OK… we get lots of these stories. But, Loki Eliot has a post titled: I cant control how you see my world.
Loki explains what he wants to improve the experiences he builds in Second Life™. He makes some good points. Check out the article.
General News
More Griefing
Fifteen or so region owners were at the Server & Scripting meeting Tuesday. They are having horrible griefing problems and are looking for help.
Seems repeat griefers are plaguing SL. That is not news. If you have looked at these problems, you know there is no easy way to get rid of repeat offenders. Those not familiar with the technology of the Internet always think there is a technical solution. Griefing is a human nature problem as in many cases the solutions are not technical but a matter of law enforcement. We see that in games, forums, and real life where problems of violence and hate are ongoing. Humans bent on anti-social behavior find ways around the technical solutions and legal restrictions. Technology is not going to stop humans from misbehaving. Nor is government, even when it has its foot on everyone’s neck… the complete removal of freedom. People misbehave.
Wondering Around Second Life and the Web
This Sunday morning I am going reading blogs and forums to see what is going on in Second Life. The interesting things I am finding follow:
Nice Places
Honour has images of Alice is Wonderland [SIC]. See: SL10BCC, Jumping Down the Rabbit Hole in Second Life. It is a region that is as strange and odd as the original story conveys and Honour does a good job of capturing that in her photos.
L$ Exchange
Maria Korolov on Hypergrid Business post more about the ongoing saga of the L$ Exchanges. See: Linden Lab allows third-party currency sales. Maria sees this as the Lab reversing their position. I don’t.
All exchanges MUST buy their Lindens from the LindeX. People can then buy those L$ from the Exchanges. But, in reality these will no longer be ‘exchanges’ as no one will be able to take money out of SL EXCEPT through the LindeX.
So, the exchanges are now only retailers of L$. It looks like many people will still have a significant problem getting money out of SL. This is of course the whole point of FinCEN regulations.
Forum Discussion
There is a question and discussion in the SL Forum about: Any solution for cashing out in Euro with LindeX?
More L$ Exchange Information 2013-20A
Gwyneth Llewelyn has published her take on the new More Options announcement by the Lab. See: Financial crisis in Second Life ended? There are some details and gotcha’s worth knowing.
Gwyneth speculates on whether the Lab will turn off the cash out feature of the LindeX. As it is now the More Options change means other exchanges CANNOT convert L$ to RL currencies.
If FinCEN is forcing the Lab to move that direction, it will happen. But, that would be a huge hit for the Lab. There are people making a RL living from their SL businesses. Preventing any outward cash flow would kill those businesses.
For instance the motion capture company just covered in The Drax Files would likely drop their efforts in SL and move on to something else.
Personally I think stopping the outward cash flow will kill Second Life. As things are now SL provides entertainment and income. I’ll have to look to see how many private islands/regions are a shop of some kind. Tier is paid by sales. That tier payment thing could continue. But, some significant portion of those people are taking money out of SL. I suspect that significant portion is likely to give up their land.
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The Drax Files – World Makers: Episode 6 – Abramelin Wolfe
This episode is about Abramelin Wolfe one of the people behind Abranimations. His wife helps him. If you have ever searched for a hard to find animation in Second Life™ you have probably come across Abranimations.
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Check out Abranimations web site. If you like Jo Yardly’s 1920’s Berlin, then you must have Abranimations’ 1920’s Flapper Dances… or so I think. Abranimations also has a collection of Vintage Dances. They should work too.
Oculus Rift Update 2013-20
Jo Yardley, of 1920 Berlin fame, has an update on the Oculus Rift from Rod Humble. See: Rod Humble: Oculus Rift already in Second Life, want to make it excellent. The title pretty much says it all. But, Jo provides some interesting background making it worth the read time.
I think Jo is somewhat representative of builders like Loki Eliot, Penny Patton, and others that create fantastic builds. I expect many of that caliber builders will be looking at their builds though Oculus Rift eyes.
I suspect that a shift to Oculus Rift will change how Second Life is built and experienced. While I am looking forward to the Oculus Rift arriving in a retail version I am probably not as excited about it as Jo. It will affect all the things she says it will affect. But…