Rocky Vallejo

As for education please reread what I said those funds should go to.. again.. teach kids in the real world. Go to a neighborhood where it poverty is normal.... do you really think those kids care abt Sl or on line as much as a pencil and notebook paper for them to be able to do their school work on. Take that money and help them they really need it for their education. The world isn't run with pencils and paper anymore. It's run by computers. And those kids in a neighborhood where poverty is "normal" are going to need to learn how to work with 21st century technology, not 19th century technology, to make it in this world. If a person can afford a computer and internet chances are they can research anything offered on the net much less Sl. Again... no... The Internet is a vast warehouse of information. Learning how to wend one's way through it effectively has to be taught/learned. You just can't sit someone down in front of a computer, bring up Google and say, "There you go!," and walk away. I work in a library in RL and have spent time helping people use the Internet as a tool... a tool that has to be taught like most any other tool. I've also set up blogs, email lists and websites where we instruct people on online resources or even provide online resources. It's work... helping people learn how to help themselves. The same is true of virtual reality. Keep in mind SL is a business that does not have to give anything for free or reduced price. When I joined we all paid to play.... So please every educator here and non profit prove me wrong.. I have been here 5 years and will be here longer.. show me your passion for what you do in SL...prove me wrong.. My wife and I have spent a lot of our own money in SL in the over four years we've been here and much of it has gone into those "fat cow" nonprofits we spend our free time volunteering in (not work time... our free time)... not play. I have a passion for what I do here that would knock your socks off... and it's grounded in a belief that virtual reality holds a key to reaching the hitherto unreached in many places and on many levels,if not now, down the road. And back to wasting money on SL while poor kids go without paper and pencils... Many years ago in Kansas the Cooperative Extension Service started a novel approach to educating Kansans on hygiene, healthy eating, better agricultural practices, home economics, etc. The Cooperative Extension started broadcasting programs on this new fangled contraption called a radio. The programs covered the same topics available on printed pamphlets. It was a risk... and it cost money. They were criticized by many who thought they should be using this money more wisely. But as home ownership of radios increased the listening audience grew the critics were silenced. Educators, libraries and other nonprofits in virtual reality.... it's risky. But if people don't take risks like this, with the money to back it up, we'll eventually be up a creek without a pencil... errrr.. paddle. Sure... the Lindens will most likely raise their prices and many nonprofits will have to leave... and some of you have turned out to wave them off with braying bands and taunts. No worries... the passionate ones will find new venues and flouish elsewhere... maybe not for a while... Sadly the progress of many will be stopped at least for a while. But flourish they will because they believe in what they are doing. It's gonna take more than paper and pencils to lead kids and adults into the 21st century. Yes, it will take people with passion (and compassion)...but it will also take computer technology, money and risks. Virtual reality is one of those risks. We're just beginning to talk about what we might do about the tier increases on the sims where I volunteer... where I am passionate about what I do. Similar discussions are going on on other nonprofit sims too I'm sure. Whatever we do we will do it partly with that kid without the pencil and paper in mind as well as many others. And some day, when that kid is grown and working on some cooperative experiment in a 3-D setting in a virtual lab with other researchers from around the world he will have all those risk takers to thank who paved the way for him to be there. Cutting back or leaving we'll still be around. And once again, the opinions expressed here are my own, not necessarily shared by the organizations I work/volunteer with. Rocky Vallejo Community Virtual Library

