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Linden Lab

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  1. Today we are shining a spotlight on Apple Dismantled, a talented 2D artist seamlessly combining art mediums and bringing her digital art into Second Life. How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I first heard about Second Life in 2004 from a friend. I signed up, realized how much money it took to get set up properly, and never touched it again…. Until 2009 when I decided that I was interested and wanted to play again. I ended up making a whole new account and I have been here since. You are a real-life artist, can you tell us what kind of art you create and what are some of your favorite art mediums? I tend to lean towards the abstract realm of art for the most part. My favorite mediums for 2D art are Acrylic, Watercolor, and Fountain Pen Ink. I also dabble in digital artwork and make some pretty neat mandalas. Most of my artwork in Second Life is Fountain Pen ink as I have found that’s one of my favorites because, with simple chemical additions or techniques, you can make it react in a variety of ways and get some interesting final pieces. Though I will admit that there are plenty of failures along the way, it is still all a part of constantly learning. I’ve also done all types of other types of art in Real Life too. If you name it, I’ve likely tried it, or want to. The piece that started it all, Dissolve, in progress Tell us about some of the artists or works of art that inspired you to become an artist. In real life, my art taste is all over. I can clearly remember the first piece of artwork I became very interested in because I had a moment of “You can really do anything” was Edgar Degas “The Little Dancer” where he combines a whole heap of materials for a stunning final piece. (That tutu though was what first caught my eye) However, I’m the kind of person that can look at most any art piece and find something about it that I really like and inspires me. Art is subjective and I like being able to offer my art as abstract with the song that inspired it and letting the person make their own journey. I don’t like to present my art with a clear strict message on how to consume it, I present it in a way that allows the person to take it however they want, or leave it. The journey can be different every time too depending on your mood and where your mind is at. You also bring your art into Second Life, how does your RL art experience translate to your SL art experience? This is a tricky one to answer as I’ve never really had the opportunity to present the art I offer in Second Life in Real Life in a gallery capacity. I did make a website that was a gallery of my art with links to the music for each piece, but the cost was a bit intense to maintain and I just felt like nobody really understood it so I got uninspired and let it go. I feel like Second Life offers me more freedom in how I present my artwork and I can present it in a gentle way to where like anything in Second Life, people can make their own adventures. What art communities or groups within SL are you connected to? I’m not really connected with any outside of Curated Event. Do you have any helpful tips for new emerging artists? Don’t base your idea of success on other people’s opinions of your work. Stay Weird. Are there any other projects, activities, and events you are involved with in Second Life? Outside of the few events that I am in with my artwork, I have been a DJ in Second Life for over a decade and used to do 2-4 sets a week, now I tend to do one-off events here and there at places like Leviathan Bay. I was also involved with the art side as well as DJ’n at an event called Smokefest which was pretty rad and I’d love to see more and get involved in larger music events like that in Second Life. As for other stuff, I’m honestly not doing a ton in Second Life currently, however, I’m always on the lookout for more fun things to help however I can. Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by a plethora of artists in a variety of mediums and expressions and every single one of them in their own way inspires me. Whether it be seeing the cool stuff they do and being able to gas them up and in return, it inspires me to do cool stuff too, to when you get those compliments from creators and artists you admire and it surprises you because not only do you realize they know you exist, but they think your stuff is cool too! Second Life is full of artists because it’s a completely blank canvas that residents have built up over the years. It's become not just a virtual world but an entire interactive gallery you can enjoy however you’d like. Where can people see your art? Please share links to your inworld galleries, sites, and social media accounts. Well, if they DM me I’m more than likely to show whatever WIP I have going. But really, just keeping up with my Second Life Flickr for all I do here in Second Life. I am also currently working on an Art Facebook Page as well as a Youtube channel where I post videos occasionally. InWorld Gallery Satellite Gallery at Leviathan Bay Flickr Facebook YouTube Apple is also generously giving out a piece of her Art for free at her gallery to celebrate this Spotlight Feature. It will be available until March 31st, 2023. Teleport over to pick it up today! The Art of A. Rose aka Apple Dismantled An interactive gallery of Real Life artwork and the music that it was created to and inspired by. New art is added often. Visit in Second Life Thank you, Apple, for adding your talent to the vast art community in Second Life! Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
  2. It’s been a very busy and productive 2023 for Second Life and our team is hard at work to make Second Life even better. The past year has seen several significant new features and improvements and we have quite a few more in the works (such as the PBR viewer, avatar customization ease including inventory thumbnails, a new mesh starter avatar, new LSL functions that improve the quality of life for scripters, and - yes! - a world and avatar-centered mobile-first Viewer). One of our goals is to make virtual land ever more accessible to empower our Residents to create and build amazing virtual communities and experiences. That’s why over the past five years, we’ve lowered land costs several times, slashed setup fees, and introduced initiatives to further help reduce land costs (such as introducing Plus, lowering price of Mainland for easier entry into Mainland ownership and making a Homestead available for purchase with no restrictions for Premium Plus members). In recognition of our upcoming 20th anniversary, we are making additional changes to land ownership to enable Second Life communities - great and small: Dropping the monthly price of Full Regions by $20 for our 20th anniversary – effective immediately, Full Regions are now $209/mo. Accepting Linden Dollars for land payments - a convenient new option for Premium Plus members. If you are a creator earning L$ inworld, you now won’t have to sell on the LindeX to pay for your region! Pictured: This chart shows Full Region price reductions over the past 5 years including today’s new pricing in USD. Upgrade to 30K Land Impact is available for all Full Regions for an additional $30 USD monthly. This latest land price reduction, increased development of Second Life features, improvements, and an unfortunate combination of world-wide economic factors including inflation, all bring additional costs to our operations. We’ve spent time considering ways to manage these costs to minimize the overall burden on our Residents. We decided to absorb many of the costs and distribute some by making a change to Linden Dollar buy and sell fees. Effective today, we are changing LindeX fees as follows: Increasing the buy fee to 10% with a minimum fee of $1.49 and a maximum fee of $14.99USD per transaction Increasing the sell fee to 5% We know that many community members may have questions about these changes, so please see the FAQ below for more information and context. For further questions, please join the conversation in our community forums. We’ll also be discussing these changes and sharing more from our 2023 roadmap on a special edition of “Lab Gab” this Friday. Stay tuned for a “first look” preview of the work we’ve been doing on Mobile in the next few days, too. FEE CHANGES FAQ Q: Which types of land does the new pricing apply to? A: Full regions now cost $209. Full regions with 30K upgrade cost $239. EDU prices are still 50% off. Q: What about Buydown / Grandfather pricing? Homesteads? Open spaces? Mainland? A: All other land pricing is unchanged. However, we did just recently roll out a Homestead benefit for Premium Plus and a Mainland discount. Q: How much land can I pay for in L$? How do I pay for Land in L$? A: You can pay for up to one private region (some restrictions apply) in L$ as long as you maintain a Premium Plus subscription. See this article for details. Q: How will the fee changes impact the cost of my Linden Dollar purchases and sales? A: It depends on the size of your Linden Dollar purchase in each transaction. For example, smaller Linden Dollar purchases (roughly equivalent to about $15 USD or less*) will see no change in cost as the $1.49 minimum charge is equivalent to the cost of the existing flat fee. For larger Linden Dollar purchases (approximately $149 or higher*), the 10% fee will cap out at $14.99 maximum in a single transaction. Sell fees will always be at 5% per transaction regardless of the size of the transaction. Q: How will I know the exact transaction fee that I’m charged before I make the purchase? A: The transaction fee will be clearly visible at the point of sale on the Buy L$ page on the Secondlife.com website. The image below shows you an example of where to see the transaction fee before the purchase transaction is completed: You will see the 10% transaction fee auto-calculate as you increase or decrease the amount of Linden Dollars you wish to purchase. Q: Will the fee show up clearly on my transaction log or invoice? A: Yes! You will see a dedicated line on both your invoice and transaction log for your “LindeX Buy/Sell Fee.” Here is how it will look on your transaction log: Here is how it will look on your invoice: Q: When does the new fee rate take effect? A: The new fee rate is effective today March 6, 2023. Q: If I placed an order to buy or sell L$ before the March 6 change, but it has not yet been filled, will I be charged the old fee or the new fee? A: Buy Orders placed before the change will be charged at the old rate. Sell orders will be charged at the rate effective at time of L$ sell order fulfillment. * Disclaimer: The actual dollar value may vary depending on the LindeX exchange rate, which automatically matches your order with the market rate at the time of the transaction. These estimates are accurate at the time of this blog post but are subject to change. Our Support Team stands ready to answer any questions you may have about these changes. Please log into your dashboard at https://support.secondlife.com to contact us.
  3. Want to learn more about upcoming Second Life features, changes, and our roadmap for 2023? Second Life’s VP of Product Grumpity Linden, VP of Product Operations Patch Linden, and VP of Engineering Mojo Linden will be in a pre-recorded Lab Gab on Friday, March 10th at 9am PT. Do you have questions for Grumpity, Patch, or Mojo that you’d like our host to ask on your behalf? Fill out the Google Form and submit your question, and it may be selected! The form will close on Thursday, March 9th at 9am PT. Be sure to watch us next Friday on the Second Life YouTube Channel and learn more about our future plans!
