Happy Halloween!

By Bixyl shuftan

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Jack responds - and shifts the blame!

In the post Jack Linden tells us that he is listening and reading all the feedback - which is good news, but then he goes on to explain something we all apparently missed (including the Lindens themselves):

Update regarding the Openspaces announcement:
I wanted to clarify one issue. As mentioned in the post, Openspaces were intended for space, empty areas of ocean or forest. Take a look at the Knowledgebase article description here. By that criteria, the large majority of Openspaces have more going on than was the original intent. We are not suggesting this is a bad thing, and of course we’re delighted that people have found them to be so useful. And we’re not saying that everyone is abusing resources. We are saying that the use has changed, and continues to do so as people find more creative ways to use them. So the revised pricing is about recognising that change of use and the additional costs and value associated with it.

I would like to ask Jack if he has visited the Nautilus sims? or some of the other well know openspaces owned by Linden Lab as showcases of what they can look like and what use they can be put to. Residents look to Linden Lab for guidelines and examples - Look to yourselves Jack and we will follow - set us Limits we will (in general; there are always some that will push) keep within them - give us prims and land to use as we wish and we will do exactly that.
Why raise the prim limit if you don't want people to live or build on these openspaces?

In this post Jack has basically said the price rise is due to the 'change of use' although in the previous post it was put down to more technical issues - either way Residents are hurt, angry and disillusioned and those not already packing up are planning on selling what land they do have before the price rises take effect, many will lose hundreds of USD with no way to recoup their losses. Already the demonstrations far outstrip the ones that happened due to the gambling ban as this hurts even the little people.
In an already failing SL economy - can it survive this latest blow? Only time will tell.
One thing that has been made obvious is that sign up rates for Openlife Grid are up to a phenomenal rate - residents are looking for alternatives. Without a quick reasonable solution to this issue we could be looking at the death of Secondlife as we know it. After all who wants to be in a world of newbies when everyone else has gone elsewhere to live their dream.
Dana Vanmoer

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Protests heat up the grid

Several places today crashed on the grid as protests continue against the tyranny of Linden Lab.
Office hours were quickly over run with protesters, but also with those looking to help solve the problems without hitting those that have supported LL throughout all the previous changes like the recent land price drop.
Unless Linden Lab finds a solution that does NOT involve a price rise then I am very much afraid for the future of Secondlife.
Lots of Residents - not just the big land barons - but the little people who saved for months, some for years to be able to afford their own paradise are being engulfed in this mess. How would you feel if you bought a house and a month later your mortgage company told you 'sorry but its now going to cost you 66.6666% more a month'?
Linden Lab listen to your Residents - just for once - in this there are alternatives many solutions have been presented at office hours and on the JIRA - open your ears and listen to your Residents the people that have made this secondlife what it is today. The amazing content creators, designers and builders, the sim designers, landscapers and dreamers that have made the grid (minus the mainland) a beautiful place to be, a place that you show off to the world, a place you are proud of - now you want to rip it all away! YOU made a mistake - YOU messed up - YOU mismanaged the openspaces - WHY do we have to pay for your mistakes?
Find a way Linden Lab - Find a way!

A very sad
Dana Vanmoer

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How do you spell incompetence? (2)

The small controversy surrounding Openspace sims makes me think of an easy comparison in the telecommunications industry at home, in Canada.

By selling a product, not limiting its use and cracking down on its customers, the giant company called Bell Canada alienated many people. Bell offered unlimited Internet access to its mobile phone users but put arbitrary restriction clauses in the contracts. In fact, this made people pay for unlimited use without granting them actual limitless service. Once some mobile phone customers started to use their wireless connection as an unlimited one, they were told that they were not expected to do so.

In a way, Linden Labs' decision to unilaterally upgrade Openspace sims to Class 5 by telling people that they were overusing them is comparable. It offered something that was too good to be true. It made estate ownership easy but did not put limits that would prevent people from adding textures, scripts and objects once there was enough to eat up the sim's performance.

It would have made sense to cap the use of a sim's resources instead of slapping everyone with a forced upgrade. This is yet again an example of lack of foresight from the Lindens.

Here is some of that foresight they badly need: Bell Canada is one of the most despised brands in Canada because it has historically treated its customers in such a way. As soon as competition started offering a credible alternative for home phone services, customers left in droves. On a national level. They took their Internet and television services to the competition's attractive bundles and are now enjoying better customer service.

I ask this for a second time: How do you spell incompetence?

I suggest this answer: an L, an I, an N, a D, an E and another N

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Protests start on nautilus sims

Many are angry upset and confused over the Linden turnabout on the open sims - it seems LL have grossly under-estimated the market for them and now are backtracking fast and those with openspaces are the ones who will have to pay for their mismanagement - click the image to join the protests.
There is also a JIRA - as yet unassigned where you can vote if you disagree with these proposed changes. You can also follow the argument in the FORUMS
One protested stated his reasons:

[13:36] ****: they do pay attention[13:37] dana Vanmoer: apart from raising publicity - which obviously all eyes are on this subject - what do you think this will achieve?
[13:37] ****: there are lindens watching us at this very moment I know this for a fact

Feeling of trust are almost completely gone in Linden Lab and many are whispering conspiracy this coming just a couple of weeks after Linden Lab open the new region for residents.

