First Anniversary! Malls, Monsters and More…

To an outsider, the first look might be surprising; nay-saying teens and adults have both expressed doubt regarding the level of quality Residents would be capable of as compared to the Main Grid. But Teen Grid entrepreneurs and artists have certainly shown that they are more than capable. Main Grid veterans might think they’ve seen it all, but the Teen Grid holds clever, accomplished and unique works.

Games, Homes and Land Barons

From art-for-art’s sake to multiplayer action, puzzle and word games and inspired residences, teens are honing their skills for an eventual takeover of Second Life proper. “Land Barons” provide virtual realty to Residents, making possible the purchase of large, connected lots, and making a modest profit in the process. Weaned in virtual environments, most of the Residents have no doubts that Second Life can be much more fun and challenging than any McJob.

Most importantly, the small grid fosters a big community. Groups and individuals arrange massive parties, charitable fundraisers and large-scale, team-built projects. Regions fill with love and avatars for heart-melding weddings in grandiose environs amongst the clouds. Cutting edge culture and couture is on display on runways and walkways, with Goth and Emo styles challenged only by the wide range of Furries. Then, of course, there are the Goth-Emo-Furs, but they’re another story.

What’s Next?

What will the upcoming year bring to the Teen Grid? Considering its rapid growth and dynamic energy, the very least will be an influx of new blood and ideas to the main grid. That is if Teentown doesn’t outgrow and outshine it ;)

Marvin the Robot Comes to Life

Justin Bovington has been a Second Life Resident for three years. He realized that it was a place for creativity to develop and flourish. In Second Life, he envisioned a place where Rivers Run Red could create unique brands and events that would cross over into real life. This inspired Rivers Run Red to buy the first island in Second Life. On their island, Avalon, they built an emporium where they could create these brands and special events.

Turning Ideas into Reality

In Second Life, using the powerful Linden Lab design construction set, Justin created mockups of Marvin the Robot. One of the benefits of using Second Life to develop Marvin was that the perspective was correct. Within Second Life, Justin was able to make sure that Marvin would move and pose correctly. It was easy to modify Marvin according to the specification of the movie’s strategic planning group.

“In Second Life,” Justin explains, “you can think creatively in 3D as opposed to 2D. Its powerful toolset is unlike any other. We use it instead of Photoshop to create mockups. It’s like using smart Legos!” Once Justin was satisfied with the design he was able to easily import him into Photoshop where Marvin was finished and translated to film.

Saving Money, Exciting Clients

Using the Linden Lab design construction set saves Rivers Run Red £80,000 to £100,000 a year. They are in-world every day creating and designing. “The beauty of Second Life,” says Justin, “is that it is really a social construct, it’s not a game. In Second Life you can write your own stories, your own game world and then bring it to life. Creating things is easy. It’s your world and your imagination.”

Justin finds that people understand three-dimensional models better than two-dimensional models. Developers can use Second Life’s virtual world to reach consumers. It’s easy to develop something in Second Life and sit a client down to see what’s been created. It’s quick and it saves the developer money.

Justin’s Advice for Developers

Justin believes it’s important to find inspiration wherever you can and then just go with it. “To make your projects successful in the real world you have to get into Second Life and develop content and creation,” he says. “In Second Life you can easily undo whatever you do—it’s that easy. You will surprise yourself with what you can develop. You can create momentum, whether it’s the new rock and roll or the newest fashion craze. You create it and you just let it run, creating momentum and – if you are lucky – some income.”

SL Stroke Support; Bailing Out a Girlfriend in Distress

If you have recently asked for help, chances are you may have met Xandi Mars and Michael Martinez. This partnered couple volunteer for Live Help – together – where they share an unbridled enthusiasm for answering questions and helping new Residents. One of their best stories comes from a night when a girlfriend begged her boyfriend to have permission to modify their house. He relented and the girlfriend completely tore the place apart – with the best of intentions – but with disastrous results. Michael and Xandi worked all night to put the house back together before the boyfriend woke up the next morning. Now that’s dedication. Next time you see them, be sure to say “hello.”

