Second Life - the definitive explanation, courtesy of Amazon

The link to the Second Life Insider comes thanks to an Aimee Weber post over at the SecondCitizen.com forums. Thanks, Aimee, it's like getting the paper delivered to my home.

For only $18.89 over at Amazon.com, anyone can purchose Second Life: The Official Guide by Michael Rymaszewski. This guide purports to explain in detail the totality of SL's "rich and multilayered virtual world", including the all-encompassing explanation of "how it works", the grid geography, SL society and the "written and unwritten rules" governing the metaverse. The book goes on to describe creating and customizing an av, building, and...gasp....making money! The Amazon blurb even suggests that the guide will be able to discuss ways to enjoy SL more in the section entitled "Success in Second Life". In order for LL to get proper marketing of the High Brow SL of the Academics and Uber-Geeks, there is a description of "fascinating" events and how SLers are using the world for things like business and training. As with all gaming guides, you get a glossary, a quick-reference, and resource appendices; however, this SL specific book also comes with special animations, character templates (I don't know what they mean by this, but probably a how-to on good starting stats for your newly created Cleric or possibly the clothing and av creation templates that are provided for free by a number of solid citizens), and some Linden created textures exclusive to this guide. Best of all, the disc has a guided tour of the game installation for the technophobes and a code for a special inworld object.

The guide is written by a successful and prolific game guide author and will surely provide some value. My question is just exactly how the societal aspects can be definitively answered in this format. There certainly are no specific unwritten rules that are common across the entire grid, though I suppose majority rules in these instances. That majority will hold further sway as more and more people turn to sources like these for an understanding of SL. What was once a learning on the fly experience is turned into a prepackaged society. The fringe that make up some of the most astonishing (for good and bad) aspects of SL are further marginalized as people are told upfront what the "rules" and "unwritten rules" are, rather than allowing people to find places inworld that fit their idea of what those rules are. Your world, your imagination as explained to you by Mr. Rymaszewski. I haven't read the guide, maybe it will be spot on. I have my doubts, given the complexity and the diversity of the grid.

What of LL's focus? The marketing machine rolls on, while the world, at times, appears to be regressing. The Mentors seem to be floundering, at least from an outsider perspective, the official forums are all but gone and LL's wiki page and other documentation were never that robust. As such, there is a need for new users to have something more helpful as they embark on their Second Lifes. I'm not sure this guide is the answer. The vision of the future online is being driven by the strategies of the past. Perhaps there was no other way. I don't believe this, particularly in this industry.

I don't fault LL for trying to go the route of the successful mult-iuser virtual environments on the scene, but it is still a bit saddening as it happens in the most commercial of ways - a game guide on Amazon.com. Aimee Weber correctly pointed out the mismatch of the game guide versus the LL stance on the non-game platform, but the naming convention is the least of my bothers compared to the actual morphing of SL into what I was trying to avoid when I arrived at on the grid, as well as seeing The Lab take the worst of serious commercial business practice to heart, while I hear tales at this very moment of another Wednesday software update gone wrong.