The CCUG meeting is for discussion of work related to content creation in Second Life, including current and upcoming LL projects, and encompasses requests or comments from the community, together with related viewer development work.
This meeting is generally held on alternate Thursdays at Hippotropolis and is held in a mix of Voice and text chat.
26.02 is enjoying low crash rates, confirming its status as the next viewer in line for promotion to release status.
There will likely be another RC update to this viewer prior to its promotion, which will include some “small, small” changes and fixes (e.g. making bold text easier to see, correcting some text overruns in some floaters, and correcting an extended CEF load time on the viewer splash screen).
Viewer 2026.03
This viewer is now described as “following hot on the heels of 26.02”, although it has yet to appear as either an alpha/project viewer or a beta/RC viewer.
Graphics Care Package vs. Lua Support Viewer
No firm decision as to which of these viewers is liable to progress to release status first.
The Lua viewer would appear to have the advantage given it is currently going through alpha/project viewer evolutions to move towards a beta/RC version, whereas the GCP viewer has yet for officially see the light of day.
However, the Lua viewer is dependent on the development of Lua back-end support and simulator updates, plus it is also the viewer being used to re-introduce Linux into the mix of official viewers (with limited support), and both of these might slow the viewer’s promotion to RC and then release status.
WebRTC Update
The May 5th grid-wide deployment of WebRTC went ahead as planned, so Vivox is no longer the Voice service across SL. WebRTC is.
The deployment apparently went well and there have been few reports of issues.
Moving forward, the focus will now be on fixes and updates (e.g. open chat voice attenuation) and general clean-up and the removal of unwanted code.
Once this work has been completed, attention will be turned more towards adding new features the WebRTC.
Voice-to-text transcription has been requested as one of these new features (and has been experimented with inside the La, including with multiple languages), however, no decision has yet been made as to WebRTC new features or their scheduling.
It was also requested to have the moderation tools for Voice made accessible to scripts per this feature request.
General Discussions
There are reports of what might be a bug which is causing some avatars to appear to have a 1,000,000 complexity number, when they are far below this. At the time of writing these nots it is unclear if a Canny bug report has been filed on this or not, or how widespread the issue might be.
A request was made for expanding SL material assets so they can be used to *completely* set an object’s material? So a BP tab in the material as well (e.g. the ability to drag and drop Blinn-Phong materials into a PBR asset alongside of the PBR materials, so have a complete package with the BP materials available for fallback purposes).
There are no specific plans for this. However, as Geenz linden has previously mentioned in recent meetings, there are plans in hand to add specular materials to PBR.
Will the terrain painting project be revived? Unlikely at this point is time; performance issues are the current priority and after that, there is more general PBR work to be completed. As such, the terrain painting work remains frozen.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026 – click any image for full size
It’s been a while since I’ve visited one of LeLooUlf’s Second Life settings, so was intrigued to learn that at some time between my last visit to her half-region setting (back at the end of 2023) and now, she had established a new setting on the mainland continent of Heterocera LeLoo’s World Mainland. However, in catching it via the Destination Guide, I decided I had to hop over and take a look.
LeLoo’s settings have always been themed affairs, mostly changing with the seasons, and this also the case with LeLoo’s World Mainland; the themes sat the time of my visit being those of outdoor theatre and gentle relaxation in a summertime setting.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026
This setting is a little deceptive when first arriving, seemingly quite small and self-contained garden with a roughly north-south orientation, the outdoor theatre mentioned above sitting at the southern end of the garden.
However, the location in fact straddles two regions, the gardens being in one, and a lake and gardens sitting below it in the neighbouring region. Signs close to the Landing Point indicate both and provide basic directions to help new arrivals to chose which way they want to go.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026
As one would expect, the garden is packed with detail, presenting a place to wander and relax within. Immediately adjacent to the Landing Point is a glass-roofed cabin or shack offering something of a writer’s retreat, whilst the main paths are marked by hewn slices of a tree trunk forming “stepping stones” over the grass.