The Flip Side of Acceptance: Intolerance

From the SL Community Standards: “Combating intolerance is a cornerstone of Second Life's Community Standards. Actions that marginalize, belittle, or defame individuals or groups inhibit the satisfying exchange of ideas and diminish the Second Life community as whole. The use of derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident's race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is never allowed in Second Life.”

Ours is a brave new world and as such we have a clear responsibility when it comes to opposing intolerance. After all, it is not every day that you have the opportunity to see a vampire or a person-sized fox walking down the street - or flying through the air - as would be more typical in Second Life. The incredible thing in our world is that you not only encounter a myriad of humanoid and not so humanoid folks, but you can also interact with them.

Although a reflection of the real world’s amazing diversity, in Second Life those who are different are almost all instantly recognizable, either by their avatar's appearance, geographical location or by the group tag above their head. Every day we are presented with the wonderful opportunity to interact with a thousand different points of view.

Diversity is Increasing As We Grow

Second Life is growing so large that it offers something for everyone and if you are in a place that is not your thing, you can freely and easily seek out a new place that suits you. Never before has such a diverse set of individuals and groups been assembled in a single space.

So what then is Linden Lab’s responsibility? To be sure that everyone can express their thoughts and feelings without fear of reprisal or judgment. It’s almost more important to be sure that those who may not be able to express themselves freely in the “real world” can do so in Second Life.

There will always be those who are compelled to take action or speak against groups they fear or do not understand. There are also groups that form for the sole purpose of taking action or speaking out against other groups they are opposed to.

The Consequences of Intolerance

Linden Lab does not seek to regulate the ideas and thoughts of others, but when those words or actions are rooted in hate, and used to harm or hurt others on the basis of lifestyle, race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual preference, we will act. Intolerance is not taken lightly, and those responsible will incur serious penalties or permanent removal.

Below is an example of intolerant speech that resulted in the removal of this Resident from Second Life for intolerant behavior:

[sic]"Hey you f*$%ing bitch. I don#t know who the f*$% you are or what the f*$% your issue is. .. that Nazi... or the s@#% that bitch made again I will personally make your SL life Hell... you Socialist pig headed group f*$%ing bitch is dead ...you f$%^ing socialist pig ...k$%e bitch f*$%ing socialist pig N*$%r lovin hippie is offline... I am working on making a Black SS Panzer Officer's Uniform.”

Spring Cleaning: Managing Your Inventory

Fear not, for there's an array of simple, practical things you can do so your Second Life inventory is fit and trim—even if your first life's closets aren't. So go ahead and press the Inventory button and let's start sweeping!

• Spend a few minutes a day sorting.
  Going at it all at once is intimidating and can be overwhelming. Instead, sort things quickly after you receive them. Does a friend often send you pictures? Create a sub-folder in your Photo Album folder by right-clicking it and selecting New Folder. Right-click it again to rename it and drag-and-drop the snapshots in there.
  
• Move multiple items at once.
  Save time by holding down Ctrl and clicking on different things or hold down Shift and click at the beginning and end of a list of items you want to move. Watch them get highlighted and then click-and-drag to move. This is especially nifty if you have lots of scattered things you all want in one themed folder.
  
• More “multiple” ideas.
  Make multiple Inventory windows by selecting the Inventory's File ---> New Window. It makes it easier to view different arrangements of your stuff at one time. You can drag between windows too – which will really speed up sorting!
  
• Find out how many items you have in inventory.
  Freshly log into Second Life and enter any search term into the Search bar near the top of the Inventory window. Watch as the item count increases as it loads and finally stops.
  
• Add tags for easier searching.
  If something is modifiable, right-click it and select Properties. Then, next to its name, put extra words in brackets. For example, “Car” becomes “Car (green shiny five wheels favorite vehicle also flies)”. Make sure your notes are descriptive and memorable so it helps you quickly find things. Also, consider renaming generic “object” and “snapshot” to be more meaningful. The key here is to personalize!
  
• Speed up inventory searches by cube stuffing.
  Click the Build button then click on the ground to create a cube. Right-click the cube and select Open. Then, drag seldom-used items from inventory into the Contents window. When you're done, give the cube a descriptive name. Right-click it and Take and you've got the goodies bundled up safely. While you can't search directly for items within a cube, you can always rez the cube into the world again and retrieve your things by dragging them back. Result: your total item count will decrease and your inventory will load faster.
  
• Tangential trick: see all the attachments you're currently wearing.
  Type in "(worn)" in the Search bar. In the recently released SL 1.9, you're able to check this from Edit menu ---> Detach Object as well.
  
• Empty Trash regularly.

Practicing these tips will help you be well on your way to a healthier, happier inventory!

Lindenomics:  Whither Stipends?

Entitlements have been a facet of the Second Life economy since its inception.  Initially, there were Stipends and Reputation Bonuses; today, we have Grants and Traffic (or Dwell) Awards.  Only occasionally has the logic of entitlements been examined – and the usual question is, “where's mine?” 

There are plenty of sound reasons for retaining entitlements in Second Life. New Residents are arriving at an unprecedented rate - our population is increasing by about 15% per month  - and new Residents need to have some money in their pockets. Further, the creative efforts of Second Life Residents are causing the quality of goods and services, along with the number of transactions in a given time period, to rapidly increase – meaning that Residents are increasingly interested in purchasing more.

Based on these growth factors, Linden Lab must actively increase the money supply - basically print new money and somehow get it into circulation. If we didn't print new money, the existing money would become scarce, making Linden Dollars increasingly expensive in US dollars (see How It Works).

However, if printing money sounds like a bad idea – that's because it can be!  Long the last economic refuge of African dictators, printing more money than the world needs can be devastating. In an economy as hot as that in Second Life, infusions of new money balance the rapid growth of the economy and keep the Linden Dollar exchange rates fairly stable.  But, as the economy begins to slow (Second Life's economy will cool down; if it continued at this rate it would be the largest in the world in only a couple years!) Linden Lab will reduce the amount of money that we put into the economy to keep the Linden Dollar from becoming worth too little!

This means that stipends, traffic incentives, money given to new Residents and other forms of entitlements will be steadily reduced. This will happen carefully, and over time, all in an effort to preserve the value of the Linden Dollar – making it a constant, reliable unit-of-trade in Second Life.

We received a number of interesting, thoughtful letters about our opinion piece: A Sign of the Times. A representative sample of the letters start here but you’ll need to click through to read the whole text and we encourage you to do just that. Thank you for your passionate responses.

Impeach Bush, Seriously
The man NEEDS to be impeached, simple. We cannot afford to continue to allow him, and this administration, to run rampant (keep reading) From Theory Webb, A Veteran

A Mistake to "Silence" This Movement
In regard to the controversy concerning the signs calling for the impeachment of President Bush - I am in complete agreement…
(keep reading) From Vudu Paperdoll

Time to Enforce Rules and Regs
Shame on you, Linden Lab, for spinning the story of the Bush Guy as about "freedom of speech," and not including in your coverage…
(keep reading) From Prokofy Neva

A Technical Solution that Works for All
It seems to me that any object someone creates on their property is their business and a private matter. It may be considered an eye sore…
(keep reading) From Veeyawn Spoonhammer

Balancing Free Speech With Our Collective Values
The anti-Bush signs are indicative of a wider SL issue: advertising, and how to have an effective SL policy that on the one hand…
(keep reading) From Toni Bentham

Neighborhood Covenants Could Solve the Problem
Within the first hour of being in Second Life, I came across an Impeach Bush sign. Since then, I have seen several. Each time, I am…
(keep reading) From Marshall Sleestak

The Signs Have to Stay
I've been on SL for a month now and I would never have guessed I would be writing a letter in defense of freedom of speech. As an…
(keep reading) From Artemis Glass

Canadian Supports Freedom of Expression
North America is a continent that enjoys the freedom of movement, freedom to live in peace and the freedom of speech. As a Canadian…
(keep reading) From Karilea Kuroda

[Top 5] Great Baked Builds: Shadows Add Depth!

Shadow translucencies placed atop or “baked” into regular textures are a great way to enhance an already-compelling build. While using the technique is uncommon, the remarkable results speak for themselves.

