Month: May 2015

SL project updates week 20/1: Server and viewer; outfits

Posted on by Inara Pey
Join Hands: raising money to help the WFP's aid work in earthquake-struck Nepal
Join Hands: raising money to help the WFP’s aid work in earthquake-struck Nepal with Fashion for Food – May 13th through May 16th inclusive

Server Deployments, Week 20

As always, please refer to the server deployment thread for the latest updates / news.

There was no main (SLS) channel deployment on Tuesday, May 11th. On Wednesday, May 12th, the three RC channels were all updated with a new server maintenance package, comprising:

  • Internal server logging changes
  • Back-end system bug fixes
  • Reply-To email changed in postcard sends

As noted in my TPV Developer meeting report for week #17, snapshots are sent via the “secondlife.com” domain, but use the sender’s own e-mail address as the originating address in the “from” field. This, and other ways ways in which e-mails flowing out from “secondlife.com” are handled has resulted in some ISPs regarding the domain as a spam domain, and have been pro-actively blocking it.

The “reply-to email changed in postcard sends” refer to a change made to how the “from” field in snapshots sent to e-mail (which the Lab refers to as “postcards”)  is addressed in an attempt to alleviate the problem.

At the time this issue was raised at the TPV Developer meeting, it was indicated that the Lab was considering removing the the snapshot to e-mail capability server-side. However, as was indicated in the meeting, doing so would break a number of wardrobe HUD systems which are popular among users. Whether or not this fix is an attempt to address the spam issue without having to remove the snapshot or e-mail functionality is currently unclear.

SL Viewer

Attachments Viewer (Project Big Bird)

The attachments viewer was promoted to release candidate status with version 3.7.29.301361, release on Wednesday, May 13th. This viewer provides a series of fixes for attachment-related issues, particularly when multiple attachments are added or removed at the same time. It also has enhanced logging, so the SecondLife.log file will have some additional lines related to avatar state in general and attachments in particular.

Linux

As noted in a separate report, the Lab have now blogged about seeking assistance from open source developers in the continued development and maintenance of the Linux flavour of the viewer.

 Outfit Folder Changes

A recent change to viewer functionality means that it is no longer possible to drag and drop sub-folders of items into the My Outfits  / Outfits folder – see BUG 9209 (FIRE-15603). This change, which is in the official release viewer, is filtering out into various TPVs, and has been causing some consternation.

While it is still possible to create sub-folders within My Outfits / Outfits and drag and drop items into them, many people have tended to simply unpack new clothing items into a default folder and drag that folder (or the Direct Delivery folder for the clothing) into My Outfits / Outfits, and then sort the contents into suitable outfits from there. Others have used the Appearance floater to create outfits, save them, and then drop them into My Outfit / Outfits – which also is no longer possible.

It’s unclear precisely what problems can occur in allowing drag-and-drop in My Outfits, although it appears drag-and-drop into My Oufits was never intended to be allowed. The change itself was made by Vir Linden, shoe has most recently been working on a range of improvements to try to reduce issues of inventory loss; he is now involved in the JIRA discussion, seeking to understand use cases relating to dragging-and-dropping folders into  My Outfits.

Lab announces a 12th anniversary music fest and invites auditions

Posted on by Inara Pey

secondlifeWhile the traditional Second Life Birthday celebrations are now pretty much coordinated and run by the community – hence the title Second Life Birthday Community Celebrations, the Lab has a track record of sharing in the celebratory mood around the time of SL’s anniversary through various promotions, gifts, and so on, often as an overall part of the community celebrations

Xiola Linden brings word that this year, the Lab is trying something a little different – a music festival; and they’re inviting musicians from across SL to participate.

Xiola’s blog post on the festival reads in part:

Second Life is turning 12 this June, and we’re planning a few extra special ways to help commemorate a dozen amazing years with our Residents! You’ll have to stay tuned to this blog and our social media pages for all the exciting things as they roll out, but today we’re announcing auditions for … (drum roll, please) … the Second Life Music Fest – sponsored by Linden Lab – a two day music-extravaganza inworld to celebrate!

Second Life is full of talented musicians, and we’re hoping to draw out all you guitarists, bassists, drummers, singers, tambourine shakers and other music makers to come audition for the festival. All genres are welcome!

The Second Life Music Fest is an opportunity to perform at one of the biggest celebrations in Second Life, and it’s a paid gig!

