Live Music With Bronze8020

Please pardon the pic. My SL photo editing abilities have gone in to the virtual toilet. 

Due to a recent change in SL relationship status, I've suddenly realized that over the course of the past couple of years, I've distanced myself from friends to the point that I've become the lone wolf (or kitty) of the grid.

Sitting in my treehouse alone, rearranging my inventory and contemplating the position of the couch leaves my second life looking depressingly like my first.

We can't have that.

So, I've been gingerly dipping my paws back in to the Second Life live music scene. Saturday night, I checked out Bronze8020 at  Kameleonz - Pub With No Beer, Alanya Bay (90, 138, 501). Bronze's show wasn't the first I've checked out in the past week or so, but Mama always said if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. There are still lots of acts out there that will make your teeth itch, but I have to give them credit for having the cajones to get out there and belt it out.

Fortunately Bronze8020 is an act worth mentioning. His soothing voice paid homage to classic songs geared toward those of us with more "experienced" musical tastes. 

And his av is kinda hot too.

The crowd was great, it seems this cat has quite the following. Loved this guy's style as well:

VincentSantino

So if you find yourself sitting around the beach, counting your toenails or if you just can't stand the thoughts of going on one more excitement filled freebie hunt, look for Bronze8020 on the event calender. You won't be disappointed.

The King of the Freebies

Survivor: Second Life

How to Get by on the Grid

Part 2

I spent a large chunk of my early days in SL with my butt parked on a brick wall at the Bear Dream Lodge Infohub. It was there that I first met the self-proclaimed "King of the Freebies." He was tall, thin, bald,  wore a big trench coat and the glow from his bling could be seen for miles.

The boy had more attachments than an Electrolux.

The King prided himself on having everything anyone could need tucked safely away in his inventory. We eventually became good friends and he taught me all I needed to know about how to find the best freebies. Well, until he got involved with some psycho chick, bought her some stuff and sexed her up, sending her crying back to her ex boyfriend, telling him The King was stalking her and wouldn't leave her alone.. or something like that. The ex boyfriend formed a posse and he and his buddies tortured him mercilessly...

That's when he disappeared.

But don't despair! Before he left, The King shared his vast freebie gathering experience with yours truly.

How to Find Freebies:

• Freebie stores: If you're new and looking for some stuff to get you started, freebie stores (like Free Dove or the Freebie Dungeon) are a great place to begin. They usually have the basics like clothes, furniture, freebie scripts, etc. Once you start getting out and about however, you'll want to upgrade from the basic newbie free stuff.
• Events: If you browse the events listings, you'll find all kinds of freebie offers as a bribe to get you to stop by the event. Go for it. It's kind of a crap shoot, sometimes you end up with the same free junk you've got 100 copies of already, but you can also end up with some cool clothes and shoes. I've got a folder full of beautiful wedding gowns I picked up that way. I've never gotten to wear any of them, both my past partners were more the run-to-town-hall-and-get-hitched types. I'm still holding on to the dresses. You never know.
• Hunts: I've only done one or two hunts, but it's a great way to find free stuff. They usually have a theme and seem to be more popular around holidays. Take a friend with you, it's a cheap inexpensive date.
• Group Gifts: Most of the big retailers in SL have started giving out free gifts to residents who join their groups. Some offer a goodie when joining, others offer a monthly freebie to bring people into their stores. My favorite is Azul (beautiful dresses and gowns.) In my opinion, this is the best way to get high quality freebies and the stores involved increase their traffic by tempting you to visit. Everyone wins.

The King reappeared a few weeks after his disappearance with a new alt, hunting me down on the beach where I always seem to end up. He eventually became my first SL ex-partner after things started getting a little too weird. I'm sure he's still out there, somewhere, with a new name and a new face.

I used to spend alot of time out looking for feebies. It becomes almost like a game, seeing what you can come up with. It's also a great way to discover SL.

Where do you find your best freebies? Let me know in the comments.

We'll talk again soon!

Friendship

I received some bad news about a SL friend tonight, news that broke my heart in to a million pieces. I  found myself back where I always go when I need to think or pout or have a good cry. I sat, watching the waves crash on the beach at CinCin and I thought about the friendships we form on the grid.

Why do we feel the need to designate relationships we form here as "Second Life friends" or "virtual friends?" We care for each other with the same heart, shed the same tears, grow attached to the flesh and blood people on the other side of the screen.

