New World Notes

Open Forum: What's the Coolest SLurl to Click Right Now?

Update, 6/1:: In Comments, Paul Day recommends checking out "Pavl Duke's Video Wall", which you can find by clicking an inauspicious button outside a seaside cottage in Cisthene. "I've tried to explain it people," he writes, "but it's one of those cases where words can never do it justice." I agree that it's pretty cool, and worth a click: Direct SLurl teleport at this link.

If someone asked you to send them to the coolest spot in Second Life, what SLurl would you give them to click? Can be a permanent location or sim, an ongoing event, a temporary sandbox construction, a commercial location, a non-profit resource, a provocative work of art or a fun game, a resting spot on a cliff by the sea, pretty much anything that inspires your personal fancy. Post in Comments, with a description of what the SLurl teleports you to. I'll highlight my favorites in an Update.

NWN in Japanese:リスニングツアー：セカンドライフのボイス利用についてJoe Lindenが語る

<オリジナル英文記事>昨晩お伝えしたように（原文は5月20日に掲載されました）リンデンは、はるかにユーザー数が少ないながらも、セカンドライフをスカイプの競合相手にしているVoIPの使用者数について、ほめちぎっている。これが、セカンドライフに沢山のボイスアプリケーションがつくことになった理由だ。その機能は今日からベータ版が始まっている：携帯電話からアバターへの通話を可能にするAvaLine、アバターに通話が出来るデスクトップアプリケーションSLimの再スタートである。今年の終わりごろには、ボイスフォントとSMSでアバターにメッセージが送れるアプリケーションや、その他のアプリケーションも出てくる。

New World Notes in Portuguese: Tela a óleo inspirada em avatar do Second Life leiloada por 800 dólares norte-americanos, a favor da American Cancer Society

"Hasi" é o título de uma tela a óleo feita pela artista conhecida no Second Life como Four Yip, cujos trabalhos ímpares e evocativos são amiúde baseados em avatares do SL. (Escrevi sobre ela no ano passado.) Na semana passada [segunda semana de Maio], ela pôs "Hasi" em leilão no evento anual do Relay For Life no Second Life, a favor da American Cancer Society.

Watch Stanford's Metaverse U Broadcast Live Here

I'm here at Stanford's lovely (if impossible to park in) campus for Metaverse U, going on today and tomorrow -- here's the speaker's list. (Schedule on Pacific time, or SLT.) The organizer's are broadcasting it live on the web, so anyone can watch. You can also send questions and comments via Metaverse U's Twitter feed, which are often integrated into the conversation going on here; just add "#metaverseu" on your Tweets. Or post thoughts in Comments here, and I'll relay it to the group when I can.

Update, 5/31: Live stream disabled. Will link to archived recordings when they go up.

Can Female Avatars Ever Escape the Expectations of Real World Women?

SL Fashion blog Shopping Cart Disco has a fascinating post and discussion thread over yet another controversy circling around the size of a female avatar. Almost exactly a year ago, the rage was over an SL group promoting anorexic-looking women (real and virtual.) This time, the controversy is a bit more complex, since it deals with a Second Life fashion designer advertising for models who are extremely thin, or reconfigured to look that way, with an avatar's Height, Body Fat, and other physical attributes numerically specified. (At left, two versions of Ms. Ryker Beck, the one at right formed to suit this designer's standards.) Many fashionistas are outraged at the job offer; in the post's comment thread, one writes, "[I] personally think this is mental sickness, has nothing to do with being pretty anymore. Womans do need curves."

Far worse is said, not usually about real women or the social pressures they face, but about 3D graphic representations of women. Opinions cut the other way, of course: In an SL Universe forum discussion over the same topic, for instance, a woman who describes herself as a recovering bulimic and anorexic (who has a full-figured avatar to boot), dismisses the rancor: "To compare SL fashion to RL fashion is idiotic. To compare SL avatar size to influence over people's RL self images is equally idiotic."  Maybe so, but the mere fact that so many are angry suggests it's a reality that needs to be understood.  In that vein, let me suggest a counter-example:  If the fashion designer under fire announced that she was looking for extremely thin Elf women models, would the fury be just as keen?

Is Project Z the Best Example of a Virtual World Art Gallery?

Metaverse developer Caleb Booker recently visited an in-world gallery called "project z", and came away convinced it exhibits the best practices for creating such a space in SL.  I never understood the concept of a virtual art gallery, especially if it's just displaying 2D copies of real world paintings and photographs; then again, maybe that's just because I haven't toured enough good examples of the form.  (Then yet again, I'm not event sure real world galleries and museums are the optimal places to display art, since a compilation of works tends to diminish the impact of any individual piece within it.)  Anyway, check out the place Mr. Booker mentions, and decide for yourself how well-executed it is.  (Direct SLurl teleport at this link.)

Hetero Eye For The Straight Avatar Guy

Gauge Laville of We Hate What You're Wearing has some solid tips for the fashion-conscious, budget-aware straight male avatar. The fashion model on the left got that way with just L$51, and the dude adjacent him, L$2699L. Mr. Laville's advice stems from this realization of his: Well-dressed men in SL are "1. Alts. Many of which were created by female residents. 2. Gay men. 3. Myself, and about five other straight men." Maybe a debatable breakdown, but dig the T-shirt with the bullet hole in the heart.

The Case For Tipping Second Life Club Owners

When you catch a club's live music show in Second Life, it's pretty much de riguer to tip the performers. But how about the club owner, too? On SL Fix, Shauna Skye makes the case for doing just that, based on her own experiences running a club, and the painful economics that involves:

Afterwards I’d be mentally exhausted, secretly grumpy about the Lindens paid with nothing coming in, weary of greeting people who wandered in with no manners, and sighing for losing two hours of my life. I found it hard to enjoy the ordeal when I felt I was paying through the nose for giving a musician a place to play and doing work on top of it. All the while the artist was thinking they did me a favor performing for such a “low” price. (Interesting how these things are so relative.)

Read it all here, especially as the above quote reads better in full context. Since unlike the real world it's also pretty much de riguer for SL club owners not to charge a cover entrance, what other viable monetization options are there, besides tipping?

New World Tableau: Faerie Hax's "Computer Says No"

I found Faerie's fourth wall-bursting screenshot in my New World Tableau group, and fell in love-- go here for bigger sizes. How did she create it? The process is fairly involved, but as Ms. Hax's image suggests, often worth the effort: check out the step-by-step tutorial on her blog. See more of Faerie's works on her Koinup profile, and go here to check out the whole Tableau series.

Chestnut's Choices May 28 - June 3: Attend Goodbye Party for Refuge and Expansion, Discuss the Adult Grid with Lindens, Show Off Your Karaoke Chops & Much More

Chestnut Rau’s weekly round-up of upcoming SL events…

On Sunday May 31 AM Radio's very popular builds The Refuge and The Expansion will close.  The evocative installations stayed open months longer than planned due to their enormous popularity and will be missed by many, including me.  To celebrate the success of The Refuge and The Expansion, AM Radio, Wales Springs and Welsh Cove owner Alexandar Vargas and curator Callipygian Christensen will hold one last benefit at this location for Heifer International.

Join the party beginning at 3pm on Sunday May 31 and hear the hauntingly beautiful voice of ColeMarie Soleil, followed by the delicious guitar work of Joaquin Gustav at 4pm and end the afternoon by rocking out to the blues brought to you by the incredible KelvinBlue Oh at 5PM. In Wales Springs.  [SLurl teleport at this link]

Also after the break:   Attend a Fashion TV Show, Discuss Faith and Modern Medicine, Catch a Live Original Music Showcase at Freestar Bay and much more...