At the same time came the news that Infinity Lindens office hour was over run with protesters also and those estate owners looking for answers:

Some were actually forthcoming in that Infinity did admit LL is looking into grandfathering.

Simone Stern has the full transcript from Jacks emergency office hours this morning and rather than make another copy THIS LINK will take you there.

In both Jacks and Infinitys office hours there has been a lot of two way conversation going on - that LL are to blame for this mess is undeniable BUT I would like to point out that the price increases are a way off and there is time for LL to find a better solution.

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Linden labs slams its paying customers again!

Yes linden labs have messed up and their paying customers will be the ones who have to PAY for it:

Openspace Pricing and Policy Changes
Openspace prices and fees change on the 1st January with no grandfathering.
Class 4 Openspaces will be upgraded to class 5 in January.
Educator discount is no longer available for Openspaces.
No Owner switching for Openspaces unless it’s a full transfer of Payor.
More proactive education by support staff to prevent unfair resource use by Openspace regions.

Why?
What happened?
According to Jack Linden usage of the openspace sims has surprised them and the load needed to support them is too much. They gave us 3750 prims to use on these beautiful private islands and apparently didn't expect us to use them!

So Openspaces have been incredibly popular as a perk for estate owners, but sadly there is a twist. Unfortunately most of the Openspaces are being used for much more than light use. Based on analysis performed in August and September, Openspaces are being used about twice as much as we expected, in other words being loaded with double the content/avatar load than we’d expect for a region that is supposed to be light use.

That there are unscrupulous users of the openspaces is not in doubt and now it seems, rather than deal with the offenders, everyone on openspaces will have to pay.
At an emergency office hours Jack showed a willingness to listen to idea's that residents presented suggesting a possibility these changes are not set in stone yet - but from past experience Resident suggestions are generally ignored. Linden Lab have showed yet again absolutely no knowledge of the inworld economy.
Jack Linden: okay so here is a question; do you think us pinning prim counts down to say 1500, and limiting script count to 250, would be acceptable if the price stayed as it now? I'm not suggesting this is possible, but I'm interested in your opinions
Some great ideas were forthcoming on ways to combat the problem but the point is that Linden Lab did not foresee this issue showing gross mismanagement and incompetence.
Jack was listening though and this can only be a good thing:
[5:37] Jack Linden: okay, so lets summarise a little: I hear you on OS limits, and I hear you on the other options like free conversions. I won't obviously be making any promises in this discussion which is an ad-hoc one because I wanted to get as much feedback as I could.. but I will take all of this away and discuss it within the Lab. *if* there are outcomes or changes, then we should make those clear sooner rather than later
[5:39] Jack Linden: Lets keep talking. I will reply more in the forums, and I will try to do more sessions like this over the next few days.

Beginning 1st January 2009
We will increase the monthly maintenance fee from USD$75 to USD$125 per month. This price increase will apply to all owners of Openspaces on January 1st as well as new purchases after that date. There will be no grandfathering of Openspace maintenance pricing.
This shows a 50% increase in upfront fees and a 66% increase in tier fees!

I spoke with Intlibber Brautigan of BNT holdings and this is what he had to say;
IntLibber BnT: if anything is costing them money its the fact that they offer 195 tier on the mainland that we subsidize with our high sim tier
IntLibber BnT: I'm all for ending the grandfathered rates, puts everybody on a level playing field
IntLibber BnT: ending grandfathering and equalizing tier between mainland and estates will bring in enough revenue for LL that they can cover added expenses.

This is a situation that we will monitor closely. You can follow the discussions in the FORUM and we will try to keep you updated on anything pertinent.
Thank you to Gemma Cleanslate for the chat logs and Intlibber for taking the time to talk to me.
Dana Vanmoer
Source: Secondlife Blog

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Precedent-setting trial rules virtual theft is real

In a precedent-setting trial, a court in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden has ruled that stealing virtual items is theft and sentenced two teenage boys to community service.

In 2007 2 boys forced a younger boy to give two virtual items from the online game Runescape to their accounts. The boys kicked, hit and threatened their classmate with a knife until he gave in and transferred the items to their accounts.

The prosecutor argued that virtual items used in the game should be considered as real and tangible goods as they have real, tangible value for the owner. The prosecutor noted that winning, collecting and trading Runescape objects play an important role in the virtual world and can also be sold for money in the real world.
According to the public prosecutor, if these items are valuable to their owner and he has been forced to hand them over to somebody else, it should be considered theft. The lawyer representing the culprits argued that legally, the items do not exist and therefore cannot be considered to have been stolen.
The court dismissed the defence lawyer's argument and cited an earlier ruling that electricity can be considered a material object for the purposes of criminal law and stealing electricity is theft. The court ruled that the same principle can be applied in this case and stealing virtual Runescape items is theft as the owner was forced to hand over his possessions.

This opens the floodgates for Seondlife theft cases - BUT content theft is different in that textures are copied rather than stolen, it is the income that the creator loses rather than the actual object, so is it actually theft?
Source: RNW

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Eye on the Blog

Update on Linden Lab Blog Revamp
I’m happy to report that we have some great things ahead for the Linden Lab Blog. We are on track with a multi-stage process of upgrading our Web presence, including both the Blog and the Forums. Our goal? To improve the information you get about Second Life and enhance our dialogue with you.
We’ve put a lot of thought into how best to expand the usefulness of the blog and forums without slowing down the efforts of those working on grid stability and reliability. And, we’re making great progress with the project. One foundational change we are making is adding in authentication so it’s there for the blog as well as forums. This is valuable because it adds better security and uses Second Life names in a consistent way.
One major goal is to implement single-sign-on (SSO.) This means Second Life Residents who log in with their avatar (account) names, for instance to comment on blog posts, would also be logged into the Second Life Forums. This seemingly small but fundamental change will, over time, allow us to greatly expand the convenience and utility of the blog (and in the next phase, the forums).
Continue reading on the SecondLife Blog (which has been surprisingly active this week!)

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Are you allowed to put objects on your land for sale?

Seems a simple enough question doesn't it?
If your land is for sale can you place objects on it?
Can you make it look appealing and pretty by adding a few trees maybe a house to show the space to best advantage?
Well be VERY careful if you own a lot of plots of land if you do any of these things.
A few instances have happened that have seemed to show that Linden Lab is cracking down and even setting a price cap on land prices.
I went along to the G-Teams office hours to see if the questions being raised could be answered and I can't say I was impressed for nearly an hour the words were bandied around and the simple question remained unanswered - Socrates Linden did a great job of evading a straight yes or no answer.
A week ago Tyrian Camilo has his alt account (Mainostaulu Tomorrow) suspended for setting his land for sale at too high a price! Meaning that the G-Team decided that his land was set for sale at too high a price!
My question was when did Linden Lab decide to set price limits? Where was this information, which surely we should all know about, be found? Where was the clarification or announcement of these new price caps?
[2008/10/25 12:10] Tyrian Camilo: I had an parcel due to which one of our company accounts was suspended for 7days, and i had an Linden confirm to me that the reason was too high selling price, which was by 2 G-Team members together decided
[2008/10/25 12:13] dana Vanmoer: can you be banned/suspended for selling land for too high a price and who decides that price limit?
[2008/10/25 12:25] dana Vanmoer: Tyrian was suspended for setting his land for sale at too high a price - when or where does it set a limit and shouldn't we at least know there IS a limit and what it is
[2008/10/25 12:37] Lavender Siamendes: I think we missed whether LL has a cap on prices for mainland and private sims/ parcels could that be addressed before this meeting is over. I personally do not wish my account put into jeopardy by infringing on any tableted rules and regs so could I have some clarity.
[2008/10/25 12:42] dana Vanmoer: socrates this is a simple question - is there or is there not a limit on land sale prices if so where can we find that information
[2008/10/25 12:42] Lavender Siamendes: Socrates or teagan may feel free to answer this and we would like an answer as we are all potentially in jeopardy when selling our pieces of land, is there a price cap or not set by LL
Eventually;
[2008/10/25 12:43] Socrates Linden: Absent of other issues there is no set price limit.
[2008/10/25 12:45] dana Vanmoer: if there are no ban lines and no ads or objects for sale on a small plot then shouldn't i be able to sell it at whatever price someone is willing to pay?
[2008/10/25 12:46] Teagan Linden: Dana, yes. Absent other issues, you can attempt to sell your land for whatever price you choose.
[2008/10/25 12:46] Jin Amiot: So why was our Mainostaulu account banned for selling too high
[2008/10/25 12:47] Teagan Linden: We can't discuss individual cases at office hours, but you can file a support ticket (appeal) if you feel action was taken that should not have been, it will be reviewed
This is by no means the only example of the G-team arbitrarily suspending/banning accounts that have actually not broken any known rules. One of the main problems is that the G-Team are unaccountable for their actions and the appeals process is also overseen by the head of the G-Team. So it comes down to who governs the governance team? If the G-Team get it wrong how can you appeal against their decision? Right now if you have a problem/complaint about the G-Team it is the G-Team who would deal with your complaint.

