AVIE POLL: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FOR AVIES IN SL?- Sunny Love Holiday Reporting…

The virtual world of Second life is loved and revered by many. It provides an escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of real life. Allowing people to be free to be themselves, explore fantasies, or to become their alter ego. With something that brings so much joy, there are always issues one much endures to enjoy such wonderful things. I decided to poll avies from all walks of life to see what people thought were the most troubling issues that plagues avies across the grid, and what they think would be the best possible solution to the problem.

Spirit Wingtips, owner of Espiritu Photography

SLE: What do you think are the Biggest Issues for Avies in SL?

Spirit Wingtips:  LAG the age old problem of lag and the HUGELY disproportionate LACK of men’s clothing and items as compared to women’s. Us men like to shop and like to have choices too. Designers need to stop being lazy and bias. Support us men !

SLE: What do you think would be a proper solution to these problems?

Spirit Wingtips:  Linden Labs and the entire SL community getting up and proactively doing something to help combat the issue of lag.  Also, Incorporate Education programs so people know the REAL cause of LAG and what to do about it. That would be a start.

 As for designers in SL, they need to realize that us men want and need options as well. we are more than jeans and a tee shirt, we want QUALITY items and well designed items as well and not  half hearted effort prefabs "just to say we carry men’s items". This is not to say all designers do this but if you teleport around to most events and shops they have 90% women’s clothing.

Oriana Robertson, Interior Blogger extraordinaire

SLE: What do you think are the Biggest Issues for Avies in SL?

Oriana Robertson: The biggest issues that I believe are facing Second Life are the lack of positive interactive activities. Granted, the major draw to second life (or as it was promoted in the beginning) is that everything that exist in-world is created by its residents. Still, there are not enough events and things to do on the grid that will encourage the residents to get creative, help one another, and generate positive social interactions. As a result, second life is full of people who are bored, lonely, and in need of attention so they turn to negative ways to fill that void.

SLE: What do you think would be a proper solution to these problems?

Oriana Robertson: A possible solution would be for the Lindens to create better incentives for people who are hosting events that will bring residents together; especially activities that will help those who are having trouble finding their way or "niche" within the community. They can do this perhaps by offering free or low cost classes for those who would like to learn a special skill. If not low cost courses then as an alternative they can offer affordable rent for people who host events like these. 

Chocolate Voom-Wingtips, Creator, Wife, and Mother

SLE: What do you think are the Biggest Issues for Avies in SL?

Chocolate Voom: The biggest issues that me and many avas that I know have are: inventory loss and copybotting. I have had my share of inventory loss over my 8 years in SL.  The loss that really irked me was during December 2014.  I lost two rare gacha items that are next to impossible to replace without spending a small fortune.  This loss occurred during unscheduled maintenance.  I did not rez them; the items simply vanished from my inventory.  There is no way to get the items back from either the creator or LL.  Inventory loss is not always discovered immediately; usually I am searching for the objects when I discover they have vanished.  SLers should be compensated even if a small percentage of their loss is returned, by Linden Labs.

Another big issue that avies are facing is the increasing risk of purchasing copybotted items on MarketPlace and inworld.  Thieves are more brazen than ever and rip off hardworking legitimate creators all of the time.  I see so many illegal items on MarketPlace.  It's terrible for the creators and the SL community as a whole.

Possible Solution:

 If more measures were taken against the botters, content theft could slowly but surely change.  Ban viewers that have security flaws that allow copybotting.  Ban scripts that allow copybotting.  Ban the thieves swiftly and consistently.

Esther Bailey Prata, Creator and Owner of LAGO DE PRATA

Problem:

Esther : The amount of scripts most avies unknowingly carry with them and create lag.

Possible solution: Better education on script usage.

Autumn Yap, Owner of Hiϛh V

Problem:

Autumn: I think it depends on how long they’ve been here. For newbies or people who are revisiting sl I think catching up to get their look updated. Maybe that is a big issue for everyone though, staying up to date with what’s going on and improving in world.

Possible solution:

Autumn: I think stores do a good job with their groups and subscribomatics keeping buyers aware of what’s new but so many groups and notifications are overwhelming. Not sure of how to fix such a thing but I think outlets like Second life Inventory and Seraphinsl.com are great resources.

Forever Tracei Moore, Owner of Foil

Problem:

Forever Tracei Moore : Trusting others with my most personal feelings, I’m normally guarded and only allow selective people in. However, I find that the people that hurt you the most are normally the ones you let in and know which choices of actions will cause you the most damage.

Possible Solution:

Forever Tracei Moore: There is no solution to this, it's a risk you take to love others and allow them to love you back, even if it’s just for a moment.

Addressing the Problems & Solutions

Lanai Jarrico: I’ve been in Second Life a very long time. I wouldn’t have survived it without knowing how to handle situations thrown in my path so I am offering you all some advice. From Lag, copybotting and the lack of men’s clothes to overwhelming subscribotic notices and emotional attacks, there are issues in Second life that could use some much needed attention. Overcoming these obstacles can be a challenge but there are solutions that can at least lessen the impact on how they will personally effect you. Lag is something that has been around since the beginning of virtual world. We can look at it as poor weather that we cannot control or we can do things to help reduce it such as lighten the load of scripts and prims on your land and or avatar and encourage your friends to do the same. Working together on this issue can make a difference.

Copybotting is just like having burglars in your rl neighborhoods or cities. We all know they are there but never know who they are or when they will strike. The best way to discourage thieves is to report them to authorities whenever you see suspicious activity.  But for the most part LL needs to step up to the plate and really do something about it.

The issue with men’s clothes seems to be parallel to the real world. Woman have always had it better when it comes to the assortment of fashion and accessories available. If more male designers fill the demand then the women would be the ones complaining. lol

  Emotional Attacks have got to be one of the worst problems between people in Second Life. The best way to avoid personal attacks is to be selective with the information you share with others. Especially, things that might make you vulnerable to attacks the minute things go south. This doesn’t mean you are lying to someone you care about. You don’t have to share every detail of your life. Caring about someone is more about what you would do to protect them and show them they mean something to you. All the extra information is just sprinkles on the cake. The cake should be good on its own. The sprinkles don’t make it what it really is.

 Last but not least, the overwhelming subscribomatics notices. This seems to be one of the biggest issues when it comes to mass spamming and bombardment of advertisement. I’m currently dealing with this issue myself.  It is definitely a violation of SL etiquette and needs to be stopped. Anyone who owns a subscribomatic should ask before adding people to the system. It is rude and inconsiderate. The best solution to this problem is contact them and ask them to please exclude you from the friend list spamming. If that doesn’t work make yourself appear offline to the violators or simply delete that person off your friend list. If they don’t talk to you any other time but to spam you, they aren’t really a friend anyway.

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