Friends are still friends, regardless of how you found them, aren't they?? Right?

Take a moment today to tell your friends on the grid how much they mean to you. Give them a big, pixel squishing hug.

Because you never know...

Stuff I Ponder When I'm Bitchy McCrankypants

• Who the heck is Ashyne Demonista and why is everyone Googling them? That name is generating a lot of search traffic for me. 
• If your neighbor has their little parcel positioned 700 meters in the air, why would you stick your oddly shaped, plywood block RIGHT beside them when moving a few meters up or down would make everyone happy? Seriously, I'm tired of moving. 
• If you're having an event, is it really necessary to send out a group notice one hour before, then a half hour, then fifteen minutes and another one screaming that I'm missing the event of the century once it begins? Oh yeah.. and THEN post the slurl in group chat on top of that? You're just being annoying, not enticing me to join you.
•  If you are a merchant in Second Life and your income depends on people being interested in your product, stop bitching because you get alot of IMs with questions you don't think are worthy of your time. It's called CUSTOMER SERVICE. Look it up. When they STOP asking, then you can bitch.
• Your competitor/customer/neighbor being unable to speak/write perfect English does not give you the right to be a big, flaming a-hole about it. I'm constantly amazed by the residents I meet from South America, Eastern Europe, Japan... all over the world.. who speak English as a second language and manage to do business in SL, where English dominates. Were the tables turned, I wouldn't last a day if I had to know Portuguese or Russian to get by. So stop being a snot. You're making the rest of us look bad.
• Do you think Tinies are creepy? Child AVs are all perverts? Furries are kinky, sex starved deviants? Fairies and Elves all celebrate Pagan ritual and threaten your core belief systems? Well, you're wrong, but fine. If you insist on making assumptions about people based on what form they take as they walk the grid, just stay in your little red-lined, protected little parcel, hiding from everyone so you can be sure you won't be offended. My philosophy is: if you think it's wrong, don't do it. But stop passing judgement on everyone else. It's not your place.. or mine.
• Maybe I shouldn't blog when I'm cranky.

This week's topic at the Second Slice Cafe: Share your funniest holiday memory. Any holiday and/or family gathering qualifies. Did Uncle Bob shoot off his big toe while he cleaned his rifle on the Fourth of July? Did cousin Sue get too drunk at the Christmas Eve gathering and try to have her way with the garden gnome? We'll be telling our holiday stories at the Second Slice Cafe this Saturday, 12/5/09 at 5pm SLT. I hope to see you there.

I promise I won't be Bitchy McCrankyPants by then.

Random Thoughts on Shopping

Shopping seems to be a major recreational activity in Second Life and while I don't include myself in the ranks of the hardcore shopaholics, I do spend big chunks of grid time on maddening hunts for very specific products. When I get an idea of what I want, I'm like a old coonhound beautiful spaniel of aristocratic lineage, baying loudly at the base of every tree prancing lively through the lush, green forest, searching for the perfect pair of boots.

Not that bird dogs find boots in the woods.. but anyway...

Over the years, I've developed some strong opinions about finding what I want, the following is a collection of my opinions and observations about shopping in SL:

• I use SL search for everything. It works great for some stuff, like finding live music, but for shopping, it's not so great. To make it easier, it would be nice if the ads placed for your store actually show an image of your product. That cute little Neko cartoon character is feckin' adorable, but it's not worth a hill of beans at showing me what your design style is like. And? While your company logo is awesometastic, I'd rather know that you can make a boot look like a boot than see foggy vampiric images surrounded by dripping blood and myst.
• I don't like spending large portions of my life, first or second, flying around ginormous malls that sell everything from super realistic lizard eyeballs to outdoor fountains. If I'm looking for sneakers, I'll be shopping at shoe stores. I don't do malls.
• If your tag list has 500 items, including furniture, animations, clothing, skins, hair and shoes.. all from the same designer, I'll probably skip that store too. While there may be a handful of people who can design absolutely anything and do it with excellence, most people have one or two things they're really good at. If you don't design anything but formal gowns, chances are you've spent alot of time perfecting the shapes of the attachments, the amount of flexified magic to apply to them for just the right flow and hours manipulating textures and colors to create a dress that will make every woman feel like she's going to prom all over again.
• Are doors really necessary? Do you know how many windows I've walked into, face first, because it looked JUST like the glass door beside it? Do you really need a door that opens and closes? Please, make the entrance obvious. Oh yeah and.. that six mile hike from the tp point is a royal pain.
• Spiral staircases look nice, but do me a favor and put a nice little tp point beside it. Three years in SL and I'm still falling off spiral staircases. It ticks me off. I WANT to see what you have upstairs. I don't want to make three attempts to get up there.
• If you list items in your seach tags that you don't actually sell, just to get people in the door, and I waste my time covering every inch of your establishment trying to find that item, I'm not going to be happy camper. Chances are, I'll never buy anything in your store. Ever.
• Live (sorta) models displaying clothing in your store? BEST IDEA EVER!
• Those auto greeter things popping up on my screen the moment I land at your store, demanding that I join your group so that I can get updates, special offers, marry rich, be showered with jewels and never want for everything again for as long as I live? Discard. Ignore. Mute. I haven't even made it inside. I don't know if I'm gonna care if you've updated or not before I've even seen your products.
• An offer of a monthly free gift from a store/designer that I adore, as long as I'm wearing their group tag to grab it, positioned next to a polite sign suggesting I join their group? Heck yeah I'll join.

