SueWorthly

Yup. And if those screenshots are authentic, they are indeed old: they show avatars wearing a very popular adult HUD and the version shown was released in 2016 and updated in 2018 (likely mid 2018). In that case, these images are from 6-8 years ago. Lucia Nightfire wrote about those modified viewers in 2018: "Sadly, illegal tpv's CAN see what HUD's you are wearing and have modal's that list them along with details such as name, desc and attach point with right click options such as export to xml, copy keys or touch." In the same thread, she also wrote of a direct experience: "Someone once ripped one of my prim HUDs in front of me and then proceeded to make fun of it because it wasn't mesh and it had no style. It was one of those clunky combat HUD styles from a decade ago. I still wear it and retrofit it though." So it's indeed possible that the images might be real. Also it's possible that the author of the "article" received the images from someone else. Anyways, those images don't portray the accused people, but random avatars - the author of the "article" was talking about the general situation there - but the presence of this kind of people in SL is not new since at least 2007 (which does NOT mean it's ok, though, it's just not a big revelation). Same thing for the "family friendly" places that aren't exactly that (this doesn't meant they they are all like that, though). Note that if some claims are true, that doesn't necessarily mean that everything else is also true. For example, someone could (1) start with a few "known" things or things that are easy to check - like the marketplace, in this case, or you may have the accused shop in your teleport history and see it was where it's claimed it was - and add other more-or-less plausible elements to gain some credibility; but then (2) they proceeds building a house of cards on top of that and forcing conclusions (this is also how some propaganda works, BTW). Here, with these allegations, a few things appear true, but we "community members" don't have enough info for the rest. I think there are various degrees of confidence for each claim, not absolute confidence that the whole thing is true or, vice-versa, 100% a pile of stuff to dismiss. So I'm glad that the chairman has "initiated a thorough investigation, both internally and with external partners, to review whether or not there have been any violations of our company and community policies by employees, contractors, or community members".

As for the Firestorm Wiki saying 'A “broken” bridge can also affect movement', the bridge ( https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/fs_bridge ) affects your movement with the optional flight assist (it makes you avatar fly faster) and the movement lock (e.g. if trolls tries to push you, they can't). It can also listen for collar commands to turn off the built-in AO, but it don't think it controls or affects the built-in AO animations. Edit: I'd add that once I had a broken bridge, with the movement lock engaged, so I was more or less stuck in place until I recreated the bridge. I think this is what they meant with the "broken" bridge that can affect your movement wrongly.

A pity that they missed Drivers of SL in the video. There was a big announcement in the group. And we just had a wonderful and memorable winter camp in the week-end with two regions full of people. The exhibit was right at the entrance, the one with the blue globe. They only walked past it, heading to Boystown instead. However I see it has the same colors of the background building (blue/cyan and white), so I wonder if Strawberry took it as a sort of decoration? 😅 Anyways, I like the idea of showing some of the possibilities that SL offers. DSL can be pretty fun, it also shows new places and other things in SL. And even if SL it's not as good as a driving sim game, DSL it is one of the most lively things in Second Life, if you do that with the group or with friends (it's fine also by your own). I'm not sure how exactly good it could be for newbies, as the drives can be long and region crossing can still be an issue sometimes, but you get also a reward at the end (often a car).

They use their own map, that is only partially similar to the original map, so if you use a classic skin it won't fit perfectly either. Still your point stands: new skins and makeup are released for EvoX now. And I agree that you can still get the old releases for the not longer supported products (you can still find stuff for the classic avatar here and there), unless you want the new things, take advantage of the current sales or have more availability in general.

That's true. It would be useful to have a similar tool that also checks textures. Once the textures are loaded, they may be fine, but if they are many and large, they take longer to load (i.e. your objects stay gray longer) and use more memory, eventually resulting in blurred textures or crashes.

Another pro is that, unlike many, they are mod 🤩, which opens more customization possibilities.

That's right. To be fair, in the first hours the vendor didn't work that way: if you left-clicked on it, you would get the pay icon and the pay interaction. The vendor was knocked out already, though. Not a big issue for just 1L$, but Emma Krokus was right when she said "I suggest you don't try to get Noelle right now". The region was crowded and at first full and the vendor not working. Later the vendor worked, and in the way you described. 🙂

Another difference is the breast. LaraX maintains a natural shape even when set at 100 and with more gravity.

The blinking technique should help to highlight the differences. I'm using the same shape for both Lara and LaraX. Improved wrists: Hips and groin: Full body comparison. Notice the improved shoulders. Despite the name, Lara and LaraX are different bodies. Tight clothing for Lara won't fit LaraX. However, the feet and the hands remain the same; most of the leg seem the same too, so even the old over-knee boots for Lara are compatible as long as they aren't thigh-high.

That's a good reason. Add to this that Genus Strong, according to Lucia Nightifire's today stats, is only 7.2% of the heads (females and males) and the sum of all the Genus heads is < 10%, while the sum of all the Lelutka heads is definitively more, about 44% (the rest is 13% Catwa and a bunch of various, less popular, brands: Akeruka, Logo, Vista, etc). Still, they aren't few, also Lelutka has an Evo-mode too, that's somewhat compatible with other old skins; but costumers would likely buy skins and makeups for their new heads. Another example is the female Meshbody Classic (that's basically Legacy with a different shape and it's free): according to Lucia's stats, it is the 4th most popular female body, it's not so far from the female Meshbody Legacy, and yet almost nobody makes outfits for it, but few: #1 : Maitreya - Lara : 149834 : 31.3% #2 : Signature - Gianni : 33286 : 6.9% #3 : Belleza - Jake : 26618 : 5.5% #4 : eBODY - Reborn : 24538 : 5.1% #5 : MeshBody - Legacy (Female) : 23408 : 4.9% #6 : MeshBody - Classic (Female) : 18132 : 3.7% #7 : MeshBody - Legacy (Athletic Male) : 16066 : 3.3% #8 : MeshBody - Legacy (Male) : 14530 : 3.0% #9 : Inithium - Kupra : 14053 : 2.9% #10 : LucyBody - Atenea : 12451 : 2.6% #11 : MeshBody - Classic (Male) : 11244 : 2.3% #12 : MeshBody - Legacy Perky : 9492 : 1.9% #13 : Niramyth - Aesthetic Mesh Body : 7515 : 1.5% #14 : Belleza - Freya : 6992 : 1.4% To be fair, though, Lara X for free is going to be delivered to whom purchased Maitreya Lara (as a free "update"), so they aren't necessarily people who only look for freebies.

