Not very well, actually. Don't get me wrong, we hung in there and we made do, because that was what was required for the sim to be born a few months before Eacen and I arrived. We did the best with what we had to keep the sim alive. Because, we three have a deep love for our land. We took the (current) Seven Isles from a flat piece of land, made peaks and valleys, found water, and raised trees and plants.
- Hard to believe this is what the Sim looked like at the begining.
Hard to believe this is what it looked like during it's birthing process...
We used to be so tight on prims, that at any given moment, someone could have rezzed their hair to make a copy, and sent belongings back to their owners. Believe it or not, around the time we upgraded we were down to one hundred available prims. One Hundred!
Up until that point many visitors moaned that we lacked the power to run a proper RP, and they were right. Of course, we were also lacking in many other things that makes an RP successful. We had a plot but no other admins, no committed players. People have a way of volunteering for things like administration, and showing up to play... and then not following through.
Initially, The Seven Isles saw a fantastic jump in participation, a few weeks later we were awed and humbled by being featured in the destination guide. Winter was very quiet, and so slow that many people (myself included) worried about the Sim's demise. But we pulled through, and then *finally* kicked off the skeleton of the RP storyline. People were a little slow to realize that disasters were happening right in front of their eyes, but once they did It was epic, and beautiful and it really showed the potential we have as an RP sim. Many people came to us and said it was the best they had ever been in. It was the best I had ever been in, too.
But it was very hard work for us three elders, (who also build, socialize, and organize events when we have the time) to run that start on our own. After all, we all have families, and jobs, and lives outside of Second Life. By the time we reached the peak of the story, we three were left exhausted, but optimistic that now the ball was rolling and the players now had a ball to play with.
If only someone would... you know... bend over and pick up the ball now that we got it rolling, and maybe throw it to one another and Roleplay without our constant guidance and direction. I will be blunt. I am dissapointed that all that work has changed very little.
People (bless them) seem to want us to hold their hands, but our hands are already *so* full just keeping it all running.
I was told recently by a member (who has actually done something to spark activity on the sim without our prompting, which is most awesome) that this has been a common rp sim problem in many sims he had visited. Everyone stands around with their thumb up their bum, waiting for something to happen, and when it doesn't they find something else to do. It means they miss the opportunities To RP when something *does* happen, or those opportunities just don't happen, because why do anything when no one is around to see it?
It is a frustrating cycle. I wish more people understood that if they want to RP, (on any sim, not just ours) they have to take some initiative to engage, interact, and allow themselves to grow.
Now, don't get me wrong, I do not intend to give up on The Seven Isles, but any Sim owner(s) who does not question whether things will be viable in the long term when they do not make tier that month, is lying.
Once again, I am going to be blunt: It is a lot of responsibility for me (I won't speak for the other elders, they have voices of their own) to log in and find that what members we have that are willing to stay around and RP, still depend on us for everything.
I do not think that what we need is a bunch of admins herding players around like sheep. We are often commended for our lack of Drama, No intimidating authority and lack of rigid rules, probably because we do not have a lot of Admins.
But I have to say, with some disappointment, that I thought providing our people with a full sim, objects to perform their trade with, and plenty of things to do most people still want us to hold their hands and tell them a story. No one wants to make their own story, and allow others to make a community story with them.
I also have to say this. I know it can be done. A few weeks ago Eacen and I took a break from our main avatars, and jumped into two child avatars we created to help with a project that (surprise) someone abandoned. We wanted to see just how much RP one could create for themselves with little or no help.
We had a blast! We built a steam powered wagon that we drove around the sim at high speeds.
We took a row boat to the top of the lighthouse, and jumped off the top. We flew kites, coloured, climbed mountains, discovered treasure under the sea.
(it was a crate of mayonnaise, sadly) We swam, and banged on drums.
We quaked in the fear of an Unseelie Fae visitor, and ran away from a strange man speaking a language that frightened us. We even "borrowed" items from the blacksmith's right under the noses of people waiting for something to happen.
Pete, who is always there was even game. We played a drinking game with him where 1 shot with our toy arrows, meant we would buy him 1 shot. He loved it!
Not content to play darts, we put our own spin on the game
We even RPed our afternoon nap.
In a week, Eacen and I created plenty of RP for ourselves, and this was without interacting with one other person. (not a single adult stopped us to warn us we were up to no good, or could get hurt.) Imagine what could have been done if people just engaged, and added their own elements that week. Now, keep in mind that the child avatars have *less* to do than the adults in our sim, and yet we did so much that week. Surely, the grownups can too. Can't they?
and on that, I will end with a rhetorical question.
What do you want to do in the Seven Isles?
What is stopping you?
Certainly not the Elders.
Peace and love,
Korinna.
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