Second Life

After setting up my Second Life account I promptly forgot my password and was unable to log in. After 10 minutes of attempting to guess my own password, I clicked on the "forgot password link" assuming that it would be a painless process to re-set my Second Life account's password. What unfolded was an interesting foray into part of the security policy of Second Life.

The "forgot password link" generated an e-mail, which contained another link to use. This new link led me to a page that asked me to verify my last credit card or PayPal transaction in order to allow me to re-set my password. Although I entered the correct amount, my request was rejected, and I was warned that I had "limited attempts to retry". Fortunately, I was also given a phone number to call.

I gave the number a ring and was connected to an individual with a thick British Accent, making me wonder where the help center was physically located. After the usual dialogue about my problem and questions about my account name (first name and last name) the questions became a little more interesting and unexpected.

Operator: In order to help you re-set your password, I need to ask you some more questions. What is your real first name, real last name, birth date, and your birth city?

Me: Uh, hang on.

My first thought was, "You mean I actually need to remember the gibberish I entered when signing up for a Second Life account? I wondered why they wanted this information and now, I somehow need to remember what I entered."

Lucky for me, I was able to cull this information from deep within my brain and I was eventually able to re-access my account. But, was it really worth all of the hassle?

Once I got back into Second Life and really spent some time wandering around and using the information and videos I looked at on the Second Life Wiki I discovered that:
(1) 2 hours of my life had disappeared
(2) It was night time and most of the places I found interesting were devoid of people
(3) A "help" Avatar had no idea what "Do you want to go for a walk?" meant
(4) People can do very interesting and 'mature' things with their Avator, especially, it seems, when your family members are [A] walking near your computer; and [B] asking you at that precise second "How is it going in that game you are playing?"
(5) Rowing a boat without oars is really hard and it's more fun to just ditch the boat and walk around under water
(6) My connection is slow and I must be patient and wait for the helpful note cards to appear
(7) My family members provide much more interesting conversations than any Avatar could can provide
(8) I liked the old days when all virtual talkers were text based and used text-based expressions to depict movement , expressions , and actions .

In the end, I am not sure if it was worth the pains of getting back into my account given my last experience.

I am sure I'll have more Second Life experiences in the future that might help to change my mind.