Commentary: Of RFL's Team Sunbeamer's Folding

 

"All good things must come to an end" so goes an old saying. And late last month, following the death of it's captain Rita Mariner, it was announced that the Relay for Life's Team Sunbeamers, after thirteen years of fun and fundraising, would be retired. Obviously the end of it's leader was the big reason. But there were others that led to this decision.

 

Read the commentary in Extra.  

Zooby Prim "Legacy" Babies Get Continued Support

 

In August, Zooby announced it would soon be ending support for Legacy babies, aka "prim babies," and pre-mesh pets. December was supposed to be the last month, with support ending in January. But this will not be happening. Zooby made the decision to continue support.

 

On November 19, Zooby announced news.  

 

We have migrated the ZOOBY LEGACY BABIES!!! This means you can KEEP YOUR LEGACY BABIES FOR AS LONG AS ZOOBY EXISTS! They will remain alive!!! WE DID THIS FOR YOU! 

There is NOTHING YOU HAVE TO DO! We are just letting the community know we did the work on our backend! It just means you can keep you Legacy Babies for as long as Zooby exists! You don't have to do anything!!! WOOHOOO!!!!!

If you need old Legacy supplies they are located here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Shedao/185/113/34

The Curious Cats, Curious Canines and Trainapets have also been migrated! We just have the Breedable Lemurs left and then we are done!

We HOPE this month the Animesh Cats will be updated and out with new cat breeds and new cat toys!
We love the community and are doing all we can!! 

 

So for those with older Legacy babies, and pre-mesh pets, they now have a new lease on (virtual) life.

 

Hat tip: Kitacelia

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Here's to You, Alleara Snoodle

 

It was four years ago this month on December 2, 2021 in which the Newser reported on the death of Alleara Snoodle. A longtime member of the Sunweaver community, she was gifted with both brains and a good heart. She was able to build many things, including the seeming impossible. But she would also take time for many friends, including myself. So who was she? Like much about our beloved gypsy, the answer is both simple and complicated. 

 

Read more in People.  

 

Zooby To Discontinue Support For Prim "Legacy" Babies, Pets

 

Most every longtime resident of Second Life has probably heard the expression "prim baby." These are not child avatars, but virtual babies made to look and act much like real ones. They are not new, but have been around since 2006 when Zooby (Carrie Tatsu) began offering them for anyone wanting to pay the fee. A 2013 article by the Second Life Enquirer explains them in some detail. 

 

When animesh became available, Zooby began developing new babies with this technology and began offering them around 2019. No more of the prim, or "Legacy" babies as they were being called officially were made, the focus now being on newer babies and pets, as her Spotlight interview in 2024 shows. But Zooby continued to support them, as well as the pre-mesh pets made by her. 

 

But a few days ago, there was an announcement from Zooby that the support for the older babies and pets would soon end 

 

We will be phasing out our sculpted legacy products by the end of 2025. This includes:

• Legacy Babies
• Curious Cats and Curious Canines
• Breedable Lemurs
• Trainapet Monkeys

This means you cannot rez them and they will no longer work by 2026.

We will be removing the Breedable Lemurs and Trainapet Monkeys from Market Place and the legacy sim by the end August. We will be removing all other supplies from the legacy sim and Market Place by the end of September.

All legacy sculpted products will be taken offline by January 2026.

Zooby has spent over $13,000 USD just to keep the legacy babies alive even though we stopped selling them in 2019. 

We did this for the community. We kept paying even though we earned barely enough profit to pay for the servers.

Illegal adoption agencies continued to sell the babies even though we stopped.

We believe 6 yrs of support for a product we stopped selling and over $13,000 USD was generous and it is time now to retire these.

Zooby has always done our best to support the community and we are sending out this notice now so there are no surprises next year when we take old sculpted legacy products offline.

Zooby will continue to focus, support, maintain and develop all Zooby Animesh related products. We will keep all Animesh products online until Second Life no longer exists.

We hope you understand that it is time now to move on and look to the future and keep our brand fresh and new.

 

There was nothing in the message of any kind of compensation for the owners of legacy babies and pets. 

 

One owner of a Legacy Zooby baby, wanting to remain anonymous, came to me  She was naturally unhappy about this, "It's not quite as bad to most people as the ABC horse situation but I don't know, to some it may be worse as they are their kids. I have not spent as much as some but I did spend probably 200 USD on clothes, furniture, consumables, and the babies and pets over the years. And I do have sentimental attachment to them. They are not even offering a discount or credit towards any of the animesh, even though they are still selling products related to items will cease function by their choice shortly."

 

What do you the readers think? Do any of you have an older Zooby baby or pet? Feel free to leave comments below.

 

Image Credit: SL Enquirer  

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

More On The Aspen Ridge Linden Homes, And News On Legacy Homes

 

Last week on Tuesday April 15, Linden Lab introduced the latest Linden Home, the Aspen Ridge. This is the third type of Linden Home introduced this year, and available to both Premium and Premium-Plus residents. 

 

What sets these homes apart is that the land they're on can change with the seasons, advertised by the Lab as "our first seasonal home." Going to the demo homes, one could switch between winter and spring. If there's an autumn phase, it wasn't shown.

The houses are wooden walls on a foundation of stone, and are in six varieties: Peakstone, Ridgeway, Highpoint, Summitview, Elkridge, and Crestwood.

 

These Linden homes are located in a new part of Bellisseria, just east of the Sakura home area in it's north-central area. Originally a five sim area not connected to the Bell mainland, in the past several days it's grown to a 31 sim landmass connected to the rest of Bellisseria by a single mostly water sim. 

Going about, already people were decorating those in the areas I saw with furniture and yard decor. It's a safe bet like other Linden Homes, they're a popular hit that will soon be almost all taken up, if they haven't already. 

But with the Linden's announcement, there was a warning to those still in the older Linden Homes, also known as legacy Linden Homes. The Lab announced they're starting the closing of the legacy Home sims.

With the release of Aspen Ridge and other recent Linden Homes, we’re entering a new era. As previously announced, we’re beginning the phased retirement of all legacy Linden Homes. If you’re still living in one of those original styles, it’s time to start thinking about your next chapter.

 

It's unknown how many are still in these older Linen Home regions. 

For more information, Click Here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Announcement: Remembering Our Veterans With Re-Dedication and HFOT Event

 
(All DJ Events unless otherwise marked will be at USMV - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Veterans%20Isle/171/66/3501)

10 a  Mavrick     (DJ
11 a Tom           (DJ)

12P RE- DEDICATION OF THE LEGACY VETERANS’ SIM  
               Waya Snowpaw (DJ - Veteran)
•    DRESS OF T HE DAY UNIFORMS ( IF AVAILABLE)  AND BUSINESS CASUAL-
•    LOCATION WILL BE AT - LEGACY VETERANS SIM
                  (back to usmv)
12p Cajun  Mikealson (cajuntease)       (DJ)

2p  MistyBlue McAuley (mistyblue.ghost)    (DJ)

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heavens%20Sunset/127/188/23

*3 pm  - RE- DEDICATION OF THE USMV VETERANS SIM   --                    Waya Snowpaw (DJ - Veteran)
RE-DEDICATION OF THE USMV VETERANS’ SIM  
•    DRESS OF T HE DAY UNIFORMS ( IF AVAILABLE)  AND BUSINESS CASUAL-
•    LOCATION WILL BE AT USMV

4p Canuck Dismantled  (DJ)

5 p  Kate Bluebird (katherine.bowdit) (DJ)

6P Wednesdays Child
7p Xavier
8p Clay
9p Wes West
10 p Mav
 

Reader Submitted: Review of the Legacy Mesh Body

  

For quite some time, the Newser has gone without a new article in the Fashion section. Recently, reader Valkyrie Ice (Valkyrie McGill) sent over a review of the Legacy mesh body (classic version). So what did she have to say? A number of things.
 
Read Valkyrie's article in Fashion.
  