I'm sure some will disagree with my list, but what the hey.. it's my blog. What drives you mad while shopping in SL? Drop me a comment!

How Would You Change Second Life?

Saturday night's discussion group was a roaring success, I want to thank everyone who attended, we had the biggest turn out yet! The topic was, "If you could change one thing about SL, what would it be?" Of course, the first thing everyone said was LAG LAG LAG! And while we agreed that it was probably impossible to eliminate SLag completely, there is always room for improvement (and Jello.)

In my early days of SL, log on totals of 20K would lag everything down, so when you consider the resident numbers you see now, there already has been a considerable improvement.

Other Second Life wish lists included:

• A Police Force  This suggestion created some debate over the need to keep SL a free society versus the need for greater enforcement of the rules that already exist. And if there are rules, is it truely a "free" society anyway? I'd love to be able to IM someone when my land gets invaded by griefers. It wouldn't have to be that expensive. Linden Labs could hire residents, in-world, paid in L$ to make rounds of events, just to see how things are going. Lord knows there are crap loads of people wanting jobs in SL.
• Shared inventories between primary and alt accounts Granted, it would make it alot easier than logging off one account and on to another to pass stuff back and forth. Not that I have an alt. *cough*
• Bringing back the cornfield During the discussion, I mentioned that I used to hear rumors about residents who broke the rules being "sent to the cornfield" (a reference to the classic Twilight Zone episode?) and had always wondered if it was real. According to a long time SL resident, there really was a cornfield where naughty avs were exiled for periods of time. The practice was discontinued due to people deliberately commiting violations, just to see the cornfield. Is it still in existence? I think they should bring it back. Just cuz.
• Improved map and search options Recent improvements have helped, I hope it's an ongoing project for Linden Labs.
• Beautiful gowns which, when worn, don't turn into pant suits with giant flaps There are some designers out there who've mastered the flexi flow. I've got a few gowns among my favorites that continue to look all flowy and full when you move, although the skirts still disapear when you sit down. One designer that I know of (I believe it's Nyte and Day, but I might be wrong) now has a scripted prim skirt that doesn't disapear into your booty when sitting. Designers are continuously coming up with new ways to manipulate flexi prims and sculpties. I'm constantly amazed by the talent available in Second Life.
• Time limits on free accounts or a limit on the number of free accounts you can have at one time I kept a free account for a long time and when times were hard, I downgraded back to a basic account after keeping a premium account for a while. I'd hate to see that option disapear, however, I do think they should put a limit on how many free accounts you can have. I think it would cut down on grief attacks, when griefers are banned, they just come back on another account. It's pretty annoying.
• Limiting the creation of new land by Linden Labs to boost the Second Life economy I can see how this would help residents with real estate holdings, but I'm not sure it's realistic. The bottom line is, Linden Labs is in the business of making money. Putting more in the pockets of the residents isn't their primary objective.
• Regional Windlight settings I think this is an excellent idea. I wish I could change my default settings to one of the Windlight options as well, instead of having to go in and select one of the presets every time I log on. Unless of course, there's already a way to do this and I haven't figured it out yet. If that's the case, we'll just quietly forget I suggested it. Kay? Oh and.. tell me how it's done.. please?

