Pay the Second Life (builder, DJ, performer, scripter, artist)... or not?

Posted by Bettina Tizzy

There are all kinds of virtual creators and performers in Second Life®: the freebie/Open Source advocates, the folks who produce industrial quantities of things and then sell them low, the artists who make one-of-a-kind pieces and sell them - if you ask nicely - for hundreds of dollars, and still others who toil away like the Dickens to raise $Lindens for non-profit efforts. I personally know several dozen creators who pay their rents and mortgages, and the dog's vaccinations from money they've earned working in Second Life. It's a mixed bag out there, and the discussions as to whether people should make money from their virtual work rages on.

I recall how you could almost see creator Arcadia Asylum go blue in the face when the topic of selling virtual goods came up. She has since left the grid, but many of her fellow Hobos still strongly agree with her. Her profile read, "If you payed (sic) for anything made by me, even for L$1, you were SCAMMED!!!" Every single object she made was full perm, and most are available still thanks to people behind the Arcadia Asylum museum (teleport directly from here).

The economic outlook for most these days is uncomfortably tight, and given that residents of Second Life spend so much time creating or performing in-world, it seems natural that they would look to supplement their incomes there, right?

As people go, writer Harlan Ellison is a rowdy, controversial, quick-witted but nevertheless highly admired character. I met him once at a conference, and I can tell you that the standing-room-only attendees were spellbound. He managed to insult most of us in some way during the presentation, but had trouble leaving the room afterwards because so many wanted to shake his hand.

One builder who shared this video with me wondered out loud what Ellison would have to say about content creators in Second Life and how they deal with the constant requests for land/art/scripts, etc. Perhaps... "So you want to use my sims and prims for your money making venture?" Why does everyone think they are doing you a favor? Is there a culture of entitlement going on here?


This is a segment from the documentary on Harlan Ellison called Dreams with Sharp Teeth