Tari Landar

Sephina Frostbite wrote: i have many friends but its nice to be invisible every once and a while.. Except you're never really invisible at all. If someone wants to see if you're online, it's quite simple to do.

The short answer...yes, they can still see your dot. Yes, I've tested it

One of the items I got a bad review on once used to be my biggest seller. Actually it was my biggest seller for 3 years, despite the one bad review(and only review it ever got, which had nothing to do with the product but was an issue the buyer caused). I hate the review system, for all kinds of reasons. I've never agreed with the way it is and have been of the camp that believes it either needs a complete rehaul or done away with altogether since MP became what it is. But, I get no say, so I work with what they give me. When I read reviews I do so with a grain of salt. Sometimes you can smell a fake from a mile away, and sometimes you can't. Sometimes people are just in pissy moods and, well, their reviews reflect that. I don't think there is a person on these forums that can say with any amount of truth they've never overstated their position in the heat of frustration. So I look at both good AND bad reviews, with a grain of salt. I actually don't put a whole lot of faith in them unless you can clearly see the reivew is spot on(usually hard to do without owning the product). I can count on one hand the amount of 3 and less star reviews I've given since the days of slex. One of the creators yanked the product so the review would go bye bye. Shame really, because although the person EVENTUALLY made things right(not until I posted the review, inworld contact did no good), there was actually some constructive reviews left after mine regarding the same issues. It's a shame the seller didn't take those reviews to heart and actually improve the product. All they did was re-list it(a no no but LL doesn't enforce it). All that to simply say, I don't think most people put much faith into the reviews anymore, certainly not like they used to. Sellers feel a bit jaded when we get a review that's less than stellar, who wouldn't. But most consumers pay them very little mind, I've come to realize. Sometimes we just think they do, because we may be afraid of appearances, or proud of them even. I don't honestly think most reviews have any effect whatsoever on how a product sells, unless the product is clearly a piece of crap or so uber stupendous one simply cannot avoid buying it. Too many people know the review system is screwed these days and worth less than a speck of rice flour

Melita Magic wrote: One thing I was determined from the beginning about, at the sim I used to run, was that every avatar would be welcome and equal. My only rule was about nudity and sexual content on an avatar, since we did get people from all walks of (real) life, and also, we got child avatars. So yes it was homogenized in the dress code sense, for the greater good, and also because those who ignored that rule seemed to break lots of other rules, while there, as well. I've never understood 'avatar prejudice' - I can understand dress code, obeying TOS about nudity/public sexual content, or sim theme rules. But, people 'hating' a certain type of avatar? I mean, do they hate Bugs Bunny more than Popeye, too? He IS a wascally wabbit....

I empty my trash when it needs emptied. Sometimes that's quite frequently, sometimes not for months. I ALWAYS scan over my trash folder before purging though. You just never know what might show up where it doesn't belong. Or if you accidentally delete and don't realize. Been there before too, lol. As far as sorting goes I do sort some of my inventory, but not all of it, not even most. That said, unless the asset server decides to eat something, temporarily or permanently, i don't lose things easily. My memory isn't always super sharp when I want it to be thanks to a health issue, but surprisingly I still remember where just about everything is in my inventory. I just can't always remember the name or where I got it, lol. I don't have to worry about outfits because although I have a lot, I rarely change. I tend to wear the same things. These days I spend most of my time in a bra and panties since I never leave my sim other than to pay my rent. That makes keeping my clothes sorted easy I do have some sorting products I throw my textures, sculpt maps and things like that in. Those suckers are handy lil things, but my main purpose for using them is that I can see things at a glance. They rez a prim and apply the map so I can see the sculpt and with textures they give me a quick view. I also box things up if I only use them around certain times of the year. Like a lot of my stuff I use for relay season, goes in a specific box just for that. Seasonal stuff, same thing. I just finished packing up a lot of my halloween/fall things the other day, and opened my winter/christmas/new year's box. There was a time when I didn't sort this way, and there is still a TON I don't sort this way. But it does come in handy at times. I don't pay much attention to my inventory count. I'm bound to have a crap ton and I deal with it just fine. I rarely have inventory issues these days. I used to have a lot more, when I had less inventory, oddly enough.

