Americans have recently celebrated Thanksgiving, and it actually made me think of a parable of sorts. Bear with me, here.
There was once a large family, who traditionally celebrated the Thanksgiving feast at Grandma’s dining table. Grandma would spend two days preparing the main courses—turkey, stuffing, candied yams, dinner rolls, pumpkin pies, and green bean casserole—and our five aunts and uncles would bring side dishes like salad, deviled eggs, corn, gelatin, and cranberry cobbler. With so much food and such a big family gathered together, Thanksgiving was a resounding success every year.
Then one year, our aunts and uncles decided that although they did love their mother and appreciate her Thanksgiving efforts, they were getting a bit bored with the predictability and repetition of the meals. Each of our aunts and uncles got the idea to host their own Thanksgiving feast, each with a slightly different menu that was a variation of Grandma’s traditional main courses. Aunt Margaret, for instance, knew that Grandma’s green bean casserole was never popular, and so she replaced it with stuffed bell peppers. Surely everyone would prefer stuffed bell peppers, and celebrate Thanksgiving at her house! Aunt Rheba was a creative woman with many interesting ideas, and she was able to obtain an emu as the main course, rather than a turkey. Surely everyone would come to her house for Thanksgiving, because she was offering them something completely new and different! Uncle Roger was a health-conscious man who cooked his Thanksgiving feast without butter or salt, and using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. He was going to prove that you could still have a delicious banquet without all the fat. Surely everyone would celebrate Thanksgiving at his house, where they could eat a healthy and satisfying meal without feeling guilty!
Thanksgiving Day came and our aunts and uncles each prepared their own feasts at their own homes, and Grandma as well prepared her annual feast at her home. In every house, there was a lot of food… but not a lot of people. Only our aunts, uncles, and their children partook of their own feasts. And Grandma… well, since Grandpa was no longer with us, she sat alone on Thanksgiving Day with a table full of food that was quickly growing cold. Aunt Rheba called Uncle Roger and asked why he didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving at her house. “I had my own feast to attend. Why didn’t you come to my house?” he replied. Uncles and aunts called one another asking the same question, and the answer was always “I had my own feast to attend”. When Grandma called her children and asked why they didn’t show up for Thanksgiving, they gave the same answer.
And so, our aunts and uncles wasted a lot of their efforts, preparing a banquet that only their spouses and children attended. Too much food was made—more than each family could possibly eat—and so a lot of it went into the trash eventually. And that year, Thanksgiving was very lonely for everyone.
The family vowed never to repeat this fiasco again. They wanted to be together, most of all. Secondly, they all wanted something a little different at the feast, and a chance to shine and show off their culinary creativity. For the next year, they planned to gather at Grandma’s house as usual. Aunt Margaret convinced her mother that they could leave out the green bean casserole this year, replacing it instead with stuffed bell peppers which she would provide. Uncle Roger baked a low-carb sugar-free pumpkin pie, for those who wanted such an alternative. Aunt Rheba roasted her own emu at home and brought a portion of it to Grandma’s house. And so on it went, so there was a lot more variety on the dining table that year. More important than the variety of food available, though, was the fact that everyone was together.
Owning land in Second Life—whether a parcel or an entire simulator—is a lot like hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. You provide something, and you hope people come and enjoy it. Let’s just use the ubiquitous Second Life club as an example. Your club is your Thanksgiving feast. Your turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie are your dance balls, DJ, and the building itself. Aunt Margaret is a DJ who plays big band and swing, and decides to start her own club themed solely after such an era. Uncle Roger is someone who thinks clubs have too many particles and scripts lagging the place, so he starts his own low-lag club. Aunt Rheba is someone who is full of radical and novel ideas, but without her own land to implement them. These people could convene at “Grandma’s” club, and pool their talents and ideas for the enjoyment of all. The club could have an occasional “Big Band Night” where Aunt Margaret would DJ. Uncle Roger could help the club owners find scripts that don’t lag as much. And Aunt Rheba could make suggestions for new and unique events or layout of the club.
In Second Life, it’s quite easy for someone to own or rent land for whatever purpose. And it may be fun establishing your own club or shop and doing things the way you like. But then the consumers are spread thin among a huge supply of providers and entertainers, just like when everyone hosts Thanksgiving dinner at their own houses. It is a lot of effort on the parts of the land owners, to prepare a “feast” for a large audience. And a lot of that effort is wasted, because the audience ends up being just the owners’ handful of friends. It’s not just effort that is wasted, either. Think of the money the land owners pay to Linden Lab every month, just to entertain or serve a small cluster of people. If it’s more important to gather everyone together, then why not bring your talents and offerings to Grandma’s table? There would then be a nice variety of entertainment, and all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and children would meet and enjoy the company.
