Looking Ahead to 2015 in Second Life

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Eleanor Roosevelt

  

Well, I’ve closed out 2014 in Second Life (SL) with my look back. 

It’s now time for me to look ahead into the New Year in SL and see what mischief I can get up to.  (Significant Other gently reminds me to keep all mischief out of Real Life (RL)!)

This is my one shot each year to think about what I want to accomplish inworld both in terms of work and the tone that I set in this blog.  (Believe it or not, there is always a plan.  Whether or not I stick to it is something else altogether.  Significant Other mumbles something about why can’t I just follow football like all the others.)

My intentions for this year are several.

First, I want to quit being an obituary for sims that are closing inworld.  Yes, I’ll still

mention them but I want to focus on the creativity and dynamism which is what SL is all about. 

Next, I want to step away from Linden Lab’s issues.  They’re not exactly listening to me.  Whatever is going to happen there will happen and I can’t prevent it.  I want to spend more time blogging about the worlds which comprise SL. 

Finally, I want to be more hopeful in my writing about SL in the New Year.  There is still so much I haven’t discovered and I want to bring as much of it back to my readers for as long as SL is around. 

Permit me to be more specific.

I’ll focus more on the inworld communities and the people who reside there.  Several readers have commented that they’d like to hear more about SL’s residents.  I’ll do my best here.  (Hey, if you don’t like it, tough!  These folks took the trouble to let me know what they’d like to see.  Send me your comments and I’ll do my best!)

I want to visit more new sims, meet new people, and have new experiences.  Then I want to want to write about all these and share them.  Several readers have admitted to living vicariously through my writings.  (This does add some pressure.)

There are a couple of series in my blog that I either began and haven’t returned to for a while or haven’t started at all.  I want to return to these.  Sex and the Single Avatar and Shoemaker’s Children are two examples.  There’s also a boat trip across the Grid with

several friends that I want to start and complete in 2015. 

I also have several outstanding stories that I need to complete as well as a SL user to be found somewhere in Antarctica. 

Overall, I want to be more hopeful, focus on the fun inworld, and avoid the Dark Side in SL.

From a technical perspective, I have several goals.

I plan to overhaul my blog’s form and function.  (I’m open to suggestions so please send them in.)

I’ll continue my experiments with social media as they seem to be bringing in new

friends and readers.

My use of pictures in the body of my story will continue as well as new ways to use them.  Once again, this was at the request of readers.

To wrap up my SL plans for 2015, I plan to have more fun and ignore the siren calls to the rocks of despair inworld.

Life’s too short!

So, to all, Happy New Year!

I hope to see many of you on the Grid in the New Year! 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.         

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!

Looking Back on 2014 in Second Life

Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.

Doug Larson

 

          My tradition for the last several years in Second Life (SL) as the days grow shorter and the winter chill draws closer in the nights is to look back on the year past just before we start the New Year.

          I reminisce about what I’ve seen and done, and what I haven’t.  (Significant Other’s eyes roll and comments that it’s a good thing this is only once a year.)

          This year as I start to blog, I’m thinking that it may mark a turning point in SL.

          Let me start with the good news first.

          The start of the community is still strong inworld. 

          I’ve met new communities like First UCC and am impressed by their vitality and sense

of togetherness not to mention the quality of their builds.  They have also interfaced very effectively with Real Life (RL) serving the needs of their congregants there and in SL. 

          Perryn Peterson continued his seemingly non-stop run of parties and hunts with Mardi Gras, recreating Tolkien’s worlds, and the Silk Road Hunt to name but a few. 

          Social media a new tool for me to reach out to meet new friends and find SL groups off the Grid. 

          All this led to new friends and new experiences in new places.  After all, isn’t this what SL is supposed to be all about?

          Finally, there was a management change at Linden Lab with Ebbe Altberg taking over the helm there.  Revitalization seemed possible. 

          Now, let’s go over the bad news.  (What?  Do you want me to lie to you and say everything’s fine?)

          The new version of SL (SL 2.0 in the press) being worked on by Linden Lab hangs over the community like the proverbial sword of Damocles. 

