I'm not really sure why I chose Openlife over the others.  I'd looked at various virtual worlds based on OpenSIm as they were mentioned on an SL for Educators list that I belong to.  Openlife was the only one that seemed inviting.  It had a friendlier and more professional look to the website (that was the old one, before this); not necessarily the flashiest website - but the one that looked as though it was going somewhere.

I did join a couple of other grids but I never went back - I don't even remember now which ones I joined!  What made me come back to Openlife, and eventually stay here, was the sense of being part of something new: being on the frontier.  I liked the lack of an economy; the absence of shops; the need to learn how to make textures, sculpts and scripts for myself; the sense of community and sharing.  I don't think that I would have stayed had I been able to import everything that I had already built wholesale from SL: what would be the point?

Trouble is that so much of what made this an idyll for me is being eroded:  already I have an SL-like pancake landscape next to me.   I suppose that I will stay, I've become attached to my avatar and my regions here; I suppose that I will just put up a lot of nice big trees to hide the pancake next door and let my cyan-skinned, purple-haired, interstellar archaeologist continue her excavations of the lost civilisation of Penygil.

I joined OL for a few simple reasons, talking with Sakai was a big one. Plus the lack of add farms was a big factor to. I also liked the ability to adjust the land how i saw fit to what my future builds might become. I enjoy doing large scale buildings and with the way OLG has been growing the potential for doing a major apartment complex or skyscrapers  as rentals is greatly improving. Ive always liked the idea of renting out over here to pay for my play over there. (over there being another regon on OL)

Another big plus for me coming to OLG is alot of pro builders I have made aquaintences with in SL have moved here. So that should explain OL's potential

The first thing that drew me here was that the website was much more professional and pleasing. As a webmaster myself, I can't help but notice that. Even more important was the obvious care evident in the terraforming of the land. It was truly beautiful. That started me out with a good opinion of Sakai, and my interactions with him since then have confirmed that. Then I started meeting the interesting and generous community on the chat and occasionally inworld. It feels like a real community.

And who ever heard of a world lowering its prices based on sales? That kind of thing keeps me here even when I can't really afford it. I feel like I'm supporting a worthwhile enterprise. I hope to be able to continue as a foundation owner by attracting my SLED friends here to try out this world for educational purposes.

Bravo, Sakai! You're heading in the right direction.

Aviana

I just like everything because it `s new and fresh and that`s what i want to be a part of .

When i joined SL everything was already crowded and then U can`t C the forest trough the trees.I found my way eventually but it took me a year to where i am now.

I stumbled upon this beauty via my friends Haplo Voss and Jem Outrageous who i met in SL.

We have the same interest in Transformers and i am planning to build some in OL to cause i just love them.

4 the rest i`m just happy 2 B a part of all this in Openlife`s early stages and development.

May U Live 2 C The Dawn.

This is an excellent topic and Thank You to the OP (Original Poster) for bringing this up.

Why did I come to OL ?

Well, you might say that I am a "refugee" from the original grid.  I had business there and numerous friends. I taught and had apprectices as I was a coder/scripter and builder and ofter reffered to as a Master of the craft.  (always got a kick out of that).  Things changed there over time and it is not what it was nor what it could be.  I've built/ created a lot there and it was my "safe place" to express myself and do the things that I enjoy.  It became "no fun" and the hassles, greifing and other issues became too much.  I reached the point where I was going to entirely leave, have my accounts deleted and remove the software from my PC's.  I greived this because it meant leaving behind wonderfull friends and relationships that had been forged over a very long time.  Then I learned about OpenSim so I thought that I would investigate the OpenSims and the OpenGrid.

Why OL ?

Well, to be completely honest, I looked into other worlds and environments hosted on the internet.  I found many lacking in function and ability as compared to what I was familiar and comfortable with (SL).  I kept reading the information at http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page and started to check out the Grid Listings.  Along with a very close friend we both started to look at the different places/grids and installing numerous clients to do so. We were both on Skype Voice so we were describing what we came to see on our quest.  I found OpenLife first and when I hit the Website, it was different !  Clean, Organized and proffessional.  I peeked at the forums and looked at a few things... I was pleasantly suprised (very pleasantly) at the pricing of land here.

I downloaded and installed yet another Client, R15, lol.  WOW, 100m prims. so I logged in and it was a rough arrival, of course I picked a day that Sakai was doing major updates to the grid but the notice was there plain to see, so being a  former Senior Software Systems Engineer & Developer for a overly large commercial entity, I knew what that meant!  So I forged ahead with a few bumps and pixelation issues but regardles of that, what I saw impressed me.  No Ad Farm's, A Clean World with a fresh start.  I encountered Charmaine and a couple of other folks and immediately felt a sense of community here that I had not felt in a very very long time.  Also "Refugee's" from the other place.  As we talked I immediatly told my friend to come and check it out on the double quick.  Within 5 minutes she was standing next to me and meeting the same folks.  What a day, seemed like Sakai was following us because everytime we found something to look at the Region Restart Notice happened within 5 minutes...  What a guy !

Well, Charmaine found me in SL later that day and friended me there, we continued to talk and I showed her around a little but by that time I had already stripped down my sim and was clearing my lands, I was out and gone so she didn't get to see too much but we talked and she told me of the real community that is here.  I came into the forums and read good things, I wandered into the Group Chat and indeed, what a great bunch, everyone was sharing and laughing and talking about Sakai's latest Patch Magic and the antics.  I immediately knew that I found a New Home !

The opportunity to Join a "Community" with a great group of people who believe and feel the way I do about helping others and being the Brave Pioneers forging into a Brave New World !  I spoke to Sakai a couple of times and he really impressed me, which I must say is not something that is easy to do.  I jumped in bought Dawn Point a nice little corner on Mainland.  I started building and bringing some of my materials over and have been re-coding scripts and tinkering with things.

I'm building a project here that I started in SL but RL has diverted me a bit which is ok.  I've brought a lot of my old friends friends and associates here.  I've talked to many Content Providers / Creators that I know well in SL and my excitement was even noted by many of them, (they hadn't heard me being excited about anything in a very long time) they are looking into it now too.  Many have now modified licensing of the materials to allow for the migration to OL for others.  Some are even bringing their content in here to redistribute to those who have already purchased it in SL without charge.

Bottom Line !

This is a Great Community, my New Home and a sense of commaradery that the Pioneers of Old had when building the New World.  We are Buiilding a wonderful new world for all to enjoy and to share in. I have even brought Corporate entities to see OL and they are now looking into creating their own spaces here (off of mainland) for their business purposes and am doing presentations about OL.  Sakai, is a remarkable fellow who is Top Notch in my Books and it shows in everything that he does !

Thank You to Sakai from the Bottom of my Heart !  Thank You to all the other Pioneers that are here for being who you are and for the spirit that you share with everyone that comes here.  You have ALL restored my Faith and Given me a place to call Home Sweet Home Again !

PS:  Sorry this reply is so long, but, can you tell I am stoked to be here ?  ROFLOL.  (sorry if this is a duplicate It did not seem to accept the previous post)

It's fresh and new and clean. I like many others here became very excited about OpenSim and have looked at many iterations out there. I'm not techie enough to manage my own sim but tried it with OSGrid. At some point I stumbled across OpenLife and the more I read the more I liked. I love the real sense of community and development that exists here. I love having someone host my sim for me at a price that isn't a felony in civilized countries. I hope to see this be the next big thing and if it isn't, oh well it will still be fun and adventurous. Come visit me sometime, I bought Moire.