I first walked the SecondLife grid a little over 2 years ago. Introduced by a friend I was almost instantly hooked. Like many I lapped up the SecondLife experience. Did all the right things and even the 'in' things. Now almost 2 years later, I'm seriously considering leaving.

I started in the virtual world by working in a fairly successful club. At this place I found many of the very good friends I have now. When this club moved to it's own sim I was able to have my first taste of a virtual home. I, at the time played SL with my RL partner. We were in a position were RL living together was impossible and for a moment, we could capture the ability to live together in sl, it perhaps isn't RL but it was the closest we had. I spent 5 happy months 'working' in my friendly 'pub up the road' and living in my beautifully manicured home with my partner. I progressed with her to a rented 1/4 sim where we grew our home.

Suddenly my partner passed away, and in the very tricky, and complex real live situation I was able to find sanctuary in my secondlife. A small number of friends knew about our relationship, and as the shocking news spread of her death, more and more were told. I was unable to lean on many people in RL because of the complexity of this relationship, however unquestioningly our SecondLife friends offered a support network that was unimaginable. I can genuinely say that without this unconditional support, I wouldn't have been where I am now, RL or SL.

In order to fill my days with things I began to write for a well known news site. I also began to estate manage a friends sim. During this time I was re-introducted to someone I'd known at the old club - Aimee Trescothick. Aimee helped with the rental sim and we found and grew our friendship. Using the medium of SecondLife we both realised that we fitted together. We explored together, did work together, had fun together, spent time with friends together. Ultimately we moved in together in SL and met in RL.

The love you imagine, the kind that sells millions of dollars worth of tickets at the box offices around the world, I was exceptionally lucky to find. We discovered we fitted together in RL also. I owe SecondLife an awful lot; the support network, the confidence building and of course the love of a woman.

I learned in SecondLife how to write. I know that sounds rather strange, but writing is something I'd never tried before. SecondLife gave me the confidence to try, I found it was something that gave me enjoyment. From the news site I founded Rez Magazine with Voodoo. Rez is a passion of mine, a truly independent medium for us to write about many things in SL. It gives me the freedom to 'be my own boss' and to cover the things I want too in the way I want too. I opened my Rez Office on the 1/4 sim in a building made by Aimee. Together it was a culmination of lots of work.

From the 1/4 sim, we moved to a rented OpenSpace Sim. The main purpose of this sim would be our home. It might be pixels held on a server in San Francisco but hitting the 'go home' button actually means something. To climb into bed and virtually cuddle, means something. Spending time perfecting the look of home, means something. It is called Your World, Your Imagination, and the ability to create your 'dream home' here, for me at least, is exceptionally appealing and fundamentally needed. We would create our home, but we would firstly create our dream wedding setting. Having complete control on this island, we would take time to create the area that we wanted to marry in. To virtually stand up there and in-front of the collected friends speak of our love for each other. Sounds perfectly twee doesn't, but after-all isn't that the beauty of secondlife?

Aimee and I spent 6 months creating what WE wanted. Arranging the finer details, and asking the relevant people if they would do us the honor of being our bridesmaids, reverend, best man, or the guy who gives (a) bride away. The invites were beautifully crafted and sent out, the flickr group created, even a windlight recommended preset has been made. Two weeks before our 'I Dos' Linden Lab announce the changes in Open Space pricing.

In my two year existence as Trinity Dechou I have been in the middle of drama on a few occasions. VAT price changes, club related drama, estate drama, recently IP theft (unfounded) allegations and now this. I love SecondLife, I love the people in SecondLife. I love the beauty of SecondLife. I love the creation in SecondLife. However, all this drama, all this stress.... isn't this supposed to be fun? It is no longer fun.

In the last two years I remember LL increasing the private estate tier rates, introducing VAT and now this. You will never own your land, you might think you do, but the power belongs to the self appointed Linden Gods. We fight for what we love, we fight for what we believe in; there is only so much fight in us all and I think I've run out of fight.

At this moment there is hysteria and panic. Many people are 'homeless'. Linden Lab did that, no one else. I see no benefit of their action other than making many residents homeless and even questioning their life here. The powers that be have effectively killed off many of their residents and murdered the land market with one fell swoop.

I do consider leaving, strongly. However a few things hold me here at the moment. Rez Magazine is one, but how long before LL govern the freedom of speech, surely it's within their mandate (somewhere). Friends of course being another. I owe so much to these people, my developed relationships, the people who have touched my heart, and hopefully the hearts I have touched. It would be with a VERY heavy heart I pressed logout for that last time, believe me. Thankfully Aimee and I are more than SL, and we don't need it. It would change our relationship, as it is still heavily used as a way to spend time together in the evenings but it's not essential.

In a nutshell, LL have sucked the enjoyment out of SecondLife over the past two years. The harsh reality that these people can do as they please with no way for us lowly residents to shape the change.

IF I stay it will be for my friends, not Linden Lab.


This is my story, as the change in Linden policy is not just a matter of prices and budgets, but people and their lives. If you would like to share your story, please leave a comment