          Will we lose all our possessions that we’ve acquired and built over the years since the new version is not backward compatible?  (I don’t buy the idea tossed about by some that Linden Lab will keep both worlds open indefinitely.  There’s no profit in that for them.)

          How will we maintain our SL identities as we migrate to a new version?

          How many current residents will just give up and leave rather than deal with all the change and aggravation.

          Next, sims are closing at a regular and alarming basis,

         

I’ve blogged about the recent announcement of the closing of Phaze Demesnes, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that are no more, and I was informed just before I started writing this article that Muenchen is closing soon. 

          Many of these sims took years to create and their loss will leave a gap in the body of creative work that is SL.  The creative teams behind them are leaving in many cases too.  This is not a good sign.

          SL is not keeping up with the times in terms of technology either which is really sad considering how cutting edge SL once was.

          SL Go doesn’t appear to have reinvigorated SL as was originally hoped despite being a reasonable if somewhat overpriced mobile platform. 

          Facebook continues to eject SL residents despite their claims of developing a new approach for those who wish to conceal their identities.  Many including me that Linden Lab has done nothing to stick up for their customers here. 

          Finally, while I wrote earlier the new management team at Linden Lab offered early promise, their actions seem more to threaten the community’s existence than do anything to help it.

          How did I do on my plans for 2014?

          Well, I missed a few.  (Significant Other mumbles something about no surprises there.)

          I had hoped to restart several of my blog series that I’d fallen behind in 2013.  That didn’t happen.  (The one that I did try, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, I found that all the sims were gone!)

          I didn’t overhaul my blog.

          On the other hand, I did increase my use of social media and my readership has gone up.

          I have participated in the 1920’s Berlin Book Club.  (Even if I’m almost thrown out some times.  No, not for unruly behavior.  Let’s just say that no everyone shares my enlightened social theories!)

          Finally, I wanted to be a better friend inworld. 

          I’ll leave this one to you, my readers, to decide.  (Significant Other actually gives me points for this one!)

          Recapping.

          A lot has happened to me this year both inworld and personally.  Yet, somehow, I’m still inworld and still plan on coming back next year.

          I feel that this year, 2014, has been a turning point in the development of SL and that we’ll only truly understand how much so only when we look back in future years.  But, something has definitely changed this year inworld.

          In a future article, I’ll outline what my plans are for the New Year and what I look ahead to!

But for now, Merry Christmas!

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.         

 

I'd also like to call out for special thanks my long suffering Research Assistant, Tera Trenchcoat, for putting up with my haphazard wanderings across the Grid.

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!

Linden Endowment for the Arts in Second Life

My love of fine art increased - the more of it I saw, the more of it I wanted to see.

J. Paul Getty

 

 

          Recently, an old friend of mine in Second Life, Hitomi Tamatzui, contacted me with a recommendation for a story.

          Hitomi’s an artist and photographer inworld with an impressive portfolio of work to her name.  She’s introduced me to other artists and their work in SL.  I’ve learned to listen to her recommendations.

          This time she suggested that I take a look at the Linden Endowment for the Arts

(LEA) inworld.  She said that I’d find some impressive artwork to report back my readers.

          So, not needing to be told twice about a good thing, I made plans to visit LEA and see what’s going on.  (Significant Other does shudder whenever I talk about the fine arts.  For some reason, the word “Philistine” keeps coming up. Whatever!)

          Before heading off, I do some research on LEA and its efforts inworld.

          LEA is supported by Linden Lab and provides a parcel or a full sim to an artist for up to three months for free to display their work.  The exhibits are not limited to the visual arts but can also include the performing arts, music, and film. 

          The only requirements are that the exhibits meet the SL Terms of Service (TOS) and be open to the public.

          There is an LEA committee composed of SL artists who make the selections.  An appeals process is also available for those who feel that they’ve been unfairly excluded.

          Details about the application process can be found here. 

         

I arrive at the LEA landing zone and am reminded of earlier Real Life (RL) visits to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in NYC.  (Who’s a Philistine?) 

          Except there is one major difference.

          Instead of the physical constraints imposed by one RL building, no matter how large, where the laws of physics hold sway, here in SL, imagination and creativity can run wild.

