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second life
August 2009 
Our First Experiment - "Being Marooned!"
Posted on Jul 2nd, 2008
by 
asecondlifediary
asecondlifediary
AFTER SOME DISCUSSION regarding whether this whole Intentional Community idea is for real or just pretend, some of our group decided last weekend that we would commit to only being on our island whenever we were in Second Life. I especially wanted to experience what it would be like to be 'marooned' and having to survive on just what we had with us.
For as long as I've been in SL (which is just over a year now), I've come across people who say, "It's only a game!" but for me, it's real. This is the life I would love to live. A life of endless possibilities and just imagining something and then having it come true (albeit virtually).
Here are some of the (edited) points made by members of our community at our meeting after Cal had distributed a draft "Principles Document" he had prepared. Bear in mind that there is sometimes a bit of 'chat lag' so that someone can make a comment, and it might take awhile for people's response to appear on the screen for others to read.
This, I think, was a pivotal conversation for us to have:
Mik: Well I for one still find it hard to figure out HOW translating some of these principles will actually work in a world like Second Life. The entertainment bit I get, but it only takes one idiot to mess up a consensus.
Soj: My impression is certainly positive--I like the general tenor and the points made. I will take issue with some of the details.
Mik: the bit where it says "communities do not need artificial environments" ....bit of a misnomer perhaps given we are IN an artificial environment right here and now huh?
Cal: no you're right mik -- bad wording but you know what i mean. I meant the global term for 'tar and cement'.
Cal: what i'm trying to get at here is something we can show to visitors that says 'What We're About', what we stand for and also helps guide what we talk about each week and how we behave here in between
Gem: overall- great- I came here for company( Intelligent)- and to learn- it works for me.
Arch: my main point boils down to the discussion harps and I are having on Ning
Mia: Yes, that's where I have some 'issues/points' too Arch ... that distinction between real life representation and second life.
Mia: I was wanting to recreate society and just leave out all the irrelevant parts in here.
Arch: my point is about 'sustainability'... as long as we put outside money into SL... without it giving that back... it's a bit like buying food in the store
Mik: I'm wondering if its not all back to front you know
Mia: I think that's where we started to go off the rails a bit earlier Cal - that eagerness to make ourselves a showcase ....
Mia: We should create the society / model and then showcase it ..... and that might take a year for us to be 'ready'.
Gem: and surely a cohesive society works better for all
Soj: Yes, I like the idea of a statement of purpose. Something we can show to each other and others--but we must all have some sort of common understanding of it, interpretation.
Cal: we would show visitors the island of course, but then i think we need to tell them This is What We Stand For
Mia: Yes ... and that's the hard part! lol
Mik: and dear Cal .... not all of us agree on what we stand for here yet... :)
Mia: Let's go around the circle again and once more reiterate what we would like to see happen here.
Cal: I tried to word the Draft Principles generally, but if we disagree that's what we need to discuss and reach consensus on.
Soj: Yes, we need discussion. I don't think we should worry about when we are ready to showcase.
Mik: what you see for the real world is really really hard for me to grasp as a viable concept for in here.
Soj: and I can grasp half of it
Mia: Basically, it comes down to "How we would like to live our lives" - regardless of whether it's real world or second life. Doesn't it?
Mik: which is basically the spiritual philosophy of a tribe I guess Mia
Mik: the founding principles of a tribe are mostly about what the tribe BELIEVE in
Cal: If we were in the Elf lands or Gor lands there would be certain principles that would affect our behaviour...that's what we need to find for this 'tribe'
Arch: yes, I agree to that Cal
Cal: I agree mik..but it's what we believe reflected in how we 'live'
Mik: yes both work simultaneously
Mia: Okay, what's our over riding principle? The banner we live under?
Soj: I think it starts from "How we would like to live our lives" , but has to be something we know how to interpret in terms of SL.
Cal: I think in a previous meeting, we called it "Living Naturally"
Gem : tolerance????
Mik: The ethical development of Life?
Mia: Yes, that's part of it Gem.
Soj: i like those
Mia: Ethics, certainly.
Cal: now we're getting somewhere
Arch: 'naturally' is a bit of a weird word for SL
Mia: Not over-burdening ourselves with stuff.
Arch: I would prefer self reliant
Mia: Living Simply? Does that sound better?
Arch: yes
Soj: Living well means living well in the world (nature) and with others (harmoniously, ethically, with respect and compassion, ...).
Mia: Self reliant is another good principle to have.
Mik: hear hear soj
Arch: self sustaining would be my goal
Cal : I like that soj
Mia: Living A Simple Life, Well
Cal: and self-sustaining and self-reliant i like too, arch
Soj: Self-sustaining might be part of living well in nature and in society.
Mia: How can we be self-sustaining here?
Cal: let's capture all this and not try to reduce it to a slogan
Mik: so in HERE in Second Life ...forgetting or putting aside for a moment the notion of transference to the first world..... what does that actually mean?
