I was once asked ....

... 'Why do you do this?'; the question followed a lengthy and interesting conversation with a new resident. I remember feeling completely confident as I sent my fingers flying toward the keys ... 'I know this ...' the confidence faded as my fingers landed on the keys 'I must know this ...' as I waited expectantly for the answer to pop into my head .... what I typed was 'I know we enjoy what we do ... we enjoy seeing other people have fun on the Sim ... Errrmmm...'.

The conversation went on for a while and ended as so many did with pleasantries and a good feeling of having met another nice person. What the question did do though was leave an echo in my mind ... 'Why do we do this?'.

Ultimately it is a complex question which has a lot to do with the way both Babs and I are in Real Life. We are helpful people if a little 'Stressy' at times ... LOLOL ... and we are old enough to realise that everyone we meet is a unique individual who needs to be understood and respected for who they are this is easy for us as we enjoy meeting people.

Other reasons are simple to see; it is a fun and absorbing hobby which rarely has a boring moment and as a playground for imagination it is superb. I suspect that one of the things about owning and running the Sims on the OneFinalDarkness Estate which also appeals to each of us is being able to do exactly what we want and watch while other people ratify our choices by choosing to spend time on the Sims and give us positive feedback on things we implement. Perhaps counter intuitively though neither of us are control freaks we like things to be right but each of us can accept that sometimes things don't go according to plan!!

In more recent months with the pressure rising on everyone from the staggering global economy I suspect many Sim owners have considered pulling the plug on the substantial financial drain that owning Sims in reality is. Babs and I have discussed the future of OneFinalDarkness and Oceans End on a number of occasions with both our enthusiasts heads on and our Real Life business heads on ... so far we have decided that as a hobby we can sustain the costs and will continue to do so for as long as we can but clearly this is another way to understand the question that was posed to me. I am sure if any Second Life resident actually paused for a moment while browsing for the latest fashions or took a breather from a marauding dragon inside a magical shield they would realise that Second Life would not be the rich and immensely compelling and immersive place it is without the time, inspiration and financial commitment of the hundreds of Sim and business owners ... soooo ... perhaps the best and fullest answer to the question 'Why do you do it?' would be ... We do it for you!! Enjoy!!

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