I can only second what Possum, Willow and others say:
The main problems are:
- A mass of "subs" who have a clear storybook in mind, usually a rather short and simplistic one, who look for "doms" servicing them
- Lack of readiness to contribute: Be it in setting up a nice avatar that fits the setting, be it time, be it readiness to "weave" a back story around the "key" event, be it only tips to help cover the running cost of a sim
I have been quite active at CW, am less so currently, but only because I put on a pair of shoes that makes the burden even larger: I run a sim myself!
So I pay US$ 130 a month to run the sim and have like $5 "contributions" of those who play... the modern "everything is for free, some idiot will be found to pay the bill for my personal entertainment" - attitude
The sim I run is a complex of two islands. One is just a carribean paradise, with a natives tribe and a medieval trading post (with dark secrets), the neighbor island is inhabited by cannibals and pirates!
We have a ratio of sub to dom of about 20:1 I would say, what burns out the doms, especially if the majority, not all luckily, of subs experiences to get serviced along their line of thoughts.
What really sucks: The "subs" role typically is "castaway". Cannibals hunt them (if their roleplay preferences include "getting roasted alive") for obvious reasons, pirates and other slavers for other reasons.
Now we have not few people who don't care, who walk with 21st century outfit on a pirates island (of course they don't care to read 2 lines or take the clue from pictures that clearly are 17th century), walk across the island, straight into the cannibals cave and ask "who wants to roast me?"
There was a time when I had patience for such people, nowadays I simply eject and ban them, as they are wasting my time!
That much for the negative side.
Now there are other sides of SL that I enjoy greatly and that make it worthwhile!
1. SL is a real virtual world, including the ability to freely create content. I can build a cross very much like I can in real life (it takes some skills in both worlds and the readiness to invest time). So I can build my own fantasy world. (enclosed a screenshot of my "SL-Slave" Flower, with a collar that I made for her...)
2. There ARE a few great roleplayers, who are ready to invest some time into learning how SL works (it is NOT rocket science, but it takes the readiness to WANT to learn), who invest thought and time in their roleplay skills and with whom one can have great roleplay. Roleplay in SL is not only using the devices but still to a large extent text roleplay and emoting!
3. Almost anything goes in SL, only fantasy is the limit... and no damage is done!
So yes, it is very worth it and experienced players like Possum, Willow will be able to direct you at Cruxwinds, if you are so inclined.
But SL is not a "game" really, it is a virtual world really!
So don't expect to be entertained by a game!
Nobody entertains you in RL if you sit on a chair and wait or if you go out and sit somewhere else. It is absolutely the same in SL.
If you are ready to blend into a scene setting, what means investing some effort into a nice avatar and fitting clothes etc, as well the readiness to WAIT a few minutes until others show up, then SL is a great place!