My advice...some already shared..but I shall repeat..for **bleep**s and giggles.. Be nice. Yep, be nice. You want people to be nice to you, so be nice to them. Simple If you can't be nice..walk away. It's not as hard as we like to believe to simply walk away. Get comfy. Find your comfort zone. A place you feel welcome no matter what. It could be anywhere..your own home, a sandbox, a club you go to, a sim that's typically empty, the middle of the ocean, in the center of th emost crowded sim you can find...whatever tickles your pickle. Make yourself a comfort zone. You may need it. Push buttons. They're there for a reason, and it's not just decoration. Just know that in doing so, the following WILL happen... Make mistakes. Yep, I didn't number this list, but if I had to, this would be #2. Everyone does it, and no one should feel ashamed. Though you might find others who want you to, ignore them. They're probably just not able to get over their own misgivings. At some point we all break rules(both written and unwritten), break objects and in fact do all kinds of things we probably shouldn't have done, or said. Eh, what do you expect, we're all human. It's not a character flaw, and should never be seen as such. Along with the push buttons...try EVERYTHING. Really, try it, you might like it. You also, might not. You won't know until you do. Unless of course your own ethics, moral compass, comfort, whatever, prevents you from doing such. No one should ever expect another to venture away from those things if they do not want to. Find the world, don't wait for the world to come to you. The grid is at your fingertips and just about anything you can imagine, is probably out there(or can be). Go find it!! It's not going to jump up and bite you on the ass. So take your ass to the bite instead If you want relationships, go make them. Again, they won't come find you. If you want a bf/gf/so, go out and find one. Don't let others' horror stories scare you off. Sure there are tons, and probably more of those than the good fairy tale kind I have(mini brag..sigh..I love my fairytale online turned rl story ) But you know, no one ever knows which ones WILL or WILL NOT turn out "right". So, go for it. If it doesn't work, move on. **bleep** happens, no matter where you go. It's not the end of the world. Of course you can learn from others' stories, if you so choose, but please never take ANY(good or bad) as an all or nothing sort of deal. Nothing in life would ever work in our favor if we did that Ummm....yeah I'll add to this when I remember what else I was going to say. I forgot. Ooops.

I have a boat that does just that. It's actually a dock that rezzes a little boat(and you can mod the hell outta the boat too, if you want). Lemme see what it's called here and I'll come back with it's name, lol.(I'm not logged in) It's not a sailboat, but it's a cute boat, and it works YAY I found it, lol. I like this little dock it works perfectly and we never had issues even with a lot of people using them at once, on a very busy sim. Your mileage may vary of course. https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Boat-dock-Motorboat-rezzer-V11/920336

jeeps wrote: i,ve been putting in messages to the gifts i send for months .turns out the messages never get delivered ??? I don't think that's entirely true. If the messages are too long, they'll get cut off, but they still go at least partially through, in most cases. It's more likely that people just aren't looking at the messages sent. When the stuff gets sent while they are inworld, the message pops into local along with the delivery message. If they are offline, I believe the message goes to their inbox if they have it set to do so, but that is a sketchy thing anyway as the messages from MP have never been reliable since day one. That would be a case where the message might never make it to the recipient. But I would never recommend sending someone a gift while they are offline anyway, no guarantee it'll actually get delivered(more important when dealing with items still in magicboxes and not direct delivery as much, but I HAVE seen plenty of cases of non-delivery with DD as well)

I won't be online myself, but I can offer a place to host one, if you'd like. I can probably place out some decor(though I don't think I have a whole lot in the way of Thanksgiving, I am more than happy to look). You'll have to bring the rest with you...and you'll have to invite people too lol. I've some prims to spare, and a space up in the sky you are more than welcome to as I surely won't be using the space. I can set a music stream to whatever you'd like it set to for the day(you'd just have to let me know, normally I'd offer to DJ, but like I said, I won't be home until later that evening/night). Send me an IM inworld if you'd like to use it. I'll log in and post the slurl here once I do. Otherwise you'll have to fly up to it on your own. It's easy to find, look in my pics for my store and go up. At the moment, it's just an empty platform. This is the slurl.. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Endless%20Despair/220/228/401 Like I said, more than welcome, you'll just have to bring the party with you There should be plenty of prims available, if not, I can always yank some stuff here and there. There is an intan, and some light outdoor decor out now, feel free to see if it's an appropriate setting for you, if you can get what you need for a dinner/party. As long as you clean up when you're all finished, you can use it as long as you need. Let me know by Wednesday night if you want to use it, just so I know. I'm leaving my house early Thursday am.

