BREAKING NEWS: Linden Labs and Blizzard Annouce Both Working on Third Virtual World

* * * (UPDATE: April Fool ;-) ) * * *

Yesterday, Linden Labs and Blizzard software released separate statements that both were collaborating on building a third virtual world. “Our goal is to provide a platform that offers the best of both worlds,” stated the spokesman from Linden Labs, “the flexibility and opportunity to explore and create of Second Life combined with the stability of World of Warcraft.”

Blizzard stated they looked forward to working with Linden Labs, saying they looked forward to helping to build the game, saying they looked forward to giving residents of SL a “less laggy” experience, “Unfortunately, some acts that they might consider griefing will be perfectly legal as combat and vandalism are elements in the game.”

The game, still in development, has been given the temporary name of Second Life of Warcraft, or “SLoW.” Players will be able to own private homes, and guilds able to build castles. However, these structures are vulnerable to damage by players on the other side. Although expensive defenses like magical golems and steampunk-like “Goblin Security Systems” will help discourage attackers from wealthier homes in the countryside, the best protection from damage is to buy a home within city walls.

There will also be more available races, and more variety in appearance. Human males can appear skinner than they do in WoW, no longer looking like football players, and males in certain other races no longer need to look like “man-mountains.”

Continued in EVENTS.

Introducing - Sweetaholic

Recently I was invited to a Japanese wedding and did not have a kimono well of course I asked Breezes, who is often at Tai Chi and has a lot of kimono's, straight away she recommended 'Sweetaholic' and dropped me a Landmark.
I was stunned at the intricacy of these kimonos they not only have stunning textures but also many include the hair, shoes, skin, shape and even animated accessories!
These are amazing. Not only does Asalt Eames make traditional Kimonos for men and woman but he also makes more modern kimono's which are breathtakingly beautiful.
You can see more images HERE and maybe visit his store to see the selection for yourself.
Dana

Zee Linden announces his departure

John Zdanowski AKA Zee Linden has announced he is to leave Linden Lab.
The CFO of Linden Lab has said in his post on the official website:

"Friends -

When I joined Linden Lab there were many dragons to slay. The company was growing, but wasn't getting more profitable. We were just putting in an accounting system, beginning to understand the key financial drivers of our business and starting to develop our business model. I took the job because I thrive on slaying those kinds of dragons.

Fast forward to now. We have a comprehensive financial model that ties all the activities of Second Life to our revenue forecast so that we can manage to profitability. I am proud to say that we boosted profitability and generated a very healthy cash balance. We implemented all new accounting practices including a comprehensive revenue recognition policy. We've come a long way and I'm proud of my work and that of the great finance team.

Now that the big dragons have been slain, I am off to find the next business adventure and create the kind of momentum we have created here at Linden Lab, together. And while I'll miss you all, I'm excited about Second Life's future. Linden Lab has an outstanding leadership team with great people and a compelling, game-changing product. I feel that I'm leaving the company in good hands at the right time. Success is the company's destiny."

Zee Linden was widely known for his straight answers in a company that rarely answered them an will be missed for his transparency.
Linden Lab are now advertising for a new CFO.

Runway for life

When: Saturday, March 28th at 2 PM SLT
Where: GIA Catwalk Entrance, Glance

This Saturday, Runway for Life hosts the first of a group of fashion events as part of Second Life's Relay for Life benefiting the American Cancer Society. Runway for Life is the official RFL team of GLANCE International Agency, SL's premier fashion PR agency.

RFL members will be presenting 16 unique outfits designed by the following very generous designers:

BabyDoll's
Designer : BabyDoll LaFontaine
Bolero Collection
Designer : Amanda Bolero
Canucci Style
Designer : Juliet Canucci
*FDL*
Designer : Sanders Beaumont
Klara Waco's Style
Designer : Klara Waco
Lolli
Designer : Ashen Jaerls
*Muze*
Designer : Muze Rayna
New Dana's Delights
Designer : dana Vanmoer
Skin Flicks
Designer : Mavis McGettigan
Virtual Elegance
Designer : Jinny Jonesford
After the show these exclusive outfits will be placed for silent auction where 100% of the winning bids will benefit the American Cancer Society to assist in the quest to find a cure for cancer.

Don't miss this very special event! Come and help the Runway for Life volunteers make a difference and raise funds for this special cause that affects so many of us, in both worlds.

Let's Relay for a cure... let's Relay for Life!

RUNWAY FOR LIFE
"We relay hope on the runway"
Team Captain: Patty Cortes, GIA Founder & CEO
Team Co-Captain: Kurvy Rhode, GIA Head Manager

To find more information about Runway for Life, Relay for Life and The American Cancer Society, please visit: www.glance-international.com, http://www.rflofsl.org/ and http:/www.cancer.org

Still have questions? Feel free to contact the nationwide cancer information line, open to public 24/7 and FREE of charge from anywhere in the world: 1-800-ACS-2345

Market for Relay for Life

The Clothing fair is over and all the designers have gone their separate ways! Which is a shame considering the effort these designers go to to give to the Relay for Life Campaign in SL.
Je'taime thought so too and has come up with the idea of an area dedicated to the designers in SL who just want to give! The market place for life is now open!
When i asked her Mascha Boa one of the organisers said
"The goal is to find a collection of designers from all over the grid who will be asked to offer their latest designs as well as the items that have been available for sometime now. They will also offer old discounted clothes. The aim of the market place is to have available something for everyone with fashions for both men and women, and also every genre imaginable."

