Upcoming events in aid of RFL in SL

The Clothing Fair may be over but the fight continues click over to the RFL section to see what will be coming up this week in aid of RFL in SL

What a wonderful world we have chosen to live in????

Yesterday saw record numbers logging into SL with a concurrency of over 66,000 online. While Philip Rosedale gets ready to go before The Congressional Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and talk about "Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium" we, actually using it, struggle with huge stability issues and stale transactions that have troubled the grid for most of the week.

The stability issues have plagued residents to such an extent that after a few hours at peak concurrency the actual users online dropped by more than half as most gave up in sheer frustration.

"Our database has crashed and caused in world services to go down. We expect it will be ten minutes minimum before we are up and running again."

This was the message on the blog followed by yet again "Resolved" which of course did not last long, Logins were problematic as were in world transactions, teleporting, maps, search, attaching objects and of course the support portal (just when you need it most).

Together with the new ToS and branding issues it is becoming obvious that its open for a competitor to step in, in my opinion, if there was another platform out there with similar capabilities most of SecondLife issues would soon clear up as people took a better option.

Yes of course people will still sign up and yes businesses will look at it as an option for their venture into the virtual world, but with all the bad press and Linden Lab doing everything they can to put residents off and now stopping the very people who have promoted them freely, what business will they have to sell in 5 years time? As one resident commented "When somebody steals a texture or build from another resident, LL tells us that it’s got nothing to do with them - but when we use THEIR graphics they suddenly start caring about copyright. Just keep looking after number one, LL - it’s what you do best."

The worst of this new ToS is the manner in which they have yet again failed to deal with the people it affects the most, 'Please check out Brand Center FAQ, if you’ve still got questions, please drop an email to tm-questions@lindenlab.com - note that the trademark team can’t guarantee that they’ll be able to respond personally to all the emails they receive. If your question is urgent, you should contact a trademark attorney.'

Anyone that is not an attorney, and even those that are practiced in trademark law, cannot give a straight answer as the new branding, FAQ and ToS together are confusing and complex even to the point of those legal eagles not being able to agree on what is now allowed and what is not.

I look forward to some clarification from a press release supposedly forthcoming from Linden Research Inc®

sources: SecondLife blog massively

UPDATE: Several In-World Services such as teleporting, map usage, search functionality, IM/chat and image upload failure are being experienced across Second Life. We are working as quickly as possible to resolve these issues. We will update you here as soon as further information is available. Thank you for your continued patience. (unsurprisingly I cannot log in right now getting DNS server errors, NOT mentioned on the list of problems)

The Best of SL for RFL

What a fantastic show
Go to EVENTS to see more

Left: Frolic and Raven join in with the final dance at the Broadway Extravaganza.

Right: Entertaining us with her fantastic voice Cylindrian Rutabaga.

New Gallery

Artist, Author and Fund-raiser. Check out our M.A.C.E for more.

Saturday Delight

Saturday I was pleased to be invited to the Piano concert of one of my favorite in world musicians, Louis Volare . March 29 was the one year anniversary celebration at Amatsu Mitshkai, a lovely Japanese port city , which houses the training school for the geishas of sl.

Click here to read more from Gemma Cleanslate

Breezes Thoughts

Never in my wildest dreams did I think, upon entering this beautiful City of Samarkand, that I would find a place like no other. From the Hall of Justice to the pavillions filled with fountains, and to the gardens and tavern, the romance of the city overwhelmed me. I opened my arms and embraced this world.

Find out what Mommy has been up to in the PEOPLE section

Clubber's Zone

"Clubbers Zone" is different from other clubs this reporter has come across in that one of the owners not only built the place, but worked on several others.

Read more with Bixyl in EXPLORE

Fleurop.com - Interflora works with Starfruit to increase online sales

Starfruit, the developer of virtual world e-commerce outlets, has partnered with international florist Fleurop.com -Interflora to provide lovestruck online Romeos with the opportunity to impress friends and lovers with real gifts.

Find out more in the EXTRA EXTRA section

L$ scams supported by LL

Read our Finance section to see how Linden Lab supports the "International L$ Marketplace", where there is plenty of opportunities to throw away your money. Is Linden Lab really sponsoring scammers?

