Second Life

While I've been recovering at home, I took up the recommendation of one of my colleagues and tried Second Life. It was an interesting experience, and answered a few questions I had always had.

Some observations:

1) It's not quite anarcho-capitalism. It's close though, at least in concept, to what the more utopian anarchocapitalists I know tell me the future could be like without government. There are no (or very, very few) sales regulations. If you can make it, you can sell it at whatever price you can get for it. The market is aggressive and active. For example, land there sells (with or without covenants) for between L$10-L$15/m^2 on average (L$ = Linden dollars, the in game currency). If, you offer land for sale less than that, it goes *immediately*, but if you go above that, it can sit for quite a while. I accidently sold a plot for L$6000 instead of the L$60,000 I meant to type and it sold in a pico-second. I was not happy, but the new owner was thrilled. Many of the benefits/responsibilities of anarchocapitalism are there, including going around armed (there is a good business in both arms sales and security systems to keep people off your property). You can manufacture anything you want to create, and sell unlimited quantities, except for land. You can buy and sell land, create or break land-use covenants and, in general, make a profit off anything you want.
Where it differs from AC is around how the few rules are enforced. Where AC would have no central government, SL has the operating system which, among other things, enforces property rights, i.e. you cannot take land by force. The system also eliminates things like roads, right of ways etc. because you can fly anywhere you want. The system can lock folks out of property (i.e. you can erect an impenetrable force field around your property). Most of the things you’d want a government for, are there as part of the OS. In my view, this is approximately the correct function of government. Oh, and there are taxes in the form of a monthly maintenance fee proportional to the maximum amount of land you owned that month. And, being no fools, you pay that fee in US$ not in L$.
2) Real Estate folks make all the money, but it’s a high volume, low margin business. When you add in the taxes for property ownership, you start to get some inflationary effects. I see how to make it work, but it’s a full-time job.
3) No one needs that many digital t-shirts
4) Absolutely no one needs that many furry foxtails.
5) It has many of the things I enjoyed about The Sims, in it. I can buy some property, construct a house, decorate and furnish it (which for some reason I love to do), and sell it at a modest profit in about a day. There is *LOTS* of interior design stuff there, and some very clever work going on. If I were a designer, that’s where I would go. If I were a teacher, that’s where I would send my students.
6) A lesson I learned: If you don’t have a security system installed, lesbians will come into your house while you are gone, fuck in your bed and, if you catch them at this, not understand why you are ordering them to get dressed and get out.
7) While there is some interesting geography there, much of it gets flattened for use. Almost no one allocates their space for a nature park.
8) Unrestrained capitalism looks pretty seedy for the most part.
9) Zoning regulations are your friends in the real world. I never appreciated that until now.
10) Most people are reasonable, but not terribly imaginative.
11) Virtual Reality, while advanced from the ‘80s, still has a long way to go. SL does not have the quality or character of any decent commercial MMORPG.
12) It is also not as addictive as a MMORPG.
13) While you can exchange US$ or L$ (and vice versa) the exchange rate is terrible and there are a LOT of fees. I don’t recommend doing this, but if you do, one massive transaction is better than many little ones.
14) People will form communities around anything. The Island of Scottish-only, diaper wearing adults taught me that much.
15) SL sims dance far better than the people behind them.
16) The Swedes have excellent taste in design.
17) If you ask a priest in game where he thinks the soul of a SL avatar goes when it dies, you’d better pack a lunch.
18) You can camp out in front of the Hare Krishna Church in SL and offer to give them flowers, but they generally wont take them.
19) “age play” is creepy and vaguely evil. It is also, seemingly very popular and makes me think humanity is not a great thing.
20) There are “fat avatars”, which people enjoy playing. Good for them I guess.
21) Land prices are fairly high, L$12,000 for 1024 m^2, but houses are really, really cheap, ~$250->$1500 (for a top of the line castle). This seems vaugely non-intuitive.
22) if you buy a big assed house boat and drop it in the water infront of your beach house, your neighbors will think you have a small dick.


I'll probably continue for a little while until I run out of money or get tired of designing things. I have a really good idea for a house I want to build, but that will invilve some time.