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RULE - by Styles of Edo

A show not to missed with Edo Tones new collection

click the image above to teleport Saturday 25th at 2pm SLT

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Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

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Miss SL Universe 2009 kicks off in style

On Saturday, December 6th 2008, at 10:30 am SLT, twenty beautiful ladies will take the stage to compete for the crown and the title of Miss SL Univers
- NOV 8TH - 11 AM SLT - THE BEST OF 2008 COUTURE REVIEW FASHION SHOW - RUNWAY MAGAZINE SHOW FOR ALL 20 FINALISTS.
- NOV 29TH - 1 PM SLT - THE CRYSTAL FORMAL BALLROOM DANCE.
- DEC 6TH - 10:30 AM SLT - THE MISS SL UNIVERSE 2009!
OFFICIAL LIST OF THE 20 MISS SL UNIVERSE CONTESTANTS:
1) Chalice Carling - MISS AUSTRALIA
2) Sally Yachvili - MISS BRAZIL
3) Alexa Trefoil - MISS CANADA
4) Maxie Daviau - MISS COSTA RICA
5) Lacey Alderson - MISS CZECH REPUBLIC
6) Aleida Rhode - MISS DENMARK
7) Candi Dreamscape - MISS EGYPT
8) Tiffany Dragonash - MISS FINLAND
9) EmmZ Tzara - MISS FRANCE
10) ZoeAnastasia Aeon - MISS GREECE
11) Patking Miles - MISS HOLLAND
12) RhiannaLynn Lane MISS IRELAND
13) Mimmi Boa - MISS ITALY
14) Haruka Kish - MISS JAPAN
15) Isis Seville - MISS SPAIN
16) kate Stockholm - MISS SWEDEN
17) Dahni Ella - MISS TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
18) Barbarella Fuosing - MISS UNITED KINGDOM
19) Arabella Graves - MISS USA
20) Kyrinnia Desmoulins - MISS VENEZUELA

A more experienced Frolic Mills promises to raise the bar for this type of event as he envisions a 4 sim theatre with real life-like stages, state of the art light effects and amazingly choreographed live performances.
Also, expect over 40 never-seen-before couture gowns as the ladies compete for the crown of all crowns!
The official photographers for this year's competition are:
Kirk Claymore - CEO Kmadd cityTurlututu Chaffe - PhotographerZinc Karas - Photographer
Kirk Claymore will also produce this year's MISS SL UNIVERSE 2009 Special edition magazine which will hit THE BEST OF SL Magazine stands mid November.
OFFICIAL LIST OF MISS SL UNIVERSE JUDGES 2009
1. Elisne Allen - MODEL, PHOTOGRAPHER & MISS PHOTOGENIC 2008.
2. Filthy Fluno - RL & SL ARTIST
3. Joy Laperriere - VICE-PRESIDENT FIRST META
4. Maggie Mahoney - CEO RUNWAY MAGAZINE
5. Maximilian March - CEO MAXIMILIAN INDUSTRIES
6. Minnu Palen - CEO GLAM WORLD
7. Raven Pennyfeather - HOUSE OF RFYRE CEO
8. Starr Sonic - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SLCN
9. Turlututu Chaffe - MODEL & PHOTOGRAPHER
10. Devon Dinzeo - ARCHITECT AND DESIGNER
For ticket information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Frolic Mills.

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Terrifying Fun at the Tower

If you dare and don't scare take in the sights and frights at Barbary Coast Estates Tower of Terror.

What a fun/terrifying evening, most know I love a treasure hunt so when I had news of a spooky one I just had to go.

Taking Breezes with me and urging the crew to come along we landed in a graveyard with a notice and a witches hat and there started the fun.

From the graveyard landing point you have to delve into the layers below to find the hidden hats and win some spooky prizes for your home. Each level is completely different and the hats harder and harder to find. We had a huge laugh trying out the poses and games, from hanging ourselves to a surprising bed! You have to try them out for yourself as I don't want to spoil it for you :)

At the end of the descent to terror is a TP point to a final PRIZE! You must go through every floor to find the final goodies. - Good Luck for those that dare!

Barbary coast have a lot planned for Halloween watch out for more news.

Dana Vanmoer

P.S Don't forget to check out the EXPLORE section and Bixyls list of spooky places to visit

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Looking for a new Challenge?

I found a new craze in SL to let you know about and not too far from home either - find out more in the EXPLORE section.
Dana Vanmoer

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Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

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Secondlife Cheatcode

Worlds first Secondlife cheatcode - Now in sl-newspaper.com !!!
Check out the REDLIGHT section as its too hot to handle !

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The Prof of ROCK!

Introducing ProfAnthony Beck, the Prof of Rock will be bringing us news and reviews of the huge thriving music scene in SL.
Uually Prof will be found in our M.A.C.E. section some may not like his opinions and others will agree wholeheartedly - but one thing he is not is shy!
Read his first column in MACE

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Heron Island Performance Space

I'd arrived early, TP'ing over to look around before meeting Gillian Carthage at the Heron Island Performance Space.
I'd been there with Bri, attending a concert the week before. While there, I'd introduced myself in between shows to Gillian and we set a date and time to meet for this interview.
Gillian and her partner Carter are the owners and operators of the venue.
The venue is empty right now, the three blue Heron's stand sentry next to the entry, waiting on the arrival of the next performer to grace the stage and his or her accompanying crowd.
I stroll past them and into the build, passing over the glass block textured floor and looked for a place to sit.
The bench seating arranged into a semi-circle around the performers area rezzes as I approach.
I select sit from the pie menu and sit. Waiting now, I scan around with the camera controls admiring the open air venue and the minimalism of build.
Ms Carthage soon arrived in world and joined me on the bench.
"I've been here for a little while now, admiring the build. How are you doing today Gillian?" I asked.
"I'm great, thanks, and you?" Gillian responded. "Carter put the venue together."
"In your profile, the 1st Life tab, you say that 'RL is so good I almost didn't explore SL', what bought you into SL and why have you stayed?" I ask her.
"Well my husband was interested. A lot of the people he works with are involved, and as his industry is learning that it must support virtual reality, he decided to check it out and I came along for the ride. And then I went to a concert and after that I couldn't stay out" She replied.
"Do you remember who the performer was and the venue?" I asked.
"I knew you would ask that. I think it might have been Picker Apogee at Muse Isle." She replied.
"Can you tell me about the name Gillian? Is there a meaning behind your SL name selection?"
"Ah, well I knew of a Gillian long ago. She didn't really know me, but I bought organic produce from her. She was an herbalist and was just a beautiful, lovely person I admired a lot. So when I had the opportunity to give myself a name, I chose Gillian. For me it evokes health and vitality." Gillian replied.
"Is Heron your first venue?" I asked her.
"Yes it is. I have just built a second venue, but have yet to have the first concert there. I hope to christen her in the next week or two." She responded.
"How long has it been open and is there a meaning behind the name 'Heron'?" I ask her.
"I have always been in awe of the Heron, which is a magnificent creature. So when it came time to name the island that was my choice. We have been up and running for about a year and a half now, though not in this location in SL." She replied.
"How much time does it take to manage Heron?" I asked.
"Well it is a commitment and we do spend a lot of time here . . . in sheer hours it's hard to say. We have about 20 concerts a month, so we are here for all of those plus extra times scheduling and ironing out technical issues like streaming problems. I also try to hear new artists who come to SL. Respond to requests for auditions. I am here a lot." Gillian replied.
"Are there any notable performances or memorable moments that stand out for you?" I asked.
"Well it's always fun when one or the other SIM crashes during a show. Really, it makes us laugh. I am trying to think of a standout moment . . . but what really comes to mind is that we have really grown into a very warm, vital community here. We are so honored by the fine musicians who bring their gifts here . . . and we are dazzled by the people who attend. They are kind, warm, witty, fun to be around. We have become good friends and it's really so much more than just sitting listening to good music. It's friendship. It's a circle." Gillian replied
"How about a moment that you'd like to forget?" I ask.
"Well we've been griefed in ways that did not amuse. That makes me feel bad because the people behind it miss the fabulous reasons we are here. I guess they don't turn on their music players." She replied and smiled.
"Beside the new venue that you're going to open, do you have any other plans for the next year?" I asked.
"Well we are going to get Teal Island up and running and see how that goes. The new venue is named Cinnamon Park by the way. Everything we do is done with an eye to funding the music program here. All our revenues go to that. So it would be lovely to develop the estate to the point that we can grow the concert schedule but that depends on interest by others." She replied.
"Do you have any closing thoughts you'd like to share with my readers?" I ask."We extend a hearty welcome to all who would like to come hear the best that SL has to offer." She replied and smiled.
With Nazz Lane

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Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Click for full size

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What's in a name?

When we sign up for an online site often the registration is the only thing we will use that name for and when our first choice isn't available we add a few numbers or randomise it. When signing up for SL its obvious a lot of people have done this too.
To an extent, before the introduction of voice in SL, it didn't matter too much and people soon started contracting difficult to spell names of friends but now with voice things are very different.
I came across a JIRA issue that asks Linden Lab to consider putting some guidelines on the registration page - to which I wholeheartedly agree. (Click the link and add your votes)
Your name is SecondLife is very much a part of you and for new users being stuck with an unpronounceable or strange name could very well hamper how they progress in SL.
When I signed up for SL I already knew a little about it and went straight into pole dancing, I remember one girl whose avatar was called 'sexkitty' now for a pole dancer its a fantastic name but imagine I had started with a name like that, can you imagine people taking me seriously in the newspaper business? The only option when faced with something like that is to start over with a new avatar - not always easy especially if you are well established.
I recommend reading Vint Falkins guide HERE. Vint gives 10 great points to consider before choosing. Having something like this at registration would be a great advantage.
Overall I am happy I with the name I chose for myself (although I am often thought of as dutch) but at least its not a difficult name to say even with different pronunciations, some i have heard pronounce it dAYna others dARna, I actually say it the first way but recognise both.
How do you feel about your name? Does it express who you are perfectly or do you regret your choice? Let us know in the comments.
Dana Vanmoer

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Cartoon of the Year

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Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

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Why take Torley Linden off the blog?

There are some public relations decisions that sometimes leave us scratching our heads. When you have credible faces in your organization, you want them to be as visible as possible.

Yet, Linden Lab has just done the opposite. By putting recently an end to Torley Linden's video posts on its blog, it removed one of the personalities that brought Second Life a large, friendly contribution from the most natural places where someone can find it.

Currently, the video tutorials page, barely visible in various sections of secondlife.com, buries new videos in a single link. Its RSS feed is not even that visible. Anyone who has grown as a Second Life user by finding Torley's tutorials will remember that those casual blog visits were more worthwhile than they will be in the future.

Unless you do extensive research or commit much time to it, Second Life is an insider's world that is hard to grasp. Torley's videos make the learning curve easier to attack, vastly enhancing new user experience. It also added a much needed friendly and human touch to the LL blog.

Now, a complex virtual world that most new users do not understand requires facilitating methods instead of tightening methods. But hey, who am I to know?

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Terry Pratchett answers questions in SecondLife

Thursday saw millions (well 50 since that's the maximum the sim could hold) flock to see Terry Pratchett the Carnegie medal winning author of the 'Disc world' series. He appeared inworld for the first time to promote his newest novel 'Nation':
'Finding himself alone on a desert island when everything and everyone he knows and loved has been washed away in a huge storm, Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He's also completely alone - or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird and gives him a stick which can make fire. Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark.'

On secondlife Mr Pratchett seemed duly unimpressed:
TerryPratchett Morpork: I think you’re going to have to improve the graphics considerably before I come back to Second Life. The graphics in Oblivion allow you to see the graphics in the bottom of a pond and I think that came out in 2002.

Mr Pratchett also let the crowd know he is not a gaming person:
TerryPratchett Morpork: What is an MMO? What is OpenSim? Can we accept for a moment that I'm not that engrossed by online activities?
When explained he went on to say:
TerryPratchett Morpork: Then no. Early in 2003 we had approaches from about 5 or 6 games developers. I told them all to go away and knock up something that would show me that they had a grip on what Discworld would be about, and none of them came back. I’m not unhappy about that. Certainly I would require a new Discworld game to be as immersive as Thief II and with the sound and graphics suitable for the times.

There are several full transcripts of the Q&A session the best one is by Ciaran Laval at Y2P if you are interested in reading the full session.
Dana

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Phat Cat's Jazz club fails to sell on E-Bay

As previously announced Phat Cat's Jazz club was put up for sale on Ebay from the 1st of October with a start price of $2,650.00USD
Bidding has now ended with only 2 bids made, both of which failed to reach the unknown reserve set on the virtual business.
Phat Cat's had a recent makeover and even though up for sale it has remained open with hosts and hostesses still working and entertainment still provided as well as designers in the shopping in the areas.
What will happen now a buyer was not found still remains to be seen.

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Big Plans for sl-newspapers 2nd year celebrations

Join the sl-newspaper group or click the Artizan subscriber at any of our inworld locations (click main office at the top for TP) to keep up to date with plans and find out how you can get involved.

Contest Guidelines will be found at our main office after Monday with all the information you need - over 75k in Prizes!!!!

If you are interested in a trade stand at the event or holding your own event at our main venue drop a notecard to me inworld.
Dana Vanmoer

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Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Click for full size

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Thar' be pirates at Barbary coast estates

I have travelled a lot in secondlife and just love to explore new places, as I am sure many of you do too. Today I went to have a look around Shipwreck Bay, I didn't think anything could live up to a name like that! But this place did!
The old world charm is apparent even before it all rezzes, the sounds of the sea reached me first as did the sight of the huge ship beside me....................

Find out what I discovered at Barbary Coast estates in the EXPLORE section.

Dana

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Zurich Opera is still going strong!