  4. Today we are shining a spotlight on Teal Aurelia, a fantastic storyteller that creates uniquely edited machinima incorporating exciting visuals that engage and inspire the viewer. How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I was an Alaskan living in Thailand in 2009, and SL was the platform that my local friends socialized on when it was too hot to go outside. I miss that level of RL/SL overlap, honestly. I'd love to see metaverse platforms become mainstream community space. I've bounced in and out of SL since then. I joined the Flickr community last year to practice Photoshop edits, and it made me realize that I'd never seen an SL video edited as heavily as photos. I figured I'd try. You’ve been creating stunning machinima, do you have a background in video editing and what kind of tools do you use? I just graduated with an animation degree last summer, but I plan to specialize in post-production. My university is known for its traditional animators, so if I wasn't drawing, I was in a stop-motion studio working with physical rigs and cameras. I use Toon Boom and TVPaint for 2D animation, Nuke and After Effects for compositing, Premiere and Avid for editing, and the cheapest sketchbooks to draw in. I didn't plan on learning CG or visual effects. I think that sometimes the universe shoves us unsubtly towards the right circumstances for our evolution. The pandemic shut down my campus for a year, so I veered into CG character-modelling and animation in Maya as a sidequest. I didn't expect to fall in love with environment design, or that my grad film would involve landscapes with 40,000 trees that would take impossibly long render, or that those things would force me to film on green screens and learn proper post-production. I create machinima because it allows me to skip straight to the parts of filmmaking I adore. That wouldn't be possible without all the creators whose work I utilize for characters, props, and sets. Brands like Doux, The Forge, and Swallow have supported me from the beginning, and I might have stopped filming after one video if not for the force of their kindness and creativity behind me. Your machinima is a mix of Second Life and other virtual worlds and gaming platforms, what inspires you to blend all of these elements? I think if you asked SL photographers why they do what they do, a lot of them would say they enjoy editing. That's also why I film. Compositing SL avatars into other game environments may sound lazy, but it takes skill. It's the same skill that puts monsters and superpowers into live-action movies, and if it's done well, it sells a film. It's what I want to do for a career. If I can convince you that an SL avatar belongs in a non-SL environment, it means my editing is okay. It's a process of stitching two worlds together with color and light. My latest video for Signature is shot entirely in SL with sets from Fanatik Architecture, but I still filmed the avatars against green screens. Separating characters from backgrounds allows me to create an army from a single avatar, to make buildings collapse realistically, and to layer effects. When I edit, I learn, and it improves my worth as a freelancer RL. Fantastic storytelling is a significant part of the draw in your machinimas. Where do you come up with your ideas and how long does it typically take you from concept to execution? I dreaded this question! A one-minute film currently takes me about a month to complete. I use the same pipeline as I would for creating a RL film or commercial, so I typically spend 40% of that time in pre-production (researching, storyboarding, figuring out the animation, testing lighting, arranging sets), 10% filming, and 50% in post-production. Add an extra week for things to go wrong. To apply that to my recent Signature film, I didn't just log in and start filming on day one. Raph Dirval was really supportive in allowing me to run with whatever concept I chose, and I knew I wanted a film that could showcase how naturally-expressive Signature's mesh heads are. I needed a story with anger, with sadness. Those emotions have always been tricky to portray in SL machinima. I'd experimented with animating Lelutka heads in a previous video, and was confident I could push it even further for this Signature film. "Though victory's proof of the skill you possess, defeat is the proof of your grit," is the beginning of the Edgar Albert Guest poem that became the concept for this film. I wanted a main character who'd lost everything and faced horrible odds, but stood up and fought back. I think everyone can relate to that feeling of being crushed to dust but choosing to reignite. See the Signature video on the Second Life YouTube channel submitted by Teal for Spotlight: Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. I made a video called "Artists of SL" which features a few of my influences. It was really a thank-you to some of the creative giants I've learned from. Tutorials by Anya Ohmai and Strawberry Singh got me started in Photoshop. Artists such as Emeline Laks and Panda Banana showed me that it's possible to tell a story in a single frozen moment. A movie is just thousands of those moments squished together, so by understanding how photographers like Panda and Eme create remarkable images - the composition, lighting, posing, colour - I become a better filmmaker. For videography, Vrutega directs really complex cinematic scenes with an insane level of artistic technique. Godiva (Riqan Resident) has knowledge and perfectionism that make me feel less alone in how much time I spend on pre-production. Any Bergan, Lipe Vortex, and Kelie Ladys make incredible commercial videos showcasing products and events. ColeMarie Soleil's audio-visual alchemy for events like The Engine Room and Midnight Order reminds me that art should be a shared experience, even in a virtual space. She has such a genuine way of bringing creative people together. Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. Flickr Facebook YouTube Instagram Thank you, Teal, for your mesmerizing visuals and endless inspiration. Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
  5. Good morning everyone, At the end of last year we began the task of moving Marketplace search to an up-to-date version of ElasticSearch, the application we use to do full text searches. We apologize for some of the bumps you may have experienced in the last few weeks as we make this transition. The Marketplace search backend was showing its age. We’ve upgraded the technology and we’ve dusted off both our indexing and searching filters. We were running ElasticSearch version 2.3 and needed to update to ElasticSearch version 8.4. Our goal was to bring Marketplace search results closer to web search and make page loads faster, in order to improve your shopping and selling experience. In practical terms this means: Merchant and store names won’t be included in product-specific searches anymore, increasing the number of relevant results We’ve added the ability to do exact matches with quotes around a word or phrase You can do asterisk(*) wildcard searches Fuzzy matching will help with misspelled words and typos Search operators AND, OR, NOT will still work as before. (Note that they must be capitalized. Consult the tooltip next to keyword search for more information.) We received a number of reports about these issues: A bug with how relevance of search results is determined. This bug has been fixed. The search results page was displaying an inaccurate count of matching items. Search is returning the same number of matching item as before, but the count may say “10,000+” We hope this ElasticSearch upgrade will improve everyone’s Marketplace experience. However, we are continuing to fine-tune. If you find that Marketplace search isn’t working the way you’d expect, please let us know! We may very well be able to address your issue. An example of specific, helpful reporting might be, “I searched for ‘unicorn’, I expected ‘unicorn unicorn unicorn’ in the first page of results, but instead I got ‘horse costumes’.” From all of us on the Second Life Web team, thank you for your patience and understanding. Happy shopping and selling!
  6. Happy Wednesday! We’re writing to remind everyone that we’ll be holding our monthly Web User Group meeting today at 14:00 SLT in our usual meeting place, where we’ll be discussing our status with ongoing projects and our near future plans for our web properties. As always, we’ll leave plenty of time for Q&A from the community. We look forward to seeing you there. Keep up to date with all of our user group meetings on our wiki and public calendar.
  7. We have been very pleased to see the response and feedback for last names. Thank you for all the suggestions sent in for future last names through our Last Name Suggestion Form. Today we are doing our biggest last name refresh by removing some of the older last name options and adding the following new ones from your suggestions: Jeon Foxtail Varela Kealoha Primdashian Spicy Costanza Gupta Softpaw Vandervoort Tordenskjold Peabody Whiskers Quack Pixelbottom Blossom Bork Nightingale Sausage Fibble The following is a screenshot of the full list of current last names available: We will continue to make additional updates to the available last name pool, so if these options aren’t for you, stay tuned for future updates. You can also continue to suggest your favorite name on our suggestion form, all new names are chosen from there! For more information about the costs and how-tos involved in name changes, read the Changing your username FAQ. Click to change your name now!
