My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

 

Today, the SL Newser turns sixteen. But what did people read before it? While there were tablods such as The Herald, there was also the Second Life Newspaper, owned by JamesT Juno with Dana Vanmoer as editor. It started small, a blog with occasional glances at the virtual world, but soon grew into a respectable newsletter with a good sized staff. I would join it in October /November 2007, and become a respectable member of the team. This was a different time, the Golden Age of Second Life when it and not social media was talked about as the future of the online world and it would be mentioned on the news and even prime time TV, while we the residents made all content entirely inworld in these pre-mesh days with only a small amount of the content created by the Lindens. So what was covering the news in these times like?

 

Read the 2015 article in Extra. 

 

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

 

It was Fifteen years ago this Wednesday that the Newser came to be. But who was reporting the news of Second Life before that? In 2006, JamesT Juno would start the Second Life Newspaper, and others would join him in covering the news about this virtual world. This included Dana Vanmoer who would take over as editor, as well as Gemma Cleanslate and Bixyl Shuftan, who would go on to write for the Newser. So what went on during this earlier time of Second Life? Bixyl Shuftan would describe how things went from his point of view.

Read the article from 2015 in Extra. 

 

Classic SLN Cartoon

 

 

 From August 2008. Since then, political chatter has gotten much worse. So this cartoon aged pretty well.

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

 

Seventeen Years of Writing About Second Life

 

 

It was about seventeen years this month in which my Second Life took a change. For a few months since the person who talked me into coming here told me about the Relay Weekend, I'd been dropping by regularly, seeing more of what people made here. I would hang around a few places, make a few friends, replace my starter avatar with a Luskwood fox, and continue to drop by new places.

Curious where to find new and interesting places, I started checking out blogs and newsletters about the virtual world. Among the most interesting was "Second Life Newspaper." After some time reading it, there was an announcement for reader submissions, either articles or pictures. So I sent in a few. I soon got the attention of it's owner JamesT Juno and it's editor Dana Vanmoer as they asked me for a job interview.

And so began my path into virtual journalism. With my first payment, I got a fedora and overcoat for a classic reporter's outfit, which with my avatar got me called "fox reporter" or "fox news," which got both chuckles from both fans and critics alike of the real-life News network. Once or twice a week, I would write articles on the people, places and events across Second Life. I would also do the cartoons. I was part of an accomplished team of writers that covered the Grid. And eventually I would be make the "office manager" of SL Newspaper, which meant updating the paper when Dana wasn't able.

Sadly, my time there would be only about two and a half years. James would depart Second Life for personal reasons, and Dana would tell the staff she would be shutting down, it's closing taking place in June 2010. By this time, three of the other reporters and I came to a decision, and as SL Newspaper closed, SL Newser would begin, with me as the owner and editor.

And we would continue the work of our predecessor paper, and I would continue to write articles, in addition to editing and posting the stories of the other writers, as well as posting shorts, cartoons, and videos on the main page. It would go on for month after month, year after year.

Second Life has changed much in the time I've been around. When I first started writing about it, we were still the darling of tech media, and mentioned on TV. But in just a few years, the shine had faded, the masses preferring Facebook and other social media. Second Life media would also change as live programing, once easy to find, would become a rarity, limited to special events. Many favorite locations have also faded away over time. Mesh wasn't even conceived of when I first appeared. Today, most avatars and their clothes are mesh. There's Bellisseria, the Linden Home continent, which has emerged as it's own community. And then there's the Lab. Numerous Lindens have come and gone, and we've reported on a few CEOs coming and going.

But while much has changed, much has remained the same. The Relay for Life continues to hold fundraising seasons, and many fun events. People continue to show their talents, either as builders, musicians, and more. And people continue to build and maintain interesting places, some of which have stood the test of time.

So what does the future hold. I've gotten a couple requests to write more political articles. But American politics has gotten more toxic in recent years, so as interesting as it is I write about it only sparingly for the Newser, usually around election time (just one, maybe two more articles on it this year). Those interested in what I have to say can check out my "Food on The Table" blog which I update only every so often. I've also had a lifetime interest in writing fiction, some of which can be read on my DeviantArt page. And I plan to get a novel published once I figure out how.

But I'll still be writing the news about this virtual world for quite some time to come. There's plenty here that keeps me interested. And as long as real-life permits, I won't stop writing.

