Category: Second Life

Memories of Spring in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Memories of Spring, March 2025 – click any image for full size

In a follow-up to her Memories of Dreams, a Homestead region I wrote about back in April 2024 (see: Memories of Dreams in Second Life), Yxes (Yxes Evergreen) recently opened a new Homestead region design she is calling Memories of Spring – and it is as eye-catching as Memories of Dreams as it is different.

Spring, a time to wake up and explore all our worlds. Follow picturesque paths along a rocky coast. A special thank you to some of the artists of SL, who make our world more beautiful. Look for their work here and throughout SL!

–  Yxes, writing about Memories of Spring

Memories of Spring, March 2025

Backed by a partial off-region surround and against which it abuts, Memories of Spring gives the suggestion of being a rugged headline extending outwards from a mountainous coastal region. However, whether this coastline is part of an island or a much larger land mass is up to your imagination. The mountains sit to the east side of the region, their faces masked in shadow and haze, their domed heads frosted with snow as they appear to stand guard over the setting.

The Landing Point sits close the where the mountains touch the region, and specifically on the terrace of a large Tuscan-style villa, a curtain of rock to its rear separating it from the off-region surround as both house and terrace look westward along the island’s length. The house is open to the public and is tastefully furnished, with the covered entranceway set out ready for a shared meal. Inside, one of the room contains the first hint of the art and artists of SL referenced in Yxes’ description, in the form of a series of figures by Alpha Auer.

Memories of Spring, March 2025

Stone steps descend from the terrace and its modern fountain to a paved depression amidst the rock. A further fountain sits here, moss-aged but with clear waters. As well as occupying the sides of the fountain, the moss has spread out over the paving, suggesting the stone was laid a long time ago, while stone blocks to one side stand together in the suggestion that they, the paving and the fountain are the remnants of a structure that once occupied this hollow. But again, perhaps that is the illusion they are meant to present, their having been placed there to give the villa a sense of having a sunken garden space before it. 

Further steps rise from the fountain to where another Tuscan-style building sits on a shelf of rock. It stands above a sandy bay and offers a cosy summer house feel within its walls – and it must be passed through in order to continue onwards – unless you want to scramble and slide over rocks to reach the beach; for it is on the far side of the summer house that the path and steps continue, descending via piers of stone to reach the sand.

Memories of Spring, March 2025
It is here that the setting marvellously opens out. On the beach, sandpipers search for food as rivulets of water flow over the sand to reach an incoming tide which has, over the years, carved the sand so as to form a small, natural lagoon-like hallow within it. A further house sits on the headland here, its piers offering room for boats to come alongside, the terrace above them welcoming painters despite the downpour going on on the other side of its bulk. This rain, falling steady and quite locally, is slowly drowning the large courtyard backing onto the house and reached via a path running through a grove of silver birch also caught under the rain’s cloak.

It is in the courtyard that the first real hints of much older structures than the villa and its summer house might be found. Partially-demolished – presumably by some passage of violent weather – walls and a stairways appear to be undergoing repair. More ruins lie beyond the gates at the back of the courtyard, the hollowed rooms, empty window sockets and open maws of doorways forming a most attractive means to display 3D art by Mistero Hifeng and Bryn Oh, whilst coffee might be enjoyed within the walls of one of the aged towers.

Memories of Spring, March 2025

Looking out over the southern aspect of the island, these ruins in turn provide a glimpse of still more remnants of habitation. Reached via a further path, they sit as a magical place built on the water’s edge where chandeliers both hang from the ceiling and sit suspended in air where crystalline shapes float like strange and exotic creatures – or the petals of plants. Within this space visitors can appreciate further 3D art from the vantage point of comfortable armchairs or a bronze hoop also suspended in the air in defiance of gravity or a glass of wine might be enjoyed at the makeshift bar.

Nor do things end here, for the path continues onwards to yet more ruins, these perhaps the source of the stonework used within the hollow become the main villa.

Memories of Spring, March 2025

As much a part of the landscape as built upon it, these ruins are, to me, sublimely photogenic and beautifully natural in placement and look. It is as if whoever built them did so in order to maximise the shelter provided by the rocky spines and rises of the land behind them, although whether they were all originally part of the same group of buildings or represent different generations of construction is up to you to decide. What I will say is, they offer one of the most eye-catching uses of The looking Glass Chapel Ruins by Marcus Inkpen that I’ve seen in a while.

