a swarm of moth winged avatars take flight

I have attended my share of Second Life memorial services, and would like to congratulate Justin Esparza on a well run event. I particularly enjoyed watching the avatar swarm attach their moth wings and fly away - a touching tribute.

Osprey Therian memorial

The crowd included a number of SLebrities. Game god Torley Linden (cleverly disguised in a pink suite with watermelon tie) was present under the alt account Torley Sr.

Also in attendance was well-known entrepreneuer Stroker Serpentine, and internet troll Prokofy Neva Neva. The tone of the memorial was such that the excitable Neva somehow managed to avoid mentioning the menace of technocommunist conspiracies even once and instead distributed Osprey's moth feelers to augment the avatar moth wings used for the flight to Iris Moth Temple.

Everyone was on their best behavior, and discussed ways to allow Vivian Kendall's fictional character Osprey Therian to continue her virtual existence. Let us hope that Torley can help smooth over any problems that might arise with the transfer of control of Osprey's account and assets.

Torley and Prokofy stand united in advancing the Osprey Therian fictional character cause

[09:57] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Hey Ilia, Bixyl...
[09:57] Bixyl Shuftan: And yes, it's been a while
[09:57] Marianne McCann: A fine bunch of avatars
[09:57] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Tish!
[09:57] Holocluck Henly: heya Bix
[09:57] Justin Esparza wonders if Magellan Linden will show up today or tomorrow...
[09:57] Robin Sojourner: Lots of us never get out of our workrooms, I'm guessing.
[09:57] Rhiannon Chatnoir: it is like a creative oldbie convention .. Os would ♥ it
[09:57] Marianne McCann: Avi, welcome
[09:57] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Kumi, I've always been, in one way or another. Torley Sr. was my original "form", and the first one I met Os in...
[09:57] Justin Esparza nods
[09:57] Tish (laetizia.coronet): I'm looking at th fine fleur of SL here. I shouldn't be among you.
[09:57] Holocluck Henly: He may be hiding between rocks discretely
[09:57] Kennylex Luckless: I has a bottle of rum, I may live dangerous if Magellan comes
[09:57] Avi Arrow: hi mari, thanks
[09:57] Kennylex Luckless: Hello Avi.
[09:58] NikoKito Aries: welcome Avi
[09:58] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): We used to be feted... or something... ha ha ha...
[09:58] Holocluck Henly knows most of these people
[09:58] Justin Esparza: Good point, Holocluck!
[09:58] Gomi Mfume: ah! so this *is* torley torley?
[09:58] Kumi Kuhr: FIC ㋡
[09:58] Avi Arrow: hi to everyone
[09:58] Gomi Mfume: hiya
[09:58] Kumi Kuhr: FIC as feeves
[09:58] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Gomi, well my Resident alt, but yes, certainly.
[09:58] Tish (laetizia.coronet): LOL Torley
[09:58] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Cultural references!
[09:58] Francesca Alva: heheh - long time since I heard that
[09:58] Justin Esparza: Couple more minutes and then I'll give a quick intro.
[09:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: not sure I ever met the resident alt, but good to see you again here Torley
[09:58] Holocluck Henly misses HBA...
[09:59] Marianne McCann: Me too, Doc
[09:59] Francesca Alva: you were already a Linden when I joined Torley
[09:59] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Used to be that Lindens couldn't/shouldn't disclose their alts due to charges of favoritism. Long time, long time.

one of Torley Linden's alt accounts

[09:59] Justin Esparza: 2:00am for HBA or he'd be here.
[09:59] Bixyl Shuftan: I think when we met Torley, it was because someone from the Discovery Channel was taking a look at the Gris.
[09:59] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): You too Rhiannon.
[09:59] Justin Esparza: Is that right...
[09:59] Justin Esparza: ?
[09:59] Justin Esparza: Hmmm?
[09:59] Justin Esparza: No he's later!
[09:59] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I have old pictures of many of you... haha... in my archives...
[09:59] Patch Lamington: hi avi
[09:59] Bixyl Shuftan: Grid, pardon my spilling.
[09:59] Justin Esparza: 6:00pm!
[09:59] Francesca Alva: hello Otenth
[09:59] Marianne McCann: Hey Otenth
[10:00] Otenth Håkon Paderborn (otenth.paderborn) waves to everyone
[10:00] Justin Esparza: Okay. Welcome everyone!
[10:00] Mossant Paravane waves
[10:00] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): still trying to figure out how to get my vewer larger on screen in mac
[10:00] NikoKito Aries: welcome Otenth
[10:00] NikoKito Aries (Q-Translator es->en): To welcome Tenth "," correction_type ": [1]}," server_time ": 15}
[10:00] Justin Esparza: Thank you all for coming together today to honor one of our friends, Osprey Therian.
[10:00] Kumi Kuhr: eek sorry LRacer!
[10:00] Justin Esparza: In the physical world was known as Vivian Kendall.
[10:01] Justin Esparza: You probably don't know me from Adam, but I am the creator behind the avatar Salazar Jack and the Forest of Kahruvel.
[10:01] Justin Esparza: My real name is Justin Esparza and I live in Washington State in the USA.
[10:02] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): HE IS EXPOSING HIMSELF!
[10:02] Ilianexsi Sojourner:
[10:02] Holocluck Henly notices it's a PG sim
[10:02] Kumi Kuhr: le gasp!
[10:02] Enjah (enjah.mysterio) faints
[10:02] Justin Esparza flashes for thecameras
[10:02] Marianne McCann: o.O
[10:02] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Think of the children!
[10:02] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): <.<
[10:02] Justin Esparza: I have known Osprey inworld since 2004.
[10:02] Tish (laetizia.coronet) covers Kennylex' eyes
[10:02] Holocluck Henly: actually your RL self bears a physical resemblance to sal except for the color
[10:02] Justin Esparza: But really only in Second Life.
[10:02] Lucy Tornado: lol
[10:03] Kennylex Luckless: I am just small ans silly, not a kid
[10:03] Justin Esparza: I did not know her really well in the physical world.
[10:03] Justin Esparza: But I have visited her in real life on three occasions.
[10:03] Justin Esparza: And she was just the same there as she was here.
[10:03] Francesca Alva: hello Wild
[10:03] Molly Montale: I watched a video an hour ago, and one of the first thinks I thought of was "I need to send this to Osprey, she'll really enjoy it".