Everybody can offer products - RFL donation vendors must be used to do so - this is to ensure that with every purchase 100% of the sale goes directly to the American Cancer Society.

If you are interested in being involved in this great way to both market your Company and helping a great charity, please contact a member of the committee:
Saiasunshine Fackler
LordRaizer Cervantes
Aurum Klees
Kelly Parker
Marscha Lowey
Mascha Boa
Nightfly Gothly
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jetaime%20Sexy%20Fashion/106/171/31

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan
Click for full size

Sanity, Not Sanitation

by Deltango Vale
“[We] cannot play the role of arbitrating personal grievances or defining behavioral standards. This is particularly important as Linden Lab becomes more international. We don’t want to force a California-centric set of rules on the virtual world.” - Linden Lab, December 2006

Linden Lab seems to have got its knickers in a twist regarding sexuality in Second Life. While seeking to improve the ‘user experience’ by segregating residents based on their sexual preferences, LL’s proposed policy changes have instead opened Pandora’s Box. The blogs and forums groan under the weight of hair-splitting detail concerning the best method of classifying sexuality within Second Life, but Linden Lab asked the wrong question.

Background:

The establishment of anonymous accounts in June 2006 opened the doors to underage players. This resulted in international legal scrutiny, increased exposure to legal liability and damaging media coverage. Linden Lab responded by intruding into residents’ sexual relationships and expelling two consenting adults for underage roleplay - even though no underage players were involved. Refusal to close the anonymous accounts and dogged insistence on an ineffective and unsound ID-based age verification system cost Linden Lab considerable political capital with no benefit.

Many of us who came into SL in 2006 (and brought money with us) were horrified by the policy changes of 2007. The deal was that LL would provide a basic property rights structure and act solely as a referee in property disputes. We sighed with relief when LL reassured us that they had no intention of applying overarching codes of morality on the community. I also vividly recall LL announcing that we there would be no change in gambling policy. Then came 2007 and bitter disappointment. All the reassurances given only weeks before were abandoned as Linden Lab slammed the gearshift into reverse. For thousands of people, the trust and faith they had in Linden Lab was badly damaged.

During 2008, the company’s reputation slowly began to recover. Yes, the openspace pricing model was flawed and, yes, there was a second round of mainland supply problems, but at least LL were not bungling policy anymore. The micro-parcel issue was resolved within reason. LL seemed to be developing the ability to handle complex issues...then bang! We are back to square one with a crude policy on social behavior.

The Right Question:

The right question, then, is a) how best to prevent underage players from mingling with adults and b) how best to zone the mainland in a tolerant and efficient manner? Needless to say, eliminating anonymous accounts solves the first part of the problem. Instead of creating a complicated system of filters to prevent kids accessing adult content, keep them out of SL altogether.

As for the second part, when constructing the mainland, Linden Lab established a patchwork of Mature and PG sims such that a loud BDSM club can open next to a quiet, residential home. The introduction of a third sim type, ‘Adult’, though badly named (all SL is adult by definition) - let us call it ‘Xtreme’ instead - makes sense. Constructing an ‘Xtreme’ continent and allowing residents to migrate there - at their own choosing, at their own pace - also makes sense. It may take a year or two, but I believe most ‘Xtreme’ players will prefer to be free of the moral harassment they receive from PG residents.

The New Problem:

As has been known since the dawn of time - articulated again recently by the US Supreme Court - one man’s obscenity is another man’s beauty. To attempt to codify the wide range of human social norms into a regulatory system is counterproductive. At best, it will generate high monitoring and enforcement costs; at worst, it will lead to confusion and conflict within the SL community.

Context and Perspective:

1. Second Life is virtual, voluntary and adult

Seeking to apply RL standards to a virtual world is silly. There is no safer place on Earth than the privacy of your RL home. It is voluntary in that one must sign up for an account and it is adult in that everyone in SL is an adult (or should be). That means one has passed through puberty, has learned to relate to people and become responsible for one’s decisions - including the decision to be in a virtual world with other adults. As an adult, one recognizes and accepts that people have different styles and tastes and that rudeness or harassment should not be confused with sexuality.

2. Creativity needs variety, complexity and synergy

Second Life is unique in catering to a broad, international population of adults. Because of its richness and diversity, SL attracts a wide range of entrepreneurs who provide a wide range of services to a wide range of residents. The organic nature of this mix is itself creative. The functionality of a BDSM collar may benefit another entrepreneur making improvements to a ‘PG’ hugger; Gorean silks may generate new ideas in traditional fashion design; techniques learned to make vampire animations are transferable to dance animations. As for ‘deviant’ behavior, Penicillin was the result of dirty dishes. Post-It notes were a mistake. Lord Byron was a scoundrel. Virginia Woolf was a manic-depressive. Alan Turing was a homosexual. History is littered with the corpses of the brilliant heretics.