Of these paths, one runs back to one of two roadside entrances to the garden, the second points the way to the path down to the lake and the third towards the theatre. As it does so, the latter runs past steps leading up to a trailer-mounted greenhouse forming another little retreat, whilst just off the path leading to the roadside there is a charming little setting for artists, complete with easel-mounted paintings and an arbour to sit within if on your own, or cushions on which to stretch out either on your own or with a friend.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026
The theatre carries the interesting name of the Grassy Knoll Theatre. This is not any form of historical reference, but is simply due to the fact the theatre sits on a grassy knoll, sharing the space with a semi-circle of assorted seating for the audience. A smaller knoll sits close by, crowned by umbrella trees which a group of little costumed devils have chosen as their playground – presumably their squeals and shouts of excitement don’t interrupt performances!
Bounded by brick walls to either side, and passing through a narrow neck of stubby plateaus before gently opening itself open to the waters of the region beyond, the lake at LeLoo’s World Mainland is something of a secluded setting without actually feeling closed-in.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026
Located in the neighbouring region of Laothoe, the lake is is reached via a switchback path and steps running down from the gardens, and it is an absolute charm. Koi swim along its length; a bridge suspended by balloons spans the narrow gap between the two little plateaus; dolphins and orcas frolic in the outer waters; floats and boats offer places to sit on the water and shaded chairs and benches offer drier setting on the land.
Swans patrol the outer extent of the lake as it joins with the region’s waters, and they are in turn watched by troop of cast frogs having a little fun on the rocks. Rich in plant growth and easy to wander, the lake and its banks make a worthwhile visit in its own right as much as a part of a visit to the setting as a whole.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026
One of the things I’ve always enjoyed with LeLoo’s settings is her attention to detail and the inclusion of touches that both add a further sense of place to a setting whilst also offering opportunities for photography and / or giving slight twist to things.
Take, for example, the little water trough and its three water spouts located alongside the path leading down to the lake. Overgrown with flowers, it can be so easily missed; however, its presence and state give the gardens life in the suggestion that things here need constant tending – as does any garden – and that if things are left unchecked, such as the free growth of flowers, then things can in places get out of hand.
Leloo’s World Mainland, May 2026
Similarly, up in the garden, the smattering of Curious Shrooms, with their waving “heads” and willingness to jump and down give the setting a little twist of fantasy – as does the giant snail keeping an eye on the theatre.
All of which can be taken to mean that LeLoo’s World Mainland makes for a delight visit.
The following notes cover the key points from the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday May 6th 2026. These notes form a summary of the items discussed and is not intended to be a full transcript. Pantera’s video is embedded at the end of this article, my thanks to her for providing it.
Meeting Overview
The Web User Group exists to provide an opportunity for discussion on Second Life web properties and their related functionalities / features. This includes, but is not limited to: the Marketplace, pages surfaced through the secondlife.com dashboard; the available portals (land, support, etc), and the forums.
Meetings are open to anyone with a concern / interest in the above topics, and form one of a series of regular / semi-regular User Group meetings conducted by Linden Lab.
Dates and times of all current meetings can be found on the Second Life Public Calendar, and descriptions of meetings are defined on the SL wiki.
Interestingly, this work is now being described as an “experiment” rather than any form of product development effort; a description which is somewhat removed from how the project was initially put forward (although it is fair to say that the Firestorm iteration of the work was more experimental by the Lab).
“A lot” has been learned from that experiment, some of which will be used to improve both the desktop viewer and Mobile App experiences.
Support has already refunded all or nearly all L$ pack purchases and are working through the list to make sure everyone gets refunded. More info is in the blog post here if you need help.
Web Services Updates
The refresh of the the official viewer log-in splash screen is now available in the current RC (and soon to be release) version of the viewer.
It has already been suggested this screen could benefit by the inclusion of the Lab’s own SLBN RSS feeds for blogs, etc, even if only in link format (as with the Firestorm log-in Splash screen).
Official blog posts are linked-to under the Events (or some reason – space?) tab, but the broader SLBN links are absent.
Surfacing the official blog and the SLBN links more clearly would benefit both official communications – given many users do not directly address secondlife.com, and help the “community” nature of SL.
The refreshed official viewer log-in splash screen, available with viewer 26.2 onwards – click for full size, if required
The refresh of the web-base land / region purchasing pages is in its first passes of “button up work”. and is currently on track to surface in the next few months. This is seen as the second part of the Land Portal overhaul which started with the refresh of the Linden Homes pages.
The Responsive Marketplace Homepage making progress, and will be passing through the design/QA gauntlet soon.
It is hoped that some of the tools used in this work can be put to use in enhancing / re-working elements of the Marketplace in general (e.g. making it more modular than monolithic) in order to add features more easily and leverage opportunities to help promote creators and stores.
This work would be subject to senior management agreement.
Internal and Quality of Life Updates
Web Search has received a range of under-the-hood updates (OpenSearch migration, Debian updates, Python upgrades), with an eye to tackle some first pass search results updates as a result of these updates in the near future.
A range of under-the-hood but necessary security update.
Mention of which again brought forth requests for more options to be added to the current MFA process, particularly e-mail support.
Wrapping up assisting teams without authentication/email upgrades.
New Joiners
Eliza Linden is a new hire, filling the role of Economy Product Manager, with responsibilities related to the Linden Dollar, the LindeX, and also producing support to the Marketplace transactions, etc. She may also become one of the Lindens attending the Web User Group meetings in the future.
Crowley Linden has joined LL as a Software Engineer with the Tools & Payments team.
Other Items
A bug report has been filed about items shown on the front page of a Marketplace Store not showing the correct price after a listing update – although the actual listing does show the correct price.
Marketplace requests:
A suggestion was made for merchants to be able to group like items together within their Marketplace stores or to have tabs within their stores so they can display items which might be brought together, etc.
It was asked if it would be possible in future to have better integration between the MP and in-world stores – such as having both Marketplace listings and store vendors pull products for delivery to customers from the same repository.
The response to these ideas was somewhat favourable, with it being mentioned that Casper (of CasperTech fame) is now looking at the MP and familiarising himself with it, and these might be things that could be incorporated into the MP alongside of features from the CasperVend system.
It was requested that the ability to review Demo items (particularly those with limited functionality) due to the negative feedback Demo items can garner for this reason.
This led to a more extensive discussion on reviews and hope to improve them.
The second half of the meeting [31:59-1:10:20] involved a user-generated presentation on Marketplace usage, featuring a series of slides. Allowing for the data being a snapshot in time (with changes occurring all the time), some of the highlights include:
The overall volume of listings has increased throughout the MP’s lifetime, despite periodic delisting exercises for items that have not sold or listings from creators who have not logged in for specified periods (e.g., 2 years or more) and things like the de-listing of Gacha items.
2016-2017 saw a large-scale jump in MP listings / activities – largely as a result of the introduction of multiple mesh bodies and the need to cater for them all with clothing and accessories, etc.
In the last decade, 16,000 MP stores have put out at least one product a year (with some releasing as many as 33 per month), and the longevity of individual products has increased (e.g. whereas merchants may have previously removed slow-/non-selling products in the past, now they are being left as listed on the MP.
The “average price” for purchased items on the MP is L$350 (obviously with a high degree of variance between low and high cost items such as fatpacks, etc.), with the suggestion that this is a good price for new creators to consider when selling their first individual products.
Gacha items appear represent a relatively low number of listings within the MP (and have been declining), but they do have a higher volume of sales.
AI use may have moved from AI generated content (peaking at around 1%of overall MP content being self-reported as AI generated) to the use of AI tools for imaging / branding. This led to a side discussion on AI and AI tools.
Please refer to the video for specifics for all of the above.
A request was made for a) the OAuth client for SL web being made available to users on external services, and b) if the SL Discord bot could do the same thing?
These questions were directed to Kermit Linden, but no specific response was offered during the meeting.
A complaint that a recent fix to logging-in to the Forums means that those with capitalisation in the middle of their users names now have the letters displaying in lower-case in their names (e.g. “Snuffyab123” instead of “SnuffyAB123”.
This issue might be related to a similar issue with SL Wiki for users with Edit rights, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, May 2026: Manoji Yachvili/Nomore – Inventory
I’ve covered the art of Manoji Yachvili (formerly Onceagain, now Nomore) on numerous occasions in this blog, as I have with many of the exhibitions at her formerly public Onceagain gallery. So I was a little surprised to hear (through the grapevine, at least) that she had taken the decision to withdraw somewhat from the SL art world, disbanding her Onceagain art group and stating she would not be exhibiting her art in-world any more.
Of course, we all reach points in our lives when we feel either a need for a radical change in our lives or work (or both), or that what we’ve been doing for so long is less the centre of our personal or creative expression, and we need to take a step back. However, we’re also free to have changes of heart within those decisions to a greater or lesser degree. So it is that Manoji/Nomore has taken up the challenge to present one more exhibition of her work, hosted by Dido Haas in the main halls of her Nitroglobus Roof Gallery.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, May 2026: Manoji Yachvili/Nomore – Inventory
Entitled Inventory (with the sub-title of What is Hidden Inside an Inventory), this is both something of a personal exhibition of pieces that many otherwise never have seen the light of day beyond Manoji’s eyes, and an exploration of art and the identity of the artist. It might also, to so degree, be seen as asking questions that are not only relevant to an artist, but to all of us in the modern world.
Not only finished works, but images, studies, tests, attempts, detours, forgetings. An accumulation that precedes the final form and often remains invisible. The inventory is the place where thought exceeds production, and production exceeds what is shown.
An artist thinks more than they create, and creates more than they exhibit. Of what emerges into the light, only a selected portion remains, filtered by time, context, and the gaze of others. But does what is not shown truly cease to exist? Is it necessary for everything to be visible in order to be legitimized? The very meaning of the word “artist” lies within this tension.
– From the artist’s notes accompanying of Inventory
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, May 2026: Manoji Yachvili/Nomore – Inventory
Thus, framed around the walls of Nitroglobus we have images and pieces, some perhaps near completion, others only partially complete or abandoned experiments, all drawing on different themes yet drawn together through Manoji’s familiar use of colour. Recovered from deep within the artist’s inventory, they present insights into the range of Manoji’s art and her willingness to experiment with forms, colour and presentation.
As pieces long hidden inventory, these pieces are used to frame an initial set of questions of their existence and “legitimacy” – just because they have been buried within inventory and thus unseen, does this make them less art than those pieces which did escape inventory’s confines and openly displayed? If they remain hidden and archived, and never seen by others, does this mean they never really existed? How do questions like this reflect on the artist behind the art? That so much remained hidden somehow lessen their own status, or does the fact they are prepared to judge their own work and/or pushing it to one side enhance their artistic reputation/ability?
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, May 2026: Manoji Yachvili/Nomore – Inventory
Beyond this, the exhibition also seems to offer a broader subtext for artists and the rest of us to consider. This can be particularly seen within the wall of Polaroid-like shots with their hashtag elements as they both encourage us to remember who we are and question things from the role of the artist through to the devil of the moment – the use of AI (which somewhat circles back to the questions of archiving raised in the artist’s notes accompanying the exhibition: yes, art might be preserved (or accidentally lost) through digital archiving, but it might also be put at risk of corruption by the devouring need of AI and its image harvesters).
Richly engaging visually, whether or not one delves into the artist’s own notes or attempts to identify potential subtexts and meanings, Inventory is a captivating exhibition – and I hope it is not forever Manoji’s last.
On Tuesday, May 5th, 2026, Linden Lab announced a new partnership with Essential Inventory to bring Second Life subscribers and users “more discovery, more rewards, and more ways to experience everything the grid has to offer”.
With this new partnership, Second Life Subscribers (Plus, Premium and Premium Plus) and user will be able to benefit from the following:
Second Life subscribers:
Five curated gifts every month across a variety of categories – with the first gifts becoming available at 12:00 noon SLT on Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 at the ACCESS shopping event, and at the dedicated Essential Inventory Premium Gifts region.
Early access to some of Second Life’s most popular shopping events – with the first early access opportunity being Sunday, May 10th, 2026 at the ACCESS shopping event.