Vivian and her avatar

[10:03] Justin Esparza: Behind me is a photo of Vivian with her Osprey Avatar.
[10:04] Justin Esparza: And a photo of her as a little girl.
[10:04] Justin Esparza: Even at that age she was 100% Osprey, right?
[10:04] Robin Sojourner nods
[10:04] Lucy Tornado: she was
[10:04] Kumi Kuhr for sure
[10:04] Marianne McCann: mmmhm!
[10:04] Ilianexsi Sojourner:
[10:04] Lucy Tornado: a warrior
[10:04] Justin Esparza: You can click on the photo box and get some items that you can use today, if you don't have them already.
[10:05] Marianne McCann: Welcome, Prokofy
[10:05] Arrehn Oberlander: An adventurer
[10:05] Francesca Alva: hello Prok
[10:05] Justin Esparza: One is a notecard with some info about Vivian/Osprey.
[10:05] Justin Esparza: There are her Moth wings.
[10:05] Prokofy Neva: Hello
[10:05] NikoKito Aries: welcome Prokofy
[10:05] NikoKito Aries (Q-Translator es->en): Prokofy welcome
[10:05] Justin Esparza: Which you can also see behind you on the hill by Zayn Till.
[10:06] Justin Esparza: There is a landmark to the Iris Infohub.
[10:06] Justin Esparza: And a copy of this photo.
[10:06] Marianne McCann: Hey Thea
[10:06] Thea (theadee): Hi Marianne
[10:07] Justin Esparza: I think it was Holocluck who first suggested that he might wear her wings today and that lead me to think we could all do it as a trubute at the end of this gathering and fly up north to the Iris Infohub together.
[10:07] Tish (laetizia.coronet) whispers: (31 avis)
[10:07] Justin Esparza: Osprey would always do that on her rez day.
[10:07] Object owned by Justin Esparza. gave you 'Vivian Kendall/Osprey Therian Memorial Sat Dec 14 10am SLT' ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bodega/224/139/23 ).
[10:07] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:08] Justin Esparza: This land herre has been used by Osprey for as long as I can remember.
[10:08] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): yes she never moved
[10:08] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): was amazing to me
[10:08] Justin Esparza: I met with her about a month ago in real life and she wanted to know if I was interested in taking over her Art Westerburg account.
[10:08] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): YAY ART WE WANT ART
[10:09] Justin Esparza: Art's account is a lifetime account and controls almost all of the land here.
[10:09] Lucy Tornado: up with art!
[10:09] Francesca Alva: welcome back Holo
[10:09] Justin Esparza: So I said I would and keep her land herre as long as I could.
[10:09] Zayn Till: ART!!!!
[10:09] Holocluck Henly: ty. you had to mention me lol
[10:09] Holocluck Henly: (hope this is all going to be transcribed)
[10:10] Justin Esparza: We also talked about the legacy of the Osprey Therian avatar.
[10:10] Bixyl Shuftan: (yes I am taking notes Holo)
[10:10] NikoKito Aries: Thanks Bixyl
[10:10] Bixyl Shuftan: welcome
[10:10] Justin Esparza: And she was excited about having her avatar continue on as part of the world after she was gone.
[10:10] Holocluck Henly: Art = the giant Maria too?
[10:10] Lucy Tornado: that was brilliant
[10:11] Justin Esparza: So we decided to try and do that and pattern her activity a bit after Magellan Linden's.
[10:11] Kumi Kuhr: what a wonderful idea
[10:11] Marianne McCann nods in agreement
[10:11] Robin Sojourner: Thanks, Justin.
[10:11] Holocluck Henly: here here!
[10:11] Justin Esparza: It is my understanding that she has formally included these things in her will and I will be meeting with her executor later this month to begin that process.
[10:12] Molly Montale: I remember when There closed. Osprey felt very badly that her avatar could no longer exist
[10:12] Justin Esparza: As I want to work with Linden Lab, if possible, to accomplish that.
[10:12] Lucy Tornado: yes!
[10:12] Kumi Kuhr: it'll be a new situation for LL
[10:12] Justin Esparza: My first memory of Osprey was a photo she posted online in the Second Life forums.
[10:12] Marianne McCann: Same, I s'pect, in Glitch Molly.
[10:13] Rhiannon Chatnoir: there has been some passing on of assets/land before, certainly when The Sojourner passed on.. at the time Pathfinder who was still a Linden helped in that process
[10:13] Patch Lamington: I 'knew' osprey from her photos before I had my own rezday... when I was checking out SL
[10:13] Justin Esparza: She was exploring a cave in the Stinson region that my avatar, Salazar Jack, and another friend, Champie Jack, has discovered.
[10:13] Patch Lamington: her sailing photos always mesmerized me
[10:14] Justin Esparza: She posted a photo of herself wavng from the entrance to the cave and said that she was wearing steel-toed boots to protect her feet.
[10:14] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Patch, yes she went on these epic saling journies and documented her travels of the Linden waterways
[10:14] Justin Esparza: It was a runnign joke with us after that.
[10:14] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I was often inspired by Os' photos of eclectic and bizarre attractions in SL... pieces of our unique culture here. Does anyone else remember her Roadside Attractions exhibit?
[10:15] Justin Esparza: I loved her sailing expeditions.
[10:15] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes Torley
[10:15] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I DO remember yes
[10:15] Marianne McCann: Hey Fenix, Stroker, Mami.
[10:15] Ilianexsi Sojourner: I always enjoyed the photo contests at the gallery.
[10:15] Fenix Eldritch: Heya
[10:15] NikoKito Aries: yes remember
[10:15] Kumi Kuhr: hey Stroker ㋡
[10:15] Holocluck Henly: I was a noob when I found out about the photo contests and that's how I knew her
[10:15] Marianne McCann: Ilianexsi - that was when I first got to know Osprey. That and attending TSMGO
[10:15] Justin Esparza: I don't tink I saw the whole exhibit, but i have seen individual pieces of it.

Stroker Serpentine

[10:15] Stroker Serpentine: Hi Kumi
[10:15] Rhiannon Chatnoir: and the photo studio and book shop her and Enjah ran.. and those monthly contests where she would set up dioramas
[10:16] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): Osprey Therian = Force of Nature
[10:16] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I thought about road trips and the kinds of unexpected landmarks you might see across the territory... and that kept me coming back for exploration inworld, so Os was a very positive influence on my early days inworld.
[10:16] Justin Esparza: I will be keeping a permanent page for Vivian/Osprey at http://kahruvel.com/vivian.html
[10:16] Monty Talbot seconds "Osprey Therian = Force of Nature"
[10:17] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Yep.
[10:17] Kumi Kuhr: bookmarked, Justin
[10:17] Marianne McCann: Oh my yes
[10:17] Monty Talbot: absolutely Enjah
[10:17] Justin Esparza: At some point I will make it so one can add a comment to it directly.
[10:17] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): what will happen to her blog, Justin?
[10:17] NikoKito Aries: yes please
[10:17] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): www.atomic-raygun.com
[10:17] Tish (laetizia.coronet): oh dear the vehicle/me petitions SL for an Osprey sim if not already done
[10:17] Tish (laetizia.coronet): oops
[10:17] Justin Esparza: But for now, you can send me a comment and I will make sure and post it there.
[10:18] Tish (laetizia.coronet) petitions SL for an Osprey sim if not already done
[10:18] Justin Esparza: I don't know about her atomic-raygun.com blog, Enjah. I don't have access to that I don't think.
[10:18] Justin Esparza: Unless the computer she gave me can give access.
[10:18] Justin Esparza: I will check that out.
[10:18] Holocluck Henly: Does she own the domain? Maybe that's in her will as well
[10:18] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I am sure it will in her blogger profile
[10:19] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yeah was wondering on that, some of it is on blogger, which will most likely stay, but anything that had hosting paid for it will probably go after awhile
[10:19] Justin Esparza: It may be. i will make sure to research that.
[10:19] Justin Esparza: Good points!
[10:19] Holocluck Henly: Well if it's hers then it can be transfered over.
[10:20] Holocluck Henly: at least long enough to acquire and archive
[10:20] Kumi Kuhr: Justin, I have a link to pix of the 2010 Duck Prank that Os organised for Lucy Tornado: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10238602@N06/sets/72157623528556231/
[10:20] Holocluck Henly:
[10:20] Lucy Tornado: *blush*
[10:20] Kumi Kuhr: it was such a hoot
[10:20] Ilianexsi Sojourner: That was awesome.
[10:20] Holocluck Henly: ducks have their own group too
[10:20] Justin Esparza: She has given me access to Osprey, Art both verbally and in emails. And she willed her computer to me. Which I have just set up.
[10:20] Lucy Tornado: ~*~OMG~*~ it was
[10:20] Justin Esparza: Thanks, Kumi.
[10:21] Kumi Kuhr: OMG Os is really going to live on
[10:21] Kumi Kuhr: in spirit
[10:21] Justin Esparza: But I will have to wait to talk with her executor to get the details.

