2023 Year In Review

 

 2023 was a year in Second Life full of triumphs and tragedies, accomplishments and pitfalls, and a number of other noteworthy happenings. 

 

Probably the top news story of 2023 was Second Life's Twentieth Anniversary.  It was in June 2003 in which the virtual world officially went online, and there was plenty of talk about how much had changed over time, as well as defying expectations of critics. To celebrate, the Lab had a contests with a number of computers as prizes, and one lucky winner got a new car. Some real-life publications took a moment to write about the virtual world for the first time in a while, in some cases many years. There were numerous exhibits, some were encores that had appeared in past SLB events, while others reflected the theme "Our Fantastic Future." This included the Newser's exhibit by Silvia Ametza, who made a depiction of a near future astronaut base on a moon of Jupiter. As part of the celebration, Draxtor Despres had a movie-length documentary "Made in Second Life."

It didn't take very long for the year to come up with a burning issue. In January, the Bonniebots suddenly became an issue of controversy as they went from sim to sim gathering information. Some considered them harmless, some simply annoying, and others a threat to privacy, the latter group demanding the Lab do something about them. The owners of the bots were saying they were not trying to spy on people, but the calls for action persisted, notably on the official forums. Linden Lab's initial response was to close down a thread on the issue, but a second quickly popped up, followed by another. Eventually the Lindens stated they were looking into what they could do on the matter. In late March, the Lab would announce they were introducing new tools for residents to deal with unwanted bots, as well as a new policy about them. 

In March, Linden Lab would lower sim tiers, but raise Linden Dollar purchase and sell fees. This would be a continuation of the Lab relying less on money from sims and more on income from transaction fees. In June, they started offering Premium accounts for life with a onetime fee. They also started offering certain Linden Homes reserved for Premium Plus residents, first the Ranch style homes, then the Mediterranean. They would prove highly popular. The Lab would also create a new line of Mesh starter avatars: the Senra. It invited merchants to make products for them, and some did. In November, Linden Lab launched the PBR update to the Grid, which promised residents reflective surfaces in Second Life soon, including eventually working mirrors.

For years, many residents had asked Linden Lab to come up with a mobile viewer. While the Lab had partnered with others in the past to develop one, it had yet to come up with one that was truly it's own. In March, it finally released footage of it's own viewer. In December, it announced it was finally ready to offer a "private alpha" version to Premium Plus residents, but warned users to expect glitches.

 

Belliseria would see more additions, with the Ranch and then Mediterranean Linden Home areas for Premium Plus residents. The Fantasy Linden Homes would also get a treehouse option. The continent would also see the addition of the Bellihub from Linden Lab, a way to encourage residents to move to the continent. Bellisseria would also see it's Haunted Neighborhood and Trick or Treat event for Halloween. With Bellisseria in the news so much, eventually the Newser would open a satellite office there. 

 

Linden Lab would make a place consisting of several sims that would both show newcomers what Second Life had to offer but still appeal to longterm residents: The WelcomeHub. It would open in June with a party at the Motown sim, which was a partnership with two music groups. It would have a lasertag arena, the Cinema, and some shopping areas. It would be connected to Bellisseria by a rail line. Later in the year, Motown would hold another large event, a trivia party. In November, the WelcomeHub Cinema would show a short film by Saffia Widdershins inspired by the Fantasy Faire, "Harland Quinn and the Omega Hex." In December, the Cinema would show "Scrooge: A Second Life Christmas Carol," a faithful rendition of the Dickens classic made entirely in the virtual world done late last year by Caligula Aquila and AVTV.

 

One part of the WelcomeHub was a little controversial, the Social Casino. It had appeared on it's own a few months before. Offering blackjack tables and slot machines for which players could use Linden dollars to buy (nonrefundable) chips, there were charges of hypocrisy a couple years earlier the Lab had banned gachas as they resembled gambling.

While glitches have always been part of Second Life, there was an especially bad day in February with numerous sims offline and many people clouded for hours. In March, the Purfection sim had a major glitch which wrecked the Happy Vixen club, but thankfully a rollback fixed the damage. In August was some "Unscheduled Maintenance" that had people unable to rezz, log in, or put things on the ground for hours. 

Besides the Second Life Anniversary celebrations, there were many other events. Probably the biggest among them was the Relay for Life in Second Life, which officially went from February to June. Various teams big and small held events to raise money for cancer research and treatments and have fun doing so ("putting the fun in fundraising"). The high point would be the Relay Weekend in June in which hundreds walked along a track along American Cancer Society and almost 40 other sims, described as the most intense 24 hours in Second Life.