  8. Meet Micheal (mjvusl), a brand new virtual world Resident that has already done over 100 shows in Second Life! Learn more about Micheal from this short interview and video as the next installment in our Made in Second Life series! Hi MJ, tell us more about yourself. My name is Micheal. Before anything else, I'm a dad to two amazing children who are full of life, super talented, extremely intelligent, and truly a blessing to know and watch grow. After that, I’m a live performing singer-songwriter. I collaborate with many engineers and producers but I usually produce my own music. I play a wide array of musical instruments and my favorites are keys and percussion. I feel it’s very important to my career to understand the business side of music so I’m also an entrepreneur. I own multiple businesses outside of music and entertainment while also consulting others with their businesses and ventures. How long have you been in Second Life and how has your experience been so far? I came to SL in November of 2022. Compared to other platforms, SL provides a life-like feeling to its residents. It allows me to create my likeness in its entirety, from facial and body structure as well as my voice. I’m even able to move like myself. The people here are so kind and supportive. The platform is an artists’ playground made by the residents for the residents. The staff is unlike any other that I’ve ever encountered. They are very helpful and invested in the work they do here. You write original tunes as well as covers, are you going to write and produce more originals? Is that where the train is headed? I’m always writing and my experiences in SL inspire me to write many more songs. I intend to write about my journey here in SL, songs based on relationships I’ve built here, and the overall poetic and artistic value of this open-ended world. Tell us more about the types of gigs you do. I’ve performed in-world and IRL at weddings, baby showers, nightclubs, music festivals, private dining events, award shows, charity events, and grand openings. The list goes on and on. I have no limits, I go where I am called and prepare a set that is specific to the event and the people in attendance. I produce my own backing tracks that allow me to collaborate with anyone at any time, granted they are able and willing to do so. Do you have any advice for musicians not familiar with playing music in virtual worlds? My advice to musicians is if you’re looking to travel the world in a short amount of time come to Second Life. Performing virtually is the future and SL makes it so easy to recreate your likeness and take your show on the virtual road. A lot of times I travel in the physical world and I’m able to perform in virtual reality between RL shows and while at the venues I’ll be performing at. You can put on a whole concert in Indonesia while at home in New York wearing a robe. Nobody is doing everything all by themselves and especially in SL we have a wonderfully collaborative atmosphere. Feel free to give a shout-out to your friends and collaborators! Ok, I might forget a lot, but notable people include: Alix Constant and ACI Muzik, Carmen Lashay aka Brielle Armani and Micheal LIVE, Vrutega, Tarah Chosen, Lucille Antoinette, Cassel Patheos Goorin, Jason Sutton, Combination- My Band, Johnny of Paragon Dance Animations, Sabreen Fanci Reign, Taboo Reign, Glamaris Montclair, Cherry Rodriguez, Cece Alessi, Novel and Mae Hooly and Hoolyville Records including Eyema Straaf-Yazimoto, CEO of CheBeddu Choreography, Jay Trilogy and Rico Rodex of HBAM (Hustle By Any Means) Ent., Sabina Valeska and Cali Gula from AVTV, Nesto, Tekila, Horrorz and my whole Smokefest Family, Omega Nu Theta, SecondLife, Mason Santiago, Chris Brown SL, Kitora Yong and Pretty Yong Thang for designing my skin based off of my RL likeness, Mr. Red and his lovely wife, Victoria. Kirie Cho Marani, David Heather, Javon and Exeter, and the whole Second Life community. Check out Micheal’s linktree and attend his next show, live in Second Life! Video Production by Draxtor Despres Logo by Marianne McCann
  9. Today we are shining a spotlight on Sage Absinthe Oatsmill, a multi-talented creator bringing inclusive avatar components, decor, and destinations to the grid! How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I've been a Second Life resident for a little over ten years. I discovered it through researching virtual worlds at the time. It was number one on the "Top virtual worlds of 2012" list on some tech blog. I've always been fascinated by virtual worlds, MMORPGs, and other metaverse continuums. You have a store, Mura, where your creations range from unique food, to hair, and other avatar accessories. How did you get into Second Life content creation and what are some of your favorite items you’ve created? Although I launched Mura in September 2021, I've dabbled in content creation previously. I launched two clothing stores - Chloe in 2014 and Audace in 2016. Since I needed to gain the skills to mesh and create my own content from scratch, I purchased full perm meshes of clothing and worked to give them some really unique textures. Unfortunately, I decided to close them both when I took a hiatus from Second Life in 2017. I came back in 2020 during the pandemic. After reacquainting myself with Second Life, I decided to learn how to make original 3D content. I took a class by an amazing creator, Mesh Kitti, which lasted about two months. I felt that was all I needed before launching my first original mesh product, which was the Jollof rice set. Some of my favorite items that I've created are: 1. Seafood party platter 2. North African Mezze Platter 3. Interactive Cocktail Set 4. Nigerian Buffet The common denominator of these products is that they're meant to bring people together through food. You are also an incredible photographer and machinima artist, along with being the Marketing and Digital Director for Sage & Crystals Magazine in Second Life. Do you have a background in videography, photography, or magazine work? I have a real-world background in all three. Years ago, I worked at Cosmopolitan and Seventeen Magazine's editorial features department, among others. This experience helped inform my knowledge of the production flow of an issue. Currently, I'm a commercial director and photographer, working with fashion, tech, and entertainment clients. After all of that, you also run Teranga City in Second Life. Can you tell us more about this destination? What inspired it? What are the different venues Residents can find there, and are there regular events they can attend? It's a funny origin story, but I started working on Teranga while I was sick and bedridden from COVID in real life (April 2022), but I still wanted something to do to keep me busy. It took about six months to complete. I wanted to create a slice of my family's home countries (Senegal and Morocco). I never really saw a sim or community on Second Life that accurately depicted modern cities of North and West Africa. There's the representation of historical depictions or things like safaris, but that's not the actual reality for millions of people on the continent. I intended to create a space for everyone of all backgrounds to enjoy, explore and connect with the culture. In addition, I wanted to provide a hospitality destination with this same ethos, so I created Al-Mouna Resort, which takes up a little more than 1/4th of the sim. I custom-built the resort's main building and landscaped and decorated the sim with the help of my Second Life family members, Zoeynova Oatsmill and Zai Starchild, who are also phenomenal decorators and developers. There are so many things to do in Teranga. As I've stated, there's Al-Mouna resort which has a bathhouse, a spa and wellness center, a self-serve buffet, a beach, pools, and soon a MyStory-compatible restaurant. But, this is only accessible to guests that rent a room or villa. On the rest of the sim, which is open to the public, there's Absinthe Club and Lounge, La Galerie Mall, which hosts the Dancing Robot arcade, a food court, an apothecary, Lucien's Jazz Bar and Lounge, and La Tois de La Teranga, a rooftop club, and pool. There's a Souk (traditional North African market), a beauty salon, a cafe, multiple eateries, a museum specializing in African diaspora art, and Mura, my mainstore. We have regular events at Absinthe lounge, where folks can dance and enjoy salsa and Afrobeats music. Monthly, we've had Layali Troupe, a belly dance entertainment group perform, as well as Semina, a talented live singer. Tell us about some of the other Creators in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. Many creators inspire me so much, and the list is terribly long. As you've noted, I dabble in various creative modalities, so I can attempt to categorize those who inspire. As a content creator, I'm most inspired by Lucas Lameth, who is a wonderful and talented creator and a kind and generous person. His work and artistic style are unique and some of the best I've seen on the grid! I'm constantly drooling over his mesh food releases. In the realm of videography, I'm most inspired by Sere Vene, who released their short film "Magazine" about two years ago. I was in awe when I saw this piece for the first time. At this point, I've only been creating videos for six months. Nevertheless, it was one of the best-executed shorts I've seen in Second Life at that moment. The way each sequence transitioned into another, the editing, the costume and set design, the animations, and the sound engineering all made it so extravagant and special. As someone who mainly focuses on music video machinima, all of those aspects are so important to capture effectively in a small period of time. Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. People can find all of my links through my linktree. Watch this amazing machinima submitted by Sage. Thank you, Sage, your work is truly inspiring! Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
  10. The Concierge and Land User Group meeting is a monthly, public meeting for discussion and education on Second Life, useful to both Mainland Residents and Estate owners. Topics include any issues relating to Customer Relations/Support or concerning Land in general (mainland, islands, Linden Homes, estates, auctions, etc.). Join Wendi, Vix, and members of the Land team, on Wednesday at 12pm PT at Linden Estate Services. All are welcome. Keep up to date with all of our user group meetings on our wiki and public calendar.
