Second Life Insider

Nexeus Fatale, DJ Extraordinaire, has hit upon a great way to give back to the community. His 'DJ For a Cause' mission is to donate his DJ services to anyone, individual or organization, who fits the requirements: Their event must be philanthropic in nature (such as fund raising) and has to embody the Holiday theme of giving to others.

I see this as a great way to promote SL's philanthropic nature, which is embodied in its residents. These days, most of the press goes to sensational events, and not enough to the altruism that I see so often in-world. Nexeus is on the right track with this, and hopes that others will follow this example. You can read more of this here.

(Thanks, Nexeus!)

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'Second Life for Teens', but Without Second Life

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-31T18:34:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Odds and Ends

This is your moment of WTF? Dorling Kindersley, who many of you may know through their wonderful Eyewitness Series of illustrated reference books, have created a new game in Habbo Hotel to promote a new Christmas book called Do Not Open. Apparently it's going well, attracting over 1,000 players in its first week.

However, DK is calling this approach the 'Second Life For Teens model' -- but they're not using Second Life to do it! Couldn't they have called it the 'Virtual Worlds For Teens model' instead? Not to assume too much about the intelligence of the average member of the public, but I can see people getting confused about this quite easily. And it begs the question: Does DK have an interest in SL at all?

(Via The Bookseller)

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Booch is no mooch

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-31T18:19:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Grady Booch might not be a household name, but he's the Chief Scientist for IBM's Rational Software Corp. unit. In a recent interview with Computerworld, Booch has held forth on a number of topics, including his take on SL. His approach to explaining the value of SL to himself is practical:

"IBM has 50 or so islands that we own [in Second Life]. We've derived business value by using it internally. I can look at the lectures I have done and say, "I have saved IBM money." Certainly the company saves huge costs on employee travel and accomodations by holding meetings in SL. Why isn't this being trumpeted more often as worthwhile to the average user? He has a bit more to say, so go check out the rest of the interview.

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Good Summary of Virtual Worlds Forum Europe

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-31T18:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Events, Odds and Ends

Tech Digest does a good job here of highlighting 20 trends gleaned from their recent trip to the Virtual Worlds Forum Europe, and they go like this:

1. Shedloads of virtual worlds will be launched in 2008
2. Teen-focused virtual worlds are huge
3. Brands still get it wrong
4. There's a problem with communication
5. There will be big growth in corporate use of virtual worlds

... and 15 more. It would be boorish and redundant to list all twenty here, even without explanation. You'll simply have to trust me and go check out the list yourselves.

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Halloween Haunts: Spooky Straylight

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-31T07:37:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends, Great Builds

Even the venerable Straylight sim is getting the Halloween treatment! Thanks to Kriss Lehmann for pointing it out to me, else I'd not have seen it. As you'll see in the gallery, apparently a race of spiders has taken over a good stretch of the forest, and an eerie green glow is emanating from afar. But wait! All is not lost! Make your way to the reception area, and look! A jaunty Halloween party awaits all who enter!

I took advantage of the festivities to chat up a fellow canine and enjoyed the orbiting witchkitty on her broom. There are likely more fun things to be seen, but I'm a wolfie on a mission, I am. Go check it out for yourself!

(Thanks, Kriss!)

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Halloween Haunts: The Masque of the Red Death

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-31T07:07:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends, Great Builds

Nebulosus Severine has taken a slightly different tack with her build -- she's based it upon the classic horror tale 'The Masque of the Red Death', by E. A. Poe, which can be gotten here. It's recommended that you read through the story to familiarize yourself with the layout of the place, and to imbue yourself with the proper atmosphere so you can truly appreciate what Nebulosus has done here.

In fact, not only should you read through the story, but you should also check out the lovely slideshow put together by Vady; not only is it representative of the sights to be had there, but it's also presented in a notably gothic, decaying-projector style that completely complements the build itself. Bravo, Nebulosus! Old Edgar Allen himself would be proud of you!

(Thanks, Nebulosus!)