I'm sure there were more, we had around 30 participants over the course of an hour. About halfway into the discussion, we were invaded by griefers, forcing me to test my lockdown, eject and ban skills, which are more than a little rusty. Mayhem ensued for a couple of minutes, but we recovered nicely.

Again, I want to thank everyone who came by and I look forward to see ya'll again this Saturday night.

Escaping Reality

I had heard about Second Life for a while before I finally signed up three years ago. Aside from my strange fascination with all sorts of techie geekdom, I was captivated with the idea of a utopian virtual society, where you could be anything you chose to be, free from judgement, where oddity was embraced and everyone was free to experience a life different from their "first life."

Of course, what I found was something entirely different. Sure, you were free to wander the grid in your freebie skin, prim hair and $L2 jeans, but the SL elite were also free to inform you of your errors in judgement and publicly humiliate you.

In those first days, I became great at finding the best modifiable freebies, then tweaking and adjusting them until I got what I wanted. I think I'm still wearing my first freebie shape, that I've stretched, shrunk, twisted and mutilated like a plastic surgeon on heroin.

One day, I landed at an infohub, having worked on my look for days but still wearing my system issue helmet hair and was approached by a handsome man with pale skin, a tall, lean shape and freakin' fabulous hair. He was dressed in a dark suit and had entrancing eyes that a girl would follow anywhere. He sent me an IM saying, "Great look, but you need hair. Follow me"

He tped me to another location (no, I didn't hesitate for a second to follow him... he was damned fine,) which turned out to be Calla hair, gave me $200, helped me pick out a new do, showed me how to adjust it and then *poof* he was gone.

He was my Hairy Godfather.

Now, three years later, I've watched the fashion industry in Second Life explode with fashion shows, trendy publications with models and photographers everywhere. Skins are more realistic, the clothes are mindblowing and we've even got prim feet.

But I think we've lost something as well.

A few days ago, I was privvy to a conversation among some members of the fashion industry. Someone shared a picture of an avatar she'd seen in a store and commented how pretty it was. I took a look and I agreed, the avatar she'd seen was quite lovely. But others started chiming in..

• Her shoulders were too wide
• Her hips were too narrow
• Her nose was "wrong"
• All her clothes came from the same label
• She was too tall
• Her hair was wrong for her face

Maybe I'm wrong but, if our avatars have to conform to some idealistic standard of beauty to be considered attractive, haven't we just recreated one of the worst aspects of our first lives?

Fanstasy sims with dragons, trolls and faeries have been replaced with strip malls and mega shopping sims. Elaborate builds where you could walk along and pick up copies of trees, flowers and little prim critters that were "free to copy" now all come with a price. Perfect prim feet are replacing long, flowing mermaid tails and  I don't remember the last time I saw someone walking on an SL road.. just exploring.

In our quest to create things more realistic, we've stumbled and instead made them more like reality. I thought that's what we were trying to escape.

The Future of Second Life

Monday's "Gripe Session" at the Second Slice Cafe had the biggest turnout of all our events so far. The biggest gripe? Not enough griping!

We had a great time, lots of chatting, friendly banter, a little networking and some shmoozing took place, but as has become the tradition, very little attention was paid to the actual planned topic.

With the experimental phase successfully completed, I'm happy to announce regularly scheduled chat-shmooz-meet some folks-get togethers on Sundays, 5 p.m. SLT at the Second Slice Cafe. For reminders, you can sign up for the Second Slice group or check the events listings. More may be added later, but I think this is a good place to start. I expect to see ya'll there.

Don't make me come looking for you.

In other news...

The grid has been buzzing with news of the latest virtual pets in Second Life. Turtles are invading the sims with promises to replace the Sion chickens as the "next big thing." The little critters are sold as eggs, which then hatch, breed, eat and I assume, eventually expire.

I'm sorry, if I have to worry about buying food, my property being over run by turtle babies when the little things go crazy doing the humpty hump and whether or not they're inbred, my Second Life starts getting as stressful as real life.

What's wrong with the little two prim critters that stand around moving their head or the tiny ducks you can plop down in some pixelated water to swim in eternal circles, never wanting for a thing?

It sounds like a huge pain in the hiney to me.

Don't get me wrong, I love little animals as much as the next person, but if I'm going to have to devote that much time, attention and money to something, I expect it to protect my property or at least keep my feet warm.

I hear bunnies are next.. and ya'll know how fast they multiply.

