The academic fervor around Second Life is misplaced and pathetic. It is an intensely studied game that has more researchers than actual players. The greatest trick Linden Labs ever pulled was convincing the world of academia that Second Life is a virtual online community representative of virtual online communities.
At least, that's how it used to be. No longer are researchers using the glorified chatroom as a source of legitimate study. It's nice to see that people are wising up, but it always throws me for a loop when scientists decide to select certain games for their studies. Why use the most horrible example of a MMO to write papers about MMO's? It's like using Jersey Shore as an example of great television--not that I'm saying Jersey Shore isn't a legitimate source of study. I'm actually kind of curious as to why people watch reality garbage on television, but that's a story for another day.
To sum:
Second Life sucks.
