My First Attempt At Building!

I have been to sandboxes and had the frustrating experience of people there who only go to bother others, griefers. I have put a box on the ground and stretched it and rotated it. I have put an outfit on and modified it with the basic tools in the edit section, but I had never built anything that was going to stay put or that was very big. I decided after being in Second Life from the begining in 2003, and then leaving and coming back with a new account in 2007 that I was ready to actually purchase a piece of land. I looked in search and the land sales, asked friends in my clan family about their experiences and took their advice and finally decided on a little island of my own. It is very private and I now can control who and what comes around. I can't believe I waited this long to do this! It is fantastic to actually own a virtual piece of land. I can build and leave it and move it and edit the terrain. It is so incredible what you can do in Second Life! I started with a pre formed castle thinking that since it was pretty much put together that it would be easy! I was wrong. I rezzed it on the ground where I wanted it and it was the size of a little sand castle, lol. I stretched and moved it until it was the size i wanted. I thought okay that was easy. That is when I decided that I didn't like the floor texture, or the wall texture, or the shape of the fire place. So I began changing things. Now, since I have been in Second Life so long I have quite the selection of textures. So at first it was fun! I began by changing the outer walls of the castle. I right clicked on the castle, edited and then chose texture. I put on so many different ones just trying them out, but I found that I had lost the origanal stone texture. It was not in my inventory, so I had to chose a different one, and that in itself wasn't so bad, because I had so many different types of stone ones. The thing that was bad is that some of the castle was linked together and some was not. This means that some of the castle was one stone and the other parts were another! I had to change almost stone by stone the textures into the same ones. I relinked and locked and unlinked and relinked so many times! I could not believe how many parts were with this castle!! If I had it to do over again I would have made sure the whole thing was linked in the begining and then just went to edit the linked items. But, I am learning so it is all an experiment of new skills learned each day. After I changed the floor to marble, which again required a lot of linking and unlinking, I was so exhausted I felt like I had done it for real! I decided then I would stop on the castle and work on the sky box that came in the box. I wanted to put it way up so that I could make it a little private get away for friends and I to enjoy the sky and stars. I went up to 3000 meters and rezzed the skybox platform and the skybox which again was the size of a small sand castle. I finally got the two to fit right and stretched to the right size and then decided I hated all of the textures, lol. I played around and came up with the idea of an all glass skybox. I chose a glass block texture and stained glass for the windows. Wow it looked pretty cool! I found a music pod in my inventory that I had picked up so long ago and put it on the wall. I linked everything, put a nice rug, played nice music set the light to midnight and it was amazing. The moon and the stars were so bright and you could see everything. The glass block texture that I chose was blue so it glowed bluish in the night! Then, I thought that I should put the music pod on the other side of the room, so I clicked and took it into my inventory.....um without unlinking it. Which as you can guess took the entire skybox back, except that three of the windows were not linked! So there they were floating around and the rug was floating around too. I tried to fly around and take everything back, but everything went back into my inventory as the name, object. Just to let you know how difficult that is, I have 25000 objects in my inventory and a lot of them were made while building the castle below. I couldn't find the windows at all. I rezzed a lot of objects and never found them. I tried to put the skybox back and it wouldn't let me drop it. I don't know why. I could wear, and detach, but not drop! I went back down to the castle so mad at myself that I had to log off. I came back after some nice coffee and a bite to eat, since I had spent the majority of the early morning hours trying to unscrew what I had screwed up. I put my flight feather on and went back up to 3000 meters and rezzed the platform and skybox again. It all came back except the windows and I was actually pretty happy about that. The next hour or so I spent trying to figure out how to make a window like the other three that were linked when I took the skybox back. I teleported a friend who does some building and he showed my how easy it was to make my own windows!
I can't believe it. It is so simple.
You click the build at the bottom of the screen and in the box you choose the box object and click on the ground! A box appears and you add the texture of the stained glass. Now you have a stained glass box. You stretch and move into place! You have to adjust the horizontal and the vertical postion of the texture by editing and choosing texture. You move the horizontal and the vertical numbers to the places that you want. I copied the numbers and the settings from the other windows. Perfect!! Oh if you are thinking, why couldn't you just copy the other windows, I will tell you that I tried and failed. It would not let me do it. So now I know how to make my own windows!!!!
Next article I am going to tell you how to make your own teleport box!
Have fun exploring and learning!