The Relay for Life would have a number of spinoff events. There was the SL Living Expo, which replaced the longtime running "Home and Garden Expo/" Sci-fi Con (which had Slime A Linden). In the spring was the Fantasy Faire that had many detailed sims to explore and many events such as the Childrens' Roleplay. In fall, there was "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer," which ran alongside events such as "Outshop Cancer" and the SL Renaissance Festival. The Lindens would appear at the later, in a bidding event in which the losing team got pilloried. And for December there was the Christmas Expo.

 

There was the VWBPE conference in the spring, which brought attention to how Second Life could be used for education. Burn2 would have it's "Animalia" event in October and several spinoff events across the year. The Seachai Library would hold the Bradbury event in October and the Dickens Project in December.

One annual event, One Billion Rising, was canceled for the first time since it started. The Sci-Fi Expo, a Relay event, would announce further seasons would be "indefinitely postponed."  Virtual Ability would have a number of conferences to educate and inform about the disabled. "Bid The Lindens Bald" at the Relaystock would raise almost three-quarters of a million Linden dollars. There was the Fandom Con, which took place in late July a few weeks after the SLB. Raglan Shire would have it's Artwalk and Wootstock. Team Firestorm would hold it's thirteenth anniversary bash. Halloween would see a number of events. Veterans Day would see the annual Veterans Tribute and "Tracks to Trenches."

Besides the Relay, there were numerous other Fundraisers. In February, there was a fundraiser for an earthquake that hit Turkey, and one for Ukraine in it's war against Russian invasion. In the summer, there was the "Forget ME Not" fundraiser for "research of ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), Long Covid, Fibromyalgia and related chronic conditions." In August was a fundraiser to help the people left homeless by a devastating fire on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It would raise about two million Lindens. There was the Spoonful of Sugar event to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. Luna's Empire would hold a Ghost Hunt event for Halloween.

 

Veterans Isle would hold benefit concerts every month to raise money to keep roofs over the heads of vets. Creations for Parkinson's and Team Diabetes would have a number of events, such as "Scare Me Silly" for Halloween.

On April Fools Day the Lab pulled on on Bellisseria with UFOs all over the island. The April Fool the Newser would pull was a playful poke at Patch Linden. There were also shopping events such as Abnormality, and Linden Lab's "Shop and Hop" events.

Besides Linden Lab's new starter avatars, one other body made the news. The popular Maitreya mesh body would get it's first major update ever, the Laura X. For owners of virtual pets, there was one less company as Biobreeds shut down in February due to a dispute between the co-owners.

 

The Mieville community was facing an uncertain future following the confirmed death of it's founder Perryn Peterson in later 2022. Fortunately Linden Lab intervened, in February offering residents the chance to take over the sims. So the community went on, celebrating it's 15th year that summer.

 

Caledon would celebrate it's 17th anniversary in March. The next month it was announcing it was closing a few sims, though it had many more. It's founder, Desmond Shang, would step down as leader later in the year, with NeoBokrug Elytis taking his place.

The Newser would check numerous sims this year. Some were old favorites such as Calas with it's great scenery and Montecito Bay with it's stores and arcade. There were others we came across for the first time such as the New Genesis Bay sim with a riding track that was so long it took hours to finish. Echovets would create a gateway sim aimed at US Military veteran newcomers. Besides sims, we would check out groups, such as Drivers of SL.

 

Outside Second Life, one other world that was making mainstream headline news a couple years earlier, Facebook's Horizon, after months of being heavily promoted by it's owner was quietly "left behind" as it made little money compared to what had been invested in it, and Mark Zuckerburg turned his attention to other projects such as AI.

Among those lost, Palomma Cassanova, the owner of the Free Dove freebie store which had been helping newcomers for years. There were worries the place would be gone, but it was saved. Bree Himmel, noted for being one of Raglan Shire's "Basement Kitties of Doom" had passed in January as well. Xzavia Yifu of Timeless Textures passed in February. Ariel Loonie of Luskwood was gone. FrannyDJ, the lady who brought a tribute to Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to Second Life, and other parades, had died. Fans who enjoyed her parades would keep the Thanksgiving one alive. Allian Blackwell, a Commandant of the Second Life Coast Guard, was gone. New Citizens Incorporated lost Beverly Montgomery. 

Among the places that closed down was the WEDCOT Center Park, a tribute to Disneyland and Disney World. A couple years earlier, it got attention as Patch Linden held a Christmas music event there. But sadly the sim would close after ten years of operation. 

Live performer Keeba Tammas, the singer of the "Keeba Tammas and The Tiny Maniacs" band would retire from live performances, though the band would go on, renaming itself as just the Tiny Maniacs. Music video maker Furrex ended up banned from Second Life, and it seemed his days of making videos were over. But he was soon making them once more. 

For the Newser office's neighbors, the Sunweavers, it was an eventful year with a number of events. It was especially so during the Relay season in which there were events such as the annual Air Show and Ren-Faire, in which people dropping by had a chance to play games and courses set up by Cynthia Farshore and Shockwave Yareach. There were the Bid Me events in which team captain Rita Mariner went skunk, one team member became a clone of Luskwood's founder Michi, new team member Charlee Shuftan went panda for a few weeks. At the Relaystock, they would make over 100,000 Linden dollars at Cynthia's set alone. And there was Cynthia's weekly Moon Dance. The team would reach the one million Linden mark in May. Encouraged, the team reached further and hit Ruby Level (1,250,000 Lindens) for the first time ever. It was a record year. At other times of the year, "A Little Odd Place" at Sunweaver Bay would change for the holiday at the time. For Linden Lab's Halloween video contest, Nydia Tungsten would send in an entry. And one certain fox would find love and after a courtship they would be husband and wife.

For the Newser, it's been quite a year covering events here in Second Life. And we'll be continuing to cover it for 2024. Special thanks to our sponsors at Montecito Bay, Lorena Chung Estates, The Safe Waters Foundation, and Farshore Radio.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor, SL Newser

Top Stories of The 2010s, Part Four

The 2010s are over. But as we say goodbye to the decade, there's some looking back at what happened. The Newser has covered much in the past ten years, and we're looking at some of the top stories that made the news and got more attention than most.

Read the fourth part of the series in Extra.

Top Stories of the 2010s, Part Three

The 2010s are over. But as we say goodbye to the decade, there's some looking back at what happened. The Newser has covered much in the past ten years, and we're looking at some of the top stories that made the news and got more attention than most.


Read the third part of the series in Extra.

Top Stories of The 2010s, Part Two

The 2010s are over. But as we say goodbye to the decade, there's some looking back at what happened. The Newser has covered much in the past ten years, and we're looking at some of the top stories that made the news and got more attention than most.

Read the second part of the series in Extra.

Top Stories of The 2010s, Part One

The 2010's are almost over. Over the past decade, the Newser has reported on thousands of stories. But some stand out more than others. As time goes on and new residents show up, what was big news then becomes unknown or forgotten to more and more. So in this part of a miniseries, the Newser takes a look back at some of the major headlines in which residents were anxious to read on what happened next.

Read the first part of this look back in Extra.

Who Should Be Second Life's "Man of the Year?"

Time Magazine recently announced their Person of the Year. Over the years, the news magazine has given the title to the man, woman, group, or object that the editorial staff felt was the greatest newsmaker in the previous year, for better or for worse. Some of their selections have been controversial, such as Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeini. And some raised eyebrows such as "The Computer" in 1983. This year it was teen activist Greta Thunberg.

With this in mind, whom was the person, persons, or object who had the most impact on Second Life in 2019? In 2018, it was the volunteer staff of Second Life's 15th anniversary celebration. 2019 has had it's number of newsmakers involving Second Life, from the Relay volunteers, to the moles, to the people waiting in line for their Linden Home houseboats, to Juliet Heberle and Arabesque Choche whose Chouchou sims were chosen by the Lab to be preserved, and others.

So whom do you think should be the Newser's Man (or Woman) of the Year? Feel free to leave your comments below.

Who Should Be Second Life's "Man of the Year?"

The noted TIME magazine recently issued it's annual "Man of the Year" edition, as it has for decades, the person whom it feels made the biggest impact in news events for the past year. It's not always a man, as women have won it. It's not always a good guy, as it's been awarded to dictators. Sometimes it's awarded to a group of people, as it was this year when it was awarded to a number of journalists whom have dealt with persecution, and in once case death, at the hands of authoritarian governments. Sometimes the choice stirs controversy, such as one year when it was awarded to "The Computer," and at other times when it was awarded to someone whom had obviously made the news for destruction and death.

So whom was the biggest newsmaker over the past year in Second Life? What man, woman, group of people, or even thing, made the most news here?

This will be the fifth time the Newser has given the title. In 2014, the new CEO of Linden Lab Ebbe Linden was the Man of the Year. In 2015, the residents of Steelhead were the Community of the Year. In 2016, the title was given to the Relay for Life in Second Life. In 2017, someone from outside Second Life was chosen for the first time with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai getting the title for the potential damage his Net Neutrality could have for the virtual world.

So who will be number five? For now, we're still taking suggestions. Feel free to list then in the comments below.

Bixyl Shuftan

2017 Person of the Year Runners Up: Barbie Alchemi and Fran Serenade

The Newser's choice of Man of the Year for 2017 as Ajit Pai, as expected, did not sit well with everyone. Several people talked to me or otherwise left messages, saying either our concerns on the issue of Net Neutrality were misplaced, or that the title should have gone to someone who made a difference for the better. But Time Magazine's Man of the Year annual magazine, which was the inspiration for our annual article, does not always chose a force for good, just the person, persons, or object that has done the most to influence events, for good or ill.

Still, there were plenty of movers and shakers in Second Life that made an impact. And so we can chose someone for runner up. It was not an easy choice, but we have picked two.

Barbie Alchemi and Fran Serenade are the women behind Creations for Parkinsons. While Barbie is the owner and leader of the sims and the groups involved, Fran is the inspiration for them. Having been earlier aflicted with Parkinson's, her time here has been atributed to not only halting the progress of the illness, but reversing it.

This year, they were mentioned in the Newser a number of times, such as when a 90th birthday party for Fran was held inworld, and they held their Gotham Island Hallowen fundraiser for money for Parkinson's research. And earlier articles and videos, notably Draxtor Despress' video of them, continue to draw attention to both them and the virtual world of Second Life. In the case of the latter, it offers people a view of the virtual world that's world's apart from the tabliodish depiction the public has often gotten.



So for their continued work for charity, for their continuing to be an inspiration for others in Second Life and showing people unfamiliar with the virtual world the good it can do, the Newser names Barbie Alchemi and Fran Serenade as it's runners up for Person of the Year.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor
SL Newser

Man of the Year: Ajit Pai

There was no shortage of people in Second Life whom did amazing things. As they do every year, the men and women of the Relay for Life continued to raise money for the American Cancer Society. There were also other charities, such as Homes Fro Our Troops and the various people whom raised money for hurricaine relief. With the Bento update made part of the Grid late last year, many designers made many things with it. The Steelhead Community found a new home thanks to Fuzzball Ortega. The Tombstone Community came together to give Breezes Babii, a former writer and friend of the Newser, whom had passed away from a long illness the memorial service she couldn't have in real life.

Not everything that got the attention of residents happened inworld. One was the development and release of Sansar, Linden Lab's next generation virtual world. The subject of no shortage of speculation while it was closed to the public, once opened the residents of Second Life found the place mediochre, pretty to look at but not offering much to keep their attention. So while it may have more importance in the future, Sansar's impact on Second Life this year has been low.

To get on Second Life, one needs the Internet. And to enjoy it, one needs a reliable and fast Internet connection. If something could potentially compromise the reliability and speed, make it more expensive, or both, that would not be good to residents involved. Net Neutrality, both protected by Federal laws passed a couple years ago and earlier protections, has helped ensure a number of Second Life users could access the virtual world whom otherwise could find themselves having to pay much more to be here or having to spend much less time here, or possibly find their access cut off. Earlier this year, Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the FCC, proposed a plan that would scrap these laws put in place. And this month, the FCC voted to approve the plan and end the protections. While the attorney generals of a number of states are suing or planning to to keep the laws in place, and Congress is working on a plan that would restore most of these protections, these are not sure things. And until they succeed, in the meantime some of us could find ourselves not able to enjoy this virtual world as much as we used to, and possibly for an unlucky few not able to enjoy it at all. Philip Rosedale, the founder of Linden Lab, feared the conesquences for Second Life would be "especially negative," fearing some ISPs would start charging heavily.




So due to the potential consequences, Ajit Pai is made the Newser's "Man of the Year." This is the first time we have done so for someone outside of Second Life, and for having a negative impact.

Agree or disagree with this choice of "Man of the Year?" Feel free to make comments below.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor
Second Life Newser

Image Source: Wikipedia 

Who Will Be The Newser's Man (or Woman) of The Year

In real life news, Time Magazine just announced their Man of the Year, or rather "Persons of the Year," known as "The Silence Breakers." This is an annual tradition of theirs going back since they first gave the title to Charles Lindbergh in 1927, the man, woman, or sometimes group of people or object, whom they feel had the most impact in the news in the past year for good or ill. While often seen as a badge of honor, the title has on occasion gone to some villainous figures such as Joseph Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeini. And once in a while it goes to an object, such as the computer.

But what about Second Life? Who here has had the most significant impact in the news about the virtual world?

There's been no shortage of news in the past year from the release of Sansar, to noted residents to departed the Grid, to charity groups such as the Relay for Life, to the plans by the FCC to repeal Net Neutrality which could be potentially very bad for Second Life, and more.

This will be the fourth time the Newser has given the title. In 2014, the new CEO of Linden Lab Ebbe Linden was the Man of the Year. In 2015, the residents of Steelhead were the Community of the Year. And in 2016, the title was given to the Relay for Life in Second Life.

So who do you the readers think made the most difference in the news in Second Life this year? Please leave us your opinions below.

Still Asking For Suggestions For "Man (or Woman) of The Year"

Earlier this month, the Second Life Newser announced that we would be giving someone (or perhaps a group of someones) the title of "Man of the Year." While we've gotten a few suggestions, we could still use more, and are open as to whom should get the title of whom made the most impact on Second Life's headline news this year.

So please give us your ideas. Who should be our "Man (or Woman) of the Year?"

Who Should Be Second Life Newser's Man (or Woman) of The Year?

In real life news, Time Magazine just announced their Man of the Year: Donald Trump. This is an annual tradition of theirs going back since they first gave the title to Charles Lindbergh in 1927, the man, woman, or sometimes group of people or object, whom they feel had the most impact in the news in the past year for good or ill. While often seen as a badge of honor, the title has on occasion gone to some villainous figures such as Joseph Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeini. And once in a while it goes to an object, such as the computer.

But what about Second Life? Who here has had the most impact in the news about the virtual world?

There's been no shortage of news in the past year from the chance to lower sim tiers to increases in prim capacity, to the development of Project Sansar, to two sims returning to the Grid, to political groups and the drama between some, to some noted residents who had their goodbyes, and charity groups such as the Relay for Life.

This will be the third time the Newser has given the title. In 2014, the new CEO of Linden Lab Ebbe Linden was the Man of the Year. In 2015, the residents of Steelhead were the Community of the Year. Who would have been declared it in the past? We did comment about whom would likely have.

So who do you the readers think made the most difference in the news in Second Life this year? Please leave us your opinions below.

Who Should Be Second Life Newser's "Man of the Year?"

Time Magazine recently chose it's "Man of the Year," who was actually a woman this time, Germany's Chandellor Angela Merkel. So with this in mind, the Newser will soon be choosing Second Life's "Man of the Year" for 2015, the person, persons, or thing that had the most impact on the virtual world, for good or bad.

Unlike last year, there was no new CEO taking the reins of Linden Lab. So it might be a little trickier for people to come up with one person whom truly stood above the others in their impact on the Grid. But there are no shortage of candidates. Ebbe Linden, last year's winner, continued to make an impact with his interviews to both Second Life and Internet media. But he wasn't the only Linden making news as Xiola Linden often was the friendly face of the Lab in events organized by them. Others in the news were the Crew of the SS Galaxy and the Steelhead Community as their respective sims faded away. There was Chaos Priestman and Bethsael Robbiani, the team behind the Bright Canopy viewer which took the place of the discontinued SL GO which allowed Second Life to be played from a tablet once again. There were the teams behind major events, the Second Life Birthday, Burn2, and of course the Relay for Life. And there was Project Sansar and it's team, that while outside Second Life certainly was never far from it's collective mind of the residents with the speculation about it.

So who do you the readers think deserves the title of Man (or Woman) of the Year? Please give your thoughts in the comments below.

Bixyl Shuftan

Who Should Be Second Life's "Man of the Year?"

The well-known TIME magazine recently issued it's annual "Man of the Year" edition, as it has for decades, the person whom it feels made the biggest impact in news events for the past year. It's not always a man, as women have won it. It's not always a good guy, as it's been awarded to dictators. Sometimes it's awarded to a group of people, as it was this year collectively to the doctors on the front lines of the Ebola epidemic. And it's not always a human, as one year it was awarded to "The Computer."

So who should be Second Life's "Man of the Year" for 2014?

Second Life has had it's share of newsmakers in the past year. One is Kylie Sabra for her work in addressing the Terms of Service issue which continued to irritate content creators into early this year. Another is Draxtor Despress for his "Drax Files" videos about noteable people across Second Life. And there's Ebbe Linden, the new CEO of Linden Lab.

So which of these deserves the title of Man (or Woman) of the Year, or can you the readers think of someone else?

Bixyl Shuftan