a new team of typists are taking over

[10:21] Justin Esparza: Oh!
[10:21] Justin Esparza: Also...
[10:22] Justin Esparza: Tommorrow at 10:00 am SLT. The Osprey Therian character will be going through the unstable portal in the Rodeo region to search for Salazar Jack.
[10:22] Enjah (enjah.mysterio) is happy and sad all at the same time
[10:22] Lucy Tornado: me too!
[10:22] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Me too.
[10:22] Holocluck Henly: hugs Enjah
[10:22] Justin Esparza: So yes, her adventures will be continuing in a tangible way as well.
[10:22] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): That's so beautiful and fitting. The voyage continues.
[10:23] Francesca Alva nods
[10:23] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): yes she loved searching for people
[10:23] Tish (laetizia.coronet): second life, literally
[10:23] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): hehe third life
[10:23] Justin Esparza: And, sometime next year, there will be more activity all around.
[10:23] Tish (laetizia.coronet): right you are!
[10:23] Lucy Tornado: a new phase
[10:24] Holocluck Henly: Maybe something special for Nova's 10th?
[10:24] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:24] Justin Esparza: Does anyone have any questions that I might have missed or that I can possibly answer?
[10:24] Justin Esparza is not a touch typist
[10:24] NikoKito Aries: good idea Holo
[10:24] NikoKito Aries (Q-Translator es->en): good idea to Holo
[10:24] Prokofy Neva: Did you get the Lindens to allow you to continue her avatar?
[10:24] Justin Esparza: Yes, Holo, great idea!
[10:24] Stroker Serpentine: wb Rhiannon
[10:24] Holocluck Henly: Os used to organize the anniversary parades till she couldn't any longer it would be a perfect tribute
[10:25] Justin Esparza: I will have to contact them to find out, Prokofy.
[10:25] Lucy Tornado: she loved/loves parades!
[10:25] Prokofy Neva: Surely they will understand
[10:25] Kumi Kuhr: I'd just like to say what an amazing woman to have gathered such a divergent bunch of people ㋡
[10:25] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Ah! Justin, if you happen to find Os' Foot B Gone spray in her bequeathed inventory, can you please send me a copy? I was looking for it in my inventories but didn't find it.
[10:25] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Let me know if I... er Torley Linden... can do anything to help with that communication.
[10:25] Lucy Tornado: hahahahahaha
[10:25] Justin Esparza: The TOS does state that there has to be written permission from them to transfer an account.
[10:25] Patch Lamington: I wondered if we could submit pics for a show at the art gallery? don't know who has access for theland... but perhaps people might like to pick out one photo from their inventory?
[10:25] Tish (laetizia.coronet): I'll write the permission no problem
[10:25] Justin Esparza: So I will go down that path and see where it leads.
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: she could have a whole museum of brilliant creations
[10:26] Justin Esparza: I will Torley, yes.
[10:26] Kumi Kuhr: I'd love to give you a pic to display Patch
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: foot be gone reminds me of the spray can of STOP IT
[10:26] Ilianexsi Sojourner: That's a cool idea.
[10:26] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): In 2005 (long before any of this fancy Advanced Lighting Model stuff), I griped about the ugly avatar foot shadows and Os manifested a cure.
[10:26] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): That's some context.
[10:26] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Thanks Justin!
[10:26] NikoKito Aries: or a foundation with her name
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: lmao
[10:26] Marianne McCann: I beliebe I have some zom-b-gone here somewhere
[10:26] Mossant Paravane: We had such a great time working on Nova's 5th parade...Osprey has a wonderful video on her YouTube channel. Would be nice if we could honor her at the 10th.
[10:26] Holocluck Henly: lol
[10:26] Justin Esparza: And thanks, Torley. I will contact Torley Linden to get some bearings on that.
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: that was useful too
[10:27] Prokofy Neva: I must put up a photo display of our early Moth Swarms that was fun, Osprey made this Moth Staff for me, look at the level of detail, even little moth feathers
[10:27] Holocluck Henly: i love that video
[10:27] Molly Montale: my b-gone is no transfer
[10:27] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): mine too
[10:27] Vick Forcella: Looks amazing prok
[10:27] Ilianexsi Sojourner: I have the lantern she made, with the moths that come out at night.
[10:27] Justin Esparza: Patch, do you mean Osprey's photo studio in Grignano, Nova Albion?
[10:27] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Thanks for checking Molly!
[10:27] Prokofy Neva: She especially made those lamps for the Iris Moth Temple when the Lindens' lanterns disappeared mysteriously
[10:27] Patch Lamington: yes...
[10:28] Patch Lamington: I drove there today.
[10:28] Justin Esparza: The land is controlled by avatars I created.
[10:28] Justin Esparza: So yes, that is possible.
[10:28] Lucy Tornado: LOL monty, from the raindrops act
[10:29] Monty Talbot: my small tribute
[10:29] Justin Esparza: Prokofy, I love what you and Osprey did up in Iris to preserve and promote that area. Well done!
[10:29] Tish (laetizia.coronet): (34 in sim)
[10:29] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): anyone remember the UN-Linden Cards she made?
[10:29] Vick Forcella: Moth is truely Amazing
[10:30] Justin Esparza: A nice number, Tish.
[10:30] Prokofy Neva: It's jessica Ornitz's build and Osprey helped early on and then later when the lanterns disappeared
[10:30] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Yes Enjah!
[10:30] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Yeah, the Moth Temple is such a fantastic place.
[10:30] Rhiannon Chatnoir: And, I still own the old cathedral in Darkwood, you are all welcome to light a candle there for Osprey
[10:30] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I remember when that northern area was first opened up and anew... my gosh. Flashbacks!
[10:30] NikoKito Aries: good place
[10:30] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): thanks Rhiannon!
[10:30] Marianne McCann: I still have an un linden card or two. I think the dispenser used to be over at TSMGO
[10:30] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Heterocera Atoll...
[10:30] Justin Esparza: A small sampling of Vivian Kendall's real life artwork is just up the hill here in a small gallery that Osprey created.
[10:30] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): yes
[10:30] Marianne McCann: Still have her ol roadside attractions plate and cup out, too.
[10:31] Francesca Alva: I have her runestones
[10:31] Holocluck Henly: flying from here to the temple is nothing
[10:31] Holocluck Henly: btw
[10:31] Rhiannon Chatnoir: I still have a notecard from her of her artist's statement from the first relay for life where I curated an art auction and had some of her work in it
[10:31] Molly Montale: the hitch-hiker's sign
[10:31] Enjah (enjah.mysterio) remembers when Osprey wanted her to make an avatar named Ted Wingnut, who made the pencil tree, supposedly
[10:31] Lucy Tornado: oh yes
[10:32] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I happened to see Magellan Linden the other day, maybe Os and he will team up on some dynamic duo adventures! Like comic book crossovers.
[10:32] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): MAGELLAN?!?!?!?
[10:32] Holocluck Henly:
[10:32] Justin Esparza: That would be soooo awesome, torley!
[10:32] Francesca Alva: ㋡
[10:32] Mossant Paravane: That would be fantastic!
[10:32] Rhiannon Chatnoir: heh Torley
[10:32] Fenix Eldritch: Long time no see, Amulius
[10:32] Molly Montale: keep them away from the rum
[10:32] RacerX Gullwing: Well I'm sorry but I have to go. Thanks for doing all this Salazar Jack and everyone. I have a giant snail race I haveto get too. Osprey was one of our early snails 2004 2005 I hope she wont mind if I run off good seeing you everyone
[10:32] Holocluck Henly: Heya Fenix ltns to you too
[10:33] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): bye Racer!
[10:33] Justin Esparza: Thanks RacerX!
[10:33] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): good seeing you
[10:33] Marianne McCann: Take care, Racer
[10:33] Lucy Tornado: bye Racer
[10:33] Francesca Alva: •·.·´¯`·.·• Bye Bye! •·.·´¯`·.·•
[10:33] Francesca Alva: Racer
[10:33] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): RacerX my goodness, it's been ages! Take care.
[10:33] Kumi Kuhr: good racing Racer!
[10:33] Gomi Mfume: take care, racerx
[10:33] Stroker Serpentine: Cya Racer
[10:33] Patch Lamington: bye raacer
[10:33] Holocluck Henly: later racer
[10:33] Rhiannon Chatnoir: so good to see you Racer
[10:33] Lucy Tornado: kumi are you racing?
[10:33] Bixyl Shuftan: see you Racer
[10:33] Kumi Kuhr: not today Lucy
[10:33] NikoKito Aries: take care
[10:33] Frans Charming: Take care racer
[10:33] Holocluck Henly: I've taken to being a spectator will wait for the video this week
[10:33] Tish (laetizia.coronet): I'll be off soon, I'm hearing kitchen sounds (dinner time here)
[10:33] Lucy Tornado: tsk tsk
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): and here it is lunch time so I will have to depart as well
[10:34] Kumi Kuhr: shall we all have a fly before we bye?
[10:34] Justin Esparza: One of my favorite memories is participating in The Show Must Go On that first year. as Salazar Jack.
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): Justin, this was wonderful
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: oh yes
[10:34] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:34] Holocluck Henly likes the video with sal and os dancing
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: that was amazing
[10:34] Prokofy Neva: yes I remember that show
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): TSMGO was a huge high point of my life
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: we were terrified
[10:34] Marianne McCann: TSMGO was amazing
[10:34] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I would be there with my entire screen filled with windows, trying to keep it together
[10:34] Justin Esparza: Let's go ahead and don our moth wings for those that are flying up to the Iris Moth Temple...
[10:34] Prokofy Neva: Where did you see Magellan?
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: yes
[10:34] Kumi Kuhr: I loved my short time with TSMGO
[10:35] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I will fly with you then I have to go
[10:35] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:35] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Another memory I have is Os doing Combat Cards with Doc Boffin, I happened to drop by in an arena match...
[10:35] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): oh yes
[10:35] Marianne McCann: That, the parades, and the photo gallery taught me so much about the world and it's possibilities.
[10:35] Tish (laetizia.coronet): have a safe flight everyone, and thank you Justin for doing all this
[10:35] Holocluck Henly: I've hoverboarded from here before. we use the passage at purple. many people here know it too
[10:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: nod yes
[10:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: I am on a card!
[10:35] Prokofy Neva: I have osprey's moth feelers too if you want
[10:35] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: she included her friends as much as she could in her adventures
[10:36] Marianne McCann: Please, Prokofy
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Oh yes, Prokofy. I do want!
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Thanks.
[10:36] Tish (laetizia.coronet): Fly on, little wing... I'm offline.
[10:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: and never lost this amazing sense of exploration and play
[10:36] Vick Forcella: tc Tish
[10:36] Lucy Tornado: bye tish
[10:36] Marianne McCann: Take care, Tish
[10:36] Prokofy Neva: I will put them out in Iris
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Three cheers for Osprey!
[10:36] Monty Talbot: UNCLE JACK !
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Hip hip...
[10:36] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): HIP HIP HOORAY!
[10:36] Kumi Kuhr shouts: hip hip hooray!
[10:36] Molly Montale: \o/
[10:36] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): HOORAY!
[10:36] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Hooray!
[10:36] Prokofy Neva: hip hip hooray!
[10:36] Lucy Tornado: hip hip hooray
[10:36] Vick Forcella: Hooray!
[10:36] Monty Talbot: HORAY
[10:36] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): YAYAYYYYYY
[10:36] Patch Lamington: ooray!
[10:36] Molly Montale: *:-.,_,.-:*'``'*Yayyyyyyy!!!!*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*
[10:36] Marianne McCann shouts: Hooooray!
[10:36] Justin Esparza: hip hip hooray!

