Who Should Be Second Life's Man of The Year?

 

A few days ago, Time Magazine named the people leading the development of AI as the Persons of The Year for 2025.  The "Man of the Year" edition of Time is something the magazine has done for almost a century, the person, group or persons, or thing that has made the news the most in the past year. Its not always awarded to a man, and like this year sometimes it's a group of people. The choices are occasionally controversial. One year, it was awarded to "The Computer" due to the impact of them on technology and lifestyle & entertainment. There have been time's it's been awarded to someone who did a lot of death and destruction or otherwise affected peoples' lives for the worse. 

 

So with this in mind, who would be the man, or woman, or people, of the year for Second Life in 2025?

 

The Second Life Newser has announced a "Man of the Year" every year for almost a decade. Over time, we've chosen a variety of people, We've chosen Lindens. One year the Moles got it as a group for their work on Bellisseria. Citizens and communities have gotten it. 

 

Should it be someone behind a noteworthy project? Should it be a group of people helping others, such as the Relay for Life Volunteers? Or maybe this was someone or something that had such a big impact on the Internet, it was clearly felt within Second Life?

 

We have a few people in mind, but we certainly can use some suggestions. Who do you think should be Second Life's Man, Woman, or Persons of the Year?

 

Source: Time Magazine, Wikipedia

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Who Should Be The Second Life Newser's Person of The Year?

 

 About a week ago, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine was declared Man of the Year by Time Magazine. The "Man of The Year" as the edition was originally called is something they have done every year for almost a century since 1927, the person or group of persons the magazine feels has made the largest impact on the news for the past year. On occasion, it's been awarded not to one man or woman, but to a group of people. The choices have occasionally been controversial. One year, it was announced "The Computer" was given the title due to the impact of computer technology. A number of times, the Man of the Year had made the news due to very negative reasons such as the oppression of a people or peoples, death, and/or destruction. 

 

So with this in mind comes the question who had most impact on Second Life News in 2022? Who should be our Man, Woman, or Persons of The Year? Last year, it was awarded to Patch Linden for partially stepping into the role left empty by the late Ebbe Linden following his passing. 

So who should be our choice for 2022? 

Should it be someone behind a project that helped people in real-life, such as the numerous charities such as the Relay for Life that make use of the virtual world? Should it be someone behind a breakthrough that could change the virtual world as we know it? Should it be a noted filmmaker? Should it be a noted community leader or community officer whom made a difference? Or maybe this was someone on the Internet whom had such a big impact, they had a huge impact on what happened or could happen here in Second Life? 

We have a few people in mind, but we're willing to take suggestions. Who do you think should be Second Life's Man, Woman, or Persons of the Year?

 

Source: Time Magazine, Wikipedia

Bixyl Shuftan

Who Should Be Second Life's Man of The Year?

 

On Monday, the noted real-life news publication Time Magazine announced their Person of the Year for 2021: Elon Musk. The "Man of The Year" as the edition was originally called is something they have done every year for almost a century since 1927, the person or group of persons the magazine feels has made the largest impact on the news for the past year. As it's not always a man, women have achieved it. On occasion, it's been awarded to a group of people. The choices have not always been without controversy. One year, it was announced "The Computer" was given the title due to the impact of computer technology. A number of times, the Man of the Year had made the news due to the death and destruction, and sometimes oppression, that he caused.

So with this in mind comes the question who had most impact on Second Life News in 2021? Who should be our Man of The Year?

The Second Life Newser has announced a "Man of the Year" every year since 2014. Over the years, we've chosen Lindens. Last year the Moles got it as a group for their work on Bellisseria. Citizens and communities have gotten it, or the "Runner Up."

So who should be our choice in 2021? The Pandemic has continued to be a problem in real life, so perhaps someone who best showed how Second Life can be useful for real life? Should it be someone who passed away from the virus? Other people passed away in the past year, notably Ebbe Linden, Second Life's last CEO. Should it be someone or a group of people who raised money for charity, such as the Relay for Life? Should it be a noted filmmaker? Should it be a noted community leader or community officer whom made a difference? Or maybe this was someone on the Internet whom had such a big impact, they had a huge impact on what happened or could happen here in Second Life?

We have a few people in mind, but we're willing to take suggestions. Who do you think should be Second Life's Man, Woman, or Persons of the Year?