The founders of Second Life understood this. They recognized the organic nature of the IT industry and that ‘creative destruction’ had to be embraced rather than shunned. They were amazed by the fall of IBM and inspired by the Burning Man festival in the desert of Nevada. They built Second Life - against all the odds - and it was hugely successful. Sadly, in 2007, the regulators, lawyers and bureaucrats arrived. All this organic stuff had to go, they said. The time had come to strip away risk and uncertainty, to seek the lowest common denominator and penetrate the mass market. I summarized the spirit of this new direction in my profile: “In the name of safety and security and to protect residents from themselves, all activities requiring intelligence and maturity will be banned.”

3. Don’t micromanage the rainforest

Getting rid of snakes may seem like a good idea, but they play a vital role in the natural ecology/economy. Without the snakes, there are too many rodents. Importing hawks to solve the rodent problem disrupts other birds, causing a new problem. Soon, like a vast cascade of dominoes, the whole ecosystem goes out of balance. Hiring 1000 managers and forming new committees to provide more control only makes things worse. In an ever-descending spiral, the managers scramble to repair the ever-increasing damage until the rainforest is finally paved in concrete. Problem solved.

Conclusion:

While my criticisms may seem harsh, I feel it imperative to warn Linden Lab of the long-term consequences of ‘cleaning up’ Second Life. Yes, improvements can be made in the property rights structure to enable residents greater privacy and control - I am very much in favor of this - but Linden Lab does not seem to realize that the lowest common denominator is poison for any creative enterprise.

I implore Linden Lab to note the howls of protest against this new policy drowning out those voices raised surreptitiously beforehand in its favor. Please reflect on the nature of the world you have created - that became a wonder before you began meddling with it. Please remember that Second Life is virtual, voluntary and adult and understand that Disneyfication will buy you at best a temporary advantage before the whole edifice slides gently into banality.

New Griefing Method on SL

7am SL time, March 23rd, as I'm happily roleplaying on a Star Wars sim wearing the sexy little Twi'Lek avatar I made as seen in my recently posted comic strip, I and many of those around me were suddenly rendered completely unable to move or speak, as our main maps kept opening of their own volition, against our wills, no matter how many times we tried closing it.
While this attack didn't affect everyone on the sim, it affected enough of us as to derail several rp's going on, and forcing several of us to relog at least once, twice in my own case.
The attack lasted 5 minutes, and for now seems to have subsided.
No group is claiming responsibility for the griefing as yet, but as with all griefing, all it succeeded in doing was causing irritation and annoyance that will quickly be forgotten by the players here, and the ego boost given to the culprits by the lulz this irritation gave them will dissipate soon enough, leaving them once again feeling like the empty-lifed losers they clearly are.
From Little Mos Eisley in Skyler, this is Penny Sautereau Reporting.

Who to the What Now?

Continued in the REDLIGHT section

12 hours left to shop til you drop !

Today is the last day at the Clothing Fair 2009 - in 12 hours will be the shutdown - Use the last chance to visit the shops of over 170 of the best top fashion and clothing designers
A lot of designers are dropping their prices up to 50%
The prize ball on the entertainment sim will be spewing prizes out every 5 minutes from 8am SLT until 8pm tonight!
Silent Auction closes at 8:00pm SLT when the winners will be announced.
The Photo Contest closes at 6:00pm SLT when the judges will start deliberating.
The final Fashion Show of the Fair will be at 6:00pm SLT.
A packed day of Entertainment with live shows on the center sim
including: dakota7z7 Pluto, DimiVan Ludwig, Matthew Perreault, Etherian Kamaboko, Grateful Stryker, srv4u Conacher, gospel set, AcousticEnergy Nitely, Charles Coleman and Max Kleene
Join US in the biggest clothing fair of the year!
http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Mediterranean%20Sea/170/116/24

British Government Department Defends Use of Second Life

Earlier, it made the news that the British government’s Department of Work and Pensions, with help from other departments, was running an “Innovations Centre” on Second Life. The sim (or site as the article called it), reportedly cost 20,000 British Pounds to set up and would cost 12,000 Pounds to run every year. It is not accessible to the general public. One Member of Parliament called this a waste of money, accusing those involved of “living in a fantasy world.” “I am as excited by technology as anyone. I just don’t necessarily think in these times that taxpayers’ money ... should be spent on things like this.”

A spokesman for the DWP soon responded, saying that the cost to get the sim was less than that, 6,000 Pounds. They explained the Centre was only a pilot project, but is developed to function like a real-life location. They defended the money spent, saying it will save taxpayers in the long run by allowing people to hold meetings online without having to travel, “We are currently exploring the potential use of Second Life, and have active interest from a number of Government departments. ... We believe it could help ... save taxpayers money as meetings, events, and shows can be held online at a fraction of the cost and resources.”

The DWP went on to suggest they could further cover their costs by allowing companies to “showcase” a product at the sim, in exchange for paying a fee. The Innovations Centre is up for renewal in 2011. There are no plans to make the sim accessible to other Second Life residents.

