Second Life Log-a-thon

Second Life had a contest yesterday to see if they could handle a large load of 5,000 people in world, at the same time. As far as I know, there are around 40,000 names in Second Life (but of course, people can have more than one identity), so you would imagine 5,000 would be no problem. It seemed even with a first prize of a completely free account, with a 4096 sq meter plot (also rent free), people would go for it. Most people I talked to, said they were, and the others simply didn't know about it. But after a swift explanation, they were in too.

I had made plans to log out in a deserted area, because of past problems, when the system is busy it can take a while to get in, and you had to be in Second Life for a total of 30 minutes, from 7 - 9pm PST, July 31, 2005, to be entered into the draw. So logging OUT there, would mean I had a chance to get in with minimal fuss. It turned out to be just normal. No strain that I could tell of, even in the worst place I could think of (the Welcome Area, pictured below) everything was normal for me.

The final totals I have come across seem to be around 3,839. Which while not being the 5,000 hoped for, was nearly 50% more than ever seen logged into the grid at the same time, according to his royal highness Philip Linden. In the pictures below you can see a counter for all those in world. The red thing has been there for a while now and is NOT a bong.

People from Europe were understandably miffed. 7pm PST, turns out to be 3 am GMT! So those who valued their jobs could not attend. You only had to be in the world to be entered into the contest, and I can't help wondering if a Saturday night would have been better all round?

For this Second Lifer, there was no difference to any other time in world. I am sure there were plenty of people who were completely unaware of the whole thing. I do hope that someone with little or no land wins the contest. Personally I could do with 936 prims for construction of my empire!


Top image was the start, the bottom was the end of what was christened before hand, the "Lag-a-thon" probably as people expected the worst.