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Jun 11, 2003, 11:36pm

I've got a subscription to the US Magazine PC Gamer, and I just recently got
my latest issue.

This issue (July 2003 Vol. 10, No. 7) covers not only their standard
selection of games, but also covers "116 Online Games".

Now, I wasn't expected to possibly find "Active Worlds" within this listing
because even though AW does host some games, and even some pretty kewl
gaming worlds, it's main existence is as a 3D Chat/Creation program.

BUT THEN: I was looking through the listings, and I happened to find both
"Second Life" AND "There.com" listed!

OOPS! What a shame that these other two chat programs happened to be
recognized by this very Popular Game Magazine, and Active Worlds wasn't even
mentioned!

I've not even SEEN any advertising within PC Gamer, or my other
subscription, PC Magazine....

Perhaps PC Gamer didn't really advertise that they were going to be covering
some Online Games/Programs before they released this issue... I'll have to
check.

What a shame though, that Active Worlds couldn't be included in this
listing.

Just something I noticed today.

Bastillion
The Bastion (1206n 7750w)
www.geocities.com/basti_02

Jun 12, 2003, 1:03am

If it were listed that would result in a large amount of new visitors
coming. I wouldn't like that - I like AW's smaller community.

Ryan

[View Quote]

Jun 12, 2003, 3:47am

[View Quote] Hmm,

My opinion is the place is too dead and I would be extremely happy to have a
large boost in numbers, at least to the levels it was before 2002.
Currently I don't feel the urge to log in anymore (haven't had the urge to
do so for about 4 - 5 months now) as a result of the general deadness and
quiet.

However it looks like the general consensus around the AW community is that
everything is fine, everyone is generally happy with the way things are, the
way things are being run and the majority feel that the activity levels are
adequate. For me, I still don't feel content, but then again, I guess I
have to accept the fact that ActiveWorlds has now changed and is no longer
for me anymore.

Each and everyone to their own I guess.

Jun 12, 2003, 3:48am

They need more people to keep it going...don't want AW to fade away do you?
;)

[View Quote]

Jun 12, 2003, 9:59am

You're kidding, right? You actually like having only a few hundred
people in the entire universe, with no one hanging out in the normal
active areas? AlphaWorld itself is big enough to hold those kind of numbers!

The fact is that the AW Universe is so huge practically requires a huge
population, otherwise it will seem abandoned and empty. If you want a
small community, then you might as well stay holed up in 3D Homepage and
invite your friends. :P

[View Quote]
--
Goober King
Size matters
awnews at awnews.org

Jun 12, 2003, 4:29pm

> However it looks like the general consensus around the AW community is
that
> everything is fine, everyone is generally happy with the way things are,
the
> way things are being run and the majority feel that the activity levels
are
> adequate.

What? I see the exact opposite and not just in activity levels. Just look
at the awnews poll. Tourist rights...Alphaworld neglected, the GK dilemma
at Gate. Not to mention...prices *everyone gasps* ;D

Jun 12, 2003, 7:33pm

[View Quote] According to whom? Whoever thinks that AW's current situation is fine needs a thwack in the head or two :P

Here's the picture as I see it:

First the Juno link went dead. While many xenophobic community members hailed this event as prayers answered-at-last, it was a dire blow to the future of Active Worlds as a company. The Active Worlds Corporation (or whatever the heck they felt like calling themselves at the time) failed as a public corporation. It was taken off of NASDAQ when Rick and JP bought AWI from the corporate shell that represented it, which I suppose was made up of the remnants of the Vanguard merger back in 1999. The price increase, as a last-ditch effort to save AW, has had some terrible consequences to what was an already fragile community.

Activity has dropped to a ghost-town level in most popular areas; the most community-oriented members of the AW staff have gone to greener pastures (Flagg, Roland, Facter, HamFon); and the latest version of Active Worlds will have been in beta for a whole year on the 28th of this month. Now add the fact that 3.4 features less improvements than past updates which took less time to complete, and you have a recipe for stagnation.

AW is already dead - the body just hasn't gone cold yet. There's still a chance of resuscitation, but the probability grows more slim as time wears on. Hey... the recession of the tech market wasn't helped along much when 9/11 hit. The collapsing wake of .com corporations has to drown us out someday. Unless some miracle of fortune occurs, we may have to hope for another company to bring AW out of the ashes as Circle of Fire once did.