A new era for Second Life Media

History is being made this month, as the first ever Virtual Record label has launched. Accardi Records was founded and run by Dannylee Ashbourne, also owner of other media businesses such as Stars Acting Agency, CreamWater TV and up-coming Sick Magazine. The aim of the project, is to gather as many great artists who perform in Second Life, and will not only be provided concerts at clubs etc... but they will also have one or two tracks on a CD being made and produced by the label. Accardi Records are planning to release a new CD every two months, which will feature all genres, from rap to classical, so theres something for everybody. Dannylee has hired a small team to help run the company, which is gathering a huge amount of interest from Second Life residents. The plan for the company to artists is, when they are provided a performance, Accardi Records will only recieve 25% of the tips. All the money gained from tips, will be placed back into the business. If you are interested by this article and want to know more on how to be a part of the team, who to contact, and where to find them.

To be an artists under Accardi Records' management, you will need to contact either Dannylee Ashbourne (Accardi Records CEO) or Kenneth Sinclair (Accardi Records Vice-Chairman). When a meeting has been completed with either, hopefulls will be asked to submit a sample mp3 fils of their work via e-mail. When the sample has been reveiwed by the team, a decision will be made to whether your on board or not.

Feel free to contact Dannylee Ashbourne at danny.ashbourne@googlemail.com or locate him at Accardi Records office, located at Zveltsa 74,181,92- Ashbourne Media Enterprise. On the half sim, you will find CreamWater TV, SAA, Accardi Records and Sick Magazine.

More about RFL in SL with Pips and Nevar

The clothing fair for RFL finished, another fundraiser successful but what do Pips Fetid and Nevar Lobo, team captains for Relay Raiders (the organisers of the clothing fair), have to say about it?

Find out in the RFL section

Mafia Hit Foiled by Inmate

Violence has yet again erupted within the walls of Ghul Federal Prison.
For the full story read our People section

Mafia Boss Behind Bars: Sings Like A Canary

In a huge turn around of events, Mafia boss, Adolphe Freschi is jailed. To read the full story., click here

By Baron DeSantis

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

RL businesses in SL

Recently James and I set out to look at the real businesses in our virtual world, mainly looking at the car industry.

We are all aware of the hype surrounding a new RL business coming into SL, and lately, more often pulling out of Second Life, Mercedes are the latest to announce their departure after Pontiac.

My honest opinion? Considering I am a non driver in RL I had a great deal of fun! Zipping around the tracks trying out the huge loop-the-loop on Nissan island, finding the code to get your own free car or answering the challenge of Mazda, jump the gap and keep the car :) (It took James 3 tries LOL)

From what we saw Nissan have certainly got the right idea of how to show their product to its best advantage with plenty of information and a lot of fun activities which had kept people coming to the sim even though there were no staff on hand at any time we visited, there were still avatars having fun. The only disappointment was the boxy look of the virtual model, with sculpties nowadays a better model could be constructed although the internal detail was good. Mazda also was populated and set in beautiful surroundings too. The Mazda Hakaze was also one of the best built representations we saw, although, only having a simple drive script it may have limited real drivers enjoyment.
Peugeot disappointingly were actually selling their models rather than giving them away and we were quickly bored, very much set out as a RL showroom - yes there was a road but if you wanted to see it you had to get a bike since you couldn't Rez your car to get around. All in all a disappointment they obviously had spent no time in SL and had no idea how to best use it to sell their product.

How should Real businesses set about using Second Life? Well I am no marketing expert but if you don't make it fun and give people something to do then you are unlikely to succeed. You need to provide the information in a fun and interesting way, I believe Nissan have seen the possibilities the best out of the ones we visited, closely followed by Mazda.

To an extent it's the same as browsing the Internet for information on cars, BUT its much more fun and relaxed, Why go to a stuffy showroom if you can walk on a tropical beach and and enjoy the looks of your new car at sunset?

Can Second Life be used to sell real products? I believe it can if it is done in the right way. Just don't take us all for suckers and give us some real info to go with the free models!

Dana

The most powerful poem I have read.

Despite the fact that I am in the Ghul Federal Prison, I still manage from time to time, to get news etc from 'outside'. An artist friend of mine sent me this poem. It brought me out in goosebumps. to read the poem.. "What Was Lost" click here

Space Shuttle Landing Viewed at ISM

While the Space Shuttle Endeavor landed at Cape Canaveral at 5:39 PM SL time, March 26, at the International Space Museum (ISM) the landing was seen by those watching the live NASA broadcast shown there.

