Second Life Reviews

Second Life reviews are plentiful. It seems that every user and many non-users have an opinion on the Second Life virtual world. It has been criticized in the mainstream media as being a dangerous environment and applauded in scholarly journals as a new method for instructors to interact with their students.

Whatever your personal opinion of Second Life may be it is obvious that Second Life is here to stay. Reviews all agree that the Second Life virtual world is amazing popular with plenty of users logging on every day.

The Good

Many reviews focus on the positive aspects of the virtual world. Reuter’s News Service has followed Second Life (SL) since its debut on the web and constantly releases news items letting the general public know what is going on in the Second Life world.

Other media resources tell of the growing popularity of Second Life in college classrooms and educational projects. Professors are designing instructional models around the Second Life virtual world and using them to interact with their students.

SL reviews also note the success of non-profit organizations on Second Life. Non-profit organizations develop their own spaces in the virtual Second Life world and use them as platforms to spread the word about their concerns.

Other reviews focus on the creativity used in creating a “second life”, the opportunity to express individuality, and the chance to interact with others as positives of the Second Life experience.

The Bad

A great many Second Life reviews have been negative. Social networking has long had a bad reputation, especially for young users. The interaction in the virtual world of Second Life has taken a lot of hits from the media.

Negative Second Life reviews target the ease with which minors can lie about their age and sign up for a Second Life account. They focus on abuse, cyber-stalkers, extreme sex and violence as major problems seen in the virtual world.

Some reviews have been so wide reaching they have caused Second Life creator, Linden Lab, to change their policies and institute safeguards for users. Negative Second Life reviews concerning minors were so powerful they left Linden Lab no choice but to create a moderated Teen Second Life for younger users.Teen Second Life (SL) was closed on 01/21/2011 and its contents were transferred to the Second Life main grid.

…And the Not So Ugly

Second Life users offer their own reviews on the game and their Second Life experiences. Blogs, websites like The Alphaville Herald, Second Life Profiles and other online methods like social networking communities are used by Second Lifers to tell others about Second Life.

Many Second Lifers write daily blog entries detailing their day to day experiences on Second Life. They give tips and tricks to other users. These review sites are basically a diary of their “second life”.

Other Second Lifers write actual reviews. They discuss technical glitches they find in the game, they talk about new technologies and program updates, they offer help to other users, and they let others know what has and has not worked well for them.

Reviews, both positive and negative, will continue to be written as long as the game has players. Controversy reigns on the ‘net and only brings more attention, and more users, to the virtual world of Second Life.