Jun 12, 2003, 8:41pm

I would reserve judgment on AW's fate until the summer's over. Summer is
AW's busy season, so if the place is still dead after that, then it's
safe to assume that AW has breathed its last gasp.

[View Quote]
--
Goober King
On life support
awnews at awnews.org

Jun 12, 2003, 9:11pm

Hey - here's hoping that I'm wrong.

[View Quote]

Jun 12, 2003, 9:56pm

I do think it is about time Rick and JP stood forward and gave us a briefing
on the financial status of the company (preferably in depth, I need some
reading material)

- Mark

[View Quote]

Jun 12, 2003, 10:29pm

Since they're a private company again, they don't really have to. Would be nice, though.

-Agent1

[View Quote]

Jun 13, 2003, 12:28am

[View Quote] Try Stephen Baxter, Aurthur C. Clarke, or Robert Heinlein. Hell, reading a dictionary would be more interesting and infinitely less mindless than a financial report on a hasbeen/neverwillbe company such as AWI.

Jun 13, 2003, 8:53am

bastillion <bastillion at charter.net> kirjoitti
viestissä:3ee7d92e at server1.Activeworlds.com...
<snip>
>
> BUT THEN: I was looking through the listings, and I happened to find both
> "Second Life" AND "There.com" listed!
>
> OOPS! What a shame that these other two chat programs happened to be
> recognized by this very Popular Game Magazine, and Active Worlds wasn't
even
> mentioned!
<snip>

Don't you know that AW is one of the best kept secrets on the net. It is
only meant for a few selected one, who has accidentally run into their page.
One is not to advertise AW, that might cause more customers; no, in AW one
just want to keep a few people and rise the prices instead of having many
customers and lower price. One should also try to make joining AW as hard as
possible, by banning tourists. If some worldowner would like to have
visitors in his/her world against the company will, it is possible if you
pay a 50$ fine. AW do not want people to visit our worlds, god knows , they
might even get hooked on AW, and that is not acceptable....

Drac

Jun 13, 2003, 8:36pm

[View Quote] Alright, Alright, Anyway, it seem every time I come in there (only two times
every month to check telegrams etc), it seems everyone is in happy happy
bunny land, in a Teletubie back drop with lush green meadows on rolling
hills, flowers everywhere and a clear blue sky on a summer's day. :oP

It seems a lot of the time some one (normally tourists who are presumably
ex-citizens) talks negatively about AW's situation, they get ridiculed...

"What do you mean it dying? AW is fine as it is, there plenty of friends
here at the gate, hardly dead"
"What do you mean things aren't hopping any more? In AW things are always
Hopping!"

....I then quickly came to the conclusion that I am probably one of the last
pessimist to roam the Universe. It seems many of the old timers are gone
and the pessimists have largely admitted defeat and left. It seems they
have all been replaced by new blood prepared to fork out the Cash.

Alright, my take on the situation...

There is no big red button, marked count down to shut down, Where when
pressed AW will suddenly shut down around us in a blink of an eye at the end
of the count cycle :oP

It looks like, unless something drastically changes or happens in
ActiveWorlds, The Long term population downtrend will probably continue.
There will probably be more events such as those of 1997 and 2002 where the
population count gets suddenly slashed then levels out. But rest assured,
another event of this type I feel is unlikely to happen for a number of
years and it's likely the daily population peak will continue to hover
around 350-400 for many years yet until it happens again.

At the end of the day, should such events happen, as I said, it won't
suddenly shut down unexpectedly in a blink of an eye, AW will probably more
likely become a more obscure speck on the information superhighway, and turn
into places similar to cybernet worlds and DLP where the daily population
peak is only around 30-60, 5-8 years into the future. By that time, many
would have given up before then, be in the same situation as me now,
admitting that AW is no longer for them or isn't worth bothering with any
longer, and will most likely eventually move on to other things.

If you enjoy AW and are happy, continue on with your daily virtual life as
usual, because AW is unlikely to go down for some time yet. If you
currently don't feel that AW provides you with adequate enjoyment anymore,
but stuck in an endless cycle of hoping that AW will recover, then stop
hoping now and move on, because the current situation I feel probably won't
improve much further than this for a while at least.

Anyway, my building juices have dried up, my waves of interest where I did
still get spikes of interest every now and again, have largely evaporated.
The major point is that I do not gain much enjoyment from using AW
anymore and it may be time for me to consider moving on (at least for the
time being). Ironically I spend more time reading these newsgroups and
related sites then in the AW program it self.

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