The note card distributed to members and patrons began simply and elegantly with, "It is with sadness that we must inform you …" The sadness being attributable to circumstances beyond their control as the owners of the Zurich Opera House, Silelf Fisseux and Ligeia Westwick informed their many friends of the situation they faced and initiated their planning for the move of this venerable SL Institution to a new location.
The Zurich Opera House Group is an I-Common, nonprofit SL group and the Opera House is listed as a prime venue in Second Life by Linden Labs.
I arrived at the new site and while waiting for it to rezz, I was greeted by Ms Fisseux.
"Hi, welcome to the opera house. Please come inside Nazz." Silelf said, inviting me into the lobby.
We worked our way through it and then up a short ramp and entered the seating area. Silelf rezzed chairs for us and we sat facing the stage.
"What necessitated the move?" I asked as we made our virtual selves comfortable.
"I was a partner with Meryll Lynch, we owned 3 SIM's together and he didn't pay tier. Well he had the SIM's in his name and has sold them. So Ligeia and I decided to move out and rescue the opera. I gave you a copy of the note card that was sent out in explanation to our many friends and patrons. It's a long story, but we wanted to assure them that concerts at the Opera House will continue. With thanks to kind donations from friends and sponsors we have been able to provide a new island for it." She said in reply. "I'm still waiting for the money from him from the sale of the SIM's but I guess I will wait in vain."
I expressed my regrets for her and Ligeia about the situation and then asked, "How long did it take to move and restore the opera house?"
"It took us a whole week. It was difficult because some of the pieces in the rezzer didn't work well and we had to re-do it twice. The original creator, Noelita Noe also came to help. She was very helpful." Silelf responded.
"How long has the opera house been open and operated as a venue?" I asked
"This November, the 13th, it will be one year since we started having shows. But construction started in August last year." She replied
"It's a lovely build, nicely detailed." I commented and then asked, "What kind of events has been hosted here?"
"The opera besides its usual concerts has hosted competitions, special events and private functions." She said.
"What was the inspiration for the build?" I asked
"This is an interpretation of the Zurich Opera House in RL Zurich converted to SL.
There are two people in the Zurich City Opera House Group that actually work in RL there, and they have approached me to say that they love this building it reminds them of where they work." Silelf replied smiling.
"Yes, I can see how that would be the case. Is there any one special moment in the last year that stands out for you?" I asked her.
"There have been many amazing shows. We have had more than 150 musicians playing in here in the last year. We have topped 90 people in the old SIM and when we did the Oracle event we had 1500 people hooked online. We know this media, SL I mean, is not a media for massive events we stress on quality and culture. We have tried to have musicians from different places; US, Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America, even India and all styles of music from Salsa to classical and our policy is that the singer ought to have at least one song in his mother tongue if not all. The opera is open to all musicians we don't charge them to use the venue we pay them to come here." She said smiling. "As a funny note we have a ghost or phantom for the opera, a guy that walks around dressed up. He is sweet and loves the role play, so he goes around with his mask."
I commented on the global nature of SL and the venue, and then asked, "Do you do all the bookings yourself?
"No, I have a team of people scouting SL for good shows and recommending. I gave you the list of shows in case you want to come to a live event." She replied.
I thanked her for taking the time to meet with me and then asked, "Do have any closing thoughts you like to leave with me?" I asked.
"When I announced that the opera was going to be moved I had from our group of friends nearly 50 IM's from people offering all kinds of help. It was very touching how much people did care about this virtual place. We hope to establish the opera in here and continue growing and enjoying good live music. Ligeia and I are not bitter for having to move we love what we do here and we hope others do to. Life is too short to keep complaining." She responded.
By Nazz Lane
Editors note: Join the Zurich opera group to keep up with news, we will also be sending out weekly notices about upcoming events in the sl-newspaper group
The new location: Zurich City Opera House at Les, Les Nereides (168, 126, 26)

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Burning Life 2008 - The Man Burns

There are many movies about this years Burning life but yet again Torley captures the spirit of this annual community event and also explains some of the roots of Burning man in secondlife and Second Life itself;




In 1999, an innovative man made a long trek from San Francisco to the sun-baked playa of an enormous, flat, dry lake bed in the Nevada high desert. He went to attend the renowned Burning Man festival where, for one week each year, 50,000 people build art, camps and communities and celebrate being who they really are.
This man came back with new ideas for the virtual world he was planning; ideas about the nature of reality, creativity, identity and community.
He worked some of these ideas into the very fabric of "Linden World" which eventually became what you and I know as Second Life. That man was Philip Linden.

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Breast Cancer scammer!

It never ceases to amaze me that some scumbags can take advantage of Cancer.

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month:

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) was introduced as a worldwide campaign in 1993 by Evelyn Lauder to:
increase awareness of breast cancer
raise funds for research into the disease
support people affected by the disease.

There are official charities set up in Secondlife and they will always be open and will never solicit donations, most will have official vendors which pay an authorised avatar.

NEVER pay an individual for a donation - it has come to our attention that someone called beauu Twine is dropping pumpkins (made by someone else) on random avatars and then asking for a donation for breast cancer:

"beauu Twine: Im handing out breastcancer pumpkins for a 100l donation please be kind ty for supporting breast cancer reasearch!"

One look at his profile tells its own story, there is some information that he is also sending out group invites to an unrelated group. The only sure information that we have on this avatar is that he has/does work for "DeRailed" an inworld club - if you know this person then please teach him some morals this kind of scam hurts those really trying to raise awareness of breast cancer.

If this avatar drops you an item and then solicits you for a donation you can be pretty sure its going in his own pocket - feel free to file an abuse report and have his account suspended/frozen!

Fraud like this makes me sick as I am sure it does many others who work genuinely to help support cancer survivors inworld.

If you want to donate to charity check its the genuine charity first - real charities will have no problem answering questions and giving you information so you can donate out of secondlife!

Scammers like this need to be stopped!

