New World Notes

Long-Dormant Second Life Users Brought Back By the Pandemic Contemplate a Post-COVID Return to Reality

Where do virtual worlds go when the pandemic’s gone? It's a topic I'll be thinking a lot about in the coming months. The tragedy of the global pandemic accelerated the need for online work and virtual social spaces as never before -- hence the explosion of Zoom-meets-virtual worlds startups such as this one.

But as the COVID outbreak thankfully ebbs in much of the globe, many organizations are already calling for their personnel to come back into the office. Can virtual world spaces and platforms adjust to this new era, while maintaining its cultural gains? Or are they destined to fall back to simply being entertainment platforms mostly targeting teens?

I thought about this while recently reading this thought-provoking Reddit thread by veteran Second Life users who drifted away years ago, then returned to the virtual world during the pandemic (as a fair amount did)... and are now contemplating a return back to base reality:

What Are Your Favorite Virtual World Locations for Great Ambient Sound?

You'll likely need to wear your headphones to hear it, but on a recent visit to my office in Waterhead in SL, I noticed the location was starting to sound really lovely. Not just due to my artificial tide, but recently a neighbor added one of those lonely pier bells, while another had installed a clocktower chime. So lovely, in fact, when I went back to RL work, I kept the virtual world running in the background, so I could keep hearing that soothing ambience. Most locations in Second Life are pretty scant on atmospheric audio, so I'm lucky to have this for my own location. 

What are your favorite virtual world spots for ambient sound? Post in Comments so we can give a listen.

Oh, and about my shrine to Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash:

Watch: Epic BattleBots Duel, Fire-Breathing Slapbox vs. SL Fave Sharko!

In case you missed it last week, here's the Discovery Channel's BattleBots fight between SlapBox and Sharko, prototyped in Second Life by Artorius Constantine, owner of SL's Nano Station Technologies store.  Sent to us via BattleBots super-fan Devin Vaughn, it is almost more brutal and merciless as a major fashion drop in SL, which is saying something.

"Overall that was one of the best episodes of BattleBots I have seen in a long time," Devin reports. "Good even matches, much spark and explosions! Sharko had a good match against a rookie bot SlapBox, and a crazy moment: Shark bites down good, but then SlapBox lifted the entire shark, all 250 pounds was lifted into the air, totally inverted and shot flames down the mouth of poor Sharko who refused to let go. Wow."

Watch above to see what happens next! As to why it happened, Constantine and his crew have a good post-mortem in Reddit's /BattleBots community: 

Fascist Leanings of Trump's Most Extreme Followers Already Evident in Their Online Behavior Back in 2016

As the United States takes stalk of the violent riot of Trump supporters at the Capitol last week, led in part by people wearing Nazi shirts and carrying Confederate flags, I thought back to the behavior of Trump supporters in Second Life before the 2016 election -- mobbing the virtual HQ of Bernie Sanders, for instance. And not just to troll his left-leaning Second Life followers, but to confront them with a clear symbol of hate:  

“There is a picture I managed to capture of one of the flags spewing from a particle dispenser at HQ,” Sanders support group member Macaria Wind tells me, handing over an image file of a Trump swastika. “Left there by one of Trump's supporters when no one was around.”

Racist behavior like this led to at least one Trump group being expelled from Second Life and their private island, aptly called The Wall, where they had rezzed a massive version of the Nazi Party's eagle-headed Parteiadler. Online activity like this was eerily similar to that on other sites where Trump's most extreme supporters congregated, including Reddit and 4Chan. At the time, Trump supporters in Second Life (as with other online sites) insisted this fascist behavior was simply a bad apples anomaly, or meant ironically, or both. The events of last week definitely show this justification to be tragically, horribly wrong: As it turns out, there were more than enough bad apples to threaten democracy itself -- and far few of their members to stop them.

Monday Memory: That Time a Former Governor Made a Whistle Stop Appearance in Second Life as Part of His Potential Presidential Campaign

August 31, 2006: Read my interview with now-Senator Mark Warner here. His SL appearance came at a time when Democratic insiders were considering whether the former Virginia governor should be their "fallback" presidential candidate in 2008, should Senator Hillary Clinton’s presumptive ascension as the party’s choice for President in 2008 ever fell through. (Funny these insiders hadn't yet considered who'd actually go on to become their candidate.) A few months after the SL event, I was lucky enough to meet Warner in person and found him an impressively knowledgeable politician with a keen knack for grasping and synthesizing competing opinions. When we shook hands, one of his assistants reminded him of the Second Life event, and he grinned broadly, saying something like, "Wow that got us lot of a buzz, didn't it?"

Warner's virtual world appearance in Second Life was covered by multiple news outlets as a novel (if strange and geeky) thing for a potential political candidate to do. Fourteen years later, the fact that Joe Biden had an official campaign headquarters in Animal Crossing scarcely merited much notice -- now, virtual world appearances by well-known cultural figures are taken for granted.

Second Life Users Create Black Lives Matter Tribute Photos in Wake of George Floyd’s Death

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

In recent days, free copies of Black Lives Matter shirts and hoodies have been created and made available in Second Life -- direct teleport link here to get them.  

Since then, some SLers have used this apparel to take powerful and artful photos to show their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. Above, Nico Sorbet’s “Can’t Breathe” explicitly connects George Floyd’s death to Eric Garner’s - another unarmed Black man killed for a suspected petty crime. Petty larceny is not a capital crime yet some seem to accept police acting as judge, jury, and executioner for offenses that are less than a speeding ticket. 

