SL6B .. the future of virtual worlds .. that I don't want to be part of

Recently, I have made a visit to the SL birthday exhibition sims. I had too, since Any1 asked me to help and even when I could not do much besides offering suggestions, I felt like I had to supprt the efforts the Rings discussions and others have made there. But what I saw around disapointed me a lot. There are some really nice builds there. Some interesting organisations put out exhibits that derserve all the attention that is possible, but the overall view of this as the future of virtual worlds was awful. It was highly disorgenised and the different exhibits have been packed together in a way that reminded the most awful parts of the SL continents with too many intersting things simply getting lost between all the different buildings and signs.

There is no central way, soemone could take to be sure to visit and see everything. There is no vision in this all, no idea or even a plan that would point towards anythign else then jsut a show of what can be build in a virtual world. But what was missing for me, has been the social aspect.

The exhibition as I have experianced it, showed me lots of places build by differnet gorups and indivisuals without any conection to each other. Seemingly without even an idea of belonging to one community, to one world as someone might put it. The place as I have expereinced it, was one of shiny, ignorant happiness where everyone is doing their things without regard or interest for the others. It was the linden world, the ugly linden world of people who are not there to ask questions, to discuss and to change things. It is a world of people who consume and take the given tool without questioning the powers behind them. It is a world without organisation and controversy. Without new ideas beside those took over from RL and stripped from anything that might cause questions and discussions. It is a world for people who don't ask why everything is happening like it. Now this might be harsh, but this is not a future of virtual worlds like I would like to see it. It is not even a proper world, but little closed up groups of individuals who don't or can't interact. Either by the always non working communication systems within SL (group IMs) or by those not wanting to see anythign that might disturb the happy image of a world where anyone has too much fun to relaise, that the space they are told to explore freely has really tight rules and borders, that can't be crossed.

Now this is only my view about it and I might write a more in depth review of the exhibit later, but I don't really feel the urge to go back to this place right now. I most likely will, but I don'T expect my views to change and I welcome any discussion this short text might start about what the future of virtual worlds might mean for anyone.