...reflections on the road

As I prepare to land on the southern shore of my first continent, I reflect back on the 136 sims I have wandered over to get to this point.

All in all, it has been fun, though sometimes a bit arduous. The people I have met along the way have generally been friendly and warm. Many of the people I have met have expressed interest in my journey, and have been most hospitable. Others have perhaps tolerated me. I only recall a couple of negative experiences, but with hindsight they were also learning experiences. I'm just surprised, and perhaps a bit disappointed, that I haven't been shot at yet. I was certain that would have happened by now.

One thing that has been troubling me is privacy within 'private' estates. Banlines and security orbs make it clear strangers are not welcome, but a recent question I posed on SL Blogs has taught me that many landowners who do not install security do not welcome strangers on their patch. The thought of someone in their houses without permission is as abhorrrant to them as a trespasser  in their RL homes. While I find the SL-RL comparison is stretching it a bit, (if you leave your land unsecured you have to accept the inevitability of the occassional harmless stickybeak... hardly the crime of the century... and if that fact of Second Life greatly upsets you, you're probably taking this thing waaaaay too seriously), I have decided not to break into houses that I assume to be private. Though I've only done it a few times (primarily out of boredom), I shall assume that folk do not want uninvited hobos in their kitchen and quickly pass by.

One commenter on the forum who disapproves of my adventure said "Merely walking through one parcel at a time seems a most inefficient way to go about things". When I picked myself up off the floor from laughing, I thought, "Then why does LL bother having a map?" Inefficiency is my middle name, and I'm loving it!

Looking back on my journey so far I can make some preliminary conclusions and estimates about my experience and SL in general.

In my experience;

• 4% of sims have been outstanding
• 60% of sims have been interesting
• 32% of sims have been uninteresting
• 4% of sims have been unavailable

• 70% of the people I have met have been friendly
• 28% of the peope I have met have ignored me
• 2% of the people I have met have been hostile

As always, 100% of my friends have been awesome!

All in all, it's been a pleasant trip. The advice I received before starting out led me to believe the road would be bumpier and more hostile. I'm pleased to annouce they were incorrect.

Time to hit the west continent and head north. I am now the proud owner of a free ATV (thanks to Patience), and I'm am glad to hear roads traverse the mainland, which should make navigation easier. Counting sims will be a bitch though. Wish me luck!