Rita Mariner and the History of the Sunweavers (2014)

 

With Rita Mariner's passing, the Newser has written about her about every day since. Some readers might be asking "So who is she and how did the Sunweaver community start?" I would interview her in 2014, asking her those questions. 

 

Since then, a number of things have changed. A few sims were added. A road network, then a railway, were laid out. Nydia Tungsten and Cynthia Farshore ended up swapping sims. And sadly, some people would pass away or their real lives took over and they were seen less and less until gone. 

 

Read the 2014 interview in People.  

 

A Very Unexpected Thanksgiving Dinner (2016)

 

As we get ready to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, or perhaps lie down after chowing down, we reflect on the fun times, and perhaps the jokes about anything Thanksgiving. In 2016, Mylie Foxclaw did an amusing little tale about a Thanksgiving dinner gone wrong, one with a happy ending. 

Read Mylie's story here. 

Looking Back At The Newser: The First Years, 2010-2013 (2022)

 

The Second Life Newser is a publication with a long history, twelve years. That's quite a lot to look back on. In this article, Editor and head writer Bixyl Shuftan takes a look at the Newser's first few years. Starting from a team of four reporters fresh from the recently closed Second Life Newspaper, the Newser would win the confidence of readers and advertisers alike and soon become a force in journalism covering the people, places, and events in Second Life (with occasional nods to our sponsors). But much of what it covered was a Linden Lab that seemed increasingly unable or unwilling to understand it's virtual world's users.

Read the overview of 2010 to 2013 (written in 2022) in Extra.

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

 

Yesterday was the thirteenth anniversary of the SL Newser. But before the Newser, there was the Second Life Newspaper. It was founded by JamesT Juno as a simple blog with short entries in 2006. But he would soon bring Dana Vanmoer and a number of other writers into it as a full-fledged newspaper, with yours truly joining up in November 2007. This was considered the golden years of the virtual world, when it was the darling of the tech media and talked about not just by computer nuts but was mentioned in mainstream news and prime time TV shows alike. So what was it like to cover the news about Second Life then?

Read Bixyl Shuftan's article from 2015 in Extra.

Angels’ Beach (Dec 2009)

In this reprint of a 2009 article, we look back at Nydia Tungsten's Angels group and it's place in the Sunweaver Estates. At a sim called Cape Suzette, they set up a small club called Angels' Beach. Although gone now, and many of the regulars there would drift away from the group, the location still brings back fond memories.

Read the story in Places.

The ALM Cyberchurch (Feb 2010)

The following was originally published in Second Life Newspaper in February 2010

I recently came across a church in Second Life, the ALM Cyber Church. The church is in the appropriately  named Truth sim. Porting there automatically takes one to the sim entry circle at (124, 118, 26). In front of the newly arrived visitor will be a structure full of stained-glass windows, with a steeple on top. Near the church is a three-cross structure. There are some nearby places. Behind the sim entrance is a community center. Further away is a garden area, and some residential quarters.

The church holds two regular events a week. One is the Ladies’ Bible Study on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM SL time. And of course there is the Sunday Service at 11:00 AM SL time. Services are conducted by pastors Rev. Benjamin and Mariposa Psaltery. The chapel is constructed much like that of a real church, with ample seating in the pews and a second floor available. Behind the pulpit are a piano and an electronic organ. Near the doors is a collections plate for Lindens.

The Sunday I showed up, attendance was small at first, but gradually grew. At one point there were 36 people around, both furred and normal human, and a tiny. Above Benjamin was a tag showing a proverb from the Bible. At a couple times, the pastors would sing, some of the congregation getting up with their arms up in the air, swinging:

Bless the Lord O my soul
     and all that is within me
     bless His holy name

For he has done great things
     He has done great things
     He has done great things
He's so good to me

He saved my soul
     He saved my soul
     He saved my soul
He's so good to me

He is coming soon
     He is coming soon
     He is coming soon
Bless his holy name

The sermon was around the passage Romans 13: 1-4 in the Bible, concerning submission to earthy authority, “It’s too easy to speak evil of others ... of our leaders. But we will not be blessed unless we speak good ... He who rebels against authority rebels against what God has established. ... It’s best to examine our own lives. ... Spreading gossip? Stop it! Speaking evil of our leaders? Stop it.”

There were some signs that a few in the audience seemed to be missing the point, one typing, “unrealistic RP.” Then floating, joking that he had been healed. Following the service, when some went up to the altar to pray, a few began being disruptive. After plenty of fair warning, they were finally banned from the sim.

Presumably that grefing was a rare event in this church in Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan

*Addition* The church is still around, located in Pieup (16, 28, 63). Sunday services are still at 11 AM

Commentary: “We Don’t Allow YOUR Kind Here!” (March 2009)

In March 2009, Bixyl Shuftan wrote a commentary for the Second Life Newspaper about a few instances of avatars being discriminated against because of their appearance. It was among the articles that drew the most responses for the paper. With the old paper's archives gone, the article is reprinted today in Second Life Newser, along with an afterthought about developments on the topic in the five years since.

Read more in People.

Interview with Lomgren Smalls (May 2009)

Today marks the birthday of a unique individual in Second Life whom was small in size, but big at heart. Lomgren Smalls was best known for his (almost) always wearing a six-inch high avatar of his own design and creation. In May 2009, Bixyl Shuftan interviewed him for Second Life Newspaper, which is being reprinted in the Newser.

Read the interview in People.

Election Night 2008 in Second Life

With the Democratic National Convention this week, the news in real life media turned to politics. So what happened four years ago in Second Life when in real life it was election night? Things were different as it was a different election, and in some ways a different Second Life.

Read what happened in Events.

A Date Gone Sour

I guess I’ve done a bit of what could be called dates in Second Life, though the purpose has usually been for just me and a lady friend to just simply relax and have a pleasant time rather than serious thoughts of romance down the road. Sometimes it goes well, a pleasant dance to nice music, a walk in a park, a sim tour on an automated vehicle together, etc., and both of us part ways on a good note.

One time, things didn’t go so well.

I had come across one girl by chance encounter, and we became friends. We met a few more times. Then one day she invited me to a sim in which the area’s name suggested a bit of dating by more serious couples was done here, “Cuddle Cove.” As it turned out, a band had come to have a concert, and she thought I might like some time here.

We took a try at one of the dance poseballs, but with all the people in the area, she crashed, and took quite a while to become visible again, which was a little frustrating. But still, we were about to give it another try.

Then a mutual friend of ours came in. She greeted him, “Hi .” , then a second later I did as well, “Hi .” She then typed “Don’t mock me!” Puzzled, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

(girl) : *slaps Bixyl*
Bixyl: Ow. What was that for?
(girl) : You mocked me!
Bixyl: What?! How could I have mocked you?
(girl) : You said hello to him the same way I did.

She then went to the guy, who had stood in front of us not knowing what the heck was going on, and asked him to dance. They then went to a nearby set of dance poseballs. Confused, there was nothing better for me to do than walk away, porting out after a moment to think.

I guess she was looking for an excuse to dance with him instead, though she could simply have asked me if I minded, which I wouldn’t have.

(Reprinted from Second Life Newspaper 2008)

Bixyl Shuftan