The negative comments are mostly true. But SL does function quite will most of the time. When it doesn't, it is maddeningly frustrating. But it is such a unique and fascinating experience that the good times are well worth the bad times. When it crashes or you lose your hair or you can't log on for over an hour --- you gripe and complain and swear that you are done with SL and plan to quit .... next year. SL is decidedly not for eveyone. But everyone I know inworld who has been there more than 3 months or so would never think of leaving, no matter how bad the problems are. If you are considering it, I urge you to give it a decent try despite what you hear. And make sure no critical documents are open unsaved while running SL!