One ex-player hopes for $60,000 USD refund as class action settlement mandates payments to exiles

Over the last several days, players banned from the Second Life virtual world have begun receiving notification of a proposed class action settlement (full text here) which will pay the involuntary exiles for their virtual land and both the USD and L$ spacebux currency in their accounts. The former players also have the option of either accepting a $15 USD payment for their inventory of virtual goods, or selling the  goods on Linden Lab's Marketplace web site.

For those who dabbled in virtual land on a large scale, Linden Lab's $1000 USD sim setup fee will be refunded. With refunds for virtual land holdings set at L$ 2/square meter, and the exchange rate set L$ 252 per USD, payouts for virtual land barons could be significant. Those who formerly owned entire sims are looking at refunds of about $1500 for a sim -- each sim is 65,536 square meters in area.

  Philip Rosedale and Linden Research admit no wrongdoing, but are willing to settle

I contacted former land baron Intlibber Brautigan - who was suddenly banned in 2009 while in possession of ~40 sims. Mr. Brautigan did some back of the envelope calculations and said, "Excellent. So that's 42 sims, times 1000 bucks plus 130k L$. So that's almost 60K US I'll get just for the sims".

Intlibber Brautigan

Brautigan went on to say that the money will be shared with shareholders in his former Second Life ventures:

If I am able to recover money from this settlement, it will be divided among BNT shareholders, BNT Financial shareholders and ACE shareholders, according to their last recorded portfolio holding at the time our assets and accounts were stolen by LL. I thank all our shareholders for their patience in the past few years as this legal process has run its course, and their faith that I have always acted in their best interest to the best of my abilities.

As for his personal share of the refund, and his attitude toward Linden Lab, Brautigan told me,

My share of the settlement money, minus shareholders portion, will be invested in my new virtual world project designed to put SL out of business. Any other persons interested in investing in this goal are encouraged to contact me on Facebook.