          Standing in an open area, I’m greeted by artworks of every description.  Some rest on the ground.  Others are suspended in midair. 

          In the distance, I see examples of architecture which appear to have come from the mind of a frenzied Frank Lloyd Wright.  

          All this is superimposed on fields, streams, and mountains.  Nature and manmade objects have been brought together in one large exhibit.

          A short distance from where I stand is a portal which is comprised of about two dozen gates arranged in a circle which go to the various exhibits currently open at LEA. 

          Time constraints (Significant Other has always been generous in allowing to go exploring inworld but does have worries about my getting lost there.) don’t permit me to visit all this time.  However, I do note the diversity of the exhibits.

          But, I do visit one specifically mentioned by Hitomi

          This one is the MASH sim. 

          Yes, that MASH, the long running American television sitcom has been recreated in great detail at LEA.  Even the helicopter is there although I’m still trying to figure out how to fly it.

          (Yes, I know why is this in an art exhibit?  All I can is, “Why not?”  It’s a very impressive piece of craftsmanship and for that reason along deserves a place here in my opinion.) 

          If pop culture can be made famous, or is it infamous, by Andy Warhol then why not by LEA?

          RL required that I leave LEA after a short visit but I’ll return in the future for new stories.  There is much to see and exhibits change regularly.

          The LEA blog maintains a calendar of all events. 

          There is also a sandbox for artists to create inworld.

         

For all who are interested in the arts or who are only curious from a technical build perspective, I recommend a visit to LEA especially the MASH exhibit!

          Like me, I think that you’ll return. 

          I’m also impressed by Linden Lab’s support of the arts at LEA.

          I’ve been critical of Linden many times in the past but here they’re making an invaluable contribution to the SL community. 

          I’d like to thank Hitomi for making the recommendation that I go visit LEA and blog about it.  She’s a good friend whose judgment I can always count on!         

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.         

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!

Another Regrettable Loss in Second Life

 

The quiet sense of something lost.

Alfred Tennyson

 

 

          Recently, Second Life (SL) has been losing many beautiful sims, some, IMHO, which border on being works of art.

          My last blog entry was about the loss of many of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in SL which have closed. Earlier, I’d blogged about loss inworld. 

          As in Real Life (RL), we cannot go for long without experiencing loss.  A short while ago in RL, I’ve had to deal with personal loss. 

          It’s not nice, it hurts.

          So, when I read a couple of days ago about the pending closure of another phenomenal build inworld, it saddened me.  Although, I can no longer say that these announcements surprise me.  I do worry about my blog turning into an obituary for the worlds within SL.

          The sim whose coming closure was announced is Phaze Demesnes, one of the most

beautiful and creative sims inworld and which also demonstrated the true spirit of building and collaboration that characterized SL in its early, halcyon days.

          Phaze Demesnes had been originally created five years ago by Ferd Frederix.  Ferd is possibly the most creative and prolific scripter inworld. He also made many of his scripts available for free to all who visited his sim.

          The sim itself is what SL was originally meant to be, a wildly beautiful and chaotic

place overlooked by an impressive castle.  Flowers, birds, and other wildlife coexisted in a seemingly natural state of harmony.  The flocking of birds is especially impressive.

          Visitors were friendly and helpful just like Ferd and wavinggirlsav Voom, Ferd’s sidekick and fellow scripter.  All were made to feel welcome.

          The airborne crane tours were, and are, still awe inspiring.

          Phaze Demesnes was one of the first sims I visited after rezzing into SL.  It was definitely the most creative and, still after all my travels inworld, the most impressive.  For a while, until I moved into Nowaki, I used Phaze as my home destination when I’d log into SL.  During my infamous 24 hour stay inworld, I spent time in Phaze Demesnes.

          Sadly, like so many other beautiful places inworld, I took it for granted, assuming it would always be there to return to.  (Significant Other gives me that I told you so look.)

          I wonder and worry about the implications of Phaze Demesnes for SL. 

          Older, extremely creative sims like Phaze which has taken five years to build are closing.  They cannot be replaced by anything nearly as creative any time soon.  There appears to be a hollowing out of SL. 