1. Stella Costello's Gallery
   Got art? This colorful compendium of Resident-created original paintings and Stella's own sculptures is a feast for the senses. Come inside, collect the freebies, and soak up the culture!
   
2. Jukai Urbaine
   Speaking of culture, this idyllic village of Japanese Residents will have you smiling with its attention to detail. A realistic domestic atmosphere is mixed with whimsy and lots of subtle, one-of-a-kind touches.
   
3. Aimee Weber's Laboratory
   Get blinded with science! You'll be wondering how this was done. Get a closer look by zooming your camera in many times. Be sure to enjoy the rest of the city in the sky where experiments are in progress.
   
4. Octal Khan's Ain House
   Strikingly modern and luxurious, we recommend you explore this one-floor abode in Mouselook. It not only boasts a stylish kitchen, but a working music studio too. Dance with the shadows!
   
5. Tiny Seadog's Escapist Lounge
   Chillax by the snow and enjoy in-world issues of The Escapist. Walk past the pillars of waterfalls on the stone discs and notice the uniquely symmetrical architecture.

Impeach Bush, Seriously

The man NEEDS to be impeached, simple. We cannot afford to continue to allow him, and this administration, to run rampant on the Constitution that HE pledged twice to defend.

He has failed this Nation, the Constitution, and the people. Anyone who cannot see this is either uninformed, blind, or a part of the eventual fascist state that America is headed for. The signs should remain a vigilant reminder that America has lost her way, and that the will of the vast majority of Americans, should be adhered to. "Freedom isn't blind acceptance and covering our eyes and ears with the flag. FREEDOM, begins when we say NO...."

From Theory Webb, A Veteran

A Mistake To "Silence" This Movement

In regard to the controversy concerning the signs calling for the impeachment of President Bush - I am in complete agreement with Linden Lab's position. It is an absolute mistake to "silence" this movement - person or persons. I fail to understand how anyone's life is enriched when free debate and expression over the world we are building, be it digital or phenomenal, is crushed and silenced rather than explored and thereby illuminated.

If Second Life is watered down by the removal of subjects of substance and import, it becomes robbed of what I believe is one of it's greatest potentials - the unification on a real level of a collectively generated world that in turn CONTRIBUTES BACK to the real struggle of it's residents to shape a better future for all of us, and the generations to come.

From Vudu Paperdoll

Time to Enforce Rules and Regs

Shame on you, Linden Lab, for spinning the story of the Bush Guy as about "freedom of speech," and not including in your coverage of this controversy the very pertinent fact that he *sets his land to sale at outrageous prices, forcing people to buy their views back*. He does this provocatively, maliciously, repeatedly, sometimes taunting people and lowering the price to see if they will buy it, then raising it in "punishment". This is land extortion, pure and simple.

Please enforce your already very handy TOS and CS regulations that make it a punishable offense to harm the enjoyment of another's SL; to spam; to verbally harass; to disturb the peace. You have ample grounds for invoking all these offenses because this is systematic, deliberate, gross abuse of not just one TOS restriction, but at least three or four.

Ordinary political statements aren't spammed all across SL; people tend to keep it on their own land. Advertising, of the commercial or political kind, tends to go just on billboards on roadside parcels, or on buildings, or in commercial areas like clubs or malls. This offensive sign appears in the water; on a snowy mountainside; in the middle of a sim where there is only one other owner, and is always on tiny plots of 16-64 m2. Stop this menace, LL, you are losing customers whose land value you fail to protect.

From Prokofy Neva

A Technical Solution that Works for All

It seems to me that any object someone creates on their property is their business and a private matter. It may be considered an eye sore by neighbors but I think that could be solved through an option to "ignore" an object. Is this technically feasible? Right-click on an object, choose ignore, and you, the user, no longer see that object. This makes neighbors happy and allows landowners to keep on sending their message.

From Veeyawn Spoonhammer

Balancing Free Speech With Our Collective Values

The anti-Bush signs are indicative of a wider SL issue: advertising, and how to have an effective SL policy that on the one hand allows for freedom of speech and on the other hand preserves the beauty of our virtual landscape.