Mr. Brautigan's  Ancapistan Capital Exchange group on Facebook is here.

Masakazu Kojima

I was first alerted to the class action settlement Friday afternoon by Masakasu Kojima who said she had around $500 USD in her account after being threatened and then struck by Linden Lab's ban hammer.

Ms. Kojima also told me at least one of the infamous Voted5 group had also been contacted via e-mail about the settlement. Given the freewheeling approach to banning accounts practiced by Linden Lab, we can only speculate on how many others players are yet to be contacted.

There are also questions about how players' virtual goods inventory will be sold. Who sets the price - the owner of the goods, or Linden Lab? Or will there be an auction? Perhaps a special section in the Marketplace for sales of rare and collectable virtual goods from banned players? This might help maximize the potential revenue from the sales, and benefit the Lab by increasing demand for  L$ spacebux.

Ms. Kojima also wondered how the SL digital rights management system would affect inventory sales and asked, "What about notrans (no-transfer) stuff? What about copyable stuff? Do they sell stuff you made full permissions?".

But the biggest question is whether Linden Lab will provide refunds to those banned after the class action enrollment period ends.

As a matter of basic fairness, we can hope the game gods have learned a lesson in fair play.  If not,  should players continue to expect to fight multi-year legal battles to force  the Lab to respect basic property rights?

$15 for all your virtual wares - except for DMCA'ed and copybotted goods

The former game god attempted to make the best of a bad situation by marveling that there are still active players in the game - not an uncommon sentiment, but perhaps not the most politic thing to admit.

Philip Rosedale: gob smacked by Second Life trouble?

"That was crazy painful. I guess my first thought is, its so inspiring what a great community we've still got here, even with - I mean look at me, I'm the guy who created this thing and it just took me an hour to get this working" - Philip Rosedale

The strangely pale and wax-like Rosedale appears to have been suffering from life-threatening blood loss at the fangs of in-world vampires -- or possibly from some bad decisions in his avatar skin and animation selections. Previous incarnations of Philip look significantly more lively.

sparkle-crotch biker-bar Philip poses, circa 2010

Apollo Manga's 30 minute video documents Rosedale's visit to the Second Life for an interview by Emcee Widget as part of the festivities surrounding Burn 2 - a virtual Burning Man celebration held in-world. 

Formerly known in Second Life as Philip Linden, Rosedale recently left Linden Lab and launched HighFidelity - a new venture that may someday be a competing platform.

Now that he is no longer on Linden Lab's staff, Rosedale was forced to drop the "Linden" last name which denotes staff members. But Rosedale still has some pull, since he was not forced to use the standard-issue "Resident" last name, and instead is the only Second Life player with Rosedale as a last name.

only one player with the last name Rosedale

Rosedale's struggles could explain a problem that Hamlet "Hammie" Au of the Linden Lab fanboy site New World Notes is concerned about - falling revenue due to declining numbers of players willing to pay eye-watering sums for virtual land in the game.

However, another school of thought believes that if Linden Lab were to cut the prices on the 10-year old platform's main product, the invisible hand of the market might lead to more demand and greater total revenue - a concept that Hammie Au assures everyone will never occur.

My reluctant dance partner Hammie may be right, but something had better change soon, if the projections on Ener Hax's chart are at all accurate:

Ener Hax projects Second Life's decline

Meanwhile, I wonder if Philip Rosedale was sending a subliminal message with his new avatar's death-like pallor. Is this the end? Will we ever see Philip in drag or rocking the glitter crotch look again?

Philip Linden's everyday look in 2004

2004: Urizenus Sklar (left) interviews Philip Linden in drag (right) 

Why fat?

Today I present Bobbele Boucher. Or just Bob if you prefer. He's probably the fattest guy in SL. The question is simple: in a world where everyone can look astonishing, why did he decide to be this way? And more: there's a whole community of fat people. Curious?

Bob Boucher

αℓєѕѕα: Why are you so fat? Most guys want to look muscled...
Bob: I like it. Simple like that.

αℓєѕѕα: Do you consider yourself SL's fattest man?
Bob: I'm sure one of the fattest.

αℓєѕѕα: Do you intend to become fatter?
Bob: I'd like to be the fattest.

αℓєѕѕα: Is there a fat men and women community?
Bob: You are right inside.

αℓєѕѕα: Do you usually walk around naked or you find clothes for your size?
Bob: There are no clothes in my size.

αℓєѕѕα: Do you go to concerts, shopping, visit clubs, etc?
Bob: Not really.

αℓєѕѕα: What do you enjoy doing in sl?
Bob: To get connected with other people.

αℓєѕѕα: You're 6 years old in SL. Have you always been this fat?
Bob: No... I worked on the perfect look.

αℓєѕѕα: Is the fat community growing?
Bob: I'm not sure... It has always been there. But it's easier for fat women.

αℓєѕѕα: Do you hear bad comments because of being fat?
Bob: Sometimes in other places. People are shocked.

Bob Boucher is big

αℓєѕѕα: Do they say bad things and mock you?
Bob: Not really.

αℓєѕѕα: People tend to be nice?
Bob: Mostly tolerant.

αℓєѕѕα: Don't you get bored always stuck here?
Bob: No because here are the people who like the same.

αℓєѕѕα: Is it like a family?
Bob: Yes.

αℓєѕѕα: Do you have many visitors at this sim?
Bob: Mostly the same.

αℓєѕѕα: Would you like to have more visitors?
Bob: Sure. More women with a favour for fat guys. 

It's always sad when someone you love takes a turn for the worse. Even more terrible is when they turn for the worse and you don't even know their real name. Or where they live. Or anything whatsoever about them that might be a microdium of truth

The only way to help these poor souls is to seek out the problems early, and urge them to find help.

The top three warning signs:

please log out now and go outside: babyfurs are not real!

1.) Fiction seems to be reality

Many people suffering from mental illness will spend countless hours logged into Second Life. They will participate in almost every activity; they will often tell stories about themselves, of which the facts (when compared with previous stories) just don't match up. They will make up facts and believe them to be true.

serial online Gorean relationships are not entirely normal

2.) Going through Second Life relationships or goals like water.

People with mental illness have trouble focusing on one thing. You will often find they are involved in a very wide variety of things, and what they are involved in can help determine their problems. Possibly, they are involved in sex-related events almost constantly - this would indicate a severe problem with perversion. Possibly they were abused as a child. Maybe this person even believes they are a true Gorean practitioner, or a furry, or involved in the objectification of one sex or the other.

warning sign: possible plurk emotional over-reaction!

3.) Emotional over-reactions.

Mentally ill folks in Second Life often have a problem keeping a handle on their emotions. They can fly off the handle on a whim, at the wrong word put to the wrong meaning, or, quite often, they will simply pick a fight over nothing inflammatory at all. You will often find that they can't "take a joke", and although they are lashing out, they are actually very emotionally sensitive, scarred people who feel backed into a corner.

Urge these people to seek help before they get caught in their own webs of despair. It's mental health week, after all: http://www.nami.org/

Early this week, Linden Lab destroyed the Sandvich region of Second Life and banned Sandvich land owner Sarilia Tryce and associates from the game, presumably in response to the Justice League Unlimited gang's favorite tactics: abuse report frenzy. The JLU and their allies were spurred into action as news spread of a terrifying situation at high altitude in Sandvich: a recreation of Fort Longcat - a virtual museum of PN, Soviet Woodbury, 4Chan /b/tard memes. Shock!!! Horrors!!!

outside Fort Longcat high above Sandvik sim

For the JLU, this sort of enemy sighting instantly leads to an unthinking knee jerk reaction - kill it with fire - regardless of the consequences. So while the Sandvich nuke job was initially hailed by JLU partisans, gradually the realization dawned that seizing property without compensation or explanation could lead to unfavorable publicity. Strangely, some believe property rights should extend to all.

Tizzers Foxchase [file photo]

Had the anti-griefers been trolled into damaging their beloved Lab's reputation by the notorious perma-banned Tizzers Foxchase and friends? Did the Woodbury/Wrong Hands/PN faction set up a win-win situation by promoting Second Life with a Steam-themed sim which could attract more players to their community - or embarrass the Lab if the ban hammer fell?

trouble in the sky?

Ms. Foxchase has now experienced 4 rounds of mass bans and sim deletions, so the end game for any visit to Rod Humble's platform for user-generated spooge palaces creativity  is clear - but what are the motivations?

I was able to explore some of these questions shortly after Sandvich fell off the world map in an exclusive interview with Ms. Foxchase as I looked over some pictures I had taken on a visit to the Sandvich sim fort Longcat re-creation a few weeks ago.

do you want to join the discussion?

While there were certainly portions of Fort Longcat that seem designed to offend - the room of flapping penises might not be the best advertisement for Second Life - I wonder if more traditional and well established top 20 SL attractions such as Bukkake Bliss Island will impress Linden Lab's new target market: Stream players. Why isn't the JLU working to improve SL's image where it really counts?

the garage in Fort Longcat: Kalel Venkman's JLU patrol car

As we discussed game governance, Tizzers told me her alt account Hissyfits Resident when deleted had $600 USD worth of mesh clothes - a sobering thought for any fashionista - but comforting to those who enjoy the long running Second Life meta-game: Authoritarian Kleptocracy.

You may wonder why Authoritarian Kleptocracy seems to be Linden Lab's favored form of governance, but it does make a certain amount of sense to those unconcerned with the rule-of-law and moving beyond a feudal society. Fear and intimidation -- do you really want to lose your virtual clothes? -- may well cut the costs of sandbox game governance, but at the cost of increased player cynicism and pointed questions about LL's new ventures.

Where will Rod Humble draw the line? Now that the Lab has released knock-off copies of Crayons Physics Deluxe and Minecraft, should we fear for our 2D-physics enabled iPad finger paintings and triangle-based constructions? With these thoughts in mind, I fired up my new Apple iMojoWire 5 for a chat with Tizzers.

Pixeleen Mistral: Ever since Linden Lab announced two new games - Createoverse and Patterns - I've been wondering about game gods' plan to handle governance across the product line. If you are banned in SL are you also banned in their other games? What if someone makes a naughty looking thing in Createoverse - will there be an adult Createoverse? 

Tizzers Foxchase: And the question beyond that is, if SL uses Steamcloud, will SL bans affect Steam accounts?

Pixeleen Mistral: getting back to the Sandvich situation, should we assume that Soft Linden is taking the virtual law into his own hands here - or was this a ban that went through normal channels?

Tizzers Foxchase: Generally mass wipes and sim nukes aren't done through normal channels.

Greetings,
This email is notification that Linden Lab has terminated your access to the Second Life virtual world due to severe or repeated violations of the Second Life Terms of Service or Community Standards which broadly interfere with or disrupt the Second Life community. Your account has been permanently disabled. Depending on the nature of the recorded violations, additional alternate or household accounts may also have been disabled.

The decision to terminate your Second Life access was reached after investigating your use of the Second Life software and service. If you would like to appeal your termination, you may contact Second Life Support, by creating a support ticket type of "Abuse Appeal" on support.second life.com.

Sincerely,
Linden Lab

defending the world from furry scum

Pixeleen Mistral: I think you guys are clearly the record holders for sim-smackdowns

Tizzers Foxchase: for the record, I have about 600 USD worth of purchases on Hissyfits Resident, just buying *stuff*. Like crap loads of mesh clothes. lol

Pixeleen Mistral: has this setback discouraged you from playing Second Life? or do you plan to return?

Tizzers Foxchase: Being censored by Linden Lab has never discouraged us from returning to the grid. Despite the shortcomings of the company running it, many of us still enjoy the game with the hopes that one day somebody will build a better SL sans Linden Lab.

Pixeleen Mistral: so why do you think Linden Lab continues to use what are apparently ineffective measures to "protect" their game from this sort of meta-gaming and rouge narrative?
This is the 4th time your faction has been banned and had your sims nuked - Linden Lab does not seem to be employing effective counter-measures

Tizzers Foxchase: I think there remains a handful of vocal residents and Linden employees that continue to harbor grudges from the past. Despite the fact that our group stays to itself, the fact that we exist shatters their world. I imagine these people flood Linden Lab with correspondence until something is done.

Pixeleen Mistral: should Second Life players expect your faction to return?

Tizzers Foxchase: You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

Pixeleen Mistral: i c
Was the owner of the land that Linden Lab confiscated today compensated for the loss of his property?

Tizzers Foxchase: There was never any compensation for the purchase of the sim. As in typical Linden Lab fashion, we've received the creepy silent treatment.

an Afroduck picture and boxes of equipment

its dangerous to go alone - take this

Pixeleen Mistral: Would you advise others to play Second Life? You seem to be willing to play for fairly high stakes but what about someone who is just getting started?

Tizzers Foxchase: Professionalism and customer service aren't strong points at Linden Lab. It's a very political company with many different conflicting opinions and visions internally. This is really brought to light by the GlassDoor reviews by former employees. http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Linden-Lab-Reviews-E100549.htm

Pixeleen Mistral: But you continue to play - despite the odds - why?

Tizzers Foxchase: Unfortunately Second Life remains the only "game in town" at least in terms of collaborative virtual world spaces. Being able to contiguously co-exist with thousands of other people simultaneously is a really cool thing. I get a lot of satisfaction from watching people genuinely enjoy the communities that we create.

Pixeleen Mistral: and you have also created an infrastructure outside SL that allows your group to survive these periodic mass bans

Tizzers Foxchase: Skype has been invaluable in that regard. It has essentially become my SL friends list and many of us have been in 24/7 chats dating back several years. Getting banned is just a minor hiccup because we rarely need our in-world friends list or chat ability.

Pool's Closed inside the "dead n****r storage" room

Pixeleen Mistral: So there is really very little Linden Lab can do to discourage your faction - do you think there will ever be some sort of peaceful coexistence?

Tizzers Foxchase: I think by now Linden realizes that these bans are mostly token PR statements showing good faith on their part, rather than effective measures to rid the grid of who they consider persona non grata.