Full story in EXPLORE

Is an Armidi fashion monopoly a bad thing?

The Second Life News Network raised a most interesting question recently about the rise of Armidi and their ability to suck the grid's talent pool of clothing and hair designers.

What triggered their question was the recruiting of designers from Savvy?, Sand Shack Surf Co. and Tres Blah in their staff while putting their personal projects on hold. The risks of an Armidi monopoly would be homogenized fashion and a lack of personal style in new clothing.

While this and other usual problems related to monopolies, are genuine questions, there might be a case to favor a bigger Armidi stranglehold on SL fashion.

For starters, quality and decent prices are the name of the game if you care in any way about the image you project with your avatar. And this is where Armidi shines. With the number of designers who do clothing in SL, a bit of fashion consolidation might just be a great way to reinforce creativity.

Too many people design clothing that looks amazing (such as trench coats) on their vendor signs, but that end up disappointing buyers because their flexi features are not good. Yet Armidi's clothing often looks better on us than it looks in their store because of attention to detail. Even for something as hard to produce as a trench coat, the quality level is very high.

Let's take one of the most important examples of a virtual monopoly to establish a comparison: Google. Their importance in Web search has not prevented others from creating search engines that are as efficient... it actually forced them to do so! Before Google, Web searching was a bit of a mess. Now, do your searches either at Google, Yahoo or Microsoft's Live.com and you will get plenty of revelant results.

Great creations inspire competitors. It's about time that a big player has that effect on others in SL. That's in addition to the impact that Armidi will have on the creators it recruits. The day they decide to give a new life to their personal projects, their time at Armidi will have been an amazing learning experience. Because let's face it: some of the people they hired have potential but their earlier creations could have used some polish. I won't point to specific names to avoid making it a personal affair. But I bought clothes from one of Armidi's newly-recruited creators before and I saw room for improvement.

And in defense of any company that ends up gaining importance, not all market-hogging players are bad for business. The impact of an important presence depends on the values of the people behind it. To me, it sounds like fashion is too fragmented in Second Life to come up with the monopoly word. It also sounds early to think that Armidi would be acting, say, just like a Microsoft of SL clothing.

It's not time to cry wolf yet. Besides, the "slutty looks" are way too popular around the grid to think that Armidi's clothing will be forced down everyones's throat ;-)

ABN AMRO will continue their activities in Second Life

The past few months there has been a rumour that the ABN AMRO was going to quit their Second Life activities. This is far from the truth. ABN AMRO is going to sell some of it’s islands though. Are you interested in one or multiple sims with low monthly costs?

Continue reading...

In November 2006 ABN AMRO was the first European bank who took a step into the virtual world. A total of 20 islands were designed to bring ANB AMRO experience in the beautiful virtual world of Second Life. Now ABN AMRO has learned from the Second Life activities over the past 16 months it has no longer use for all 20 islands. Therefore ABN AMRO decided to sell several islands.

The monthly rate for these islands is a beneficial and the islands can be transferred including the landscape.

Are you interested in one or multiple ABN AMRO sims? Contact us via secondlife@nl.abnamro.com. Make your best offer and let the negotiation begin!

Blues for Autism Event

A fun event for a good cause - read more here

Introducing.......................

Today we launch a new section for sl-newspaper Barbwire is brought to you by Dixie Barbosa. It will contain opinion articles, column-style stories, short tutorials and explanatory pieces, and will report on new developments in Second Life.

Click the new button on the left to see for yourself

Coming up this week at Zurich

Find out what is on this week at Zurich in the MACE section

Breezes Thoughts

I was flying thru the skies and what did I see? Way far away, a tiny speck, curiously I ventured forth to find what mysteries I might find.......

Continue reading in the PEOPLE section

Welcome to Corona Villas.

We bring modern and contemporary architecture to a wide audience by making it affordable and keeping it simple.
In a world where you can create almost everything, we have created a wide range of homes and furniture to help enhance your SL experience. Our homes are simple and spacious, playing with open floor solutions, giving you, creative freedom.

Find out more in the EVENTS section

All SL-xxxxxx ones go into hiding while you can !

So we need to go into hiding ? Start underground newspapers and not promote the game like we used to do ?

According to the new TOS, (and correct me if I am wrong) a lot of old, good and established companies should clean up their act in 89 days ?

SLexchange / SLprofiles / SL-Newspaper / SLGuides / SLNN / Secondlife Herald / SLReports / Second Life WiKi / SL Stats / SLRSS / and so on and so on ... NOT ALLOWED ANYMORE !

So did you make a youtube movie using the text secondlife ? BUSTED ! you should have said : “the Second Life® virtual world” phrase instead of the word SecondLife.

A comment we picked up in the secondlife (tm) (R) (C) blog from Jeska Linden was :

It is OK to refer to Linden dollars and Linden Lab’s other product and service names when you’re discussing them in blog posts and other forums. So, for example, it’s OK to say: “My store in the Second Life world accepts payment in Linden dollars.”

However, it’s not OK to use our trademarks in your brand names, for example, in a store name like “Linden Fashions” or “Second Life Styles.”

I hope we get some clarifications on this item soon. A lot of people will be affected again by these rules. Weird thing is that a lot of the now forbidden names were accepted in the past and even put on the secondlife (tm) website as resident links.

Comments are welcome.

Helping Hands Benefit Concert Tonight!

by: Lucy Halberd
I just wanted to let you all know about a benefit concert that will be held tonight at 5PM SL time on the newly opened September Rain sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/September%20Rain/158/136/23). Pianist, Heath Elvehjem, will be performing live for the first three hours and then at 8PM, DJ Jameslarken Supply will spin some tunes to keep the party going!

to learn more about this worthy cause, please visit the EVENTS section!

RFL - Winter

Well it seems another SL-RFL clothing fair has come to an end after a week of hectic shopping and some amazing challenges, shortly before 9pm slt a huge roar went out as the Relay Raiders team hit their goal and raised 4 million lindens before the end of the clothing fair!

More in the RFL section

Drive by Agony Group Establishes Presence in Second Life

Through a friend, I had recently been introduced to Carmen Gray of the Drive by Agony group in second life. Both of our schedules had been full but we'd finally been able to connect setting up a date and time when we'd both be on-line. We met at her place, the Life Learning Center along with Hope McAlpine and Hiliary Grant for this interview.

Continue reading in PEOPLE

Nazz Lane

Take a Walk on the Moon

Great place to verify that, yes, man has been to the moon! There are left over machines up there. Intricate builds similar to those that actually were used by the original earth visitors.

See more in the EXPLORE section with Gemma

Brand Center

ON THE SECONDLIFE BLOG IT SAYS : With the Brand Center, we’re (LL) also launching the inSL Logo Program, which provides a new community logo for Second Life Residents. Display the inSL logo to show you and your brands are a part of the Second Life community. This logo may be used on your website, business card, promotional materials, product packaging, and in many other places where you may wish to promote your contributions to the Second Life world. BUT When using the logo, be sure to follow the Guidelines for Using the inSL Logo.

Then a huge list follows (ON THAT SAME FAMOUS SECONDLIFE BLOG) with guidlines and rules and things. And in the end the warning that you have 90 days to change anything you ever did with SL brand/logo's OR ELSE !

I am sorry I tried to promote a great "game" like secondlife !!!!!

JamesT Juno
ceo SL-Newspaper.com

Naughty images on Secondlife Main Page

Whats he thinking ? - Read more in our red-light section.

Tesoro Creations- Jewelry with Class

by: Lucy Halberd
Picture this: you’ve met the perfect woman and want to really show her how much she means to you. Do you need a necklace with earrings to match? How about showing her exactly how you feel with a gorgeous ring that has your birthstones showcased in a fabulous setting surrounded by diamonds? Any other jewelry you think she might like? I suggest you make a trip to Tesoro Creations...

read more about Tesoro Creations in the DESIGN section of the paper!

Keep it in your clique

Subcultures or high school mentality? Dashwood Dayafter has a rant in our Explore section.

Weekly Business Review - 23 March 08

23 March 2008

Lawsuits, frauds and thievery …. oh my! Some old issues return and some new ones emerge as business and drama intersect in the Virtual Village.

9 questions for ... Morpheus Linden

Here is another post of our 9 questions. This time with Morpheus Linden!

