Second Lifers Smeet In Chicago

800 fans attend the Second Life Community Convention in Chicago and emerge from behind the avatars to meet in the flesh.

It was sold out. This weekend, 800 major Second Life fans got together – in the flesh, not virtually – at the Hilton Chicago for the third Second Life Community Convention, of SLCC. It was a chance for the hardcore to meet – orsmeet, to use the word coined at the first convention. Those who couldn’t attend to could everything on a video stream – in Second Life, ofcourse.  

Those in attendance obviously had no worries about emerging from behind their avatars to encounter others just as avid about another reality as they are.

“You build different magic,” said Randal Moss, the convention’s executive director. “When people make that connection, there’s an instant recognition of identities: ‘Oh my goodness! You’re Fuzzy Bunny Slippers!’

The convention covered four main topics – education, social events, business and ‘machinima,’ there term Second Lifers use for in-game video making. Within those, they were forced to address some very real life concerns, such as gambling and banking in Second Life, and how it can work with American and international laws.

Second Life has nine million residents, as users are called. However, according to recent surveys, that figure might be a little misleading. Over the last 60 days, only 1.6 million people havelogged on, and at any one time around 40,000 will be in the game.