And bunnies aren't dumb like chickens and turtles. Bunnies are crafty. Their numbers will grow uncontrollably, they'll evolve and organize. The first sim to fall under their control will be Zindra, where promises of kinky bunny sex will attract a flood of newbies who'll be tricked into entering their little clubs, their eyes glazing over with lust, the temptations of fluffly little tails rounding the carrot shaped stripper poles, gyrating to the beat of loud house techno.

You'll start to see Lindens in bunny ears, the forums will be over run with messages from avs with names like "Bugs" and "PeterCtail."

The sky is falling my friends.. and it will come down on the heels of freakishly giant, furry feet.

It's the end of Second Life as we know it.

Just my opinion.

*giggle*

Live Music in Second Life

I've been doing some late night venue hopping for the past few weeks (like bar hopping, but with less chance of arrest.. or ya know.. death,) checking out live music acts. The music scene always intrigued me, but I was usually way too busy walking around with my nose up some smooth talker's pixelated butt cheeks to check it out.

I've enjoyed a two man bluegrass show, complete with corny jokes, experienced the blues and an acoustic version of "Poker Face" played to a packed house. I've mentioned some of my favorite acts in past posts, but as I hop from one act to the next, looking for the one that will hold my interest through at least one song, I've determined that there are some really sucky singers out there.

No.. seriously. The music begins and I'm all excited because it's one of my favorite songs, when suddenly and without warning, a sound like that of a dying mule in a hail storm spews forth into my headphones, making their way into my brain and, no doubt, causing irreversible damage.

I could do better. If you'd ever heard me sing, you'd realize how bad that truly is.

The only thing I can figure is, these vocally challenged residents must have been children of the 80's, when parents were being fed all that "self esteem" nonsense, when children received certificates at award ceremonies for such awesome accomplishments as showing up and not stabbing anyone in the forehead with a sharpened No.2 pencil.. things that used to be considered behavior of reasonably functioning humans, suddenly became worthy of reward.

I know I can't sing. How do I know? My mother told me, because somewhere deep in her psyche she knew that I'd grow up to spend valuable chunks of my life sitting in front of a computer, manipulating a mini-me through virtual worlds and I needed to know that if I tried to belt out a tune, it would be an assault on the senses of people all over the earth and could result in an international incident.

Moms know stuff like that.

And since we're on the subject of live music in Second Life, I'd like to say a word about the venues, most of which are freakin' awesome. When you book an act that's really popular, there are going to be alot of people show up, which is the point, right? So you come to expect a little lag as a result.

I understand that. It can't be helped.

So why do put the tp point 500 hundred miles from the stage, across six bridges, up a ladder, behind giant castle doors and up on the roof? It's like being on a scavenger hunt with the map upside down. By the time I get there, I'm so tired and annoyed, I just wanna rip someone a new one.

There are lots of great acts on the grid, if you've not had the pleasure, you really should check out a few. Most venues are well managed with friendly staff and for the most part, I've had a great time.

If you happen across an exceptionally awesome act, drop me an email so I can check them out.

I'll see ya'll soon.

Hair Addiction in Second Life

I've heard rumors about other women having them, but I didn't really believe it. The word.. whispered around the clubs and infohubs... mentioned on blogs and in advertisements.. but still.. I thought it was just an urban myth. That is.. until I experienced it myself.

I've had my first...

HAIRGASM!!!



It's that rush you get when you've been searching far and wide for the perfect hair.. FOREVER. Then, you find yourself standing in another hair shop trying on the 286th demo that week. You take a gander at yourself.. your jaw drops open and realize you've reached FOLLICLE NIRVANA!

Every hair shop sells long hair. Most advertise flexi and prim styles, but it seemed impossible to find the perfect long hair. The kind that moves without looking like a rabid octopus, yet gently bounces, in separate strands, without helmet head.

I'd never heard of Cross before. I stumbled upon it last night and I fear I'll be going back to buy one of everything in the shop. I wish they'd had more dark brown selections, but this black w/gray color seems to be a nice substitute. I really liked the Nevaeh style, I may be going back for that soon.

I'll have to take a certain alt shopping there next. We can't let her feel left out.

I've been doing more than just hair shopping. I did a little fine tuning around the new cafe, added a touch here and there. It's so great to have a place of my own again and something productive to do. Ya'll be sure and stop by when you get a chance!