Watched over by a batter and weather beaten lighthouse at its north-western extent, rich in both art, décor and detail throughout, Memories of Spring is an engaging visit.

Memories of Spring, March 2025

SLurl Details

Memories of Spring (Ghilanna, rated Moderate)

Scylla’s “Almost” in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
IMAGO Art Galleries, March 2025: Scylla Rhiadra – Almost

Philosophy and art can make for an interesting coupling; on the one hand, philosophy can trigger an artistic response that in turn might serve to illustrate the central thesis being discussed; on the other, art triggered by a philosophical precept can go on to spur thinking and reflection which can reach beyond the original focus of both the art and / or the precept it initially illustrated.

Such is the case with Scylla Rhiadra’s Almost, a compelling series of pieces of art with accompanying textual extracts (often a common element within Scylla’s work), which opened to public display on March 20th, 2025 at Mareea Farrasco’s  IMAGO Art Galleries.

As I’ve noted in covering past exhibitions of her work, Scylla is one of the most gifted communicators in Second Life; her ability to to use art to convey ideas, feelings, realities and truths, and/or to expose concepts and ideas and encourage the grey stuff between the ears to fire on all available cylinders, is second to none. Nor is she unfamiliar with building upon philosophical thinking to explore our notions of what it is to be human, to live, to move through life; in this I would point to Swerve, her exhibition from 2024 which grew out of reflections on atomism as prompted by Titus Lucretius Carus (see Scylla’s Swerve at Nitroglobus in Second Life for more).

IMAGO Art Galleries, March 2025: Scylla Rhiadra – Almost

Within Almost she takes as her seed the work of the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea – specifically one of his Paradoxes of Motion (which are perhaps the most well-known of his paradoxes), which Scylla refers to as his “Atalanta Paradox”, but which is perhaps better know as the Dichotomy Argument.

In this Zeno asks us to imagine the Greek heroine and athlete running half the distance to a finishing line, and then requires us to notionally half the remaining distance and time again, and again, and again, ad infinitum. The “logical” and mathematically “provable” corollary of this exercise is the realization that the runner will never reach her goal; she will merely get closer and closer, by smaller and smaller spatial and temporal increments.

– Scylla Rhiadra, introducing Almost

IMAGO Art Galleries, March 2025: Scylla Rhiadra – Almost

The Dichotomy Argument, together with Achilles and the Tortoise and Zeno’s Arrow Paradox are regarded as such because between them, they postulate that everything is, to all intents a purposes, motionless. Atalanta can never finish her race; Achilles can never catch the tortoise, that at any given point in its flight, the arrow is in fact standing still. Not only does this mean the races / arrow flight can never be completed – they can never actually commence – which is clearly a logical fallacy, given they can and do. This fallacy offers some interesting lines of thinking, as Scylla goes on to note:

I found the concept an interesting metaphorical approach to understanding what it means to be “human,” existing in real time and space. In some ways, we are always “almost” something or another, in part because we are always in the process of becoming — of “almost” being someone or somewhere else — and because it is a fundamental condition of human existence that we never achieve an ultimate, absolute state.

– Scylla Rhiadra, introducing Almost

Thus, within this series, Scylla presents images which explore the dichotomy created within Zeno’s paradoxes in a highly visual manner.  Each offers a complete story on the human condition within its frame, whilst simultaneously presenting the potential for much broader narratives.

IMAGO Art Galleries, March 2025: Scylla Rhiadra – Almost

In this they are like Atalanta’s race – just as they almost present a “finished” image and idea, so to do they hint at a further measure of consideration, a further line of narrative, drawing the imagination onwards towards a line of “understanding” we never quite reach as we constantly re-evaluate what we are seeing within each image as our view shifts and changes both in light of our emotional state / mental processes and in reaction to reading the text accompanying each piece.