  11. Find inspiration at Artsville, a thriving community of both emerging and established artists in Second Life. The Artsville Galleries are co-owned by Frank Atisso and Jerzzie Reece Redstar. Apart from three traditional gallery spaces on the ground, Artsville also has platforms in the sky, where artists are able to create their own immersive art installations. The half region of Artsville has been completely designed by Megan Prumier. Frank shares how they’ve built an art-loving community: “Second Life is a rich medium for creativity of all forms and our objective at Artsville is just to encourage that. Both newer as well as well-established artists in Second Life are welcomed here. We encourage artists to come to us with ideas about any exhibits and installations they may have and our mission is to always support them in bringing their ideas to life as well as making the larger Second Life world aware of their creativity. Apart from 2D and 3D art, we also support music, dance, and poetry. Every Tuesday at 1 pm SLT the International Poetic Friends organize an Open Mic Poetry session at Artsville which all are welcome to attend. We have also had three performances of Milena Carbone's ballet - PARALLELS. Community building has been our focus since we started. Through photo contests and themed events, we attempt to make Artsville a bustling place for people to meet other like-minded individuals and encourage collaborations between artists, photographers, and galleries while also having fun at the same time.” Current Exhibitions at Artsville are: Gallery 1 - SOLITUDE by Banagher Crisp Gallery 2 - THE ART OF MADNESS by Shane Spero Gallery 3 - BOLD ABSTRACTS by Pagan Lane Current Installations - which can be accessed through TP boards opposite the cafe - are as follows: 1. CAGES by Ava Darkheart 2. THE BOOK OF CALIGULA by Chuck Clip And a brand new installation is coming on Feb 24th: "The Magical Forest - A Cautionary Tale" by Harry Cover and Jaz If you’re looking for like-minded art lovers, teleport over to the Artsville community today! Video Production by Draxtor Despres Artsville Galleries & Community Artsville is a place for all art lovers to enjoy outstanding artwork by some of the most talented artists, both emerging and established. One can also rent a beautiful home and experience what the luxury life feels like. Designed by Megan Prumier, this incredible destination for art is sure to leave you amazed. Visit in Second Life
  12. Today we are shining a spotlight on BadUnicorn, also known as Bhad Craven. This creative innovator brings fun and interactive content to the Second Life grid! Artwork of BadUnicorn’s Second Life avatar by artist Nylon Pinkney How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? In 2012, as a young art student, I was captivated by a funny YouTube video that showed a large group of avatars talking and having fun in Second Life. Intrigued, I showed it to some friends, and we gave it a try, roaming around causing mischief and talking with players from different backgrounds and countries. When I discovered that Second Life was pre-installed on the work computers at college, I took the opportunity to log in alone and was struck by the immersive experience and sense of community within the virtual world. Since then, I have been a dedicated player of Second Life, actively creating and contributing content to the platform. You’ve been making immersive content in Second Life for many years, how did you get into content creation and what are some of your favorite items that you have created? Upon my arrival in Second Life, the community was buzzing with excitement over the transition from prims to mesh. I had a background in 3D art and design, knowing the basics of mesh and texture creation. I saw this as an opportunity to improve my skills and used Second Life as a platform for self-teaching and experimentation. Some of my favorite creations are: - My product unboxer/unpacker. I love branding and packaging design, and I had a blast turning a boring cardboard box into something fun and practical. I also incorporated it into my new logo. - Penalty Game, a 2-player football/soccer shootout game. I really enjoy making animated and interactive products. - Chonky Corn, a thick huggable plushie. I love creating cute and silly characters, especially since Animesh arrived. It has opened up so many creative possibilities! Your content is very fun, creative, and interactive - how do you come up with your ideas, and do you do all of the animations, scripting, and creating yourself? Thanks! I'm not really sure where my ideas come from. I visit a lot of art exhibitions and galleries, so I think that could play a big role in my inspiration. I run the store by myself, and I also create all the meshes and textures. The animations and scripts I use are usually custom orders, but I'm lucky because Second Life has a lot of talented animators and scripters who help bring my creations to life. Cravone City recently celebrated its 2nd anniversary in Second Life, can you tell us more about your involvement with this region and what can Residents expect when visiting there? I have co-owned Cravone for many years with my friend Capone Macamorgh, way before it became Cravone City. Initially, it was just a place to house our Mainstore buildings. However, In 2021 we wanted to do something a little different for the community. That's when we found Paradox Ivory, the talented sim designer behind 'The Apartments & Tokyo Street'. We shared our ideas with her and she brought them to life, creating a stunning and functional space that exceeded our expectations. Cravone is made up of popular brands such as Animosity, Bad Unicorn, Baka, Hevo, and Scotch. Overall the sim offers an immersive experience with various beautifully crafted urban locations. The sim is made up of custom-made meshes and prefabs, creating a unique space we are all proud to call home. Words cannot do justice to the level of detail and craftsmanship that has gone into creating Cravone. To truly appreciate its beauty, you must see it inworld. We are constantly updating the space. You’ve also expanded your content creation to OpenSea, can you tell us how and why you decided to venture out to the NFT world? As a 3D artist in Second Life, I ventured into the NFT world to showcase my work and reach a wider audience. I am deeply intrigued by the concept of NFTs and believe that verifying ownership of digital creations is crucial to the future of art. In my opinion, Second Life was the origin of NFTs, as it allows the creation no-copy permission items that can be kept, displayed, or resold. I started my journey by creating collectibles called "Boops" and listing them on OpenSea, an NFT marketplace. This was a great experiment to gain an understanding of the NFT process. I have plans to create new collections of one-of-a-kind pieces and take my art to the next level. Exciting things are in store, so stay tuned! Tell us about some of the other Residents and Creators in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. Over the years, I've met some pretty amazing people, but two that stand out to me are Mikel Monk and Capone Macmoragh. Mikel is a jack-of-all-trades, owning The Men's Department, Anthem Event, and the store Bueno. He inspires me with his hustle and determination, not to mention his thriving art career on the side. He's a true inspiration. Capone, who owns Scotch and co-owns Cravone, was a mentor to me when I was starting out. He gave me tips and tricks when creating meshes for the platform. He even teaches classes on mesh and texture creation, that's something I'd love to do someday too. Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. All my links can be found on my linktree: linktree.com/badunicorn Watch this creative video submitted by BadUnicorn Video production by Kelie Ladys Thank you Bhad for all the innovative content you bring to the grid! Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
  13. Learn how you can make a difference at What the Buzz, an interactive bee and pollinator reserve in Second Life, and the catalyst for The Nature Collective by Emmalee Evergarden. Emmalee shares her inspiration behind What the Buzz and The Nature Collective: “I've always been a nature lover. I'm usually the one stopping to look at a plant or flower, insects, birds, or trees while everyone else is hurrying along, and saving the bees has always been a passion of mine. When I joined SL a couple of years ago, I felt it was the perfect way to create a way for people to become immersed in nature and learn about what they can do to help save the bees and other pollinators. I hope they visit What the Buzz and walk away with some ideas on small changes they can implement in their day-to-day lives to help make a difference. I got sick a couple of years ago and it affected my ability to do a lot of the things I was once physically able to do. Creating What the Buzz has helped me heal and given me a way to get out into nature, even if in the virtual world. In a way the bees saved me, so it only seems right that I do what I can to help save them right back. What the Buzz has also been the catalyst for my other project, The Nature Collective which has grown in leaps and bounds over the past year. I founded the group with the idea of creating a community of like minded nature loving people. TNC now has over 130 member locations and over 1100 group members. We have organized events with the Mainland Community Alliance. We have group SLRR rides, horseback rides, and group sails. We also have our own book club where we read and meet up to discuss nature-themed and related books. All of this is because of the bees and because Second Life has given me the platform to build and create. It truly is a magical place!” Video Production by Draxtor Despres What the Buzz Bee & Pollinator Reserve What the Buzz is an interactive bee and pollinator reserve where you can embark on a quest to find lost scientific journal pages and learn about different ways you can help save the bees. Stop by the farmers market and gift shop, and visit the Field Research Station where you can learn more about bees and what is causing their decline. There are even beehives you can help tend to! Visit in Second Life
  14. Class is back in session! Second Life University returns today at 12pm PT with Second Life’s Senior Software Engineer Runitai Linden (also known as Davep), and Second Life’s Product Manager, Kyle Linden. Davep and Kyle will be giving us an update on the status of PBR Materials in Second Life! These are some of the topics they are planning to cover during the show: Physically Based Rendering Wiki [Work in Progress] How to create a Metalic-Roughness! by Medhue Animations Download the latest GLTF PBR Materials Project Viewer Interested in checking out the upcoming materials features? Visit our Support site’s Accessing Aditi page to get started by requesting access to our Beta testing grid, Aditi. One you are logged in to the beta grid using the Project Viewer, go to the Rumpus Room regions Have more questions about PBR? Attend the Content Creator User Group Meetings Watch it live today at 12pm PT on the Second Life YouTube channel. We will be monitoring the YouTube chat and answering your questions. Stay tuned for future updates about Second Life University. Happy learning!
  15. Today we are shining a spotlight on Gianni Broda, the talent behind David Heather, a high-fashion luxury brand in Second Life. How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I have been in Second Life since 2006. I first heard about it while playing There and I became curious enough to check it out for myself. How did you get into Second Life content creation? I got into content creation because of my love for fashion. I had done research on Second Life before I joined, so I had already decided I wanted to be a designer inworld. You make incredibly gorgeous high fashion designs, do you have a background in fashion or 3D creation in the physical world? I don't have a background in fashion. Being a designer has just always been a dream. I am actually a Graphic Designer who specializes in publication designs for the fashion industry. That's as far as my connection goes, unfortunately. How has Second Life impacted your creativity within the fashion industry and are there any RL fashion influences that affect your work in Second Life? Fashion is a big part of how I became good at magazine design in RL. I have studied magazines so much that it comes naturally to me when I'm doing publication designs. I have always been inspired by creations from Mugler and Korean and Japanese couture in general. Tell us about some of the other Residents and Creators in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. I am a really big fan of Deadwool. His quality is amazing and his eye for detail is really impressive. I admire his work and hope to get to that level one day. Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. Flickr Instagram Facebook David Heather Mainstore Thank you Gianni for all your years of stylish contribution to the Second Life fashion community. Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
  16. Hello Residents! The Second Life viewer and servers have added a feature for group chat, providing recent message history. Have you ever logged into Second Life and your group chat opens with the punchline of a joke? Now you’ll be able to read back and see what it was. The chat servers save messages from the last hour, so you won’t miss what’s happening. A viewer update is required to use this new feature, and will be part of a future release (headed to Maintenance-R soon - watch release notes here). The viewer code is available now in our public repo - explore here: https://github.com/secondlife/viewer/tree/DRTVWR-573-maint-R We look forward to your feedback or any issues with this new feature.
  17. Are you looking to make a connection? Thundr is a virtual dating app that makes it easy and fun to meet like-minded people in Second Life! Thundr is a community project created by two friends who have been a part of Second Life since 2007 and wanted to offer a fun, safe, and easy-going dating experience for its Residents. Since its public launch on February 10th, 2022, Thundr has quickly become a popular choice for virtual daters with almost 7000 activated users and 63000 matches. The app is built from scratch, offering unique features such as the ability to chat with gifs and emojis. User privacy and security are top priorities, with filters such as gender and age to help find the right match. In addition to its dating features, Thundr users can also use the app to advertise their businesses and activities with modern video ads. Check their inworld store for more information! Thundr offers a user-friendly interface and is gridwide, connecting residents from all over Second Life. Signing up is easy, with a free-to-use HUD that's simple to install and use. Residents can choose a unique Thundr username while keeping their Second Life name private if they wish. Thundr is the perfect choice for Second Life residents looking to connect, chat, and find love in the virtual world. With its quick matching, modern features, monthly events, and thousands of users, Thundr makes virtual dating fun and accessible. Join the Thundr community today and start your virtual dating journey! Video Production by Draxtor Despres Logo by Marianne McCann Thundr Thundr is the premier dating app for Second Life users, making it easy and fun to connect with like-minded individuals in Second Life. You can create a profile, browse other users, and start chatting with potential matches. The intuitive interface and user-friendly features make it easy to connect with others, whether you're looking for friendship, romance, or something in between. More info at thundr.info/faqs Visit in Second Life
  18. We know there has been quite a bit of discussion about Scripted Agents/NPCs lately. Linden Lab is committed to continuing its excellent track record of keeping your personally identifiable information safe and secure. We understand that there is a certain amount of information a “bot” service has been collecting and displaying on their third party website that is causing unease in our community, and we’re working on the best way to address these concerns. Linden Lab is having conversations with the parties involved, however this should not be taken as an endorsement of any sort. We have spoken several times in an attempt to get a full picture of the situation. These discussions have been mutually beneficial, and will help us as we look to update our policy on Scripted Agent/NPC operation in Second Life. We recognize the need for improvements in specific areas, so in the near future we will be making adjustments to policies where needed. We have seen many requests from the community with a wide array of suggestions, and we appreciate all earnest and civil engagement. Internal discussions will continue beyond the Scripted Agent/NPC Policy, and any programmatic changes will be communicated as those roll out. Thank you to everyone who engaged in this topic and added your voice. While we have had to shut down several discussions that became unproductive, we have welcomed feedback through support contacts and have been using this feedback to inform our decision-making. We are listening, and are working to make sure that Second Life is a welcoming and engaging world for all our Residents (and their automata).
  19. Hello! This Wednesday, February 1st, was a rocky one for Second Life, especially for regions on our Release Candidate (RC) channels. As with many large-scale services, we experience service interruptions from time to time, but yesterday's problems were unique and noteworthy enough that they deserve a sincere apology and more thorough explanation. Summary The incident lasted 6 hours 7029 regions were reverted to a previous stable version The root cause was a bug in object inventory behavior that was introduced by new code. This bug caused some objects' scripts to enter a non-running state. We are making changes to our deploy and testing processes to make events like this less likely to happen in the future. Timeline Second Life deploys simulator changes in two major phases: first, to Release Candidate (RC) channels which comprise roughly one-third of all production regions, then to the remainder on a main Second Life Server (SLS) channel. Before changes are deployed to RC, they go through several develop-test cycles, including deployments and testing on staging environments. RC rolls are regularly scheduled for 7AM Pacific (SLT) every Wednesday. While conducting one of these deployments, we received initial reports of issues relating to script behavior at 8:30AM. We immediately started investigating, and by 9AM it was clear that we needed to stop the roll, because the issue was pervasive and clearly related to the new changes. As we do in these situations, we declared an “Incident” and an Incident Commander took charge. By 9:30 we started a rollback, reverting the affected simulators to their previous version. We also evaluated what additional actions we would need to take, as it was unclear that a rollback alone would start the scripts which had stopped. This quickly proved to be the case, and we came up with a new plan - one that would ensure that scripts would perform as expected going forward, but possibly undo the changes our residents had been making since the time we had introduced the bug. Although this meant more downtime, it prevented further content loss, and proved to be the best way to put the grid back in order. The team came up with a quick, clean, and efficient way to achieve this and get everyone back on track. By 12PM the decision was made to take this direction. By 1:15PM the code was complete, by 1:40PM we confirmed that it worked. By 2:25PM all regions were brought back up. Of course after an event like this there’s cleanup to be done, and we had quite a few Lindens reviewing the fallout and taking care of our Residents. Our amazing support team was working with creators whose operations were affected. Trouble doesn’t come alone: we had to deal with another outage at the same time - this one on the web side of things. Some of our services were getting overwhelmed. We added a few hamsters to those wheels, and they seem to be turning just fine again. Technical Details What happened? To quote part of our internal discussion, “scripts are weird”: Conclusion What remains after an outage? We write up an internal “postmortem” report: what happened, what lessons we learned, and what future measures we’re going to put in place. We share it widely, so that we can all learn from it. On days like this, we also write a blog post to let you all know what happened as well. Of all the reasons to write a blog, a postmortem ranks pretty low for me, because it means something went seriously wrong. But of all the reasons I love working here, watching everyone come together during an outage ranks pretty high. I’m grateful to know that while we may make mistakes, we will not sweep them under the rug, nor look for someone to blame - we will come together and make it right. Thank you for your patience and understanding. This is your world, and we hope to take better care of it. Grumpity and the Second Life team
  20. The 2023 Valentine Shop & Hop is almost here with 280 participating merchants across 14 shopping regions. All are offering their best to inspire your Valentine fantasies from a romantic evening with your bae, to a party with your friends, and everything in between. You will definitely find something to suit you! Every store will have at least a 20% discount on all items and a free (non-group) gift for shoppers or a gift certificate valued at L$300 or above! The event formally opens to the public on Friday, February 3rd at 9am PT - but who wants to wait when you can get early access?! If you can’t contain your excitement, join the official Second Life Birthday group inworld to be granted immediate access. Before you jump inworld, you can get a sneak peek at many of the items that will be available in the official Second Life Shop & Hop Flickr pool. And don’t forget to share photos of your haul after your shopping excursion! Scroll to the end of this post for a complete list of all 280 participating Shop & Hop Merchants in alphabetical order, and their direct slurls! To visit the 2023 Valentine Shop & Hop - start at any one of the Regions - but be sure to visit them all to see everything that's available. Happy shopping! ISLE OF VIEW AND MORE VALENTINE’S EVENTS The Isle of View is our annual tribute to all things romantic via four regions filled with forested walks, cozy nooks for cuddling, and romantic swan boat rides. Visit one of the Love Pavilion gift kiosks to browse through a variety of gift selections that you can send to your friends and loved ones on Valentine’s Day. This year’s selection includes heart lollipops and balloons, an adorable teddy bear, a chocolate box with rings, cutesy cupcakes, love lanterns, and, of course, romantic roses. To select and send your free gifts, follow the directions on the sign adjacent to the kiosk. Looking for more romantic destinations to explore this season? Grab a loved one and go on a date at one of the many beautiful places listed in the Romantic Spots category on the Destination Guide. VALENTINE'S LOVE TRAIN Our special Bellisseria Valentine's Event returns this year. This time it’s a Love Train with the primary departure point being Muehlenbach Station, but residents can hop on from any station as the trolleys go by! Learn more about it from Patch Linden's forum post. DUNK & HUG A LINDEN & MOLE EVENT Are you feeling “some kind of way” about the Lindens or Moles? Show your love (or friendly aggression) for the makers of Second Life at our annual Dunk & Hug a Linden & Mole Event, held this year on February 14th from 1pm to 3pm PT at the Isle of View. Come early for some fun conversations and plenty of soaked Lindens! Roses are red, Violets are blue, Hug and dunk some Lindens & Moles, At the Isle of View! NEW LAST NAMES Additionally, we have just released new last names for the season! The following valentine-themed names are only available for a limited time: Snugglepuff Allure Passion Heartstrings Aphrodite Adonis Waifu Husbando These names for Valentine’s Day are seasonal and may come back around this time next year, for a limited time. The following is a screenshot of the full list of current last names available: We will continue to make additional updates to the available last name pool, so if these options aren’t for you, stay tuned for future updates. You can also suggest your favorite name on our suggestion form, the new names were chosen from there! For more information about the costs and how-tos involved in name changes, read the Changing your username FAQ. Click to change your name now! A complete list of all 280 participating Shop & Hop Merchants in alphabetical order, and their direct slurls: .tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;} .tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px; overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;} .tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px; font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;} .tg .tg-0pky{border-color:inherit;text-align:left;vertical-align:top} Store SLurl - Scafall - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/161/233/53 :::boyberry::: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/99/23/53 ::ANGELICUS:: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/228/158/53 ::C'est la vie !:: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/88/164/53 ::PTj:: *pour toujours* http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/228/158/53 :studiOneiro: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/228/158/53 ! Crisp Bear ! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/158/26/53 !!Firelight!! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/28/99/53 !dM deviousMind http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/167/168/53 . elemenopee . http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/99/51/53 . Hanzel . http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/202/101/53 .: Runic :. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/202/101/53 .:Tm:.Creation http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/158/26/53 .lovelysweet. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/54/161/53 [ Aleutia ] http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/92/89/53 [CIRCA] Living http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/158/26/53 [Krescendo] http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/165/93/53 [lf design] http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/158/26/53 [LiZzYay] Party & home deco and gifts http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/60/100/53 [SuXue] Design http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/100/200/53 [WellMade] http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/54/161/53 { wren's nest } Shapes http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/99/51/53 {:: The Moonstone Studio ::} http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/99/23/53 {Lil Big Me} http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/28/99/53 {RP} Reina Photofraphy http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/202/101/53 {ViSion} http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/99/51/53 {Why Not?} Home & Garden Furniture http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/100/200/53 * SK * http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/54/161/53 ***Ambrosia*** http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/28/99/53 *>Kiu<* http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/99/228/53 *~*HopScotch*~* http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/99/51/53 *katat0nik* http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/88/164/53 *Salesita's Creations**SC* http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/155/60/53 *Thus Magic* http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/165/93/53 *TRB* - A Woman's Touch http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/228/158/53 = Lil Britches = http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/158/203/53 =ED= Eagle Designs http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/229/102/53 ~EccentriciXi~ http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/99/23/53 ~Lantian/Flox~ http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/158/26/53 777 MOTORS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/229/102/53 A*S http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/155/60/53 Aardvark http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/92/89/53 ABC - Awesome Breed Creations http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/92/89/53 Accent (....previously A&D Clothing) http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/60/100/53 adorsy http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/92/89/53 Afterparty http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/54/161/53 ALANTORI http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/88/164/53 alaskametro<3 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/197/158/53 ALTGARD http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/197/158/53 Ananas http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/202/101/53 Anastyle http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/202/101/53 ART & FASHION http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/99/228/53 Artisan Antiques http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/155/60/53 Artisan Eden http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/197/158/53 Artisan Fantasy http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/165/93/53 AtaMe http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/28/99/53 Atelier Burgundy http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/167/168/53 Attractive Store http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/158/26/53 AURORA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/28/99/53 AXE http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/60/100/53 Baiastice http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/197/158/53 Banana Banshee http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/197/158/53 BananaN http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/155/60/53 BBX Yachts & Buildings http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/158/203/53 BE BOLD http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/99/23/53 Beauty Factory http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/60/100/53 Beauty Unleashed http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/228/158/53 Belle Epoque http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/197/158/53 Bloom! furniture & Decor http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/54/161/53 Blueberry http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/88/164/53 BMe & The Silas Gallery http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/161/233/53 Boscato http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/158/26/53 Boutique #187 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/54/161/53 Bricolage http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/28/99/53 BRON http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/165/93/53 byCrash Home http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/99/228/53 BYRNE http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/99/23/53 Candy Bell http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/99/228/53 Candydoll http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/165/93/53 Capsule by DaD http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/155/60/53 Caverna Obscura http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/229/102/53 Celestinas Weddings http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/202/101/53 Cerridwen's Cauldron http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/155/60/53 CH Skins http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/28/99/53 CHEZ MOI FURNITURES http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/54/161/53 CHIMAERA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/155/60/53 Chris Two Designs http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/228/158/53 Cole's Corner http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/165/93/53 Culprit http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/92/89/53 Curious Kitties http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/229/102/53 Dahlia http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/99/51/53 Deep Static http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/229/102/53 DFS - Digital Farming System http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/229/102/53 DICTATORSHOP http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/167/168/53 dpsp http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/202/101/53 DUST http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/28/99/53 Eclectica http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/88/164/53 Edie's http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/60/100/53 ELOS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/161/233/53 En Pointe http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/165/93/53 ERSCH http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/228/158/53 etham http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/167/168/53 Evado Jewelry & Accessories http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/158/26/53 Eventyra http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/161/233/53 Ever Green http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/202/101/53 Evergreen http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/60/100/53 Explosive - Animations http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/228/158/53 Faida http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/99/228/53 Fancy Decor http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/92/89/53 Fantasy Illumination (Fantasy China) http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/158/203/53 Fantavatar & Moonstruck http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/88/164/53 FashionNatic http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/100/200/53 Flaminko! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/88/164/53 Flecha Creations http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/202/101/53 FlowerDreams http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/100/200/53 Forest Fantasy Store http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/23/159/53 Frangipani Garden http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/202/101/53 GA.EG & Gaeline Creations http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/228/158/53 Garbaggio http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/229/102/53 GGVG fashion http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/23/159/53 Ghee / Baby Ghee http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/60/100/53 GINKO http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/88/164/53 GIULIADESIGN http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/229/102/53 Glitzz http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/161/233/53 Gloom. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/228/158/53 GOOD FAIRY http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/161/233/53 GothiCatz http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/99/228/53 HANGRY http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/28/99/53 Harshlands http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/167/168/53 Hayabusa Design http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/167/168/53 HILL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/54/161/53 Hipster Style http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/158/203/53 HolliPocket http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/54/161/53 Hollow Family Industries http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/161/233/53 HORL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/161/233/53 IMPACTS STORE http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/23/159/53 Jack Spoon http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/158/203/53 JIAN Pets http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/88/164/53 Jinx http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/167/168/53 Kaerri http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/92/89/53 kaos tattoo http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/229/102/53 Katharine Littlepaws Welsh Art gallery http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/161/233/53 KiB Designs http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/158/203/53 Killer's Production http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/54/161/53 kiyori http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/28/99/53 KorpokkurHpuse http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/99/23/53 Kringle & Co http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/155/60/53 KUNGLERS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/165/93/53 KYMILE http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/23/159/53 La Plume http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/155/60/53 Lacrime dell'anima http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/28/99/53 Lapointe & Bastchild Swear http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/92/89/53 Les Sucreries de Fairy http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/158/203/53 Libertine http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/92/89/53 LifeStorii http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/197/158/53 Lil Val's Clothing & More! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/100/200/53 Lilithé http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/99/23/53 Lilleth Mills http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/60/100/53 Limited Addiction http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/54/161/53 LION STYLE http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/228/158/53 Little Dreamers Boutique http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/99/228/53 Littlep http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/99/228/53 LIVIA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/99/23/53 Llamaby http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/60/100/53 LOVE Superstore http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/228/158/53 Luas http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/100/200/53 LuLu http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/99/228/53 Luna Chelsea http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/100/200/53 Luna Rose http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/158/26/53 Lyrical B!zarre Templates http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/197/158/53 Mad Rat Industries http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/158/26/53 MadPea http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/99/51/53 MADRAS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/99/228/53 Magic Party http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/100/200/53 Magnetic http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/100/200/53 MAke a MArk http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/197/158/53 MaleDiction http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/155/60/53 Maven Homes http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/23/159/53 Medieval Fantasy http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/88/164/53 Mesh Entity http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/158/203/53 Meva http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/161/233/53 Mirage Treasure Co. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/155/60/53 MOoH! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/155/60/53 Moon amore http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/167/168/53 Mossu http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/158/203/53 MRCOIN http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/88/164/53 Mudlarks http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/54/161/53 Multifarious http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/60/100/53 Myrrine http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/23/159/53 NaaNaa's http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/23/159/53 ND/MD http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/155/60/53 Nerenzo http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/99/23/53 Neve http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/88/164/53 Never Totally Dead... http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/99/23/53 NiFty ShapeS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/202/101/53 no.match_ http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/167/168/53 Noveny http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/92/89/53 Oh Deer http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/197/158/53 OLD TREASURES http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/60/100/53 Olympus Motors http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/161/233/53 Omnia Originals http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/99/51/53 OPOPOP ! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/28/99/53 Peeps Dinkies http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/165/93/53 Petit Chat http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/99/228/53 Pixel Doll http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/28/99/53 pixicat http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/167/168/53 Polenth's Mushporium http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/99/51/53 PUMEC http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/167/168/53 PurpleMoon Creations http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/167/168/53 QUEENZ http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/54/161/53 Rainnn http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/229/102/53 Rebel Poses http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/197/158/53 redangel http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/99/228/53 RNK http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/158/203/53 rnR http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/99/23/53 Roawenwood http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/92/89/53 roslyn. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/23/159/53 ROZOREGALIA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/167/168/53 SA-Items http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/158/203/53 Sass http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/100/200/53 Sassy Sweet Poses http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/229/102/53 Schadenfreude http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/165/93/53 Second Nature Jewellery http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/228/158/53 SEKA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/161/233/53 SEmotion & Libellune http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/92/89/53 Shining http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/100/200/53 Short Leash http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/23/159/53 Simply Shelby http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/158/26/53 Sintiklia http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/165/93/53 small http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/228/158/53 smesh http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/158/26/53 Snuggles http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/100/200/53 SOFIA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/99/228/53 Son!a-Edge http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/202/101/53 SPARROWS NEST http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/99/51/53 Spells & Charms http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/28/99/53 spoiled http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/158/203/53 STATUS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/229/102/53 Stiff Store http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/161/233/53 Supernatural http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/99/51/53 SURPLUS MOTORS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/158/26/53 Sweet Potatoes http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/23/159/53 Synnergy.Tavis http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/202/101/53 tarte. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/165/93/53 Tastic http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/23/159/53 Tayren's Fantasy Fashions (TFF) http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/202/101/53 Tchelo's http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/100/200/53 Teegle http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/92/89/53 Tenacio http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/92/89/53 the annex http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/229/102/53 The Little Bat http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/158/26/53 The Looking Glass http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/165/93/53 The Olde Attic http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lavendar/158/203/53 The Reckless Angel http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zinnia/23/159/53 The Wino Mino http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/99/51/53 THS - The Home Store http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/60/100/53 Thundr http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/167/168/53 Tilted Halo http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gleaming/161/233/53 TO.kiski http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/54/161/53 Totally Wicked http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/99/51/53 Trompe Loeil http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/165/93/53 TwoSided http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tinseled/100/200/53 UNA http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/60/100/53 UNICORN http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/99/23/53 united colors http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/88/164/53 unstable. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forsythia/23/159/53 Valentina E. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sugarplum/229/102/53 Vezzo Ink http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/197/158/53 Vincue http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/99/23/53 Vulnus http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chickory/60/100/53 What Next http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lupine/88/164/53 WILD Fashion&Beauty http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/158/203/53 Witch In A Box http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gilded/99/51/53 X-CLUSIVES ANIMATIONS http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/155/60/53 YsoraL http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snapdragon/197/158/53 Zara Mesh http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Halcyon/99/23/53 ZEX http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/197/158/53 ZFG http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jubilant/99/228/53 Zibska http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hollyhock/99/51/53 zOOm http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Golden/23/159/53
  21. Today we are shining a spotlight on Aurora Mercury, a community-building YouTuber that creates high-quality diverse content in Second Life! How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I have been in Second Life since 2008 on an old account. I heard about Second Life through an episode of CSI where they were trying to find a killer who was playing Second Life. I was so intrigued as I had always played slightly similar games like Sims and wanted to know what it was. I googled it and saw it was a real virtual platform. I created an account and was instantly addicted. In my previous account I was mainly doing fashion modeling, I joined modeling schools and even became a tutor for a short while. Real life took over and I didn’t login for 10 years. The short story of it, I couldn't remember my login details and had no choice but to create a new avatar and that's where Aurora was born, who is now nearly 6 years old. Second Life allows you to have that escapism from your day-to-day in real life. It is also a platform that you can use to manifest your dreams. I have seen so many people who have used their talents from real life to create businesses in Second Life and vice versa. It is not just any old game; it is the original metaverse platform that has the potential to achieve a lot in the future. How and when did you get started with your blog and youtube channel, and what sorts of topics do you like to cover? I used to film for events and performances back in 2018 and upload them to my YouTube channel (I have removed them now due to copyright). I then started to take a different angle and began filming my experiences and journey in Second Life in 2021. I was inspired by SL youtubers like Quincy Robin and Meela Vanderbuilt who are women of color like me and share their experiences, skills, and vlogs in Second Life. Being that I own a women's community called Sisters in SL, I saw that I had a skill of communicating with people of all cultures by just being me. I create a mixture of videos exploring Second Life, interviews with residents, tutorials, and lifestyle topics. I really enjoy filming and sharing my journey in SL. You have a wonderful avatar! Who are some of your favorite content creators that really blow you away in terms of offering diverse choices, and what would you like to see more of? Thank you so much. There are so many amazing creators here and what I love is that new creators are continuing to grow, especially within the black community. I can now buy a lot more items that are relatable to me and my culture and I am truly thankful to the creators for bringing diversity into Second Life. I love creators such as Lelutka, Rowne, ISON, Studio Exposure, Rosary, Movement and that's just to name a few. I can't wait to see how our avatars will evolve. I am excited to see how our avatars will look in the next year or so. I have a feeling we will look even more realistic. Can you tell us more about Sisters in SL and some of their activities and projects? Sisters in SL is a women's networking community created in 2019 where we hold events, explore, do photoshoots and also have a lifestyle magazine. Sisters in SL is a diverse community that has members from all over the world. I did take a break last year as real life did get busy again after the pandemic but I have tons of plans for this year. I will be focusing more on filming and touching on interesting topics, so make sure you stay tuned! Are there any current or future projects that you are working on that you can tell us about? Currently, I am working on a film project for Valentine's day where I am having discussions with residents both who are single or married in SL and they will be sharing their experiences which will be very interesting! I will also be hosting the SL Video Awards Show, so look out for me there! I have lots of plans to work on more projects and I can’t wait to share. Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. The main platform for me is Youtube: Aurora Mercury - YouTube Instagram: @aurora.mercury Tiktok: @aurora_mercury Linktree: @aurora.mercury Thank you Aurora for all the engaging and diverse content you’ve been sharing about Second Life, we look forward to your future projects! Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
  22. Happy Wednesday! We’re writing to remind everyone that we’ll be holding our monthly Web User Group meeting today at 14:00 SLT in our usual meeting place, where we’ll be discussing our status with ongoing projects and our near future plans for our web properties. As always, we’ll leave plenty of time for Q&A from the community. We look forward to seeing you there! Keep up to date with all of our user group meetings on our wiki and public calendar.
  23. Can real people find true love in a virtual world? It’s happening every day in Second Life and our “Love Made in Second Life” series explores how romance and long-distance relationships can thrive in the metaverse! Ajay McDowwll and Synapse Zabelin met in Second Life, fell in love, moved together in the physical realm - he from Mississippi, she from Florida where they still are today- got married and, spoiler alert: Ajay and Syn are still together today, after almost 16 years! The story begins on the original Help Island, where Syn volunteered when newbie Ajay dropped in. They struck up a friendship and the rest, as they say, is Second Life history! We asked them more about the history of their relationship. How long have you been together? We met in 2007 and have been married since August of 2009. What was the initial spark where you kind of knew that you were possibly “meant for each other”? Ajay: Honestly, I can’t remember some sort of “Aha!” moment. I’ve been divorced twice, and I was very straightforward with him that I was never getting married again because picking an appropriate spouse was clearly not in my skill set. Syn was okay with that; he said he’d still be right here. And he was… and he is. Syn: I knew when I would log in and felt disappointed if she wasn't inworld. What does Second Life mean to you? Ajay: SL’s influence on my life is wide-ranging, from social activities to music, to creativity… I can actually build things inworld! I loathe Blender with the fire of a thousand suns and still, rage quit it regularly, but using the built-in tools SL provides, I’m able to create any number of things. Shoot, I finally actually put something up on Marketplace (there is one entire item in my store), and someone who doesn’t even know me purchased a copy! For the arts scene, the diversity of both visual artists and musicians in SL who perform live is phenomenal. Many of these people have become acquaintances and friends in the physical world also, thanks to random meet-ups and organized events like the SL Live Music Jams. Syn: SL is a creative outlet, a place to meet new people with varied interests. What advice would you give others who meet someone in SL and are not sure if they should pursue a relationship? Ajay: What I would say is it’s totally reasonable to give an SL relationship the same chance as you would a relationship that started in the physical world. You already have one thing in common, and SL is a stronger tie than just bumping into someone in the produce section at your local grocery store. Syn: Go slow. Friends first, then the rest will happen if it's in the cards for you. You guys left SL at one point. Why? And why come back now? Ajay + Syn: We left SL primarily because we were newly married, I had young kids, and we just had a lot to concentrate on in the physical world, both with our relationship with each other as well as our respective jobs and the children’s schedules and academic needs. But we maintained our premium membership so we always had a home to pop back into and it was that home that brought us back into SL. I checked my email one day to find a note from Quianna Greymist of Angels asking about the 1024 we had, and if we were interested in selling. It turned out that all of the land surrounding our plot (512 for each of us) had been purchased by Angels, and we were literally on an island in the middle of a runway. We came back inworld to complete the land sale in October of 2019, looked around, and asked each other, “Why did we ever leave?” 😃 Nearly a decade’s worth of stipend being saved up made it very easy to update ourselves to mesh! Video Production by Draxtor Despres Logo by Marianne McCann