I Loves Me Some Monkeys

Quite possibly the cutest avatar I've seen in Second Life. Ever.

Prejudice in Second Life

One of the great things about Second Life is, you never know who you might run into while wandering the streets late at night. When I spotted this fashionista, with her shiny latex body suit, I just had to strike up a conversation.

She was surprisingly friendly.. looks can be deceiving and was eager to tell me all about her dominatrix who apparently keeps an entire herd.. flock.. harem.. troop.. whatever the word is for a group of submissives.

When I complimented her on the lovely collar, we somehow got on the subject of the Neko lifestyle and she started asking me a lot of questions about the different types of roleplay in SL. She wasn't very new, but I got the impression that her experiences in the metaverse were limited to her current situation.

She seemed surprised that anyone bothered to engage her in conversation, which made me think about how residents are judged by their appearance here, maybe even more than in First Life. The reason seems to be that in SL we choose who we become, externally, while away from the computer, much of what makes up who we are is out of our control... like the language we learn to speak, the color of our skin, our sex, etc.

Here, it seems, prejudice against some groups is excused, because they've chosen to express their individuality in a way that differs from the masses.

I think maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge. Second Life should be a safe haven to explore those little quirky kinks of personality, things you'd never do in real life.

On a side note.. I haven't seen headgear like that since the fourth grade when Donny Mathews got his uber orthodontic braces over Christmas vacation to fix his overbite.

Seriously.

I think he's still in therapy.

That's my two cents worth (or like 50$L) for now. We'll talk again soon. Ya'll have a good one and I'll see you around the grid.

The Grid Enhancing Innovation: Voice

I've logged on to Second Life a handful of times in the past few weeks. Each time, it took a total of 10 minutes visiting what used to be my favorite hang out before the voice conversation turned to crap.

No.. literally.. people using this wonderful, grid changing technology to discuss the waste matter that spits out of their ass on a daily basis.

Yeah.. great idea adding voice. They were right about one thing, it definitely changed the Second Life experience.

Can Second Life Stop the War?

"Help end the war, lies & propoganda" was the title of the event listing which attracted me to this quaint little seaside gathering at Liberty Beach.

Before I go on, I should mention that when it comes to politics, I'm intentionally clueless. I'm that person that activists despise, the one who chooses to turn a blind eye, to remain quiet, to do nothing. I wasn't always this way. I used to feel free to voice my opinion on those issues which stirred my patriotic spirit, which now lays buried under layers of denial. When I take hold of a cause, I don't let go and because of that, I found it too draining, too emotional for me to allow myself to care too much.

And yet, when I saw this event listed, I couldn't let it pass without at least stopping by.

When I arrived, I was welcomed by a gathering of only three people. I was a little surprised, I guess I was hoping for a massive uprising.

The group was eventually joined by two more and the conversation flowed from opinions on the war (no one was for it) to the economy, 9/11 conspiracy theories and the government's knowledge of Tesla technologies. Although everyone wasn't always in agreement on every topic, I didn't witness tempers flaring or arguments. Everyone was very polite and respectful of everyone else.

I'm not sure what I expected initially, but this quiet, friendly group was a pleasant surprise.

Can Second Life stop the war? Probably not, but consider the fact that we all exist in this virtual world, from many nations, speaking many languages in the absence of a formal government and we all seem to get along much better than we do in the first world.

Maybe there's a lesson in that.

The State of Mahala

I have really struggled with my life on the grid this past week. So much so that I've contemplated selling my land, deleting my blog and downgrading to a free account. Doing these things would make it easier for me to walk away.

I'm sure you're thinking my decision has something to do with lag, Linden Labs or the state of Second Life in general, but it doesn't. My dismay with the state of things is based on a very human condition, the existence of hatred.

I've found myself retreating more and more into myself in world, something I do in my first life all too often. I try to distance myself from conflict, from pain, from hatred. It isn't always the best option for dealing with these things, it's just how I chose to, due to my atomic temper and huge mouth.

Things have been said regarding my unwillingness to be friendly towards some individuals and it's been suggested that my reasoning was incorrect and I'd like to address that here. I don't care if someone has an alt, I don't care if they have 15. It doesn't matter what face you wear or the name above your head, when I witness someone showing no respect for the choices of others, speaking with hateful words, calling others "idiots", displaying bloodied heads on sticks etc., I choose to separate myself from them.