By Christina Munro

Breezes Thoughts: Your little piece of paradise in Secondlife

WHEN TIMES GET ROUGH AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, find yourself a quiet lovely place to sit and contemplate.
Watch the beauty of this world, erase the thoughts that fill your mind. It takes time, but see the rainbow above me? somewhere in the rainbow and in the very best friends is the help that will help you find your way.
Come to spots like this each and every day talk out loud when times are wonderful.
Open your hearts and lifts your hands to embrace the love that surrounds you it will come to you in time.
Everyone should have their own little piece of paradise in SL, somewhere to just sit, relax and think. This is mine and its appropriately named Sanctuary and wondrous magical place which makes all the troubles drift away.
I am wishing in the night and it must come true as who has ever seen a rainbow in the night?
Told you to throw coin or fairy dust in the well NOT yourself you silly!
Oh well I can still make mistakes and laugh especially when I am so relaxed!
Have you found YOUR place yet?
Breezes Babii
I am always searching for something

Looking Back at the STA

It’s been a year since my old hangout, the STA, faded away from Second Life. But it is still remembered.

My story there began at Luskwood, my first hangout, in August 2007. It was just weeks after by long newbie period could be called over. One day there, I met a lively lady named Kara. She and I became friends, and looked forward to seeing one another. A few days later, she invited me to TP over where she was. So I did, and found myself in a circle of cafe tables & chairs, with two guys with her. She introduced them as Blarion and Keli. She called the place the STA.

Little did I know how big a part of our experience in SL this little place would be.

The STA area, short for Student Travel Association, was bought by the agency for the purpose of attracting people to their website to purchase travel tickets. It was made up of two sims. the east one held the main STA building. It was like that of a fancy travel agency, showing pictures advertising the benefits and joys of traveling abroad. The west one, Orientation Island, was the one my friends and I usually hung around.

The STA was run by two people. GlobetrekkerBob Lane was the official manager of the sim. But a great deal of the work was done by assistant manager Euranna Rossini, or Anna as we called her. We would occasionally run across them near the walkway, where they would talk about an unusual happening, or perhaps a story. GlobetrekkerBob for instance had done quite a bit of world traveling earlier in his life, and would occasionally tell a story from those days. At parties, Anna would always show up. Bob usually did.

They didn’t run things by themselves. They had the help of a small number of volunteers, such as Aellyn, August, Stormshadow, Gemini, Maccy, Sparklin Indigo, Ivana, Rashed, and others. My friends also helped a little, myself offering help to newcomers, so Bob considered us members of the STA group as well, though with no set hours. Blarion also became the DJ for the Monday night parties, with Keli as host. Blarion also got the use of one dorm, even though he wasn’t really a newcomer. Otis was another DJ with a rougher style.

The STA had a partnership with Sean Voss and Landmark Island. The organizer of the Second Life Tour Group had a link to the STA, and would send them notices about his tours. A number of people, myself included, belonged in both groups.

So we hung around there, getting used to the occasional nude newbie, “Ray Stevens music anyone?” I would dryly comment sometimes. Sometimes we would run into a new friend. Sometimes there would be a crazy situation, such as a completely random shapeshifter. Kara changed from a catgirl to a huskygirl a few weeks after I first came across the STA, Blair switched to a wolf avie. Keli was always a Kitsune at Orientation island. Four others joined Kara’s band of friends, three men and a lady. The guys, two huskyboys and a blue raccoon, were Schism and two whom wished to be anonymous. The second huskygirl was Kara’s roommate Kana, whom had a greater mischievous streak than Kara.

Then I got my job at the newspaper, and the place became a favorite spot to take pictures for cartoons. My friends also gave me a few ideas for articles.

The high point of the STA was the “Wandering Art” Show. For three days, the dorms and sandbox gave way to picture art displays in the notrh, and sculpture in the south, with over thirty artists represented. This got the place some publicity, and the costume party was like being able to have some leftover Halloween fun. And in Christmas and New Year’s, the fun continued. At one point, Bob mentioned the Discovery Channel was interested in the sim, but I never did see the place on TV.

