Jump to content

Exploratorium Sim and SciLands Shutdown!


Peryda
 Share

You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 1551 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Recommended Posts

 

4 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I kind of love that you use the word "shenanigans."

Now I'm imagining you as a sort of Fred MacMurray type.

281733364_fred-macmurray-blank.jpg.8a90d4ae589c5fce570900dceda18772.jpg

Except, maybe, with attitude.

(Also, you make cookies. I don't think Fred made cookies.)

Well I was a pipe smoker for a while... And that was the politest I could phrase that. 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why do I kinda feel sorry for the daughter? 🤔

Anyway...

Never heard of that project before, but looking at the pics on their website, it's certainly worth to be shown as a museum - for ancient prim building techniques and randomly bought prefabs to toss in. No hints of love or an eye for display. No common theme. Beach huts... seriously?

If they own their builds, guess it could be a nice project for OpenSim. If not... sucks for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Webserver=website

Second Life sims = Debian based with Virtual machines running special server sim code that make SL sims.

 

TWO different animals all together,  ask me how I know,   I own my own webhosting company and have since 1998, so I know exactly what I am talking about and am certified to even say that :)

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

Why do I kinda feel sorry for the daughter? 🤔

Anyway...

Never heard of that project before, but looking at the pics on their website, it's certainly worth to be shown as a museum - for ancient prim building techniques and randomly bought prefabs to toss in. No hints of love or an eye for display. No common theme. Beach huts... seriously?

If they own their builds, guess it could be a nice project for OpenSim. If not... sucks for them.

Not heard of the place either but to be fair the old school build wouldn´t have put me off (and hey OS deserves better - the bits still running mentioning no names) but the antics of its champion here sort of bring ´not with a barge pole´ to mind.  So, no great loss at all.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Woot!  In before the lock.

Hey, @Peryda,

First of all, I'm glad to see that you're expressing support for an educational region.  As a teacher myself, I'm in your court.  However, you're under several misapprehensions.

1.  Linden Lab does support nonprofits and the arts, in several ways.  They give a 50% discount to nonprofit institutions.  They also give out grants to allow artists and creators to express themselves.  These grants are awarded on a competitive basis, and only allow a display to be live for a certain amount of time.  I am surprised that they gave the Exploratorium so many months of free ride as it is.  It seems to me that they've gone beyond their usual limits to support this place.

2.  Linden Lab does not favor sex and fetish sites over educational ones.  For example, there are no discounts for the fetish sites, while there ARE discounts for educational ones.  But, we have to face it: sex sells.  Still, only about 5% of the regions in SL are rated Adult.  I hardly think that qualifies SL as a swamp of sin and depravity.

3.  There have been many much-loved regions in SL over the years that have had to close because their creators could no longer pay for them.  A very, very few of these have been preserved by LL (e.g., the SS Galaxy cruise ship).  But many more have vanished without a trace.  LL is a business, and has to pay for the servers that keep the regions on line.  Unless you're willing to reach into your purse and pay for a region you love, the reality is that that region is probably going to go away.

4.  A while back, you mentioned something about "taking your 6 year old" to see something in SL.  I hope you were not serious.  SL is NOT for 6 year olds.  The minimum age is 13.  Users 13-15 must be registered through an approved youth organization (a school, church, etc.) and they only have access to a restricted region, under adult supervision.  The minimum age for normal access is 16.  Users 16-17 may register on their own, but can only access G rated regions and content.  To get full access to all the content of SL, including all those Adult sites you posted, you must be 18 or above.

5.  Everybody here is sympathetic to your position, believe it or not.  We've all seen regions go away that we loved.  So jumping on us and accusing us of favoring porn over educational material is REALLY counterproductive and hasn't made you any friends.  We started out trying to show you the stark realities of the situation, and you responded with such venom that it's really...well, I find it hard to believe.

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the RL Exploratorium rate card: https://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/tickets. It's a wonderful place and well worth visiting. I've been there twice. At both visits, the place was crowded.

Although the Exploratorium does receive government grant money and charitable donations, 50% of their revenue is obtained from ticket and merchandise sales and facility rentals. This is partly a result of major donors restricting their contributions to matching against other revenue. To earn donor money, the Exploratorium must earn money directly from the public. This properly forces the organization to be responsive to the desires of the visiting public, and to keep the experience fresh. The Exploratorium does provide free public outreach in pursuit of its goals, but those programs are required to actually reach people.

I've visited the SL Exploratorium several times over the years. I've never seen anyone else there. I visited for a half hour today and was once again the only visitor. The most recent mention of Second Life on the Exploratorium website is from early 2012.

Clearly, though free, the SL Exploratorium fails the requirement to actually reach people. SL residents are also not particularly in need of the kind of outreach the Exploratorium provides. We, though not necessarily wealthy, can afford the computers and internet connections that many families can't. I'd much rather see those families served by the philanthropy of Exploratorium donors and I suspect those donors (I'm one of them) would agree. SL was, at one time, thought to be the future of public social interaction. It wasn't. It's time to move on.

The Exploratorium made the decision to cease development and support of displays here many months ago. Even if LL were to continue hosting the region gratis, there will be no further development. The increasingly moribund result will eventually and unavoidably erode the Exploratorium's and LL's brands. I'd not be surprised if the Exploratorium hasn't, or wouldn't eventually request the region be decommissioned for exactly that reason.

Edited by Madelaine McMasters
Once again, I should read what I write.
  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So...I go to the website and click the slurl for the art museum, as one does....and land in the blank air falling....from nearly 4000m...once I land, it is dark and I am in the water...

I walk to shore, turn towards the light and this is what greets my eyes...pre-2008 level builds that were old-style when I got here...yet from inspection, built in...2015? Hm...

There is no one here but me. traffic is lower than my office parcel at their telehub, which also prevents double click TP...for no good reason. There are some ugly low platforms, prefabs, holiday decor clutter, prim builds, 2012 trees, fullbright square prims for signs and info cards...one event on their webpage calendar that has not just been future-marked...3 in total.

By now my frame rate had taken a dive into single digits...took some snaps and out.

Note: They have been in OpenSim for 7 years too, the website says. Good place for this kind of project. Self-funded, self-hosted.

eb7ae8137875bc627af9e50c43d96d95.jpg

57a185b0f073abf9e5c873ceb4aba10a.png

15c85c5699618ccc81884a59a4d7ccaa.jpg

</fin report>

 

 

Edited by Fauve Aeon
  • Thanks 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

.....

The Exploratorium made the decision to cease development and support of displays here many months ago. Even if LL were to continue hosting the region gratis, there will be no further development. The increasingly moribund result will eventually and unavoidably erode the Exploratorium's and LL's brands. I'd not be surprised if the Exploratorium hasn't, or wouldn't eventually request the region be decommissioned for exactly that reason.

I visited the Second Life Exploratorium and found it very interesting, but if the funding body no longer wants to support it and has stopped updating it, it doesn't make sense for us to expect Linden Labs to continue to pay for the electricity.

It is not as if when the Second Life Exploratorium is gone, all traces of it will have vanished. There is a real world Exploratorium in San Francisco, and The Science Circle has had seven regions in Open Sim for some time.

I would like to save my "Save Our Heritage" outrage for things that are unique to Second Life, for example, the lighthouse mystery at Cape Ekim*, or the Quest for the Prim of Life at Pyri Peaks. 

*and the Dragon....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Peryda said:

more than I wanted to read

You seem to be saying that anyone who dares to disagree with your estimation of the importance of this sim that is closing must be a kinky sex addict. How did you arrive at this conclusion?

image.png.5756bbeaf6bb6e05d82d7439855e5840.png

Edited by kali Wylder
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 1551 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...