A Scottish Bluebell Coast in Second Life

A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast – June 2021

I’ve been a little preoccupied with various things of late, which means some of my blogging has been slipping. I’m not sure when the preoccupations will decrease to a point where I’m back to a more regular cadence of posts (the usual two a day at least), but in the meantime I am still trying to chug along with reports and articles on art and places to visit.

All of which brings me to Bluebell Coast, a Homestead region designed by Christina Riolz (Christina Hammerer) and John Dee Riolz (JohnMcFluff), which takes as its full title: A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast, which the couple describe thus:

The Ayrshire Coastal Path- Be ye Man or Bairn or Wumman, Be ye gaun or be ye comin, For Scotland’s Pride no Scotland’s shame, Gether yer litter and tak it Hame!
A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast – June 2021

In other words, whoever you are, whether you’re coming or going, here’s a part of Scottish pride to be enjoyed and photographed – just make sure you take your litter home with you!

Split by a stream running out to sea from a rocky pool that is  in turn fed by modest falls that drop from an upland area (and which are mirrored on the seawards side, this is region that captures some of the lowland coastal regions of western Scotland, wild and grassy and – here at least – rich in bluebells.

A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast – June 2021

With the main landing point a little off-centre to the region, this is a place that is easy on the eye and easy to explore. dusty paths offering the key routes over the grass. Typical to the Scottish lowlands, this is a place with dry stone walls, the ruins of ancient fortifications and ruins – one of which is suggestive of a former religious centre.

To one corner of the region sits a thatched crofter’s cottage. A nearby tractor suggests it is a working house, but the views across the region offered from from its windows and grounds are picturesque and more than make up for any daily chores the owner(s) may have to perform.

A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast – June 2021

With beaches lying along its borders, this is a haven for wildlife and wildfowl – seals rest from fish hunting, watched over by a pelican, for example; whilst seagulls keep an eye on everything.

Getting around on foot is easy enough, the majority of the land undulating gently but not enough to make walking around tiring. But for those who prefer, horses and bicycles are available, with the horses capable of carrying two. Those of a romantic disposition are also welcome to make use of the many dance systems awaiting discovery, one of which is awaiting discovery within The Cave Inn – which is not your typical pub.

A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast – June 2021

Rich in subtle detail, with plenty of opportunities for photography, A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast makes for an easy, engaging visit.

With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare.

A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast – June 2021

Slurl Details

June 2021 SL Web User Group summary with video

The Web User Group meeting venue, Denby

The following notes cover the key points from the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the SL public calendar. A video of the meeting, courtesy of Pantera, can be found at the end of this article, and the following is a summary of key topics / discussions.

Web Properties Updates

[Video: 0:18-3:20]

  • Most of the month has been spent on implementing a new project workflow, for which the primary focus has been on the back-end systems, as per previous reports (post-uplift work, etc.), most of which has been non-user visible. Members of the team should start pivoting towards other work now this is drawing to a close.
  • Payments and Purchases:
    • Work has been carried out on the payment system – but no specifics supplied.
    • The issue with non-US Dollar purchases of  Linden Dollars some experienced at the end of May has been addressed.
  • Web pages:
    • The Cookie permissions banner common to SL web pages has been reduced in footprint size (when displayed), so as to be less intrusive.
    • Further web pages have been updated to use the “new” blue SL logo rather than the older green one. This is low-priority work, so is only being addressed when pages still using the the older logo are worked on for other reasons.
    • Web page “control panels” for the original Linden Homes received assorted fixes for issues.

Marketplace

[Video: 3:29-3:57 + as indicated by timestamps]

  • No updates on any significant Marketplace projects.
  • The issue with Quick Fill failing to pull-in the correct information on the non-English tabs for items has been addressed.
  • Planning / discussions have started with regards to allowing variants in product listings  (e.g. a single listing for multiple colour versions on an item, which currently each have to have their own listing).
    • This is only preliminary discussions and planning, not actual work to implement.
    • The hope is the work can be formally kicked-off as a project later in 2021.
  • [6:27-9:27] Keyword searches: reports that Marketplace keyword searches are failing to return expected results, prompting the question whether anything has been changed. The short answer is, not as far as is known.
    • If there are specific examples that can be cited where this is occurring, the request is for them to be reported via the Jira.
  • [15:01-15:25] the Marketplace  team are also working on ideas for additional MP listing categories. Again, no specifics, but additional categories may start to appear some time in the next 2-3 months.

Mobile Client

[Video: 4:05-4:18]

  • The iOS version still has not been passed to Apple for further evaluation, as it is still being worked on by LL.
  • Android: nothing to report.

Name changes / Last Names

[Video: 4:20-5:15]

  • June will see a further set of Last Names made available.
  • Some of these will be a general refresh of the available names (e.g. new names replacing some of the less popular names currently on the list).
  • Some of the new last Names will be themed after the Second Life Birthday and its  (somewhat generic / bland) theme.
    • As with the April “limited edition” names, these will only be available through the period of the birthday and will then be removed from the list.
    • At the time of writing the list for these “special” names was still being refined.
  • All of the updates will be blogged when they become available later in June.

In Brief

  • [36:18-37:04] Premium Plus: no  significant news, other than still under consideration, but is very much in the “thinking about it” arena, but may be revisited in the “next couple of months”.
  • [38:54-41:00] User-defined grid-wide experiences + larger scripts:
    • Grid-wide experience by users are still under consideration, but no real movement either way on possible implementation or not.
    • Offering larger scripts is something the Lab have discussed in the past, and is something the might be offered in the future, once everything is bedded-in to AWS, but nothing planned for the immediate future.
  • [15:31-23:31] A general discussion on how the marketplace works, various behaviours and feature suggestions (e.g. bulk upload of product images, dynamic keyword – so a creator can specify a set of keywords across their listings, and can then change / remove words dynamically on the basis of how the perform),  with the latter again referred to Jira feature requests.
  • [24:00-27:32] a broader discussion on how to put ideas to LL and where / how creators can make contact with LL. The former remains feature requests through the Jira. The latter is best achieved through LL user group meetings.

Next Meeting

  • Wednesday, July 7th, 14:00 SLT.