Then on January 25, 2008 came something no one expected. I logged on to get a message from Bob that the STA was gone. The company had decided the sim was not getting them an increase in sales, and so they pulled the plug. Those online at the time gathered for a few hours after the last-minute warning, and then the sim vanished. By the time I logged on, they had gathered at a friends beach, talking about what had happened, and about the sim. We were still in disbelief over it, and no one knew for sure what they were going to do next. Bob told a few stories, and stated he was going to take a few days off from Second Life before deciding his next move.

Others expressed their sadness at the STA’s passing. The Shade dance club made plans for a newcomer orientation place on their land. Sean Voss invited us to use his Landmark Island as a hangout, and of course his weekly tours continued. But instead we went in different directions. I followed Kara and friends to hanging out at a sandbox with a “treehouse” building. But a few weeks after the STA closing, Kara told everyone goodbye, saying she was going on a long hiatus. And with her gone, it just wasn’t the same happy little group it once was, and we met less and less. Blarion DJed for a while, but gave it up to concentrate on college.

I never did see Bob again. Anna told me he had come back online once, but mentioned nothing about future plans. Sparklin Indigo soon created a club, Sparks Ignite. It did good for some months, but real life stepped in, and she had to abandon it. Otis found other places to DJ. Euranna Rossini was the most successful, starting up a virtual flower shop: Gairdin na Sidhe. One can still go there to get flowers.

Many old friends from the STA I seldom ran into any more, or never saw again. Then when some friends talked about having a rezzday party for Blarion in June 2008, so many people from the STA were invited, it turned out to be much like a reunion. Some like Otis I hadn’t seen since the STA closed, and would not see again for a while. It was a happy time, and even though the location was different, it felt a little like the old STA had come back for a little while.

A year later, we’ve more or less gone our own ways, some of us keeping occasional tabs with one another. But we’ve never forgotten our old home in Second Life. It may be gone, but the memories of good times and friendships remain.

Bixyl Shuftan.

First Day?

There have been so many things written about Newbie's, and there are so many help tips out there to help make things easier for your Second life. I don't want to do a repeat of what has already been done, but I will probably repeat some of the advice that experienced avatars have given you or will give you. I suppose I will start with giving some personal experience with my first days in this virtual world of Second Life and then I hope to give a weekly update as to what you can do as a newbie. I started coming to Second Life when I first heard about the launching of it in 2003. I tried desperately to get in to the world, but couldn't because of my computer capabilities. I was living in Italy at the time and needless to say our connection was really slow. I tried again as few months later, but still there was nothing there. I think through out 2003 I kept trying because I really was interested in the idea and thought what a great concept! I was in chat rooms all the time, and loved the way you could meet new people from all walks of life. There was a problem with the chat world though because so many bots were online that it caused such a disruption of conversations and I became increasingly more frustrated everyday. Finally the last draw was when MSN chats went from being free to charging, and then finally altogether stopping the chat rooms that I went to. I think it had to do with this one annoying chatter who used to just do different sized O 's in the room non-stop and then proclaimed that he was crashing the room, about 10 times a day. I stopped going to chat rooms in 2003, and it wasn't until 2007 that I checked out Second Life again. I had moved back to the states, had a better graphics card, and a faster connection. I thought that now I could finally find out what it was all about, and hoped that it would be what I had imagined it could be. I logged on, picked a last name and created a first name. Whew! That was easy! Okay now I had to decide what type of account, free or premium. I was thinking why would anyone pay for virtual things? That just sounds crazy to me. You don't actually have anything for you payment, except pixels. They aren't real and there is no way I am paying for that, so I picked the free account. Okay next step; create my avatar. I could be anything that is animal, vegetable, or mineral. I chose the animal human. It was the basic woman avatar with the silly hair, pinkish shirt, and the infamous duck walk. Cool, I thought. Not really reading much about the progress that second life has made until then I thought I was cool! I logged in as Christina Munro, and was on my way. I landed in a main hud. At that exact time someone else did too! Wow, my first encounter with another avatar. We looked at each other and started typing. Our hands were moving as we talked and it was really exciting. What a great experience! I am talking and moving at the same time. Okay we walked around a bit taking whatever tutorials there were and then we were teleported to the main area for newbie interaction. There were so many cool looking avatars, how did they get that way? Why was I walking like a duck when there was this incredible looking woman sliding across the screen in a very sexual way wearing practically nothing, and did she actually have nipples? Wow, this is amazing, I thought. I so want to explore everything. So I said "hello" to her. She said "hello". I asked her where she got her hair first thing, because I had to get this thing off of my head, and fast
She then passed me an item. A blue screen popped up and I accepted the offer. Cool a box of 250 hair styles. Sweet! I clicked on it in my inventory and wore it. Well, that was a mistake, because now I had a box on my head! Okay, so it took me awhile but I got it off by right clicking on it and detaching it. I kind of got mad at her because I thought she had tricked me and tried to make me look stupid. I may have said something along the lines of, "what a ****!" lol She was very confused and then promptly told me to f*** off newbie. This other avatar sent me an im and said just rez the box on the ground and open it, copy it to your inventory and then pick one to wear. Okay, rez? Huh? First new word I learned was rez. Rez is when you bring something into the world and it becomes an object that you can see. It was a word that was inspired by the movie Tron.
What does "rez" mean in Second Life? Watch this video tutorial:

