RFL: The Leadership Team

 

The Relayers in Second Life are a large number, hundreds of them. Most are in teams, but there are some taking the lead in trying to direct things, get the word out, or just telling people 'good job." 

 

Stingray9798 Raymaker - the  ACS in SL Director 

 

Alison Flow  |  Events (Calendar) Manager & Island Scheduling

Bain Finch  |  ACS Media Co-Lead

Cathy Longoria  |  RFL Sponsorship Lead

Jon Blany |  Luminaria Lead

Heath Pevensey  |  Trophies 

Jaraziah Lowell  |  ACS Media Co-Lead

Kitty Gumbo  |  Achievements Manager & Museum Curator

Magical Serenity  |  ACS Memorial Curator

Nicole Malady  |  RFL Teams Co-Lead

Dredd Rockatansky  |  ACS Radio Lead

Sandie Loxingly  |  Hope Haven Lead & RFL Survivorship Lead

Sass Winchester  |  Relay Creative Manager

Selene Jashan  |  Relay For Life Lead
 

Virtual Ability Town Hall

 

A few days ago, Virtual Ability had it's annual Town Hall meeting.  Gentle Heron and others in it's committee discussed to the crowd about what the group and it's location does and answered some questions near the end. Gemma Cleanslate was there, and took note of what was going on.

 

Read Gemma's article in Events. 

 

Woman of the Year: Gem Sunkiller

 

 The Newser got a few nominations for Person of the Year. Among them was someone who was part of group of major newsmakers, the Relay for Life.

For over a decade, officially joining in 2012, Gem Sunkiller has been active with the Relay. Originally the founder of Team Shadow, she would go on to be on the committee in a number of positions, as well as organizing numerous multi=team events. One Relayer would say of her, "She has been for lack of a better title Teams Lead for several years. She helps teams on board and show them how to fundraise." She's also been a host on Relay Radio, including during the Relay Weekend, "Her enthusiasm for Relay is evident during her set." For 2023, she is the Relay for Life Lead. She also describes herself as a lover of live music and has photography as a hobby.

"My hope ... beyond the prayer that we are not needed next year because a cure has been found, I hope we Relay the right way, for the right reasons.  It's our desire to help other Relayers reach their goals.  As far as goals, Relay's goal is to finish the fight."

For 2022, Gem Sunkiller is the Second Life Newser's Woman of the Year.

Stay tuned for our runner-up.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Linden Endowment of the Arts Set to Close August 31

In what can only be described as a stunning development for artists and supporters of the arts in Second Life, the Linden Endowment for the Arts is set to close down on the last day of August.

The Committee of the Linden Endowment for the Arts regrets to inform residents of Second Life that the LEA regions will be closing at the end of August 2019.

In November 2018, the Committee decided that the best way forward was for the members to step down, and allow Linden Lab to revamp or re-organise the program, with new members if they wished. At that time, the bi-annual Land Grant (the AIR regions) were shuttered. A small number of the Committee stayed on to administer the Core regions until the remaining grant commitments ran their course.  Those grants are now coming to an end, and therefore the LEA will be closed at the end of August 2019

The Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) was established to help create a center of arts activity in Second Life. It was founded in 2010 and launched its first events in 2011. For the last eight years, it has been a collaborative venture between Linden Lab and the arts community. Guided initially by a board of renowned Second Life artists and more latterly also bringing in people with a strong interest in promoting the Arts in Second Life, the LEA has been committed to providing access to engaging experiences in the arts for the Second Life community. Over the last eight years, through its exhibitions, programs, and events, the LEA has fostered awareness of artists’ contributions to our virtual world and encouraged others to get involved and be inspired.

It has long been divided into two parts; The Core Regions and the Artists in Resident Regions.

The LEA Land Grant (the AIR Regions) was a program to distribute 20 regions (LEA10 - LEA29) generously donated by Linden Lab. These regions were used to promote art and artistic endeavors in Second Life. Full regions of virtual land were made available to in-world artists through an application process. The AiR Land Grant was a 6 month grant.

The LEA Land Grant was shuttered by Linden Lab in January 2019 at the request of the LEA Committee, pending decisions on the future of the LEA.

The Core regions  (LEA1- LEA9)  hosted a variety of artistic events and installations for a three month period. The Core regions included a Welcome Area, a four region theatre, a sandbox for artists, and partial and full regions that could be used for the three month period, with a great emphasis on community art events.

This program will be closing at the end of August when all the regions will be shuttered by Linden Lab at the request of the Committee.

The Committee wishes to express its gratitude and deep respect for the artists of Second Life, whose work they have been privileged to support over the last eight years. We hope that in time Linden Lab will be able to create a new program that will continue their support of the arts in Second Life.

Any questions concerning the Linden Endowment for the Arts should be addressed to PatriciaAnne Daviau or JMB Balogh.

The  Linden Endowment for the Arts Committee:
PatriciaAnne Daviau, JMB Balogh, LaPiscean Liberty, Jayjay Zifanwe
Advisors:  The Dove Rhode and Corcosman Voom


Until recently, there were many more LEA sims. But in November 2018, it was announced 19 of the 29 then were closing down as part of "restructuring" of the LEA.

Saffia Widdershins invited me to talk to her for a few minutes. She stated Linden Lab had nothing to do with the LEA closing down. If anything, they wanted it to keep going. But the LEA Committee "were pretty much burned out." After inviting a number of people to join the Committee, and being refused, they had decided to step down so a fresh start could take place.

Saffia told me this wasn't necessarily the end of the LEA. It could still be saved in some form, "But the initiative needs to come from the arts community. They need to pull together and create a workable proposal (or several proposals) for the Lab."

Inara Pey had a number of things to say on her blog, "As was pointed out to me after I wrote the article on the 2018 restructuring announcement, running any organisation like the LEA is going to be a thankless task; there is no remuneration for time given, there is always going to be hostility over actions taken and the grants awarded, and so on; it really can be a thankless task. ...

"However, there can be no doubting then when all is said and done, the LEA did a tremendous amount of good for the artists who participated in its programmes, offering many the means to express themselves and reach audiences in a manner that might never otherwise been able to achieve.

"While the LEA many have had its warts and at times had to face undue criticism, it has through its nine years of existence been a force for good for those arts who have been able to make use of its facilities and it has certainly helped enriched art within Second Life and allow many to appreciate work and installations they might otherwise never get to see. So, it’s not unfair to say its passing will be missed."

So will the LEA be saved, or will this chapter of the history of the arts in Second Life come to a close? Stay tuned for more details.

Bixyl Shuftan

VWBPE Behind The Scenes: Elli Pinion From The Volunteers Committee

A few days ago, the  Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference took place. For three days, there were a number of discussions and other events. While the event itself is over, the exhibits will be up for another few weeks. During the event, Newser reporter Marcel Mosswood talked to Elli Pinion, one of the women behind the VWBPE. Elli answered a few questions about the event, and her motivations for taking part.

Read the interview in Extra.

The Relay for Life Season Kickoff

This weekend, the Relay Season "United We Relay" finally got started. The Kickoff took place at the appropriately named RFL Kickoff 1 and 2 sims. The Newser was there, and took a few pictures of the scenes.

Read the story in Events.

Interview With Grace Devin (Grace Loudon)

Among those on the Relay Committee this year was Grace Devin. Although she started later as a Relayer than many of it's personalities, she's accomplished much. One of the two Co-Leads on the Committee, in the past she has been a designer sim builder, "Track boss," and was the person who built the current structures of the American Cancer Society sim. The Newser recently had a chance to talk to her about these and more that she's done.

Read the interview in People.

Bitcoin Declared "Legitimate" at US Senate Committee, Value Climbs, Actual Use Remains Small

By Bixyl Shuftan

A few days ago, a US Senate committee held a hearing about Bitcoin, the noted virtual currency. The meeting was held following the closing of the Silk Road Website due to illegal activity in which users were required to pay with Bitcoins, and 3.6 million dollars worth of the money were confiscated through encryption keys found in confiscated computer equipment. Various representatives, as well as submitted reports were heard. Among the opening remarks was one by committee chair Senator Thomas Carper, "Virtual currencies, perhaps most notably Bitcoin, have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others, and confused the heck out of the rest of us."

Among the reports heard by the committee was a letter released by the FBI, which stated that they recognized virtual currency as offering "legitimate financial services." The value of Bitcoin, which had plummeted to about $110 US dollars following the Silk Road closure and recovered to $200 by late October, quickly soared to $900, then dropping to just over $700. While it was agreed the rise was driven by speculation, the endorsement of the currency was also seen as a factor, "regulatory interest in Bitcon … traditionally has a positive effect on the price."

While the virtual currency has been turning a few heads, not everyone is impressed. Currently, there are only just over 70,000 transactions using Bitcoin a day. While more than the 47,000 per day in June 2012, and 64,000 in April 2013, as Hamlet Au of New World Notes put it, "There are probably more people using Linden dollars in Second Life then there are people using Bitcoin in the entire world." And this is "years after the hype wave over Second Life has long since died down" while Bitcoin is still clearly in it's.

It was the US government taking an interest in virtual currency that some feel was one of the reasons for Linden Lab suddenly banning third party Linden exchange services in May, a decision that was reversed weeks later. The Podex Exchange allows Second Life residents to purchase Lindens with Bitcoin.

Sources, BBC News, Bloomberg, Daily Dot, New World Notes


Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted

Fuzzball Ortega sent in this picture of a Relay for Life committee meeting, "Key points that were covered, each member introduced themselves and talked about what they were covering. The technology for RFL has gone smoothly, a few issues, but nothing major." They also talked about Key dates, such as May 21 and 22 as it "is the ACS Birthday Celebration."