Sources: BBC, eWeek Europe

Bixyl Shuftan

Open the RFL Box with Dana

For anyone who has even glanced at the newspaper this week you can't fail to realise its Relay time and for those that feel we go a little over board at relay time then I apologise if you feel we are harping on one particular charity.
Indeed there are many fantastic charities in SecondLife and each and every one of them does an amazing job in raising awareness and supporting people in an environment that they feel comfortable in.
I have read and heard a lot that has worried me the last few weeks, with questions about the validity of charities in SL and people asking where and how the money raised is spent, each charity is different but each should be registered and no genuine charity will mind answering those questions. If you are in doubt look for confirmation and ask questions!
There have been some huge achievements made in fundraising thanks to the hard work of the people behind the scenes and I want to once again emphasize all the people on the committees and behind the scenes at events are voluntary -they give their time and effort for no reward and more often than not they are beaten and worn by the end of it, so please please consider how much it takes to organise such huge events and give a little love to those that make it happen!

On the Flip side is the amazing enthusiasm people have shown and the positive comments on the whole of relay. I can't wait to see what the rest of relay holds make sure you check the RFLinSL section to keep up with events around the grid.

The clothing fair continues until Sunday and thats where you will usually find me around the center sim (if you can keep me from shopping) and I wanted to let you all know that the RFL vendors in each store are the ones that automatically donate to RFL a lot of the designers may contribute some or all of their profits to RFL at the end of the fair BUT they are not allowed by ACS rules to say so, to be sure to support RFL buy from the purple and white vendors in each store!
If the Relay Raiders hit 5 Million lindens by Sunday Nevar Lobo, the fairs organiser, will have to wear silks for 15 days which right now are being created especially for him by Nicky Ree! so come and join us, enjoy the live music and the shopping, buy from the vendors and help us get those totals up!

See you at the fair everyone!
Dana Vanmoer

SL Shakespeare Company’s Twelfth Night, Act 1 Photography Contest on Koinup

Shakespeare, Second Life and Brescia, Italy: The SL Shakespeare Company joins forces with Koinup to launch the world’s first major photography contest featuring a professional theatrical production based entirely in the virtual world of Second Life. Starting March 1, the contest invites participants to attend the SL Shakespeare Company’s open-ended run of Twelfth Night, Act 1 and take photos. Over L$100,000 in prizes will be awarded to the winners.

The contest consists of a main contest whose final submissions deadline is June 15, 2009. Several mini-contests with weekly or bi-monthly deadlines and prizes will be held starting in April. These mini-contests will be held in conjunction with several “Variations” on the open-ended run, where, for example, an all-female or switched-genders cast interpretation is tried.

To give all participants a chance, the contest introduces a special “Unedited SL Photography” category with its own exclusive prize.

The contest also has a special Avatar Photography category for photography that focus particularly on actor avatars. To help facilitate this specialized component, the SL Shakespeare Company will be holding special actor avatar photography sessions starting in April.

In efforts to recognize photography based not only on artistic merit but also on their appeal to different people, the contest will be judged by a panel of well-known Second Life residents from several different arenas. Judges include Ananda Valeeva, AM Radio, Beyers Sellers, Eshi Otawara, Frolic Mills, Ina Centaur, Jaymes Kjeller, Prad Prathivi, Rightasrain Rimbaud, Sarah Nerd, Tara05 Oh, Vint Falken, Verde Otaared, and others.

Shows occur weekly on Sundays at 1 PM PST and Tuesdays at 6 PM PST at the SL Globe Theatre. Performances are free except for shows on the last Tuesday and Sunday of each month. Donations are gratefully accepted.

About Twelfth Night, Act 1

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is the story of a shipwrecked girl named Viola, who chooses to go incognito as a boy eunuch. Act 1 establishes the love triangle that Viola, Duke Orsino, and Olivia become entangled in, and also introduces some of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters—Malvolio and Feste. Unlike the Bard’s other plays, Twelfth Night exists only in the folio editions.

About the SL Shakespeare Company

The SL Shakespeare Company (SLSC) is a resident-funded and resident-supported professional theatre company that embraces the best of what Second Life (SL) has to offer. While it is primarily known to provide quality live Shakespearean theatre available to anyone in anywhere in the world, SLSC is also the curator of Second Life’s most historically accurate theatres and architecture relating to William Shakespeare.

About Koinup

Koinup is a media-based social networking platform geared specifically for virtual worlds. Koinup users submit and share photography and machinima to share their stories and art outside their virtual world. The Koinup website features many tools to help users present and syndicate their work, and is also a center for some of the most exciting photography contests in virtual worlds. Koinup currently helps share the following virtual worlds: Second Life, The Sims, World of Warcraft, IMVU, OpenSim, Lively, vSide, Kaneva, There, and Other Worlds.

What is ARC and why do I need to know?

At the clothing fair and other big events the biggest enemy is LAG and ARC or Avatar Rendering Cost is one way we can help ourselves and those around us to reduce lag.

Many people get upset about lag in secondlife little realising that they are causing it themselves but there is a flip side to knowing about ARC - in fact two:
People can get aggressive with those that ignore or dont realise their ARC
and having the ARC turned on also creates lag.

Find out more in the EXTRA EXTRA section

Babe and Eyeing Daligdig

While checking over the fair yesterday I happened to bump into Babe and Eyeing Daligdig the people responsible for bringing us the 9 sims hosting the clothing fair

Read the interview in the RFLinSL section

Cartoon of the Day

Happy St Patrick's Day!
By Bixyl Shuftan
Click for full size

1 Million Lindens in 45 minutes!

Go Relay!
The map you see here was taken 15 minutes after opening the clothing fair yesterday and amazingly there were over 300 people on the 9 sims within that time.
While dancing away with DJ Dakota on the entertainment sim in the center the teams total hit 1 Million Lindens in donations the time was 10.45 am slt.