Pasted from <http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Rez>


So, now I had hair on top of my ridiculous mullet looking newbie hair. I did it the hard way and went into appearances by right clicking on my avatar and then choosing appearances. I found out how to change my shape, skin, and my hair. As well as clicking on the clothes sections. I must have played around with that for hours. I figured out that I had to make my original avatar hair go away before wearing the ones that the incredibly nice woman, whom I ignorantly insulted, gave me. I could change my breast size, even the gravity level on them. This was too cool. So I was in the main land area, somewhere alone changing my appearance but I still couldn't get realistic looking features. I did look a lot better though, which was great. Still had the stupid duck walk, but I didn't want to make the same mistake as before with the first lady who gave my first makeover equipment. I will always keep that hair in my inventory, even if it isn't prim or flexible. I still love it, because it created a new beginning in Second Life for me, which made me feel anything was possible. I will never remember that avatar's name, maybe Hedy something or other, but I will always remember that it was the start of something I hope will never end. This was the end of my first day, but not the end of my Second Life! The next day I logged on, popped up in the same spot and began again with my exploration of the virtual universe. I met so many nice people, and I also learned so many things. I hope to be able to share some of that with you and help you continue to learn and love Second Life as much as I do. I want to help you go from the duck walk to the coolest animations you can imagine! I want to see you go from the original avatar to whatever you want to be, animal, vegetable, or mineral!
You can be literally anything!

Newbie in Second Life

Let’s be honest here, all of us have been through the “Newbie” stage in Second Life. It’s a stage full of mixed emotions. You feel happy for being part of a new evolution in the game world. You feel confused because you have no idea what to do in the game. But, mainly, you feel excited as you learn to play and learn the tricks to survive in such a strange world.
Survival! Yes, I never thought that would play such a great role in a game!

A few months ago, I was persuaded to join Second Life by some friends. It was not long after when I decided to try it out. My first day was a pretty normal, nice people were talking to me, others simply ignored me, and one girl Vikky Palianta, was very kind to take me to a freebie store so that I could get new clothes. The next day I logged in and was very lost, I had no idea where to go, what to do and what to expect, that’s when I met Dalton Lytton, who is now my friend and somewhat of a mentor; he helps me out every time I need a new Second Life Lesson.

I thought SL, as it’s called by all the residents, would be fun and interactive, but I soon learned that many of the residents had other intentions. I thought I could trust everyone in SL, but many residents have been disrespectful, mean and have taken advantage of the “Newbie” situation. I will not generalize; there have also been very nice people that have helped me out many times, like Vikky and Dalton. I have run into griefers, spammers and many other people that just look to harm others and their properties. I never thought Second Life could be such a dangerous place if you are weak and an easy catch to these types of people. It is truly a resemblance of Real Life.

Second Life is full of surprises, no one can know what to expect in every sim. You can find a sim where you can enjoy a pleasant time, meet new people and experience what SL should really be about. Other times you will find sims that are full of “pervs” that only want to harass you. I had that experience my very first week. I was exploring SL, when I got a TP from a person I had met, so I took it. I ended up at a sex island sim and that person just left me there when I said I did not want to have “sex” with him. I walked all around asking people how I could get out, but no one helped me. There was one man that treated me nicely and told me to have a sit with him and I did. After a few exchanged words, he began asking me if he could touch me in a sexual way, I got mad and left. He kept sending me IM’s telling me how sexy I was and what he could do to me in Real Life; I got so scared that I even thought about closing my SL account.