Those interested in taking part are invite to complete the audition application form – and to do so no later than Wednesday, May 20th. The blog post notes that completion of the application never signifies a commitment on the part of the artist to take part, nor a guarantee they’ll be called upon to audition before a panel of judges comprising Lab personnel and residents.

Musicians who are selected to audition will receive word directly from the Lab via e-mail. Those successful in their audition will be invited to perform a 30-minute set at the Second Life Music Fest, and (subject to the Lab’s terms and conditions) receive payment for doing so.

The auditions themselves will be open to the public, and will take place at Feed A Smile’s Lavender Fields on the following dates and times:

  • Friday, May 22nd 12:00 noon to 14:00 SLT
  • Saturday, May 23rd 18:00 to 20:00 SLT

So, if this sounds like it might be your kind of gig as a musician – follow the links and apply.

Join Hands to help Nepal

Posted on by Inara Pey
Join Hands: raising money to help the WFP's aid work in earthquake-struck Nepal
Join Hands: raising money to help the WFP’s aid work in earthquake-struck Nepal with Fashion for Food

Valsnia and Ruby Ornamental, two Second Life residents and bloggers, have recently formed Join Hands, a virtual group they would like to see  “make a difference to the real world we live in. Not dedicated to a single mission but the spirit of Humanity.” As the inaugural activity for Join Hands, they are organising a four-day fund-raiser in support of the people of Nepal following the devastating earthquake of April 25th.

Fashion for Food SL is aimed at raising money which can be put towards the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), which is focusing its efforts on bringing assistance and relief to the outlying regions of Nepal, allowing the government there to co-ordinate efforts along the Kathmandu Valley. The WFP  estimating US $116.5 million is required to provide food for 1.4 million people for a period of three months – that’s US $27 per person per month.

Fashion for Food will showcase items from top SL designers in a special fashion show on Wednesday, May 13th
Fashion for Food will showcase items from top SL designers in a special fashion show on Wednesday, May 13th

Measuring a peak moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.8Mw , with an epicentre one the the village of Barpak in the Gorkha district of the country, the initial earthquake was followed by  a series of aftershocks, some almost as powerful as the original ‘quake,  which are still continuing.

The result is a disaster which has left over 8,000 dead and 18,000 serious injured at the time of writing, and around 3.5 million people in need of food, water and assistance, including 1.7 million children in need of medical support. Aid agencies around the world have rallied to the call, but there is mounting concern over providing care and assistance with the fast approaching monsoon season, and the real risk of epidemics among survivors due to the shortage of clean water, the makeshift nature of living conditions and the lack of toilets.

the Fashion for Food event area recreates an Earthquake shattered environment to help people better understand the devastation wrought in Nepal
the Fashion for Food event area recreates an Earthquake shattered environment to help people better understand the devastation wrought in Nepal

Fashion for Food launches at 14:00 SLT on Wednesday, May 13th, with a special fashion show by SCALA™. It will be followed by an after-show party hosted by  DJ Seashell Dench from SCALA™. Clothing and jewellery from participating designers can be purchased from the vendor boards throughout the region, with all proceeds of sales, as well as all donations received going directly to WFP in support of their work in Nepal.

Designers from across Second Life are donating to and participating in the event, the list comprising:   69Park Ave GQ, Amarelo manga, Ana Markova, Astralia Alice Tartaglia, Aura Yeu, Ayiki, – AZUL -, Baboom Couture, CIRCA Living, CORPUS Motion,  Dulce Secrets, ~ghee~,
~~ Glitter Girls ~~ and In-Pose,  Glitterati by Sapphire,  Hawker’s House, ImmateriA,  J’adore poses,  JCNY Collection, .:JUMO:.,  K E L I N I Haute Couture,  Lazuri.  Look @ Me Design,
LUXE,  Lyrical Bizarre Templates, Mâchoire,  M&M Clothing,  Me Sew Sexy,  Moondance Boutique,  NYA’S Shop,  No 7,  Petit Chat,  Prey,  Prism Designs SL,  PROMAGIC, RAPTURE, Athena Couture,  SF designs,  Silken Moon,  ::SG SLackgirl ::,  Snowpaws, TASHI,  Totally Random,
Vestige Poses, Xen’s Hats and Zanze.

