Viewer's Discretion Advised

As a supposed 70,000 Emerald users breathed a collective sigh of relief this week, with said viewer getting itself installed on the TPV Directory, I've noticed an emerging bitter evolutionary struggle breaking out.

While the debate raged across various blogs and threads about whether Emerald would or should make the directory, its proponents, and users of other viewers, began to engage in a "throw and see what sticks" battle. The argument runs,

Emerald user: "If Emerald doesn't make the directory then I won't be able to use (insert an Emerald function). All the other viewers don't have that function, therefore they are shit and I shouldn't be forced to use shit!"

Other user: "But why would you want that function? It's so retarded, you kid! No way does that help me do (insert creative activity), you should use my viewer!"

Ver.2/S20 user: "WTF! ZOMG! Are you two friggin' insane? Have you just stepped off the ark? Stop talking shit, my Ver.2/S20 pwns your n00by viewers! I got da, Media on Da Prim! You suck, upgrade now!"

And of course, it is at this point of unrivalled Socratic reasoning that both Emerald and non v2 users will for one moment put aside their differences to beat ten bells of crap out of the v2 poster for being an asswipe fanboy/girl.

The truth is, they are all wrong and they are all right. There is no one viewer that satisfies all my requirements and needs, but there are some that are perfect for when I'm doing a particular activity. If I'm building I will tend to use Emerald for preference or maybe Snowglobe, and if I'm doing more media orientated activity then I will use Kirsten's S20.

The difference is though, I will not go round dissing any other viewer that somebody else uses. I am me, I do what I do in SL, and those viewers cover all my needs. I am building more and more with Kirsten's S20 and it maybe that in a few months that will be my sole viewer. Even so, it will not make the S20 the best viewer in SL, it will just be the best viewer for me.

If we can't have the perfect viewer, which has all the bells and whistles then the next best thing is that we have a range of viewers that provide all the functions we need and desire. This is what we have now and it's a better situation than we've had for 90% of Second Life's existence.