Please remember if you plan to visit the fair to check your Avatar rendering cost (ARC) by going to Advanced menu and selecting Rendering/Info Displays/Avatar Rendering Cost before you teleport in and try not to start at sim 1 as everyone is doing so and the sim is constantly full!

Also what would a pirate theme be without treasure? Hidden around the sims are 18 open treasure chests which are for sale at 10L$ more info can be found at http://slrflclothingfair.blogspot.com/

A grand mistake ahead

Linden Lab is about to undo much of the progress of the last year with the rollout of its Adult continent. Forget the idea of putting adult content together in one place, which could be neat if it were only a part of a zoning plan.

The problem is the underlying intent to bring children and teenagers on the grid. The stated goal certainly is noble since LL wants to make activities such as learning easier by bringing both teachers and students together in classes.

However, the solution has catastrophic potential. The arrival of youngsters on the grid will cause a wide range of issues since Second Life is NOT a place where you can mix the young with the adults without messing it up.

This virtual world is one where adults can come together to create something new. They start businesses that are sometimes PG (a photo studio) but most target adults. Most users do NOT want to have to deal with teens and children walking around in their places as if SL was just a game. There are enough adults who do not have a clue about SL's purpose when they first log in and land on our plots, it will bring us down to the lowest common denominator if we bring in kids who can treat the virtual world (and us!) as if none of it is real or none of it really matters.

When teens and children will be here, all content outside the Adult continent will be PG. We will all have to conform... or start moving massively to a new continent. This is why having a teen grid was awesome. Non-adult users had their safe space without harming our activities.

All that Linden Lab had to do was launching some type of certification program for some adults to get access to the teen grid to handle activities such as teaching. But hey, why implement simple solutions when you can outrage everyone?

As I said before, incompetence has a new spelling and it starts with an L.

Relay for Life 2009 Kickoff

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Saturday March 14 at 10 AM SL time, Relay for Life held it’s “Kick-Off Party.” The event was held in a stadium build to accommodate a huge crowd, a corner each in four sims, IBM, IBM 1, IBM 6, and IBM 7. The capacity was greatly needed, a look at the map showed a turnout of 150 people, that later went up to 170.

The leaders of Relay for Life thanked all for showing up, and there were stories if inspiration and hope given to the audience. Tears were expressed via text as times, at others the stadium was filled with enthusiastic cries of “Woooo!” and “Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” via gestures. It was also announced that 37 sims would be involved in the RFL walk.

After about an hour, the rally began to wind down, though people would stick around for a while, and played the following song:

“I run for hope, I run to feel,

I run for the truth, for all that is real,


I run for your mother, your sister, your wife,

I run for you and me my friend,

I run for life”

Bixyl Shuftan

Help People Australia Aid Charity Event

On Wednesday March 11, a 24-hour charity music concert was held at Help People Island. The event was to raise funds for victims in Australia’s brushfires. The music played from one minute after Mdnight in the morning to Midnight the next evening.

Continued in EVENTS.

Exclusive first view of the 7 sins dresses

Last night James and I sat and talked to Nevar Lobo and Amethyst Starostin about this years Clothing fair benefitting RFL and these gorgeous gowns you can see here for the very first time.

Dana: Tell me about the idea of the 7 sins dresses and the pirate theme
Nevar Lobo: Well way back last year when we were talking about the fair we threw out ideas for themes and Haroldthe Burrel wanted to do the 7 sins.
JamesT Juno: So orginally the sims were to be themed around the 7 sins?
Amethyst Starostin: actually the first idea was the 7 wonders of the medieval world
Nevar: We never did anything with 7 sins untill later when Synergy (Devonshire) found the dresses, well the pictures for the dresses
Amethyst: and then we kept kicking stuff around over the summer
JamesT: so who chose pirates and why?
Amethyst: Well...when Pips Fetid was still the head of the build team...she and her team had kicked it around... the medieval builds we had in mind were very time consuming so they started to discuss other options and came up with pirates partially because the Raider's theme song is "Airship Pirates" by Abney Park...but I could be wrong about that reasoning
Nevar: When pips left because of Real LIfe .. we just stuck with the theme and it was at that time we went back to the pictures of the 7 deadly sins and decided we would do an auction
Amethyst: there was a song Harry (Haroldthe Burrel) kept referring to... "the Pirates and the 7 deadly sins" and that's how we tied it
Dana: The seven sins dresses can you tell me what they are about, who made them etc....
Nevar: seven deadly sins designs ..

wrath ... Raven Pennyfeather
sloth .... moxie polano
lust ... Paul Lapointe and Bastchild Lotus
envy .... swaffette firefly
vanity .... wiccan sojuorner
gluttony ... nicky ree
avarice... Lemania Indigo

Amethyst: The artwork these are based on is truly magnificent and have inspired some amazing creations from the designers.
We approached 7 designers to create an interpretation of the dresses in the paintings for a one of a kind auction benefitting RFL. Each dress is the only one, the winning bidders will be the only person to wear that gown
Dana: and its to be a silent auction?
Nevar: We are going to use an auction script like we use when we do our Art Auctions... so people will be able to come place their bids... names will not be known, however, the top bid will show then at 8pm slt on SUnday the 22nd after the last Fashion show we will announce the winners of the gowns

Dana: What has been the hardest part of setting up an event this size?
Nevar: For me its been getting everyone here at the fair ...and dealing with wanting to keep letting people in and not cut off the number of designers... every day i get someone else wanting to be a part of this event .. and its hard to say no
Amethyst: For me it has been trying to remind everyone this is a team effort and to work together for the big picture

Dana: How did you manage to get 9 sims?
Amethyst: Through the excitement of a couple of people that weren't afraid to dream big with us we originally planned 9, but couldn't make it happen, so we rethought it to 6 and then we met with Babe and Eyeing Daligdig and their enthusiasm was amazing within that hour we were realizing our dream of 9 sims!
Nevar: We have to thank Eyeing's RL company too , they help cover some of those sims ..

Dana: Tell me how it works: each sim is sponsored?
Nevar: The sponsorship pays for the tier of the sim ... all the sims are brand new brought online by Ohana land group. The donations of the advertising , the designers deposits and treasure hunts .. all those funds will go right to RFL
Dana: How did you find the sponsors?
Nevar: We had a couple of designers and other people tell us if you need help covering tier let us know we will pay for one so .. that is actually how the idea of sim sponsors came about we felt we needed to do something for those people to thank them
so then we sent out notecards about advertising and on there was a level for sim sponsors and that is how we found the rest of the sponsors.

JamesT: One of the criticisms heard often at big events is lag, what have you done to help that this year
Amethyst: we've been very cognizant of lag, we've kept the build prims to a minimum, small texture sizes and limited use of scripts and sculpties plus lots of natural decorations... creative use of water and land
Nevar: All i can do is hope that with the amount of prim that is open on the sims and the wide space of area we will have more flow to lessen the client side lag
People need to realize that when they come to events like this.. to Shop not to wear alot of prim .. take shoes off ... and remove ao's and huds... other people are shopping and honestly they dont care what you look like they are here for the designers good stuff.

Dana: where can readers find out about events happening at the fair?
Nevar: all events are being listed in the events under search also they can follow in the blog
http://slrflclothingfair.blogspot.com/
also through you and through the designer groups of the different designers who are here at the fair. The newpaper and the blog will be the most upto date info on the fair
Dana: what to you is the most important factor of the clothing fair?
Nevar: To me ... the most important factor is RFL ... and that is why this fair benefits RFL this is all about community and raising money to help find a cure for cancer ... Together we can
Amethyst: we do this in the hope that one life will be saved...so that no one has to lose the people they love to this disease

Amethyst: The theme for this year's Relay campaign is One World, One Hope... it's about embracing our diversity and coming together for a common cause.. and my prayer is...as people work this year on Relay... that they remember this is not about them...but something much bigger than they will ever be
Nevar: i have one thing to say that i need the readers to know ... when they are shopping through this event .... and look in the stores... There are RFL vendors .. .. buy stuff .from those vendors... do the treasure hunt and remember that it takes only 1 L to make a difference ... that Together we find a cure .... and that is my hope that in my lifetime we will find one
The fair opens monday at 10am slt we hope everyone is knocking the doors down when we open the sims.

Dana: is there anyone you would especially like to mention?
Nevar: I would like to give a very special thanks to Moxie Polano ... who did all these wonderful stores... To Eyeing and Babe Daligdig for the sims... to Viscount Menatep for his building and getting us these great ships... You and James... for the continued support and partnerrship on this event ...Every designer who participates and of course the Raiders. Timeless modeling agency and lastly .. my wife .. cuz wihtout her i would have lost it a long time ago
Amethyst: there were many people who gathered to make this a success...they all deserve a big round of applause
Nevar: Together we will find a cure !

Photo's by Mystique Sassoon (except Wrath by Raven Pennyfeather and Gluttony by Nicky Ree)

RFL in SL

On Saturday RFL in SL kicks off their season of team events and each week you will find a full list of these events in our RFL section (the button is below the home button) which will include a list of events plus SLurls so you can go to any of the events being held.
RFL in SL is an amazing accomplishment and each year just grows and grows with your support.
Having been behind the scenes so much more this year I realise how much it actually takes to co-ordinate this massive effort and wish to thank every volunteer and team for helping to fight the global battle against cancer.

The biggest event of the season for us has always been the clothing fair and I will be spotlighting a lot of the 170 designers in the RFL section again this year so you get an idea of all the best designers.
The fair opens on Monday at 10am SLT click the posters around SL to get a list of SLURLs
We will be talking to designers and organisers, doing interviews and showing the best the Designers have created for this event!
The event this year only happened because of the generosity of Ohana Land, Dyldam and JC Design who stepped in with the offer of 9 sims to host the fair, without them we couldn't have had a fair, at least not on the scale it is, so a huge thank you to Eyeing and Babe Daligdig.
Nevar Lobo and Amethyst Starostin have worked tirelessly to get this event off the ground and it is set for an amazing week.
For the first time I have got to work with Moxie Polano too, a designer I have long admired for her styles at Haute Couture sim. Moxie has made all the maps you will see and the stores themselves and much more! - what an amazing builder!
Designing 9 sims to keep lag minimal and please 170 designers is not an easy task along with continuing her own business and designing one of the 7 sins dresses to be auctioned off during the fair, I will be asking Moxie about this soon! Watch this space!
For a sneak peak of how things are shaping up take a look at my Flickr HERE and join us Monday at 10am for the opening!
I will be taking the time to talk to all of the designers of the 7 sins dresses and sim sponsors during the following week, keep an eye on the RFL section for those interviews.
Go Relay!

Dana Vanmoer

"We Don't Allow YOUR Kind Here!"

You're looking around, having just found a place to explore or maybe somewhere to shop when all of a sudden you're rudely told to leave. Not because of how you're acting, your clothes, nor is this a roleplaying sim, they just don't like your shape.

More in PEOPLE.

Relay for Life Clothing Fair - Special Preview

Fabulous Fashion with Angie Mornington
Monday March 9th at 6pm

March 9th will be a special show, Fabulous Fashion will preview the Relay for Life Clothing Fair, which officially starts on March 16th and runs through March 22nd. Over 170 Clothing designers will participate in this year's event which will span 9 sims and feature all sorts of fun including fashion shows, live entertainment and treasure hunts. There will be a silent auction with all proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society’s, Relay For Life campaign. Tune in to see how you can help!

Join Angie on Monday March 9th as she sits down with the organizers of this event.
You will also see a preview of some very special dresses made exclusively for this very worthy cause.

This week's guests:
Nevar Lobo, one of the RFL Clothing Fair’s originators and co-Captain of the Relay Raiders.

Haroldthe Burrel, Team Captain of the Relay Raiders.

Sasy Scarborough, blogger & Fashionista http://scarboroughflairbysasyscarborough.wordpress.com

Please visit the Relay for Life Clothing Fair website for more information.
http://slrflclothingfair.blogspot.com/

Please join our live audience this Monday at 6pm SLT at the Fabulous Fashion studio at Northpoint.

Fabulous Fashion Television Studio SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Northpoint/175/65/29

Key landmarks and websites:

* Watch Fabulous Fashion Live here:
http://www.slcn.tv/programs/fabulous-fashion

Glitches and Crashes a personal view

Since Christmas older residents have had a strange sense of da ja vu. Crashes every 5 minutes, the "black body" as your avatars textures refuse to load - a return, in fact to the "bad old days". Now for us old timers this is just a minor irritation, in fact many of us suspected that it over enthusiastic staff parties at first, combined with the usual in rush of new residents.
I think most of us expected things to settle down and get back to usual once the holidays were over, but, in fact the strangeness continued. In fact in the last few weeks things have started getting really strange.
The first clue was a friend who burst onto my im panel in a flurry of swear words - some of which even I didn't know (you have to admit, Second Life is educational). After she calmed down I managed to ask what was wrong, it seems she had just settled down to some quality time with her significant other, their first quality time in a while, everything was going well when she crashed - annoying but it happens and can be laughed off, but on relogging she gets the "region has begun log out process your account wont be available for 5 minutes", annoying but as this seems to be a default glitch she clicked ok and tried again - success! Except she had been logged in, naked (well more or less naked, if you know what I mean - she had been on a spending spree in Insolence), to an info hub FULL of people... quickly she got her friend to teleport her home, ahh oh well, a funny story, except 5 minutes later the scene was repeated only she got logged in to a different region. In the space of 45 minutes she had crashed, and been logged into to anywhere except where she wanted to be SEVEN times, it somewhat killed the romantic mood. I laughed, I admit, and put it down to just one (or two) peoples misfortune, but I started paying more attention to the chatter in the bars, seems my friend wasn't alone, the crashes were happening to everyone, more and more of the time - my own personal record was twelve crashes in an hour. Still switch to another viewer and things improved.
Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the surprises LL had in store, used to these old style glitches and ready for something new? Linden Labs is proud to present the newest glitch...phantom land! A friend owns an island, a lovely island - and was most disturbed to log in and find herself sinking, at a quite genteel rate, into the ground. After a quick look around she logged out thinking it must be one of those, "clear cache, log back in" glitches...but no, after a relog she was still up to her neck in her beach. A quick phone call to LL and many apologies later it is explained that the servers in AZ are having issues. (Really, servers, which need to be kept cool, being housed in a desert and they are having problems - fancy that). Linden Labs, did manage to relocate the phantom island so the actual island was there and the phantom was just off the coast.
And now I come to the final and most distressing glitch, not a new glitch by any means but refined to a level rarely seen before. Missing inventory.
Usually a few items go astray and you clear cache, log back in and bingo - there it is, but not in this new more fiendish version. Suddenly the hair you are wearing isn't in your inventory, it doesn't exist, it is still there, everyone can still see it, but you can't take it off or replace it, or detach it because it isn't in your inventory (only funny if the neon pink pigtail demo is being worn by someone else when it happens).
A friend of mine has the interesting problem of three quarters of his inventory vanished - but only on his home computer, on his works computer everything is still there, a complete reinstall of SL didn't help and the official response to LL help line was "That's odd, don't really know what to recommend", honest, if nothing else.
Another friend had all the outfits for a photographic shoot vanish - for a week, in a flat spin she asked me to take charge of the men's outfit, on the day of the shoot, I had given out 2 of the outfits when I crashed. On my return I was missing almost four thousand of my inventory items including the last suit - relogging, clearing cache - nothing worked, the suit was GONE. A frantic call to the designer and a replacement was found. Twenty four hours later, the suit (and the other four thousand items)were back. A curious twist to this is something I discovered, after my brush with missing inventory I decided that really, twenty five thousand items is a bit much (don't look at me like that, shopping is my hobby and I was a lucky chair addict), so I pruned, I spent a morning doing nothing but deleting things. I emptied my trash, I cleared my cache and I logged out, pleased that now I was down to under twenty thousand items. Imagine my dismay when I logged back in later that day to find all my inventory there exactly as it was before my mega clean out. The moral might be, don't organise your inventory, leave to run wild and let it surprise you.
What is the cause of the sudden instability of our beloved SecondLife? I can't answer, obviously LL are aware of the problems and are working on the fixes. Meanwhile, my best advice is only make sure you are wearing something at all times, and preferably something that preserves your modesty and you like enough to wear for a while if the worst happens.

