A Visit to Paris in 1900

A Central Landmark is Paris Eiffel, one of five regions that make up this faithful reproduction of Paris in 1900.   Paris Eiffel 35/97/22. Many of the signs and information are in French, but there are English translations for most of them.

The reproduction of the Eiffel Tower dominates the central region, flanked by a reproduction of the Arc de Triumph. You can walk along the streets of old Paris, hire a cab, take a tram, or rez one of the self-driving cars along the avenues.  Underground you can take the Metro between three stations, or ride a boat through the Catacombes.

There are many educational displays throughout, that make it seem very much like a living museum.

You can rez a period vehicle.

La grande roue

At the base of the Eiffel Tower

This might be a good place to brush up on your French

In Galerie des Machines a ghost came up and spoke to me - but it was in French..

I have to leave now - but next time I'm not taking this dummy*

*This is "BGC Diner Patron - the Reader, by Krikket Blackheart. It was a prop for a photo assignment.

Shopping in Second Life

Shopping is a popular activity in Second Life. Linden Lab even has a page that tells you all about it. There is a list of selected stores in the Destination Guide. 

There are several ways to shop: Inworld at virtual stores. online through the Marketplace, and at periodic inworld sales events where items are on sale for a limited time.

My 'go to' for sales is Seraphim, which has a pretty comprehensive listing of sales and hunts; however, sometimes I will also see items from SL bloggers who are showing off items they have gotten on sale or as a group gift. I also get sales notices from groups I belong to.

When I am inworld and see something I like I will try to find out who the creator is, and look for their store.

Some things to remember:

Disputes between buyers and sellers are considered private matters. In Rand Linden's words:

However, Linden Lab cannot verify, enforce, certify, examine, uphold, or adjudicate any oath, contract, deal, bargain, or agreement made by the Residents of Second Life.  Nor does Linden Lab enforce or uphold rental agreements between Residents.  While you may have a valid agreement with another person, Linden Lab is not a party to and cannot resolve your dispute.   Please contact the Resident involved and resolve the issue with them. 

Looking at Marketplace Listings: You can look for items either by sorting through categories and sub-categories, shown on the left side of the Marketplace page, or you can use keyword search. 

Either way you can narrow the search by putting in price ranges, land impact, and permissions. You can also ask not to see Limited Quantities and Demo Items. 

Different "Keywords" will get different results - Remember you can use terms like "And", "Or", and "Not" to help narrow your search.

This is what I got when I put "t-shirt" in the Keywords field.

Top part of Marketplace Ad

The numbers refer to different parts of the ad.

 1. General maturity level: Unless you are specifically looking for 'Adult' objects, it is safer to put 'General' in your search fields. Maturity level is right under Merchants/Stores tab at the top.

 2. General categories and sub-categories. The merchants usually choose this, and they can choose wrong, but search results are erratic in any case.

 3. 'Add to Cart as Gift' means you can pay for it and send it to someone else.

 4. 'Buy Now' - Pay for it right away and get it without putting other items in cart.

 5. "Get the demo version" - always a wise idea. Remember that whether or not a clothing item fits depends on what kind of avatar body you have. 

 6. 'Visit the Store' shows you all the other Marketplace listings, not the Inworld Store.

 7. "Works with Mesh Avatars" - some things don't.

 8. Permissions:

 "Copy" - You can make copies

 "Modify" - You can change this product 

"Transfer" - You can transfer this product

Having all these permissions means it is "Full-perm" -  you will see a lot of products on Marketplace that are "Full-perm" and some merchants make a living by buying full-perm items, modifying them, and re-selling them. Read the fine print.

 9. Automatic redelivery - means that they have a re-delivery method that works without you having to contact the seller directly.

10. "100% Mesh, Fitted Mesh" - Just because it is 'mesh' doesn't mean it is great. Also, be careful of ads that state item is "Low Land Impact" - Just because an item is only one prim doesn't mean it will rez quickly - badly configured mesh, poor scripts, or too many complex textures, can slow things down.

11. "Flag this item" - if you think there is a problem with the listing you can flag it and ask Linden Labs to eject the seller. Unfortunately, the scammers just seem to set up shop under another name.