And it is in the textual excerpts that Scylla again teases; whilst they might almost illuminate an image in terms of a single point of understanding, so do they also open doors on to new avenues – or corridors, as Scylla puts it – of thinking and reaction, which can themselves subdivide further than further the more we dwell on what the text might say / mean and what might have motivated its selection.

IMAGO Art Galleries, March 2025: Scylla Rhiadra – Almost

This makes Almost wonderfully subjective – perhaps “personal” might be a better term; there is no single “given” within any single image or its text. Instead there are layers of potential that might be peeled away as each piece and its companion words are examined and considered, very much informed by the feelings and thoughts we bring to them as much as by the scenes they capture. A magnificent and deeply engaging series rich in interpretation from one of Second Life’s most engaging photographic artists.

SLurl Details

2025 week #12: SL CCUG meeting summary: PBR / BOM

Posted on by Inara Pey
Hippotropolis Campsite: venue for CCUG meetings
The following notes were taken from my audio recording and chat log of the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meeting of Thursday, March 20th, 2025.Please note that this is not a full transcript, but a summary of key topics .

 
Table of Contents

Meeting Purpose

  • The CCUG meeting is for discussion of work related to content creation in Second Life, including current and upcoming LL projects, and encompasses requests or comments from the community, together with related viewer development work.
  • This meeting is generally held on alternate Thursdays at Hippotropolis.
  • Dates and times of meetings are recorded in the SL Public Calendar, and they are conducted in a mix of Voice and text chat.

Official Viewer Status and Updates

[Video: 02:07-8:00]

Viewer Status

  • Default viewer: 7.1.12.13550888671, formerly the ForeverFPS, dated March 1, 2025, promoted March 5th – No change.
    • Numerous crash and performance fixes.
    • Water exclusion surfaces.
    • Water improvements.
  • Second Life Release Candidate viewer 2025.03 version 7.1.13.13906285233, March 20th – NEW.
    • New UI element for water exclusion surfaces: Build / Edit floater → Texture Tab → Hide Water checkbox.
    • The maximum amount of Reflection Probes can now be adjusted to better accommodate low VRAM scenarios.
      • Values will be set automatically depending on your chosen graphics quality, OR
      • Use Preferences → Graphics →  Advanced Settings →  Max. Reflection Probes to manually set. Note that lowering the value on this slider can help within environments where a lot of manual Reflection Probes have been placed out.
    • An issue with being unable to see Sky Altitude values in the Region/Estate window has now been resolved.
    • Preferences → Graphics → Max. # of Non-Imposters has been renamed Max. # of Animated Avatars for clarity.
    • Bug and performance fixes and memory optimisations.
Updates to the UI elements in the 2025-03 Release Candidate viewer (click for full size, if required)

Upcoming Viewers

  • The hope is that the 2025.03 RC viewer will progress fairly rapidly through its pre-release iterations and be promoted to de facto viewer status “soon” – most likely early April.
    • Again, this viewer includes many fixes and and work originally scheduled for the 2024 “Maintenance B” RC, which had been held over due to the focus on the performance improvements work.
  • The April release – 2025.04 – is provisionally targeting:
    • The glTF mesh uploader (based on the current .DAE mesh uploader and doing pretty much the same). Again, please note that this is not the full glTF scene importer which has been discussed at previous CCUG meetings; that work is being broken down into smaller, more easily managed projects.
    • Possibly some additional Materials features, although these are currently subject to shifting priorities.
  • Geenz Linden reiterated the idea that the new viewer update process is intended to provide work on a major feature, and also include viewer quality of life improvements – notably requests / fixed file via the Feedback Portal.

Bakes on Mesh Improvements – PBR

[Video: 12:17-24:42]

