Matthieu Quander

I hate to be critical, but I have to echo many of the sentiments that have already been expressed. The inside is not a good stylistic match for the outside. Interestingly, one of my biggest complaints about most of the houseboats is that they have too many modern design elements in a home that should be more rustic. Why not reuse some of those modern elements for the Newbrooke interiors? As has been the case with all of the Bellisseria homes, functional space does not appear to have been a consideration. Is decorating a home not part of the design process? As others have stated, there still is not a Linden home with a window that is suitable for kitchens. Sure, people throw their kitchens in front of a window anyway, and pretend to not notice that the cabinetry blocks some of it, but it would be nice if homes were designed with function in mind. I'm struggling to come up with a technical reason for why the 512sqm models couldn't be included in the options for the 1024sqm parcels. Why does one have to live with the smaller parcel and LI allowance to have one of the smaller homes? I'm not sure if the interior doors are included or if they will be left for the residents to add like the stilts, but I wish all of the themes left them out. Being able to use custom doors allows for additional decorative flair, not to mention sliding pocket doors, which are great for saving space and improving walkability. I would happily sacrifice a few LI to add my own doors. Criticisms aside, one benefit to the flaws is the challenge they present. I look forward to attempting to make the most of an imperfect situation, as always.

To add to what has already been mentioned, there are thousands of stilt homes being built that have not been released yet. Are these the ones you are seeing as "unclaimed?" If so, those won't be in the queue until they are released. They are fairly easy to spot. If the region they are on has a name beginning with "SSPE," then they definitely have not been released. Another way to know is to click on a home on the map. If it says "Protected Land," then it hasn't been released. Homes that are available are named "Linden Home," but not all homes named "Linden Home" are available, as some people actually name their parcels that, either to confuse others or because that's the extent of their imagination. I have not looked at the queue lately to know if stilts are currently frequently available. If they are in short supply, it is likely that you keep getting the same home because it is the only stilt in the queue.

I'm going to start a movement to use "cawing birds."

And 9 out of 10 should be junk mail...who am I kidding, it's 10 out of 10.

Yes you do...just across the water from mine on Hardtack. Thus, I share your wish for a northeasterly sea route.

It's certainly a possibility that I have considered as well, but I don't share your certainty. While they could probably squeeze in a new landmass in that area, the logical directions for expansion are to the east of the log and fantasy themes. I'm sure we will know their plans "soon."

I wish that had focused on the NW log coastline first. They have been waiting longer, and have a direct impact on sailing options.

We are? I see posts from people having to move homes because of what they heard from other parcels. I don't see where a single person has complained about what they hear in the public areas. My apologies for not being a mind reader, or for keeping up when the goalposts are moved.

You do know that if YOU set YOUR parcel to restrict gesture and parcel sounds that it blocks all sounds from other parcels, regardless of their settings, don't you? In other words, you have full control over what you hear and don't hear when you are on your own parcel. Obviously, if you are out and about, then all bets are off. Many people, including myself, enjoy the lovely wildlife sounds created by the moles. In order to hear these on our parcels, we choose to not restrict sounds. Media is a completely different issue, as it is tied to a region, not a parcel. If you don't want to hear someone's media stream, you can disable media as needed, or at least disable the setting that connects to all media streams automatically. Objects that extend beyond parcels are covered by the covenant, so I don't know why that's specifically being called out on a thread about holiday events, but as already noted, ARs and derendering can address those. In short, while you can't control what others do, you have most of the control necessary to tweak your Second Life experience to your liking.

Is "papa smurf" a reference to Santa Claus? Regardless, neither of those has any ties to Christianity. I'd argue that most holiday traditions are a hodgepodge from a variety of cultures, religions, and folklore. While some do spend Christmas actually celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, most have merely adapted the name as a general reference to the winter holiday season. We also tend to forget that for many, the "winter holiday season" actually occurs in summer. I doubt very much that anyone is going to knock on the door of your Bellisseria home, wanting to sing carols. If you find Christmas decorations offensive, just do what most of us do for the tasteless choices that many of our neighbors make year round - derender, look away, or simply ignore. And as is always the case, if you find Bellisserian life not your cup of tea, there are plenty of other options. For the record, I'm generally an antisocial introvert who rarely participates in any of the Bellisseria activities, but just as in real life, I respect the rights of others to do so.

