A visit to The Third Place in Second Life

The Third Place, May 2026 – click any image for full size

I was somewhat intrigued by the Destination Guide entry for The Third Place; where many public places in Second Life tend to change seasonally or perhaps monthly (if they do opt to change), The Third Place offers something a little more frequent:

The Third Place is a vibrant region where you should wander around, take photos, explore virtual art, and chat. Every week, its works change, are refined, or disappear. Don’t miss out! It’s perfect for couples and artists. Come enjoy the beaches, caves, hidden treasures, and sunrises.

– The Third Place Destination Guide entry

The Third Place, May 2026

Weekly changes, even in term of any art elements within a region, is something that sounds interesting and curious – so off I hopped to have a look.

Obviously, a place that does undergo such frequent updates is perhaps a little hard to write about – what I see today, someone coming across this article in a couple of weeks time might find entirely absent from the setting. As such, I’ll endeavour to keep my observations more general.

The Third Place, May 2026

A Homestead region and the work of Kat (Kathylin Resident), The Third Place is a rugged island in which visitors are free to wander overground and underground, encountering art vignettes along the way, together with plenty of opportunities for  photography.

At the time of my visit, the Landing Point was located in the north-eastern lowlands of the region, on the edge of a wetland inlet itself abutting the off-region waters surrounding. The first of these art elements lay on the shoreline of these wetlands, whilst the main path rising from this to move inland. Passing through woodlands, it turns again to follow the coastline partly around the island and past some of the art installations awaiting discovery.

The Third Place, May 2026

The art installations themselves are spaced around the region, allowing each to stand independently one from the next. They come in different sizes, some large, others individual pieces. Some of these – again at least during the time of my visit – are located close to large empty frames which allow unique opportunities to photograph the art pieces themselves.

As well as the art, The Third Place offers places to sit and pass the time. Scattered across the island like the art, these help encourage visitors to wander and explore. Such explorations can be carried out on foot, following the footpaths and trails winding over the landscape or via horseback (you can wear / rez your own), or – if it is still available and you locate it – you can use the bubble ride rezzer.

The Third Place, May 2026

Per my note earlier, the island includes paths which pass underground via a connected series of tunnels which are worth the time taken to find your way into them and then exploring them fully. Above these, up on the mountain peak and reached via its own switchback path, further art can be found, again with opportunities for photography.

Rezzing in the region is open to visitors, allowing props to be used when taking pictures – but do make sure you collect your things afterwards. Rich in detail without feeling or looking overcrowded, The Third Place makes for an engaging visit.

The Third Place, May 2026

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2026 SL viewer release summaries week #20

Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation

Updates from the week through to Sunday, May 17th, 2026

This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy.
  • This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
  • By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
  • Outside of the Official viewer, and as a rule, alpha / beta / nightly or release candidate viewer builds are not included; although on occasions, exceptions might be made.

Official LL Viewers

  • Default viewer  – One-Click Installer = 26.1.1.23806384790 – April 10 – No change.
  • Second Life Release Candidate (RC) viewer: Flat UI – 26.2.0.25386466510, May 14 -“flat” UI and font update – NEW.
  • Second Life Lua Editor Alpha viewer 6.1.0.23768336784, April 29 – No change.

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V7-style

  • No updates.

V1-style

  • Cool VL viewer Stable: 1.32.4.30; Experimental: 1.32.5.0, May 16 – release notes.

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

2026 Raglan Shire Artwalk in Second Life

Raglan Shire Artwalk 2026

Raglan Shire, Second Life’s Tiny community, is once again opening its doors to people from across the grid, as participating artists and visitors are invited to the Raglan Shire Artwalk 2025.

This year, the the event runs from Sunday, May 17th, through until Sunday, June 14th, 2025 inclusive. It offers an opportunity not just to appreciate a huge range of 2D art together with a selection of 3D pieces, but to also tour the Shire regions and enjoy the hospitality of the Raglan Shire community – one of the friendliest and fun-seeking groups in Second Life.

Raglan Shire Artwalk 2026

A non-juried exhibition, the Artwalk is open to any artist wishing to enter, and has minimal restrictions on the type of art displayed (one of the most important being all art is in keeping with the Shire’s maturity rating). All of this means that it offers one of the richest mixes of art displayed within a single location in Second Life, with 2D art displayed along the hedgerows of the Shire’s pathways and tree platforms overhead and 3D art among the community’s parks.

Over 100 artists are participating in 2026, many for the first time. As such, the depth and range of art on display is guaranteed to keep visitors exploring the paths and walks around and through the hedgerows – and if walking proves a little much, there are always the Shire’s tours to ease the load on the feet, together with the teleport boards to help move visitors swiftly around and through the different display areas. But that said, I do recommend exercising your pedal extremities and doing at least some of your exploration on foot – just keep in mind people do have their homes in the regions as well.

Raglan Shire Artwalk 2026

Given the number of artists involved, there isn’t a published list of participants, but anyone interested in the world of SL art is bound to recognise many of the names of the artists here. The Artwalk is also a marvellous way to see art from both our physical and digital worlds and for catching artists both familiar and new to your eye. Just don’t try to see it all at once; the Artwalk is open for a month, which gives plenty of time for browsing and appreciating the art without feeling overloaded.

SLurl Details

All of the Raglan Shire Artwalk regions are rated General.

Raglan Shire Artwalk 2026

On Sunday May 17th, join Bay City’s 18th anniversary

Posters for Mole Day 2026, courtesy of the Bay City Alliance

Bay City, the first major project undertaken by the Moles of the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW), will be turning 18 on Sunday, May 17th, 2026. Citizens of Bay City will be joining in celebrations to mark the anniversary, with a parade, music and entertainment, and residents from across of Second Life are invited to visit Bay City and join in the celebrations.

Activities will kick-off at noon SLT, with a parade line-up at the band shell in Bay City – Harwich. At 12:30 SLT, the parade will commence its way along the City’s Route 66, and proceed to the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region for an afternoon of entertainment and fun – see the poster above right for details.

About Bay City and the Bay City Alliance

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest group for Residents of Bay City.

Related Links

2026 week #20: SL Open Source (TPVD) meeting summary

Hippotropolis Theatre: home of the OSD/TPVD meeting
The following notes were taken from:

  • My chat log of the Open-Source Developer (OSD) meeting held on Friday, May 15th, 2026, together with my chat log of that meeting.
  • Pantera’s video of the meeting (embedded at the end of this article) – my thanks to her for providing it.
Table of Contents

Meeting Purpose

  • The OSD meeting is a combining of the former Third Party Viewer Developer meeting and the Open Source Development meeting. It is open discussion of Second Life development, including but not limited to open source contributions, third-party viewer development and policy, and current open source programs.
    • This meeting is generally held twice a month on a Friday, at 13:00 SLT at the Hippotropolis Theatre and is generally text chat only.
  • Dates and times of meetings are recorded in the SL Public Calendar.

Official Viewer Status

  • Default viewer  – One-Click Installer – 26.1.1.23806384790 – April 10 – No change.
  • Second Life Release Candidate (RC) viewer: Flat UI – 26.2.0.25386466510, May 15 -“flat” UI and font update – NEW.
  • Second Life Project Viewers – Lua Editor Alpha viewer 6.1.0.23768336784, April 29..

26.2.0 – “Flat UI”

  • A new beta RC was issued on May 14th – see the list above for details.
  • Unless a significant blocker arises, this viewer is likely to be promoted in week #21 (commencing Monday, May 18th, 2026).

26.3.0 – Performance Improvements +

  • 26.3 is still in progress. The new texture streaming updates should be merged already.
  • Work is continuing on getting the async inventory updates included.
  • Geenz Linden is working to get the new material and texture batching work in a good state for it as well.
  • A beta /RC viewer should be appearing on the Alternate Viewers page “soon”.

26.3.1 Maintenance Update

  • The second of the maintenance viewer updates – bug fixes, etc., – is now in preparation.
  • Expect to see this appearing on the Alternate Viewers page “soon” as well.

Graphics Care Package Viewer

  • This is somewhat “on hold” at present, but work will hopefully resume in the near future, as there are a number of bug reports stacking up.
  • There is a reported mirror breakage within the GCP viewer.

Linux Support

  • Linux support in the official viewer is to return with the Lua viewer.
  • LL is targeting the more common Linux systems for support.
  • There is a noted issue with Linux systems without PulseAudio crashing WebRTC versions of the viewer. It has been requested that the WebRTC SDK is fixed to correct this issue, or to provide fallback code PulseAudio to ALSA.
  • It was noted that is a patch or PR was supplied to address this issue, LL would consider it, but LL currently doesn’t have the internal resources to implement a fix themselves.

WebRTC Update

  • As noted in recent user group meeting summaries, WebRTC is now grid-wide and Vivox is effectively retired for Voice. So those using voice on a Vivox-only viewer will now need to update to a WebRTC-capable viewer.
  • WebRTC updates will continue as required, and deployments are carried out separa6tely to the week grind simulator deployment / restarts.
    • Viewers running the latest client-end of WebRTC should not be affected by this, as they they will disconnect from one voice server in the cluster ahead of it going down for update, and automatically reconnect to an operating server in the cluster.
  • In terms of updates, currently the WebRTC team is updating the 3p-webrtc-build branch, and is hoping to look at a code contribution that will enable them to support more recent versions of WebRTC.
  • A patch has also been forwarded to the team to deal with a Linux viewer freeze at shutdown in WebRTC. This also has yet to be looked at.
  • No decision has been taken as to any new capabilities will be added to WebRTC going forward, although voce-to-text transcription (with the potential for multi-language support) remains on the list.
    • There is a lot to be decided on the transcription front: addressing privacy-related concerns, how it is enabled/disabled for people, UX elements, etc.