  • A bump of a feature request to provide the ability to make alphas for AUX BOM layers led Geenz to note that there are internal discussions on Bakes on Mesh and what additional things / features the Lab would like to tackle with regards to it (e.g. blend options, including the ability to blend materials attributes).
  • However, nothing is as yet on the roadmap for implementation.
  • This led to a general request on feedback as to what creators would like to see by way of BOM improvements. Responses included:
    • Full PBR Materials compositing / baking.
    • The mentioned materials blending + Photoshop-like blend modes + the ability to have blends (+ opacity) user-modifiable, even if the assets themselves are not.
    • Provide opacity sliders on the bakes slots, so as to allow things like the creation of a universal tattoo in 100% opacity black, then being able to ‘fade’ it without using more textures with separate opacity settings – see: Introducing Opacity Control for BOM Layers.
    • The ability to drag different BOM layers around when changing layer priorities, rather than having to use the current Up/Down buttons in the appearance floater.
  • Additional requests should be filed via the Feedback Portal.
  • A request for real-time in-viewer painting for alpha layers with a very basic editor was also requested as a part of the above, with Geenz indicating this would be unlikely any time soon.
  • Providing full support for PBR materials within the Bake Service is being actively “thought about” at the Lab, but Geenz noted there are some caveats. For example:
    • There is both a compatibility issue and some degree of “convertibility” between supporting a mix of PBR materials and “legacy” (Blinn-Phong) materials within BOM.
      • The compatibility issue is that both are largely different in how they operate.
      • The “convertibility” aspect lies in the fact that the specularity channel within “legacy” materials was developed with what was at the time (2012) the glTF specularity workflow. This potentially opens the door towards mixing both.
    • However: there are multiple considerations when it comes to possibly supporting both Blinn-Phong and PBR materials in BOM – particularly when it comes to ensuring the end-user understands what is going on, what might happen when editing / combining layers, and the whole question of how the necessary guidelines / caveats / warnings can be meaningfully put before users without causing confusion.
    • These internal discussions are currently on-going.
  • The idea of being able to modify blending when the assets themselves are No Mod was described as “an interesting one”, with Geenz suggesting it is something that should be posted as a request to the Feedback Portal to gain broader feedback from the user / creator community before any specific actions are taken, particularly given changes to the permissions system can lead to debate.
    • This led in part to an additional discussion on the idea of “opening” the permissions system in other areas – such as allowing users the ability to colour tint meshes that are otherwise No Mod, or add glow, if required).
  • During the discussion Geenz noted that in general, PBR is unlikely to be getting displacement mapping “any time soon”.

In Brief

  • [Video: 6:02-7:05 + later in the meeting] glTF mesh uploads:
    • The outline of this work can be found in Add Simple (llmesh) GLTF Model Import.
    • In short: it should be taken that whatever can be done within the existing .DAE uploader will remain so for uploading glTF mesh models at the first pass. Enhancements – including possibly forking the glTF  uploader into its own floater distinct from the .DAE uploader – will come later.
    • Given this, the ability to upload custom skeletons / rigs will not be supported. This does not necessarily mean that custom skeletons / rigs will “never” be supported – rather than it is a more significant project that requires further consideration before a decision can be made.
    • A request was made to be able to select maps / materials for upload in the glTF uploader, e.g. whether it should be a selectable list rather than a drop-down (for materials – which defaults to one or “bulk”) – this also has been included in the Feature Request.
  • [Video: 8:29-11:59] Kyle Linden sought information on why those using vehicles – notably boats / aircraft disable sky rendering (via Advanced → Rendering Types) during normal game play (e.g. not for matters of terraforming, etc.).
    • The majority of feedback within the meeting suggested the core reason to be doing so gives a small FPS boost (and there have been reports filed that sunset / sunrise rendering can impact FPS).
    • Anecdotally, it was suggested that it can improve region crossings, although examples weren’t cited.
    • Some also stated they did it to stop the “frantic” cloud scrolling when moving between different regions with different EPP settings (why not just apply a preferred EEP setting to your avatar to avoid this?). This prompted Geenz Linden to remark that there have been some internal discussions about making the transitions between EEP setting less jarring.
  • [Video: 26:23-27:53] some are reporting increased frequency of texture thrashing on PBR viewers over non-PBR viewers.
    • This is in part why LL has been adding further controls over texture use of VRAM.
    • Manually adjusting VRAM usage may not always resolve all issues of texture blurring (as there can be multiple reasons for it), and tweaking thing like the slider for adjusting the amount of VRAM available for texture loading can make things worse in certain conditions – so keep this in mind.
  • [Video:37:02-38:26] A request was made via chat for the Feedback portal to have a means for people to view all the tickets they have filed. This was seen as something that the Canny developers would need to implement in general, rather than a capability LL could add to the system, and so should perhaps be requested on Canny itself!
  • [Video: 38:51-41:08] It’s been reported that the eye-dropper for tinting PBR surfaces from the colour picker swatch is not working. This extended into comments that copying / pasting materials between surfaces can fail and planar face alignment not working. Fixes for issues such as copying PBR materials are within the 2025.03 RC viewer, together with a fix for PBR materials not always persisting when applied to a mesh face.
  • The last 20 minutes are a general discussion on VR support (not yet, to much work in other areas to complete first); reflection probe fixes (such as better blending) to be looked at; anecdotal comparisons on frame rates being experienced at the meeting (anecdotal as no real indication of overall graphics settings being used, direction people had their camera point & the complexity of their field of view, etc.); general performance and performance tracking.
  • [Video: 58:12-1:00:05] Part of the discussion on frame rates / performance it was noted that turning off the name tag display in the viewer Preferences → General → Name Tags options) can cause an increase in FPS – most likely due to the use of alpha layer in name tags pulling on performance.  This led to request for feedback on whether the default should be left at Name Tags On & left to a person’s individual choice to alter it; or perhaps change it to Show Briefly; or perhaps alter the behaviour so the name tag only renders when the mouse is hovered over an avatar (without necessarily having the hovertips enabled).

