Rufferta

I believe the SL community is extremely diverse and residents may or may not interact outside with others. Here are some communities I thought about. Casual drop-in's. They heard about Second Life, dropped in for a minute or an hour, then left. Now they are a community of SL-expats who are SL experts. Anthropologists doing ethnographical research (hope I spelled that right.) People who are using Second Life to do something that they can't do as well in real life because of physical limitations or financial limitations or other restrictions. (That's people like me.) Artists who create what is impossible in real life. Builders, architects, code poets, real estate agents, educators, fashion designers, creators of all types. And ("cough cough") we shouldn't forget those who just visit the 'red light' districts in our world. I'd like to pretend they don't exist, but they help the economy. Hope this isn't too jumbled. I haven't had my coffee yet.

At Bertrada you will find the first clue for the White Islands Quest. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bertrada/127/141/21 I have put more information on my blog at http://wartybliggensthetoad.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-north-sansara-sea-forts-and-white.html - the entry of August 9th.

BobbyGeorge wrote: As it should be, IMO. Google 'Mark Knapp second life' for an extreme consequence of too much immersion. -------------------------------------------- Yes; that was tragic, but I can understand how people can be addicted to video games. The worse your real life, the more enticing Second Life, World of Warcraft, etc...can be. It can become a vicious cycle because you find yourself playing so long that you neglect things that could improve your 'real' life. I realize that I myself sometimes turn to virtual realities when I'm not ready to deal with real reality. I have to set a timer by the computer to remind myself (although sometimes I ignore it.) Does anyone remember Red Dwarf's "Better Than Real Life" episode (there was at least one follow-up novel called "Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers."? Now I need to go do some real life stuff. Added 8-10-15. I tried to find out more about the "Mark Knapp" situation. Turns out that the child had leukemia, and the parents were charged with severe neglect because they didn't seek medical treatment. Also turns out that the mother had apparently also earlier been charged with neglect of another child because of her drug use at the time - but of course, that wouldn't make as interesting a headline - "Toddler neglected because mother uses drugs." because that is, unfortunately, not news...

Rhonda Huntress wrote: We have gone past VR goggles. Have you seen the hype about hHoloLens yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aThCr0PsyuA I hadn't seen the youtube video, but I was aware that they did a Minecraft similuation at E3. The future should be interesting.

I just finished reading Joel Stein's article "Inside the Box" in the August 2015 issue of TIME magazine. I was disappointed that it wasn't about virtual worlds, it was about virtual reality headsets, but it got me to thinking about how "real" I want my virtual reality to be. I already have virtual worlds in my head - for example I have two versions of Middle Earth (one from the book, the other from the movies), and many other imaginationary worlds. True, they rely on my imagination to fill in the empty spots, but do I really need to be immersed with all my senses? One part of the article discusses the uses of the virtual reality headsets. Some of the designers initially thought that they wanted a game where they could feel as if they were actually "running down halls shooting bad guys.." but when someone created a zombie game they found that even one virtual zombie, hardly moving, was too frightening for some people. Will we adapt so that we are not frightened by "one zombie, hardly moving", and, if so, will it make it harder to identify the dangers in RR ("real reality"). Will people lose track of the differences between the world they see through a virtual reality headset, and "real life." Yesterday I enjoyed sailing through part of Second Life, but at the same time I was aware of a cat near my ankle, I listened to my husband telling me about what he was watching on tv., and it felt as if I had a foot in both worlds. What would happen if I put on a virtual reality viewer that would block out everything in "real life"?

I do agree with you on one point - having a virtual 'sense of place' is important. Having a 'home' is important, even in virtual reality, and it would be great if it were free.