I completely agree. This is the core issue that needs to be addressed. As @Abnor Mole noted, most violations are due to ignorance. How can that be addressed? I don't think citizens educating other citizens is the recipe for success, as it can be difficult to both give and receive a "read the covenant" message in the manner intended, depending on the sender and recipient. I think there needs to be something automated that triggers a pop-up when the home owner visits a claimed parcel for the first time (or next time to cover existing owners). Require a checkbox verifying that the covenant has been read before allowing access to the parcel settings or house controls. I don't know how difficult it would be to implement something along those lines, and some would still click without reading, but I think the communication needs to come from official Linden channels to be taken seriously.

Sometimes plans change. I'm not saying they have, but this reads like a political interview where the reporter is trying to catch the politician in a lie or an act of hypocrisy. Why does it matter what they originally said and when they said it? What matters is what they actually end up doing. If it ends up being different from what they said they were going to do a year or two ago, well, sometimes plans change.

It is nice to frequently see most themes available on the Land Page, but there are nowhere close to enough homes that both meet current demand and what is needed to transplant those still living in the old areas, assuming that is still the plan. There may be more Fantasy Homes and Chalets for the current demand, and Log Homes and some Stilt styles could end up in that state once all regions that are in progress are released, but others are still in short supply, with the possible exception of campers, which have the 512sqm factor that both increases and decreases their appeal. I don't know if the goal is to balance availability across all themes, but if it is, it will be very challenging to execute. I think realistically, we will have to live with an imbalance, and some of the more popular themes will perpetually be in short supply, but at least there are homes available.

Martinis are dry. My sense of humor is parched, Saharan even. I don't do smilies. It keeps people guessing, and often gets me into hot water, but such is the life of an inadvertent troublemaker.

Technically this is true, but as discussed on many other threads, there are certainly ways to increase the odds. I don't think anyone wants to see this thread devolve into another discussion about it, so I'll leave it at that. That said, people who do stack the deck are already well aware of the nicer locations, as Chloe noted, so mentioning them isn't likely to have much impact other than some of the more casual GOHers may start staking out places of which they may not have been aware. I feel my playful tone isn't being conveyed, so I will abandon ship and let you lovely people get back to highlighting the places you want. Sorry if I ruined the party.

My point is, I don't think anyone is sincerely upset by people posting homes they want, but I shouldn't speak for everyone, so let me just clarify that I'm not at all upset.

Jeeze, people, I was joking...mostly.

This thread is bad idea jeans. If you limit it to parcels that are currently owned, then fine, but showing ones that haven't been released is only going to make them harder to get. I normally wouldn't care, but since you've posted one of my coveted parcels, this now impacts me directly...not that I would get it on initial release anyway.

One other possibility is that you or your alt linked your furniture together or with other items, changing the root prims and the way the scripts behave. Linking can be a great way to save some LI when done carefully, but can have adverse effects, including adding lag and the experience you describe, when done excessively.

It's obvious, to me at least, that vehicle transportation of any sort was not a primary concern when Bellisseria was envisioned, and the first regions were built and released. Anyone trying to get from Point A to Point B on the surface roads of those early regions can attest to this, as many roads lead to nowhere. The fact that one can actually get from Point A to Point Z with good area knowledge or use of the map is a testament to the evolving considerations that the moles have put into place as the project has developed. Railroads, sailable waters, airstrips, roads that connect, rez zones...these are all things that we take for granted now. I'm not going to judge the BR rail system until it is complete, but even if it never improves over what we have now, I am grateful that it is there, and I enjoy it frequently.

I may not be interpreting your post correctly, but it reads as though you may be under the impression that you need to abandon and claim a new home in order to try out one of the other Fantasy Home models. If you are new to Bellisseria, each theme has multiple models which can be changed via the home controller (mailbox, light post, sign, life ring, depending on the theme). On the other hand, if you actually want to try a different theme, then you will have to abandon and claim a different one. Here is a list of the Bellisseria Linden Home themes that have been released so far. Traditional Houseboat Camper Victorian Log Home Stilt Home (there are three sub themes - on Land, on Water, on Pier) Chalet Fantasy Home If you already know all of this and I just completely misunderstood your post, well, never mind.

Stab in the dark, is your neighbor actually home and playing music through voice?

Also from Firestorm you can simply click the musical note icon in the upper right corner of your screen to toggle music streaming on and off.

Thanks for posting your vehicles. That Moped is awesome. I'm going to have to get one of those. Enclosed vehicles make me feel claustrophobic, so I prefer ones that allow me to be out in the open. My current rail explorer is a handcar. Rail Handcar SLRR

How often do you actually use media? Media, object sounds, and music streams are all different things and have their own settings. Just turn off media unless you want to watch your TV or something. I only have mine enabled when needed, which is very rare. It sounds like you may also have yours configured to automatically connect to media sources, which probably isn't helping matters.