Virtual Worlds Forum

There's an interesting debate brewing online about the simplicity (or lack of it) for virtual worlds, kicked off by a post on Metaversed headlined Simplicity and the Virtual Tipping Point. The gist: current virtual worlds are too complex, and they need to get easier to use if they're ever to cross over to mass adoption. Examples cited in other areas are Flickr (photo sharing), WordPress (blogging), Google (search) and YouTube (video sharing) - in each case, the tipping point was down to their simplicity. It's already provoked an interesting response on Living In The Metaverse, in a post whose title - Make It Simpler? No, Thanks - gives you a sense of its point of view. The author disagrees that Second Life specifically is hard to get to grips with (one of the claims in the Metaversed post), and says the problem is with new users. Having been an SL mentor, they refer to the typical questions asked by newcomers:

"If they are so stupid they better not go to the mainland. Let's live in a smaller but happier community. But, on the other hand, I tend not to be a fascist and answer silently sighing behind my monitor. It is not about simplicity. Most of the time, people are lazy to read and even more lazy to think. They want othersto answer questions they should find answers themselves. They want to be taken by the hand and guided. They want to enjoy their idiocy. And sometimes we help them. We answer their wishes. We partner them in their crime against themselves."

It shows the challenge for existing virtual worlds - Second Life and others - who try to broaden their appeal and sign up more users without alienating their existing residents. One thing I'd throw into the debate is the success of the teen-focused virtual worlds: Wekinz, Club Penguin and Habbo Hotel to name but three. Are they easier to use because they're aimed at a younger audience, or harder for adults to use? And if a generation of children grow up using worlds like these, how will that affect the debate around simplicity?