Yes, it's a Sunday; sometimes you have to wonder who makes the decisions about when to release these things. But Sidewinder Linden is calling for you to fill in this survey to help the Lindens determine how inventory is still occurring. This is in addition to reporting inventory loss via the support portal.

The survey is mercifully short (9 questions, mostly pick one type answers), and forms part of the initiative both Moo and I wrote about recently. Let's hope not too many of us need to bookmark the survey page, and that it helps find out and stamp out inventory loss.

Hot on the heels of the previously-mentioned survey, MDC Metaversatility brings a resident survey on behalf of an undisclosed 'established technology company' gathering information on how best to approach SL. This is a good thing, and deserves your feedback and honest response, even if only for that reason.

However, for the more mercenary among you wondering 'what's in it for me', the answer is: quite a lot! Participation in the survey enters you into a sweepstakes to win a prize. To the right of the main field of text that describes the survey, you'll see a substantial list of potential prizes to be won. There are many, but you only win one, so presumably more than one person will come away a winner. The prizes include books, CDs, and opportunities for advertising your business in SLExchange.com or The Metaverse Messenger, to name just a few.

If you have any questions, please contact Aaron Delwiche at aaron@metaversatility.com. The survey is brief and worth your while. Get to it!

(Thanks, Adri!)

For those of you interested in the intersection of religion and SL, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in NYC Robert Geraci is writing a couple of books on the subject of that very thing. To help him with his projects, he's created a survey for anyone to take that will collect anonymous data for him to use in his studies.

I've read reactions to SL from the religious community ranging from 'this is a wonderful opportunity to spread the word' to 'this is another means by which our children are led to damnation'. A survey like this one will help provide a more in-tune viewpoint. Get cracking, readers!

(Thanks, Robert!)

Interactive marketing agency Spunlogic recently released the results of a survey meant to indicate the average person's feelings toward infidelity in online environments.

The article says 'over 130 survey respondents', which seems like a small pool to me, but it doesn't specify how many of these respondents had experience with virtual worlds. Interestingly, one of the trends speaks to the younger generation's increased acceptance of a new, online moral system. From the survey: "Respondents aged 24 and under showed a greater tolerance for infidelity as technology mediated interaction increased. They showed large differences in email, text messaging, instant messaging, and social networks when compared to their older counterparts."

This shouldn't surprise anyone, and it's not limited to online environments either. Every generation's morals seem to loosen up a bit more than the previous generation's. Let's also not forget that those respondents whose spouses have actually committed infidelity will generate answers that strongly trend toward a negative response, skewing any sort of non-biased result. What do you all think? What's the limit of infidelity?

(Via primenewswire)

I'm desperately trying to find a link to today's results (the initial report is here), but on the BBC news this morning were more details of the results of a survey into internet usage. Apparently, although men still use the internet more than women overall, in "young people" (aged 25-34!) women use the internet more than men (shopping and social networking sites are thought to be the cause). Over-65s (silver surfers) use the internet most - on average 42 hours per month.

Why am I writing this on SLI? The newsreader had a break to cough after hours... I thought she was going to say 42 hours per WEEK. That's like spending 6 hours a day in SL... Come on, be honest, how many of you do that? OK, we, SL users, are hardly an average part of mainstream society, however normal we may be to ourselves, but does anyone that reads SLI spend less than 42 hours a month online?

SLI was recently contacted by a resident named Oliver Wade, who is taking a Media Cultures class for an undisclosed university. He's requested input, in the form of a questionnaire meant ' ... to determine its function within a rapidly changing digital age.'

If any of you are interested in answering these questions, you may use the Comments section to do so, to preserve your anonymity. Thanks, everyone! Oliver, we here at SLI are happy to further educational pursuits whenever possible. Just invite us to your next kegger and we'll call it even.

Real Name (Optional):
Second Life Name:
Age:
Sex:
Race (optional):

What kind of computer do you use?

How do you connect to the Internet (i.e. Service Provider)?

What do you like most about Second Life?

Do you find yourself politically active in Second Life?

What is the most important thing you have taken away from Second Life?

How does it differ from other forms of entertainment experiences (i.e. T.V., Movies, other Videogames, Books)?

Do you feel that your actions in Second life have real world implications?

What is the biggest limitation of Second Life?

Has Second Life ever influenced your life outside of the game? If so, how?

Do you feel that real world issues are addressed and explored in Second Life?

Do you feel that the Second Life experience has positive or negative real world implications? If so, what are they and how have they effected the real world?

Do you feel like Second Life allows for greater self expression?

How does the economy of Second Life affect the in-world experience?

What are your feelings regarding possible government intervention into the virtual economies of games like Second Life?

What kind of computer do you use?

How do you connect to the internet?