Mia: What does self-sustainability mean here?
Cal: we're self-sustaining by not using resources that have to come from outside the island
Mia: eventually, everything here will be built by us and gradually replaced as we become more skilled.
There was some discussion about the actual ownership of the island and whether people felt it was necessary for everyone to feel a sense of 'financial ownership', but the general consensus was that if went with the precept that this is an island we have been shipwrecked on, the issue of ownership doesn't come into it.
Mik: I agree with Arch that if we philosophically want to demonstrate self-sustainability...we need to self generate lindens independent of our own real world finances
Soj: Self-sustainability is an interesting goal, but how can you do it here or in RL? Very difficult, either way. Should we be religious about it, or shift slowly in that direction?
Mia: Basically, my primary objective is to create a new kind of society. Where we start off having our basic needs met.
Gem: But that will evolve
Mik: it will. like any tribe that comes together, whether by choice or not
Mik: are we actually all good friends here? do we all really know and care about one another? do we want the best for each other?
Arch: if we were to stick to the castaway idea
Cal: mik has a point
Arch: maybe it would help for us all to be actually 'trapped' here like mik (Mik has been having some technical difficulties which mean she has to log off and on each time she wants to teleport anywhere).
Cal: it's pretty easy to survive in a paradise, but we still have the challenge of not really knowing and trusting each other...yet
Arch: no chances to go shopping ^^
Mia: That's an interesting suggestion .... perhaps we should all REALLY be trapped here to reinforce the experience of having to be self-reliant.
Soj: I'm having trouble thinking about all this because I am constantly alternating between two modes: (1) let's do it for real--such as learning how to work together; and (2) "let's pretend", such as creating an agricultural economy, building shelters, etc.
Mik: actually soj...I'm inclined to suggest forget trying to make this REAL for now, as in transferring the concept from SL to real life and just learn how to like and get along with strangers first.
Mia: Okay ... so there's the crux of the issue ... are we doing this for REAL or PRETEND?
Mia : I personally like the idea of being marooned here ...
Cal: a bit of both i think...we've got to try not to take this TOO seriously. i wouldn't want to say to everyone here you can't go anywhere else in SL
Mia: No ... but we can voluntarily commit to the 'experiment'
Cal: but while we're here we should pretend that this is all we have
Mia: I think it's a really interesting exercise
Gem: It could get lonely if there is no one here
Mik: oh hey....just try not being able to TP anywhere for a week...you will be frustrated I guarantee you
Arch: well... my personal strategy of bootstrapping my SL existence... is taking it quite for 'real'
Mia : But that's also an interesting point Gem ... being here on your own ...
Cal: maybe what we need to PRACTICE most is learning much more about each other
Mia: What about if we committed to it for say, one month. Just so we can experience that feeling of being marooned with what we have and being thrown back on to our own resources to survive.
Mik: what it will "force" are the bonds of relationships with group members I think
Soj: Well, if we're going to pretend we are marooned, what are the rules of the game? Can I use classes in SL? Can I use the web? Can I visit other lands? Can I spend dollars to upload images? Can I invite visitors? Can I shop in SL? Freebies?
Arch : wait a sec people... no one can be actually be marooned in SL... either I simply don't log on or I use an alt to go elsewhere
Cal: soj, the marooned stuff would only apply while we are HERE in PP
Mia : I don't ever see SL as a 'game' Soj .... only as a means of expressing myself.
Mia : That's the whole point of being MAROONED ... you don't go anywhere else. This becomes your whole world. Whenever we come online, this is where we are.
Cal: if we're going to learn to know each other better we need to commit to more than one hour a week together though. (Which is when most people come together for our weekly meetings).
Cal: mia, i don't think many of us will go for that
Mik: that's a personal commitment for each person to make and one that must not be forced upon them I think
Soj: But it is a game if you want others to share a "let's pretend" attitude, such as let's pretend we are gathering food to eat.
Mik: natural development is exactly that
Mia: No, I'm not trying to force it upon anyone ... I'm only throwing it out there as a "let's see how we go with this kind of challenge"
Gem : yes- Thats my point- I'm here at odd hours- like most people and if there is no one here- it defeats the purpose of a tribe!
Cal: right..what if we found three times a week where we could PRACTICE being a tribe together, as if we had been marooned together
Arch: besides Gem just brought up a real point: we are NOT always here and to get to be a tribe.. we need to be together
Soj: I'm "game". I don't know where it will go, but I expect I'll enjoy it. It will be hard to find common times.
Soj: We're not really ready to agree to a purpose and set of principles for our community. While we generally agree with the gist of it--living a simpler life, in greater harmony with the world and society--it's damned hard to say how that applies to a community in SL. So for now we are content with learning how to be together and getting to know each other better. Pretending we're marooned is a way to start to do that.
Of course there were other things we talked about and we even had a game of "Two Truths and A Lie" just to get to know one another, which everyone enjoyed as a 'getting to know you' exercise.
More news next week.
Access: Public
