Category: News-Opinion

Lab promotes affiliate programme

Posted on by Inara Pey

On Thursday, April 30th, the Lab put out a blog post reminding people of their Second Life Affiliate Programme.

This programme allows users to associate a sign-up link to Second Life in their own website, blogs, social media channel, etc. They can then earn a commission of US $0.75 every time someone becomes a Second Life user by registering a Second Life account through the affiliate link and then logs-in to Second Life within 45 days of first licking on that link.

The Affiliate Programme has been around for a long time, and is currently run in partnership with CJ Affiliate by Conversant, with whom the Lab first partnered in August 2013. Prior to that, the Affiliate Programme was associated with the Google Affiliate Network and LinkShare.

As indicated in the Lab’s blog post, you should read the Affiliate Programme FAQ, which outlines the steps you need to take to join the programme. A button on that page will also take those interested to the special Second Life sign-up page on the CJ Affiliate by Conversant website.

Should you be considering applying, there are a few things to keep in mind:

  • The affiliate programme is run through CJ Affiliate by Conversant – not directly by the Lab, so by signing-up to CJ Affiliate by Conversant, you will be a party to their Affiliate Publisher Agreement, which is provided as a part of the sign-up page
  • As the Lab’s FAQ points-out: The Second Life Affiliate commission totals are tabulated every month. Linden Lab pays the Affiliate Network for all qualifying referrals. The Affiliate Network, in turn, distributes these commissions to all qualifying affiliates, aggregating them with payments from other programs – in other words, it is CJ Affiliate by Conversant who pays you, not Linden Lab
  • Obviously, as you are signing-up to CJ Affiliate by Conversant, there is nothing stopping you from adding other suitable advertisers from their list to your blog or website, etc., to further increase your potential for generating revenue
  • If you are a blogger and are considering trying the programme, also keep in mind that if you don’t host your own blog (e.g via something like wordpress.org), you blog supplier might not allow the use of affiliate programmes through their platform (as is the case with wordpress.com), so make sure to check your blogging platform’s ToS.

As the application form notes, if you already use CJ Affiliate by Conversant, you can add Second Life to your account, if you have not already done so.

Bright Canopy: first user group meeting notes published

Posted on by Inara Pey

Bright CanopyBright Canopy, the planned new streaming service for Second Life and OpenSim, hosted its first user group meeting on Saturday, April 25th.

The meeting drew interested parties and beta testers from SL and OpenSim, and was hosted by Bright Canopy founder, Bill Glover (known in-world as Chaos Priestman). As Bright Canopy will be running on technology provided by Frame (who are putting considerable effort into helping to get the service up-and-running and ensuring it can meet users’ expectations), they were represented at the meeting by Carsten Puls (Carsten at Frame in SL).

Held in text chat to allow those running on SL Go to join the session, the meeting was mainly focus on questions and answers to give people a chance to learn what they wanted to learn about the service, and ran to just over an hour.

The notes from the meeting have now been posted on the Bright Canopy website. Rather than presenting a formal transcript (because some questions were asked a number of times), the meeting notes group questions and answers in to subject groups.

While those interested in potentially moving to Bright Canopy when it does launch should read the notes directly in order to get the most complete picture of things, I’m providing a high-level key point summary below from the major topics discussed (note questions were asked about supporter viewers, please refer to the meeting notes for these):

Chaos Priestman, aka Bill Glover, Bright Canopy’s founder, at the in-world meeting

When will Bright Canopy be ready?

  • Bright Canopy is in closed beta,  right now. The plan is to move to an invitation-only pre-launch as soon as possible, to allow for more widespread testing; when this happens depends on getting a few more technical issues dealt with and sorting management and billing issues

How does it work?