"Hard Hat" Birthday Party at Arinultra Cay

On Sunday August 16, a party was held at the Arinultra Cay sim. The occasion, the real-life birthday of Nuala Maracas, one of the co-captains of the Relay Rockers team for the Relay for Life of Second Life.

Trader Whiplash-Ballinger, also of the Relay Rockers, DJed the music for the party. Hard hats were passed around, and there were a number of well-wishers from others in the Relay, such as some of the "Roos With a Dream" team whom danced in a line next to the birthday cake display.

The party was held in a pier in the middle of a lake, away from the beach. Trader would say that the sim had been undergoing some renovations, the "Legacy" club, which had been the club for T-1 Radio, being no more. During the terraforming of land a "Relay for Life Relic" was discovered some days ago and sent to the Relay museum.

So what will take the place of the "Legacy?" We'll likely know soon.

Go Relay!

Addition: The new club will also be called "The Legacy." But it will be a brand new building.  The "Grand Re-Opening" party will be on Wednesday September 16

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: This Week At The Science Circle : Archival and Digital Legacy, Preserving Your Digital Work

"Archival and Digital Legacy, Preserving Your Digital Work"

March 9 at 10AM PST

by Budd Turner

Background:

• When a person dies, their digital footprint persists.
• Digital providers assume ownership of Intellectual property (IP) created on their servers.
• Family and workgroup attempts to archive or maintain deceased works are blocked.

Approach:

• We worked within system permissions shared by the creator.
• We tested possible workarounds
• We contacted providers for account/work access

Findings:

• Limited Copy, Move, possible
• Edit (update), Delete, not possible, without creator account access.
• Providers reluctant to discuss or allow access to deceased work,(IP).

Conclusion:

• Advance planning needed for adding Trusted Friends and/or family member access to digital accounts in Trusts and/or Wills
• Everyone needs to learn provider policies and legal requirements for establishing a “Legacy” path of transfer of ownership.
• Passing your digital footprint when you can no longer login

For more information, Click Here

The Science Circle (61/127/32)

Scenes From the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Press Day

The Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference is in Second Life. Until Saturday April 1, there will be a number of exhibits to see and discussions to listen to. Before the conference, the VWBPE held a Press Day. The Newser was there, and took a number of pictures.

See the scenes in Events.

VWBPE Conference Taking Place, Ebbe Linden Speaks About Second Life and Sansar

Right now, the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (VWBPE) Conference is taking place. It started on Wednesday, and ends tomorrow, Saturday April 1. There are a number of exhibits, as well as a number of discussions, such as the "Critical Thinking in the Age of Information Overload" That took place at 3PM SL time on Thursday March 30 (pictured above).

Ebbe Linden would speak during the conference, but not at the auditorium like previous years. Instead it was a recorded interview by Kevin Freenan of "Above the Book" in which a small number of people were invited. Part of the reason was the people of VWPBE wanted the discussion to be more of a focus of education and Second Life/Sansar, and a little less about issues concerning the mechanics of Second Life and Sansar.

Still, there were a few occasions in which Ebbe talked some about  Second Life and Sansar on matters outside the VWBPE's topics of interests. At about 23:30 into the video, Ebbe explains more on why Linden Lab is developing a second virtual world, "We can't afford to invest all the money we make from Second Life back into Second Life. ... We couldn't bet on Second Life still being dominant a decade from now." Still, he admitted, "Sansar is a gamble. ... We have to prove it's going to be successful." Still he felt the future would have a number of virtual worlds of higher quality than Second Life, so they might as well develop one. That didn't mean they were leaving Second Life behind. Ideally, he felt, Linden Lab would have two successful virtual worlds."

For those looking to make it big in Second Life, Ebbe did have a little advice, "You have to spend quite a bit of energy to be successful in Second Life. You can't just walk in. ... It takes a bit of effort." While he felt "the bar is too high for many to overcome," when the interviewer suggested Second Life has lowered the bar for many, Ebbe agreed.