Schadenfreude, hotshots!

What a striking contrast. If you look for keywords such as "financial", "bank" and "stock exchange", you now have a hard time finding many interesting results. Barely two years ago, a large number of "companies" were competing for a market of financial services and stock exchange listings.

I cannot resist schadenfreude (a German word that means "unexpected delight at somebody else's misfortunes") when seeing how most of the hotshots who drove that industry are gone from SL or at least quiet.

Let me say this up front: I do understand that the investors among you are disappointed with the many failures you witnessed and probably lost money in. And you are right. On the other hand, I am rather happy reality brought the "moguls" back to Earth.

I won't name names here but there was a time when I got in touch with a few of them. With one, I had a deal to display art for sale at his place. The whole time, the best attitude I saw was one of light arrogance instead of consideration as an equal human being.

Another one gave interviews to the SL media, telling them how he racked up millions of Linden dollars per month in revenue, but was crossed by the first guy mentioned above. Another one simply took his stock exchange and ran with it, without leaving anything to the people who trusted him.

Today, the rare players who are surviving, such as the Ancapistan Capital Exchange, have been serious and well-grounded.

While we shouldn't shed a tear for the people who cannot run ventures in SL anymore, it is sad that they took an industry down with them. When Linden Lab banned interest payments, any honest and conservative banking model went down with it. So did credibility of SL financiers when the World Stock Exchange vanished.

At the heart of the problem you find privacy. Of course, individuals who use SL need to be protected but for investment to be worth more than a leap of faith, real disclosure of information is needed. This is what many failed ventures used as a shield to take money without being accountable to the market. Real trust will be earned by those who disclose.

I leave the final word to the founder of Ginko, a "bank" that crumbled because of a bank run in 2007. His post on the ACE forums is delicious if you can read with a smirk.

FOCUS ON ARCHITECTURE by SCARLIT Pink

Architecture in SL - from Camelot to derelict factory building, without constraints of real world engineers, the totally unfeasable can stand magnificiently before us in jaw dropping splendour, and, like Hindu sand art, with one click can vanish into the ether, keeping company with my long lost Soho Sofa.

I am Scarlit, I have been inworld for 2 years now and still never cease to be amazed at what I see - the artistry, imagination, sheer talent and diversity, all here to discover, all just a teleport click away

In the comming weeks I will be interviewing some of SL's top builders and the designers of some of our favourite places, giving us an insight and deeper appreciation of their work. With a veritable smorgesboard of talent to choose from, I look forward to the task ahead and it should be only a matter of time when one of your favourites is showcased here for prosperity.

From beach hut to steam punk, the skypad dwellers and Captain Kirk followers... what keeps us comming back... perhaps it's no knowing what one will discover next in this inexhaustable ever changing landscape.

Architecture in SL - such a rich part of the SL experience.

SCARLIT Pink

My IM's are going crazy !!!

By JamesT Juno
Click Image to see detail

Art Anyone? Dresden Gallery in Second Life.

I have a passionate desire to see as much art in the world as humanly possible. It is difficult to do in my everyday life, considering the cost of travelling to the many countries that have the most famous art pieces. One of the places that I have been able to see virtually is The Dresden Gallery, thanks to the Berlin group: Second Interest AG people http://www.secondinterest.com/, who created the sim in Second Life. CONTINUE reading about the Dresden gallery and how you can visit it in the
M.A.C.E section.

Role Playing World War II

World War II has been a great part of history in every aspect, from the Holocaust, the Nazis, the Jews, the Allies and of course the combat zones. Lately on SL Newspaper, there have been a few stories written about Holocaust survivors and the places of remembrance. Now, we present to you the World War II combat area role play sim. Continue reading in the EXPLORE section with Lizzy Arriaga

Is It OK To Cry Here?

By FoxM Ember

We met at a dance club. I’d just ended my first of several (I’m not proud to say) “bad” SL relationships. She was waiting for someone, and was kind enough to allow me to sit near her and listened to me, when I needed to talk........................................

Continued in the RFL section

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan
Click for full size image