  • Bright Canopy is like SL Go, but accessed via a web browser. Initially, for the pre-launch this will be Chrome, but support for other browsers will be there for the launch. Essentially, if your device can run a modern browser and is capable of viewing a streamed video, you should be good to go
  • Bright Canopy will provide the service, Frame will managed the underlying technology and Groove will provide support assistance

Accessibility and performance

  • Bright Canopy will initially be hosted in the USA. However, Frame utilises Amazon WAS G2 servers, so the aim is to support Bright Canopy as widely as possible. Frame already utilises Amazon data centres in Ireland, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, as well as both the east and west coasts of the USA
  • There may still be legal restrictions that prevent people in some countries from using the service (as we the case with Germany and SL Go); these will be looked into
  • In terms of connectivity, a bandwidth of at least 3 Mbps is required and latency of under 100 ms

Price and Payment Options

  • Pricing is not currently available. The idea is to make the service as cost-effective as possible while obviously meeting the costs involved in supplying the service
  • Stripe is being used for back-end payment processing
  • Payment options will initially be credit card and bitcoin for the pre-launch. linden dollars will be added after pre-launch, and PayPal may be offered as well.

For the rest, as noted above, please refer to the Bright Canopy blog.

If you have any questions on the service, please be sure to ask them on the Bright Canopy blog, not here, so that they can be fully addressed.

SS Galaxy: a last cruise into the sunset

Posted on by Inara Pey
SS Galaxy
SS Galaxy

Update, May 11th: the SS Galaxy is set to return to Second Life as a result of an intersession from the Lab. See my update for details.

I’ve written about the SS Galaxy a couple of times in this blog, the most recent being in March 2015. The Queen of the Sagittarian Sea has been a staple of Second Life for many years,  being a destination, a venue and a home to many, as she sits to the south of Blake Sea, spanning the length of three regions from bow to stern.

And now it seems that she is embarked on her final cruise. On Sunday, May 3rd, the mighty Queen will make a final figurative return to port as she is removed from the grid.

The news came on Sunday, April 26th, in the form of a post on the SS Galaxy blog, which reads in part:

Dear Supporters and Friends of the SS Galaxy,

The Management and Crew of the SS Galaxy would like to thank each and every one of you for helping make the Galaxy community one of the most thriving, vibrant and welcoming on the Second Life grid.

Together with your help, we have been building wonderful memories since February 2007…

For us as the Crew, the privilege has been ours to meet and interact with each of you over these eight years. The memories we have from these experiences, will continue to inspire us and our values, long beyond 2015.

Many of you have become more than our cabin tenants – we consider you a part of the Galaxy family as well  :-). In the many diverse strands of life stories, God has granted us the blessing of having our respective stories intertwine, at least for a time. As we prepare to go on beyond April 2015, the Crew wish you that the strength in bonds will continue to sustain each and every one of you, along life’s way.

From all of us here at the SS Galaxy,

A heartfelt thank you.

SS Galaxy
SS Galaxy

The reasons for the closure are complex, and are not related to problems of tier, but rather have arisen as a result of a number of unfortunate incidents over the course of the past month.

As someone who has always enjoyed my visits to the Galaxy, I know that I will miss her presence in Second Life enormously. It was while exploring her in 2009 that I first discovered the fun of skeet (clay pigeon) shooting in Second Life – and i think there was a time back then when my name could regularly be seen on the Leader board 😉 .  I also thoroughly enjoyed skydiving from the launcher on her stern deck, and frequently used her as a venue to introduce friends to the fun of skydiving – the last one being Strawberry Singh.

Saying farewell to a much-loved venue, destination and home in Second Life is never easy, particularly for those closest to something that has, over the years been a labour of love. Commenting on the Galaxy’s forthcoming departure from Second Life, DBDigital Epsilon, the driving force behind the great cruise liner said, “as hard as this is, I know it is God’s timing and time for her to go with dignity and grace as she always has.”

Events aboard the ship will continue up until she returns to port on Sunday, May 3rd, so if you haven’t visited her before or in a while, while not schedule a visit around one of them, and both tour the ship and enjoy her unique atmosphere? Because once she is gone, I doubt we’ll see the likes of her again in-world.

SS Galaxy is a unique environment; a highlight of Second Life
SS Galaxy has been a unique location; a highlight of Second Life since 2007 now heading into the sunset

Related Links

Lab seeks assistance from Linux developers

Posted on by Inara Pey

Linux-SLDuring the Third-Party Developer (TPVD) meeting on Friday, April 24th, Oz Linden put out a request for assistance from members of the SL Linux community in order to ensure that the Linux version of the SL viewer continues to be developed.

His comments came as a part of a discussion on media work within the viewer in general, and can be heard in the video of the meeting provided by  Chakat Northspring, starting at the 9:10 mark.

For ease for reference, I’ve extracted the comments into an audio file (with a little clean-up to remove repetition), which is embedded below, any timestamps in this article refer to this audio.

 

Essentially, given the “extremely low” number of users running the Linux flavour of the viewer, and because the Lab wishes to focus on some “really cool things” for Second Life (no details on what these are), a decision has been made to remove Linux from any major focus of the Lab’s attention. Therefore, the Lab is looking to the TPV and open-source community to help ensure the Linux version of the viewer is maintained and moves forward. In making the request, Oz said in part [00:38]:

I just don’t have the time to put people on doing a lot of Linux work. I just don’t.  So, if there’s going to be a working Linux viewer, the Linux user community is going to need to pitch-in and help get it done, because frankly, if it doesn’t work, I can’t afford to fix it.

I have not been getting Linux contributions. What I get is occasional complaints that this or that thing doesn’t work in Linux … and the ethos there is that the community is what makes it work, and what I’m saying to the Second Life Linux community is, if you want it to work, you’re going to have to help.

The Lab will integrate and provide build services for Linux, and publish the results, but the Lab is no longer going to pursue development of the viewer on Linux, which means that if things are not working in the Linux flavour of the viewer, and there is no inwards support to fix them, then they’re unlikely to be fixed.

This shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the Lab is trying to “kill off” Linux support; it is a matter of focusing resources to serve the community as a whole. In this respect Oz added [01:55]:

And I hope that having said this, I will get a bunch of people step-up and start doing things and give me a lot of integration work to do. That’s my fondest hope. So next time you hear someone complaining about things not working on Linux, tell them i invited them to help.

 

Viewer-Managed Marketplace: brief update

Posted on by Inara Pey

secondlifeFurther to the recent launch of the Viewer-Managed Marketplace public beta test on the Main grid, Brooke Linden provided third-party viewer developers (who will need to integrate the viewer-side VMM changes into their viewers) with an update on the state-of-play with the project at the Third-Party Viewer Developer (TPVD) meeting on Friday, April 24th.

Her comments came at the opening of the meeting, which can be seen on a video provided by  Chakat Northspring, and are summarised in my overview of the meetings. However, as VMM is of interest to a broader community than viewer developers, this article is intended to provide a slightly more detailed summary of her comments. Timestamps to the relevant points in the video are further provided for ease-of-reference.

Follow-up Meeting

[00:08] The Lab is planning a follow-up meeting to the current Main grid beta activities. This has been provisionally scheduled for 11:00 SLT on Friday, May 1st, but is subject to final confirmation. Formal confirmation of the meeting will hopefully be given through the existing Merchants’ Forum post (or at least through a fresh post) nearer the time, and I’ll endeavour to post word on it when it is announced.

The aim of the meeting is to gain general feedback on the VMM from those who have been able to try it as a part of the beta and to hopefully update on the status of any issues so far reported and which are being addressed, and to answer questions.

Automated Migration

[00:53] A number of requests have been made through the forum thread for the automated migration process for Direct Delivery items (Magic Box items require manual migration) to be trialled among a selected group of merchants prior to being enforced for all merchants.

Brooke indicated that this would be the case, and will be seeking volunteers to help with this nearer the time.

VMM includes an option to manually associate existing MP listings with VMM items in your inventory, which will help ease part of the the migration process for those concerned over automated migration paths
VMM includes an option to manually associate existing MP listings with VMM items in your inventory, which will help ease part of the the migration process for those concerned over automated migration paths

Other Items

[01:27 and 02:58] The beta programme will be opened to broader access than the current sign-up process, allowing for broader testing as things progress towards a “full” release.

[01:54] The language-localised elements of the work are expected in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, those trying the beta are requested to keep filing bug reports on anything they find (and can preferably reproduce).

[02:06] Incoming bugs on the project JIRA are being watched and investigated, including a couple of edge-case crash situations. Further bug and issues reports are still welcomed on the JIRA.

[03:56] As an aside to the main points, the VMM code has been merged with the current viewer release code as a part of the Lab’s now viewer development process (although the code remains available only via the project viewer for the time being).