I harbor no ill will.

I am not angry.

I just would rather not spend the limited time that I spend online in the company of individuals who gain pleasure from the pain and hurt feelings of others. There's enough hate and frankly, bullshit, in the real world.

Some of you will say it's just a game and that these displays are all in fun, but hatred and intolerance are dangerous things, in any form. If you freely sprew ignorance in Second Life, then I'm sure you do the same in your first. Your avatar, regardless of how hard you try to hide it, is an extension of who you are inside.

All the expensive skins, hoochie mama clothes and flexi hair on the grid won't mask your charade forever.

Feeding the Beast No More

Over the weekend, Bear Dream Lodge Infohub was once again visited by an angry landowner, this time a shop keeper. As he stood in the center of the gathering, shouting insults and obscenities, I wondered what, exactly, he was trying to accomplish.

I assume that if you open a store, more traffic yields higher sales. Opening your store directly across the road from an infohub would definitely give you more traffic and one would assume, put more money in your pocket.

Why then, would you enter the infohub and call everyone, new and established accounts alike, everything from an *sshole to a wh*re? I can almost guarantee that no one in attendance was making plans to make any purchases from those establishments. Is this a wise business practice?

Within minutes, this shop owner (who sadly seemed to be suffering from some form of typing Turrets, God bless him) was joined by the other landowner, the one who frequents the infohub when she needs a boost to her self esteem.

It's like a day care center, with all the stomping around and demanding of attention.

They complain about all the ad farmers yet outside their businesses they display huge signage:

Notice the lovely flaming finger displayed multiple times. A nice touch I think.

I can understand the frustration of opening a business and not being able to operate it properly because it shares a region with an infohub. Perhaps it's time to learn what we can from these errors in judgement and move on.

Lag can be a huge problem when a sim is full, especially while trying to conduct business. Another resource hogging practice is the addition of camping chairs or dance pads. If you're new and looking for a way to make some spending money, please don't fall prey to this practice. It costs more for the electricity to run your computer while there than you are being paid. By having you parked on their property for ten minutes and paying you the equivalent of one U.S. nickel the owner increases the traffic rating for their land, falsely inflating it, improving the position of their listing in the "places" menu. Instead of idling on a dance pad for an hour, invest your time in a class at NCI, learning to build or script. At least you'll be interacting with other residents and putting another wrinkle in your brain. Second Life has enough zombies already.

Other practices being performed in the area around the infohub include individuals messaging new residents, spamming them with landmarks to other regions and implying that they are acting on behalf of Linden staff, to assist them in setting their "home" elsewhere. It's interesting to note that when this occurs, the profile of the individual redirecting the new residents, is usually less than a week old. Draw your own conclusions.

There have also been instances of individuals standing on the edge of the landing area, using particle emitters to block the vision of people entering the region, causing excessive lag conditions and leading to sim crashes. It is probable that because this practice began at the same time that neighboring business owners started making statements that they were going to have the infohub shut down, that the events are related.

I've reviewed Linden Labs "Terms of Service" and "Community Standards" as well as their definition of infohubs and the intended purpose of these areas. I can say with utmost certainty that nowhere within these documents is the use of profanity, insults, threats or the misrepresentation of intent condoned in any way. Having made that statement, I can also assume that, based on past experience, little or no "official" action will be taken against these practices in the Bear Dream Lodge Infohub situation.

My advice to residents? Don't feed the beast.

At the moment that it becomes evident that an individual who lacks basic social skills is going to become verbally abusive, mute them. It's easy to do, right click on either their avatar or their name, chose mute and magically, the grid becomes a happy place again. Arguing just feeds their infantile need for attention.. and that's really what this is all about.

Oh and to that Bear business owner who continues to insist that she's having the infohub shut down?

Shit or get off the pot.

Voice in Second Life

I don't usually rush right out and jump on the next big craze. I tend to wait a bit, see what happens, then ease into it after I see how it's going to work. This has been my approach to voice in Second Life.

So far, I've heard many discussions that consist mainly of "I can't hear you," "Do you hear me now?" "Why don't you have a mic?" "You're really a man!"

I don't think I'm missing all that much.

I do enjoy listening to conversations sometimes and I've been surprised by the extremely sexy voices of some of my male friends.. no I won't name any names.. they know who they are.

I'm sure I'll give in and buy a headset eventually, mainly so that I can more easily give hell to this guy: