All roads lead to. . .

Getting about in SL has changed. I don't know exactly when, the change occurred before my time. I suspect it wasn't long before I joined, the signs of the switch were still dotted around more liberally than today. Then again, I could be completely and utterly wrong about this. It wouldn't be the first time, it won't be the last.

So what was the change and what got me thinking about it? Second part first. I was doing something you rarely see anyone in SL do these days, I was taking a walk. I plopped down in a mainland sim and I started walking the Linden road. This is not something that folks do anymore and the reason they don't is directly related to the change I mentioned. Once upon a time, you couldn't teleport to anywhere on the grid you felt like. There used to be teleport hubs, central locations dotted about the grid. You'd teleport to between the hubs, from there making the last stage of your journey by car, by bike, flying, walking, pogostick, whatever. Consequently, there was a time when the roads were important.

Roads are and were clearways. Threads of land unobstructed by the nearly unzoned building practices of SL residents, assured paths crossing the sims. People followed roads, used them. Consequently land along the roadsides became expensive, precious. If you ran a business then a roadside plot was coveted. People saw you as they walked by, you got the benefit of passing traffic, impulse drop ins. Rare custom outside the malls these days.

You see the grid differently when you follow the roads. You see places you'd otherwise never find. On my last walk I passed through a number of Japanese dominated sims, looked inside some shops I'd be unlikely to find otherwise. Checked out a castle of impressive dimensions, it was one part Cinderella's castle in Disneyland, one part spun sugar. There was an art gallery, presumptuously named The Second Louvre. Prim sculptures of Burns and Smithers were approaching it's fromnt door, I'm sure there was commentary involved there. Finally, I found myself passing through the very sim in which I first rented in SL and for the sake of nostalgia I left the road and had a look. Surprisingly, the place was still there, despite having changed owners at least once since I left...

And that's it. Much like my walks, this blog entry was leading nowhere in particular and instead just kind of trails away...