So Prad Prathivi has hung up his hat and said farewell to the blogosphere. He cites over exposure, personal vendetta and old fashioned childishness as his reasons for stepping back, and to be honest with you readers I am GUTTED, because ‘Metaversally Speaking’ is quite simply one of the best Second Life blogs around. That’s because Prad is a genuine ‘Second Life Wunderkind’. He’s talented in so many ways; not just as content creator par excellence and skilled metaverse observer which he manages to achieve whilst his ego manages to remain firmly rooted to the ground. I have *never* seen that lad behave in the drama-queen fashion favoured by so many so-called ‘SLebrities’ and I am full of admiration for the way he has risen through the ranks of SL to become one of the most recognisable names on the grid. The lad works bloody hard and is entitled to that success. Prad is a talented humourist and writes with the perception and honesty that some blogs in our metaverse lack.   Fact is, he has had more than his fair share of jealous detractors recently, but I’m afraid that goes with the territory. You don’t build up an audience as vast as his readership for “Metaversally Speaking” without steppingupon a few toes along the way, but at least Prad is the kind of gentleman who would stop and apologise for that.  Regular bloggers know that via our writing we expose ourselves and our flaws for all to see, and with that comes the criticism that we have to take. It’s the nature of the beast. You don’t start a blogthat you hope will be successful without acceptingthat there are always goingto be people out there who have a different agenda to yours, and who will not relish your success as much as you do. Jealousy is a harsh mistress indeed, but as individuals we are all entitled to our opinions so you need to understand that before publishing an article not everyone will like what you have written. Often this may cause heated debate or argument, but at no point is it acceptable for commentary to degenerate into viciousness aimed at the author personally. Put simply there has to be a cut off point…and it’s obvious that Prad has now reached his.  I think that Prad should be very satisfied with his achievement and I sincerely hope that he does not view his withdrawal from the blogging arena as a failure. In fact, he should view it as a victory for being brave, confident and having enough balls to share his genuine thoughts and feelings on all matters Second Life with his readership regardless of any reprisals. Conflict gets wearing, and when you reach the stage that Pradhas, as he documents clearly in his closing text that blogging is no longer fun, then it is indeed time to take a step back from it and pursue other interests. I sincerely hope that this is a brief sojourn, rather than a permanent change, because the metaverse will be a poorer place without Prad’s wry observations and comment.  Metaversally Speaking will continue, but without the captain of the ship at it’s helm. The crew that remains behind however will keep her on course I’m sure in the meantime, but Prad please consider returning very soon!