I think your experience just differs from others and you're having a hard time accepting that. Not everyone is going to agree with one another on issues. I have a feeling you're actually just looking more for validation than anything else, because you already know this. Your feelings are always valid, whether or not someone else agrees or has the same experiences. All feelings are valid. I can indeed use my HUD and the map to tp directly on top of someone's head. I do it all the time, lol(to people who don't mind, of course). Actually some of my friends and I have made a game of it-the whole flying falling thing is hilarious to us at times. I'm not certain why your experience with that bit is different, but, like I said, we're not all going to experience the same thing. I can also intentionally tp right next to someone too, using the same map. Respect should be a given anywhere in life. I don't think you'll find many here who disagree with that. What it seems you're finding is that people will define respect differently. Me, for example, I don't find someone tp-ing in on my head(no matter what/where/when) as disrespectful unless their actual intent was to BE so. Kinda hard to determine that without them saying it though, lol. You on the other hand, see this as a slight against you and a disrespectful act. Nothing wrong at all with thinking that, you just can't expect that everyone will agree. It's just not going to happen. People come to SL for all kinds of reasons. I see people saying that others need to respect their reasons all the time, but what I don't see, is a two way street. Maybe some of the people tp-ing in on you are simply in sl to explore the whole grid(or as much as they can) and perhaps don't see their act as being disrespectful. Shouldn't we then respect their reasons for coming in too, even if it might annoy that they have "invaded our space"? If we want them to respect our reasons, we've got to give too. Or maybe I'm just reading that part entirely wrong, it's quite possible. For me, the reason(s) for someone being in sl don't play much of a part, or rather, shouldn't, when it comes to issues like this. Mostly because the reasons are so widely varied. Not everyone views the avatars in sl as "people" as it were, despite their human controllers. So seeing you, or someone else, bumping pixels with another is not quite the same as walking in on someone bumping uglies in rl. There are lots of people who view sl as something "not real" and they should be just as free to do so, as you are to believe otherwise. Neither of us can, or should, say the other is right or wrong. It's just a matter of opinion. You'll find tons of people on either side of that argument. But that's again where that two way street of respect comes into play for me. I respect that some separate themselves from their avs entirely, and I'd expect that others would respect that I am not one of those people. Truth of the matter is, people on either side, fail to have that respect. I highly doubt that most people tp-ing in on you are doing so to grief. That would mean they're intentionally causing you some kind of harm. Which means they'd have to share both your definition of griefing, and your definition of disrespect(or harm). It would also mean you'd have to converse with them to find this out. Since not all are likely doing it on purpose, they may not even answer if approached. I've run into that before too. Mistakes can be embarassing for some. Of course some also probably wouldn't care less either way, too. When I've tp'ed in on someone's head before unintentionally, I've never once done it out of disrespect. I am sure that it's possible someone who shares the same opinions as you on the matter, might have thought so. They'd be completely incorrect, though. The people who pop in on me from the club on the other side of the sim, don't even always do it on their own. Sometimes they clicked something they shouldn't have. For a few weeks I had people pop in like crazy when they were trying to tp tot he club. We still don't know why, LL wasn't helpful, and neither was the sim owner. It's not been a problem for ages though. I chalk it up to some odd quirk, since I can't really explain it. It would have made more sense if the club were above me, but it's waaaay on the other side. So, who knows. Heck I've accidentally left on auto pilot or double click to tp before and accidentally sent myself somewhere I didn't want to be. It happens, lol, so that might be what happened in some cases too. I don't know. No one does. I'm sorry you feel SL isn't for you. Only you can decide that for yourself, of course, but if it were me and something were annoying me as much as it seems to be you, I might think the same. If, however, it weren't annoying me this much constantly, I might just find other things to focus on while I do what I can to prevent the acts driving me batty. Even if it means having to move so I can take advantage of the free tools available to me elsewhere. It's annoying to move, I've done it way too many times myself. But if something is really that bad, there's no point in sticking around anyway. You won't be able to fix the problem, from the looks of your reply. So maybe it is time to go somewhere you CAN fix the problem. The grid is pretty darn big and I am betting you can find some place that suits you perfectly and fills all the needs you may have