Next Meetings

  • Subject to confirmation: Saturday CCUG, Saturday, March 29th, time TBA.
  • 13:00 SLT, Thursday, April 3rd, 2025, at the Hippotropolis Campsite.

Duraya’s I See People in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Kondor Arts Centre, March 2025: Duraya – I See People

The term “AI art” can tend to be a barbed one. There are understandable – and in my view valid – ethical concerns surrounding AI-generated art, and the fact that many of the models which power the generative tools behind AI art are trained using copyrighted material often without the consent or compensation of the original artists. Indeed, when it comes to matters of copyright, David Holz, creator of Midjourney has shown scant regard for the concept when interviewed – and he is far from alone.

However, the flip side to this – and without wanting to get overly caught within convoluted ethical discussions – there is a case to be made for the fact that when used correctly, AI tools can be a useful means of enhancing an artist’s creativity; the use of algorithms and prompts to manipulate and build on pieces of and artist’s original pieces, enabling them to create something new – and possibly surprising.

Kondor Arts Centre, March 2025: Duraya – I See People

Such considered, curated use can result in extraordinary art; and such is the case with I See People, an exhibition of original art by Duraya, now on display through March / April at the Kondor Art Club, curated by Hermes Kondor and forming part of the Kondor Arts hub.

This is a series of engaging studies of “people”, some drawn / painted by Duraya, others (I believe) photographs of her avatar. All have been subject to AI treatment at Duraya’s command to produce the finished result. All are rich in detail and – perhaps surprisingly to some – rich in emotion / sentiment.

Kondor Arts Centre, March 2025: Duraya – I See People
When I first got in contact with AI I thought ‘huh, everyone can click around a bit to get fantastic results, what a cheat’. It’s true in a way. But if you learn to ‘tame the beast’ and understand how to ride it it’s a fantastic addition to creation like all the post procession devices.
My AI-edited pictures are all based on my own work, playing with prompts, settings and images until I get the result I want, thus accomplishing a mixture of reality and virtuality, sometimes with a little surprising twist.

– Duraya, discussing her AI-assisted art

These are genuinely individual pieces strong in narrative, presenting many aspects of the human condition –  from the trials of life on the personal level: dealing with loneliness, our natural curiosity, the realities of aging, and so on; through to matters that might be seen as more global issues, worries and conditions that challenge us both individually and as a society. Their depth is further enhanced by the styles and approaches Duraya has employed to give them both a sense of of individuality as well as allowing them to be defined – in some cases – thematically as well.

Kondor Arts Centre, March 2025: Duraya – I See People

And in returning to my opening comments, they might well help alter perceptions about the considered and restrained use of AI as a tool for creativity, rather than purely within those terms which leave us unable to see it as anything other than a negative influence.

