Well this is it. As of this week, I have been in Second Life for five years. FIVE YEARS. My first account — Tillman Terra — was created in the first week of September, 2003. I abandoned that a few days later because I was spending several hours a day exploring SL, and I didn’t want to be an SL addict. On September 6, 2003, I came back to SL and created Cubey Terra, and I never left.
Five years later, I’ve built countless gadgets and vehicles, founded two airports, and created a virtual franchise with hundreds of locations across the grid. I spent a short time as a Linden liaison and cleaned up way too many replicators and giant penises. I tried to boost interest in SL aviation, and in doing so I gained many new friends, and many new competitors. I took fire from some of the most irrational, vitriolic trolls SL has ever produced, and then learned that trolls really don’t matter (don’t feed trolls). I’ve been mentioned and interviewed in various magazines and newspapers, but managed to escape the scandal rags. I’ve transitioned from a hobby income from my SL creations to a full-time business. I’ve also found the limits of SL in the fragility of the platform.
It’s been a strange five years, and it’s taken my real life in a direction I could never have expected. I just want to thank every Second Lifer for the most remarkable five years of my life.
Thank you.