The Voices in My Head

So according to Forbes (video interview), we are all a bunch of losers who like nothing more than gambling and cybersex. Proof, if ever there was a need, that fact-finding and honest reporting are passè. our intrepid reporter even boasts of saying Sl will collapse, and has been saying that for over a year now. With all due respect, everything and everyone collapses, sooner or later. It is no great feat to predict that a new born baby will die one day, and is in fact almost idiotic in its obviousness. Just like people, companies eventually die, and its no great trick to say a particular company will die one day in the future, with no specifics. At least, none he mentioned in that interview that date back to his “over a year ago”.

(more…)

So today I received a call for help from the SL mentors group. there was a new resident, a young lady from Japan, who was stuck on Orientation Island. Since her English was almost as good as my great-grandfather’s (ie. next to nothing), I was called in to help her in a language she was more accustomed to.

In the process of helping her, it transpired that she was most definitely a young lady, of no more than twelve summers. Much too young for the main SL grid, and even, as it happens, too young for the official Teen Grid (which is for ages 13 and up). Since I was wearing my official mentors’ hat at the time, I had no real choice but to follow the official rules, and report her as underage.

(more…)

This is the first in a series of articles I plan to post in this blog, detailing some of the things a new avatar can do to make their Second Life more fulfilling.

Today’s topic: the profile.

Right-click on one of the mentors in Orientation Island. You can tell who the mentors are, because they have the title “Second Life Mentor” hovering above their name. Look at the profile. There’s usually quite a lot of text, telling you when that avatar started SL (yes, we are SL addicts), what groups they are in, a little bit about them, and so on. Click on the tabs at the top of that profile window, and you can see even more information about that person. Do the same thing on a non-mentor in orientation island, and you will see a comparatively empty profile.

People like to fill these spaces out because it helps to find people with similar interests, and if you have ridiculously large friends lists like I do, it helps to remind them who you are. Many people all but refuse to talk to newbies who have an empty profile, simply because they have no idea what that person is like. After all, woudl you spend a lot of time and emotional energy on a new person you know nothing about, or a new person who is willing to say something about themselves up front? In that context, although SL is NOT a dating site, similar social networking rules apply - a person with an empty profile will get passed over.

So, what is to be done?

(more…)

yesterday I received official confirmation that I have been approved as a mentor for Second Life. This comes complete with membership in a special SL group for those such as me who have volunteered. I can’t remember exactly when I applied to be a mentor, but I think it was about 18 months ago. Certainly, the last time I applied for any kind of official or semi-official position sponsored by Linden Lab was back in January or February. I’m not entirely sure why it took them so long to approve of me.

Nonetheless, it pleases me no end to know that LL approves of me.

What type of Fae are you?

I’m not quite sure what to make of this result. It seems a reasonable match I think.