Related Links

Skill Gaming: CapEx moving to the Internet, with important changes

Posted on by Inara Pey
Capital Exchange has seen activity in its stock market simulation game frozen since the November 1st enforcement of the Lab's Skill Gaming Policy
Capital Exchange has seen activity in its stock market simulation game frozen since the November 1st enforcement of the Lab’s Skill Gaming Policy

As regular readers know, I’ve been reporting on the Skill Gaming Policy changes, including the situation involving the stock market simulation game Capital Exchange (CapEx), operated by Skip Oceanlane.

Since my last report in December 2014 there have been a number of updates from Skip on the matter to keep CapEx members informed of progress, of which the April 18th, 2015 is the most important.

If you are engaged with CapEx, and you’ve not already done so, please ensure you read the April 18th update in full. What follows is a very high-level summary:

  • With as yet no confirmation or rejection of the CapeX Skill Gaming application by the Lab, the decision has been made to move the game to the Internet and away from Second Life
  • This does not mean, at this point in time, that CapEx is ceasing trying to gain approval as a Second Life Skill Game Operator (SLSGO)
  • A new website is being developed to support operations, and once available, all existing CapEx URLs (www.onlinecapex.com. slcapex.com and capex.biz) will redirect to it. It is planned to have this up and running in June, 2015; until it is officially announced, users are requested to keep using slcapex.com until otherwise directed
  • As a game of skill under United States law, the new Capital Exchange website will not be accessible to people reisding in the following state: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee
  • Game players will be able to register via the website, with the option to connect to a virtual world avatar if they choose to do so – but it won’t be mandatory
  • A valid e-mail address will be required for registration with the new website – players who have not entered an e-mail address against their current CapEx details are asked to add one now, to ease transition. Instructions on doing so can be found in Skip’s update
  • The Linden Dollar will be replaced with the new CapEx Dollar (CD$). The value of the CapEx Dollar will initially be pegged at 250 to the US Dollar, in order to ensure stability with existing stock values
  • The new website will operate using HTTPS, and will be connected to a merchant account linked to VISA authorize.net to allow payments using major credit cards
  • The initial means of cashing-out will be via PayPal. The cash-out fee is liable to be “significantly” less than the current 3.5% fee with the Linden Dollar
  • Future options may include the ability to support additional currencies – GBP, the Euro, etc., and other virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc.
  • At a future date yet to be determined, the CapEx Dollar will be freely traded on a currency exchange, and CapEx may may allow multiple currency exchanges to free float CD$
  • Should Linden Lab grant CapEx authority to operate in Second Life as a Skill Game, the Linden Dollar may be accepted, and thoughts to how this might be done have been given. However, it is currently Skip’s intention to operate CapEx without support for the Linden Dollar
  • There are significant changes coming to CapEx ATMs and funds held through them (see below)
Skip Oceanlane - moving CapEx to the web and away from SL. Projected launch date: July 2015
Skip Oceanlane – moving CapEx to the web and away from SL. Projected launch date: July 2015

The new service currently has a projected start date of July, 2015.

An important aspect of this news is that all existing CapEx ATMs are to be withdrawn from Second Life on Sunday, May 10th (unless CapEx gains authorisation to operate as a Skill Game in SL before then). Users can opt to withdraw their L$ amounts held by CapEx ATMs ahead of that date, or can opt to leave them on deposit. L$ values will then be used to purchase stock in a yet to be named fund, and stock in this fund will eventually be able to be sold once trading restarts. In stating this, Skip goes on to note:

Now for you “old-timers” I already know what you are thinking – this is what was done when SL banks failed in 2008 at the old “SLCapEx” as well as a defunct fund at a defunct exchange called the “World Stock Exchange”. Deposits were converted to worthless stock, and no one ended up getting their Lindens back. Well this time, it will be greatly different. I will be maintaining a Buy Order at roughly 5% above the value of what was created/purchased. So anyone that wishes to “cash out” will actually make a profit, if they do not withdraw before May 10. It’s also an incentive for people to stay with Capital Exchange, and to continue playing the game. Note that I plan on adding assets to this fund, so it will be generating a monthly dividend.

Continue reading “Skill Gaming: CapEx moving to the Internet, with important changes” →