Like many of us who have become engaged with Second Life, Stevie Basevi has seen her involvement in the platform grow over the years, branching and flowering in numerous directions; from content creator to estate holder (she has been responsible for the 3-region Sanctuary RP Community, for over 16 years), to working extensively with the American Cancer Society (14 years), One Billion Rising, and Seanchai Library’s Special Projects Creative team.
In all of this her appreciation of, an involvement with, the Second Life art scene has often featured in her in-world activities. As a result of this exposure to the broader community of SL artists, Stevie has come to see in-world photography as a means to explore a new avenue of creative expression, and an opportunity to connect with SL on more of an emotional level as she travels the grid.
Stevie Basevi at BOSL, January 2025
A growing confidence in her work, complimented by studying via the Visionaire Institute, encouraged Stevie to start exhibiting in Second Life for herself, joining in with ensemble exhibitions as well as presenting her own solo exhibits (and launching her own gallery in 2022).
Several of the latter have been within the BOSL Innovation Pavilion curated by Jamee Sandalwood, which has featured Steve’s work in exhibitions within the main gallery space, as well as a solo exhibition within the smaller (and cosier) Waterfront Café gallery. And it is at BOSL where Stevie now has a new gallery space.
Stevie Basevi at BOSL, January 2025
Located within the region’s shopping precinct, Stevie’s gallery space sits alongside that of Jamie Sandalwood, allowing visitors to witness works by two very excellent Second Life photographers who have each made a name for themselves in landscape photographer (although both Stevie and Jamie’s portfolios cover much more).
For her first display at the new gallery, Stevie presents a collection of images celebrating both winter and the holiday season. These are engaging pieces, presenting scenes we can all appreciate, often offered with muted tones which reflect the season as much as the settings captured within them. From reindeer grazing in the snow to brooks and streams bubbling through snow-frosted landscapes and avenues white with winter’s delights, and which include Santa enjoying a little off-duty fun, these are all pieces ready to engage the eye and offer unique and beautiful views of familiar places within Second Life.
Stevie Basevi at BOSL, January 2025
And when you’ve visited it, why not hop over to her main gallery?
After the Rain, January 2025 – click any image for full size
Note: After the Rain has been updated to become Sous Les Oliviers – read here for more, and the SLurls here have been updated to the new landing point.
Ely (Elyjia Baxton) recently opened a new Full region design entitled After the Rain, and as always with her work, it is an absolute delight to visit, explore and photograph, being packed with detail. It is also a setting with a couple of related venues about to come on-stream, although at the time of my visit, one had only “soft” opened, and the other was still being finalised.
I’ve covered Ely’s work extensively in this blog – all the way back to some of her earliest co-designs, in fact; and it has been an absolute pleasure to be able to witness and share in her growth as a noted and visual region designer in that time, and After the Rain continues to demonstrate her skill in presenting richly engaging and photogenic locations.
After the Rain, January 2025
This is a place offering everything from a bustling little town through quiet country walks and rural retreats to a coastal fishing harbour, passing by way of livestock farming, natural parkland and cosy homes, all without ever feeling overcrowded or cramped.
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of After the Rain, a place of tranquillity and beauty. Discover a quaint little town, a charming harbour, and welcoming homes. Stroll along trails that wind past picturesque farms and peaceful rest areas. Whether you’re looking for a place to relax, explore, or simply admire the view, After the Rain is the ideal retreat. Every nook and cranny is designed to offer you an immersive and soothing experience, away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Let yourself be swept away by the magic of After the Rain; here every visit is a new adventure.
– After the Rain Destination Guide description
After the Rain, January 2025
The Landing Point sits in the south-east corner of the region, where lies the little town. Small it might be, and with the buildings largely unfurnished, the town still has a feeling of life about it, and (Land Capacity allowing) it might yet see a little décor entering some of the shops. This aside, the streets are certainly decorated and offer nice touches of detail.
