Happy New Year

 

 Happy New Year, and new quarter century, from the Second Life Newser.

Announcement: New Year's Party At The Goblin Cave

 

Greetings to all! You are invited to the yearly New Years Eve Party at the Goblin Cave! The Duchy of Downs will throw a party starting at 8 PM SLT and will last till at least 1 AM SLT. Party is provided by Her Grace Cynthia Farshore and will play music region wide so you can enjoy the Christmas rides and sights before they are taken down. A ball will drop for each time zone of the continental U.S. followed with 2 minutes of fireworks till the last zone you get a full 5 minutes. Besides the dance you can enjoy Santa's Village on the highland. The Caledon wide sleigh ride awaits there too to take you on a 30 minute round trip tour of every region of Caledon! So come enjoy and if you can't stay long who cares just drop in and say Hi!!  

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/105/36/42

Their Grace, the Duke and Duchess of Downs
Shockwave Yareach & Cynthia Farshore 

 

Press Release: Bay City Prim Drop Dec 31st, 11 PM

 

BAY CITY'S "PRIM DROP" TO MARK END OF 2025

Bay City's New Year's fête coming 31st December
 

Bay City, Second Life's® city by the bay, is once again preparing to ring in the new year with their annual "Prim Drop" on the evening of the 31st of December. Festivities will commence at 11:00 pm SLT within the Bay city Fairgrounds in North Channel. 

The party will include a two-hour set of music presented by Marianne McCann to mark the occasion, as well as fireworks and other festive fun. Food, drink, and other party favors will be provided for all attendees.

All Second Life® Residents are welcome to attend and ring in the New Year with the Bay City community, but do note that the event is envisioned as an outdoor, high-class, wintertime soirée. As such, black tie attire and/or full dress is requested. 

This will also be the last event within Bay City this year for donating to Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org) .  Child's Play is a 501c3 non profit organization offers online communities such as ours an opportunity to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment. 

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab® and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information,  please contact Marianne McCann. 

Ringing In The New Year

 

 

 On the evening of Tuesday December 31, Second Life was getting ready to ring in the new year. Among the more noted celebrations was the one at Bay City, which started at 11PM SL time. But many residents couldn't be up that late, and at best would see only the set before the event.

Thankfully, there were other locations where one could celebrate the arrival of the new year. Among them was at the Goblin Cave in Caledon Downs. 

Cynthia Farshore, the owner of the location, would play the songs for the party. 

When the clock struck nine, or Midnight on the East Coast, the dance ball would ring in the new year for that part of the country.

And outside, there were fireworks.

There were of course other New Year's Eve parties. If anyone has pictures of them, please send them in. 

And so not only is it a new year, but a new quarter century. Let's hope it brings good times. 

Happy 2025 Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of The Day: Happy New, What?

 

 

 Taken at the Bouncing Bunny Beach Club. DJ Snowy has a yearly personal tradition of being in a deer avie in December.

Happy New Deer.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Announcement: New Year's At Caledon Downs

 

Greetings to all! You are invited to the yearly New Years Eve Party at the Goblin Cave! The Duchy of Downs will throw a party starting at 8 PM and will last till at least 1 AM. Music will be provided by Her Grace Cynthia Farshore and will play region wide so you can enjoy the Christmas rides and sights before they are taken down. A ball will drop for each time zone of the continental U.S. followed with 2 minutes of fireworks till the last zone you get a full 5 minutes. Besides the dance you can enjoy riding the Christmas Express around the region and even pay a visit to Santa on his hidden aerial abode. The Caledon wide sleigh ride awaits there too to take you on a 30 minute round trip tour of every region of Caledon! So come enjoy and if you can't stay long who cares just drop in and say Hi!!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/105/36/42

Their Grace, the Duke and Duchess of Downs
Shockwave Yareach & Cynthia Farshore
 

Press Release: Bay City's Prim Drop New Year's Eve Party

 

BAY CITY’S “PRIM DROP” CELEBRATES THE END OF THE YEAR

 

31st December gala event in the City by the Bay

BAY CITY, SL (29th December, 20234) - Citizens of Bay City, Second Life's® city by the bay, will be marking the end of the year in fine fashion, attending the annual "Prim Drop" in the Bay City Fairgrounds in North Channel on the evening of the 31st of December.

The festivities will feature a two-hour set of music presented by Marianne McCann, as well as fireworks and other festive entertainment. Complimentary food and beverages will be provided for all attendees.

The event is presented as an outdoor, high-class, wintertime soirée, and black tie attire and/or full dress is requested. All Second Life® Residents are welcome to attend and ring in the New Year with the Bay City community.

This will also be the last event within Bay City this year for donating to Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org. Child’s Play is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides online communities like ours with the opportunity to support seriously ill children globally during their hospital stays through the purchase of games and gaming equipment.

Bay City is a mainland community developed by Linden Lab® and home to the Bay City Alliance. Founded in 2008, the Bay City Alliance promotes the Bay City regions of Second Life and provides a venue for Bay City Residents and interested parties to socialize and network.

For further information, please contact Marianne McCann.

Second Life Rings In 2024

 

 

Sunday December 31 was New Year's Eve. In real-life, there were parties large and small around the world. And here in Second Life, there were a number. At Burning Man Deep Hole, the Burners and friends threw a party.

Some people were in paper airplanes, for some reason. Good for traveling from one party to the next maybe. 

 

Virtual Ability had a small party, hosted by Gentle Heron.

 

 

Complete with a view of Times Square, the scene of America's largest New Year's celebration.

 

Bellisseria Fairgrounds had a large event with many people. 

Some were wearing "DeadMaus" hats. What the reason was, no one spoke a thing while I was there. 

Goodbye 2023, and hello 2024. It'll be a year full of events. And the Newser will cover a number of them.

Happy New Year

Bixyl Shuftan

New Year's Eve

 

 

New Year's Eve is upon us. And so that means saying goodbye to the old year of 2023 and hello to the new one of 2024. A number of places are doing so. The community of Caledon, along with friends from other communities such as the Sunweavers, will be ringing in the new year at the Goblin Cave in Caledon Downs. The party starts at 8PM SL time, and at every hour starting at 9 (12 Midnight EST).

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/104/89/32

 

 For the Second Life mainland (and those staying up later), one of the larger celebrations will be at Bay City. It's at the Bay City Fairgrounds, and starts at 11PM SL time, with the Prim Drop taking place at 11:59 PM, set to land right at Midnight and the start of 2024.

Bay City Fairgrounds, North Channel (103, 134, 28)

 

There are other celebrations, so keep an eye out for them.

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: New Years at the Goblin Cave

 

 

The Duchy of Caledon Downs invites you to the annual New Years At The Goblin Cave! Come gather at the Goblin Cave on New Years Eve at 8 PM SLT to enjoy great music and watch the ball drop at each of the four time zones followed with 2 minutes of fireworks till the last zone you get a full 5 minutes. There will be a wide range of music covering various genres. Music will be DJed by the Duchess of Caledon Downs Cynthia Farshore who will take request. Also enjoy riding the Christmas Express around the region and even pay a visit to Santa on his hidden aerial abode. The Caledon wide sleigh ride awaits there too to take you on a 30 minute round trip tour of every region of Caledon! So come enjoy and if you can't stay long who cares just drop in and say Hi!! All the Christmas rides and sites will still be up until the next day January 1st so you still have time to enjoy a sleigh ride with Santa.

Their Grace, the Duke and Duchess of Downs
Shockwave Yareach & Cynthia Farshore

 

Press Release: Prim Drop At Bay City On New Year's Eve Night

 

BAY CITY PREPARING FOR END-OF-YEAR “PRIM DROP"

Bay City's gala set for 31st December


BAY CITY, SL (26th December, 2023) - Citizens of Bay City, Second Life's® city by the bay, are marking the end of the year in their usual fine fashion with their annual "Prim Drop" in the Bay city Fairgrounds in North Channel on the evening of the 31st of December.

The party will include a two-hour set of music presented by Marianne McCann, as well as fireworks and other festive fun. Food, drink, and other party favors will be provided for all attendees.

The event is presented as an outdoor, high-class, wintertime soirée, and black tie attire and/or full dress is requested. All Second Life® Residents are welcome to attend and ring in the New Year with the Bay City community.

This will also be the last event within Bay City this year for donating to Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org) .  Child's Play is a 501c3 non profit organization offers online communities such as ours an opportunity to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment.

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab® and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information,  please contact Marianne McCann.

 

 

The Newser's New Year's Party

 

About twice a year, the Newser crew takes a short break from covering the news and has a little party for itself and it's fans. So a few days ago, they gathered on top of the office at HV Community for a little music and dance. A number of people showed up, and some pictures were taken.