When I read this I felt sorry for most of the non profit /educational sim owners. However, a person came to mind that takes advantage of this and used it against many other people that are residents with different opinions.... in short that person terrorized many. It happens... whether the home base of the antagonist is a personal, commercial or nonprofit sim... these things happen in Second Life as well as real life. Don't single out nonprofits as if they are representative of this kind of behavior in general. Then I read a bit more closely and explored many of these empty sims .. that are empty at all times of day/night or what was on them was clearly profit for them or not even allowed on those “types'” of sims. ummm... Report them? If a nonprofit blatantly ignores the TOS it should be reported. As for "empty sims" lo, they are with us always... personal, profit and nonprofit. As long as the tier is paid and the owner uses the sim for some purpose within the TOS that pleases him/her I see no problem. And I'm aware of nonprofit sims that are alive and well. I do not blame them for cutting the fat off the cow..it was time a long time ago to do this. During these difficults times when real life libraries, schools and other nonprofits are struggling to entertain, educate, provide guidance and give hope to millions (the use of public libraries in the U.S. has surged upwards within the past few years), while their budgets are being slashed at the same time we hear of fattened cows? Sorry, Angel... I don' t know where you live but the cows around here are already lean and near starving. So all you "educators" show us the reg residents that you love what you do Excuse me, Angel, but I *am* a "reg resident." I rent personal land that I pay full price for. I shop and buy objects and services. I tip DJs, greeters and sites (both profit and nonprofit) that I think are a fantastic visit/experience. Many, many nonprofit folks are just like me in SL and we have an impact on the SL economy. educate these kids they will really need you now more then ever don't run away like a little kid on the playground that didn't get their way. The sims I work on have no problem with the teens coming into Second Life. We didnt' have to "get over it." We are changing what we need to do to welcome and help them. We dont' work with just "kids" either. We help out anyone who shows up at the reference desk with a question. We, along with other nonprofits, offer classes to newbies on building and developing themsleves in a virtual setting. Our resources have been and continue to be open to all residents of Second Life. The problem lies in money, not soured feelings. We're not "running away." If there isn't enough money to pay the rent we will have to leave or cut back... period. I sure as heck am not gonna sit and whine about it as much as plan the next step... what good nonprofits have done for years.... continue serving as many people as possible with less money. If I offended anyone so be it .. these are my personal opnions. I'm not offended as much as shocked at some of the blanket stereotypes I've see bandied about here and not just in this message. Don't judge all nonprofits by a few bad experiences. Think of what nonprofit workers and volunteers contribute personally to the economy of SL. We don't all inhabit empty, lifeless sims. We dont' all gouge the system looking to make a fast buck or push an agenda to hurt others. Most of us are certainly not fat cows. We stretch every Linden as far as it will go and then dip into our own pockets to provide the best service we can to others. We do make a difference in SL in helping people grow virtually as well as in their real lives. Visit the Virtual Learning Library at Info Island. Walk through Virtual Ability. Check out the Learning Curve at Info Island International. Nonprofits make a difference in Second Life. Within a few months if things go as planned many of these places will disappear from Second Life. I don't see it as the Lindens shooting themselves in the foot as much as shooting themselves in the heart, because just like in RL noprofits are more often than not the heart and soul of any place... a helping hand along the virtual way. What I've written here is my own opinion... I've reread it to make sure I didnt' whine. Rocky Vallejo Community Virtual Library

Qie, you make some very good points....yes, the discounts were too deep, and yes, the abuse was too widespread. How many of the educational sims are actually being used at capacity? I suspect very few. May I point out that Qie used the words, "perhaps," before his/her statements which you have reinterpretted in a manner that would imply fact. Qie also ends his/her message with the statement, "But this is all speculation." You throw out a sweeping, "I suspect very few" without facts to back up anything you've surmised. There are libraries, univeristies and many other nonprofits in Second Life which are experimenting with the use of virtual reality in educating, informing and assisting others. Many of them are not insular, wrapped up only in serving their own purposes/clientele, but provide access and services to the general population of Second Life. A statement like "I suspect very few" reflects an unqualified stereo type without any facts to back up the statement. Yes, LL is a for-profit company and SL is not a charity. But it will be a great loss if all Second Life becomes is a virtual commercial/residential world interspersed with.a few wealthy nonprofit sims. I've been in Second Life over four years working primarily with the library sims. It's been a great experience working with library folks and meeting people from all over the world. If I leave in 2011 I'll be grateful for the experience and saddened for the loss to future and present residents in all that they will miss if many of the nonprofilts leave. Rocky Vallejo Community Virtual Library http://infoisland.org/

With all due respect to the non profit/ education sector - but where are all of you when ordinary sl users bemoan heavy tier pricing....??? Hi Maelstrom.... I can only speak for myself here but I am standing right along with you bemoaning the same pricing. I have personal lands/parcels within SL apart from the nonprofit I work with. None of this land is located on a nonprofit sim. Anything that I do that is not associated with the library is paid for out of pocket on full price land... my personal money. I know a large number of librarians and other other library folk who do the same thing. We do understand the ethical differences between nonprofit and personal use and we abide by that in renting/owning personal-use land on full price sims where we pay tier/rent that is probably just as high as yours. Rocky Vallejo