The conference goes on until tomorrow. For those wanting to get there, Click here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/175/133/37

Hat tip: Daniel Voyager

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: VWBPE 2017 Kick-Off: “Legacy”

March 29 starts the four-day Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference, with an amazing line-up of speakers, workshops, sim demonstrations, poster presentations, and more.  The conference will cover a wide range of subjects concerning virtual worlds and their use for education, virtual reality, smart games, arts and science, and the future of technology.

This year's keynote speakers include Dr. Celia Pearce (SL: Artemesia Sandgrain), Chris Dede (SL: Chris Olejniczak) and John Lester (SL: Pathfinder Lester). All three of these visionaries are have been involved in virtual worlds as long as, and even longer than, VWBPE.

Each VWBPE conference keynote speaker and their respective presentations is featured on the conference website (https://vwbpe.org), along with a calendar of exciting presentations, social activities, and networking events that will set extraordinary discussions in motion. 

We have Immersive Experiences happening throughout the week before the conference. Check out Chemistry Labs on the 21st, Spanish Language Learning on the 24th, and Lizards of ARS on the 26th. More Immersive Experiences are scheduled after the conference.

Additionally, this open and free conference would not be possible without the generous contributions of VWBPE sponsors.

Starting March 21st the Rockcliffe Registration Portal will be open for people to register new avatars and find out more about the VWBPE conference in-world. Go to https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/ and all the instructions are there to get your friends started.

The full conference schedule is online here: https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-calendar. All of the conference events will be in Second Life this year, and the locations are included in the listings. When you click on a conference event and click Add to Calendar, you can add the event to your own calendar (Google+ and more).

**Keynotes**

VWBPE Main Auditorium
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%204/34/31/22

Keynote: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Twenty Years in Virtual Worlds
Dr. Celia Pearce, co-author of Ethnography and Virtual Worlds (2012)
SL: Artemesia Sandgrain
Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 5:00 p.m. SLT/US Pacific Time

Keynote: How Immersion in Virtual and Augmented Worlds Helps Students in the Real World
Chris Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education (HGSE)
SL: Chris Olejniczak
Friday, March 31, 2017, 1:00 p.m. SLT/US Pacific Time

Keynote: Beyond Escapism: Virtual Worlds, Vulnerable Populations and Social Good
John Lester, CTO of Virtual Rehab‘s global technology strategic direction
SL: Pathfinder Lester
Saturday, April 1, 2017, 4:00 p.m. SLT/US Pacific

**Legacy Panel**

Panelists:
Beth Ritter-Guth (Desideria Stockton: SL)
John Lester (Pathfinder Lester: SL)
Ken Hudson
Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal: SL)
Moderator:  Ghaelen D’Lareh
Time:   Thursday, March 30, 2017, 8:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. PT/SLT
Location:  VWBPE Main Auditorium
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Central%204/34/31/22

**Above the Book**

Above the Book at the VWBPE 2017 Conference will feature sessions with Ebbe Altberg (SL: Ebbe Altberg) and Bernhard Drax (SL: Draxtor Despres). Those who would like to attend this private Livestreamed session must submit questions to https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-2017-above-the-book-question-submittal by Monday, March 20, at 11:59 pm SLT.

**Major Sponsors**
*Silver:
Rockcliffe University Consortium (https://urockcliffe.com/)
Virtual Ability (http://www.virtualability.org/) 
Agile Dimensions (http://www.agiledimensions.com/blog/)

*Bronze:
Ageless Mind Project (http://agelessmindproject.org/)
University of New Mexico (http://extendedlearning.unm.edu/)
University of Idaho (http://www.uidaho.edu/)

**Web Pages**

Above the Book Question Submittal: https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-2017-above-the-book-question-submittal
Calendar: https://vwbpe.org/conference/vwbpe-calendar
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-worlds-best-practices-in-education-conference-2017-tickets-31309376187
Rockcliffe Registration Portal: https://urockcliffe.com/reg/second-life/
Sponsors: https://vwbpe.org/sponsors-2017
Thinkerer Award: https://vwbpe.org/thinkerer-award-2017-nomination

"Vanilla" World of Warcraft Private Fanserver Nostalrius Shut Down

Yours truly hasn't played the MMO World of Warcraft in a while. But while I was on, I'd heard people have mixed feelings over some changes, such as certain progression systems removed, the end of the three leveling trees, the simplifying of the pet care system, etc. Many felt World of Warcraft had lost something from it's older days. I'd heard of private servers in which players could go back and play the game as it was, but never checked them out. The big problem: they were technically illegal. Blizzard never authorized any, and each was subject to being shut down.