After talking to my friend Dalton, I learned that I could report a person, but I had forgotten his name. Now, things have been much easier for me. I have learned to “put my guard up” and not let anyone take advantage of me for being a “Newbie”. I can now say that with a very tough lesson learned I can enjoy Second Life as it should be enjoyed. “Newbies” don’t get fooled by nice faces or people treating you nice, you can never know their true intentions.

Lizzy Arriaga

Author Nasus Dumart (aka Susan Mahar)

By Nazz Lane

I'd been introduced to Nasus Dumart by a mutual friend several weeks ago at a party. We spoke briefly that evening and she'd informed me of the impending release of her first book, "The Unofficial Guide to Building Your Business in the Second Life Virtual World". The book is being published by the American Management Association and is soon to be released. We spoke briefly after the holidays and she readily agreed to meet for an interview. So, having arranged a date and time, we met at her newly established shop front in SL from which she is planning to promote the book.

"Good morning. We're dressed well for so early in the morning." I said seeing how her avatar was attired in a sleeveless red cocktail dress.

"Yes, well a girl has to look her virtual best, no matter the time of day." She said and then added, "So, this is my little shop to promote the book, the revised book cover is behind you. I am still setting things up. I have to load the website and the endorsements."

"If you're ready we can get started, what was it that brought you into SL?"

"Apple MacKay (Jay Mahar in RL) is my husband. He is a tech guru, always on the cutting edge. When he started in SL, he got very excited. It got my attention. He said it was the biggest new thing to come along in a long time. So, I started to observe and then I saw how he interacted with others. I got a little jealous and decided there was nothing stopping me from joining so, I did. I had never played online games, never even been in chat rooms so, SL was a huge step for me. Apple asked me, as I created my avatar, 'what do you want to do with your second life?' That was a HUGE question. So, I made a few decisions about the track I wanted to take. I have a degree in Media, and my journalistic training kicked in. This was a big topic on which to explore and write about." She replied.

"What was your most memorable moment in SL?"

"So many … well, I think I can say the first was hearing live music. I don't recall the performer but when they spoke to the room, mentioning my name, it was a big deal. That's when I realized this was a largely undiscovered medium. That's when I realized we were experiencing something special and we were one of the first to do so."

"Let's talk about the book ... I think you'd mentioned to me it was your first, right?"

"Yes, it is my first book. I have been writing since I was a teenager and educated in media and journalism. After the big question from my husband, what do you want to do with your SL, I answered I want to be a writer again. So, that Christmas, he gave me a website."

"I've been out to your Sensible Sue Blog." I commented.

"Actually, Sensible Sue launched my career as a writer. Sensible Sue got a following and it gave me the confidence to do it professionally."

"How was it you'd come up with the idea for the book?"

"When I had enough material, I pursued Joelle Delbourgo, Literary Management, with the idea to bring SL mainstream in a book, a great topic. She loved it, and so did the American Management Association. They are now my publisher. I decided to write about SL to a mainstream audience, bringing it out of the underground. Being that I am a 'regular' person, with no previous online interest and Jay with his expertise, I wanted to write about the ability for everyday people with any interest in SL to try it."

"You're being a 'regular' person allowed you to be more objective?"

"I turned to the big name companies in SL, the entrepreneurs, etc., to tell about how they are using SL. I spoke with Dr. Colin Parris and Grady Booch of IBM, Dr. Larry Johnson of The NMC, Susan Tenby of the NPC, and Sibley Verbeck of ESheep. I included different sectors; corporate, education, entrepreneurial, and entertainment."

"When you approached the AMA how receptive were they to the idea?"

"Our manager, Joelle Delbourgo presented us to the AMA. They'd heard of SL, but didn't realize how much there was to it. They were very excited to have us write this for them and now they know more about it. Some of the editors have created avatars and will attend the release party at Molaskey's Pub."

"There were several notable SL'ers you'd mentioned in your Linkedin profile ... was there anyone you wanted to chat with but didn't connect?"

