Svarga Back in Second Life

On Sunday afternoon, March 21, just after logging on I heard some great news. The Svarga sim was back! II looked it up on the map, and there it was, so I ported over.

And there was a sight I hadn’t seen in many months. What some people called one of the Seven Wonders of Second Life was back.

Svarga was started early, around 2004. By 2006, it was complete and further construction ceased. It’s creator, Laukosargas Svarog, created a grand island of waterfalls, mountains, rivers, stone temples, and the artificial life experiments, the “Eco System” project, gave the sim it’s own cycle of life, with clouds raining on the plants, bees pollinating, and occasionally eaten by a flytrap lilly, and other aspects. It was considered one of the most ingeniously built places in the Metaverse. More can be read in our April 2007 article .

In December 2008, Laukosargas made her decision to look for a buyer for Svarga. Running the sim was just too expensive for her, she felt, and Second Life seemed no better to her than when she first went about on it.

Some months later, the sim vanished from the map. It seemed that this wonder of the Metaverse had vanished into the virtual nether forever, much to the sadness of many who had seen the area and marveled at it’s details. Until now, that is.

Checking Laukosargas’s profile, she says the sim has a new owner, even though Svarga still lists her as in charge. She also asked not to be contacted, saying she plans to return to Second Life only sparingly, once in a few months.

As time goes on, someone will figure out exactly what happened and what we can expect. But for now, we can take heart that once again, this gem of a sim is once again open for visits, and not just a memory.

The entry point for Svarga is at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Svarga/5/124/22 .

Bixyl Shuftan.

moreless

Memories of Woodlin: Part Two

Woodlin was a great place to hang out and live in Second Life, with great friends and great scenery. Sadly, our home came to an end. But it didn't mean we had to stop being neighbors.

For the story, go to Community

moreless

Memories of Woodlin: Part One

Many residents in Second Life have memories of a special place where they made good friends and had great fun. For one reporter in SL Newspaper, one place stands out: Woodlin.

For the story, go to Community.

moreless

What Happened to Book Island?

A visit to Book Island, adjacent to the now vanished Publishing Island, revealed a virtual ghost town, one that lent an eerie feeling of abandonment. 

Walking about, it was evident that quite a few empty booths were present, and not a soul in sight.   An information sign provided rental details and contact individuals.   Notes were sent to each of the two contacts listed, Selina Greene, the sim owner, and Ariadne Korda, "Cultural Manager."   A click on the blog link in an effort to obtain more information proved to be futile...the blog was no longer recognized.

Book Island was once an active sim, complete with its own blog and  various events focused on writers, as well as readers, offering live readings, etc. One author, Diana Allandale, once held writing seminars there.  She did not respond to a request for comments.   

Word on the street has it that the sim owner vanished, supposedly to pursue her RL publishing career, rarely communicating with only one other person on the Island.   According to Ariadne, Cultural Manager, she assumes that tier continues to be paid, but had no information to offer on the demise of Publishing Island.   I had a chat with Ariadne, who was kind enough to respond to the request for information.  The information she had to offer began to paint a very sad picure. 

AK:   "Hi Shellie - I would LOVE to know what is going on with Book Island myself - the owner has disappeared, not a word from her for over a year (to me at least). I can add people to the group (and still do), but can't even remove things with my name on them. The whole thing is frustrating and extremely disappointing to me - there is zero communication. Yes would be pleased to tell you what I know, but it's not much."

SS:  "Thanks for your response...If you can tell me the evolution of things, that would be sufficient I think."

AK:  "The owner just said she had some RL issues and then disappeared, basically...

she communicates rarely with another person at BI, who is also pretty frustrated. I would have dropped the group but I still answer requests to join it, and never say anything negative...but it's hard when people say 'it's not very dynamic, is it?' I can only presume the owner is still paying tier but I had no info about the sale of Publishing.  I am SORELY tempted to send out a group notice (I still have powers, I think) and ask what the hell is going on."