As for the activities / groups that facilitate a better life for me and those around me, aside for traveling together with friends and sharing the experiences, I've been in meditation places, where I also volunteered for a while. They are usually small communities though, and some of them eventually close down.

It's like Leeward Cruising Club cruises, but topless. Usually, you get a Tom-Tom like HUD that tells you the direction to take to the next way-point. WP to WP, you sail with many other people and boats, until you eventually reach the destination and have a party. In the notices of their group (Topless Cruisers) you can get a notecard with the map, a list of the waypoints and instructions.

I've never seen an official LL event and each year there are only few events (and stores) in SL that celebrate the IWD. My understanding is that the IWD on March 8th isn't so much a thing in the USA, and other countries as well, were a bunch of SL residents come from, but there are countries that celebrate it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_Day#Around_the_world As an Italian, I celebrate it every year in SL too, with our traditional mimosa flowers. This year there was a big party also at Artsville, though. I'd like an International Women's Day officially supported by Linden Lab for sure.

I'm not sure if there is art to be fixed. Some item isn't just an item. And with a photo you can just plainly shows something, or it can be art. A SL "photo", too, and your profile picture can be a form of art, if they have a meaning, communicate something or an emotion. Else they simply are just screenshots. My own profile picture isn't a photo-ID or a look at me, for example, but it's the humble attempt to share an emotion and joy that I feel, that probably my fellow aviators and blue skies lovers understands better, immersed inside this amazing virtual world and its freedom, under a serene blue sky. Some computer game can be a form of art, too, and be quite emotionally involving, because of the story (those that have one) or the scenes. Some are also artistic in their own style and gameplay. So art doesn't depends on the medium or the tools. Nor the style from others: after Caravaggio, there have been several caravaggisti, producing art in the style of Caravaggio, and they were absolutely stunning, amazing artists. AI is just another tool, for now. You can quickly produce a not so meaningful pretty postcard, or you can spend hours fine-tuning the prompt until it produces something close to the evocative, artistic idea that you, the artist, have in mind. They are still primitive and messy and they can't even draw hands properly, but you get the idea. Here is something I tried to do:

What vanettda Lassard wrote is true (and I added my like too). I won't call SL exactly a game either (if you have a classic game in mind), but rather a sort of shared lucid-dream. However, I must admit that the definition of game is no longer Super Mario. It has became a lot blurred and games have became something more. Flight Simulator is a game that has no narrative, no programed events that moves the story along and you can play it with other real breathing and feeling people. You enter the world and you ask yourself "where I'm going to fly today?" There is no winning and losing or defeating a boss level. The point of Flight Simulator is you choosing what, where and when to fly. You fly, you enjoy flying. That's it. There are optional mini games inside, though, as there are inside SL. Also a lot of people in SL roleplay, casually or in dedicated regions, sometimes even with a story-teller with a story through events, combat, monsters, zombies, etc. Even Drivers of SL has bot NPCs. Minecraft is used for education as well and educational games do exist (mammals learn by playing, actually). As other people told, there is who uses online games and MMORPGs as hanging out places or as a chat with a game around it. They know they are with other people, that can become friends, sometimes real life friends (or even lovers). SL, however, is a creative platform where you can do, make and create anything. Fun things and serious things. Dress up your avatar and taking pictures in various places, as many do now, can be creative too. You can also visit virtual museums or you can even go to a guided meditation. Other platforms offer similar things too. However, unlike other platforms, when you fly with your airplane in SL, it's not a single isolated space/room/experience: there are also other people sailing beneath you. Or mermaids. And neko girls and furries (you can express yourself in any possible way). And other people doing their own entirely different business. It feels more like a world. And the plane, the boats, the avatars, the virtual dance clubs and almost everything else has been made by other users like you. SL slogan used to be "your world, your imagination". Indeed, it's true the escapism too, which was also mentioned in the old website home page: "Escape to the Internet's largest user-created, 3D virtual world community". And it's also true (aside the aforementioned furry, anime, mermaid avatars, etc) that almost "everyone appears 19 and athletic in SL", like a top model, and maybe with a fabulous villa and a private yacht, or a castle. Because in SL you can dream to be super pretty, still in your 20s; or not disabled; or to be the woman you are, if you are a trans woman (or vice-versa if you are a trans man); or to be among a bunch of people from all over the world, when in real life you live in a small, remote town; and so on. Or even dance in the sky with your airplane as I do sometimes. LOL. Or when there were the lock-downs because of the pandemic, you could still go out in the virtual world with your SL friends, in a beach or the Mt. Everest or in Venice, anywhere. SL can help you feel better in many ways. So, in a way, you can kind of make your dreams "true" and live them in a second life. That's why I say it's a sort of virtual dream that we share it with other people. You can enjoy SL in so many different ways.