All proceeds of the sales through the vendor boards will be going to support the WFP's programme to deliver food to the people of Nepal
All proceeds of the sales through the vendor boards will be going to support the WFP’s programme to deliver food to the people of Nepal

The region hosting the event – Indian Paradise – has been designed to recreate an environment which has been shattered and an earthquake, offering something of a glimpse of the devastation wrought in Nepal. The fashion show and events area is located towards the centre of the region, while paths winding around the region take visitors past the vendor boards which will be available throughout the fours days of the event.

At the time of writing the schedule of events for Fashion for Food is as follows:

  • Wednesday, May 13th, 2015, 14:00 SLT: Fashion Showcase by SCALA™Models
  • Wednesday, May 13th through Saturday May 16th 2015:  outfits and jewellery from the participating designers on sale throughout the region, will all proceeds going to the WFP
  • Thursday, May 14th, 2015, 12:00 noon SLT: DJ Bonie Facio
  • Saturday, May 16th, 2015, 14:00 SLT: closing party with SCALA™ DJ – Seashell Dench

Fashion for Food is being largely organised by the Indian community in Second Life to support their neighbouring Nepal, with the event region being sponsored by Indian Paradise. Note that if you would prefer to donate to the WFP’s work directly, you can do so via their Nepal relief work page.

Related Links

Lab confirms open source support sought for Linux viewer development

Posted on by Inara Pey

Linux-SLIn April I blogged about the Lab seeking assistance from the Linux community to assist with the continuing development of the Linux flavour of the viewer.

The call came during a Third-Party Developer meeting on April 24th, with Oz linden indicating that while the Lab will continue to integrate and provide build services for Linux, and publish the results, but is unable to pro-actively continue developing the Linux flavour of the viewer, which has generally accounted for around 1% of the total user base, although the Lab currently puts the figure at around half that.

 

On Tuesday, May 11th, the Lab expanded on this in a technology blog post, which reads in full:

Since its introduction, the Linux version of the Second Life Viewer has been considered a Beta status project, meaning that it might have problems that would not have been considered acceptable on the much more widely used Windows or Mac versions. Because “Linux” isn’t really one platform – it’s a large (and fluid) number of similar but distinct distributions – doing development, builds, and testing for the Linux version has always been a difficult thing to do and a difficult expense to justify. Today, Linux represents under half of one percent of official Viewer users, and just a little over one percent of users on all viewers. We at Linden Lab need to focus our development efforts on the platforms that will improve the experience of more users.
While we hope to be able to continue to distribute a Linux version, from now on we will rely on the open source community for Linux platform support. Linden Lab will integrate open source community contributions to update the Linux platform support, and will build and distribute the resulting viewers, but our development engineering, including bug fixing, will be focused on the platforms more popular among our users. We hope that the community will take up this challenge; anyone interested in ensuring that their fellow Linux users can continue on their preferred platform is encouraged to reach out to us to find out where help is most needed.

So, if you’re a Linux user and in a position to help the viewer move forward, please do consider assisting the Lab and your fellow Linux users.

SS Galaxy refits for a new role

Posted on by Inara Pey
SS Galaxy - set to return to SL
SS Galaxy – set to return to SL

Update, May 18th: Keira Linden sent me the following in-world, and has given me permission to share it. Hopefully it will both please those of us hoping to see the Galaxy resume her role as a location for events:

“Hey Inara!  Just read your blog about the SS Galaxy.  Great article! 

“Just wanted to clear a few minor things up.  I saw where the topic of Events was discussed and wanted you to know that once the dust settles on the ship it will be available for public events just as any other parcel set as a Linden Location would be. I know that the ship had numerous events, and we would hate to have that opportunity vanish for those who have enjoyed it for so long.

“Also, I wanted it be clear that this wasn’t a situation where we came in and took over.  We worked very closely with the former owners for quite some time before they offered us the opportunity to preserve the builds for the entire community.  As long time residents ourselves, we are very sensitive to the disappearance of historic areas such as and work very hard to ways to keep them in world and active.  Thanks again for the blurb on SS Galaxy! Talk to you later!”

In April 2015, I wrote about the final cruise for the SS Galaxy. At the time, a series of circumstances meant that the owners had decided to reluctantly call time on the great ship’s eight-year cruise on the “Sagittarian Sea” and make a return to port at the start of May.