Bixyl Shuftan

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

 

It was fourteen years ago this Wednesday that the Newser came to be. But who was reporting the news of Second Life before that? In 2006, JamesT Juno would start the Second Life Newspaper, and others would join him in covering the news about this virtual world. This included Dana Vanmoer who would take over as editor, as well as Gemma Cleanslate and Bixyl Shuftan, who would go on to write for the Newser. So what went on during this earlier time of Second Life? Bixyl Shuftan would describe how things went from his point of view.

Read the article from 2010 in Extra.

Classic SLN Cartoons: The New Cubicle

 

 

 Originally published in the Second Life Newspaper on July 21, 2009. I forget exactly where I took this picture, possibly at the Second Life Birthday. But it fit my Luskwood "Bunkies" mouse avatar just fine. 

We sometimes joke that Linden Lab servers run on hamster wheels. If they did, maybe they'd use energy drinks instead.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Classic SLN Cartoons: Linden Rat

 

 

 Originally printed Jan 17, 2010. Yes, if you look carefully, you can see the surname "Linden" over the furry with the guitar. Back then, they didn't appear in blue.

Bixyl Shuftan

Classic SLN Cartoons: Dancing on A Dalek

 

 

 Originally posted on June 2, 2010. The picture was taken at Club Zero Gravity sometime before, showing a kitty dancing on a Dalec. The ones on "Dr. Who" wouldn't have tolerated such behavior at them at all, but this one was bearing it. Or considering the girl had no clothes, "baring" it.

 

This would be the last cartoon published in the Second Life Newspaper, as it would close a few days later. 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

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.

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

 

Yesterday was the twelfth anniversary of the SL Newser. But before there was the Second Life Newser, there was the Second Life Newspaper. It started out as a simple blog by JamesT Juno 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 me 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 the article from 2015 in Extra.
 

Looking Back on Twelve Years

 
It was twelve years ago that one chapter in Second Life journalism ended with the close of JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer's Second Life Newspaper, and a new one began with the start of the Second Life Newser. The four of us, Gemma Cleanslate, Shellie Sands, Grey Lupindo, and myself had some big shoes to fill. The Newspaper had covered Second Life in it's golden age, as well as many of it's people, places, and events that helped define it. We arrived at a time when not only had the virtual world seen better days, but with the layoff of a third of Linden Labs, it was one in trouble.

Twelve years later, much has changed. Of the original four, just Gemma and I are left. Thankfully others such as Penny Shuftan and Marcel Mosswood have stepped in to help fill their void.  Sadly Gemma and I have also had real-life difficulties. She had some medical issues of which she is still recovering. And as I write this, someone dear to me in real life is very sick and will likely pass away very soon.

So what keeps us going? Why spend so much time writing about a "game" as some have dismissively called Second Life, one that gamers often dismiss as having inferior graphics, that some dismiss as too difficult and troll-ridden, and whose owners sometimes act like they don't care about it's users other than how to make money off them?

Because of the good it allows people to do.

Yes, there are a *few* punks here whose purpose in life seems solely to be to make others miserable. But the ill they do is outweighed by the positive others accomplish. Sometimes it's artistic, the ability to build here either with inworld or external tools allowing artists to make creations that others can admire. Sometimes it's therapeutic, those with mental problems or just mentally weary can get together with others in peer support groups, sometimes aimed at others like themselves.

It can allow those to meet others like themselves and form virtual communities. Not just a channel where they can chat, but a three-dimensional landscape they can interact with each other in, in avatars more or less whatever they want to look like, and in surroundings either made completely by other users, or in the case of Linden Home areas at least customizable by other users. In particular, it can allow the physically disabled to interact with others much easier than can be done in real life.

And one can raise money here to help combat real-world problems and illnesses. Homes For Our Troops for instance helps disabled veterans not just keep a roof over their heads but a house they can live independently in. And of course there is the Relay for Life. Ever year, it raises thousands of dollars to research treatments for cancer, as well as helping those stricken get such treatments.

With recent events, I personally have more reason to write about the Relay than before.

So what does the future hold? Predictions of Second Life's end have been made time and time again, and time to time they never came to pass. It's safe to assume baring some global catastrophe, the virtual world still has some years left. Yours truly has gotten a little older, and grayer. But I should be able to keep writing a few more years as well.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Lorena Chung Estates, the Montecito Bay communnity, the Deathlands roleplay sim, and the Safe Waters Foundation. To Farshore Radio to helping spread the word about the Newser. To the Sunweaver community to helping give our office a home. To the Lindens without which this virtual world would not be possible. And you the readers for giving us our purpose.

