Rufferta Mainlander

Grumphmunch! Why haven't I ever been here before? Thank you!

I'm sorry - I couldn't find it and now I have sand in my shoes from all the searching.

For my visit to "Welcome Back" Island a board suggested using the Destination Guide to find the next stop. The first offer was some place called "The Dive Shop" - not sure what to make of that - the good part was that the instructions were in multiple languages. Anyone know if they are still also sending new residents to the Gateway locations?

Just visited "Welcome Back" Island. It is very pretty, but doesn't answer my old questions and even gives me some new questions. Perhaps it is not yet finished,. New Question: Why are there avatars on rotating platforms looking like a slave auction? Old Questions (from RipVanWinkle Resident) What is this mesh stuff? What is bento, rigging, blender, etc....? What is that strange mass of land between two continents that wasn't there before? What is a Bellisserian? Perhaps this would be a good place to put up that excellent "Wheel of Time" currently at SL18B that shows changes through the years, only concentrating on information that might be useful to residents who have been gone for a while. A great start, though, I'm sure that there are many new changes in the works and I'm always glad to know that Linden Lab has been listening to residents.

Daniel Voyager has done an excellent article on the New User Experience Welcome Islands and - yes - a "Welcome Back" Island for us oldbies. There is a new user guide available on the Second Life Viewer as well. One thing bothers me, to quote Daniel Voyager "This weekend it appears Linden Lab are bringing in new residents through the new Welcome Island in Second Life when using the default Second Life viewer." - is this experience and the guidebook going to be open to those who are using other viewing systems? Anyone know? Welcome Island: The New User Experience Goes Live – Daniel Voyager (wordpress.com)

This is a threefer - an historic flatboat for the boat enthusiasts, a monorail for the train enthusiasts, and a passport stamp location for those Bellissereans who are collecting them. While I was there I saw both a yavapod boat and a yellow boat go by. Where am I?

Nice shot! I was used to seeing this from the air, so it took me a while to find - Sirens Isle in the Blake Sea!

The ultimate luxury - to be able to terraform the heck out of something and choosing not to do so.

Actually, there are Four separate "First Generation" Linden Home continents. There is one way South that I didn't know about until recently. They are pretty much clones of each other with some minor differences. I also have speculated that with the appropriate technology the Lindens could surgically remove a house from one region and insert it in the same location on another region, and possibly the residents wouldn't notice.* Just for info, the equivalent "Meadowbrook Infohub" for each Continent is at: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Meadowbrook/67/171/41 (The one with Cape Ekim) http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Meadowcreek/68/164/55 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ravenbrook/74/184/41 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bucksnort/68/170/41 I agree with Prokofy that the Continent with Cape Ekim should be preserved. *Yeah, their landmarks would break, but perhaps the Lindens could just tell them they are renaming the Region?

And some horses can be avatars, which can be quite unsettling until you get used to it.

I apologize if we've done this one already - this is at the end of a labyrinth in the Sea of Fables. Where was I?

Ah, the wonderful Nix Bazaar in Stillman - next to the charming giant bears and not far from other historic sites (I'm not in SL right now but was at Stillman recently and picked up a few more things...)

I use Second Life to escape. I feel privileged to participate in a world so full of creativity, art and magic. Second Life, for me, is also a bit of a brain exercise, like solving crossword puzzles, and while it might not have the 'tangible' outcomes it might have if I spent my RL hours doing crochet projects, I greatly enjoy creating, photographing, and exploring in Second Life. I live in a retirement community where to get age-cred you have to be at least 100 years old. I printed out some of the SL photos I had taken to show to our Art Club. Blank looks, but the chairperson finally admitted that 'yes, photos done in virtual reality might be considered to be real art'. I believe virtual realities could be a great benefit to persons who, for one reason or another, can no longer move around as well as they would like. It is unfortunate that the entry requirements (good computer, good internet) are not something that most people my age want to invest in. The next generation may more easily fit into virtual realities as a "retirement vacation home" option... My main Mac computer finally decided to retire, and I've been forced to use an old PC my son gave me. I've noticed new ads for Second Life showing up on the sidebar that stress how much of Second Life is user-made. While some residents think we should be moving on to 'better, faster, less expensive' virtual worlds, I think our job should be to stay here and work with what we've got. (off soapbox - back to watercolors)

Yes - a blessing and a curse. Some of my neighbors use terraforming to make 'natural' privacy fences. I just pretend I'm living in a meteor crater. Not ready for prime time yet, but people are always welcome to explore. I'm not a social person, though, so please don't expect to be invited for tea....

Here is my new place in Mocha. I needed some room to spread out because I wanted to make a small art park. Two parcels together make a long skinny parcel (left foreground is actually Maintenance Land). The house is complicated, the skybox is simple. If it is ever finished I will have an open house.

This is in Nautilus. In the nearby gift shop I picked up a copy of a poster from my youth. Where was I?

That looks like Hobo Junction near Calleta. Unfortunately there was some kind of particle thing going on when I got there so couldn't take photo.

Seasons, Yeahhh! Being separated from the rest of Bellisseria? Nahhhhh.

That's the place all right! I notice my graphics vary depending on what computer I'm using.

I live in one of the 'color sims' too - some of my neighbors use the +/-40 feature to make 'natural' privacy shields. Areas with a lot of small parcels look like war zones. I like being able to do terraforming - I just don't think other people should be allowed to do it....

Thank you. I just found out that there is a "Second Life Tourists" group that includes 'griefing' as one of their activities - my group is called "Tourist Information" so I guess it was a case of mistaken identity complicated by the fact that the staff person was also having to deal with a naked zombie. I over-reacted.

I would like to make a minor complaint about the fact that some of the Bellisserian regions seem to be mis-named. I couldn't find any caves in Lost Caves, or varmints in Varmint Hills. I did find the whiskey in Whiskey Bay, though....which gives me hopes that maybe the varmints and caves will be added later. I must add though, that in my searching, I keep finding wonderful places, and I know I am an ungrateful wretch.

I'm putting together a list of places that offer in-person help, and/or tutorials about basic skills like walking, flying, managing inventory, etc... So far my list has: Virtual Ability Caledon Oxbridge Gateway New Resident Island, Lawst Paradise New Citizens Incorporated Helping Haven Firestorm Resident Help I know there are several communities that help non-English speakers, but I don't have enough language skills to know if I should list them. Anyone have any place that they think should be added to the list? Any favorite social media sites?

Don't feel bad. Today I discovered why one Region is called "Whiskey Bay" = and I had sailed over it numerous times....

I'm devastated. I just got banned from London City for 8650 minutes. rest of rant deleted.... I've decided not to let it bother me. There is nothing I can do about it, which is the hurting part. I still don't know why I was banned - I've decided it was probably because I was wearing an unfashionable avatar.