SL Fatigue

I’ve just finished reading yet another blog post, this one by a blogger I know personally and respect, that claims that SL is boring and dull, less interesting.  I do understand that sentiment.   I agree that there are many things that do not seem to be working well in SL, that many “famous” SL avatars have left (or claimed to have left) or have posted that they probably SHOULD leave. I have heard from many “old” avatars that SL is not what it was.

How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2

I myself have taken little vacations from SL, reducing my time, cutting back my contacts. I, too, have sat about in SL wondering why I am there, what is there to do, being bored. I suggest to you that SL is what we make it.

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.

William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2

For the most part, the people that I hear complain of boredom are people who have been here awhile. Years, not days. I think that we tend to fall into routines, into ruts, after the initial thrill. First we are thrilled, then we find “our crowd”, then we start feeling “it’s the same old same old”. The people who are new seem to still be having fun, enjoying themselves, being enthusiastic about all the possibilities. The people who are building and creating new things seem to still take joy in the world. Let me point to the people who created In Land: The Search for the Sy. Let me point to my friend Honour McMillan, who deliberately sets out each day to find something new and interesting in SL. (My apologies if I have embarrassed you, Honour, but your dedication and joy in exploring SL is a delight to me.) The newbies I have met (who made it past the first hour) are still fairly wide-eyed with interest and delight.

Here’s a suggestion to my dear friends who are feeling like Hamlet. (That would be Hamlet the Melancholy Prince of  Denmark, not Hamlet Au.  *grin*) Maybe it’s time to leave your usual haunts, your usual crowd, and go try to find something you have NOT done. Take a page from my dear friend Hunter (who I miss very much) and go walk the highways and byways of SL. For me, meeting the horse avatar from Kingdom of Sand infused new energy and fun into my SL days. I am having a wonderful time hanging out at Carriage Trade with the horses. I’m willing to bet that there is still something in SL that you have not yet tried, not yet seen. Chestnut Rau set herself a challenge of finding a new interesting location every day. Oura Scribe builds for work and pleasure, for clients and friends.

I know that there are many factors that contribute to SL fatigue. Certainly I think we all go through cycles of being more and less involved in SL. I am not saying that you are wrong completely in your assessment. But I do think that there are things that we can do to refresh ourselves and our SL experience. Go find it. I wish you joy and fun in the search.

My thanks to Honour for helping me with the photos: “Setting out” and “Detour to see the cows”