"And that's the way it is." Good day from the Second Life Newser.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor
Second Life Newser
 

Commentary: Fourteen Years of Writing About Second Life

 

It was on November 2007 in which I officially began writing the news about Second Life. I started off as a freelancer at Dana Vanmoer's Second Life Newspaper, soon getting the hang of things and writing about the people, places, and events across the virtual world. Fourteen years later, I'm still doing it. So how did it start, and what's happened over time? Here, I reflect a little on what I've done and what else I've been writing on.

Read the commentary in People.
 

Reflections: Ten Years Ago ...

Ask most people what happened to them ten years ago this month on the first or second weekend, they probably wouldn't remember. For yours truly however, it was a fateful day in his Second Life, one that would set the stage for the end of one chapter and the start of another. Ten years ago, despite all the Coronavirus stories, despite everything going on in Second Life, I still think back to what happened.

Read the commentary in Extra. 

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

The SL Newser is having it's anniversary this week. It should be pointed out that before there was the Second Life Newser, there was the Second Life Newspaper. Starting as a simple blog by JamesT Juno in 2006, he would soon bring Dana Vanmoer and a number of other writers into it as a full-fledged newspaper, with me 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 the article from 2015 in Extra.

Remembering Breezes Babii

It was a year ago yesterday, September 9, 2017, in which Breezes Babii, a close friend of the Newser and a valued member of the Tombstone community, had passed away. She had been a reporter for the Newser's predecessor, the Second Life Newspaper, which was run by her SL daughter Dana Vanmoer. Her "Breezes Thoughts" were a remembered part of Dana's paper. When the old SLN folded, Breezes would send a number of articles and postcards to the Newser over time, many about her adventures in Tombstone. Several days after her death, she would be given a memorial service in Tombstone, the virtual community which had become her home here.

A year later, Gemma Cleanslate (and Chigadee London), and I would both visit her memorial site, taking a few minutes to recall the fun we had in the past. Gone perhaps, but not forgotten. No doubt she'll be remembered.

Bixyl Shuftan

Top picture from Gemma Cleanslate

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

As the Newser celebrates it's eighth anniversary, it should be noted our roots go back to another publication. Before the SL Newser, there was the SL Newspaper. Founded by JamesT Juno, it blossomed into Second Life's leading newsletter under editor Dana Vanmoer. About a year into the paper's history, I joined up with them. For the next two and a half years, I would be one of it's reporters, and eventually assistant manager. In this article written five years following it's closing, I looked back on my time at the "Gray Lady" of Second Life newsletters.

Read the article in Extra.

Commentary: Ten Years of Writing About Second Life

It was ten years ago this month that I officially got started in virtual journalism with my joining the staff of JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer's Second Life Newspaper. With this milestone, yours truly has been looking back at what has happened, with my virtual career here, personally with my friends, and of course this virtual world.

Read the story in Extra.

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

On this seventh anniversary of the Second Life Newser, we look back to the days of the newsletter that preceded it: the Second Life Newspaper. For three and a half years, this publication founded by JamesT Juno and managed by Dana Vanmoer, covered the news of Second Life until it's closing on June 5, 2010. In 2015, Bixyl Shuftan did a write-up about his time at the publication from Fall 2007 to it's closing day.

Read the 2015 article here in the archives.

Nine Years of Writing About Second Life

Sometimes when you're busy with what's going on now, you forget about what you've done in the past. It was on this month nine years ago, November 2007, in which I was hired by Second Life Newspaper to start writing about this virtual world. Second Life has changed much since then, and in a sense I've gone through a few changes as well. A couple years ago, I would write a little about my time here as a reporter. There isn't that much to add to it, so here's a link to it here.

My Time At Second Life Newspaper (2015)

When the Second Life Newser was celebrating it's fifth anniversary last year, part of it was looking back at where we had come from. The original staff, including myself, Bixyl Shuftan, had gotten our experience in virtual journalism through another newsletter: JamesT Juno and Dana Vanmoer's Second Life Newspaper.Writing for them was a journey that would last for two and a half years, taking me through much of a Second Life that was quite different in many ways then from how it is now. So I wrote an article about my time as one of their writers.

Read the 2015 article here in the archives.