Friday, January 23, 2009

A Perception of Failure

My friend Newbe Writer (pictured here) told me recently that he is packing it up and leaving SL. I am so very sad about this and it's something he talks more about in his blog HERE. The RL reasons I totally absolutely get and understand, but to me his feeling of somehow "failing" is what struck me the most among his reasons for leaving.

Let's face it, SL's been broken for a while now, and for scripters like him and Kheph (who is also talking about leaving as well...c'mon guys, nooooo) it seems like a touch of hell for them. I've always been an explorer-type, content with roaming the world, learning new things, maintaining my design shops or talking with friends. They are happy being lost in just their scripting for hours, so when their scripts constantly break or they are unable to do so, their "ARRGH" factor is pretty big.

But back to the "failure." Newbe is such a talented scripter and creator, yet he feels he was unsuccessful inworld. After we talked, I thought more about that. LL's acquisition seriously affects him as he had all products listed on OnRez and extensively used their vendors--especially in his smaller satellite shops. OnRez's phasing out has screwed his business operations and will ruin his expenditures to sales ratio. His furniture, clocks, glasses and liquor products are well-scripted and beautifully made, yet he still feels he has failed. It reminds me that we all view our SL and the dreams we have while in it differently. What exactly constitutes failure in our world?

I'm so sorry Newbe...thank you for everything you've done for me as such a good friend and I'm so glad to have known you. You didn't fail. Your SL failed you.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Elle. You have always been and ever shall be a true friend. And true friends often see things differently than ones own self. Although failure might be somewhat harsh, I do feel that I've failed at my goal.

I had thought to be, if not profitable, then at least self sufficient. Unfortunately, I feel that I've failed at being in touch with what the market wants. That, or I am horribly bad at pricing.

Other than one week back in September, I've never broken even. I've remained in-world due to having sold a rather large parcel of land just before prices dropped. That, plus my properties in Stormhold and then Steam SkyCity (other than my current two plots), provided me with sufficient funds to survive, but it's getting hard.

It is very nice to hear people ask me to reconsider and I've even had one person make me an offer that I'm finding difficult to turn down. With that said, I think that I might keep my main shop open, but close everything else. I'll keep it going until my current funds run out. If, by some miracle, things improve, perhaps I might be able to convince my wife that my hobby is not a complete waste of time.

Again, thank you for your kind words. They have certainly made a difference to my world weary human.


Newbe.