All Second Life users:
Access to a new publication – What’s Hot in Second Life – which will be published every Tuesday at 1:00 SLT.
What’s Hot in Second Life is intended to be a curated guide highlighting “the most exciting and relevant content across the entire Second Life ecosystem”.
Essential Inventory began as a community-driven discovery platform of the kind encouraged by the Second Life Creator Partnership Programme. Whilst there are few details relating to the group(s) running Essential Inventory, the website does include the following information:
Founded in September 2022.
Boasts 3 million views over a 20 month period, with 285,487 site sessions in August 2025.
Has over 3,000+ e-mail subscribers.
Offers paid advertising for brands, etc., including “social boost packages”.
A “one-time free coverage” option to help promote a brand or event through Essential Inventory.
I first visited Astoria, a Homestead region held by Eromara Vita and Dots (Dotties Stoop), in December 2024 (see: Astoria’s wintertime in Second Life), and had intended to make a return view a lot sooner. However, things have been what they were, so to speak, and so May 2026 marks my first opportunity to make good on that hope of a revisit; and it turns out that being able to do so now is rather serendipitous for me, as the region had, for spring 2026, been redressed as a most pleasant Zen environment – oriental themes for region designs being a favourite for me.
Step into a sanctuary of stillness, where nature and serenity meet. Whether you seek meditation, a yoga session, or a moment of silence away from the noise of daily life, this tranquil space offers the perfect escape. Come as you are. Leave renewed.
– Astoria’a About Land description
Astoria, May 2026
In this iteration, the region stands as a series of six small islands, each of which features Alex Bader’s excellent Zen Garden building kit (a personal favourite of mine) as the foundation for their overall look. Arranged in a rough circle, the islands are in turn surrounded by an off-region range of rugged, forested hills which enfold them in a gentle hold, cutting them off from the rest of the world somewhat and adding to their sense of tranquillity.
Separated by deep, clear waters, five of the six islands are connected one to another by a mix of bridges and stepping stones, allowing visitors to move between them without getting wet. However, the sixth is somewhat separated from the others in that no stepping stones or bridge runs across to it.
Astoria, May 2026
This separation appears to be by intent rather than any oversight in providing either a bridge or stepping stones, as it stands as a venue for music events (the next being May 15th and featuring Bsukmet – click the information board on the island for a direct Landmark). Given this use, the island is also a little different in appearance to the others, being formed as a stage, with a dancefloor of stones floating before it on the water for dancing.
The Landing Point for the region is located on the tallest of the six islands. This is topped by a small teahouse offering views out over the other islands. A short gravel path with seating links the teahouse with steps leading down to the water’s edge. Here, stepping stone branch out from the island to provide the means to get to two more of the islands.
Astoria, May 2026
One of these island is home to a shrine which has suffered some external damage. However, Buddha still sits serenely inside while a statue of Bishamonten (a Japanese form of the Indian god Vaisravana) outside, keeping his proper place and guarding Buddha. A short bridge connects the shine island with a small, flat island topped by a gravel circle with a place to sit and a bamboo fountain.
Buddha is also to be found on the other island which can be reached via the stepping stones from the Landing Point. Here, he resides outdoors in the lee of a tall rock. A pillow is placed before him for those wishing to meditate with him, while a yoga mat on the other side of the rock offers the opportunity for exercise. The entire island takes the form of a small Zen garden looped by gravel paths with water features and places to sit.
Astoria, May 2026
A long span of a bridge allows the Zen garden walk to continue on the last of the larger island in the group. This is again low-lying and offers places to sit and contemplate, the peace only broken by the slow clunk of another bamboo fountain as its arm fills with water before dropping to deposit the water into another little stream.
As well as the islands and their walks, the waters here also present points of interest for photographers: lanterns float on the water under a bridge and among lilies; a small dragon fountain sits on a rock rising from the waters, whilst a large water dragon appears to be keeping an eye on the Landing Point and teahouse. The gardens also have lots of little touches to bring them to life without every breaking from their sense of serenity.
Astoria, May 2026
In all, another engaging and pleasant design from Dots and Ero.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 