Raevyn Addams

Wow, stunning!

Am I a good conversationalist? No. Adequate, maybe. But that depends on other people, the setting, and the situation. In RL and SL I have a tendency to keep to myself, so I don't generally go out of my way to approach people for the sake of striking up a conversation. If our paths cross and I have something to say, I'll say it. Or if I think it might cause offense I'll just keep it to myself and we'll go about our days without much interaction at all. If people wait for me to start a conversation (or solely sustain it) then they should get used to silence. I do have a few close friends that I talk to regularly, though we have enough common interests to give us all something to talk about. If I get an IM saying something along the lines of 'hi sexy hru? u r hot. where u from?' then I generally don't answer. Because my eye is twitching at the sheer effort it takes to restrain myself from throwing a dictionary back and telling them to use complete words at least... I don't log into SL to feel like someone's parent or teacher. And at the risk of sounding like a snob, if someone can't take the time to write something legible and at least semi-relevant then I'm likely to be just as generous with my time right back - and give them silence in return. The flip side of that is the uber-intellectuals that throw such overwhelming walls of text that I start feeling like a student. Brains are sexy, no doubt about it. But it's just another form of flexing than I can do without. I have a lot of time for people who are laid back, non-invasive, and don't need to be constantly entertained. Those who don't take 'busy' as a personal rejection, or just message with 'Hi' and wait for me to start the proverbial ball rolling. Get the point while I'm still young enough to pay attention, or find someone else to talk to. So the abbreviated version of the original question should probably be; Maybe, but that depends on you. 😏

Another non-Twitter type here, so I will cast my vote for Traditional. I love my yard and hate the sardine can/cluttered look of living so close to other houseboats. My finger would sprain at the sheer effort it took to derender everything around me there that "spoiled" my lovely water view. Beyond that, I've also noticed whether due to the amount of objects required to render at any given time, or the amount of scripted vehicles on the water, that my FPS takes a significant hit whenever I get near the piers. So that's another reason for me and my dodgy internet connection to stick with traditional. On a semi-related note, why not create a separate subject with the poll there? I imagine it might garner more replies in no time? 😊

And this is why we women seem to have 200,000 different bottles and fragrances cluttering up our bathrooms, and men generally have 1 (that can also be used to clean the dishes, car, and dog probably).

This place does a roaring trade! I see people there every day! Now if only I could stop... tweaking... mine... gah! Looks adorable, as always. And it is a great place to visit for those who haven't yet *nudge-nudge, wink-wink*

I stand corrected. But that kind of proves my point. For people new to linking, the last thing that should be encouraged is linking no-copy objects to copy objects IN CASE something goes wrong. Leave that for when you're more familiar with the linking process, unless you feel confident enough to take the gamble. In an ideal situation I'd suggest don't link no-copy at all (which is hypocritical because I do) but now the whole concept of how to link properly is likely to confuse some people if not put many off it. The trick is to practice (again preferably with copy/mod items) so you feel proficient enough to eventually link the rest. But that's just my opinion. I'm no expert and never claimed to be (but it would be nice one day! A girl can dream! ). The fact is, as Chic pointed out, there is an awful lot that can go wrong even for those of us who do build or have some experience (see point above). None of this is fool proof or perfect. We've all had to learn things the hard way. I can't tell you the amount of times I've lost items due to experimentation, but it's the only way I learned, and much of what I know is self-taught. There are a lot of expert opinions out there, and lots of different ways of doing the same thing, and some are going to contradict each other. When you're new searching for information can seem like an overwhelming and daunting (and often times a very confusing and frustrating) pursuit. But if you really want to learn you'll do it. We can offer suggestions - and have been, but it's up to you to do the actual leg-work, just like everyone else. As for actual suggestions as to where you can start to learn: Builder's Brewery is ideal. They offer regular classes in all building aspects of SL, and give you room to build and experiment as well. Join the group and start there, or search the forums here. A two second search on Google gave me a half dozen step-by-step videos on linking "basics", so the information is out there. You just have to go look for it. Reading will get you so far, but eventually you will have to practice (preferably on copy/mod items that you're not afraid to lose or "destroy"). Anyway, that's all just my opinion, and now I'll just back out of the room and let the real experts fight it out amongst themselves.

I'm in two minds about this skybox suggestion - and bear in mind I'm one of those complaining about all the empty houses around me. Ideally it would be fantastic to have those homes full and have people take part in the community as was intended or designed. But I also can't help but think that having every single house decorated and cluttered would significantly impact my rendering times which are already spotty, and those like me who feel the lag already in Bellisseria. I feel more upset (and that's probably too strong a word, maybe just irked) that so many houses are sitting vacant while there are others in these forums especially who so keenly want a place to decorate and feel part of something "bigger". On the flip side, how do you tell someone who pays their fees just like you or I that they can't have a house unless they plan to decorate it and regularly use it for more than just rezzing and dressing? You can't, and that's the problem. The whole 'LL will eventually be forcing people over' line probably encouraged some to just snatch a place up so they had it for when the old continent went belly-up rather than wait. I dare say not a huge percentage but enough to have an effect on the already limited market. I also have friends who had no idea LL were even rolling out these homes at all, so it tells me that as bad as the rush was with the initial release, things would and could get a whole lot crazier if more people knew about it - and word is out there perhaps more so than it was before, so... expect more homes will be snatched up for the sake of snatching them up. We are consumers, after all. Offering skyboxes might help ease some of the load, but it's also likely to create its own problems. As has been said many, many times by many people from the start of this project's release, you can't please everyone all the time, and even if LL did give everyone what they wanted there would still be those complaining. It's a delicate balance and I don't envy LL's predicament. As Abner Mole recently stated, creating fairly simple grid-like structures might do the trick and attract some numbers, but LL and the Moles are trying to create something that's not only never been done on this scale in LL, but something that inspires people and fosters this community spirit, even if with the few that actually take part in it. That might be harder to do in a series of skybox regions compared to the in-world benefits of what's currently being created. If people want to live in a generic skybox right now, they can, by purchasing land and using their monthly allowance and leaving the new regions for those that want them. But that's forcing people into an either/or situation. Why should we have to decide between a house and a skybox? Why can't we just have both? With this new continent, we can, there's just not enough to go around right now - but maybe when enough people have a home the issue won't seem so divisive as it right now. LL and the Moles have been repeating it and people just need to heed the message: They are building more as long as demand for them continues. People just have to be patient and wait, that's all.

Pretty close to what I wear in real life... the glasses, obviously*. *pregnant belly, hair, clothes, makeup, jewelry, fascinating blank book all sold separately.

Awwww thank you! 😍 @Saraya Starr @KaiaWang @Catrie WOW! Simply stunning!

^ So much this! Whether it's my old lady eyes or ADHD brain I cannot comprehend half of what those fancy weird dyslexic-looking letters in display names even say, so while people think they're being cool and unique really they're just making themselves appear nameless to folks like me who have no other option than to call them by their username, whether they go mental at me for it or not. I came about after the surnames had been done away with so was lumped with the generic Resident. As for how my username came to be; Raeleeh is a shortened abbreviation of my real life names. Makes it easier to remember (since most days I know who I am, though ADHD brain, remember?) but is also not exactly my name so if I get stalked, harassed, trolled, griefed, made to jump through fiery hoops, sent random death threats (with those fancy weird dyslexic-looking letters), or anything else horrific then it's not likely to bleed out of SL and into my RL. When I did role play (which feels like lifetimes ago now) I frequently changed my display name to suit my character at-that-time, but Rae's usually the predominant one I go by. As for the project to change our surnames; Ideally I wish we could choose our own (especially for the proposed fee planned with it), but also understand that it won't happen as there's always someone out there looking to ruin it for the rest of us. Beyond that, I'd probably choose something I thought was funny at the time and get AR'd for offending someone accidentally, such is my low-brow sense of humour. I tend to look at those accounts with surnames as "old timers"; not as old people per se, but the generation that came before. Those who lived through pre-mesh and bling and flexi and painted on pink polka dot dresses, and still managed to stick it out to this day. It's like a badge of honour I suppose. Maybe I'm just too nostalgic about it. Some of my best friends are "old timers", and they're the ones I go to when I have a SL related issue or forget how to do something after another 3 months sabbatical.

Just touching on that real quick; you can only link items with the same permissions, so no-copy objects can only link with other no-copy objects. So for example you cannot link Gacha objects to items that are copy (unless there's a way around that I don't know about). But personally, as I've stated elsewhere on the forum here somewhere, I do link all Gacha to one set. I link all non-animated, non-Gacha to a separate set (where possible, so long as it doesn't increase my land impact). And I link all rugs into a phantom set too. At any one time I have at least 3 sets of objects linked in order to reduce land impact AND to make things easier to grab. The caveat to that is, as @Aethelwine mentioned above, you can sometimes screw things up. For instance; if you link everything in your house and then move something, EVERYTHING that is linked to that object will also be moved unless you edit that particular selection (edit selection under build/edit), and that takes practice. Accidentally unlinking everything can also be a problem too (and I've done that more times than I can count!) as your land impact of each item will "revert back" to it's original/singular state, so basically any savings you made when things were linked will be lost until you relink. And if you accidentally unlink on land with limited prims and there isn't enough LI left to accommodate, some objects will immediately be removed from the parcel and thrown back into your inventory (usually to be found in your Lost and Found folder, and on the rare occasion I've had items vanish into thin air never to be seen again. Rare, but it does happen). On top of that, sometimes (by removing say a shadow prim, or editing a part of an object) that object may have lost it's original name and will just show up as 'object' in your Lost and Found folder. If you have a few hundred objects returned, good luck sifting through all that to find what you're looking for! (Though as a tip, look at the permissions of the object to see which is likely Gacha/no copy to make things a little easier to find). So bottom line, not only do you have to be careful in choosing the right objects that fit the covenant, with low (512x512) textures and good LOD, and remembering to group items to their specific permissions set, but you also have to be careful when linking, editing, or unlinking those sets. All I can suggest is that you practice, practice, practice (with copy/mod objects first) and be patient. Like anything, it takes a while to get the hang of it but it's worth it in the long run when you do.

^ This. Though for stores like The Loft which are so laggy I crash if I attempt to visit, I just use Marketplace. Other times I'm finding I like the actual setups of sales events more than the items on sale themselves so I'll grab the names of the object or creator, check profile to see if their store is listed, and maybe visit the store that way. Or again, resort back to MP. I also have a DEMO folder that I try and keep clean, because my internet connection is bad so the less I carry the easier it is to log in/out. For everything else I'll write the object name and creator on a notecard - and probably never look at it again. 😅 This whole thing makes me sound more organized than I swear I am, but since I don't have the freedom to just teleport to especially larger, more densely populated areas (or crash), I've had to find other methods that work instead.

^ This. Also if you're not familiar with this, check Object Owners under the About Land > Objects tab. If your land is open access maybe someone else has rezzed items on your land, or in the sky, so you can't see them. If they have, click their name on the list and select Return Objects. Sorry if you knew this but maybe someone reading this didn't? Anyway, good luck!

Trying to find a decent (mesh, low land impact, well textured or customizable, well named PG and Adult animations, good LOD, possibly bento enabled, relatively inexpensive) sofa... and failing.

^ Does this too. But for the actual décor of the home, you can go either route. I went off sim to build the majority of mine (since lag in Bellisseria is significant for me), then linked and rezzed the set into place at the house. But I've also been watching my neighbours decorate a little more traditionally, ie: a piece of furniture at a time, and that works for them. I really don't think you will disturb anyone either way, providing you don't leave your objects hovering mid-air above your house or yard for any great length of time and "ruin" the immersion of those around you. I suppose the off-sim route gives you a kind of "grand entrance" feel when you finally do rez into place (and a way to keep everyone else in curious suspense so we can't cam over and watch ) ?

Playing around with shadows and Windlights. I usually don't see shadows, since I only bump up graphics to take pics, so this is a bonus for me. I liked it so much I made it my profile pic too (*is easily pleased*). 😊

I don't often ask. It's pretty rare that I do. One conversation does not a friend make, and nor do long silences where we've lost common interests. Currently my FL sits at about 20, and it's probably due for another purge very shortly. There's names on there I have known a long while but the majority fall into acquaintances category now. I don't mind if people remove me without letting me know. I don't get offended. The way I see it, people come and go from our lives for a purpose. If they've served theirs or some lesson has been learned and they've moved on, kudos. I've absolutely zero interest in collecting friends just for the sake of having them, or with little intention of ever speaking to them again. Beyond that, things change. People change. Circumstances change. It's a part of life. Just move on to the next chapter. When it comes to random friends requests, I am not a fan. If we cross paths enough there's reason to initiate a FL invite. If it's just for a potential booty-call then friendship request denied (unless your avatar is extremely hot, and even then you'll only last if you have a decent attitude and something between your ears beyond air to boot). Of course friendship is two-sided. I admit I should probably talk to people more, but it's a delicate balance. I don't want to burden people, but I also like my space. I expect others feel much the same way. So whether I delete or they delete, or we pick up where we left off, or never speak again, that's fine too. But I don't worry too much about it, I have enough to worry about in real life without adding to it here. 😊

I'm so jealous, what a view! Great vid too. Looks like the ideal spot to just sit back and relax. Love it!

Taking @Chic Aeon's advice I did the same thing. I couldn't understand why a particular room and a few select objects in my house kept "blurring". I switched from Singularity viewer to Firestorm so I was able to see more details on the objects. They all had large textures, and one an animated TV screen (which guiltily I created) had THREE textures at 1024. BINGO! So I removed a few, swapped out a few other objects, and saw minor improvement in reducing my lag as well. But there's still one or two that I cannot part with, so I basically just have to put up with it and counter that by using other things that maybe aren't as detailed as I'd like, but still do the job satisfactorily. I, like @Blush Bravin cannot stop from reworking some aspect of my house. I'm tweaking daily. I think my neighbours must take me for an antisocial shut-in! Last night, after a SECOND tour of the Parade of Homes, I decided my front entrance was just too bland. So I whipped up a little garden between the steps and front door that matches the fire pit out the back. The LOD isn't great BUT I tested it on low LOD and cammed out to look in from my neighbours yards and windows and could still see it. But even that could have been smoother. I gambled on the texture blending into my front house and surrounding fence and steps to mask any loss of definition from too far. And even added another butterfly out front to distract the eye ;) I can't help myself, truly, and I don't really want to because (unlike RL with the restricted budget) decorating here is so fun and relaxing. I LOVE a cluttered, realistic looking home that looks like someone might actually live there, not just a fancy show piece, but all that clutter comes at a cost. So yes, I feel your pain Blush, and if there is a 12 step program or support group somewhere, I might even consider coming along... get more inspiration that way ;) And for those that don't know about the Bellisseria Community Parade of Homes; this is the sign to look for: I had some people wandering past the other day on horseback, and watched them clicking the sign. Or try to. I did previously have it scripted to give a welcome in IM but that seemed like overkill so I took it out. When I went on out to say hello the pair rode off. But just so you know, unless you script it yourself the sign won't say or do anything. You'll need to wear the HUD (that you get from the BellisseriaCommunity group - or search people for BellisseriaCommunity) in order to tour the homes. I have seen some AMAZING houses, truly. I almost wish I could take pics and share the ones that really stood out to me, but that would probably only create division. Still, for those making the effort, it is being noticed and personally I LOVE IT! <3

Oh, where did you get that little keypad on the wall?? (I love the décor too btw! )

43 year old female from Australia here (why does this feel like a singles ad??) I like long romantic walks on the beach at sunset and... Pfft, no I don't! 😆 I shop. I build. I scream at scripts. I spend a lot of time in Second Life on my own, primarily because the older I get the less I can stand young whippersnappers on my lawn stupidity in general. I used to role play but haven't been inspired to do so for a long while now. I don't really do the social scene anymore either. I keep my social circle small on purpose nowadays. That doesn't mean I won't say hello and have a chat with people if the urge strikes or there's something to say. But I'm not someone who has to be constantly entertained, or enjoys constantly entertaining others. Not sure we'd ever actually cross paths (I'd be too preoccupied trying to redesign path and build it with less Land Impact) BUT just wanted to shout out (because I could) as another from the 40's crowd. I sincerely wish you all the best in finding what it is you seek

Just a quick question; don't textures at 1024 and above create lag? I thought optimal for textures was 512? Now I'm confused 🤔