I don't think you need someone else to tell you why the feature being removed would do you absolutely no good, it's been pretty well explained. But I do want to that that, even among those who use this particular viewer(well viewers), I don't know a whole lot of people nor have I come across them, that actually know the button exists. So it's actually less likely that the people popping in on you are using that feature, than it is likely. From my experience only, of course. I'm by far no expert on the viewers but I have had tons of conversations, and watched tons of threads here and elsewhere about them. You might be surprised to know that by my calculations(a guess, at best) less than half the users even know about most of the extra features. I have a hud for example that has a radar, spanker and all kinds of other features, that lets me tp right to people. That came out long before these viewers did. I've been using it since 2008. Also, I don't know why you added in the blip about some people being disabled, and why on earth is has anything at all to do with why you deserve respect. All people deserve respect, no matter what. Whether you are disabled or not. I'm legally blind and you don't see me demanding some kind of extra support from fellow residents simply because I choose to participate in a world thta might not always treat me the best-regardless of my disability. Actually, had I not said anything, you wouldn't even know I'm legally blind, now would you? What makes you think griefers(though I would not lump everyone who pops in unannounced as that, this is just a difference of opinion) are either targeting you(or anyone) because of some disability? You must think that, or bringing it up would make no sense. Of everything said, that bit probably bothers me the most. Call it a pet peeve if you will, but I hate when people toss things like that into conversations where they have no business being tossed and are completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. It's almost insulting to people, actually to me it is insulting. We all have our burdens in life, some more than others. We're still all human...save for maybe the chipmunks and martians of the forums. I know, stupid rant of mine, but, there ya have it. I don't know why your landlord won't let you ban people. That seems so backwards to everything I've ever seen, it's not even funny. I understand why some don't want to allow a sim-wide ban for tenants, I suppose. But parcel bans? Yeah, that doesn't make sense and it's a pretty crappy landlord if you ask me. I can count on one hand how many landlords I've run across that don't allow bans, and they were/are terrible landlords. <shrugs> I have people pop in my house all the time. I always have, no matter what sim I lived on. In some cases it very well may be that my location used to house something else. I'm ok with that. I can't even tell you how many old lms I've come across over the years that now put me in someone's house, store, under water, whatever have you. Eh, such is life in a moving, thriving, ever changing, virtual world. I'm glad not everyone is offended when you pop in somewhere unannounced-since we can't really announce ourselves. I don't consider it insulting when people pop in on me and hubby. Unless of course they actually ARE there to grief. 95% of the people who have popped in on us, at any given time, are not, though. Sometimes it's because they're looking for my store-which is up above my home. Sometimes it's them using an old lm to somewhere else. Sometimes it's just them being curious. There's a club on my sim and I've had a crap ton of visitors pop in on me from there too. I don't know if they're using that feature, or not, nor do I care. If I don't want them there, I ask them to leave. Usually I let them be. People explore all the time, and I'm ok with that. If you're not, and I respect that many are not, then you have ways to stop them, so you should use them to your advantage. I'm not in any way saying people should be ok with visitors at any given time. But you've got lots of ways to stop them, and you're using absolutely none of them. I have all my stuff, furniture and whatnot, set so that only group members can use them, most of the time. Mostly because, like many, I don't really always want to let everyone use everything I have. They can still visit and whatnot, usually, and will without needing to use every piece of sit-upon stuff I've got. Most aren't there for that anyway. Sometimes I take the group only thing off. Like if I am gone for an extended period of time. I figure, why not, let them use it. As long as people are respectful of others who may or may not be there, I'm cool with it. But, again, I don't consider simply popping in on someone as being disrespectful. I know others may not agree, you're bound to run into differing opinions here on that one. Even if it's pixel nakey time, I don't necessarily consider it disrespectful of me, hubby, or our land. Like I said, if I don't want them there, I can stop that from happening, pretty easily. Not everything we find to be a slight against us, is something I'd qualify as griefing. But, we all define griefing differently too.