Pixeleen Mistral: that seems like a realistic appraisal of the situation

Tizzers Foxchase: Most of us are in favor of peaceful coexistence. The core group rarely left the Sandvich sim.

trolling crew

Pixeleen Mistral: perhaps some of your critics will attempt to attract and retain Steam players
We can hope that the Justice League Unlimited and Ravenglass Rentals will pick up the slack - or maybe not. Do you think that the JLU and Ravenglass Rentals will attract more paying players than Sandvich would have?

Tizzers Foxchase: When Sarilia and I discovered that Second Life was going to be listed on Valve's Steam platform, we knew that was a demographic of gamers that would fit in well with ours. Sandvich was created to be a familiar place for these people. This idea was reinforced when photos of the sim reached the front page of Reddit's r/gaming with over 1800 upvotes. I'm not sure I could say the same about Ravenglass Rentals.

Pixeleen Mistral: we can only hope the game gods know best. Is there anything else you would like to tell the Herald readers? what have I missed?

Tizzers Foxchase: Second Life is a stepping stone in the history of virtual worlds. The best thing we could do is learn what not to do, and apply that in future competing products. In the meantime, rock fresh.

Monday, Linden Lab suddenly deleted the Sandvich sim, a popular Steam-themed region in Second Life which inspired a chaotic YouTube video tribute. The Lab's action sparked a round of protests as banned players were stripped of their virtual assets - without any sort of due process - and took their complaints to teh Interwebs' court of public opinion with a post at the Reddit.com web site titled "R.I.P. Steam/Reddit Second Life theme park. Linden Lab banned it".

Sandvich sim before the ban hammer fell

The post reached #16 - leveling up to the front page of Reddit - and has received over 750 comments as of this writing. This may be more than just another tempest in a sandbox world. Reddit.com is currently ranked as the 66th most popular web site in the US and 137th worldwide, while Second Life's appeal has become much more selective in recent years - a problem widely attributed to exorbitant virtual land prices, bait and switch business tactics, and a history of questionable game governance.

The situation is so dire that even hardcore fanbois are now running thought experiments on a player buyout of Second Life.

Lab nukes sim - makes front page news at Reddit.com

Hoping to reverse - or perhaps delay - Second Life's decline, Linden Lab recently announced that Second Life will be listed in the popular Steam game portal with the promise of exposing the game to a larger audience. This news inspired a group of Second Life players to re-purpose a Reddit themed region that ex-Linden Lab staffer Hamlet Au has been hyping for months into a Steam-themed sim in hopes that this might grow their community as Steam players began exploring Second Life.

However, in the meta-gaming faction wars of Second Life, growing your community can be seen as an existential threat to other groups - or even the game itself. Oh noes! Could it be that a long standing feud between The Justice League Unlimited and the Soviet Woodbury/Wrong Hands/PN factions led to Linden Lab's removal of Sandvich sim? It seems so.

Kalel Venkman claims responsibility and thanks Michael Linden

According to what appears to be a screen capture of a Proactive Security group notice, JLU gang leader Kalel Venkman is claiming responsibility for identifying a "Woodbury/PN enclave". Mr. Venkman - who appears in Second Life in the form of a Superman avatar - was gracious enough to thank Michael Linden for his part in the Sandvich smackdown. It is good to see that Lab staff seem willing to take sides in the in-world faction wars -- this will certainly inspire more players to spend $295/month renting server space. What could possibly go wrong?

However, despite the confidence that a superman-of-steel avatar with a weakness for frivolous DMCA complaints inspires, I do have a few questions. Did Venkman ever consider what sort of publicity he would garner for Second Life? With friends like Venkman, who needs enemies?

Michael Linden's involvement in the Sandvich destruction also raises questions. Michael was most recently sighted working on the road crew Linden Department of Public Works and not believed to be involved in Second Life governance. Perhaps he made an exception this one time - but why?

More to the point, mixed signals from the game gods were evident as certain Linden Lab staff including Tommy Linden had been sighted at Sandvich sim socializing with the sim owners and builders. It appears that Tommy Linden enjoyed his visit so much that he posted a picture to his my.secondlife.com profile at one point - then suddenly removed it. But the evidence lives on on in the Google cache. Is it any wonder that the Sandvich residents were caught off guard? In the hall of mirrors that is teh interwebs, who can you really trust?

Tommy Linden liked Sandvich sim - then changed his mind

There is no question Linden Lab CEO and Aston Villa fan Rod Humble knows his soccer. But Rod Humble seems to be taking a classic end-game page from the American football playbook - the Hail Mary pass - as he moves to market Second Life through a 3rd party -- Valve's Steam game portal/social network.

On the surface, this appears to be a clever move - in January Steam was reported to have 5 million concurrent players and 40 million accounts. The risk?

"Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.”
- David Ogilvy

Current Second Life players have greeted the Steam announcement with some skepticism, wondering  how SL's  wonky user interface, exorbitant land tier fees, dated graphics, questionable customer service, and lack of structure will win over Steam players accustomed to a more polished experience -- and gameplay similar to Valve's own HalfLife.

If the SL experience disappoints the Steam hordes, look for a wave of bad word-of-mouth reviews and an upsurge in "griefing" and meta-gaming as some Steam players are bored and give up - or try to impose a PvP narrative on Second Life. Could this be why Linden Lab is only now turning to Steam as a marketing tool?

But at this point Humble may have little choice other than to chuck the ball toward the endzone and hope for the best.

Second Life player concurrency has been in steady decline since February according to Tateru Nino's Second Life statistical charts (see charts below). Falling concurrency continues a trend the Herald pointed out in April 2011. With ongoing pricing pressure from other virtual worlds, and high profile group defections such as the SL Elf Clan who happily abandoned SL for Inworldz, the long term viability of Second Life is a very real question.

median player concurrency has been dropping since February

Can Steam turn up the daily sign ups - and will they stay?

In light of dropping interest in the game, a move to broaden the product line and presumably make use of the SL server farm for other products would be understandable. But the "shared creative spaces"/"shared creativity tool" products outside Second Life Humble promised over a year ago at the Second Life Community Conference 2011 are nowhere to be seen, so the Lab remains dependent on it's Second Life cash cow to fund new product development.

Could the new product delay have played a part in the departure of Bob Komin, Linden Lab's CFO and COO? The remainder of this year will be telling, as the Lab grapples with management changes in the wake of Komin's departure, un-met promises of new non-SL products, and a do-or-die encounter with Steam.

by Pixeleen Mistral -- sports desk

Paul Ryan's credibility has taken a serious beating over the last week, starting with a fact-challenged speech at the Republican convention, followed by the debunking of Ryan's claim to have run a marathon in under 3 hours - which left Ryan totally p0wned by mighty Runner's World. Yes, Scott Douglas - a muckraking journalist at the well-known bastion of leftist political fanaticism Runner's World went all crazed-ass rabid wolverine insane and tried to confirm Ryan's claims, found them to be false,  then asked difficult questions.

Second Life can fix this man's lies!

Runner's World discovered that Mr. Ryan had never run a "two hour and fifty-something" marathon as he claimed in a nationally broadcast radio interview with Hugh Hewitt. Instead, in 1990 at age 20, Ryan ran Grandmas Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota in a time of 4:01:25 - news that the Ryan camp reluctantly confirmed after the truth came out.

Is it true that sport doesn't build character, but instead reveals it?