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Eye on the Blog (even though it isn't)

I can't understand why this isn't posted on the blog - other than the already conjectured only keeping good news on there! But this is an issue everyone should be aware of and as such SHOULD be on the blog:

Today, we released an important update that improves the security of the Second Life viewer for all Residents. This update eliminates a recently discovered issue, and we’re requiring that all Residents download and install it to ensure that everyone remains secure while using Second Life. You will be prompted to download and install the update when you log-in, or you can get it from this Downloads page:http://secondlife.com/support/downloads.php

Linden Lab has released a Security Update to the Second Life viewer software today to address a potential security issue. This Security Update includes an additional security patch related to the Security Update issued on 26-Sept-2008.
Available for:Second Life Viewer 1.20.15 / 1.20.16
Second Life Release Candidate Viewer 1.21.4
Description:We recently updated the Second Life server and viewers to enhance the communications code. All transfer operations are now restricted to files that the user has expressly chosen, and specific directories that the viewer uses for transferring data.
For the safety of all Second Life users, we are releasing this updated viewer to all Residents.
Potential vulnerabilities had been identified in those message communications directed at a Second Life viewer over the previous protocol. By taking advantage of this vulnerability, while extremely difficult technically, a malicious user could potentially use the viewer to access files on the victim’s computer.
We currently have no evidence of this vulnerability ever being exploited.
This Security Update 2008-10-06 is required to continue to log-in to Second Life.
By downloading the update, you will upgrade the software on your computer to version 1.20.17:
* Second Life Release Viewer 1.20.17
For Residents who use the Release Candidate viewer, you are required to update to RC5, which also includes other latest bug fixes:
* Second Life Release Candidate Viewer 1.21 RC5
Earlier versions of Second Life (1.19.1, 1.19, and before) include the serious vulnerabilities and are no longer supported.
You will be prompted to upgrade to the latest version on your next login.
For any Residents who prefer / have been using earlier versions that do not include WindLight rendering, we have created a page on the Second Life Wiki that explains how to turn all related graphics settings to “Low,” effectively turning off WindLight in the current official viewer:
https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Turn_off_WindLight_rendering
The source code for these new 1.20 and 1.21 RC5 viewers will be made available via the usual open source channels.

Again a forum thread has been created for discussion and questions this can be found HERE
On the question of non SL veiwers Prospero Linden had this to say:
Potentially other clients are vulnerable. It will depend on the details of those clients. We will have a new open source code drop soon with the fixes in it; anybody who has distributed a client based off of that open source code drop would be strongly advised to apply the patch. You will need to contact the people who build and maintain the clients other than the official SL viewers to get patched versions.If you *must* use a vulnerable client-- and we strongly recommend against this-- connect only to SL or to trusted OpenSim sites; do not connect to random OpenSim servers unless they are run by people whom you specifically trust. You must also disable your streams entirely in preferences (both audio and media), to protect your IP address.Please do see the wiki page on adjusting the settings for the 1.20 client. I know I found myself that I actually did better with Windlight on a very low-spec machine. I know that doesn't mean necessarily everybody else will, but give it a try.

Hopefully the spate of fixes will now slow down and LL can concentrate on making this client stable, but the questions must be asked - how long has this security issue been an issue? Is this a way to scare everyone into using the official client? This last is pure speculation and probably unjustified as we have all seen the rush to update in the last couple of weeks showing that something has been going on behind the scenes, so it is to be hoped that this hole has now been plugged and we can all log in securely.
Dana

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Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Click for full size

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Burning Life 2008 :The End

Well, I did get to the burning at 6slt last night and it was a great event.
I stood next to Philip Linden and Torley Linden was in the sim but I did not see him.
There were more avatars then we could count! The place where 4 sims came together so many were able to get there.
Today the temple will burn.
I am not sure how long the builds will remain so if you get at chance try to visit before they go. One thing I enjoyed most about roaming the Burning Life sims was meeting some of the creators and talking with them about their work.
I also met some other people involved in the Burning Life . There were several rangers who come by at various times just keeping an eye on what was going on .
I talked to Tom32 Anatine who was in front of the Ranger Station asking him what was their job here. He explained that the Rangers were representative of all Rangers, not only in Burning Life but also of Burning Man. Later I met Rangermickey who is a ranger in both lives! They are there to address concerns, mediate disputes, and keep an eye out for any issues that may arise during the building time and the open week.
It seemed everyone was trying to have a positive effect on making this week as enjoyable as possible for all, builders, greeters, performers , volunteers, and all visitors. I witnessed a lot of camaraderie during the week before the opening. Requests for help in scripting, for additional ideas, for missing objects were readily answered with ,“IM me ,I can help”, or “tp me over there , I will take a look”, or referrals to others who could answer the questions.
Some of the Lindens were around too watching the progress. Philip Linden visited the plains to see how his idea has grown during these past years. Dusty Linden did a great job of keeping things on track and overseeing the project with the others.
One complaint that should be addressed before the next huge project that I heard from builders was the fact that the servers should be better to accommodate the massive projects with more ease as avatars begin moving among them.
Evidently the planning crew also overestimated the number of allowed prims which they promised would not occur next year. If you look in the wiki you will find the names of most of those who were involved.
I was impressed with the SL5B but I must say this was much more impressive to me. I am glad I was able to cover the story as it unfolded and look forward to next year!
By Gemma Cleanslate

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