"Most everyone I approached was more than happy to participate. But there was one that stays in my mind for passing me up. I cannot disclose who, but they were with a major University. Anyway, most everyone was very cooperative. I turned to the movers and shakers of SL for the book most notably, Philip Rosedale, Mitch Kapor, Dr, Colin Parris, Grady Booch, Steve Prentice, Princeton U, to name a few.

"Was there any one notable person who you'd interviewed that was the most helpful with your project?

"Well they all were really, surprisingly so. They're all behind me in bringing this topic mainstream. The people I spoke with all agreed I was writing an important work for the mainstream audience and fully and whole-heartedly cooperated."

"In your LinkenIn profile you mention that SL as a new media is misunderstood by RL business. What is it that they misunderstand?"

"Well I am referring to the notion that SL is a game, a 'get rich quick' medium, etc. So many businesses came to SL looking to use traditional marketing methods and then bailed out because it wasn't a fast enough ROI. They didn't understand the complexity and simplicity of SL … SL has a community that interacts, no one here wants a hard sell. Grady Booch, of IBM gave me a great understanding of SL. He said SL introduces the 4th dimension that is the HUMAN factor. They want to connect, it's personal, it has personality and it is a near face to face interaction that is unmatched anywhere except for RL." She replied and then added, "SL is still pretty far out there for most people. I just hope I can take the fear out of it for the uncertain mainstream audience."

"Besides this site … what other plans do you have to promote the book within SL?"

"Well, we are using Molaskey's Pub for the interactive part of it. We have http://Molaskeys-Pub.com , plus some RL appearances, a podcast with the AMA, social networks, book signings, etc."

"When is the release party?"

"We are planning the release party during Molaskey's Pub 2nd anniversary event, the week of St. Patrick's, March 13-18. I hope you can make it Nazz."

Breezes Thoughts

I do not think I was meant to drive.
I know I was meant not to sail.
My loving family shudders at the very mention of "lets go for a ride".
I can't understand their ways. I mean no harm, just a little outing is good for the soul.
I mean is not everyone who sails underwater and flys thru the air across the mountain tops into the soft fluffy clouds with a gal in silky dress and pearls, with stars in her eyes and a smile so wide to find what adventures of life in our wonderful SecondLife.
Enjoy my friends leap into the wild breezes with me, who knows we may have an adventure together.
Bree
I am always searching for something

Woodlin Restored

The Dreamer’s Cove sim is back to normal, at least in appearance. But the rumors may take longer to deal with.

The attack had been launched Friday night. Someone had hacked Dax Loon’s account, made an announcement the “Playtime” group was ending, then ejected everyone from it and began deleting everything in the sim. Friends could not find her on their lists: the hacker had erased them from hers. The officers online at the time couldn’t stop the hacker as they found themselves banned from the sim. The hacker also made grossly obscene insults in conference chats in every group Dax was in. One friend called it the worst assault he had heard of in Second Life.

Fortunately for Dax, her friends in those groups worked to spread the word this was not her. Chase Vesperia told me, “just be glad Mako (Minogue) was on SL, else Dax's username might be under permeant suspension right now. Hacked accounts are usually placed on all out suspension till ownership’s determined, which since Dax is in Japan would take two months or so on average.” The hacker had intended to destroy her reputation and the community she had built.

Staticminded Waco sent a request to Linden Labs for a “rollback” to restore Dreamer's Cove to the way it was. It was granted a few hours later. One friend of mine outside the group I talked to on the matter, Foxyfurman Kumaki, commented to me that no matter what people might say about the Lindens, when it comes to technical matters, they stood superb. People logged in to find the sim restored, even the items that had been compressed into “balls” and thrown in their Lost & Found were back in place.

Dax Loon eventually came back on Saturday evening, badly shaken by what had happened. That this kind of profanity was linked to her was a lot to bear. She later had to go to a clinic. By this time, only a fraction of the “Playtime” group had rejoined. It was opinionated that whoever did this deserved far more than a simple banning, but there were grounds for a lawsuit.

Woodlin is back, but the cleanup continues.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wiped Out

I was writing a column about my old hangout, the STA, which vanished a year ago, when I got word about something happening in my current SL home Woodlin. So I logged in to my apartment’s location in Dreamer’s Cove ...

And it was gone.

Nothing left but the green landscape.

Talking with others, it seems someone hacked the account of the owner, Dax Loon. One witness to the chat told me it was obvious from the pornographic insults that it wasn’t her, “whoever did this ... that’s one sick individual.” At least one resident was banned from Dreamers. Everyone was ejected from the sim group and her friend list. We still have no idea who would do this and why, some griefers in SL wrecking destruction simply because they can. Details are still coming in.

People are still logging in, wondering what happened, and those who know, explaining. Dax Loon still has yet to log on.

So what happens next?

Time will tell.

Bixyl Shuftan

Life's Too Short...

The first column of a new year is always the most difficult to write. Somehow the nature of all that “road ahead” nonsense provokes us to preach. Or wag fingers at ourselves and others. Or turn over new leaves as if last years' lives were just so much compost. The upheaval at the bar hasn't helped; all of us forced to sup our morning caffeine 90 degrees to the left. “I dunno, Mags. That title worries me a bit. You don't usually resort to gutter language to make your point.”

“I know, I know. But this time I felt more like the 'gutter' came to me. Searched for a better word, but there just wasn't one. What the heck. I'm going with it. People say 'Life's too short' but do they really do anything about it? Do they back up their hard drives? Do they wad up their To-Do Lists and begin anew? “

“Do they organize their inventories, purge their trash, and clean up their caches? Are they kinder? Soberer? More loving and giving? Always wearing underwear?” My latte companions cast an eye downward and blushed a bit.

“Sorry, Fellows”, I muttered. “I truly am working on being more culturally aware in 2009.” We studied the photo I was determined to use to illustrate my intent to act on All-Things-New. The cups and pints were raised. The vote was in. And now it is yours for inspiration – along with our profound wishes that you move Heaven and Earth in all your lives. Why? Cuz...
by Magdeleine "Mags" Rossini

Reader Submission - I was thinking of getting an Island...............

Hi to those interested to know.

In around December 2006. I was playing Slingo and after I put my coin in a person come upon me to "watch" me play. It was "her" (a guy in RL and it don't matter). She observed me playing and had a friendly chat.. which befriended me. Finding out what I do in SL at that time was the "casino thing" if I may say.

And later on in around January of 2007 as I was going back once in a while to this persons Slingo she would talk to me. Asking me what's up and or what's on my mind. During one of our conversations. I mentioned I was thinking of getting an Island. AN ISLAND?

Yes. And this person was so excited to ask me if it was possible if we could be island partners in "ownership". I said I would do some research and think of it.

Well we had all our "gentleman's agreement" to purchase an island and go in on it 50/50 FIFTY/FIFTY. And we knew there could only be one name on the lease per se. We flipped for who would be that person. And the other would be able to name the island. I got to name the island. I named it Avaron. I wanted just each to have a 4096 and "rent out" the 14 other 4096's. so that we can and or could grow. But my partner just did not want to split me a 4096. He/She wanted to each to have equal of three 4096 size lots. and rent out the remaining ten lots. And that would be enough to cover our tier. I went along with it.
By July as we all know the banning that took place. So my partner then cut me a slice of the island and removed me from her section. As my business was a benefit of my traffic that I could attract. In previous rented land. And my partner knew that I drew people for the games and events I held. And since the business of gaming was basically gone. My partner pushed me to the corner of the sim..and become incommunicable. Degrading my status to nothing. This was for about 6 weeks. And then finally of all my partner returned my items from the Island. I asked to communicate with my partner from Skype as we always have previously. My partner said that she/ "he" had nothing to say to me. And after several attempts to communicate with my partner I was banned from the island that I had initially wanted - the Island I named. The island that I thought we was really partners with.

I have filed numerous complaints with LL about this in game and to various people. But have never had a resolve to the matter. And by January of this year of 2008. I got tired and fed up with it, and took a break. I felt I was ripped off. I felt I was defrauded. And now I find out from reliable sources. that the person had pre planned to defraud me of my 1/2 of the island we purchased together. you know $800 x 2 people = 1600 the cost of the island at that time in 2007. (in other words it took funds of 2 people to buy a server for SL).