Follow the cart track north from the town and you’ll pass by the park offices and the hilltop park with its cosy places to sit. Winding on, the track reaches to a covered bridge passing over one of the many channels and bodies of water breaking up the landscape. It is here that the farmstead might be found. With the house furnished and plenty of little details scattered around the horse meadow and barns, there’s a lot to take in here.
After the Rain, January 2025
Carry on westwards along the track, and a slightly rickety bridge provides access to another farmstead where sheep and chickens are being raised, prior to the track reaching the little fishing harbour.
However, before carrying on the the harbour, take a moment to wander through the garden of the farmhouse; you’ll find stone steps rising to a rugged and wooded headland carrying on it signs of abandoned use: a broken greenhouse, abandoned furniture and a deserted cabin and outhouse crouch among the trees and rocks, largely ignored by the stream tumbling and bubbling through the headland to drop into one of the region’s larger bodies of water, overlooked by a comfortable camp site.
After the Rain, January 2025
A second way out of the town lies under the umbrella-hung archway down the steps from the Landing Point. Here, the cobbled street passes an outdoor market and up to an impressive covered square and its nearby stone bridge standing tall over the same body of water as the covered bridge mentioned above. Beyond this stone bridge one might find a cottage with a charming view over another body of water, the region’s lighthouse (again furnished), and walks among the trees and uplands on this southern side of the region.
All of this barely scratches the surface of After the Rain, given I’ve skipped over many of the little touches – from wildlife to places to sit, indoors and out – some of them on the water or tucked away – to cats and horses and sheep, to a richness of flora throughout. However, two I really should mention are the café and music venue, both of which, at the time of writing, had yet to formally open – although the café is available for visits.
After the Rain, January 2025
The Loulou Café sits on the north side of the region on square of land which, but for the two short causeways reaching out to it, is close to becoming and island in its own right. Presented within a wild garden and offering its own indoor and outdoor seating, the café is available for people to visit, and its terraces and ivy-hung walls, welcome visitors who find it by watch of the parkland or the horse farm. I understand from Ely that it will be used for a music event venue in time.
Located in the sky over the café, Loulou club. Yet to open to the public, this presents a fusion of avant-garde and art deco stylings with a fusion of techno and retro in a manner which both captures the eye and reflects the kind of music it will offer once open: deep house, prog house and electro, and will feature DJs and live performers.
After the Rain, January 2025
I’m not sure when the club is due to open – the best way to find out is perhaps to visit the region and see when the club is accessible (or ask Ely – there is no Group to currently join).
That said, whether or not you’re interested in joining events at the club, After the Rain is a must-see setting for anyone who enjoys exploring Second Life; you’re not going to be disappointed. My thanks to Cube Republic for the pointer!
The following notes cover the key points from the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday January 8th, 2025. They form a summary of the items discussed and is not intended to be a full transcript. A video of the meeting, recorded by Pantera Północy, is embedded at the end of this summary – my thanks as always to Pantera for recording it and making it available.
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), the forums.
As a rule, these meetings are conducted:
On the first Wednesday of the month and 14:00 SLT.
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.
There were some outages and slow delivery times on the Marketplace in the run-up to the holidays.
Due to these problems, store holders were unable to see the view count on their Top Selling Products report, as it was not reporting correctly. This has now been corrected, and the view count is once more reporting correctly, and will not be removed from the report.
The underlying causes of all of these issues should now be fixed. Anyone experiencing continued problems WRT them should file a ticket.
Decimal point values manifesting on L$ amounts: users noted that places such as the Marketplace cashier page started displaying decimal point valves on L$ amounts (e.g. L$50.98). This was not intentional, and should now be corrected. Again, anyone still seeing it should file a ticket.
Related Items Display on MP listings: an issue with Related Items not displaying correctly on Marketplace project listings has been fixed and related items should all display correctly, even when resizing the browser window smaller.
[Video: 7:36-8:20] Featured News Blog feed: the Feature News blog widget on the default viewer log-in screen (“Linden News” on Firestorm) is currently broken.
