Preparing For The Burn

 

In a few days, Burn2, the largest and longest-running annual art and music festival in Second Life, will began. This is the virtual version of the Burning Man festival in Black Rock Nevada, which helped inspire Philip Rosedale and others in the early Linden Lab to come up with Second Life. Gemma Cleanslate has been at the Playa as the "Burners" are getting ready. So what has she seen?

Read Gemma's story in Events.
 

Getting Ready For The SL17B

The Second Life Seventeenth Birthday celebration is here, and there's a lot to see and do. Among those volunteering to help out at the SL17B is the Newser's Gemma Cleanslate. Gemma was able to get a behind-the-scenes look as everyone from the Lindens and Moles to the exhibitors to the greeters and others were getting ready for the opening.

Read Gemma's story in Events.

InWorldz Prepares For The End

By Thursday July 27, it was becoming increasingly clear that there would be no saving of the InWorldz Grid, at least in it's current form. Instead, the plan was to for people to rezz their items at sandboxes where they would be saved and accounted for when owner Beth Reischl and her staff make a new one. Deciding to check things for myself, I headed to InWorldz Desert Island, where I first entered the place more than seven years ago.

There were others around, and I chatted with a few. Some hadn't heard the news about the Grid's closing until a day or two ago, and asked me (and others) for the latest news. Others were more or less up to date, and much like me were coming on for some last looks.

Some clubs were making the most of it, having a final bash where longtime friends could spend their last moments in the grid they knew together, or take a break between exploring around.

And exploring around, sometimes one could find a vehicle and drive it around. Some sims were already closed to entry, in the process of being shut down.

As  went around and listened in on a few chats, people talked about what they'd loose from various items, to of course their money as withdraws had been frozen. But one man was upset about his pet horse as despite that items could be copied, scripts could not be and so any pets were basically doomed, "My oldest horse, the one I've had since I first arrived in InWorldz, Bandette, an Infinitude, I adore that horse, he's so realistic (sad) and listen'n to him 'talk' and prance 'n paw the ground right now, breaks my heart (sad expression)."

Some of the people I ran into also had accounts on Second Life, and at least one told others they could meet her there. Others looked forward to the replacement grid, whenever that will be. Others talked about various smaller girds they'd be going to. As someone in "Free Script Library" chat put it, "Seems we are destined to scatter to the four winds." Another woman thought InWorldz's collapse would have a chilling effect on peoples' confidence to invest in smaller virtual worlds, "Question is if people will be able to trust the grid owners after the issues and stunts with IW that has happened, to be honest."

There's still a lot of uncertainly about inWorldz's shutting down, and the Gofundme that started out as an effort to save InWorldz and then was changed after most of the money was raised confused many and angered some. A number of people I've talked to on the matter feel there's something fishy about how the shutdown is going about. Others instead express confidence in InWorldz's owner and staff and look forward to the new virtual world. About the only thing that can be spoken for certainty at this point is that today, Friday July 27, the sun sets on the virtual world on InWorldz for the last time.

Bixyl Shuftan

Addition: Someone asked me how things look for the 2018 Relay for Life in InWorldz season. Sorry to say without an InWorldz to hold it in, and no date given for the grid that we're told will take it's place, it's looking like it will be called off.

Building Begins For Burn2 Radical Ritual in October

Besides Halloween, October in Second Life is also known for the main Burn2 festival. Although the "Burners" as they're called have spinoff events around the year, October has always been the time of the original of the yearly events, based on the real-life Burning Man festival in Black Rock Nevada and originally called Burning Life, that have taken place in Second Life from it's first year. Klaus Bereznyak had a look at the preparations for the "Octoburn" from the scene of the event as the people behind it get ready. This year's theme: "Radical Ritual."

Read more in Design.

SL11B: Plot Holders

Gemma Cleanslate has been busy with her Exhibitor Assistant duties at the Second Live Eleventh Birthday (SL11B) sims, so her time for reporting has been a bit short. While she's come across a number of builds at the SL11B plots, it's still too early for pictures. But she has seen no shortage of plot holders, those little things builders leave to claim a plot while they work on the exhibit. So she took a few pictures.

See Gemma's pictures in Extra.

Preparations For Burn2

Gemma Cleanslate reports from the location of next month's Burn2, one of the major yearly events in Second Life. The various volunteers are hurrying to make everything ready for the festival of art and music. And if you're interested in joining, there are a number of positions you can take.

Read more in Events.

SL10B Preparations: Flying over the Sims

Gemma Cleanslate has been busy at work as a volunteer for the SL10B staff, helping to get exhibitors to their plots and taking care of any problems. The work has been busy, but she gets to see the new builds come up.

Read Gemma's article in Events.

Roaming the Playa at Burn2

Gemma Cleanslate has been busy at the Playa, the main site of the preparations for the Burn2 event next month. She recently took a little time to take a few pictures of some small items that had been set up while their owners worked on larger exhibits.

See the pictures in Design.