And wishing you all a very uplifting and prosperous 2009.
Thank you all for taking the time to read these meandering musings; I trust at least some have been informative – or at least entertaining!
See you in 2009!
Tag: My SL
Two years on…
This Friday marks my Second Anniversary of re-joining Second Life. Yes, I will have now been here two full years almost entirely without interruption.
For the most part, it’s been an entertaining time; looking back, and despite the fact that certain things cause us to look on SL with jaundiced eyes the longer we are here, I’ve got to say things have changed mightily in that time – and for the better.
Yes, it’s still far from perfect: stbility is an issue; the viewer needs a lot of work; Linden Lab still needs to understand words like “communication”, “two way”, “transparent” and “users” – and the benefit of investing time and effort into them; more needs to be done to stem the flow of bots, etc. BUT…. only a fool would deny that overall the experiences we can have now with SL in these broad terms are 100% better than they were 18 or 24 months ago.
For me the most precious thing about SL is the fact that it is a unique window on a whole world of people I’d otherwise never have come to meet. After two years I’ve come to regard many of those people as friends. Some I know better than others, but all have – knowingly or not – brought something precious into both of my lives, SL and rl.
So, to mark my second anniversary I don’t plan to have a party or much of anything else. I just want to say “Thank you” to all of you whom I know in-world, for making my time here memorable and fun. YOU, more than anything else have made SL a very special place.
And without being overly sentimental, I especially want to thank:
Rena – for being the most amazingly talented person I’ve known. Mother and educator in real life, model, photographer and artist in Second Life, you’ve been a constant source of joy and happiness in my SL life, and I love each and every minute we get to chat and discuss everything from the cost of bread through to the meaning of life, the universe and everything…
TJ – you may have gone from SL now, but you have always been one of two exceptionally special friends who were there in my darkest hours, loving, supporting and enouraging me when I needed it most. Your boundless optimism and your amazing sense of fun were always like long, happy summer afternoons I could simply bask in and enjoy. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss you.
Lasher – my Angel, (literally!) and the other pillar of my SL life when things were bleak. An irrasible rogue with a heart of gold. I miss our chats now you’ve left SL, and hope that I’ll get to chat with you again some time.
Anna – genrous, giving, loyal. Thank you for sharing a part of your SL life with me.
James – my Dearest James! The conversations we’ve had! the long nights (for me) happily curled in my chair chatting with you about Everything! The welcome you gave me to your SL home; the confidences we exchanged! I’m still touched by your generosity, belief and support. I know rl keeps you out of SL a lot nowadays, but I still very much enjoy the times when we do get to catch-up in world.
Ollalla – friend, playmate, wonderful tease! Is it really almost two years since we first met? Thank you for your friendship, loyalty and wicked humour!
Chey – generous of heart; warm and loving – and the best latex outfit designer I know – and believe me, I know many!
Alma and Blysse – it’s been a thrill to be a part of your SL lives and plans and to share the excitement as your real lives have grown closer and closer together. You both stand as a genuine testament to what can grow between two people both in SL and in rl.
RM – for simply being you.
Sylvesz – adorable sub and so much more; I’ve known you for over a year, but it is only in the last few months that I’ve really come to know you. I’m glad I’ve been here to listen when you’ve needed to talk, and I’m touched that you view me as someone you can trust.
Bunny – what can I say? Optimism and love incarnate, rolled into a heart of gold, a devious mind and skilled hands!
Solacious – the finest sister and mentor I could ever have asked for in SL.
Minxy – with love, always. Thank you for your infectious sense of fun.
Kelly – dearest Kelly. Would that we were all like you in heart and mind; you truly are extraordinary, and I’m so happy to have you here in SL with me and a part of my family here.
Inara – almost eighteen months on from our first meeting. We’ve played together, laughed together, cried together; just like real life, we’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve teased one another, we’ve excited one anther…we’ve exasperated one another. Yet here we are, still together, still learning, still growing. There is nothing in SL I’d want to do without you; you remain my muse and my love.
Farewell, Ohiopehhla
Those who read this blog regularly (assuming people do!), can’t help but notice how proud I’ve been about my home – Ohiopehhla.
Yes, it’s a little egotistical talking about something one has largely made oneself, but the fact remains I am proud of the place, all those we’ve shared it with seem to have been equally happy.
But now it is all at an end. If this had come about through personal circumstances, then letting go would be somewhat easier. However, while we would have been content to continue on the island indefinitely, matters have been taken out of our hands.
Ohiopehhla is an OpenSpace sim. That means that from Jan 5th next year Linden Lab expects us to either a) continue to pay $75 USD a month and see the sim reduced to a 750-prim limit, zero scripts and a “10 avatar” limit, or b) have to pay an initial $95 a month to maintain the sim at the current prim count, but with as-yet unspecified script and use limits imposed upon it, with this amount rising to $125 USD from July 1st 2009.
Neither of these options is either practical or acceptable. I’m not going to rake over the whole OpenSpace sim argument;suffice it to say that Ohiopehhla is now to be abandoned.
Did we “abuse” the sim? In Kingdon’s and Jack Linden’s eyes, the answer is probably “yes”, despite the fact prim usage was kept to between 50-60% of the allowable maximum on an OpenSpace sim and – more importantly – I worked hard to manage scripts and keep the sim performance within the (vague) parameters set for it by using the (primitive) tools Linden Lab provide for managing estates.
We’ll no longer invest in land in SecondLife beyond renting. True, this still means Linden Lab gets tier from us (via our Estate Owner) – so Kingdon’s bottom line is protected and he’ll not lose any sleep. But for us it means creativity has now gone from SL – and we’re not alone in this; many feel that trying to create anything worthwhile in world is now wasted effort, as sooner or later Linden Lab will manage to find a way of knocking it down.
And that is perhaps the greatest tragedy of the entire OpenSpace fiasco.
New home, new start
Well, it’s finally happened. We have our own sim.
This marks the end of an interesting journey for us. Since we’ve been together, we’ve had to roam SL a little, living on several sims (one of which was the 2nd sim I’d managed on behalf of others in SL). While we’ve enjoyed the places we’ve lived – especially those owned by Lizard and Hottie – we’ve always known we’d never really be happy without the security of our own sim. What’s more, truth be told I miss fiddling with sims and landscaping them. But cost was always the big issue. Private islands are not cheap in terms of purchase price or tier; and the last thing we wanted was to get bogged down is running a sim as a business, rather than a place of fun.
So when LL launched their Enhanced OpenSpace sims, it was clear we’d found our niche, and (again thanks to Lizard and Hottie), we managed to secure one of these excellent small-holding (prim-wise) sims for our personal use, finally moving in last week.
It’s been a fun week since then, taking a raw sim and molding it into a private estate for both ourselves and our closest friends. Fallingwater, our house, now has a “home” to suit it – even though it is far removed from the land surrounding the real place; and we’ve been able to provide friends with houses that draw inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs.
Most of the work is now done, although things have changed slightly from the early pic taken above, just 36 hours after the sim was delivered – but we have a home and a place to roam and share with loved ones.
It even allows us all to indulge our more…esoteric…interests!
Again, the build is something I’m particularly proud of, both house-wise and sim-wise. Here’s a little look:
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 