But Second Life can help Mr. Ryan's under 3 hour marathon dream come true - at least in the virtual world. I'm sure someone can make a Paul Ryan avatar and have it run a virtual marathon. Afterwards, maybe the Paul Ryan avatar can act out a few of his other fantasies. Does anyone know how Mr. Ryan feels about baby unicorns?

Meanwhile, although the Romney camp has made it clear that their campaign will not be dictated by fact checkers perhaps there is a 3rd way? If a Paul Ryan avatar is run through a virtual marathon in something like 2:50, the Romney/Ryan camp could make the case that Ryan's apparent "mis-statements" have become retroactively true. Ryan might have just been experiencing a nasty case of time dilation when he was on Hugh Hewitt's show talking out of his ass.

Second Life to the rescue with retroactive truthing!

While many have written off Second Life - an aging game with a declining user base - Paul Ryan's shame may have helped identify a great new use the virtual world: retroactive truthing of false statements through virtual world role play.

This could lead to the sort of job creation Second Life's virtual economy could use. Imagine how many people will be needed to truthify the claims Romney/Ryan have already made, and we have months to go until the election. This should also play well with Mitt Romney if he just thinks of it as something like "baptism for the dead" or "proxy baptism".

There is clearly some precedent here. The Salt Lake Tribune reported in 2009 that President Barack Obama's mother was baptized posthumously into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, so even if Paul Ryan isn't personally involved, it still might work. Could proxy baptism and retroactive truthing be why Linden Lab granted Second Life players the ability to use display names?

Still, it will be important to stage the imaginary marathon for virtual Paul Ryan soon, since Ryan's claims have outraged the all-important distance runner voting block - as I know far too well after enduring almost non-stop ranting from the Alphaville Herald's computer technician after the story broke Friday. Apparently runners care about their race times, and don't forget them. Who knew?

At the Herald, we try to make allowances for the foibles of the staff. Earlier this summer, our part-time computer technician Mark McCahill limped into the newsroom after running Grandmas marathon with a time of 4:01:52. This put the 56 year old McCahill within 27 second of matching the Ryan's race time - when Ryan was 20. I asked McCahilI what he thought of fitness fanatic Paul Ryan telling interviewer Hugh Hewitt "I was fast when I was younger, yeah".

Alphaville Herald staff and Paul Ryan have one thing in common: 4:01 at Grandmas

McCahill set down the old smalltalk compiler he had been fiddling with and said, "Pix, look. Sure, finishing a marathon is an accomplishment, but a 4:01 marathon is not a fast time for a 20 year old. Hell, I easily beat that last year. But let me tell you again about how nobody forgets the time of their first marathon or their personal best. Like back in 2003 at the Twin Cities Marathon..."

At this point, all I could say was, "Whatevs, dude - we can make anything true with Second Life - we have retroactive truthing now. Don't you have to go harvest bits on the server farm or something? I'm a republican now, and I've got a story to write".

joining the Second Life Republican party only takes one click

Contacting the Second Life Republican Party

And so to restore peace to the Herald editorial offices, I decided to log into Second Life and see what I could do to help save the reputation Paul Ryan. A quick search brought me to the Republican Party of SL headquarters, which was tastefully decorated with NRA News posters, The Controversial Truth posters, East Coast Conservative Podcast posters, and Romney/Ryan posters. Did the Koch brothers get a deal on Second Life poster board?

NRA News is available - so why won't my gun work here?

As I studied an NRA poster, I wondered if Second Life Republican party has been lobbying Linden Lab for a less restrictive policy on virtual firearms to align themselves with the real life Republican party's platform advocating unlimited bullet capacity in guns and "stand your ground" rights. Think of how much more fun Second Life would be if we could use push guns everywhere!

Imagine my surprise when looking at the land settings on the Second Life Republican plot I noticed that scripts, object creation, and push were all disabled. I hope this was just an oversight - how is my LOLCat minigun ever going to work if they lock everything down like this? Come on - this is supposed to be NRA country!

For the sake of ideological purity I can only hope the Second Life Republicans will show their commitment to the NRA by allowing game-play citizens to bear and use arms on their land. This is just like real life, so what could possibly go wrong?

the SL Republican leadership board

Putting aside the cognitive dissonance of not being able to exercise my 2nd amendment rights in Second Life by blasting away with a 100+ bullet magazine LOLcat assault rifle as I stand my ground while contacting SL Republicans, I worked my way up the chain of command and asked if there was party support for a virtual Paul Ryan marathon. Eventually I was directed to Tomasi Benelli.

Mr. Benelli was not online so I left him this note:

Hi Tomasi, Siverblade Dagger suggested I contact you
I'm concerned that Paul Ryan's mis-statements about his marathon time might cost the republican party the long distance runner vote but we might be able to turn this around - maybe we could set up a marathon in SL and have a Paul Ryan avatar run it in something like 2:50
what do you think? would that help?
let me know -- I'm trying to help

The next morning Tomasi Benelli replied, "In concept, that would help. In reality, it is doubtful that the people we need to effect would ever be aware of something done in secondlife. It would certainly be a positive thing so I would not stand in the way of doing it"

I am left feeling there is a clear path to redeem the reputation of Paul Ryan, although I'm not sure this will do much to convince others that the man that Charles Pierce refers to as a zombie eyed granny starver from Wisconsin is trustworthy - unless someone uses a Paul Ryan avatar to feed some starving grandmothers in Second Life. Hungry grandmas can wait though - I'm just trying to get the Herald's technical staff to stop complaining about the lying lies of Paul Ryan who lies. I really can't listen to much more of this whinging about race result lies.

So it is good news that the Second Life Republicans are OK with making a Paul Ryan avatar and running him through a virtual marathon in about 2:50-something. Now if we can just find a venue where NRA-compatible gun rights are available so anyone who feels threatened can use their push guns, the real fun can begin.

Someone pass me the Pepto Bismol, please! That is all I can think of saying after surviving the social event of the decade in the new, post-Linden, metaverse.

 [photo by Paparazzo Joenz]

Attending this A-list event were Alphaville Herald staffers Urizenus Sklar, Pixeleen Mistral, and PaleFire, former PN boss Windowlic Klaar, Woodbury alums Tizzers, Atlas, and Huns, Woodbury Dean Edward Clift, Hollywood film-makers Brett Baum and Vivien Lesnik (she of the pro-Castro documentary, /busted!). Well it all just makes you think, doesn’t it?

What possible reason could there be for this confluence of ne’re-do-wells, griefers, pointy-headed intellectuals, and Hollywood moguls? I don’t know and I don’t care, because whatever nefarious plots and technocommunist revolutions they were planning, they partied like it was 1917!
 

Atlas and Tizzers not drinking that Moet Crap.

Agent from Chapman University joins the conspiracy.

Tizzers, Huns, and Atlas in the Queen Elizabeth Herald Suite.

But what are they up to? Is it a new transmedia ARG done under the auspices of Henry Jenkins – one of the technocommunists from whom they take their marching orders? Is it a plan to turn us into a nation of brony-loving, rainbow-pooping yiffers? Is it yet another tendril of the monster that has become the Occupy Movement? The Rabelaisian quality of the evening suggested that perhaps they were planning a 21st Century Carnival of the Grotesque. Only one thing is for sure: In the hall of mirrors that is the Interwebs, we may never know.