In spite of the manufactured myths, Second Life is not a string of new territories discovered by Magellan Linden, it is a virtual world platform run by a business. I think we are all lucky that we don't have to pay an admission fee. Perhaps I will be censured, but you know there are other virtual worlds out there, springing up like mushrooms. See http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/statistics/active-grids/ for a partial list. I've visited a few, and some of them will give you free land and a house. The catch is, of course, that they are not Second Life. Many of them have features that are better than Second Life's, such as better rendering, or lower fees, or higher prim limits, but they are not Second Life. I believe that, right now, Second Life is the best virtual world for me, but you may be happier elsewhere. I'm not interested in a "which virtual world is better" discussion, but I am interested in watching the evolution of virtual worlds. I suspect that, like the video format wars* it won't necessarily be the 'best' virtual world that ends up on top, but the one that is run by a business that seems to know what its customers want and has the best business model. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videotape_format_war

For what it's worth, there used to be a copy of the Ruth avi in the "Old Library Content" at Stillman. I remember wearing it a few times when I wanted to be righteously low-lag. Tried it on this morning, though, and it wouldn't rezz out of zombie mode.

I posted the details on my blog, http://wartybliggensthetoad.blogspot.com, entry of July 27th, 2015. Basically just use the "rezz a cube, push it through the wall, and teleport to it" trick, but I thought I would post the information here for anyone who is new or who (like myself) has forgotten. (Added - yes, I know there are other ways. I just like my way.) http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mos%20Ainsley/160/152/48 (you should arrive in flying mode, just in case.)

I don't have an opinion about The Next Generation Platform, I have a worry that I won't be able to keep up. I have a hard time now keeping up with Second Life, and I crash more often than any non-pigheadedly-stubborn person would tolerate. I guess it is naive of me, but I don't see why Second Life can't be gradually updated so that it can continue to be accessed - like one of those wonderfully-restored antique vehicles I see on the freeways on Sundays. Second Life is currently the oldest and the largest of the virtual worlds - it has a history, and the Mainland has features that help give a sense of place - you may not be able to keep the same parcel forever, but you know that if you come back the roads and the LDPW builds will still be there - they won't vanish like a sim on a stick. Perhaps there could be some kind of "Virtual World" living museum? Do we really need "The next big thing"? Do we need to continue with Exponential Growth paired with Exponential Dread? There was an interesting talk on "Web Design: ?The First 100 Years"at http://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm Now I've got to go crash.

I don't know the answer to your question, but that doesn't keep me from posting. I think the first thing to consider is What do you want to look like? Do you want a classic or a mesh avatar? How much are you willing to spend? For me, I read some of the fashion blogs, and if I see something I like I will visit the store. If I go on a hunt that includes clothing store, I will try a few demos. Don't overlook the freebies - some of them can look quite nice. There are also a few outfits in your Library that can be customized by changing the pattern or the color or the fit. Have fun!

Sounds interesting. I think this is a service that is badly needed. I have gained what little knowledge I have from reading the forums and other internet resources and going to several newcomer orientation areas. Mostly I've learned from making mistakes. It would have been nice to have had a mentor. I am very curious as to how you are planning on taking this group around - I attended a class on "How to Buy Real Estate in Second Life" once, and the instructor was getting the students from place to place by having us accept teleports. We lost a few students along the way, as I recall. Another thought I had was that the best place for your ad would be on one of the Newcomer areas - don't know if the Lindens would let you do that, though. There might also be space at the Info hubs. Whatever you do, don't put the group on one of those self-driving buses.... Good luck!