In a real-life parallel, several states have either banned billboards entirely, even to the point of removing signs that were already there, or limited the creation of new billboards. The argument in these states has been that billboards amount to visual pollution, and negatively impact the state's economy.

This is certainly true for Second Life. If it becomes mainly an advertising forum, the close-knit community we have built will be destroyed. How can Linden limit this type of advertising, should we decide to go in that direction? There are a number of ways:

• Enact a separate land tier system which charges more for each small non-abutting plot than the current system.
• Limiting the number of small non-abutting plots any resident or group can own.
• Limiting advertising to official forums (i.e. InfoHubs or similar devices). This way Linden can consolidate the advertising to mostly-business areas, or to one area of a mostly-residential area, and avoid visual pollution.
• Enact an SL-wide zoning policy, with residential, commercial, and advertising zones. This would prevent the syndrome of logging in to find a sign has suddenly cropped up near one's home, while preserving freedom of speech.

Essentially, these options go from least to most severe. One could easily imagine a combination of these policies being the most effective.

From Toni Bentham

Neighborhood Covenants Could Solve the Problem

Within the first hour of being in Second Life, I came across an Impeach Bush sign. Since then, I have seen several. Each time, I am irritated. While I understand the free speech goal, I also understand proper use of land in the real world, where people cannot put up billboards on their yards, because it decreases property values. The same will hold true in Second Life. I would never buy land near one of these ugly billboards, so values will go down.

If I buy a piece of land in SL, and my neighbor puts up a nasty billboard, then it decreases my enjoyment of my own land. So, I suggest that a kind of "covenants" be created in each area where before purchase, neighbors agree whether this is okay in that area. I would not buy in a neighborhood that allows such things.

From Marshall Sleestak

The Signs Have to Stay

I've been on SL for a month now and I would never have guessed I would be writing a letter in defense of freedom of speech. As an American who is against this war I feel that is important to keep the signs up. The Bush administration has gone out of their way to lie to the American people about this war. They have also threatened protesters by putting them in pens during protests and in jail, (I’m not even going to mention what’s going on in Gitmo), in the name of homeland defense. As long as the signs are not on someone’s personal property such as a home or business without permission, then I say keep them up. If people don't like it then let them do what they do in RL-walk away. If SL is all about fun and games then ban it. But if you're about freedom of expression then the signs have to stay.

From Artemis Glass

Canadian Supports Freedom of Expression

North America is a continent that enjoys the freedom of movement, freedom to live in peace and the freedom of speech. As a Canadian I have always been proud of being in a place that I can have a voice without fear of reprisal or repression. It is something I hold dear, and I know that my American friends and counterparts do as well.

We, as a people, may not always agree but that is another freedom we should hold dear. The ability to disagree and counter opinions without being silenced by force. I will, whether I agree or not, always support those that wish to speak their minds and stand up for what they believe to be right. Second Life has taken the right approach. The rights to free speech and freedom of expression is for all, not just for those that have the same view as you.

From Karilea Kuroda

Free Market Current Exchange: How it Works

Just like the U.S. economy, there is a total number of LindenDollars in circulation in the economy at any point in time. When money is bought or sold on the Linden Dollar exchange, the total amount of money in circulation doesn't change, because money is simply transferred from one person (the seller) to another person (the buyer).

• The amount of US$ that you have to pay to get LindenDollars (the exchange rate) is determined by the current prices being offered by sellers of LindenDollars.
  
• Sellers can ask whatever price they would like for their LindenDollars, and the price that buyers pay is set to be the best price possible – that means the sellers offering the best prices are the ones that are matched with the current buyers.

The price of Linden Dollars isn't something that can be predicted or set by Linden Lab, because it is set by the collective behavior of the sellers. This is why the Linden Dollar exchange is a “market.” Although there are different theories on whether to use a market or to fix prices, most countries in the world today are market-based.

If you are a person coming into the country for the first time and you want to exchange some dollars into the local currency, you pay whatever the market price is for that currency. This is why you see those little digital displays giving you the prices when you exchange currency in a foreign airport - because the price is changing day to day by the market.