The Ephemeral Nature of Second Life

This is a subject I have been thinking about for some time now and what follows is purely my own opinion based on observations made over the past eighteen months or so of participating in Second Life.

It all began when a favourite sim of mine, the Cetus Gallery District, closed down. Cetus was a place I had discovered as a relative newcomer to Second Life, wandering around, seeing what was what and finding places I liked to visit more than once because they offered something beyond the usual SL “gee whiz” factor. By “gee whiz” I mean places that had all sorts of interesting things to play with or “cool” special effects, but not much more than that. Cetus was a place that had community at its core, with art as the focal point. It was a beautifully designed and well constructed sim and many different events such as concerts, gallery openings and poetry readings took place, giving it life. I felt comfortable going there on my own or with friends, sometimes to listen to the many different musicians who played there or just to relax and view the artworks. My introduction to the art and music scene in SL took place there. It must have been a tremendous amount of work building and organizing everything and Cetus lasted quite a long time by SL standards, having first opened in 2006. However, earlier this year members of the group received a notice from founder Xander Ruttan stating that due to changing real life priorities the sim would have to close if no one could be found to take it over and since then the sim has indeed closed. Unfortunate but understandable.

In the preceding paragraph I used the phrase “long time by SL standards” and I think this is the side of SL with which I am not comfortable or happy. I am sure anyone who has spent any time in Second Life immediately understood what I meant by that phrase and didn’t find it an unusual thing to say. It is true that there is an economic and temporal reality to be found in SL just as in RL so while one may be unhappy when a favourite sim disappears it is easy to comprehend. But it seems that this idea has also become attached to relationships of all sorts. Whatever the kind of relationship – friendship, business or romantic, people for the most part seem to have accepted that these associations are finite and it is naive to expect them to last any substantial amount of time. Of course this is not always so, but it seems to be true in a good proportion of cases. Perhaps it is because Second Life is an intense experience, as if we are all living in dog years; relationships can burn out. People (and I say people and not avatars) can drift into relationships without realizing how strong the feelings can be. Maybe it is because it is not difficult to disappear if you decide you no longer want to be in contact with someone. There is always a new person around the corner with whom you can experiment; it can be easier and more fun to do that rather than “work” at an established relationship. Some people refer to SL as a game, games shouldn’t be work. Games are not “real” as RL is “real”. In some respects SL offers limitless opportunities to try out new things – new characters, new looks, new behaviours, seemingly without the serious consequences you would have in RL. To a certain extent it is because this is a new world and people are acting without an established social infrastructure that is to be found in RL; it is still being created. Even factors such as age, for example, can play a role. People in different age groups may have different expectations of behaviour. And it is hard for people to measure these factors in SL.

When Xander Ruttan informed the group that Cetus was coming to an end he said “our network of friends and business relationships – and fond memories – can endure well beyond Cetus”. That is very true, my experiences of Cetus live on in my heart and mind. That is the beauty, the danger and the power of Second Life, our hearts and minds are touched and irrevocably changed, and that is not ephemeral.

Hibiscus Hastings