Now, it seems that the great liner is to make a return to the open oceans of Second Life. DB Digital, who has operated the liner’s long with his SL partner Mia Epsilon, for the majority of the the ship’s cruise, passed me a short communique on Tuesday, May 12th, which has also been posted to the SS Galaxy blog, and reads as follows:

Dear Supporters and Friends of the SS Galaxy,

There have been many rumours cycling regarding the Galaxy and what really happened.  I can’t release that information as of yet.  However, I can now say that the SS Galaxy has been acquired by Linden Labs and will return.  She is currently undergoing retrofitting to sail under the Linden Labs flag.  I have been tirelessly converting all the transferable prims I personally owned to Linden Lab ownership, and my part of the project is now complete.

Sadly being under Linden Lab’s flag also means that none of the previous management or crew will be aboard in any sort of capacity.  I have also been told there will be no rentals or events.  This means she will not quite be the Galaxy you know and love.  But she will still exist in a museum state and be open for visitation in the near future.

More information will be released as I can.  I wish to thank everyone again from the guests, to the staff, and beyond.  You all made the Galaxy the special place she was, and no one can take that from us.

DBDigital Epsilon
Former Managing Director
SS Galaxy

SS Galaxy - the spa pool
SS Galaxy – the spa pool

As can be seen from the communication, it doesn’t look as if the Galaxy is going to be available as a venue, but like Svarga, is to be preserved as a piece of Second Life history. I also understand from DB that her final moorings have yet to be determined. Should an update be forthcoming on this through DB or the Lab directly, I’ll update this post and will doubtless cover her return when it happens.

Ruins on the rock

Posted on by Inara Pey
Remodelling the home island so that it gives the impression of a modern home sited in an ancient coastal ruin
Remodelling the home island so that it gives the impression of a modern home sited in an ancient coastal ruin

In the latter half of April I wrote about the most recent changes to my little island home, which followed the purchase of Alex Bader’s wonderful Skye Luxury Forest Cabin. As I noted at the time, the cabin was an accidental find – I was looking for good mesh trees when I happened across it.

Over the weekend, I resumed my quest for the “right” style of trees for the island. I’m clearly not very good in the tree buying department, because this time I eventually came home with … the Forest Ruins Tower by Kriss Lehmann.

Kriss Lehmann's Forest Tower (to the right of the picture) forms the entrance to my "gardens" above the pier and moorings
Kriss Lehmann’s Forest Tower (to the right of the picture) forms the entrance to my “gardens” above the pier and moorings

Truth be told, I’ve admired the tower since Kriss first introduced it, having seen it in many regions around the grid. More particularly, I’ve been wanting to give the impression my home has been established in the ruins of an older structure or at least on the foundations of one. Seeing Kriss’ tower at his store gave me the push to realise the former.

So for the last couple of days I’ve been reworking the island (yet again), which has involved incorporating not only Kriss’ tower, but various elements of mesh ruined walls by Reid Parkin, and medieval ruins sections I picked-up from Rya Nightly’s in-world store.

The mesh parts from Nya Nighty and Reid Parkin work well together and are good low LI items
The mesh parts from Nya Nighty and Reid Parkin work well together and are good low LI items

Alongside the Forest Tower the land now sports some additional, strategically placed towers, the ruins of a couple of buildings and various ruined or broken walls. As I didn’t want everything to be in a tumbledown state, I’ve kept most of the boundary walls near the house whole, to suggest they’ve been re-built as a part of the modern occupancy of the island, while those bordering the cliff edges further from the house have been made to look a little more decrepit.  To help blend the various items together, I used Alex Bader’s stone textures to re-face all the stone work, and it seems to work quite effectively.

The re-texturing of the stone meant I could return Cory Edo’s Rustic Pavilion to almost it’s original state, although I dispensed with the larger lamps and engaged in a little retexturing. As a final part of the remodelling, I picked up IvanBenjammin’s modular wooden pier set, which I’ve had my eye on for a while, and rebuilt the moorings at the north end of the island, again hopefully suggests a modern occupancy on an old island…

I've restored Cory Edo's Rustic Pavilion it its original state, as it fits the overall design pretty well
I’ve restored Cory Edo’s Rustic Pavilion it its original state, as it fits the overall design pretty well

The re-working has led to an overall increase in used land capacity, but it’s pretty modest, all things considered. In April I had the house and gardens, etc., hovering at the 880 LI mark, and the total is now 906; when you consider the Forest Tower alone is 41 LI in its modified state (it is 45 in its default state), that’s not bad, if I say so myself. Ah, the magic of mesh and convex hull physics!

Does this mean I’m finally satisfied? Well… yes.

At least for now 🙂 .