Broken blog feed widget on the default log-in splash screen for the viewer
This may also be causing Featured News failing to display on the dashboard (which might display something like Grid Status instead).
The pages at community.secondlife.com have been refreshed as a part of the overall drive to update the appearance of the various pages / sites.
The refreshed community.secondlife.com pages / portal
Four page themes are offered on refreshed pages: Light Classic, Light New, Dark Classic, and Dark New (the default). These can be selected via the Themes drop-down link at the foot of refreshed pages:
Options for switching Second Life refreshed page themes
Issues have been reported when displaying Knowledge Base articles in the new layout (not clear if this is in general or specific to the Dark mode(s)), and LL are working to rectify these issues.
Again, if anyone notes specific issues with page displays in any of the themes, please file a ticket.
Updated, January 9th: Similar work in planned for the dashboard (secondlife.com), although at the time of writing, this has yet to be surfaced – although Sntax Linden indicated it was “very close to being deployed”. The initial Dashboard refresh has been deployed.
The initial dashboard refresh (secondlife.com) was deployed shortly after this summary was published. Currently, there is no option to change themes
Within secondlife.com, the What Next? section (top menu bar and https://secondlife.com/my/whatnext/) is also to be significantly updated, as much of it is very dated in content. However, the time frame for this surfacing is still TBD.
Sntax Linden indicated that this can also be a subject for discussion at WUG meetings (he is on of those leading the work), although it may evolve into having its own user group in the future.
Overall response appears positive, although some appear to have pain points – notably with multi-factor authentication causing problems in loading the viewer. This was thought to have been fixed, but still appears to be an issue.
The time limit for Project Zero has now been increased to 1 hour per session (from 10 minutes).
The viewer-in-a-browsers website, showing increased time limit (as of January 9th, 2025)
Reasons as to why people might not use the services (currently still free) given at the meeting included:
Inability to: save viewer Preferences; perform uploads; save chat IM logs, etc.
Lack of Firestorm support.
No in-built (client-side) AO for avatars.
Most of the above are on the roadmap – see my article in the link at the top of this section – although TPV support is dependent on TPVs being willing to engage in the project as it continues to be developed.
There have been reports of zero.secondlife.com not working on Brave (Chrome derived browser) which were thought to have been fixed; however Brave still hangs without loading the viewer (the same is true for Gener8, Vivaldi and Epic, all of which, like Brave, are heavy on privacy browsing).
Note that from the 48 minute point onwards, this conversation devolves in discussions on food.
In Brief
A further discussion on https://maps.secondlife.com/ following that of the December 2024 meeting, this focused on the search function and how it arrives at its results, given they do not appear to be region / parcel based.
This segued into a wider discussion of map searches and sources used, accuracy of returns, preferred means of searching for places (e.g. SL search – then use the Map link in the relevant result, or use Maps (in-world or web), etc.
As a part of the more general search comments, it was suggested that when users have Maturity ratings set (e.g. only G or only M), search indicated that results are limited due to the set rating.
Dreamworld is the name Cica Ghost has given to her first installation of 2025, as just as the new year tends to be a time when we look positively towards the bright promises of the incoming year and all we might dream and achieve, so Cica offers a bright, happy setting that puts a spring in the step and a smile on the face.
This is a setting sort-of dominated by the feline form – I think that like me, Cica has a love of cats -; but one that comes in a light-hearted and whimsical way. The cats in the case are of enormous size and come in a variety of forms: literal catfish, equally literal cat houses, kitty seats … There’s also a little touch of Jerry among the Toms, including a mouse house and little mouse buggies to drive around in.
Cica Ghost – Dreamworld, January 2025
Among all of these, and within the patchwork landscape might be found long-horned cows, lama, and birds – and a rather large frog, complete with crown, as if waiting for a prince (or princess?) to come along and land it a kiss.
As might be expected with Cica, there are opportunities to sit and pass the time, to dance, to enjoy times on the water aboard a little boat – even to blast off in a rocket and experience some weightlessness.
Cica Ghost – Dreamworld, January 2025
The installation is accompanied by a quote from Brazilian lyricist and novelist, Paulo Coelho de Souza:
Love is what dreams are made of!
It’s a marvellous sentiment – one reflective of much of de Souza’s writing, much of which has been born of a life rich in experience: from being committed to a mental institution by his parents at the age of 17, through forsaking his dream of being a writer in order to meet the approval of those same parents, to being deeply involved in the hippie culture in the 1960s to his career as a lyricist and – eventually, procrastination being one of his strong suits, a writer.
Cica Ghost – Dreamworld, January 2025
Here, the quote reminds us of the power of love – and the need to show it; as does the brightness of Cica’s setting – indeed, of Cica’s library of work. So, why not hop along and share in Cica’s love and enjoy your own dreams (and don’t forget to pick up your gift!).
The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, January 7th, 2025 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript, and were taken from Pantera’s video of the meeting, which is embedded at the end – my thanks to her for providing it.
Meeting Overview
The Simulator User Group (also referred to by its older name of Server User Group) exists to provide an opportunity for discussion about simulator technology, bugs, and feature ideas.
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.
Simulator Deployments
On Tuesday, January 7th, 2025, the simulators on the Main SLS channel were restarted with no update.
On Wednesday, January 8th:
The BlueSteel RC should be updated with the Apple Cobbler simulator update, which includes: llGetAttachedListFiltered(),llGiveAgentInventory(),llMapBeacon(),llTransferOwnership(), and a modification to llModPow, so it should work faster (however, it does not correctly handle the full range of positive 31-bit integers -and Leviathan Linden is working to define the range for which it supplies correct answers, so check the wiki page for updates).
The remaining simulators on the RC channels are to be restarted without any update.
SL Viewer Updates
Release viewer: version 7.1.11.12363455226, formerly the ExtraFPS RC (multiple performance fixes, aesthetic improvements and UI optimisations), dated December 17, promoted December 20 – No Change.
Release Candidate: none at present.
In Brief
Please refer to the video below for the following:
A discussion on llSetAgentRot and extending it, with Rider Linden noting:
I left the API open to be able to use any rot. Unfortunately there are a lot of assumptions in both the simulator and the viewer about the agent only rotating around Z. Changing that is going to be a much larger project.
Questions were asked on improving the quality of Linden Water effects and reflections. Such questions are best dealt with via the Content Creation User Group (summaries here).
An intertwined discussion with the above about Linden Water and swimming options.
There have been requests for a llSetObjectMass() function. Whilst this doesn’t currently exist, this SL wiki page has been created to provide a (hopefully) equitable capability, with Leviathan Linden noting:
Vehicle developers were asking for an llSetMass() method so they could standardize the mass of the vehicle after the agent had sat down. It turns out that LSL function is not necessary, there is a way to do it with existing LSL functionality, but it is a little tricky for multi-prim objects.
A further discussion on improving vehicle interaction with parcel bans – something LL is hoping to address – such as the potential for putting banline information on the mini-map, with other suggestions being put forward.
This led to a broad discussion on issues of parcel privacy and access, security and forced teleporting of unwanted visitors.
Requests have been made to modify Experience permissions so that creators can set them to “only this time” or “work like phone apps“. This led to a discussion on Experiences and the format of the permissions dialogue, etc.
† The header images included in these summaries are not intended to represent anything discussed at the meetings; they are simply here to avoid a repeated image of a rooftop of people every week. They are taken from my list of region visits, with a link to the post for those interested.
Poetic Moon, January 2025 – click any image for full size
Beloved is the name Anu Papp has given to the latest setting presented on her Homestead region of Poetic Moon. Designed by Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fotherington), the setting is – to me, and for various reasons – potentially one of the best he has produced thus far.
There is a genuine and natural flow to the landscape which is captivating, and the placement of building and structure within it, the form of the island, just draws the eye through it, offering both a photogenic beauty and a sense of tranquillity and wholeness with nature, the industrial elements scattered about notwithstanding.