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Halloween Haunts: DarkDharma Daguerre's Manor

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-31T06:26:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends, Great Builds

DarkDharma Daguerre is a hell of an artist. Not only is this one fantastic build, but look at her avatar! That alone would be reason enough for coverage, but the classically spooky haunted house is full of little tricks and treats as well. 9 tarot bags of goodies await your discovery, with various surprises contained within. Let it be known that the house itself belongs to Sagittar Spengler, who did us all a favor by letting DarkDharma work her mischief within.

And hey, if you're as impressed as I was with everything, that might entice you into inquiring about her avatar creation business, which is just across the way from this build! I've only taken a few shots, leaving it for you all to discover, which is all the fun!

(Thanks, DarkDharma and Sagittar!)

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Today in Second Life - Tuesday 30 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-31T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

31,133 new signups bringing us to 10,551,423 signups total.
A peak concurrency of 53,256 at 2:50PM, and a minimum concurrency of 27,078 at 1:30AM. Median concurrency for the day was 40,114.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 1.37 (lower is better).
The Wonderland scandal in the mainstream media has been exposed to an estimated 50 or 60 million people.
Linden Lab data feeds are still giving troubles.
The Public JIRA has been giving troubles through the day.
Four big-name designer brand islands are down right now 'for personal reasons'.
An Evening of Beauty at Tete-a-pied.

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Halloween Haunts: Dykemare on Elm Street

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-30T20:36:00+00:00

Filed under: Events, Odds and Ends, Great Builds

Continuing with SL's best Halloween-themed builds, here's far-and-away one of the creepiest I've ever enjoyed. The fine folk calling themselves ELITE (Electronic Lesbians In Their Element) have created quite an amazing build they call Dykemare on Elm Street.

Great builds are more than mere geometry; excellent textures are of far more value than prim contortions, and these are fantastic! A lot of weathering, cracks, grunge, and overall color choices make for a claustrophobic, decaying site that will have even the most stalwart heart quail in fear. For those brave enough to make the trip, there's also a photo contest, the winner of which will net 3,500L! Go check 'em out!

(Thanks, Kelly!)

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Halloween Haunts: Graveyard Dancefloor

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-30T07:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Building, Odds and Ends, Great Builds

I got some responses to my call for Halloween-themed builds, so I'm going to give them some love as promised. First, we have a lovely graveyard dancefloor, which can be yours courtesy of Csteph Submariner and SLexchange. I've tested it, as you can see in the Gallery; it's definitely danceable! And don't weep for me, dancing all alone; as a werewolf, I'm obliged now and again to do the odd Monster Mash.

(Thanks, Chris!)

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Today in Second Life - Monday 29 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-30T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

26,734 new signups bringing us to 10,519,814 signups total.
A peak concurrency of 53,269 at 3:15PM, and a minimum concurrency of 25,644 at 3:05AM. Median concurrency for the day was 39,775.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 1.41 (lower is better).
A short burst of problems with the login servers in the early morning.
CNN has announced that they will be coming in to Second Life, gathering news submissions from residents.
Linden Lab says oops, we may have double-billed land-use fees to some residents.
Linden Lab releases the September quality-of-service metrics.

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Combat Cards Revisited

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-29T07:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Gadgets, Odds and Ends

It's been a while since my last (first) post about Combat Cards, the SL game of strategy and mayhem. In the intervening months, there have been a lot of changes. There are more cards to be played, more locations in which to play them, and more combatants as well. In fact, Combat Cards just finished a tournament that saw the top 4 scorers battle it out to the delight of all. If ever you were intrigued by this idea, now's the time to check it out!

I recently posed to be on one of the cards, and was told that Osprey Therian and Doc Boffin are looking for horror-themed models, so if you think you have an avatar that will fit right in with these, do contact them in-world. Here's a link to their website, and here's their blog, and here is their in-world location. Forget Tringo; this is a great example of an engaging, complex, absorbing game produced entirely within SL! Check out the tutorial here, then go fight the good fight!

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Today in Second Life - Sunday 28 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-29T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

31,387 new signups bringing us to 10,490,916 signups total.
A peak concurrency of 56,181 at 2:25PM (a new record!), and a minimum concurrency of 29,033 at 11:50PM. Median concurrency for the day was 43,077.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 1.15 (lower is better).
An early morning services failure caused considerable angst at the time, but took place quite early, and the rest of the day ran surprisingly smoothly.
Linden Lab has started a survey on inventory-loss. If you've lost stuff, you're invited to run through the questionnaire.

