Polenth Yue

There were some comments in the mole talk (noting I'm hard-of-hearing and may have missed some bits). They're aiming to add prizes (fun items from the sounds of it, not money) and leaderboards to the casino. The welcome area was described as being like spokes on a wheel and that new ones could be added. Though no comments on exactly what might go there. I suggested a cat region where we could go meet cats. Never did get that cat cafe, so I'm on a mission here for cats. "Join Second Life, Meet Cats!"

A friend asked me to set up a shop in a room hidden by a secret door. I sold more from that shop than any mall, which is why I don't do malls. The commission idea means a lower risk, but it doesn't suddenly make those places work. I had that sort of deal in one mall, but I was maintaining the shop for nothing much back. In the end, focusing on my main shop and events was a better strategy. I'm also still happy to set up shops for friends, especially if they're behind secret doors.

Some of them aren't on the map yet. Keep going west (off the map) into the new regions there.

The sky pirates place is D-Lab on Forsythia. I got the little stand that's cooking buns.

On a previous round, one gift card could only be used as a discount on a more expensive house. It couldn't be used for cheaper items that came under the amount. I deleted that after reading the small print. In the end, it's the brand that suffers, as it doesn't leave warm fuzzy feelings. DRD's card from this round though, I got a bunch of items at the main shop for the card price, so I'm happy with that. As long as the card covers at least one regular item in the shop, I don't see that as a problem.

The region where I build was getting a ridiculous number of bots every day. Once we added the ban, very few still appear. So most bot owners are following the rules. Not really surprising, as they don't want to get reported and have their bot networks taken down. The idea that the bans are silly because hypothetically people might stop registering their bots is entirely hypothetical. It's not what's actually been happening in the majority of cases. At a parcel level, a ban won't actually stop bots surveying the region. It'll just stop them landing in someone's kitchen all the time. That's really been the biggest issue. Not that the bots are necessarily up to anything bad, but that everyone decided they needed twenty and the numbers were becoming a problem. The scripted function has a wider use though and might be useful to some bots. I can see the ones that record attachments could benefit from separating out what other survey bots are wearing compared to real avatars. it also means things like greeters and other stationary bots could be excluded from visitor information.

There were issues with the old shop and hops lacking variety because they didn't accept a lot of merchants outside a certain area. Once they hired Missy, the range of merchants suddenly improved. It demonstrated that a greater range had been applying, but just not getting in until then. Which means the issue is now coming down to applications. Areas with fewer shops are going to end up with fewer at the event, but you might be able to persuade some of your favourites to apply. It's a plus under the current system if a shop hasn't done the event before and is selling something that's not as well covered.

The four regions at the top are the adult shop and hop regions. It's fine to visit them. They're only separate because of the different rating.

There are lots of map ghosts in that area. If you're zoomed in enough to see the names on regions, only the ones with names are real. The others are the ghosts of past shop and hops.

This one? https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Community_Land_Partnership_Program

Yes, all the Linden Homes areas are open to the public once they're released.

The round bales are larger, cheaper per quantity of hay, and can be left outside in the rain. A large modern farm is most likely making round bales, regardless of location. The square/rectangle ones might be used by small farms that don't need much hay or simply because they have an older hay baler that they're determined to keep using until it rusts away.

I didn't become a different person when I first changed avatars, but the way people responded to me changed drastically. People are much more likely to approach and talk to tiny avatars, in a way they don't with realistic human avatars. Generally people talking to me use my avatar as a conversation opener, making it easier to start a conversation. They also clearly have expectations that I'll be friendly and that I'm not after sex, so I seem safe to talk to in a way that realistic human avatars might not be. This shouldn't really be a surprise. All avatars are choices, so people respond to those choices.

Hope I'm not the only one who thought the rez zone sign was a beware giants with laser hands sign.

Yay! I think the story came across, though what I couldn't find was an about the creator sign. So my main comment is don't feel you'll ruin the immersion and so on by handing people a notecard about you as the author/artist.

People have said to log out of the website and then back in.

Just doing my bit, sharing information, answering questions and decomposing everyone's soft furnishings.

The ranch comment was this. They're ranch houses, to be released after the talk, and a pause on claiming ranch houses via ticket until near the end of the birthday.

I can't say I'm surprised that they're going straight to release. They had someone going region to region in the new theme earlier. Which did look a lot like last minute checks, which you wouldn't do unless it was the last minute. Going to give people time to claim and get their cows out, then have a look around!

One of the exhibits was about how someone's friends either left Second Life because they found it unfulfilling or they died at the keyboard. That reminded me of this thread, because celebration and being happy is not actually mandatory. There is content there for you if you want displays about how Second Life crushed all your hopes and dreams. For everyone else, I noticed mazes were big with this theme. Much like the hidden worlds theme had lots of automated tours (with tour carts and such). There are often trends in things that people think about when they hear certain themes, which aren't directly the theme. Also, slimedrip mushrooms everywhere this year!

It's the birthday event right now (until 11th July). Some of the exhibits are for communities, clubs, other events and things like that. So you can go around and get information about them and join some groups. Most people I've met have been because I just went out and did stuff, had fun, and randomly met people in the process. This is the welcome area if you just want to start wandering (the exhibit regions are the ones laid out in a grid): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLB Magnificent/128/115/24 This is the post with details about the exhibits, if you want to glance over it and pick something that sounds likely: https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/entry/13614-sl20b-exhibitor-showcase/

Also keep an eye out for announcements about the 2048/Premium Plus homes. Not that you want one, but when they release, there may be a little boost in abandons across the other themes.

I also would like to see mermoles. Little mermole houses. Suspicious shipwrecks near the mermole place.

I wouldn't recommend the magazine to people wanting to explore as it doesn't really have details, as you've noted. Instead, the blog post has a list with a description of each exhibit. You can also do a text search for someone's name if you want to see if they have an exhibit. This is much more useful than previous years, where you had to trawl through the destination guide.

Stilts and fantasy both appeared after the event was open to the public. The new theme is on the map in the final location. Pessimist I may be, but when something is literally there, it's not about hope and stuff. It exists. Once a theme gets to that point, it's not long until the final release. Opening speeches are just that. Most big announcements and details come at the later talk events. It's really weird that people are acting like the opening speech is the only time things can be announced, so clearly that's it. No more announcements. They're just going to leave the ready-to-release theme until next year. This is just not very likely.