Source: Time Magazine, Wikipedia

Bixyl Shuftan

Men of the Year Runner-Up: The Acquisition Team

 

Besides the Newser's choice for "Man of the Year" Draxtor Despress, there were a number of other newsmakers. But the ones who stood out were the team of investors led by Randy Waterfield and Bradford Oberwager. On July 9, it was announced by Linden Lab that negotiations between them and the team had reached a deal that would result in the investors taking ownership of the company known for it's running of Second Life. All that was left needed was the approval of the US Federal Government to finalize it. The news was all the talk around the residents for a while. Some were afraid the result would be Second Life going lower in quality or even dismantled and shut down. Others felt there wouldn't be much change or possibly even some improvement. And still others felt it was too soon to tell or were otherwise unsure. Ebbe Linden stated that part of the deal was the Lab would continue to be free to run Second Life. Brett Linden added Waterfield and Oberwager had a solid view of what Second Life was and wasn't, which led to their decision to invest. After a few weeks, the chatter died down, and Residents were more or less going about their usual business.

While the investment team was only in the news for a matter of a few weeks, the move's potential implications for Second Life are obvious. So they are the Newser's Men of the Year - Runner Up.

Other notable people this year were the Moles for their continued work on Bellisseria and the Linden Homes, the staff of Gen-Con whom took their annual gaming convention online to Second Life, those whom made an effort to inform residents about the Coronavirus and honor those whom passed away from it, and of course the Relay for Life volunteers.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor, SL Newser

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

On Thursday evening December 20, the noted real-life news publication Time Magazine announced it's choice for Man of the Year, with President-Elect Joe Biden and VP-Elect Kamala Harris sharing the cover. For almost a hundred years since they chose Charles Lindbergh in 1927, the magazine has done an annual issue featuring the person, group of people, an idea, or thing that has "for better or for worse... has done the most to influence the events of the year." Over the years, most American Presidents have made the achievement, as well as noted people such as Mahatma Gandhi. They've also chosen groups of people such as "The Middle Americans" in 1969 and "You" in 2006, meaning the millions whom contributed to the Internet and the World Wide Web. Not all of it's choices were popular. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Allahtollah Khomeni selections which drew criticism from the readers. And a few such as "The Computer" in 1982 were met with confusion. But it's a tradition that's gone on through the years as reporting the news has gone from not just print media and radio, but television, cable TV, and then the Internet as well.

It's a tradition that starting in 2014, the Second Life Newser decided to take on with Linden Lab's new CEO Ebbe Altberg as Second Life's Man of the Year. Since then, we've got after the person or persons whom had the most impact on Second Life news, our last winners being the Linden Moles in 2019 for their work on the new continent of Bellisseria. And like Time Magazine, not all of our choices were popular. The choice of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for his dismantling of Net Neutrality and the potentially chilling effect it could have on Second Life was one that got both criticism and head scratching.

Others whom got the achievement were the Second Life Birthday volunteer group in 2018, the Relay for Life volunteers in 2016, and in 2015 the community of Steelhead. There were also a number of people whom made runner-up such as Barbie Alchemi and Fran Serenade, and Draxtor Despress.

So who should our choice be in 2020? With the Pandemic raging in real life, should it be those whom have made an effort to educate Second Life residents about it? Should it be a noted resident whom caught or passed away from the Coronavirus? Should it be a person or group of people whom raised money for charity, the Relay Life being an obvious example but there are others. Should it be a noted filmmaker? Should it be a noted community leader or community officer whom made a difference? Or maybe this was someone on the Internet whom had such a big impact, it had a big influence on what happens or could happen here?

We have a few people in mind, but we're willing to take suggestions. Who do you think should be Second Life's Man, Woman, or Persons of the Year?

Source: Time Magazine, Wikipedia

Bixyl Shuftan

Commentary: Who Else Would Have Gotten "Man of the Year?"

By Bixyl Shuftan

The "Man of the Year" will be an article we hope to be doing this time of year from here on. We've gotten a few complements on it (thank you). Though there was a question raised: Who would have won if the Newser had done this from it's first year?

For 2010, the winner would likely have been people whom sadly had lost their jobs. The news that Linden Lab had given 30% of their workforce, including some popular Lindens, shook the Second Life community like few things ever had. People began wondering if the Grid was on a downward slump it couldn't recover from. That some popular Lindens such as Blue and Teegan were given pink slips gave others the impression the people in charge were sending a message to the others: "No fraternization with the masses." So the title would probably have gone to "The 30%." Others whom would have been in the running include Jessica Lyon for organizing Team Phoenix which created what would be Second Life's most popular viewer, Team Emerald for demonstrating how *not* to run a Third Party Viewer team with their hacking of a critic's website and the outright defiance against Linden Lab that led to the banning of a number of members. and Philip Linden / Philip Rosedale for coming back for a few months as interim CEO.