I may not be of much help, but I'll tell you the things I like. Most are taken from sims that, sadly, did not withstand the test of time. First and foremost, I love scenic. I love beautiful sims that replicate nature, especially specific places. Even if slightly fictional. I do love sims that are overly finctional too, don't get me wrong, but nature... man, that can just awe me for hours and I think it leaves a lot more room for general population to enjoy. I cannot tell you how much time hubby and I have spent visiting various sims just because they were so, almost majectic, in their creation. Along this line, I also love simplistic. If you overdo it, you just blind me with too much when I land. I get overwhelmed. I may even get so overwhelmed I get bored. Then I leave, and you've really accomplished nothing. That doesn't mean the builder was bad, or the build was for that matter. Sometimes, too much too soon, upon landing, kills a sim. So, please remember that. Not everyone has the same type of system or even viewer running. It's important, if this is intended as public, to remember the public part, lol. One of my most fav sims ever in sl was the original Africa sim(s). Now replaced(I believe, I cannot find the original anywhere) by something, I hate to say it and sound rude, but...nothing even remotely similar, to the point that I was actually upset to see it . I absolutely LOVED those sims(that sim?), and I can't even tell you how much we donated to them because we(and by we I mean myself, and many friends) were always there. They had the most amazing hot hair balloon ride. Not because the ride itself was different, lots of places have that same tour product(even the new africa one does), but because of how the sims were laid out and how the tour was actually presented to you. It was just cool, as a group, as an individual and oh so romantic as a couple. The animals...omg, awesome doesn't begin to describe. Not all were built uber fantastic with photorealistic textures or anything like that, but they were still amazing. Animals at every turn. Being able to ride them, some of them, yeah that lead to some awesome adventures and great times. Zebra races were a highlight for us, for months on end. We could spend days and never tire. I don't know if it was one sim, it may have been, but it seemed like an entire grid of its own while we were there. I love places like that because they intrigue me. They give me something to do without telling me "do this". Yes they can come with some lag, but any place can, really. I just love places that keep me not only entertained but, well, inspired. I just think they're the bees knees. I can't say enough about them. I love that they are inviting to all, no matter who you are, you can find something to do or be intrigured by enough to stick around. I love that they weren't so overly done that you think "ZOMG how the hell can I get through all this.. where do I even start". No, no matter where you land, the "where to begin" is subtle and completely open ended. I love themed sims that are open ended. I am not nearly as fond of "start here to begin your adventure" type places. Though truth be told they can be fun too. I love places that have things hidden in every nook and cranny. Places like the gardens sims and such where if you walk far enough, you'll find cozy places tucked away. The end of the earth sims(I think they're called that) are also like this. They're also always empty when I go, which sometimes just leads to me enjoying them even more. They're peaceful, yet fun to travel. I've seen them in their entirety, yet I'm compelled to return from time to time. That, defines a great sim, for me. I lost my train of thought dangit, but, if I think of what it was I'll come back. Maybe this will help you a little, maybe not, who knows, lol. Either way I wish you lots of luck with your new project. I am sure no matter what you do, it will be awesome.

Porky Gorky wrote: Does editing a listing still destroy its search ranking? The question should be can it, and the answer is most assuredly yes, it can, and it does, often. Not every item, or every merchant will experience it, or will notice it. In fact I think many merchants never notice, because they don't bother to(and likely have no reason to). It might depend, for some, a lot on how often your products are searched/sold to begin with, I think. If it's not a super popular search item, it may take longer to recover from being re-ranked. But even that's sketchy. You'll never get a straight across the board answer to this one. I have products that when edited drop out of rank for a very short time. I have a few that take longer. I have another bunch that never did recover, and I still can't figure out why(they are still searched and bought frequently, so they're not recovering makes no sense). I don't bother trying to make heads or tails now. I do my best to NOT have to edit things unless I have to. When I do, I just suck it up and hope for the best.