Nostalrius was one such server. A relatively new one, it quickly became one of the most popular. According to Kotaku, it had close to 800,000 registered users and about 150,000 active users, up from 5000 in May 2015. Unfortunately, it caught the attention of Blizzard, whom handed it's Internet hosting service a "cease and desist" order. The server's managers then reluctantly made the decision to shut it down, telling it's players the last day would be on Sunday April 10. In the final minutes, hundreds of players gathered in spots to say goodbye to one another and to wait out the end.



(click here if the link doesn't work)

The server team also sent Blizzard a petition, for the company to bring back the World of Warcraft of old in "Legacy" servers, saying the sheer numbers of people whom were in Nostalrius was evidence of how many players were seeking it. "Do you think that a policy change can be made regarding legacy servers based on volunteers work, for very old no longer supported game expansion? Or do you think that legacy servers are doomed by definition since, in the end, it's hurting Blizzard trademark and communication more than anything else?"

It's been just several months since World of Warcraft's numbers had dropped to the point Blizzard would no longer publicly give out it's active user numbers. It could easily be argued that's a good reason for Blizzard to consider legacy servers.

Sources, Kotaku, Nerdist 

Bixyl Shuftan

Bob Komin (BK Linden) Leaves Linden Lab

Both Hamlet Au and Tateru Nino are confirming that Linden Lab's Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer Bob Komin, known in Second Life as BK Linden, has left the company. Spokesman Peter Gray was quoted as saying "Bob Komin has moved on to pursue a new opportunity," stating the Lab planned to employ a new CFO, "Linden Lab is thankful for his contributions to the company, and we wish him all the best in his next endeavor."

BK Linden's legacy is a mixed one to many. He's credited to making Second Life much more profitable to Linden Lab, but it was partially done by laying off about a third of the staff. He also made the corporate management of the company a more traditional hierarchy, which from the point of view of many, "diminished the democratic 'Tao of Linden' spirit Philip Rosedale instituted." He was the acting CEO between Philip Linden's departure as Interim and the hiring of Rod Humble.

Hamlet Au had a few things to say about BK's legacy. The way he say it, "Bob Komin has helped prepare Linden Lab for a post-Second Life era, in which SL is less and less central to the company's strategy and plans." He had helped create the "very large" cash reserve to finance projects, such as games. "much of Linden Lab's management … likely see Second Life as a legacy MMO which has run its course. With the launch of new development tools, followed soon by a steady withdrawal of company resources, the future of Second Life will soon be almost completely in the hands of it's users."

In another post, Hamlet had a few bits of advice on how Second Life residents could help save the Grid after such a departure, notably multiplayer games inside Second Life, and third party viewers that could be tailored to support such games. However, to those who keep asking the Lab to lower tier, he felt Linden Lab was unlikely to do so without "substantial growth of active users. Maybe several hundred thousand." Hamlet doesn't seem to be a fan of what economists call "dynamic analysis" or "dynamic scoring."

Not many Lindens have had as much impact as Bob Komin. It should be interesting to see whom replaces him.

Image source: Second Life Universe

Bixyl Shuftan

Tron Legacy Adventure

Although it did mediocre at the box office, the 1980's movie Tron became a cult classic among computer nuts. Even some Second Life terms like "grid" and "rez" come from the movie. Recently, it's sequel "Tron Legacy" has finally hit the theaters. And inevitably someone was inspired to bring the action to Second Life. Grey Lupindo reports from the Vixens Isle sim, where people can race lightcycles and engage in games from the movie.

Read the article in Places.