#8 Second Life, Part 1, 2, 3

I watched the 3 recommended YouTube clips, read the 3 recommended articles, went to the Second Life site, looked around & watched a couple of Video Tutorials. And I have to say... C’mon!!!

You can try to justify it any old way you want, but let’s face it, it will always boil down to one simple fact: Second Life is about gaming, geek escapism from the real world. I can see how you one might feel it offers great opportunities to reach people in a whole new sphere, but the prerequisite will always be that you one (yes, you too, librarian pretending to undertake these adventures in the virtual world for strictly educational purposes) thoroughly enjoys spending lots of time in the animated realm of a game in the first place. That’s Second Life’s raison d’etre, the axiom; everything else only follows from there. If you one wants to join in and build schools and libraries there, excited about the details of the process, good for you one!
From my perspective, it’s the geek version of going to a developing country on a Peace Corp mission. I commend you one for doing so, but personally, I don’t feel any particular affinity to the country you one is so passionate about. It looks primitive to me. If you one is attracted to the culture, so you one wants to go connect with the populace and hold hands in support while they're taking steps towards literacy, one should go for it! Just don’t expect me to follow because it’s the thing to do. I beg to differ. I don’t believe it’s crucially important. It’s one among many countries in a big world in the vast expanse of the universe. It’s a game. A game by any other name… Participation will always be limited to those, who are drawn to games, who are attracted to the peculiar aesthetic and very specific possibilities games have to offer.