Category Archives: VR

BREAKING: Second Life Mobile

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Second Life Mobile Finally Free to Play By All. Linden Lab Execs Explain Their Goals & Strategies With This Long-Awaited Milestone for the Virtual World.

Originally published on my Patreon

At long last, Second Life’s mobile app is now free for everyone to download here, and boasts new/improved features including direct and group messaging. (Watch the new trailer above.)

“Almost 2 years of work and millions of dollars of support just became available to everyone in Second Life,” as Linden Lab head Brad Oberwager announced today during a Zoom conference with SL bloggers. “The biggest milestone is, ‘When does this open up to everybody’? That just happened yesterday. It’s been a top project for this company.” 

As he discussed with me last month, the mobile app has been a core focus since he bought the company in 2021. In fact, when he took over Linden Lab, “I shut down most of the external marketing and drove that into making SL better. That’s what’s starting to change.” 

The mobile app was built with the intention of creating an amazing experience for current Second Life users, and an equal aim of bringing back the many tens of thousands of lapsed users who’ve given up over the years. “Being tethered to a desktop is not how we live anymore,” as he puts it.  

In market research, Brad notes, when Linden Lab asked lapsed SLers, “Why are you no longer coming to Second Life?”, the primary answer they got back was, ‘It doesn’t have mobile”. 

So the company’s first goal with the mobile app is luring back those former or flagging SL users. For the short term, at least, “It’s not for people who read about Second Life in a magazine”, and consider trying it out on a whim.  

Newly-appointed Linden Lab CTO Philip Rosedale, also on the Zoom, expanded on that, echoing what he said in our recent interview, about moving away from his “messianic” predictions from the early 2000s.

“The world is not as yet and may never allow everyone to be an avatar in a world like SL,” said Philip. “We’re very respectful of that distinction.” So the goal with mobile is not to turn Second Life into a simpler mass market experience like Fortnite. “We’re not trying to design the mobile client to replace the desktop.”

NEXT: SL App Roll-Out Strategy, Its New Rainbow Colored Icon, and Overcoming Poor App Store Ratings

Philip and Brad were joined on the Zoom by Second Life’s VP of product, Grumpity Linden, and Sine Wave CEO Adam Frisby, who helped Linden Lab bring SL to mobile, and recently shared with me the long, hilariously blooper-filled road to bringing SL to mobile (read about it here). 

Those wacky bugs were actually a core reason why the mobile app was first only available to Premium subscribers. 

“As we encountered bloopers we realized we couldn’t open it up to everyone,” as Grumpity explains. “It kind of hurts to see people on the app store trying to get in and they give us 1 star ratings” [because they can’t access it for free].  

While acknowledging they can’t please every SLer, Grumpity and her team have been focused on optimizing specific key “user journeys”, like going to a club where you can dance, hear music, and chat with nearby avatars. 

“Then we go to [optimizing] the next user journey,” says Grumpity. However: “We will never shove the entire SL experience into your phone.”

As for the poor app ratings that have accrued since the Premium-only launch early this year — and have hurt the app’s discoverability to potential new/returning users — Linden Lab has a plan for that. 

“One of the things you can do is reset [ratings],” Brad explains, “[though] you can only reset it on the Apple side.”

In other words, they plan to launch a substantial update and request that Apple reset user ratings to start from zero. The team is then hoping that the greatly improved app — which is now also free to use — will be fairly judged. 

“As we make it better,” as Adam puts it, “[previously poor ratings] will be overcome.” He adds that there actually haven’t been that many user ratings so far — in the low hundreds — while popular apps garner thousands of them. 

To take one example, the mobile app of competing virtual world IMVU has been downloaded over 10 million times on Google Play, and — despite reports of increasingly poor user experience — has nearly 7000,000 user reviews with an aggregate rating of 4.5 out of 5.  

Linden Lab hopes the app will inspire current SLers to help bring back their friends and group members who’ve left regular Second Life activity, and start re-building the world’s active community.

One challenge for some returning SLers will be locating the Second Life icon on their phone, since it no longer has the solid dark green blue or bright blue colors of the past, but instead, now boasts radiant rainbow rays emanating from a sun gold eye.  (See above.)

