Drayke Newall

Agree. Chat Rooms and meetings virtually are handled already much better in programs like zoom etc and it is the linking of those virtual environments that already exist to other virtual environments that is defined as the metaverse. As I mentioned in my previous post, the metaverse is the equivalent of internet 2.0. Virtual environments, worlds, apps etc all linked together as one where both RL, VR and AR are incorporated. Taking your video example and linking it further to show the RL link the metaverse will be taking as far as Augmented Reality goes, the below video shows the construction aspect of your NVidia Omniverse data center whereby, plans to construction to maintenance is performed using AR goggles such as Microsoft HoloLens.

As I said in an earlier post, yes, OpenSim is the closest we have to a metaverse (in the old use of the term) however it is still not one and is why OpenSim themselves have not stated they are a metaverse but a hypergrid and the basis of a nascent distributed Metaverse i.e. has the potential to be a future metaverse. There is a difference between a virtual world and a region sized area that OpenSim and SL have. OpenSim also has limitations in that it cannot do AR, VR or link very well to RL (think virtual amazon with virtual displays and a payment processing system that allows you to buy in world and have it delivered to your door in RL). These three things are also needed for it to be termed as the metaverse per todays definition.

It is good that you are understanding what the metaverse is however you still haven't understood it completely. Horizons is not the or a metaverse nor is it the metaverse that Zuckerberg and Meta are (wanting to) creating. Horizon Worlds is a virtual world/game just like second life is albeit rather basic and was created prior to Meta or even their investigations into the metaverse as a world that could be accessed by their Oculus Rift VR headset. There are no 'metaverses' that exist at the moment only virtual worlds. The metaverse is a combination of all virtual worlds linked together as one and accessed as by a single program.

Nvidia's omniverse is a key player in it as well yes, but it isn't looking at achieving the same metaverse outlook as the others. Their idea is founded on collaboration between experts in that, for example, a person can design a house in Autodesk Revit whilst another renders it in 3DS Max and another looks at lighting and energy efficiency all in real time with no lag. This is more akin to a cloud collaborative world which is what they describe it as themselves. This is also why Epic offer connections to it due to that being the nature of the collaboration and the ability for a cloud based collaboration between game developers, scripters etc in real time rather than save, send, review, edit, save send which is the current collaboration method both in development and architecture. Epic are looking at building an actual metaverse whereby they are the platform and people build their virtual worlds within their system using unreal engine. Think of Ready Player One. That is what they are looking to build using their engine and extensive game development resources and contacts to make it possible. It is also why they have opened up their fortnite creation system to allow for actual other game development alongside fortnite. The interchangeability of content between sl and other platforms are tied to their graphics and their engine. That said interchangeability is a moot point if Second Life becomes the platform rather than the other business's like Epic. As then with a better engine and less lag and better scripting, People can build virtual worlds inside Second Life and become a true metaverse. I agree. Sadly, human nature and greed ensures that a utopian wonderland cant happen.

You are correct, however such infrastructure, tools, etc in some ways are irrelevant as the key players of the supposed metaverse (those with the backing and cash to make it happen) are the same companies that are focused on creating the world as well as the tools and only allowing a company to build in that platform. Additionally, said tools etc would easily be sold to the larger players for cash. Take Meta for example, they are looking at not only the hosting side of the virtual worlds but also building the metaverse etc to link those worlds. Likewise Epic is creating through unreal engine their own hosting platform to utilise as a go to place where you build in their world and link to their world on the condition that you agree to their rules and terms. Epic are ahead of the game in some respects as they through their unreal engine can already link multiple existing worlds created through their engine, for example the new Archage 2 game due to be released next year is made in unreal 5 the same engine that epic is focused on their virtual world platform at the moment. Moving to linking Archage to say Epics Matrix example world wouldnt be that hard. Second Life is in a similar position however what is holding Second Life back is the dated graphics engine it runs on in that not only is it subject to to many polygons and you get lag but also region size. That all said, I agree with Philip Rosedale in what he said last year. The metaverse as proposed in both snow crash and in the hopes and dreams of these companies will never happen. A form of it may happen but not a true metaverse.

Funny to think that people/students seem to think that a grouping of virtual worlds like VR-Chat, Second Life etc is the metaverse or laughable still that one virtual world is. The fact that the OP has stated that they are looking at the virtual consumption of people on the metaverse shows that they have not researched the topic far enough unless they are looking at the habits of virtual world users to determine the possibility of what the metaverse consumption would be. So the OP really should think of a different term for their paper. The metaverse does not exist, nor is Second Life a metaverse. All Second Life is, is a virtual world that has the possibility of being the metaverse could be in its basic form i.e. the platform to host the metaverse (Second Life the platform and the individual regions being their own virtual world). World of Warcraft is a virtual world as well of which people spend money on and in, but it isn't considered a metaverse either. Now if all of those virtual worlds 'talked' to each other in that you can virtually interact between all those worlds from 'one metaverse' then that's a different matter. As of yet though, no virtual world interacts with another. To put the metaverse in simpler terms, think of a single website as a virtual world. The metaverse is the collection of all those website virtual worlds linked together and accessed by one platform 'the internet'. This is what Zuckerberg, Sweeny, et al are wanting to create, Web3.0. This is also why they are receiving backlash as, the only way a metaverse can exist is for one company (or person) to host that metaverse/platform (control it). Ironically, the closest we have to a metaverse is actually OpenSim as through their Hypergrid (link one opensim or platform to another and transfer/communicate between them), but it is never mentioned in any form in relation to virtual worlds or the metaverse. Because you know... it's opensim.

Are you sure about that? Take for example, a person who lives in a country that has an equal exchange rate to the USD ($1-$1). They buy Lindens at that price. Then the market changes and that person's country dollar is now worth 0.6 cents to the USD. They then cashout their equal exchange bought LD to their wallet which is always converted to USD and that money is then converted back to their local currency at a higher exchange rate than bought. This means that person, who invested $1000 into buying LD's (a game token) at exchange parity has just netted an approx. $400 profit, all under the radar of tax agencies as it was not profit made by sale of products but using the exchange as an investment opportunity and simply cashing out what was put in and not spent. Keep in mind Linden Lab and residents only need to provide data to the tax office if they SOLD a product and earned an income from that. Cashing out something that was never spent in SL doesn't incur such reportability. You may think this is an out there example, however, I know a few people that profited by such during the 2008 market crash. Now, obviously this doesn't happen regularly or in an extreme situation as RL currency trading does, however it can and still happens. Whenever a currency is converted on an exchange, be it an RL exchange or SL exchange one can always make a profit trading that. SL is just unique that it has no regulation or reporting whereas RL exchanges do. Incidentally, this is also why the IRS and other such tax offices around the world have moved to try and tax (capital gains etc) virtual currencies and crypto due to such practices happening. The Linden Dollar being the exception as it is not considered a virtual currency but a game token that, according to ONE company - Linden Lab, has no real-world value... To compare Linden Dollars to crypto, keep in mind that there was a time when crypto itself could not buy anything and was simply traded. It, like the Linden Dollar, was a token that had to be bought with RL money and then converted to RL money to spend in RL. One bitcoin was worth 'X' USD, just the same as One Linden is worth 'X' USD. Additionally, when bitcoin was only traded, a person could trade a bitcoin for something without cashing it out first, just like someone can trade or buy something with Linden Dollars without cashing it out first'. Trying to argue that the Linden Dollar is a Game Token and different to Crypto is grasping at straws.

Who knows if this is on topic or off topic, but can someone confirm what the underlined and bolded line means in the new post about posting and participation guidelines means? If I am reading this correctly then that means that threads such as "Totally Official, Approved, Cat Thread", "5 letters game", "Make Us Laugh!" etc are now not allowed and according to the rules should/are liable for locking? If this isn't the case then why have such a line in the not allowed section specifically stating that all threads must now be solely related directly to Second Life/Linden Lab and not randomness/fun if such threads are allowed but others not?

Where do you have access to Meta's metaverse to be able to determine that legs do not exist? Their metaverse has not been created yet and the concepts shown for it clearly show Zuckerberg as dressing a full avatar with legs, a meeting with other people with legs, etc. Here are some pics for you of their proposed metaverse concepts... I see legs... So I am unsure as to why you think they propose not to have legs in their metaverse unless you somehow have insider knowledge that they dont. Also before you start posting pics or vids of Meta's metaverse you are wrong. Horizons VR which is made by Meta is not the metaverse they are proposing, already exists, is old tech and not a metaverse at all. People seem to confuse Horizons with the proposed metaverse for some reason. Microsoft's metaverse on the other hand has been shown not to have legs of which, as Antonioo has explained, has nothing to do with adult content but due to limitations with VR tracking and not wanting to use software walking animations like SL and VRChat do.

LMAO. You're not serious are you? So now according to you not only is written evidence bias but also genuine video evidence from a random bystander recording on his phone the incident happening is also fake and bias. Do you think the bystander went up to the ambulance and asked them to put on their sirens and 'pretend' they were in a rush to get through the traffic jam? It is clear you have no intention of actually accepting facts provided by evidence, especially when your only comeback is but... but.. but.. its right wing media. 🙄

Really? You didn't look very hard, which is saying something considering this took me literally 15 seconds to find... Video: Extinction Rebellion protest blocks traffic and NHS ambulance | Daily Mail Online You seem to define protesters blocking an ambulance in a manner in which the protesters themselves need to stand in front and block yet, fail to realise that these xR protest where they close of roads or bridges in this case etc can have far reaching consequences. In the above example xR might not have blocked the ambulance directly however, the chaos caused by blocking a bridge did indeed block an ambulance from the direct route to the hospital meaning that ambulance needed to back track away from the hospital which could have caused serious issues to the patient within due to the delay.

As far as the furry community goes, it is a difficult one to do as the SL community can be said to be different to the RL one. So LL would have to be careful with regards to this. For example, a person in RL identifying as a Furry is an actual thing which other people would not consider being a part of even if they like dress up etc. In SL however a furry could be a person that identifies in RL as one but also a person that simply likes to be one in SL (for example due to being able to get a body cheaper than a human avatar or not wanting to be a human like everyone else), RP one or be a feral etc, but doesn't identify as one in RL or as part of the RL community. This was the same problem in early SL where the furry community was shunned due to the perception that SL's furry community is the same as the RL community with all the stigma's that went with it, when in essence the SL community was different due to having a combination of RL and SL only variants. It therefore makes it harder for LL to define the community as they have done with the current two which are the same in SL and RL.

Why do some people keep misreading my posts and yet others like Qie get what I am saying perfectly fine. I am saying that if you use the mod version, mod it and then remove the scripts then you have to either reload a new scripted version because most dont realise you need to press that little button or edit the mesh itself and apply alpha masking manually. If you use the no mod version, it requires the hud to change it but some people dont know about it and therefore dont realise you need to press it as it is not written anywhere in the user guide with the body, and also can bug out especially if someone presses the BOM button next to it which screws up your normal textures etc. That is ALL I am saying. I have talked to many users of the Jake body that are shocked to learn that alpha layers work as they thought it didn't as they never knew you had a button there in the first place. Even Qie who is certainly no new user of SL admitted to the same problem of not knowing alpha layers worked on Jake. Many of my furry friends who mod the body more than what most usual human avatars or furry avatars do, found it out to late and had to re-mod their body due to this. Even with all that said, it is generally a moot point anyway as 99% of male clothing creators do not include an alpha layer with clothing forcing people to use the alpha cut system unless once again they have modding know how. That is why in my original post my main and really only point was that the NUX body needs to have only alpha layers, replace the default mesh entirely, offer more BoM places and offer no complications for new users. Instead we have 2-3 pages of people going of on a tangent because I made an on the fly comment on how some bodies dont allow alpha layers 'cause they are no mod (Note not Jake) and have them set up wrong and used Jake as an example to respond to another user of them being set up wrong and causing issues. Good grief...

Hence why I said who knows if the threshold was accurate or not as the wiki might be out of date.🙄 i.e. I answered the OP question as to being gross based on the wiki and not net and warned the thresholds may be out of date.

It is still the case with Bellezza bodies, well Jake anyway. I literally double checked yesterday to make sure and got a redelivery of the latest. The new version is still defaulted to none alpha. It comes down to ease of use and keeping things tidy. It is better for a new user to not have to worry about right clicking removal all and then wondering why there is another body different to the one they have on from the start showing. Then having to find out where their nice mesh body went etc. What they have from the start aka Ruth and Roth should be all they see no matter if they select remove all. Replacing the system body mesh should be easy as pie for LL to do as it is literally a replace with the new look mesh if they are keeping all the same sliders/bones etc. Additionally, why would Linden Lab who actually can replace the system avatar mesh even consider using the mesh BoM system that was only introduced because content creators cannot replace the system mesh themselves? It makes no sense for LL to even consider not replacing the default mesh.

From here Linden Lab Official:Required Tax Documentation FAQ - Second Life Wiki : What is IRC Section 6050W, and how do I know if it affects me? This US tax law requires Linden Lab to report to the IRS the total amount of money paid to any US resident whose L$ sales transactions reach certain thresholds in a calendar year. For U.S. residents with 200 or more L$ sale transactions with a total amount of gross proceeds in excess of $20,000 in a calendar year, we are required to file a Form 1099-K with the IRS reporting those transactions for that year. We will send you a copy of this form. What is a Form 1099-K? Why would I receive one from Linden Lab, and when? This form is used to report to the IRS the gross proceeds earned from L$ sales transactions in a calendar year. Linden Lab is required to file this form for US residents who reach certain transaction thresholds. For U.S. residents with 200 or more L$ sale transactions with a total amount of gross proceeds in excess of $20,000 in a calendar year, we are required to file a Form 1099-K with the IRS reporting those transactions for that year. ------------------ Whether this threshold is the latest who knows as LL are notorious for not updating the wiki. A 2019 blog entry links to the wiki so I assume it is up to date since then. That said, per your question it is Gross not net.

You still need to assign it to Alpha masking though as the default alpha channel is set none. How many times do I have to say it. Even @Jenna Huntsman mentioned the same issue. It should be alpha mask by default as BoM is what most people use. I have had to tell many people this who try to use alpha layers with the Jake body and some of those members who used the mod version or a no script optimised version got annoyed as they had to either mod the body manually or put a new one on with scripts just to use the button to make it work. All of this is off topic anyway and was not the intention of the post I made at the start anyway.

Did I say they were not updated for BoM? No. Did I say that they were Omega BoM? No. Did I say there wasn't a mod version included? No. I even said there was. Here I will quote what I wrote "A mod version of the body is provided". What I did say however was that the Jake body (V3 - the LATEST) has not had its skin mesh set to Alpha Masking by default and therefore alpha BoM layers dont work. If you dont want to keep scripts in, you have to edit the mod version and set the body segments i.e. Body 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc. to Alpha masking (alpha blending causes alpha issues) so that when an alpha layer is put on it alphas. If you want to use the no mod version you have to use a the HuD and press the tiny little none button next to the BoM button (that does absolutely nothing a left over from the old version) till you get it set to alpha mask for them to work making my other point valid that it uses a script but bugs out sometimes on laggy sims or doesn't work if you are on a sim that bans script entry. Alpha Masking should be on by default. There is no need for a BoM body to even have the option to change it from alpha masking to 'none' as when not alpha'd it is always visible and when alpha'd not. Having a script in to do that is absurd and needing to edit the mod version to make it the case if you dont want scripts in is equally absurd.

It depends on the body. Some mesh bodies haven't had them edited to allow for them and they set the body no mod. Even if they provide an additional modify body for it then a user would need to know how to set it up so that it allows for alpha layers to work. Take for example the Jake Body. It is no mod from unpack and has not had it set up for alpha layers to work for it. A mod version of the body is provided but a user would need to know that they have to set each body skin segment as alpha mask rather than alpha blending to make it so that alpha layers work. If the body is no mod and doesn't provide a modifiable version then good luck. Sometimes a script when changing to BoM does it automatically however sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it just bugs out. Additionally, because mesh bodies have segmented mesh it means that it makes the mesh very complex and unoptimised not to mention needing scripts within the body to handle appliers, hud as well as converting it at the push of a button on the hud to BoM and back again (once again depending on the body). Not having scripts in the body would mean less lag for everyone. You also didn't understand what I meant about the new NUX body. BoM as we know it now applies to a mesh body that is attached to the default avatar and when this is done, the default avatar is hidden underneath. When I said old BoM i meant system layers and am hoping that the new NUX body wont be like current bodies where it goes over the default body and hides it but an entire replacement of the default mesh aka not BoM as we know it now but solely system layers as it was pre mesh bodies.

No idea, never bought a female body so wouldn't know. All I know is that from new user reviews on why they left Second Life the fact that to get a good body cost them $30USD odd was enough to make them stop playing as they didnt want to make an investment of such a large amount early but felt they needed to due to having and being told they have a 'noob' look.

It would depend on its ease to create content for it, how realistic/customisable it is (it needs to be as realistic/customisable as possible for all races/beings) and whether it actually is optimised better than what is available. If it ticks all three of those then it will be something that content creators would need to create for as it could potentially have a greater uptake than other bodies. For example, if it works with alpha layers like the default body can currently (unlike mesh bodies which need alpha cuts through a hud), then it would already be far more optimised than other mesh bodies out there right from the start. This is due to current bodies needing multiple mesh segments to allow for alpha cutting. BoM doesn't allow for system body alpha layers to be used, whereas a default updated system body would allow for it saving render cost. That is if the old system body is replaced with new mesh and not just a mesh body over the old system body (aka user created mesh body method). If they update the default avatar layer system (old BoM) so that it can have more slots like finger nails and allow for smaller alpha cut sections similar to a user created mesh body alpha segments etc. Then, alpha layers could be used basically the same as a mesh body hud albeit be a simple clothing creator created alpha layer supplied with the clothes, without the need for the hud and can be precise unlike current mesh bodies. You also have to remember that it is free from the start. So any new user would potentially not see a need to update to a user created body. With existing users already having numerous user created mesh bodies, they are already at market saturation with existing users. If new sign-ups are what LL say they are, then it will be these new users that could potentially flip the market.

Yes it does. No matter where the business takes place or is located, if they provide services or products to Australian citizens they must comply with Australian Consumer Law and if not the ACCC can sue them in the Australian Court no matter what the companies ToC's say. It is one of the things that gets American Companies in trouble so often. It gets to the point where as soon as an Australian citizen mentions the ACCC in support chat, the support team automatically closes the case and states that any further discussion would need to go through lawyers as they know how aggressive the ACCC is and is feared due to this. Steam for example was forced to pay $3million in fines as well as a public apology needing to be displayed for 12months on any Australian Steam account 24/7 for having their ToC's and support staff saying refunds are not allowed and using the excuse that they are an American company and immune from Australian law (which got them into more trouble). Warning for foreign-based businesses: ignore Australias consumer laws at your peril Even social media such as facebook can be taken to court in Australia and fined should they not conduct their services in accordance with Australian Law. For example, the ACCC was part of the process in ensuring that Facebook and Google pay royalties when showing news articles from Australian New Companies on their sites. It is the reason Facebook turned off news for Australian Citizens in protest for a few days. ETA: A physical presence in Australia is not needed at all. If the ACCC or finally the Judge can see that users have consumer accounts or have purchased a game or computer software online (ACL considers a game - including subs, or computer software 'goods') that is sufficient to be recognised as having a presence in Australia.

When they ceased the chat app and stated they were looking at more exciting mobile possibilities, I had a feeling they were thinking of streaming especially recently when they mentioned in one of the meetings a while ago that they were thinking of mobile tied to subscription. Trouble with such a move is that they should have just bought OnLive when they went defunct rather than letting Sony buy it and its assets/services. Would have solved a lot of issues and wait time considering that was eons ago not to mention placed LL in the possible forefront of streaming other games/programs before Nvidea, google, etc did a few years ago.

No comment on the iphone but Switch sounds good. I stopped using Samsung so no idea about that. That said here in Aus you can usually get OEM batteries or Certified replacements very easily at repair stores. Shame there is no way for other people outside of Aus to buy them from here.

Never will happen we know how to handle our fauna