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Today in Second Life - Saturday 27 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-28T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

33,975 new signups bringing us to 10,458,688 signups total.
A peak concurrency of 52,879 at 2:15PM, and a minimum concurrency of 30,912 at 2:05AM. Median concurrency for the day was 43,974.
Concurrency remains much higher than usual.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 2.04 (lower is better).
The Support Portal was offline for maintenance between 6PM and 10PM SLT (US Pacific) this-evening.

[Update: Unfortunately, Friday's concurrency numbers got tangled up with Saturday's. The numbers and times have been corrected.]

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Today in Second Life - Friday 26 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-27T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

43,383 new signups bringing us to 10,423,964 signups total.
Median signup rates are lower today, but we're still pulling about 1,465 signups per hour.
A peak concurrency of 52,439 at 2:40PM, and a minimum concurrency of 28,867 at 1:40AM. Median concurrency for the day was 41,201.
Concurrency is still riding to close to record levels, which is quite unusual, and well over what is normally expected for a Friday.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 2.05 (lower is better).
Login and search services had something of a cow today for approximately 90 minutes this-morning.
The Ed Wood Festival Highlights of Yesteryear as a part of the Ed Wood Machinima Festival.
A non-release-candidate release candidate. Yes, that's a little tricky to explain.
Announcement that the downtime scheduled for October 31 has been postponed. You can all put down your blazing torches and pitchforks, now.

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Today in Second Life - Thursday 25 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-26T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

69,344 new signups bringing us to 10,378,489 signups total. That's the largest number of signups we've had in quite a while.
A peak concurrency of 52,481 at 1:50PM, and a minimum concurrency of 28,610 at 1:40AM. Median concurrency for the day was 40,876.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 1.43 (lower is better).
News came down that Dilbert's Scott Adams is coming to Second Life next week.

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Today in Second Life - Wednesday 24 October, 2007

Tateru Nino — 2007-10-25T02:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Today in Second Life we had:

51,414 new signups bringing us to 10,309,155 signups total.
A peak concurrency of 50,496 at 2:05PM, and a minimum concurrency of 27,778 at 1:10AM. Median concurrency for the day was 39,746.
The Grid Stability Index for the day was 1.22 (lower is better).
The stipend payments system experienced some difficulties today.
The OnRez viewer was released, and we give a batch of initial impressions, and Eloise took a gander at the CSI:NY sims that opened at 6AM SLT (US Pacific) today.
The Havok beta gota refresh with a whole bunch of bug-fixes.
Friends Online had to be shut down this-evening, but it is not clear why.
The CSI:NY episode with SL went to air this-evening. Although, apparently there were large numbers of registrations, the website for the download of the OnRez viewer failed, preventing many from obtaining the viewer. So, while there was a sharp increase in evening logons after the episode, there was no flood. Perhaps tomorrow. More likely, on the weekend. The Jury is still out as to whether the whole shebang will be a hit or a miss.

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Petition LL for Improved Animal Rights

Akela Talamasca — 2007-10-24T07:34:00+00:00

Filed under: Odds and Ends

Industria Dowler brought this to my attention. This will go a couple of different ways, depending on your personal viewpoint, but it's something that needs thought. I haven't confirmed this, but this is the story: Essentially, a photograph was found in a sandbox recently that apparently depicted RL photographs of a woman crushing a cat's skull with her high heels.

This was brought to the attention of LL as some form of moral violation, something that isn't covered in the SL TOS. The Lindens have said there is nothing in the Community Standards against the photo. Feeling this wasn't right, a petition has been set up here. If this is something you feel strongly about, please go and sign the petition. At the time of this writing, the number of signees stands at 328; the goal is 2,500.

Now, I'm not going to take this at face value. I haven't seen the photo, it could be a fake. I don't know who found it, or where it was found. Regardless, this is the sort of measure that, just as with photos of pornography that go against standards, should be examined to prevent recurrence. Even with a faked photo, it's a disturbing-sounding image, and one we can do without. I'm interested to see whether this petition will carry forward. It's up to you all.

(Thanks, Industria!)

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