http://excelsior-station.wikidot.com/misfit-s-index-of-rp-sims-mirps

And if a person is really hands on, they can take the money they would spend on SL and purchase one helluva fine system, run their own setup for so little that they could rent out a whole region and break even.

that was one of the bigger challenges when i left SL – i had no building tools and no outfits and as trivial as a virtual wardrobe may sound, it was an important part of my identity

still today, i only have one outfit and doubt i will ever invest the time or money to build up outfits again

Second reason would be lack of similar group decisions and opinions. So many differing thoughts on how the RP should be handled, the rules, which rule set, people that think they should get paid, others that feel it should be free. There is no good way to get everyone on the same page unfortunately.

While the prices are appealing – the thought of leaving $100s or $1000s worth of things you bought….houses, decorations, CLOTHES HAIR, skins, makeup…..and then starting over with nearly nothing, just holds people back.

I didn’t read the article you posted yet, but maybe RPWorlds was a little too cheap to stay afloat for how slow the transition to OS from SL is.

This piece may be of interest: RolePlayWorlds (Open Simulator based MMORPG grid like Second Life) closing

While I am not Role Playing I did have a look, and it was one of the finest grids I had seen.

A question is Why could RPW not take a share of those 200+ regions and their member from Second Life?

The RPW membership was free, and region rent was in the $19-$30 range. However, it seems price wasn’t a factor.

No reason to use SL if you are doing a special project where you don’t need random people for your project to be viable.

I have recently gone back into SL, and I am enjoying it. I’m not having the texture rezzing problems and crashes I use to get so frustrated with. I met a few new friends…one is Gorean (hi Krista). (Oooo tabboooo) But she has been showing me around and letting me experience their areas, I’ve been RPing a bit and its been fun! This is a PRIME group of people that would be so much better off leaving SL and moving to opensim.

I’m told there are over 200+ sims dedicated to this lifestyle and over 20,000 people using them off and on. They are renting Sims from other SL members for over $365 a month for each sim or trying to save money renting low prim homestead areas. If they would transition to OS with a few good designers, builders, animators, and scriptors they would be saving around $71,000 a MONTH or $852,000 a year. And that’s if they rent from someone. With that number of Sims…they could just start up their own grid and save even MORE.

SL needs to lower prices. I know they could slow that decline or even gain new regions if they adjusted their pricing. SL will die a slow death, we can all see that, unless they start caring about their customers and product. I have a feeling they are milking it as long as possible and working on something else.

Aevalle, i think your assumption is valid in general, regardless of the specifics for any set of sims – private sims are coslty and the economy of today does not help SL, especially when there are alternatives that get you 90% of the way there (OpenSim is not a panacea, but it is a viable option for many, but not all, residents)

hmm Montnegre, i have not looked at Cloud Party at all but your comment is the one that tipped my interest into delving into it a bit more (i absolutely have no idea what it is but do see it mentioned more and more)

spot on Lani! TOS changes back at the end of 2008 where among the reasons i pulled out of SL – the first one that said LL licensed your own work to you. they continued to refine that TOS and like you said, the later ones simply affirmed that more and more and clearly made the point that anything you made was for the benefit of the Lab and that they could take anything you do and use it for making their services better and without their need to thank you, pay you, or even acknowledge you

the land cost is too high for sure, but even $60,000 Cadillacs sell in poor economies – that whole perceived value thing (i drive a $14k car). high cost plus your point two of viable alternatives certainly do make it better for us avatars. point three is one i’d like to say i was a part of – at the height of my 19 sims estate there were 101 leased parcels/sims and not only was i a fair manager, but i blogged very positively for SL and my first 10,000 flickr pics were showcasing SL. they lost not only $3k a month but an evangelist and SL Mentor (when they had real official Mentors)

your point four is one that they added tarnish to by saying they’d reduce lag each year and that was a top goal – that should be a given and not “the” goal. i did not care about lag in 2006, SL made it seem like anything was possible – i assumed that improving the backend was just normal (like any software) and that new features and freedoms would be exiting – rather they curbed freedom . . .

no worries Breen, i don’t think any holes in LL knowledge matters in the world! yes, mainland is owned by Governor Linden and much of it sits abandoned – you can see the numbers on Tyche’s GridSurvey.com page. i had a few mainland parcels when i first started inSL but clearly it was not enough for me but they do work for many people and some mainland sims actually have great synergy – or they did at one point

ditto your thoughts on Lani’s list and one powerful thing about that list is that it is afrom what one could term a very active power user from both sides of the vw fence =)

Other SL attrition is due to:

1. Land cost of SL too high for average user.

Yes! Linked to your point 4 below too. No one wants to pay the big bucks now

2. Many other 3d Worlds and Games vying for same user base.

True dat. If one of them gains traction of a wider marketing campaign, a “king hit” as it were, gains could be very rapid to SL’s detriment.

3. Dilution of the communities through early leaders and enthusiastic organizers leaving.

Agree strongly. Linden missed the mark on this one when they started talking down to the power users.

4. Less shine; not the new and exciting thing it once was.

Yes. However I think this is affecting 3D worlds and Opensim too. The blast radius of 3D world apathy is quite large.

5. Grind.

Probably the only point I may “disagree” on. Not that I actually disagree. Grinding seems to be a “feature” that works. Minecraft being the latest example.

6. Arbitrary and capricious rules.

Yes, people get rules all day. Some freedom would be refreshing. Within limits.

7. Silly build limits

Is it not strange how easily people step down to constraints and seem to accept it?

And thanks for the list, it is insightful and thought provoking!

The TOS changed everything by capturing all Public Domain works and other types of open licensing of products. Many creators simply stopped giving to the community, because SL put a copyright claim on everything they creators were making that touches the LL servers. This had a chilling effect on creators, and a chain reaction that still reverberates through the SL community.

In effect, by forcing that single TOS, the Linden Labs turned everyone in SL into their unwilling employees. Anyone who makes, uses, or sell items in SL since April 2010, basically is doing it for the benefit of the Lindens’ corporation.

Other SL attrition is due to:
1. Land cost of SL too high for average user.
2. Many other 3d Worlds and Games vying for same user base.
3. Dilution of the communities through early leaders and enthusiastic organizers leaving.
4. Less shine; not the new and exciting thing it once was.
5. Grind.
6. Arbitrary and capricious rules.
7. Silly build limits

The list goes on… but that is enough to chew on for now.

Kind regards.