Several more after the break:

Cajsa's Choices: Images from My New Flickr Gallery, "Coronavirus in Second Life" -- And Coronavirus Advice from My Doctor in Real Life

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Gwen B completely captures exactly how I now feel in her photo “Covid-19.” I admire her composition, the use of the Rule of Thirds in placing her avatar, the use of the triangle to connect the text and the subject. It’s bold and brilliant. 

If you are interested in how Second Life is capturing coronavirus, I have created a whole gallery of pictures to enjoy, if that’s the right word. (Slideshow above.) I also thought I would share my doctor’s advice since she is an infectious disease specialist who recently diagnosed me as likely having the virus:

• My doctor said there is no approved treatment and that all treatment is oriented to your symptoms. So just use whatever over-the-counter drugs you would use for the symptoms you have. 
• The new one for me was using my albuterol inhaler to ease my breathing. I have it for allergies and didn’t know it would work for chest congestion. It never occurred to me. 
• All the rest is pretty normal: As needed, take acetaminophen, cough syrup with dextromethorphan, cough drops, fluticasone, and sudagest. 
• She also said call 911 if it’s hard to breathe or your temperature is over 103. Guess they don’t want folks just showing at the hospital up willy-nilly.  

Hamlet asked me how seeing these pictures make me feel while I am sick, presumably with COVID. I feel all sorts of things. The TP hoarding images make me laugh, as they seem to mock the ridiculousness of buying 144 rolls of TP, though diarrhea is on the list of possible symptoms. Thankfully not for me, since I didn’t stock up. 

I am touched by the SL photos of social distancing that portray the alienation that comes with staying at home, separating ourselves from the fabric of life. There is this tremendous irony that the most communitarian thing we can do is to isolate ourselves. 

Back to images. What is a pandemic without a rush on toilet paper? SL has its own take on the shopping frenzy as seen in the pictures below:

Second Life Marketplace Swamped By Coronavirus-Themed Fashion, Accessories, and Virus-Spreading Games

"With the coronavirus running rampant in the real world, we're all going to spend more time socializing and working in virtual worlds like Second Life"... is a sentiment I'm starting to see more often, from industry analysts and fans (variation from Robert Scoble here). But while it's still far from certain that that's happening, we're definitely seeing people in virtual worlds like Second Life socializing around the coronavirus. 

Right now, the official SL Marketplace carries dozens of coronavirus-themed items for sale, everything from fashion and accessories to full-fledged games. Call it some much-needed black humor to relieve the tension or a sick joke at the expense of thousands who've since died from the virus, but you can buy a Covid-19 beverage tray from DeathGrip CreaTions (above) for the low low price of L$180 (under $1).

Here's another, echoing the infamous World of Warcraft-based "corrupted blood" incident which went on to become a case study for real world epidemic research: pick up a copy of the CORONA VIRUS particle bumper for L$99, and spread virtual disease at your next virtual party in Second Life:

Wear or add the Corona Virus Bumper. As soon you collide with another avatar, you will sneeze (sound) and spray the Corona Virus particles everywhere

A bit too dark, even for Second Life? TessYr Vaak has you hooked up with an anti-coronavirus spray featuring Bento-based skeleton animations, so you can fight the virus with the latest avatar technology:

UK Second Life Users Likely To Be Hurt By Brexit Fluctuations on US$-to-Pound Exchange Rates

Last year, many Second Life users based in the UK celebrated their impending Brexit from the European Union with a party in the virtual world (above). But ironically, British SLer Michaelatv Destiny makes an interesting point about Brexit in the official forums:

I'm just getting some feedback from my fellow Brits. In 2016 I had an affordable [SL] homestead I could keep under my present retired income. We were getting $1.49 to one GBP. Our currency crashed big time after stupid decision to leave.

In no time at all it was down to $1.35, which added £6 a week extra on my tier, which I could not afford. So been waiting 3 years for GBP to recover back to $1.49. Again. This hasn't happened, and I really losing hope I will ever be able to buy or rent in the near future.

Brexit happens any day now, and there's no doubt in my mind that our GBP will go into free fall. I conservatively predict the pound will be almost worthless, crashing to about $1.10 to one GBP. That would push up the price of a homestead to £9 -£10 a week, from-pre 2016 levels.

More conversation here. For the many older British living on a pension, especially, even a small change to the British pound-to-US dollar exchange can adversely impact their discretionary spending (i.e. entertainment, i.e. Second Life), so she's probably right. I'm not any kind of expert on exchange rates, but this analysis from Capitol.com does suggest sharp fluctuations and a downward trend for the British pound against the dollar, greatly accelerated by Brexit:

No, Virtual World Ageplay By Consenting Adults Is Not Legal (In Many Places)

There's been lots of heated reader discussion about last week's update on the lawsuit against Linden Lab, which alleges the company has not adequately prevented money laundering, sex abuse, and virtual world ageplay in Second Life. Some of these comments, unfortunately, contain a profound misunderstanding of of age play in particular that should be addressed -- for instance, this:

Is it pedophilia when two 45-year-old people using the SL system have pixel sex, and one has a mesh female adult body and the other a mesh child-like body? Is this pedophilia?

Is it pedophilia when two 45-year-old females using the SL system have pixel sex, and one has a mesh male adult body and the other a mesh female child-like body?

Legally speaking, the answer to both questions is yes -- in many countries around the world that are essential to Second Life's survival as a virtual world. To quote this analysis by lawyer Benjamin Duranske from 2007, when the age play controversy as reported by a German TV news story, utterly tarnished Second Life's brand forever: