed are the one I knew in the beginning I probably wouldn't complete. I don't see SL as an appropriate place to seek feelings of affiliation and emotional support and I don't even go so some of my real life friends for that type of thing. Thus, I was fairly sure it wasn't going to happen on SL. Nor did I find academic information, although I did try to see if I could find an actual college on SL, but the navigation is still very confusion to me and I could never locate one.

Overall, I believe my time in SL has been interesting. While I believe virtual communities have potential, they seem to be to exclusive and the virtual interaction between people just can't replace physical relationships for me. I don't think I could ever fully trust or develop a lasting relationship with someone I've only known online. I do feel that SL has therapeutic potential as a sort of identity playground. As I started conversations with more and more people online, I found myself less anxious about talking to people I don't know in the real life as well. Definitely a worthwhile experience.

24/7 Gaming

We mentioned this topic in class one day so I thought it'd be interesting to note. I found an advertisement for a job in the classified section one day for a 24/7 gamer. Someone was looking to pay another person $3 a day for them to play this persons character for certain times during the day. In class I couldn't help thinking that there was no way someone would actually do that, but the proof was staring me in the face.

Impossible meeting

I know several people who are really into online gaming and rpgs, so I told one of them about second life and he seemed interested in trying it out (especially once I told him it was free). We are close friends, but rarely get to see each other because we both go to college far away places. So I thought we might be able to use Second life to connect in a more physical way. Rather than just IM'ing, we could go see a movie or go for a drive. But, even though his home computer is setup for online gaming, even he couldn't get SL to work properly, although he got a lot father than I did on my home PC. It really makes me questions the use of virtual environments like SL. What good is an online community, when so few can connect to it on a regular basis? And, even though I come to campus to use SL for the class project, will I still feel like coming all the way to campus, just to log on for no reason whatsoever.

Trying to Connect

I'm not someone who forms bond or friendships easily, especially when the interaction is not face-to-face. Even though I'm only a persona in Second Life, I still find it difficult to just walk up to someone and start typing to him or her, just like I find it difficult to walk up to someone in real life and start a conversation. I'm a naturally shy person and I'm finding it difficult to start even a virtual conversation. But, one of the 'missions' we were charged with while going into Second Life was to experiment with identity. While I've experimented quite a bit with my physical appearance, I've not done so personality wise. So I tried to experiment by starting a conversation with a player I was unfamiliar with. I had some failures and some successes. I felt most let down when I tried to start a conversation and received no response from the other person. But, I given how often that occurred, I'm assuming some of those people were just not at their computers or not paying attention to Second Life. Other attempts were a bit better and most followed along the lines of, where are you from, why are you interested in Second Life. Several of the people I spoke with were interested in the fact that I was in Second Life as part of a class project looking at virtual society and had some pretty decent conversations about people. Most people I spoke with weren't the stereotypical player, always on line and always creating more content. Most were just occasional users and most were meeting up with people they knew from outside Second Life. They weren't opposed to meeting people, they just enjoyed being in the game with others exploring with them.

Playing Games

I never know what to do when I go to Second Life. Most of the events are some type of gambling, which I'm not interested in. So, I started talking with some other people about the activities they participate in while in Second Life to get a few ideas. One of them mentioned something about an archery game, so I went to check it out. Per usual, I couldn't figure out what to in order to play the game, but some of the other players took a break to help me out. I wasn't half bad and even hit the center target a few times. After that, I looked around the island and it must be some kind of Arcade Island because there were a ton of other games. So, I played some horseshoes with a few other people as well. Tried to go on a horseback ride too, but couldn't figure out how to get the horse to move. Oh well, maybe next time.

Democracy in Action

When I entered the world, the first message I received was to participate in a vote. Apparently the group I joined last time was having a vote to make a rule for the group. I went to check out the voting system and it's fairly complex. There are options on who in the group can vote and if the vote needs a specific type of majority to pass. I placed my vote and participated in online democracy. I also shared an item for the first time by giving away a pair of wings.

Another day

So, I'm still playing with my look. Sometimes I think there are just too many options. Take hair for instance. There are several options to create the perfect hair do, yet none of them seem to be able to create a decent hairstyle. Due to my frustration over trying to create decent looking hair, I opted for a black, blue, and green wig. I really like it, but it didn't match my outfit, so I had to change that too. I think I now have at least 1,000 different types of clothing to wear. How is a girl supposed to make a decision with that large of a wardrobe?
I didn't really meet my goal of attending an event, but I was offered a memership to a group. Apparently someone created a 'family' group for all the avatars with the last name of Moonlight, so now I'm a part of the Moonlighters. Our 'home' is The Playground which I hope to be able to find one day. Goal for next visit: still to participate in an event and then to spend money on something