My so called partner won't respond. My former partner tried to destroy any tie with me. Even the group that was assigned to the island. Designs unlimited members was being removed except for me. As I was listed as OWNER along the side of my so called partner. I salvaged that by adding some friends of mine that was not in the group. Just to salvage any evidence we had some connection together. I have all the conversation from SKYPE when my partner was unable to use the microphone. Which point out that we were forming a partnership prior to the island being brought on. I have a payment receipt from paypal so stating the reason I was sending my partner 800.00 USD was for the island. So..where am I wrong? by partnering with a thief ?

To make things worse I was seeing I was getting railroaded by this partner. I tried to sell out my side of the island. And that idea was even stopped by this partner. So i got a double screwing! And yet i have tried many times to contact LL even by phone call and was hung up.

what is a person to do in this situation? Take it lightly and let the bully partner get away with it? I think not..and not in this day and age.

Thank you for listening.

Inyur Orbit

Second Life Residents Participate in a Health Care Community Discussion.....Continued

I arrived at the café minutes prior to the 7:00 PM PST start time to find several people already there, including the award winning Machinama Creator and journalist Draxtor Despres who was there to film the meeting. Ms Vita, stylishly attired in a grey skirted business suit, sat on a stool on stage where she exchanged greetings with early arrivals and those that were soon to arrive. Shortly after the scheduled start time, she opened the session by asking everyone to introduce themselves and to say why they were there. The conversation occurred primarily in spatial voice along with text chat. Ms Vita, with the able assistance of Perplexity Peccable who transcribed voice into text chat and Cotton Thorne who gave voice to text chat, served as the moderator for the discussion.

The range of attendees is broad based, from first life health care givers to those who have or are actively engaged in receiving care for either themselves or loved ones in real life and those who were there simply because they are concerned and interested in the issue. Each are active and engaged residents of second life. Avatars such as Gentle Heron, president of Virtual Ability, Inc, or Jonah Zenovka Founder of Twilight's Peace an interfaith group and Perplexity Peccable, founder of SLHealthy and Healthcare Education in SL who is a medical librarian in her first life. All had a common desire, to have their voices heard, recorded and presented to the incoming administration.

"Our goal here is to discuss the questions provided by the transition team and draft a submission based on our findings and conclusions which I will submit to the Health Policy team. The questions were sent to you all via email but I have them here in-world on a slide show for easy reference." Vita said as the introductions were completed. She then added. "I really want to encourage everyone's active participation in this process. Although we will strive to find common ground, if our consensus is that there is a lack of consensus we will submit that as part of our findings. I encourage you all to a healthy and respectful debate on this complex issue. Let your voice be heard. This is your forum."

"We will review the questions one at a time and discuss each one. The decision on whether to focus our submission on all questions or focus on a specific area is ours to make. I would suggest that we get through the questions and decide at that time which, if any, area provided material we want to focus on for our submission. We'll decide that with a group vote. After the discussion questions and our vote, I'll ask you to create a note card with your avatar name, your RL name if you choose to disclose it and your answers to the survey questions. There are slides prepared with the questions for your reference. As your moderator for the evening, I will not actively participate in the debate. My role is to keep the discussion moving and I may on occasion ask that we move on to the next person or topic." She said and then asked the attendees if there were any questions.

No questions were asked so the process began and the seven questions were presented beginning with the first, which asked session attendees to state, "Briefly, from your own experience, what do you perceive is the biggest problem in the health system?"

It began and continued for the next two hours, an event that was being replicated in many places of the United States. Only this one occurred in a virtual world. And they were engaged, these avatars, engaged and passionate, and ably facilitated by Ms Vita who deftly drew each into a productive discourse. It was a remarkable process to observe this virtual meeting. A meeting where attendee's could not see each other, only the virtual representations of themselves, avatars engaged in a civil and open discourse on an issue that has perplexed and vexed the United States for many years now. At the session conclusion, note cards were distributed for participants in gathering additional responses for the final report. The dialog complete all were invited to the front of the café for a group photograph.

In a post script to the session, Siri informed me that Draxtor Despres and Nonny Writer were working on a documentary of the meeting and it would be completed in early January. She also said that Drax had spoken to "Globalvision"in New York. They had contacted him and wanted to interview us regarding this project for a real life documentary on President-Elect Obama's administration grassroots organizer efforts. She then added, "It's an awesome opportunity to get the word out about the power of second life"

By Nazz Lane