General Discussion

  • LL is retiring the use of the Opire bounty platform for viewer development code bounties.
    • The major reason for this is that it has led to a spate of bot-generated submissions, many of which are not related to any of bounties, causing headaches in trying to identify valid bounty code submissions.
    • The bounty programme is being re-thought rather than discontinued, and further updates on changes to the bounty programme will be made public once they have been agreed and are available.
  • A discussion on an approach to mirrors for Linden Water, including:
    • A suggestion that 512×512 mirrors could be used to achieve the required results with less VRAM usage.
    • Geenz Linden’s view that mirror probes are currently exposed as a texture array, which needs to be of uniform size, unless bindless, which doesn’t work for Mac OS (until LL moves to a more modern API such as Metal Vulkan). However, he is considering making an exception to the need for the uniform size requirement for a special Water probe type, with its own sampler – although a problem here is the viewer is close to the limit of samplers for Mac OS.
  • Requests have been made to update the official support for CEF to a more recent version. There is an internal project to update CEF / Dullahan within the official viewer.

Next Meeting

Contemplation in the Garden of Hope in Second Life

Garden of Hope, May 2026 – click any image for full size

The Garden of Hope is a joint venture between Calas Galadhon and The Grove Estate and features the creative work of Tymus Tenk of Calas Galadhon and Patch Thibaud from The Grove. It came into being during the 2023 Relay for Life season Hope Floats as a memorial to all those who have lost their lives to cancer, and has now been restored as a lasting place of peace and remembrance.

Its return, coming during the 2026 Second Life Relay for Life season and (more personally) on the heels of my own emergence from the shadow of cancer (for the second time in a decade, albeit this time being somewhat more worrying than 2018), led it to being added to my list of places to visit.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

In fact, given its ties to Calas – a place that has long been close to my heart – it quickly percolated to the top of my list, hence this article. I was also, frankly, curious as to how Calas and The Grove came together, The Grove being another place which – while I’ve not really covered it in these pages due to much of it being residential in nature – I’ve enjoyed wandering through in past visits.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

The answer to this latter question, how do the two design approaches come together, is “extremely well”. The Garden of Hope is a simply beautiful setting, rich in detail, beautifully created with a multitude of spaces in which to remember those we may have lost – and serves as a fitting memorial to Crito Galtier, the original owner of The Grove, who provided guidance in the development of the Garden prior to his passing away at the end of 2023.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

The Landing Point offers an engaging description of the region – which is joined to the rest of the Calas Galadhon estate, sitting as it does close to the Garden’s northern edge where it joins Calas’ Glanduin. A path leads up to this northern boundary, whilst another points south and takes visitors deeper into the region.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

This southern path is, in some respects, the “stitching” that brings the “Grove influenced” and “Calas influenced” parts of the region together, the former sitting on the eastern side of the path (and meeting it at its southern end) and the latter running more down the west side of the region.

However, whilst there is this sort-of split to the region’s design, with either side of the path directly designed by Patch and Ty, the overall blending of the landscapes and features within them is a lot more subtle than their meeting simply being denoted by a path; something that becomes clear as one explores and moves from east to west and back again.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

The architecture on the east side of the region, for example is clearly drawn out of the influence of Patch’s work at The Grove, whilst to the west, the Garden carries the natural loo and feel of the countryside found within many of the Calas regions. As noted, they are linked by paths and trails with – one or two exceptions duly noted in a manner that present no divide, and thus presents both halves as a whole.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

The Garden also neatly brings together two very contrasting architectural styles into a single whole. Patch’s work very much speaks to Mediterranean themes and elements, leaning towards a modern take of Greco-Roman design and Tuscan influences. Ty’s work, meanwhile, as well as embracing the natural themes from Calas Galadhon, carries a strong oriental theme and motifs.

When walking through the Garden of Hope, it is hard not to be absorbed by its beauty and wrapped in a sense of thoughtful contemplation. Whether the latter is in remembrance of those we’ve lost or the great good fortune we’ve had (as in my case) in coming through an immediate threat posed by the disease, or simply in reflection of the care and love poured into the region’s design doesn’t really matter: Garden of Hope is a place which bestows a wonderful sense of tranquillity to all who pass through it.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

Throughout the Garden are places to sit or dance, and secret places to discover as they pass underground. There’s also more to come, as Ty noted to me during my visit: he and Patch plan to add a memorial wall where visitors can submit a name of someone they’ve lost, together with a short message. This will likely include an interactive element (Ty suggested a lotus on one of the bodies of water) visitors can touch and have a small golden orb rise to the skies as a prayer or wish for healing.

In all, the Garden of Hope is a place of piece, harmony and beauty which should not be missed.

Garden of Hope, May 2026

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