Melita Magic wrote: Thanks for that perspective. Why wouldn't someone have any money at all in real life, but would in Second Life? At any given time I can easily have lots of lindens inworld(sorry hope that doesn't sound snotty). While in rl I have kids, bills, holidays coming. My inworld money is, to be blunt, extra, usually. It does at times come in handy for rl expenses too, but for the most part what I make in sl pays for my sl. It also allows me the opportunity to be able to donate to causes that in rl I might not have the spare cash to extend. It happens. Life is funny that way. The economy may not be completely in the toilet but that doesn't mean everyone always has spare cash, or even enough cash. In fact most in this country(among others) don't even have enough, let alone extra. My rl budget is extremely tight, and there are weeks when I can't even cover the bills and need to rely on sl income. I know I am not alone. That's part of why I am very grateful my sl expenses have, and can, provide the extra cushion I can't. I live pretty simply in rl, so it's not for lack of trying. Life just happens. I probably have some expenses many don't, they aren't whims or unnecessary expenses. But they do put a damper on anything extra, sometimes. I could easily have ten bucks to spare for the week in rl, yet have what amounts to maybe 20 or 30 bucks in lindens. If it's an extra and I don't reeeeally need it in rl, I like being able to share it with someone who just might need it. Easier than cashing out, and looking for somewhere in rl to donate to, sometimes. That's not to say I don't do anything in rl for charity, I do, as do my children, but that's really neither here nor there. My lindens, and your lindens and joe's lindens may not be much on their own, but combine them, and we can probably do a lot more good. Just my take on it though I am sure there are lots of reasons why someone wouldn't have spare cash but just might have lindens they can share with another. In fact, I meet them every year doing RFL. You'd be surprised how many people wish they could do more in rl, but can't(and I won't judge their reason, because it's not for anyone to judge, imo), but they can do something in sl. It's amazing and RFL in SL is a prime example of it-again I use that because it's something near and dear and something I have been watching for years now. I am sure others can attest to that fact too, if they so wish. The monies gathered for tsunami relief, hurricane relief, and all sorts of other aid in sl have made an impact, despite the fact that yes scammers exist everywhere. It's really pretty awesome, to me.

Melita Magic wrote: No, thanks. While it is laudable to help people, it always puzzles me why some think charity drives must happen via Second Life, or in world. The same internet access can bring people to the charity's own website, where they can donate directly. The more 'middle men' get involved, the more the chance for corruption, greed, outright stealing to take place. If you don't think people take advantage of crises and tragedies like Sandy or Katrina, think again. I don't mean in SL I mean in RL and after all, the common denominator there, is people. I prefer things in which a merchant says 'this item will be 100% donated to X charity' and then at least those donating get something for their donation, in case it's a hoax. Sorry, I don't see the sense in this. I understand what you're saying but I can at least try to make some sort of sense for you, or well give you a reason why some prefer inworld donations. I'll use RFL as an example simply because it's something I've watched for years. My first year donating to RFL was before I had my store. Any money I had to donate was money I made in sl, not brought in from rl. Now, would it have mattered if I cashed out and then donated, or the the ACS avatar cashed it out and then put it to use? Probably not, we'd both pay fees(though I do believe the charity may pay less in fees, not certain though I can't remember now). But at the time, I wasn't cashing out lindens, didn't even have a way to, so it made much more sense, to me, to donate my lindens which I had readily available, than to try and scrape up that amount in rl cash and find somewhere to donate. What I donated may not amount to much in USD, maybe 100USD, but it was still something I could do. I am not alone in that. A lot of people can donate lindens, but cannot donate cash, for all kinds of reasons. Some people can't cash out their lindens, either, just like I couldn't. So with that in mind, giving them a way to help is a very good thing, imo.

If it helps any, seem to be all kinds of problems all over today, but yesterday was perfectly fine for me too. Shrugs, who knows, this stuff seems to come in waves sometimes, lol. What doesn't work one minute, give it a bit, and it'll probably be fixed. Kinda like the weather here. Don't like it one minute, wait 30 mins

The Red Cross has been approached about this numerous times over the years. They seem to have no interest in having any kind of offcial entity in Sl to oversee this. It's a shame really, they should. There are a lot who would do whatever they can inworld, especially at times when rl aid isn't nearly as easy to offer.