Poetic Moon, January 2025
A creative talent herself, Anu is perhaps best known for founding and leading the Muse Dance Company, however in-world she is also a designer, photographer-artist and builder. These are all talents reflective of her physical life presence and talents, which extend into music, spiritualism, yoga and more, as noted within her Second Life Spotlight article, published in May 2023. All of this is also reflected somewhat within Beloved.
The setting itself forms a rugged temperate island, its coastline mostly cliffs of hardened rock or softer sandstone, the later carved by time and tide into shallow bays or ribbons of low-lying shoreline. Whilst hardly what one might call beachy, the latter offer opportunities to walk alongside the push and pull of the tide, splash through pools of seawater temporarily cut off from the rest of the waters surrounding the island.
Poetic Moon, January 2025
This is a place with a high water table of its own – across its rugged back are two large and one smaller bodies of water (one of which carried subtle hints of perhaps being man-made rather than a natural occurrence. It is close to the largest of these bodies of water that the Landing Point is located (although it is not enforced), and it was on arrival that I immediately felt a comforting sense of Deja-vu; despite it being my first visit to the setting, I felt I knew it. As I cammed around, I quickly realised why: with the windswept ruggedness, the large body of water with a trail running alongside it, Beloved bought to mind an old-time favourite those who are long in the tooth (like me) might recall): Roche.
Now, to be clear, there is nothing intrinsically linking the two designs; in fact when taken as a whole, there are utterly different; but the fact that Beloved did bring memories of my multiple visits to Roche between 2012 and 2015 nevertheless gave me a sense of belonging as I started to explore Beloved. Many of the buildings scattered across Beloved perhaps aided that sense of the familiar with me, again not because of any similarities with Roche, but because they offered a similar sense of space between them, a space visitors can wander and absorb in quite solitude or in company.
Poetic Moon, January 2025
Anu has a love for the works of Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, the 3th-century poet, scholar, theologian and mystic; she quotes him in her Profile and with Beloved, she offers part of A Great Wagon, a poem associated with spiritual growth. In particular, the verses she has selected offer with might be considered a pivotal truth on the journey to spiritual awareness: that we are not human beings sometimes having moments of spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings travelling through a human experience.
In stating this truth, Rūmī, notes that as humans, we function in dualities: beauty and ugliness; truth and and lies; good and bad; black and white; and this duality of mode is the cause of all our conflicts. But as spiritual beings, we should recognise that nothing is either one or the other; that within the void of being, everything flows – there is no black and white to divide us; no sectioning of thoughts or emotions, we are simply one.
Poetic Moon, January 2025
This is a concept that can get the grey matter working overtime to try to understand – and in this, Beloved is an ideal place in which to consider Rūmī’s words and the notions of self and oneness. As well as the region’s rugged beauty, there are multiple places to sit in contemplation, listen to the local sounds, to enjoy the ebb and flow of the waters surrounding the island – and the ebb and flow of shared company, if desired. Places where we can – as Rūmī might have put it – see beyond our physical bodies and understand our true essence as beings of the spirit.
In acknowledgement of this, and – if I might be so presumptuous – I would add to Anu’s use of the poem, I would perhaps offer a further quote:
In the body of the world, they say, there is a soul and you are that.
But we have ways within each other that will never be said by anyone.
Poetic Moon, January 2025
For those who prefer to focus on the region’s picturesque beauty, there is certainly no disappointment to be had. Dandy’s attention to detail here is superb, with many touches to draw the eye and the camera lens, from the cost interior of the brick cabin by the lake through the egrets gathered above the northern cliffs to the little birds gathered on a powerline – something which might, except for the absence of a shoebill, put some in mind of a certain Pixar short and thus raise a smile – and more besides.
An engaging and visual setting, ideal for exploration, contemplation and appreciation – kudos to Anu and to Dandy – and my thanks to Susann De Cuir for the hat-tip.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 