Danger Linden wrote: Sansar and Second Life have fundamentally different approaches to a lot of Virtual World features, so, as Pete Linden said, there's not a direct analog to the Mainland in Sansar. We are curious about what specifically residents like about the Mainland? Provided infrastructure? Large contiguous areas? A sense of community? Neighbors with common interests? Affordability? The catchy name? I like the Mainland because: Re: "Provided infrastructure" - I love the public roads, railways, airways, and waterways, and the fact that I can travel along a public route without running into banlines or boot-bots. I love the many constructions and parks made by the Moles, or by private individuals, that provide a sense of continuity. The varied terrain also makes it more interesting. Admittedly, even on the Mainland there are a good number of people living in skyboxes and not 'touching ground' very often, but at least they know the land is there if they want it. Consider subdivisions: Don't most of them put in streets and public areas before offering land for sale? Re: "Large Contiguous areas": As above, without having areas set aside for common use beforehand, good highways and sailing areas are hard to put in place afterwards. Some of the larger Second-Life off-Mainland communities have got excellent systems in place, but I believe they had central authorities who planned things out beforehand. I recently read a post on one of the other virtual world's forums where someone was trying to get individual owners to contribute land so they could build roads, and it didn't seem to create much interest. Re: "A Sense of Community" & "Neighbors with Common Interests." - Yes, people like to hang around people with the same interests. As for me, I live in Hermitland. "Affordability": Yes, I'd like to be able to afford a whole continent for the same amount I pay for my small parcel on the Mainland, but not if I'm isolated from everyone else. I like being able to have a free Linden Home or a 512 with my premium membership, but perhaps some people can't even afford that. "The Catchy Name": I know I looked for land in Balance, so that I could say "I live in Balance", but I'm not sure how important names of places are to people. Other things I like about the Mainland. Stability (such as it is) . Many of the off-Mainland areas seem to come and go pretty quickly, but if you own a little piece of the Mainland you know it will be there as long as Linden Labs supports it. Tradition: In twelve years things have changed tremendously and we've accumulated a lot of history. Someone who first came to Second Life when they were twenty is now an ancient 32-year-old who can say "I remember when all we had to build with was prims, and you couldn't teleport directly - you had to go through your region's telehub - none of this sissy stuff for us - Yup, those were the good old days." I realize that I am someone who doesn't like change, and I come from a long line of late-adapters (My grandparents came West in a wagontrain of Model T's.), but I just wanted to chime in. Thanks for asking!

Anything I would tell you about my own experiences would be purely subjective. I would suggest carefully creating several different avatars that represent the variables you want to study, and then seeing if, setting them in similar environments, they get different reactions from other avatars. There are enough freebie avatars, parts, and accessories for you to assembly almost anything. It will take time and money, though, to master the "appearance as art" some achieve. Some thoughts: You may find some prejudice attached to the fact that your avatar is "new" so you might want to invent a cover story to explain what happened to your old avatar./Before interviewing another avatar you might want to check to make sure they aren't a cultural anthropologist./Some people cringe when they hear Second Life referred to as a 'game' where you 'roll up' a new character./Try not to go native. Good luck!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kirkby/179/93/27 - Thank you - another place to explore! Here's a place I recently found in Nautilus. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nautilus%20-%20Anath/199/184/55 - the notecard on the landmark giver has a long list of places. One of the most interesting to me was called "I wonder why she made this landmark?" You'll have to go there to find out... http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nautilus%20-%20Mlachthi/214/36/10

Rhonda Huntress wrote: https://my.secondlife.com/rhonda.huntress#about People often comment about dull knives but so far no one has asked about human macramé. I find that odd. Your profile wouldn't load - probably because we were all reading it. I often read profiles and it can be very helpful. For instance, I was approached by a nice-seeming male avatar once, but ended the conversation when I saw that his profile included a list of "Women I have had.." Ick! As for human macrame, don't know if this is related, but recently I ran into large groups of motionless avatars sitting on the bottom of one of the sims. I was told later that they were probably someone's multiple alts used in a game called "Tiny Empires". That got me to wondering, if the Lindens don't mind this kind of behavior, why not make all those alts useful and make a house out of them? Since it was made of alts, it wouldn't be auto-returned and you could put it almost anywhere. Just wondering is all.

Thanks for the landmark. I wasn't able to teleport directly (not on list) but I will check the neighborhood out later.

Although it has been stated that "Second Life will not be abandoned" I've been doing a bit of preemptive mourning for Second Life by re-visiting old favorite sites and exploring many of the builds and places created by the moles of the Linden Department of Public Works. I've also visited sites that were originally created independently by residents but which were kept going by Linden Labs after the original creators left Second Life. I admit that I have spent some time in virtual worlds That Were Not Second Life, but nothing I've seen compares with the wonder and variety of what is here now. I think it was a genius idea for Linden Lab to hire resident engineers, artists, and builders to construct public areas for everyone to enjoy. So far, I haven't seen anything in the "New Worlds" to compare with Second Life's Transport System, with its roads and railways, and its waterways. Granted, there are flaws, but I love the idea that someone planned roads, waterways, and rail systems that would connect the mainland sims and continents, and included so many special touches along the way, like the Mole Fruit Stand by the side of the old Pixel Highway, or the hidden trapdoors in some public buildings. I've been travelling some of the routes listed in the Second Life Wiki, and I keep finding places that are new to me, like Molexandria, or the rocket ship that takes you to another planet, or the lovely path to the Temple of the Prim. (Will anyone build a "Temple of the Voxel"? in the "New World"). I hope that this new platform has similar shared content, and isn't just a bunch of "sims on sticks" with no feeling of being a world. In the meantime, I think I am enjoying some of the things I find more, knowing that they probably won't be here forever.

