Second Life is still around. It’s a virtual world with commerce and land ownership and building and kitting out your avatar, and theoretically also socializing. In 2006 when everyone was trying it out, you could find people to talk to everywhere. There was crazy growth in the size of the world and in online player concurrency.
Late 2007, people seemed…distant. Not as much chat. People appeared to be AFK.
I noticed that you’d go to a club and there’d be nobody talking except for inane nonsense, like “this DJ rocks!”, “I love this song!”. There used to be open discussions of how cool the world is, where is everyone from, I have an evil boss, anyone catch the world series, what did obama do wrong this time, anyone know where I can find cool boots? But in late 2007…“this DJ rocks!”, “I love this song!”, “Don’t forget to tip the dancers!”
I proposed that these were bots. I was told I was wrong.
I used to run tests. I’d say, “I’ll give 100 SL dollars to the first person who can name one of the Beatles!” Sometimes I’d get a taker, but usually not. Like everything I said in chat, there was no indication that anyone would hear me. The venue host might say hello to me when I arrived, or after I said something in chat. But other patrons? I couldn’t get the attention of any of them.
I proposed that those were bots, too. I was told I was wrong.
I’d ask of old-timers, okay, where does everyone hang out? They’d give me the same, old venue names. Places that used to be hangouts, in the days when everyone was checking out SL and being dumped in-world at these places, or directed there by other players. But these days? There were people in those venues, but almost nobody is talking.
I’d ask the old-timers why nobody talked any more. I was told that conversation happens in IM these days, not open chat.
So, I’d IM people. No answer.
Eventually the skyboxes full of avatars gained some attention. 30 avatars in a featureless box where nobody would see it, but it would register as 30 people at this map location, so you’d visit to see what everyone was up to. It was a store. An empty store. Over and over and over you’d go to where people appeared to be hanging out, and you’d find a store, or a club that would sure like you to tip the DJ, but there was no sign of life. Just a bunch of dancing avatars and a music stream.
But those skyboxes full of avatars were hard to deny. There were lots of bots doing nothing but gaming traffic. The ones in the clubs? It was harder to convince people that those were bots, too.
Nobody every admitted it, but it became clear that the only people still in Second Life were hiding in their own land parcels, building stuff to sell. They didn’t socialize anymore.
But for YEARS you’d suggest that SL was just full of bots, and the old-timers would deny it.
I think people don’t want to admit they’ve been duped by bots.
Yes, this is a post about Overwatch.