What will be left?

          What does this mean for the revenue base of Linden Lab?  It can’t help and without places like Phaze Demesnes to visit for how long will residents keep coming back? 

          The creative side of SL will also take a major hit without Ferd’s scripts and no one to add new ones.

          This is truly a sad moment in the history of SL.  A vaccum has formed inworld and it’s an ominous sign for the future. 

          Thoughts must turn to the future after an event like this.

          Is SL approaching a tipping point (Significant Other winces at my overuse of this overused phrase.) where the closures will accelerate to a point where it returns to its beginnings when it was nothing but empty space?

          Is SL becoming like many of America’s cities in its Rust Belt?  Ghost towns populated by the indigent struggling to survive while prosperity passes them by on the freeway?  (Significant Other arches an eyebrow.)

          I don’t know why Phaze Demesnes is closing.

          Maybe tier became too much of a drain.  Dealing with mesh might have become too aggravating.  Or, possibly the uncertainty of SL 2.0 just pushed Ferd into throwing in the towel.

          I don’t know but I’ll try to get some answers.

          I do encourage all who have not yet visited Phaze Demesnes to do so before it finally closes and to also pick up some of Ferd’s wonderful, free scripts before they’re gone forever.

          Phaze Demesnes will close at the end of December 2014 which I’m interpreting to mean that New Year’s Eve will be their last night open.

          Check it out, you’ll be glad you did! 

          Ferd will be reopening part of Phaze Demesnes in Opensim on the hypergrid at Outworldz.  The sim will be called Virunga Mountains.  As I learn more, I’ll report back.

          I wish Ferd and wavinggirlsav all the best in their new world and ventures! They will be missed!

          Adieu!

          More pictures from Phaze Demesnes can be found here.

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.         

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life – An Unfinished Journey

 I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 

The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

 

          Earlier in my blogging, I’d begun a series on the Real Life (RL) Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in Second Life (SL). 

          I’d done my research before I started.

          All sites were inworld, maybe not as originally intended by their RL creators, but inworld nonetheless.  In fact, I’d actually visited one with a friend before embarking on writing this series. 

          I commenced my visits and blogged about five Wonders before going off on several other writing projects.  I freely admit I like to wander and take my stories as I find them.  (Significant Other nods in violent agreement right about now.)

          What was there to worry about?

          They’d still be there right?

          Well, I was wrong!  (Significant Other asks what else is new?)

          Recently, I’d decided to complete my two remaining stories about the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria this year and bring this long unfinished series to a close.

          I’d learned a while ago that Ancient Alexandria had closed and the light from its famed lighthouse extinguished.  But, I’d been there before and had enough information and pictures for a story.

          Then I went looking for the Colossus of Rhodes and found the whole sim where it stood, Museum Island, gone with no one knowing why or when.  Sadly, a couple of other Ancient Wonders had been there along with many other RL recreations of ancient monuments.

          (You can imagine my surprise and disappointment when I rezzed in only to find all this gone and a SL real estate developer promoting homesteads!)

          But, I guess as I’ve blogged before, this is just part of the circle of life in SL, creation and destruction.

          SL continually evolves.  Creativity and beauty are lost only to be replaced by something else somewhere else.  Or, at least I hope so.

          I’ve managed to salvage something from this.

          I have a picture from an earlier visit to Museum Island showing the Colossus. 

I also have a picture of Alexandria’s lighthouse. I include these so you can see

what once was inworld.  (I’ll continue to try and find out what happened and if we can ever expect to see these builds again.)

          During my efforts to learn what happened at Museum Island, I came across a recent Slideshare presentation about the site which I include the link to here so my readers can see what a truly fabulous sim this was. 

          Unfortunately, more than Museum Island and Ancient Alexandria have been lost to us. 

          The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, another Ancient Wonders story, are lost to us as

well. 

          All are now among the #lostsims which I use on Twitter to identify such.

          Like ancient marvels in RL, these are now lost to us in SL.  However, unlike RL where physical ruins sometimes remain, they leave no trace behind in SL except our memoires and pictures.

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.         

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!