OK - let me answer my alt's question. There is a collection of free materials (houses, building components, art, textures, etc...) at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mosh/116/71/31 Hope this information will help someone else. Although there were parts of Zindra I enjoyed - the monorail, the video phones, and many of the builds, a lot of it was just too....bare....for me.

Thank you for the explanation. Now I hope I didn't spoil their game.

I've been spending some of my free time near the "White Islands" trying to finish the "White Island Quest". I'm stuck on the last clue, and today I found another mystery. Over several days the map has shown a large clump of green dots in the middle of an empty water sim. I figured it was none of my business. Today, though, I decided to take a pod tour, but when I got to the sim boundary I got the notice "You can't enter, because the sim is full" so I decided to see what was going on. (Yes, I'm nosy). I didn't get too close, but from what I could see it looked like over a dozen alts just standing there, on the bottom of the ocean. It was eerie. None of them seemed to be moving. I scratched my head and took a picture. At my next stop I saw that I had a chat message "Take as many as you like ****** their alts". Obviously one of them was online. If it wasn't for the fact that they had filled the sim, and the profanity, I probably wouldn't even mention it, but I'm still curious. Any ideas? And if anyone can give me a hint about the 'White Island Quest" I would be grateful. Added: I got to thinking that maybe I was mistaken about it being public land and I should go back and apologize, but when I went back, they were all gone...strange.

I've put my machinima on UTube. This was my first machinima, made using the free trial version of Camtasia for Mac. Torley's tutorials on machinima were extremely helpful, as were the tutorials on the Camtasia site itself, although things didn't always work like they were supposed to.I learned a lot making this amateur effort, and I hope to find the time to re-do the video with better footage, transitions, sub-titles, and music.... In the meantime, perhaps looking at my video will inspire someone else to do their own. In spite of the complaint that "What Second Life Means to Me" videos are all showing 'rainbows and unicorns' I would like to see more machinima on UTube that are not about "look, I griefed those poor suckers" or "Life 2.0." I would like Second Life to have the reputation of a place where you can create and dream, so that my little brother doesn't snicker when I try to tell him what I am doing here... One suggestion to fellow noob machinamistas - use an anonymous avatar so that you won't have to contend with people dropping in while you are shooting.

I've noticed a few nice parcels have shown up in auction lately. Also, If you find an area you like and you find a plot that has been abandoned you can put in a support ticket and ask them to put that plot up for auction. My favorite way of finding land is to open the world map and then teleport from yellow spot to yellow spot. You can also do a search through the classifieds and put in the keywords you think are important. One thing I have to remind myself is that the initial cost of the land is not as important as the fact that you will be paying tier on it. Also, I've learned to just stay on the land for a while to give the 16-story buildings on each side time to materialize. Hope that helps!

I visited the site in Bertrada - didn't find any secrets there, but hopped on a small empty boat that was passing and got a free tour of a lot of historic Second Life. Apparently Yavanna Llanfair has created a lot of different 'pod tours' around Second Life. The main hub for the tours is her shop in Basilisk. Search for "Yavascript Pod Tours." Also, in the Coastal Waterways I found a detailed lighthouse, a tiny coracle, and an intriguing "Tiny Isle of Mist" with puzzling creatures, a living rock, and treehouses that look like they were built for tinies. Continuing on, I ran into a place called "Fairy Grove" in Brillant. All of the builds in the Coastal Waterway look as if they were scripted for some kind of quest, but I can't find any clues. Does anyone know what they were for?

Perhaps they were tired of everyone complaining about the other gifts? I, the eternal optimist, was hoping for something like a last name or reduced tier. Nevertheless, ten Lindens is ten Lindens and I can think of thousands of things to spend it on. Thank you, Lindens!