I know your post somewhat focuses on the good aspects, actually mine does too. But, I felt slightly compelled to share this story too, as it shows the other side. It's sad, very, very sad. I cannot imagine being in this woman's place. I cannot imagine her heartache. I cannot imagine the thoughts and feelings running through the person who discovered these poor little boys, or those who spent so long searching out of fear, desperation, and hope. I know there is a lot of laughter about the entire event going around, as there always is. Which can be pretty theraputic in it's own right. I also know there is a lot ot be celebrated, because it was in fact, not as tragic as some expected it to be. But stories like this hit just as hard as the feel good stories, imo. Not that I enjoy focusing on sadness, it breaks my heart. I just think that sometimes, we need to share those stories too. If for nothing else, assuming you believe in such things, it's nice to surround those hit hardest with as much comfort as we can. Nothing will ever replace the heartache, or fix it, but it's a very kind gesture. Brandon And Connor Moore, Missing Staten Island Brothers, Found Dead After Hurricane Sandy I'll summarize for those not wishing to click links for fear of viruses. It's a story of a woman who was trying to flee when her vehicle got stuck. She got out with her two young boys in her arms(2 and 4) and sadly the waters overcame and both boys were swept away, and passed away. They were found Thursday. It's not the only story like this, of course. But it does serve as a reminder, at least to me. The hardships are very real. The emotional toll is very high. The same can be said about any tragedy but I don't believe any one is more important than another. As a mother myself, it makes me beyond sad to read such things. I don't think anyone can say with any amount of truth in their breath, how they'd feel in the same situation. But I can offer my support, my good thoughts, my sympathy and anything else I can muster for those hit so very hard. I am sure this mother wishes it were only her tangibles lost, like so many others. RIP sweet little boys.

That's a cool video, thanks for posting it for us. We got hit with Frankenstorm here, not so much Sandy. Lots of damage, power outages, flooding, everything being shut down/closed and stuff like that but nothing on par with the flooding and damage elsewhere. Though we're still feeling the effects from the whole storm weather-wise. We have a lot of damage to clear and things to pick up, as soon as the weather permits. It's wicked cold, wet and windy here. We did have family in the direct path though. Most were evacuated in time. Those who weren't are all doing ok, though some did get hurt. We've been able to get in touch with them all. We have some family and friends going out to be with them and try and salvage what, if anything, they can and get them moved somewhere else. Most who were right near the shore lost just about everything. But really as much importance and significance and emotion we put into our stuff, stuff will never be worth more than human life(imo, I know some won't agree, lol). So we're grateful they're all safe, even if they aren't really sound just yet. I do have a good friend in sl who was also not hit directly by Sandy but the Frankenstorm. She was outside of her house with a family member getting things out of the yard, locked up and things like that when an extremely large tree collapsed on the back portion of her house. Just barely missing her dog(he was hit by a branch, got some minor cuts, and is a-ok). Her house is a total loss, and most of the things in that part of the house are a total loss now too. Rain damaged anything the tree didn't. But she, her family member and all the animals she owns are ok, and in the end that's what matters. I've also got other friends who were either hit by Sandy or Frankenstorm in varying degrees. To my knowledge, they're all doing ok. I know there are sad stories and tragedies associated with Sandy and the Frankenstorm that came along with, but I also know there could have been a lot more. Mother nature is beast we can't contend with. So I have to be grateful for that too, imo. That doesn't negate the tragedies at all though. We send out all our thoughts to those devastated in any way by this. It will take time to pick up all the pieces, but I am quite sure, for the most part, people will manage. We're a lot more resilient than we like to believe.

My inworld sales and MP sales are about the same as usual. They always dip in October for me though. I think my ratio is about the same 50/50. Traffic wise I can't really comment, I haven't checked it, and don't pay much attention to it at all. I don't get high amounts of traffic to begin with. Truth be told I've been rather MIA the last few months dealing with rl, so sl took a back seat. I do have new products coming out soon though. We'll see how they do. Plus we'll have holiday season upon us and I have a crap ton of stuff coming out for that. I'm actually pretty excited about those products. When I participate in things like hunts, or those weekly specials type deals, my traffic obviously goes up, as do sales. When I put more effort into things, everything goes up, lol.(and no I'm not saying people don't put effort in, just that I don't, right this moment). I usually have a period of 2-4 months out of each year when I produce far less, spend less time inworld(unless needed) and stuff. So I expect sales to tank. I keep a relatively small inventory of items as it is. That's not to say I'm a lazy merchant that doesn't do squat. I do still take care of customers, and do still work. I just don't do a whole lot of promotion or creation during those down times. My sales don't usually really tank badly until June-ish. I still can't figure out why, but it's happened the last three years. I need to work on filling a niche or something during the times when what I have may not be what anyone is looking for. I do use a classified, and it actually nets me more traffic and sales than I thought it would. It was an experiment and thus far, it's worked. I don't use enhancements or anything like that on MP. In fact, other than my sig, I don't advertise my Mp store. People just find it. I can't be that hard to find, or I'd never get any sales at all, lol. Guess I didn't really have much in the way of helpful info to add, lol. Basically my sales aren't down anymore than I'd expect them to be for October. They might even be a little higher than usual October sales. I can't say until the end of the month.

Christi Maeterlinck wrote: Someone is rezzing a spider, and a broomstick, in front of me. I keep Returning it; and Deleting it; to no avail. It keeps appearing in my Inv, and on the ground in front of me; and reappearing even after I have deleted it. Every 15 seconds or so. I have gone to a no-scripts sim and removed all my attachments and clothes... it didn't appear BUT... it continued to appear back in my own sim as reported by a friend. The objects have a name of creator; myself as owner; and someone else as most recent owner. I have banned that person from my sim. None of this helps. When I tried to write an abuse report, the name of the person who appears as the last owner could not be found by the search function so that I could fill in the 'abuser's name' field: even though EXACTLY that name was on the object, as last owner. I had to use 'Governor Linden' as a workaround. Can anyone please suggest what I might do to deal with all this, while I await a response from LL? You would inform me, and conceivably help other people who encounter the same problem, if you had a way forward to suggest. Many thanks! Christi Maeterlinck It's likely an invisible object continually rezzing other objects. There are a crap ton going around, and yes they're meant as someone's amusement and your annoyance. They're just another griefer tool. You very well may have rezzed something and didn't realize what it was. There was one recently that had "GIFT" in it's name, so people assumed it was safe. It wasn't though. You need to turn on transparencies and see if you can find it. If it was rezzing on your land with you gone, it's not an attachment, it's something on your land. You probably can't see it. If it's not transparent it may even be itty bitty. I'm pretty sure cntrl alt and T works on most viewers(someone correct that if it's wrong please) to highlight transparent objects. Look for anything that may be rezzing these objects. It could be tiny, it could be huge. You need to delete that object. Don't worry about what it's rezzing until you delete the rezzing object first. I know it's a pain in the butt to deal with too. As for the system not finding the person, it's likely they're under 24 hrs old. In which case, search doesn't usually find them. Sometimes it will, but not usually. They could also have already been banned. Enlist the help of friends if you have to, to find the object on your land and get rid of it. Then check your inventory for the rezzer object(you'll know it's name once you find it on the land and delete it). It's likely a copy/trans item and probably has a name you'd never suspect. Delete it, and purge it, and whatever else you deleted related to it, from your inventory. Don't forget to continue trying to AR though. The system may not find the name now, but give it some time, a day even if you have to. If the person hasn't already been banned, the system will find them.

The question shouldn't be whether or not you can, it should be whether or not you should. Here's a hint, if your survey can be answered by going inworld yourself and participating in avatar creation, that should be your first step(not posting it here first). This way you'll at least have some experience and your little survey won't seem like you forced someone else to do your homework. Not all of the surveys and thesis and other work people have come here for help with, have been bad. But people tend to go about it completely wrong, and that's why you're more likely to get snarky answers than people willing to give you real ones. I'd be just as careful with how you post as you are with what you post, and how you present your project in general. Just look at all the others before you, it's easy to see where they all went wrong.

To visit, maybe, because it would be pretty cool. To stay or live, absolutely not. I love the world I live in, flaws and all.

That looks like what used to be Salzburg Village, I think, but when I check the last place it was, it's not there anymore. Likely they've either moved on to another sim, or no longer exist. But I could be way off base and it might not be that at all, lol. I've seen a lot of really amazing winter villages, or sims transformed to them. You might want to do a search around for others. You might find something even more eye catching than that one. I doubt it was all one kit or something. It looks very much pieced together. But, again, I could be wrong, lol.