See the pictures in Events.

 

Happy New Year

 

 

Yesterday, Saturday December 31, was New Years Eve, and various places across the grid were celebrating, or had thrown a party a day or two before.

Club Cutlass would have it's New Year's party a day before on Friday December 30, with DJ Snowy playing.

Early on Saturday December 31, I would drop by Saffra Nitely's place in Devon Dream, which was ringing in the New Year for Europe.

Furry Fashion would have an event at 6PM SL time, ending two hours later.

Montectio Bay would hold one at Studio 86 at 8PM SL time, ringing in 2023 for the East Coast at halftime.

The Goblin Cave in Caledon Downs would have a small party, but it was still festive. Every hour to Midnight, fireworks would go off as the New Year rang in for a time zone.

Other places would ring in the New Year, such as Xanadu. Bay City was so crowded, I couldn't get an alt in. And someone I knew was sick to the point she didn't feel like partying, so stayed home so she could log on and off at her leisure when her body told her it was time to rest.

 

Some people looked back at the old year with a little sadness, thinking of the good times they had. Others felt good bye and good riddance, thinking of personal tragedies, inflation, toxic politics, Putin's invasion of the Ukraine that's killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, and more. A few expressed worry, wondering if the years 2020-23 were just the opening act for a bigger disaster. But most expressed hope for the future.

Happy 2023 Second Life

Bixyl Shuftan

Baby New Year

 

 

Gemma Cleanslate found this cute baby new year decoration. So we sat it in front of the HV Community Newser office.

 Happy New Year from the Second Life Newser

Bellisseria Rings In The New Year, Two Mainland Embassies

 

With the New Year ringing in, Gemma Cleanslate took a break from her checking out winter places. For New Years Eve, she spent the night at the party at the Bellisserian Fairgrounds. She would also check out the new embassy in the mainland continent of Nautilus, which opened a few days before the year ended, and the opening of the one in Gaeta last week.
 
Read Gemma's story in Events.
 

Join The Newser For A PARTY!

 

It's the start of a new year of reporting the news in Second Life. And so the staff is going to take a short break and relax with a New Year's beach party. The event will be at the Happy Vixen from 12 Noon to 2PM (at least that's the plan). So get your swimsuits, and come on over for a couple hours of fun. For those arriving early, or sticking around afterwards, there are games and a movie theater to enjoy.
 
Purrfection Estates (236, 219, 24) 
 

2021: Year in Review

 
2021 was a year with triumphs and tragedies, successes and pitfalls. As we move on to a new year, we'll take a brief look at what happened over the course of the old one.

Among the biggest changes were that of the staff at Linden Lab, notably the death of CEO Ebbe Altberg. He had been seen and heard from less for some months, but no one outside the Lab knew what was wrong until the announcement of his passing in June. Despite his dying, the company continued to run smoothly without him, with Patch Linden appearing at events he otherwise would, answering questions and concerns. For some reason, Linden Lab never did choose another CEO. It did announce that Brad Oberwager/Oberwolf Linden, one of the leaders of the investment team that bought Linden Lab the year before, was Executive Chairman. While it seems Patch leads the Lab in making everyday decisions with occasional input from the investment team, it remains unknown just how often the investors make directives.

There would be other changes at the Lab. Oz Linden, the VP of Engineering, would announce his retirement. Linden Lab was so impressed with his record, they commissioned an artist to make a real-life bronze statuette for him as a parting gift. Also retiring was the Operations Manager April Linden, noted for her furry purple bunny avatar and friendly manager. Both had worked on the move of Linden Lab to Cloud Servers, which was finished early in the year. Of the new Lindens hired this year, among them was Mojo Linden (Andrew Kertesz) the new VP of Engineering and Oz's replacement.

Sadly, Second Life would say goodbye to a number of residents last year. Robin Sojourner (Robin Wood) had connections to both the Ivory Tower and Bay City. Avi Arrow was the director of the Ivory Tower of Prims. Delightful Doowangle (Barbara Truman RL) was in the VWBPE and a winner of the Thinkerer Award. Dahlea Milena was one of the volunteers at Veterans Isle. Jessicabelle Dayafter was a memorable pilot of a combat RP and aircraft designer. Alleara Snoodle was a noted member of the Chilbo and Sunweaver communities, and a brilliant content creator and coder whom made many things, often behind the scenes so much of her record of accomplishment is hidden.