12. Details. The more information the better. Also check "Features" and "Content" for more information.

13. Reviews. It is always good to read reviews, if there are any; however, you can only leave a review if you buy from the Marketplace. Merchants have to pay a fee to sell on the Marketplace, and may prefer to sell from their inworld store

Some merchants offer a lot of information at the bottom of their listings. One seller had links to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Pinterest, and Instagram, as well as videos of his product. Smaller merchants may not offer all this information, but it does not mean there is a problem with their product.

 "See Item In Second Life" - if you decide to visit an inworld store listed on the Marketplace always teleport in 'flying' mode, and be prepared for surprises. Marketplace listings have a lot of parts, and when a merchant is moving his inworld store the last thing he thinks about is changing the teleport location on his Marketplace ad.

I prefer shopping Inworld if it is an option but using the Marketplace makes it easier to find items. Inworld you usually get a chance to see the merchandise in person, and many merchants go to a lot of trouble to make their inworld stores interesting places to visit. Some may have both inworld and Marketplace stores. Some may offer a wider variety of goods on the Marketplace simply beause of space limitations.

You find some merchants that operate only inworld and some that sell only on the Marketplace, so look around.

Shopping : My Favorite Stores - Kei's Spot

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Path%20of%20Destiny/166/193/2497 & Marketplace

When I first visited Kei's Spot I was intrigued by her supplies for "Preparing for a Zombie Apocalypse" .

A bicycle power generator

Her inworld store is full of unique items like this candle orrery.

Most recently I purchased her Interactive Sewing Set. It includes a drawing desk, cutting board, sewing machine, stuffing area, wall display, and embroidery area. Chat instructions direct your avatar through the steps until you have made a complete sheep stuffie.*

Stuffing the stuffy in the stuffing area.

*You have to be careful to follow the instructions or you end up with a headless stuffie, but if you do it right you get to keep the finished product. I was amused to see several people selling the sheep stuffie on the Marketplace.

Note: I do not know this merchant and I am not getting any incentive to feature her store on my blog; however, I just like to recommend places that i don't feel are getting the attention they deserve.

Shopping - Some of My Favorite Stores - D-Lab

D-Lab has always been on of my favorite stores. It was where I bought my first flying pig. As more and more SL creators got into the 'cute animals' business D-Lab branched out to more realistic furniture and sci-fi builds.  Most recently I bought their 'Iron Wall' space station.

D-Lab used to be headquartered near Poecila on the Mainland but now it has its very own Region.

D-Lab was always fun to visit, with its large and small animated creatures, and its humorous builds, but as they added inventory, their space was getting crowded.

Animated toy animals.

Now it has more room to display everything.  Here you can see old and new creations, including houses, vehicles, furniture, and dolls.  There is an impressive "Sky Pirate" line, futuristic space stations, and the tiny animated Piccoli.

Some of the "Sky Pirate" pieces. The 'whale' is a vehicle.

Andika, which also produces mouth-watering virtual food and celebration items, shares the Region.  

Why am I suddenly hungry?

Take a while and explore. Just look for "D-Lab" Region. 

Second Life: a game, a business, or a world?

 (Wherein the author paces back and forth, talking to herself).

My answer to the question "Is Second Life a game, a business, or a world?" is "Yes". 

A Game? Second Life has gaming elements, and it contains games. Linden Lab denies that Second Life is a game because "There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective".

A Business? Second Life is a business run by Linden Labs, and the fact that many of Linden Lab's employees are also Second Life residents does not obscure the fact that the company needs to make money in order to survive.

A World? Second Life is a world because it has virtual land and water areas that are connected to each other and that can be explored, and you can build a structure that resembles a home.

Saying Second Life is "a 3-d virtual world run by a large business in which the residents/customers create a large part of the content, and which contains gaming elements." though, is awkward. 

In the context of "Second Life is a world" if I think of it as a 'second home'  and when I read something like Mona Eberhardt's post "Interpreting Second Life's 2020 Metrics" I get uneasy. 

     - If Second Life is a game, I can lose.

     - If Second Life is a business, it can fail. 

     - If Second Life is only a 'virtual' reality powered by computers and not a real world, then it can disappear, and all my virtual lands, the silly things I bought, and my avatar and all its accoutrements disappear as well.

At this point I start experiencing a sense of existential dread.

Am I a resident, a gamer. or a customer? Again, the answer is 'Yes'. 

As for it being a game, after reading Mona Eberhardt's post and watching Torulf Jenstrom's talk on monetizing game transactions (Which was embedded in her post) I started wondering if Linden Labs was incentivizing me to spend more in Second Life. 

Torulf Jenstrom's Keynote speech at a 2016 Game conference in Helsinki, was titled "Let's Go Whaling!" and he talked about how game companies can get their players to spend money on IAPs (in app purchases) above and beyond the initial price of the game. This speech brought widespread disapproval from gamers, and from game makers (who didn't want you to know about this.) I cannot find any current mention of Torulf Jenstrom on the web now, but his speech is still generating comment.

If Second Life is a game, and I am a gamer, what kind of gamer am I?

Bartle has studied gamers and lumped them into four types: Achievers, Socializers, Killers, and Explorers. You can take the Bartle Test yourself here. 

Torulf suggests that you can monetize 'achievers' by offering items that make game-playing progress more convenient. (Example: tokens that let you 'undie' in a game - or a Premium membership that let's you get into large events more easily).

He suggests that 'socializers' can be incentivized by offering paid content that allows communication customization. (Groups, anyone? Voice morphing?)

'Killers' can be monetized by offering them weapons or equipment that give them competitive advantage. (Going Premium?).

'Explorers' can be monetized by offering to sell them more content to explore. (Wanta buy a region?)

So, am I being influenced to spend more because of something that is part of the game, or by something else? 

Some random, not yet coherant, thoughts:

Gamers can be influenced to buy "Loot boxes" in many games, and you can find gachas in Second Life that usually require multiple tries before you actually get what you want. But -  In SL gachas are produced by resident businesses, not by the lab. Is the way that Premium housing being distributed also a gacha? Again, 'no',  because you only get one house at a time, and you do not have to spend more on each try - just time.)

Am I being incentivized because I have 'Loss aversion'? (Here I would say 'yes' because if I don't pay tier I lose my home parcel.) I am also being affected by 'Sunk cost fallacy", which encourages me to pay for a premium membership so that I don't 'lose' the parcel with my home on it. (On the other hand, I could rent from another resident on a monthly basis and lose nothing except my home base if I don't pay my rent. Still, if my landlord doesn't pay his rent I'm in the same situation as if I hadn't paid tier. 

Am I willing to pay more for rare items? Yes; however, most of the rare articles are produced by other residents.  

Idea of  "Sunk cost fallacy". "I have bought all this furniture, so I need someplace to put it."

Am I being influenced by the "IKEA affect" - if you make players work for something they place more value on it. (Yes and yes - do I buy more at popular sales events if they are hard to get into?)

Am I influenced by 'Social proof' where a high-ranked player gets a certain item. Am I trying to keep up with 'the cool kids'? (Yes and yes - I keep trying to upgrade my avatar and her clothing and am embarrassed when I have to walk around in a system body and avatar.)

Do I suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) - yes.

Torulf also characterized players as being 'minnows', 'dolphins' and 'whales' based on the time it takes them to make a decision.  He stated that being in a 'Hot state' where you need to make decisions quickly, is when you have fast reflexive thinking and instant gratifica†ion. Having more time to make the decision means slower analytical thinking. 

He states players are less anxious about making a purchase decision when they have fewer choices. 

Are we being positively reinforced for making purchases? I would say the recent live auctions during Fantasy Faire was proof of that, and also an example of 'hot state' thinking with instant gratification....(I almost bid on something and I envy the resident who got it).

Conclusion: Am I being incentivized to spend more money in Second Life? Yes, but I do not think it is a deliberate plan by Linden Lab, I think it is my human inclination to want to be more Barbie and have more possessions/land than anyone else.

That said, I need to remind myself that in the end I will have only my pictures and my good memories. This is also true of real life, and I have few regrets for most of my travel in real life. As my late sister-in-law wisely said "They can't repossess a vacation." Second Life will live on in the memories of those who 'inhabited' her.

Or perhaps it will be rebuilt in some new reality, and we will be like the suvivors of The Great Erase.