Please read what he has to say about Second Life in our People section. And don't hesitate to comment there. :)

An Angel at the Table

A new venture for Katterina Dagostino of Last Call /Dazzle has been announce. Check out more in DESIGN

Baron Convicted

I arrived at the office building this afternoon to find a black car outside. The window rolled down and a large envelope was dangled out by a delicate looking but manly hand. The transvestite who was inside the car simply said that I was to print this right away. Read our People section to find out what I just found out on the Baron's trial.

Important SCAM info

I am bringing to your attention that SLX has a vendor for sale from a group called Relay for Life Donation Station. This business also has store fronts where they sell these kiosk. The kiosks for sale promise the owners a 5% cut of all funds raised. Aside from NOT being affiliated with ACS or Relay the activities involved are a violation of US IRS tax codes. If you hear reports of people using these items please contact myself, Fayandria Foley, David Jacobs, or Tayzia Abattoir.

FULL DETAILS ON HOW TO CHECK THE KIOSK IS AUTHENTIC CAN BE FOUND IN THE RFL SECTION HERE

I hope everyone will join together to stop this disgusting scam, anyone who could take advantage of such a worthy cause is lower than low and deserves everything they get, make sure if you see any of these kiosks inworld you IM David or Fay immediately, after you have made sure its not an official kiosk an ABUSE REPORT can be filed.

Lets hope SLX also acts quickly to remove this gross ...... - well words fail me for the first time ever!!!!!

Dana

Good Things in Small Packages

It takes two and it's very very simple, but good... Find out more in EXPLORE

Limited Editions for RFL

I haven't talked much about the fashions at the fair this year preferring people to go along and make up their own minds. But I believe there are a few special people that deserve a mention and that you would like to know about:

Find out more in the DESIGN section

Wanted !!!

SL Book Fair 2008 - call for participation

It's on again! The SL Book Fair 2008 will be held on 25th April - 27th April on Book and Publishing Islands.

Full info in the EVENTS section

Reports of IntLibber Brautigans' Death Greatly Exaggerated

Hi folks, I've been offline for the past 4-5 days due to a very serious bout of the flu. In the mean time, theres been a lot of real nastiness brewing by folks hostile to us, but were dealing with it in a proactive way and are moving forward.

Continue reading in the FINANCE section

Oil on troubled waters?

A few days ago I accepted an invitation to go sailing around Sailors Cove with freelance writer Delinda. I may say this was my first visit and I was stunned at the beauty and organisation of the huge area. I didn't know there was so much sea to sail in and I found my visit so relaxing - of course I couldn't help snapping away as we sailed, Delinda being an excellant navigator, I really enjoyed myself.

Yesterday I heard rumours of discontent and problems brewing at Sailors Cove and after my recent visit I pricked up my ears and hunted around for info.

It seems that there is some disagreement between owners and managers and sorting it out will be a long and arduous task.

Who does Sailors Cove belong to? Who legally owns it? What rights do the 3 owners/managers each have?

It seems to be a confused mess. Maybe if I was closely involved I would understand it better, but then again maybe not. Its one of the many difficulties Unique to Sl. One person may have officially bought the land but who knows who actually financed it, paid the tier for it? Does paying the tier mean you should have the land after disagreements arise between partners? How do you, after running into problems, divide an area like Sailors Cove? Should you divide it? Give it to the residents? What can be done in this situation?

At a meeting all this was discussed but with little resolution for the residents. From some points of view one owner is doing things the right way and trying to sort out the mess through negotiation and talks and all the time keeping the residents informed;

"I think Patrick is a real gentleman even to talk with them at all after all this. If it was me I would just tear up any agreement with them."

but, as always, there is another side that is not being made public.

"Though Patrick may have a valid point, taking over land is perhaps not the ideal move to settle something amicably...even if the initial intent (protect land from vandalism) was a good one"

The facts are clear the land is being divided, some going to one group and some to another. Objects have been returned and sims ruined.
Races and events are in doubt and residents in turmoil not knowing who owns what or who to trust for the answers.

Lets hope its cleared up quickly and painlessly for the residents. Sailors Cove is a beautiful place and it would be a shame to see it split up.

OMG a successful show

Yesterday saw me at OMG Inc's first fashion show.
A delectable array of ladies and gents daywear paraded before me down the catwalk.

Read more in the DESIGN section

*********Musical Beauty of the Heart*********

(click to enlarge)

Go over to M.A.C.E to find out more about this amazing Jazz singer

by Charltina Christensen