The year would see further growth of Bellisseria. With the addition of the Chalet Linden Home areas, the continent was now connected to the continent of Satori, and enabling residents to fly or walk between most of the mainland sims without teleporting (a feat the Lindens celebrated with a funny video). With the addition of the Fantasy homes, there would be a subcontinent at Bellisseria's south.

June would see the arrival of a new new user experience, the first one in several years. There was work on the ability to take 360 panoramic view pictures. While the Lab had been working on an app for users to access Second Life accounts on handheld devices away from their computers, although Apple expressed their approval in the middle of the year, later on the Lab would pause development.

Linden Lab would continue to engage in more partnerships as in 2020, such as with the NFL Alumni Association for an inworld stadium, and with the Zenescope comics producers for a sim. Another with Levitate Media would result in a Second Life commercial being made. Although winning awards, it is not known to have been widely used outside Linden Lab and Second Life media, though it has won awards. One partnership with residents was the Second Life Endowment of the Arts, the "Spiritual successor" to the Linden Endowment for the Arts which collapsed months earlier.. Their sims filled with art exhibits were opened in January.

Glitches would be a problem as always. There would be some occasions a number of residents couldn't get on for a little while. But in August was an outage that forced "Unscheduled Maintenance" for many hours. Longer lasting was the glitch of the Second Life map that rendered newer sims invisible in winter and much of spring. Older ones which had been modified, the changes that would have appeared on the map didn't. A couple residents would make maps of their own in early April as a stopgap solution while the Lindens worked on the problem. Finally in  April, the Second Life Map glitch was mostly fixed. The newer sims could be seen on it again, but there would continue to be problems for a while with some land turning invisible as people zoomed in and out.

The year would also see controversy. In August, Linden Lab announced that next month the use of gacha machines would no longer be permitted. The Lab claimed the move was due to "Due to a changing regulatory climate." But there was no evidence presented of any country asking Linden Lab to take action against gachas. Residents were split with some on both sides being quite vocal with their views. Critics called them a form of gambling, or too much like the lootboxes in some games. Supporters stated the charges were false and the ban would hurt some content creators. Despite the ban, some larger gacha events would continue, the people selling their wares without the machines. The ban did not apply to gacha items already sold from the machines, and selling and trading of them would continue. Another issue that raised much less controversy but still raised some eyebrows was the "NFT Sweepstakes" by the Lab and Zenescope which were in a partnership.  The winners would have to disclose some real-life information, which was a surprise to a few as the Lab has in the past taken pride in it's policy to protect the privacy of it's residents.

Outside Second Life, Facebook announced it was changing it's name to "Meta," short for Metaverse, as it would soon e expanding into virtual worlds. Irronically enough, the announcement got Second Life more attention as people looking up "Metaverse" and virtual worlds online ended up finding stories about Second Life. In it's first year withour Linden Lab, Sansar seemed to be doing okay. By by late December, it was a world with severe problems. Activision/Blizzard, the people behind "World of Warcraft" were beset by a series of sexual harassment lawsuits.

For the Newser, it was a busy year with much to report on. And we look forward to bringing you the news of Second Life over the course of the next.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor/Head Writer
Second Life Newser
 

Happy New Year

 

It's January 1, 2022, and the start of a new year. There were a number of celebrations in Second Life, and now, a whole new year to look forward to with hope and optimism. And we at the Newser will be there in Second Life to inform you of what's going on.

Bixyl Shuftan and the Second Life Newser crew.
 

Various Events on New Year's Eve

 

Ringing out the old year and ringing in the new has always been a reason to throw a party. But with all that's happened in 2020, more were looking forward to it this New Year's Eve than ever for a very long time. A number of places held events. Several were part of the 12 hour FCA New Year's Club Crawl. But there were others.

See the pictures in Events.

CDS Announcement: New Year's Party

 

UPDATE: Let's say GOOD-BYE to 2020!

What a rotten year! Let's make sure it's behind us!

Join us on Saturday, January 2 from 12-2pm SLT.
Place: CDS - Locus Amoenus - Dancing Under the Stars
(but if you see a red airplane with a trailing banner, you are close!)

Let's celebrate the sparkling New Year, while making SURE that 2020 is gone, Gone, GONE!
Music by DJ Callipygian Christensen.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Locus%20Amoenus/178/46/27