i read enshi’s posts, did you read them? no? but youll comment anyway- sigh- the blogger way- comes from sitting in front of the computer listening to bloggers and avatars.;)

real critic all you like, people have made livings- found value- in “virtual world creation”— even gatsby– who didnt make much of a living, for centuries.

The SL system from day one was run as a pyramid that would not sustain or really value what it marketed and hyped to the many who- unlike myself- had “just discovered” 3d tools and media. Its not like any of SL offereings were really new ideas or didnt have any presidence, and gee, the game/film cg industry still pays – values the visual artists that they profit from and with.

its not like SL was the only web2.0 pyramid to profit the few on the dreams/efforts of the many, or that this “method” of transaction is anywhere new at all:) but you find you own worthy causes, Let enshi and myself do the same.:)

what ive commented on is an issue about an individuals time and value..nothing else.

i’m a real critic of the concept that anyone can make a living long term in the virtual world at present. of course, a few can and do, but the vast majority of people can’t, or they need someone else at home who can provide insurance, etc with a traditional job. it just doesn’t add up for most people yet.

but then again, not everyone is trying to maximize their profit from what they do in SL either. if you want to, that’s great. but cube, your response to everything here is that anyone who isn’t or can’t shouldn’t bother. there’s a lot of reasons for creating art or doing anything someone does in SL, and it’s not always about the bottom line for them like it is for you.

thank God some people are willing to donate time and skill to worthy causes. if everyone needed a profit to do things worth doing, the world would be even worse off than it is.

besides, you’re assuming that it was only financial viability issues that caused Eshi to leave. i don’t know that she’s said that. there’s a hell of a lot more compelling reasons to decide spending all your time in a virtual world staring at the computer screen is getting tiresome than solely financial ones.

and yes maybe if you had been compensated as if your work in this medium was real, and not part of a media induced delusion, you wouldnt have had to fake die/kill/end an online service account..;)

the medium will grow and evolve, just as it did from open standards web3d like vrml into the SL ecopyramid paradigm, and it will Im sure be viable for you outside of that SL eco paradigm soon.
best.

c3 design

Why in the world would I *GIVE* anyone anything?

I have not died.

I am still very much alive and my art carries on. What particular medium I decide to put my energy into – I am not sure. And as I said in my website post – I am more then willing to come back into SL for any project that I will be compensated for appropriately.

Remember – I am not dead – and my work is still MY WORK.

Regards!

That said, it is an overtly hostile act to destroy already created art. Whether one’s personal reasoning makes reasonably argued sense or not. The destruction is a form of punishment of the ‘appreciators’ of the art and a statement or assertion of ownership and property rights that couldn’t care less about others.

As an example: I must say that years later, I personally am still very pissed off at the photographer Brett Weston for his decision to have all of his negatives, MOST of which had never been printed, destroyed upon his death. That was an overtly hostile act against those who invested their time in him.

So to my point: leaving the art world is one thing. Destroying all evidence of ever having existed is another thing altogether. It speaks of personal inner demons or built up resentment or hostility or a need for revenge. It is not a thing to be admired in my opinion.

As to virtual personae: one gets in trouble when one sees avatar as a separate independent entity and not as simply another part of self, separately realized. A myth which has its own existence is hard to live up to and cannot change as easily as a can be done with something seen already as just a small part of self.

It is my recommendation to view avatar as part of you rather than separate from you as a key to your mental health.

My two cents here.

Who backs up the backers? let the comic book geeks figure that one out.

The “culture” of digital IS to have no history.

Theres Beta and Obsolete.

“SL is killing me” http://npirl.blogspot.com/2009/04/sl-is-killing-me.html My plea to the great creators of the NPIRL group included something along these lines: “Walk away from your account for days, weeks, months or forever, but don’t kill the account, or at least leave a copy of your content with someone you trust.”

@Alberik: I do have a suggestion for a “maintenance program” regarding the preservation of your work: Will your Work Day: Don’t let your virtual creations die with you http://npirl.blogspot.com/2009/05/dont-let-your-virtual-creations-die.html

Moreover it is not just when the original creator leaves. It’s scary to think how much art is in the hands of residents where the creator has left and there is no way for the residents to put the art into trust, donate it to the community, or transfer it to anyone else. Some of our creative history must vanish, irretrievably, every month.