SS:  "Not a bad idea...have you made repeated attempts to contact her?  It seems she has left the place to rot, and it is also a portion empty."

AK:   "YES. I had her mail, and no answer, including some fairly blunt ones."

SS:  "Lost interest it seems."

AK:  "Yes... and people are still paying rent, which is sad.  I was hired as 'cultural manager' (I'm a published writer) to do events, but that was like bashing my head against a wall,

every idea was 'well, I'll give it some thought'."

SS:  "And then left to nothing?"

AK:  "I organised dozens at first, for which she OCCASIONALLY paid me (but only if I was there... which isn't possible on US times).  So I got the odd 200L, but not if I did the work but  wasn't actually present..then she disappeared so I wasn't going to just give and give. I rebuilt the beach area (I build on here) - to virtually no comment.  So yes, frustration all along the line, and it's SUCH a shame - the place has potential but not if it's just left to rot."

SS:  "Gosh, it could be a meeting place for writers and sharing of ideas and such, have readings and stuff."

AK:  " Yes I did that...at one point she mentioned wondering if to keep it - and a group of friends offered to buy her out and she said 'no' - this was before she disappeared.  So I'm afraid I more or less abandoned ship. I was getting nothing from it in terms of pleasure or appreciation."

SS:  "I understand that."

AK:  "The place really needs a rebuild and some WORK on it, but I can't see anyone doing that for free...I really AM sympathetic if the owner has problems."

SS:  "It seems such a shame the whole thing, how can someone just abandon an entire sim?"

AK:  " But how much effort would it take to answer my mails, IMs, notecards?"

SS:  "Exactly...well, I understand your plight Aridane, and I sympathize...please le me know if you find anything out further."

AK:  "I will... I would actually just like to LEAVE but as my name is on the notecards I feel I should still give people the group tag...although even then..."

SS:  "I understand...maybe the article will bring some attention to the situation."

AK:   "Maybe. It's just such a SHAME...But... getting it turned around would be a massive job."

SS:   "Yes, and would require time and dedication."

AK:  "At the time, I had that... But not when I have no leeway, and not least no income from it.  It's NOT my place, and no instructions, no nothing...such a shame..."

SS:  "Agreed Ariadne :(  I'm so sorry, but I am happy you gave me the info you have :)"

AK:  "You can quote me, particularly the 'such a shame'.  I'm sad rather than angry."

SS:  "Thanks so much for your time."

AK:  "You're welcome."

So, it seems  the future of Book Island is unknown at this time.  One can only hope that change will occur and bring new life to this worthwhile place.

By Shellie Sands

moreless

Fire Island changes hands

As many know Carter Giacobini bought Fire Island from Vito and re-opened it on May 22nd 2007 now begins the next chapter in its history with Carter making the difficult decision to step down as owner.
Beau Loring has bought the controlling share and will be managing Fire Island with his boyfriend Micha Fotherington.
This is a sad occasion for me personally as FI and Carter go together in my mind but Carter is not leaving just concentrating on other areas, in a notecard sent out Carter had this to say about his decision;

"Though I've sold my interest in Fire Island, I am not leaving. My bf Xavier Queler and I own 3 parcels on Fire Island South and plan on building a home fit for queens.
:-) I am also keeping controlling interest in Gatsby Heights and Moon Light Bay and am still the sole owner of Venture Magazine. I plan on spending more time on Gatsby Heights and taking Venture Magazine to the next level.
The time that I've spent as Fire Island's proud owner has taught me so much and I've created so many amazing friendships because of it. The community on Fire Island is - bar none - the best that I have ever known inside Second Life. As many of you know, this was the first place that I ever tp'd to when I learned how to work the search feature. When I bought it from Vito, it felt like I was coming home, again. Now, it's time for me to step aside and let the next chapter in this virtual institution begin.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be assisting Beau and Micha with the transition. I want to ensure that everyone who owns property on Fire Island, wants to do business with Fire Island or has questions about Fire Island go to Beau Loring first. If he or Micha have questions, they will ask me, but my time for making decisions about Fire Island is now officially over."

moreless

SL Connection goes without a hitch

Although only given a few minutes notice skippers from all over the grid rushed to get their boats rezzed on both sides, ready to be the first to race across the newly created sim that after days of waiting would connect the two sailing communities of USS-SL and Sailors cove.
The new sim creates one large sailing community of 125 sims, which after some time Linden Lab are planning to move to a new area of the grid to give room for expansion.

ZATZAi Asturias shouts: "I've always been fond of Sailors Cove and the rest of the USS. I remember when both the USS and Sailors Cove where in their infancy, just a couple sims, or even one sim. I would think, as I sailed or flew around the areas how great it would be if it could be connected to my own home and a few months ago part of that dream became reality when I was asked to join with the USS. now today the second part of that dream finally comes true as well. So welcome, Patrick, Fanci, and everyone else to the United Sailing Sims. I can't wait to launch my invasion force! ;-)"

Patrick Leavitt shouts: "The future for us looks bright in this ever changing environment and we will weather those storms together as a family. It is a glorious day today that Sailors Cove is now a part of the USS-SL"

The Ribbons were cut and everyone raced for their boats to pass each other in the straight, an amazing feat considering the amount of people present - it took me 3 tries to get onto the newly created sim there were so many people there!
Congratulations to all involved and i hope for great news in the near future when all the sims are moved and we can sail in peace (when i learn how to handle our ships of course).
Dana

moreless

Who are M&M?

Marcthur and 10 Goosson are M&M, a real-life and Second Life couple, living in Europe and having their own profession and business.

The parts they hadn’t landscaped they invited tenants to join their fantasy ‘Mysteryland’. One part was called ‘Mysticland’, with the dark sides of fantasy. It is an everlasting changing place where you can get lost the second time you visit, it might have changed… The usual prims seemed to be getting pretty boring to work with, so Marcthur started to create sculpted shapes, after he read about the implementation of this new feature of SL.

Full story in our EXPLORE section

moreless

HAVE I GOT A SIM FOR YOU!

Chouchou.

Forget razzle-dazzle, bells and whistles - this is probably one of the most unique experiences you will have in SL.

Guest writer Miralee Munro introduces a wondrous sim in the EXPLORE section

moreless

BREAKING NEWS: new land store is open!

Today, Linden Lab announced that the new land store is open for business!

This new feature has been announced for a long time already, and had to be postponed weeks ago. There has been much debate about the new reduced pricing that was announced at the same time as the new land store. Through the land store, only complete sims/regions can be bought (normal or openspace), not smaller parcels.

Through the history of announcements of this new land store, residents have been bounced back and forth between happiness and sorrow, because of the way that Linden Lab has handled these changes. First they announced the new land store, then they took the old land store offline, then they announced that the introduction of it was postponed, and after that they re-opened the old land store with the new prices. And now D-day is finally there it seems.

But ...

They say it is in beta-phase (still testing), which seems to be understandable. The old land store was in beta-phase for years without ever changing. However, you need to submit a support ticket to be granted access to the land store. And even worse: you have to promise to buy land, before access is granted! You have to activate a tick box on the support ticket page which says:



The problem with is that even though you can actually submit the ticket without activating that tick box, it is unclear if access will be granted if it isn't activated. And what would happen if I would promise to buy a new region, but not do it? And no time-frame is mentioned to do it in. Several people have asked about this in the comments on the announcement, but no responses have come in yet. Imagine that you can't access a website like Amazon.com, without promising to buy at least 1 book.

UPDATE: Linden Lab said in a personal chat with us that they will approve tickets even without agreeing to buy. We now have proof of that; my ticket just got approved.

moreless