SLurl Details

Chaos and Calm in Second Life – Part 2: a rich Calm

Posted on by Inara Pey
Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025 – click any image for full size

In the first part of this series, I wrote about the return of Chaos Theory, the setting designed by Megan Prumier  which originally sat in the sky above The Butterfly Effect by Vally Lavender. In particular I noted the setting now has a new home, courtesy of Izzy Moondust (iggymurphy), who specifically went out and obtained a Full region just so Chaos Theory and its  residents could once again enjoy it (see: Chaos and Calm in Second Life – Part 1: Chaos Theory).

In that article I noted that as well as presenting Chaos Theory as a public space once more, the ground level of the region it sits within was also being developed by Megan on Izzy’s behalf as a rural space for people to explore and enjoy, and that I’d be covering it closer to completion time. Well, Megan has been working her socks off – and the region’s ground level is now all but done, so here’s the promised piece!

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

Called Calm, the ground level of the region is a marvellous, largely public setting (Izzy does have her home in the north-west corner of the region, screen away from the rest by trees and sitting on its own hill so please respect her privacy) featuring a lot to see and appreciate throughout. And I do mean a lot; such is Megan’s skill, this is a place that genuinely feels a lot, lot larger than the region in which it sits.

I’m honestly not sure whether words are adequate when it comes to Calm; the setting is so richly informed from its coastal edges to it high cliffs. The Landing Point sits close to the western side of the region,  tucked under the roof of a gazebo sitting between the region two outflowing streams.

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

These streams flow to the coast from a large lake below the region’s eastern uplands with their high cliffs,  and leave the ground on which the Landing Point sits as a tongue of land lapping at the lake at its bulbous inland end. This headland is split by two small brooks as they depart the lake, forming a Y as they meet to form the southern most of the two streams.

This headland offers an ideal vantage point from which to appreciate the horseshoe of waterfalls tumbling down the cliffs, a path running due east from the Landing Point running almost to the little bridge spanning one of the brooks to reach the headland.

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

The falls carry the name Snoqualmie Falls, and so appear to honour one of Washington state’s most popular natural attractions. As scenic as they are within Calm, the cliffs from which the water tumbles hide a number of points of interest and secrets which might be easily  be missed by the unwary visitor.

Close by the Landing Point gazebo and on its north side, a wooden bridge spans one of the two streams to lead to a stone-paved footpath. Running eastward towards the falls, this path quickly reaches fields of grass and flowers on the edge of the lake, arched boxwood hedges marking where it continues onward to where it starts winding up through the cliffs, passing by a warehouse converted into a (publicly-accessible) house, complete with a most unique (and historic!) garden ornament located on a flat-topped shoulder of rock.

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

Beyond the warehouse, the path continues to meander between high bluffs of rock, helping to give the region that sense of being a lot bigger than 256×256 sq metres, prior to reaching a high meadow cut through by some of the water from the upper level of waterfalls. Beyond a bridge spanning this stream, the path plunges into a long, natural tunnel as it passes under the highest waterfalls, offering its own unique beauty prior to emerging on the southern uplands, where a rough trail offers a route back down to the lowlands once more.

However, before being two quick to pass through the cave north-to-south, make sure you look around the field leading into its northern end, as you might find a lookout point of interest. further, mid-way through the tunnel you might noticed a – curtained, shall we say – exit leading to another retreat sitting between the step-like waterfalls to provide a magnificent view out of the region and its many points of interest.

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

As you descend from the upland along the southern trail and you’ll pass back through some of these further points of interest, including the arboretum, Buckskin peak camp store (which I take to be reference to Mount Buckskin in the Rocky Mountains), outdoor camp sites, what looks to be an art gallery in waiting, a farm shop bakery, places to fish, an old boathouse complete with a dice game sitting neatly on the water, a meadow for horse grazing, a neatly hidden events stage – the Steampunk Corner – and more.

Another event space is to be found on the lake itself. It takes the form of a solidly-built warehouse sitting atop a broad deck extending out over the lake’s shallow northern waters. Called simply Club Calm, it offers bars to either end (one topped by the DJ booth, the mostly open floor in the middle available for dancing.

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

And all of this still only scratches at the surface of a setting that lives up to is name in every way, and which is rounded-out by a mix of animal / wildlife, a perfect ambient soundscape and plenty of places to sit and pass the time.  Teleport boards are available to help with getting around (and with getting up to Chaos Theory and back!) – but really, Calm should be experienced carefully and on foot – it is a genuine joy to explore.

Do be sure to visit!

Chaos and Calm – Calm, March 2025

SLurl Details

Jhaeros is rated Moderate

Second Life Discord Server open to all & how to join

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

Following the announcement made during the March community Round Table (summarised here with video), the official Second Life Discord server has now been opened up to access by any Second Life users wishing to join it.

Whilst also being YACTF (yet another channel to follow) which comes on top of the blogs, forums, social media feeds etc., that Linden Lab tends to variously (and at times inconsistently) use for communications, the Discord server also presents broader means for SL users to connect with one another, share information, and keep abreast with events and activities (official or otherwise) within Second Life / at Linden Lab.

In particular, the Lab’s official blog post on the opening up of the server gives the following reasons for participating on it:

  • Stay Updated: get the latest news, updates, and announcements directly from Linden Lab.
  • Community Interaction: join discussions, participate in events, and meet other residents from around the virtual world.
  • Exclusive Channels: access dedicated channels for various interests including channels for creators, bloggers, newcomers, and more!
  • Community Support: seek assistance and advice from other Second Life users.

To gain complete access to the server you will need to:

  • Have a Discord account – you can set this up when accessing the Second Life server if you do not already have one.
  • Join the Second Life server.
  • (Optionally) link the Server with your Second Life account for access to all the available channels on the server.

Accessing the Second Life Discord Server

  1. Follow the https://discord.gg/secondlifeofficial link.
  2. If you do have a Discord account, skip to Step 3. Otherwise, follow the steps to create one:
    • Provide a Display Name at the pop-up (user name) and accept the Discord Terms of Service / Privacy Policy (follow the links to read both!).
    • Verify you are not a robot.
    • Provide a birthday.
    • Enter a valid e-mail address and create a password for your account.
    • Respond to the verification e-mail to confirm your e-mail address.
    • If required, get and install the Discord Desktop app (or just access Discord through your browser).
  3. You will be invited to join the Second Life Discord Server.
Accept the invite to join the Second Life Discord Server
  1. Specify (or skip for now):
    • Your preferred language.
    • Your Second Life interests (you can select some / all of the available options).
Joining the Second Life Discord Server: interest options selection and rules and requirements pop-up
  2. Access the server on clicking Finish.
The Second Life Discord Server

Linking Your Second Life Account with Discord

  1. Click on the Second Life Server name in the top left corner of the Discord window to open a drop-down menu.
  2. Click on Linked Roles in the menu to open the Connect Your Accounts pop-up.
Linking your Second Life account to your Discord account (1)
  1. Click on the Second Life APP link.
  2. A pop-up will be displayed indicating you are leaving the Second Life Discord Server using the link support-dot-secondlife-dot-com with the option to trust the link which you can optionally check.
  3. Click on Visit Site to open a pop-up with the Second Life web log-in (and note the URL at the top of the pop-up to ensure it is genuine).
Linking your Second Life account to your Discord account (2)
  1. Enter your Second Life log-in credentials (note: if you use MFA, you might be asked to provide an authenticator  Token).
  2. You will be asked to authorize linking your Discord account with your Second Life account – note you must scroll down the request in order for the Authorise button to activate.
  3. A message is displayed, indicating the link has been successful, and you can close the pop-up.
  4. A further pop-up will be displayed, confirming the connection is successful, as well as containing additional useful links.
  5. When you have finished with this pop-up, click Done to be taken back to the Connect Your Accounts pop-up, which has been updated with a tick to indicate the connection.
  6. Click Finish to close the connection.
Linking your Second Life account to your Discord account (3)

Unlinking your Accounts

To Unlink your accounts:

  • Make sure Show All Channels is checked in the Server drop-down menu.
  • Click on sl-connection under the Resources heading in the left side channel list.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page and the section How to Disconnect Your Second Life Account from Discord.
  • Click on the specified URL to unlink your accounts.
  • The accounts will be unlinked and a message displayed (in a new browser tab if accessing Discord via your browser) indicating your Discord and Second Life accounts have been unlinked.