  24. Today we are shining a spotlight on Ethan Evergarden, co-owner of the Highlands of Scotland in Second Life. He’s a virtual builder with fifteen years of historical builds under his belt. How long have you been in Second Life and how did you first hear about it? I was an avid fan of the television show “The Office” when it was still in first-run production and on October 25, 2007, an episode called “Local Ad” came on which featured a segment in which Dwight Schrute was exploring Second Life. He had created an avatar, Dwight Shelford, and was flying around in-world and talking about what his character was doing. As soon as the episode was over, I went online and found out that Second Life was real, and I immediately created an account. Once I had passed Orientation Island, I was sent to the region of Violet, a telehub, where I began meeting people. There were teleport boards to different places in SL and I found one that took me to the Cetus Galleries Art District where I discovered a single-region city filled with beautiful architecture, art galleries, and a thriving community of gallery owners, residents, and event facilitators. I quickly felt a bond with the community in Cetus and it soon became my new home. I have been in Second Life for fifteen years now and during that time, three communities have been my home, including Cetus for two years, Avalon Town Art District for five years, and the Highlands of Scotland in SL for the past eight. The common thread in all these places has been community, which is very important to me because even in Second Life, we all feel like we need to belong, to find our place among others. Second Life has given me that in abundance. You are the Co-owner of Highlands of Scotland in Second Life, can you tell us more about that? I found the Highlands of Scotland in Second Life in 2014 after hearing about it on a musical stream hosted by one of the owners, Magnus Brody, that was broadcasting on a land parcel I was on. As an American descended from deep Scottish roots, I was fascinated with the Highlands, which consisted then of two regions, Inverness City and Urquhart. Avalon Town was changing, and I was looking for a change, so I began hanging out there and going to events. Eventually, they adopted me into their community. The Scottish Highlands, within reason, attempts to recreate the real-life Scottish experience, including geography, landmark buildings, and places of interest. We have events each night at Nessie’s, the main pub, which brings together both the “locals” who are regular daily participants, as well as many visitors who come to get a taste of Highland life. After two years of living there, I approached the owners of the Highlands, Elizbeth Beaumont and Magnus Brody, both natives of real-life Scotland, about my desire to add a third region to the Highlands, and I became a co-owner that year with the addition of Beauly. Since then, our team has expanded to include Axaria Evergarden, also from Scotland, and that team has added four more regions to the Highlands. This allowed us to expand our waterways into Loch Ness and Greater Loch Ness, as well as having one region devoted to nature in Glen Coe, a residential shopping village in Dornoch, and much more. Inverness City, the oldest of the regions and the central city of the Highlands is our hub, which has been the heart of the Highlands of Scotland in Second Life since 2008, when it first came into existence. Elizbeth (Liz) Beaumont keeps us all on our toes and we have a lot of fun there. We care about each other, and many of the locals have annual meetups in RL Scotland, coming from all over the UK, as well as Germany, Denmark, and other places. They gather at the Loch Ness Inn, which is recreated in our virtual Scotland, to spend a weekend in the real Scottish Highlands. This community has endured a long time and this year we look forward to celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Second Life Highlands. I hope someday I can join them for a meetup. Tell us how you created your two most complex builds, the Cathedral and Castle at the Scotland destination. One of the reasons I stayed in Second Life was building. I have a passion for architecture and had designed and built a number of small churches in Second Life over the years. What eventually became the Cathedral of Dornoch was originally intended to be a small chapel, and as I like to tell people, it quickly got way out of hand. The footprint or shape of the building is known as a cruciform, as in the shape of a cross, and the architectural style is gothic revival. I originally built it in 2014, but over the years, as my skills improved or as I found new elements I wanted to try, it has literally been rebuilt a few times over. I’ve enlarged the bell tower, added spires, flying buttresses, newer and better textures, had custom stained glass windows created, and much more. It has “resided” in three different regions during its long life and like a person, it has evolved and changed over time. For me, the Cathedral has been a labour of love, because I have been so intimately involved with every prim that went into it. It's proportional and symmetrical, which I usually prefer in buildings, yet many people who might find that form uninteresting have told me how inspiring they find it. Axaria and I spend a lot of time in there listening to music and our community holds church services there occasionally, as well as musical concerts and of course, weddings (which is why we opened a wedding shop across the street!) One of my proudest moments was when it was featured a couple of years ago in a Linden Lab produced video about spiritual places. I find it a peaceful and contemplative place to just sit and look at the details, wondering sometimes how I built it and knowing I could probably never do it again. If the Cathedral has been a labour of love, Beaufort Castle, my Second Life home, has been an exercise in both frustration and rewards. Modeled after the real-life castle in Beauly, Scotland, I have had to conform to it, and architecturally it goes against my natural instincts for orderly design. It rambles and makes no sense in its layout, yet it manages to be both grand and fun. It has hidden passages in several places and it’s interesting sometimes to watch visitors find them and get lost in the walls. Over the years, I’ve become quite proud of it, even though it has grown to enormous proportions and is far bigger than any one avatar would ever need. I didn’t set out to build it but when I decided on Beauly for the region, Magnus Brody told me that I had to build Beaufort Castle if I was going to live on Beauly. I took one look at the real one and decided I would be crazy to attempt it. A few months later I gave in to crazy and started on it and six years later, I’m still tweaking it, changing it, adding things, and taking things away. Like the cathedral, it evolves as I do and I’m just its caretaker. We get a lot of drop-ins from time to time and the nice thing about a large house is you can just go to another side of it and let them enjoy it. I’m always happy to answer questions about it and feel like if I ever get to see the real one in person, I’ll feel right at home in it. While I don’t sell my builds in SL, I do enjoy creating miniatures of them and selling them in my Second Life store, Kringle & Co. You also created the Frank Lloyd Wright virtual museum in SL, which is no longer open. Tell us more about that build, how long it was open for, and do you have plans to bring it back? I was one of the co-founders of the museum, but I must share credit with a lot of talented people who made that happen. I had created an SL group for architects and fans of the American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, called the Taliesin Society. The group grew quite quickly and on June 5, 2009, I hosted a Society event, with Debe Wise, an in-world expert on Wright, giving a lecture on Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture. The event, which was held in voice, drew a surprising 62 people, including many of SL's best architects. Following the gathering, some of us held a discussion about creating a virtual museum of architecture. This meeting was the genesis of the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum of Architecture. The late Frey Bravin mapped out how it would be accomplished, and we created a group for the museum. I was the 2nd one to join and later was elected as Chairman of the museum board. We obtained a licensing agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and we also set up a RL corporation to function as a 501C3 charitable foundation so that we could accept donations. Along with Frey and I were Troy Vogel, Miltone Marquette, the late Rosalie Oldrich, Supremius and Sensuous Maximus of Builder’s Brewery, Terra Tepper, Ethos Erlanger, and others. We opened in July 2009 and ran through December 2010. Our most talented builders meticulously recreated several of Wright’s most notable builds and put them out for display on the region, and we also held many events, fundraisers, and a series of lectures on Wright architecture. The most fun though was holding build-offs, where both amateur and master builders would compete by building a complete, Wright-inspired building based on a given theme. Unfortunately, when the Foundation realized that the museum could not be monetized in a beneficial way to their needs, they elected not to renew the licensing agreement, and we had to close the museum. It was a sad day for all of us, but I think that it really showed the full potential of Second Life as an educational medium beyond just lectures and presentations, by drawing people from all over the world to learn, appreciate and discover Wright’s works in a virtual environment that they otherwise might not ever get to see. Tell us about some of the other Residents in SL that inspire you and whose work you admire. Saffia Widdershins comes to mind. A true media mogul in Second Life who I have had the fortune to be friends with for probably a dozen years. I used to write for her publication, Prim Perfect Magazine, and I have never seen a harder worker in SL. I honestly don’t know how she has time for a First Life, given her many irons in the fire. Miltone Marquette and Terra Tepper are two very talented builders. Miltone works to this day on refining his individual Wright builds, creating stunning replicas of his incredible buildings. Terra is one of my best friends in SL and was my building mentor for many years. She pushed me to make continuous improvement in everything I built and when I think something is good enough, I’ll ask myself “would Terra leave it like this?” and keep plugging away. Scottius Polke, a loveable Otter with a razor-sharp wit and a successful Real Life art practice which he has shared through his in-world galleries for more than a dozen years. Chigadee London, the noted hatter of SL, and her partner Balthazar Fouroux, two longtime friends. Chigadee owns one of Second Life’s most successful hat businesses, “Couture Chapeau” and Bal owns “The Prop Shop”, making lovely items of all kinds, whatever strikes his fancy. Chigadee and Bal are probably the longest-running SL couple I know of, and I admire how they support and love each other in everything they do. Magnus Brody is one of the best DJs and musicologists in Second Life. His delivery is as smooth as Scotch whisky and his knowledge of music is formidable. That voice brought me to Scotland in SL. Elizbeth Beaumont, who works tirelessly to keep the Highlands interesting and relevant and whose witticisms keep me in stitches. Taro Firanelli, a prolific master of Second Life and a longtime regular of the Highlands. He knows more about SL than most people I know and what is amazing is that he is over 80 years old in Real Life. Last, but not least, Axaria Evergarden, my best friend, confidant, partner in crime, window and texture maker, enabler, and guide to all things Scottish. Every building I make has something of her talent in it, from stained glass windows, doors, textures, and more. She won’t hesitate to tell me something isn’t right in a building, and we share a common love of many different genres of music. She is a notable clothing and wedding dress designer in her own right, yet she manages to find time to make anything I need and last year, we opened our own store, Kringle & Company, selling all kinds of stuff for Christmas, and now we have expanded to other things relevant to the different times of the year. We might not sell a lot yet, but we’ve had loads of fun doing it. We even have store alts, Kriss Kringle and Jessica Claus! Where can people see your work? Please share links to your sites and social media accounts. The Cathedral of Dornoch (slurl) Beaufort Castle (slurl) Kringle & Co (slurl) Dornoch (slurl - region I built) Glen Coe (slurl - region I built) Facebook Personal Facebook Kringle & Co Twitter Thank you, Ethan, for fifteen years of historic contributions to Second Life! Each of our Spotlight posts features a different Resident to showcase the spectrum of experiences and personalities found in our virtual world. If you have created something inworld that you’re proud of, or have had a deeply meaningful experience that could brighten someone else’s day, please sign up! More info here: https://second.life/spotlight-signup
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