I've had some previous experiences in dawdling in SL before so I registered, installed and decided to go fly around and explore a bit. I knew that the world of SL was large but I didn't realize how actually massive it was when I saw the map room at the end of the tutorial walk through. I also took a glance at the map to see how much space had been covered. At the time I first encountered SL it was back when it was still a new born and the user base was getting familiarized with it. It's very surprising to see how much it has grown since then.
As I tried to go into events I found it very difficult to actually find a worthwhile event. I would hop from location to location only to find one virtual patron standing around. Hardly any were populated. I eventually gave up the quest through the event listings and just decide to visit the high traffic areas. The best one being, the new comer areas. While I understand this is hardly where the heart of SL is. I still believe the area does provide some interesting information to the whole study of virtual worlds.
It's basically the second birth of most users, they stand around here tinkering with their UI trying to learn how everything works, all while chatting up some random strangers from halfway across the nation/earth. What are their virtual mannerisms and how do they formulate their residual-self-image.
Sadly, the one conversation that interest me the most was of two patrons basically bullying each other. I do realize online bullying is a serious issue, but I couldn't help but observe how serious people get online. I've been on the net for awhile and am well aware of the many ills that circulate. So I knew to just keep my distance and watch. I would throw in a few responses here and there only to be ignored. (probably because my Avatar is a goofy looking robot with a lightbulb as a head, internet discrimination! haha.) Fortunately I was bored enough to leave continue exploring other random locations.
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