For 2011, the probable winner of the title would have been the new CEO Rodvik Linden / Rod Humble. His arrival with years of experience in the computer gaming industry gave many residents hope that Linden Lab was back on track. Others whom figured large in the news included zFire Xue for his controversial RedZone that raised many privacy fears, and for being among the few whom went to prison as a result of his activities inworld, Battlestar Galactica roleplayers for successfully negotiating with the real-life Universal corporation and being able to continue their games and therfore providing a precedent for similar groups in future years, Ozimal and Ammaretto for the lawsuit filed by the former on the latter (pointless in the opinion of the writer) which Ammaretto would eventually win, and Second Life's "pony" fans for introducing a new type of avatar and a new community that despite their first sims being taken down due to griefers soon bounced back and was on the Grid to stay.

2012's most influential newsmakers, and therefore whom would have been the collective "Man of the Year," were probably the SL9B team. When Linden Lab announced that they would no longer be sponsoring the event and suggested the various communities hold their own celebrations, various residents refused to take the news lying down and instead banded together to organize it themselves. Second Life's Ninth Birthday proved that while Linden Lab may have provided the software and the sims, it was the residents that truly made Second Life what it is. Other newsmakers included Crap Mariner for his publicizing SL9B with his series of videos, Rodvik Linden for his decisions such as new games and platforms for the Lab such as the "Patterns" game, Qarl Fizz (formerly Qarl Linden) for his work on the mesh deformer, and the Star Trek Community for successfully negotiating with Paramount to be able to continue their roleplays in Second Life.

2013 was dominated by two controversies, both about Second Life's Terms of Service. One was about third-party Linden exchangers, which Linden Lab tried to ban. While most folded, the Podex Exchange headed by Jacek Shuftan remained open, saying they had a duty to their customers and tried to talk to the Lab. But the Lab would not listen to him and temporarily gave him the boot. It was ultimately up to the Second Life masses whom rose up at once in protests, many threatening to leave, who got Linden Lab to partially back down and allow third party exchangers to remain (but not buy Lindens back). So for his work Jacek Shuftan would have gotten runner-up. The second controversy was the longer lasting Terms of Service Content creator controversy, of which the opposition was organized under the United Content Creators of Second Life group, founded and headed by Kylie Sabra. Despite that Linden Lab wouldn't budge until the following year under a new CEO, Kylie Sabra's efforts would have gotten her "Woman of the Year" for 2013. Others in the running would have included Tuna Oddfellow for his protesting the ToS issue by moving his performances to the InWorldz Grid, which spurred numerous others to take a look at the alternative virtual world, the SL10B team for organizing the effort to celebrate the Grid's tenth anniversary, and the Relay for Life volunteers for their "100 Years of Hope" season which celebrated the American Cancer Society's centennial.

Just as we take a look back to see whom made a difference in Second Life in the past, the Newser team looks forward to spreading the news about who does so in the future.

Bixyl Shuftan

Man of the Year: Runner-Up and Honorable Mentions

Runner-Up: Kylie Sabra

Late last year, the burning issue among residents, especially builders, was Linden Lab's change in it's Terms of Service regarding content creators. Although it began in September 2013, it would continue into 2014. And the one person whom did the most about this issue was Kylie Sabra, the head of the United Content Creators of Second Life group that was organized in response to the controversy.

By March 2014 though, Kylie was ready to move on, due to both personal reasons and Linden Lab's lack of a response over the past several months. But a few weeks later, the new CEO Ebbe Linden would speak on the matter, and a few months later the controversial wording was changed.

Except possibly for the development of "SL 2.0," the Terms of Service issue was Second Life's most controversial issue. And for leading the effort to confront it Kylie Sabra gets the Runner-Up for Second Life's Man (or woman in her case) of the Year.

Other people whom were suggested were, Draxtor Despress for his "Drax Files" videos about the people helping to make Second Life what it is, Barbie Alchemi for leading the Creation for Parkinson's group, and the Relay for Life volunteers for continuing their work on the most successful online fundraiser.

Bixyl Shuftan