“You can’t believe how many discussions we had” about that icon color change, says Brad. “You know you’ve chosen a great logo when half the people hate it.” However, he adds, the old version of the logo “looked awful” in the app store.

Besides, the new version of the Second Life logo is also meant to convey that the now-free app represents a new era for the virtual world.

 “We wanted to project that things are different in Second Life now,” says Brad Oberwager.

Have A Great Week From All Of Us At Zoha Islands / Fruit Islands / Nocturne

Second Life Spotlight – Carrie Tatsu

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Today we’re shining a spotlight on Carrie Tatsu, the visionary behind Zooby, whose innovative virtual pets and babies have enhanced the interactive experiences of Second Life Residents for over a decade.

Spotlight - Carrie Tatsu.jpg

How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it?
I joined SL in 2006. Wow, 19 years! I took a year off from my job in advertising to stay home with my real-life baby. He is 18 now. I was bored as a full-time stay-at-home mom and read an article about an innovative virtual world with user-generated content. I joined out of curiosity. I became hooked instantly and bought a prim cat. I felt a need to hold my cat when I logged in. My cat became part of who I was. I realized that the cat became part of my own virtual identity.

I then thought maybe I could make a better cat. I made my own white fluffy cat with prim flexies (old avatars will know what that is) that was a representation of my real-life cat named Spaceman. I then held my own cat while I wandered various sims. Random users would ask me where I purchased my cat and wanted to buy it. I then decided I should open up a virtual pet store and convinced my husband at the time to spend $300 USD on virtual land. Within a year I replaced my advertising salary and have not looked back.

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Zooby Animesh baby clothing by Sweet Penelope through the Zooby Affiliate program

How and when did you get into content creation in Second Life?
I have been consistently making content in Second Life for roughly 19 years. It is my full-time job and I support my family with income earned from selling virtual goods. I took a break from 2014-2017 to make a mobile game. I came back to SL in 2017 when Animesh was in development. I knew I had to update my products, so I spent close to 2 years developing the Zooby Animesh Baby. I also wanted to be one of the first creators to focus on Animesh. I have a team that helps me develop products, and I focus on my strengths which include project management, art, design, 3d modeling, and painting/drawing. I hire and collaborate closely with software developers, 3d modelers, and animators.

SweetPenelope copy.jpg
Zooby Animesh baby clothing by Sweet Penelope through the Zooby Affiliate program

What tools do you use to craft your content? Are there specific resources you recommend to aspiring creators?
I have a master’s degree in fine art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I do not have a business degree. I learned the basics of C4d in 2017. I did not learn Blender until 2019-2020. I did not learn Substance Painter until 2022. I have always had the mindset that if you are dedicated to learning regardless of your age or circumstances, you can. It just takes time, patience, and dedication. I have always loved art and have been able to focus for long periods of time on a project. Substance Painter allows projection painting and that became a natural tool for me and helped me create the realistic fur for the Zooby Animesh Puppies. Blender is also a terrific resource because not only is it free, but there are endless tutorials online to learn and develop a skillset. I fell in love with 3d modeling. I also work with extremely talented people and give them freedom to develop their skills and foster their own creativity.

Click to watch the Zooby Animesh Yellow Lab + Wings! on Flickr

Tell us more about your latest project, the Zooby Animesh Puppies. What inspired the designs and features?
I have a deep understanding of the SL community and intuition on what people like to do here. Role-play is huge. Creating experiences you cannot otherwise have in real life is also essential. I wanted to make puppies that had advanced interactive functionality. The idea was to create a shared experience with the puppies so users could enjoy them together with friends and family. The puppies had to look as real as possible. There had to be an emotional connection so the owner of the puppy felt it was their puppy. It is not possible to do a project of this scale alone, so I have a wonderful team that helped make my vision become a reality. It has also taken years to build this team.

Here is a list of key features that set the puppies apart:

  • Zooby Puppies can share accessories.
  • Zooby Puppies include a care system where you can collect tokens and redeem them for puppy toys.
  • Friends can be added to all Zooby Puppies to provide care and interact.
  • All Zooby Puppies can be interacted with.
  • Zooby Puppies can sleep in beds, poop/pee on puppy pads, relax on love pillows, chew on bones, snuggle with toys, and eat from food bowls.
  • Zooby Animesh Babies can interact with Zooby Animesh Puppies.
  • Zooby Puppies include over 100 animations.
  • Post launch Zooby Puppies will be able to wear clothing. Texture Hud Kits will be provided to 3rd parties to create and sell clothing and accessory     textures for the puppies.
  • Zooby Puppies can walk/run/fly while attached to you and while in travel mode they can be taken anywhere in SL.
  • Zooby Puppies can be held and snuggled by their owner.
  • Zooby Puppies can independently fly with wings. (Flying independently with wings includes new animations, is an add-on, and has a small fee.)
  • Zooby Puppies can run or walk around your sim where you set the radius and location.
  • Zooby Puppies include a Hud that allows you to rez any puppy you own and you can never lose a puppy.
  • Zooby Puppies have carefully detailed, custom, realistic fur and will make your heart melt when you look at them.
  • In the future, you will be able to walk them on a leash, and play ball/fetch with Zooby Puppies and they will bring you a newspaper.


Click to watch the the Zooby Animesh Husky + Baby Interactions on Flickr 

What are your future plans or upcoming projects that fans of Zooby can look forward to?
I plan to make many more puppy breeds and then move on to other pets. I plan to stick around SL for a few more years and see how things go!

PupAdBostonTerrier.pngPupAdDalmatian.png

From your perspective, how has Second Life evolved over the years, and what makes it an incredible experience for new users today?
I love the freedom to make anything I can think of. I was not a fan of working for an ad agency and was glad to quit. I also needed a creative outlet. SL has provided me the opportunity to make amazing products and watch them come to fruition. Having a connection to the community has been inspiring because I have seen people fall in love with ephemeral things and that is absolutely fascinating to me. I have met incredibly talented people here and we have worked together without any typical social barriers. Your gender, identity, race, religion, ethnicity, education, and upbringing do not matter. All that matters is the work. I love that for so many reasons. SL has allowed people to make beautiful things and given users the opportunity to explore and imagine a life they want to live.

PupAdGermanShep.pngPupAdLightPom.png

Where can people see your work? Please share links to your store, websites, and social media accounts.
Here is a list of the social media links:

Discord  
Facebook
YouTube  
Instagram  
Twitter  
Zooby Store  
Zooby Group: secondlife:///app/group/fc43d42e-3ba3-b77c-cdf3-5ec035f7a230/about 

BabyandMomma copy.jpg

Thank you, Carrie, for pushing the boundaries in SL and enriching our virtual experiences with every new Zooby creation.

 

Each of our Spotlight interviews offers a unique glimpse into the diverse experiences and vibrant personalities that shape our virtual world. Explore more stories and get inspired by visiting our full collection of Spotlight posts.

Have A Great Week From All Of Us At Zoha Islands Fruit Islands And Nocturne

Avatars for Kamala Harris?

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Why US Players of Fortnite, Second Life, VRChat & Other Metaverse Platforms Should Vote for Harris/Walz

Avatar metaverse Kamala Walz 2024

SL image by Alsatian Kidd, who also has thoughts on the election

When I briefly noted that Philip Rosedale had endorsed Harris/Walz during a recent YouTube live-stream (watch below), some reader comments were somewhat surprising:

Like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with family, politics really should not be discussed, and it really has no place in SL

Rule #1 about all video games. Keep. Politics. Out. Of. Games.

But Second Life is not even a traditional game: It’s a metaverse platform, which by definition, is integrated with the real world economy — and is therefore subject to government regulations formulated by elected politicians. Second Life content creators regularly receive bills from the IRS, which even has a written policy about taxing Linden Dollars; SL content must adhere to US laws banning online gambling, and so on.  

There are hundreds of very good reasons to vote for Kamala Harris and vote against Donald Trump. But even if you are only thinking about the future well-being of your favorite virtual world/metaverse platform, and the user communities in them — be it Second Life, Fortnite, VRChat, or many others —  here are a couple core reasons to cast your vote for Kamala:

Retaining Lina Khan to Protect Metaverse Companies & Consumers

Lina Khan, appointed by Biden/Harris as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, has been a fierce defender of both metaverse platform users and players against powerful interests. 

Last year, her FTC won a $245 million refund for Fortnite players targeted by “dark patterns to trick players into making unwanted purchases and let children rack up unauthorized charges”. 

And then this year, her FTC filed an amicus brief in support of Epic’s bid to require Google to open up in-app payment options apart from Google Play. As Tim Sweeney has often said, both Apple and Google’s control of mobile payment systems and their 30% commission fees threaten the future of the Metaverse. Just this week, Linden Lab’s Brad Oberwager mentioned to me how this IAP 30% charge is a serious challenge for fully bringing Second Life to mobile.

There’s a huge number of other outstanding challenges for metaverse platforms. If Harris/Walz win, Lina Khan will in all likelihood remain head of the FTC. If Trump wins, Khan — already a target of GOP animus and powerful donors — will be gone. Leaving metaverse consumers and creators to fend for ourselves. And whoever Trump/Vance appoints when Khan is gone, I wouldn’t expect a full SL mobile app during their reign.

There’s an even more important metaverse-centric reason to support Harris/Walz:

VRChat gender survey

Protecting an Essential Metaverse Community: LGBT People 

Unique to all Internet services, metaverse platforms have very large LGBT communities. In a user survey I conducted with top VRChat streamer Syrmor, nearly 1 in 5 VRChat users identified as trans/non-binary, or otherwise outside traditional cis male/female categories. I suspect this is the case with other virtual worlds; Second Life has hundreds of trans-related groups.

By their very nature, metaverse platforms offer people a place to express their sexual/gender identity through their customizable avatar, often in ways that would be difficult or even dangerous to do in the real world. As Cajsa recently wrote:

Ishtar Angel is a male-to-female transgender person who presents as nonbinary in her first life.  “It was Second Life that actually helped me realize I was trans,” she said. “I may be stalled in my transition, but I would not give up knowing who I am and how I feel now to when I didn’t know.”

“I’ve known I was ‘different’ since about the age of 5,” says Tiffany Parkin, a woman on her second year in transition.  “It wasn’t until my teen years that I began to understand ‘how’ I was different than my peers, but growing up in a conservative rural community and hearing how people like me were ‘freaks and deviants’.” Second Life became an important refuge for her. 

That refuge and other refuges like it are now endangered by the re-election of Donald Trump and JD Vance, who have made their utter hostility to LGBT people clear in countless ways, countless times. 

It’s easy to imagine how a Trump/Vance White House would impact LGBT people in metaverse platforms, not only in their offline lives, but on the platforms themselves:  

Trump has already suggested violent video games should be banned, and it’s easy to see that scapegoating expand to online worlds which enable virtual violence and sex. Especially as so much of the latter involves sex with LGBT people.

Relatedly, Trump’s government blueprint Project 2025 includes a clause suggesting any content involving LGBT people should be deemed pornographic and censored. What do you suppose another Trump administration would make of LGBT-related sex (or even just communities as a whole) available in worlds like Second Life and VRChat?

There are other reasons avatars should support Kamala, including her support for expanding broadband, loans for small businesses (i.e. virtual content creators), and increased investment in chips and other new technology; but hopefully these two should be more than enough. Please consider sharing this post on your favorite Discord server, and above all (if you’re a US citizen), voting.

Have a great day and a safe Super Tuesday and get out there and VOTE!

Zoha Islands / Fruit Islands

Philip Rosedale Returns as CTO to Help Build the Future of Second Life

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Philip Rosedale, the visionary who founded Second Life in 1999, is returning to Linden Lab in a full-time role as Chief Technology Officer. Philip will guide technology and product strategy daily alongside Executive Chairman Brad Oberwager and the executive team, and is also joining Linden Lab’s Board of Directors. 

Brad Oberwager, who has led Linden Lab’s evolution over the last four years, notes this exciting transition with enthusiasm: 

“Over the last four years since the acquisition, Linden Lab has re-focused itself on improving and serving Second Life. We’ve divested ourselves of unnecessary projects, streamlined our operations, increased the quality of customer support, and grown our overall revenues and profitability. We’re now in a unique position to define the future of virtual worlds, and Philip is returning to help myself and the exec team achieve that goal.”

Philip’s return comes at a time when advancements in AI and mobile technology are rapidly making virtual worlds more accessible and mainstream than ever before. A pioneer in virtual world development, Philip is uniquely able to drive Second Life forward in new, transformative directions. Reflecting on his journey, Philip shares:

“I started Second Life in 1999 – a decade before cloud computing and two decades before AI. We were early, but the success of Second Life to this day shows that we were not wrong. Virtual worlds will play an increasingly important role in the future of human culture, and I’m coming back to help make that happen in a way that has the most positive impact for the largest number of people.”

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Community Roundtable with Philip – This Friday!

As part of his return to Second Life, Philip will be actively engaged inworld with our communities and creators to listen, learn, and collaborate on ways to improve our shared virtual world. He will be taking your questions and sharing more of his vision for Second Life this Friday at 10 am SLT as part of our next Community Roundtable series (location to be announced later this week). Here’s your chance to interact directly with Philip inworld to learn more about the past, present and future of our shared virtual world. Questions can be submitted in advance for consideration at this link.

Meet Philip Rosedale: A Legacy in Virtual Innovation

For those who may not know Philip’s background, his journey to Second Life was fueled by a lifelong fascination with using computers to simulate the beauty and complexity of the real world. Born in San Diego and the son of a Navy carrier pilot, Philip grew up moving across the United States before returning to San Diego for high school and college, earning a B.S. in Physics from UC San Diego in 1992.

Philip’s career began with a software startup he founded in high school, funding his college education. Moving to San Francisco in 1994, he discovered the Internet and developed FreeVue, a groundbreaking video conferencing app that was acquired by RealNetworks in 1995. There, he led the development of RealVideo and ascended to the role of CTO.

In 1999, Philip left RealNetworks to found Linden Lab, pursuing his vision of creating an open virtual world. After leading Second Life as CEO for a decade, Philip went on to co-found experimental projects like LoveMachine, Worklist.net, and Coffee & Power, before founding High Fidelity in 2013, an open-source virtual world platform initially focused on VR. More recently, High Fidelity has innovated in spatial audio, an area critical to the immersive experience of virtual environments.

Beyond these achievements, Philip has been actively involved in new projects at his IRL415 lab in San Francisco, including FairShare, an initiative aimed at addressing wealth inequality through group-based digital currency.

As we enter this new chapter with Philip’s expertise and visionary leadership at the helm, Linden Lab is more committed than ever to enhancing and expanding Second Life in ways that impact our community positively and prepare us all for a future where virtual worlds play a central role. Join us in welcoming Philip back and stay tuned for exciting updates as we move forward together!

Welcome Back Philip from all of us at Zoha Islands/Fruit Islands

Get Ready for a Spooktacular

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Night at the Second Life Helios Casino & Halloween Party

 

Join us at the Helios Casino for a hauntingly good time at our Halloween Party and Costume Contest.

🎃 Event Details:

  • Date: October 31st
  • Time: 12 PM SLT – 2 PM SLT
  • Location: Helios Casino, Second Life

👻 What’s in Store:

  • Costume Contest: Don your best Halloween attire! From ghouls and ghosts to witches and wizards, show off your creativity for a chance to win fantastic prizes.
  • Dad Jokes: Get ready for a spooky dose of humor with our hilarious dad jokes, featuring special appearances by Patch Linden and Abnor Mole—guaranteed to make you groan and giggle!
  • Gaming Fun: Try your luck at our casino games! Who knows? You might get lucky and win big!
  • Spooky Decorations: The Helios Casino will be transformed into a haunted haven. Prepare for some eerie surprises!
  • Socialize and Mingle: Meet new friends and reconnect with old ones. The Halloween spirit is all about community and fun.

👗 Costume Contest Categories:

  • BEST IN: Best Elvis Costume (Male or Female)
  • BEST IN: Best Elvira Costume (Male or Female)
  • BEST IN: Best Non-Elvis/Elvira Costume

🎁 Costume Contest Prizes:

  • 1st Place: 150,000 Chips
  • 2nd Place: 75,000 Chips
  • 3rd Place: 50,000 Chips

💰 Exclusive Virtual Prizes:

  • You can exchange your chips for exclusive virtual prizes!
  • Work your way up the leaderboard to show off your wins.
  • Free casino chips will be available to get you started!

📅 How to Join: Simply teleport to the Helios Casino on October 31st, and you’re in for an unforgettable night.

So, dust off your costume, gather your friends, and head over to the Helios Casino for a Halloween party like no other. We can’t wait to see you there!

Teleport now: https://secondlife.com/destination/helios-casino-lounge 

Happy Haunting! 🎃👻

Have A Great Week From All Of Us At Zoha Islands/Fruit Islands/Nocturne

Why Is IMVU Usage Slipping — And Will Second Life Share the Same Fate?

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Coffee Pancake, co-host of the largest Second Life-themed group on Reddit, recently noticed an odd trend in her subreddit related to IMVU users, and began investigating.

Her findings coincide with some data points I’ve been wondering about myself — IMVU has shed millions of monthly active users in recent years, with even website traffic from its official site slipping beneath Second Life. (Even though on paper, SL has about 500,000 active users, versus IMVU’s 4 million or so.)

What’s going on? Here’s Coffee Pancake’s observations around the recent decline of IMVU activity — which includes a hidden warning for Second Life too. – WJA

We’re seeing an uptick in new users on the Second Life subreddit, some specifically mention having come from IMVU. There has been something of an exodus going on the last few years that might have stepped up in our direction lately. Curiosity got the better of me, so down the rabbit hole I went.* While I am not an expert on IMVU, I hope my observations provide an informed perspective, yet my impressions may contain mistakes and misconceptions (and I welcome any feedback).

For Second Life users unfamiliar: IMVU is a more socially focused platform, designed around a chatroom-based structure and social mechanics. A notable difference is that avatars can’t freely walk and must instead pick from specific predetermined places to sit or pose, an open world skipped in favor of only hosting social destinations.

The entire platform is a series of chat rooms of various flavors, some made by the operators, most made by the users. There’s shopping, mini-games, and an Instagram-style feed. Fundamentally, not much is going on aside from dressing up, posting and reacting to thirst on the feeds, hanging out, chatting, and engaging in many forms of roleplay. Family groups (including adopted child-like avatars) form a core social foundation with a range of themes and styles springing from that. This includes a considerable amount of adult and kink activity (with illicit ‘market rooms’ known for black market content), combat, furries, holding court, and the occasional coven for the obligatory vampires.

Basically, all the stuff we do [in SL], for all of the same reasons… with less walking. So, while their avatars do have legs, they don’t get out much.

I’ve done some research into IMVU community spaces online, and the following issues are mentioned frequently:

 

 

  • VIP (their version of SL Premium) was split into 4 membership tiers, separate for both desktop and mobile, increasing the cost to participate and create.
  • Constant upsell attempts through aggressive client spam.
  • Presence of actual minors.
  • Struggling creators leaving, citing the high cost of doing business and membership requirements.
  • Accusations that staff-player relationships focus on big winners & influencers to the point of corrupting policy & governance.
  • Lack of governance accountability, arbitrary bans, and perceived lack of fairness or understanding.
  • Limited ways to resolve billing issues result in lost accounts and bans.
  • Lack of chat in chat rooms & parked (AFK) avatars.
  • Plummeting online population.
  • Actual bots spamming the feeds [see image at right] 
  • Suggestions of company employees acting as users & astroturfing.
  • NFTs (that failed to take hold as hoped).
  • Broadly unpopular “dumbed down” web client.
  • Lack of community representation in marketing, especially…
  • Shame surrounding the adult Access Pass (AP) community, despite it being the biggest, most loyal, and most profitable.
  • Replacing the one-time payment Access Pass (AP) with a monthly subscription (AP+).

IMVU bot chatIn summary, what seems to have happened is a corporate-led desire to refresh the platform, focusing on a younger generation of users, leading with a simpler, easier client, mobile focus, and gradually adding more monetization. There have been surveys to gauge end-user sentiment and reactions, but these are criticized for using leading questions to guide respondents to management’s desired answer. There is an observed lack of PR, marketing, and a disconnect between the platform’s policies and support/governance actions.

The IMVU YouTube channel has some pretty abysmal viewing figures, many of their user story feature pieces having hundreds (hundreds!) of views after a year of being published. Marketing seems to be generally limited to keyword squatting on App Store search terms (including “Second Life”).

Creators have been bailing for a while due to fees, perceived lack of protection from content theft, and an uneven/unfair slant to market operations from both the platform and other users gaming the system.

The social community has broadly tanked with multiple stacked factors in play: The user base very much views the platform as an over-18s ‘adults-only’ space. The presence of actual minors (some having acquired an adult Access Pass) and adult content in general spaces make the platform feel unsafe for everyone. Heavily loaded terms like ‘infested’ are thrown about, with no possible middle ground.

A strong mobile focus has certainly made the platform accessible to the under-18 demographic, but the established user base wants nothing to do with them, especially in adult spaces.

A recently pushed update to the chat system very imperfectly censors chat everywhere (public GA spaces, private AP, and private messages) in what appears to be an attempt to police the broader ToS & community standards. This, combined with fears about the company keeping & preserving conversation logs, has users wondering why they should bother saying anything at all.

All combined, the effect has been to silence active participation. No one talks, giving the impression chat rooms are empty, with avatars apparently ‘parked’ boosting conversation tourism (users trawling the platform wishing to find an active conversation rather than start one). Why talk to someone who just appeared and isn’t going to stay anyway?

The community perception is that IMVU is socially dead. Reduced to an Instagram-style ‘smash or pass’ feed with an avatar store, users parked in public rooms acting as baited lures to engage elsewhere (typically Discord), actual children trying to get in on the fun while the operators deliberately look the other way, wishing they had Roblox’s fortunes.

Second Life is mentioned from time to time, either as the place people have moved on to, or as being hard and having all the same problems.

IMVU has some distinct usability and accessibility advantages over SL. It’s a tighter experience and, therefore, easier to engage with, especially on a limited mobile device. The system requirements are far lower, and complaints about performance are few and far between. There is potential for the time between login and a meaningful interaction to be far lower than SL can ever manage. On the flip side, if Discord ever integrates 3D avatars and someplace for them to sit, the entire platform could become irrelevant overnight.

My impression is the bulk of the user base appears to be mobile, which accounts for the population count, some of the interest in our own mobile client, and the high numbers of broadly unwelcome actual minors.

IMVU is a simpler platform, capable of evolving and adapting far faster than Second Life. Yet, its recent trajectory and much of the social commentary I’ve encountered feel eerily familiar—relevant and foreboding. A world without liminal spaces left feeling entirely so.

The two platforms are very different in many ways, but socially, the core interests are exactly the same. Everything people do in SL socially they do in IMVU with the same motivations. Social locations in SL tend to mirror the way IMVU works and deliberately eschew all the extras SL offers. 

If the end result is avatars sitting around chatting, how they got into the seats is immaterial. Second Life’s social and roleplay scene, for example, is on the rocks. Myself and a friend just did a deep dive into the Star Wars RP scene in SL as a non- Adult passtime and it’s shocking: A few sim owners hanging on due to sunk cost and discord servers full of people complaining there is no roleplay anymore.

I’m really not sure we in Second Life are on a different path from IMVU, or that what’s different about SL changes the ultimate outcome. 

*NOTE: These insights are based on compiled sentiment from reading posts on IMVU’s Reddit community, their forums, and conversations with several regular IMVU users. To protect their identify, I’m not directly linking to specific discussion threads.

What’s your take on Coffee’s take, readers? I’d especially love IMVU users past and present to weigh in. I’m also contacting IMVU the company so they have a chance to reply, if desired.

Have a great week from all of us at Zoha Islands/Fruit Islands