EOTB: New Last Names For Second Life Residents

 

 Yesterday, Tuesday April 9, Linden Lab announced twelve new last names as options for residents to change to.

Happy spring! Thank you for all the suggestions sent in for future last names through our Last Name Suggestion Form. 

Today we are doing another big last name refresh by removing some of the older last name options and adding the following new ones from your suggestions:

 

The new names are Firehart, Ravenwood, Zennor, Whisperwind, Starforge, Xochitl, Finchfield, Azalea, Seabrink, Pawprint, Morehead, and Osbourn.

 

 As a reminder, changing one's last name isn't free, but requires a fee, which can range from $49.99 to $14.99 USD, depending on the level of one's account membership.

New Welcome Island For Starting Residents

 
For some newcomers to Second Life, their first steps will be at a new place inworld. There's a new entry place for those starting out: Welcome Island.

Hearing that new accounts were already entering Second Life through the new place, I created a new alt to take a look. The new sign-up process doesn't offer a choice of appearances. Every male logs in as the same brown-haired human with facial hair, jeans, an open shirt, and carrying a radio. Women were logging in wearing red dresses with white blouses and carrying pocketbooks. A "Welcome Island Guidebook" opened up, providing instructions on how to move around (on the Linden Viewer that new accounts are asked to use, one can walk about using the WASD keys).

There were a few areas to be used as one went through the Guidebook, for practicing sitting, introducing newcomers to the ability to change appearances with the various starter avatars (aside from a couple fierce-looking werewolves, the only alternatives to human were a few vampires and elven avatars), and getting attachments and wearing and detaching them. Overall, it looked like a park area, with plenty of greenery and plenty of places to sit, with some water.

Not everyone there is a newcomer. I was messaged by someone almost right away welcoming me and asking if I needed help. So it looks like volunteers are there at times to help out those who are new. I was also invited to a group, "The Newbie Mafia," then cautioned about accepting any more invites.

Near the end, the Guidebook brought up the Destinations Guide and the Events page, encouraging people to explore the wider virtual world, with a nod to the Guide's "Newcomer Friendly" section. It also invited people to check out blogs about Second Life. My new alt's first journey ended at New Citizens Incorporated, though someone could have easily checked out London City if they didn't mind the crowd there.

Not everyone appears on the New Welcome Island. I ended up creating two alts as the first I made appeared on the same Learning Island I did four years earlier. So the Lab hasn't replaced the previous newcomer places, at least not yet.

Comparing Welcome Island to the two-sim Learning and Social Islands, the new experience is faster and quicker. There's nothing on how to jump or fly, no introduction to building, no instructional videos, none of Social Island's games that made learning a little more entertaining. At least there wouldn't be if it wasn't for the helpers who were at Welcome Island. 

This new area seems more dependent on volunteers, and perhaps people at newcomer-friendly areas the new residents would see, to answer questions. But there's no comparison to Destination Island of 2012 that offered very little instructions and newcomers could very well end up in a place that threw them out for being too young, and the new resident experience introduced in 2013 that was apparently so bad the Lindens discarded it in a few months. The Learning and Social Islands came about in September 2013, and have been around for almost a decade with one change in 2017.

While Welcome Island is closed to all but brand new accounts and volunteers, there is a Welcome Back Island anyone can visit to check out what the place is like.

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

Source: Uccie Poultry

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Breaking News: Last Names Are Back

Good news for Second Life residents with "Resident" as the last part of their account name, which is everyone who signed up after late 2010. Linden Lab just announced that after months of development, users can now either get or change their surnames. Or in layman's terms, last names are back. At least if you have a Premium account.

Given the ongoing interest in “last names” among our community,  we’ve reinstated “last names” effective today as a new option for Second Life Premium Members. If you have a Premium account, you will be able to visit https://secondlife.com/my/account to change your first, last or both names. In the true spirit of the original “last names” option last seen in 2010, participating Residents will once again be able to choose from a rotating list of available last names. Some names may only be available for a limited time, so if you see one you like then you might want to claim it quickly!  

Already changed your name and want to go back to one of your old names?  You can do that too!  After you have changed your name once, you will see a list of your previous names below the list of available last names.

To begin with, the option is available only to Premium accounts, which are $11.99 USD a month. Also, one will need to pay a fee to have their name changed, $39.99 USD. So someone with just a basic account will need to pay $51.98 USD.

The Lab has made available a Frequently Asked Questions page.

Stand by for further details in what is clearly a long-anticipated and big development in Second Life


For the blog post in full, Click Here.

Linden Lab Announces Contest For New Last Names

Last month, Linden Lab announced they would soon be making last names, or changing one's existing last name, an option for Premium residents (provided they pay a fee). On Monday, the Lab announced a contest for suggestions for new surnames.

Sharpen your quill! Get your wits about you! We are happy to declare the Last Names contest is officially open.  What contest, you say? What name changes?

We will make Name Changes available to Premium account holders in early 2020.  It will be possible to change First Name, Last Name, or both. There will be a one-time fee per Name Change. Just like in the olden times, First Name will be freeform, Last Name will be from a list - and here is where this contest comes in: we want your help coming up with the first batch of Last Names! 

To take part in the contest, fill out the contest form (here).  Residents are allowed to make three suggestions for new last names (existing ones cannot be reused). Those who think they have a clever idea should check the list of existing last names, as there are a LOT of them. The five residents coming up with what the Lab sees as the most original and clever names will be allowed to change their account names for free, or choose another account for the change. It wasn't specified on whether or not this could be someone else's account if the winner wanted to give the name change to a friend.

Taking a look at the page for the contest in the Second Life Wiki, there was an estimated price of what the upcoming price would be to change one's surname.

estimated value at US$39.99 plus $11.99 to represent the value of a month of Premium Membership

So it appears the price to change one's name in Second Life will be $52 dollars USD, or $40 for those who already have Premium accounts.

So if you think you have a particularly clever idea for a surname, go ahead and enter the contest.

To read the blog entry in full, Click Here.

Breaking News: Linden Lab Says Last Names Available Again By Jan 31, For Premium Residents

Earlier today, Linden Lab posted on the official blog a date on one of the more persistent questions of residents, the return of last names. The Lab stated it is "working furiously" to have the option to get or change a last name. However, the option will only be available for Premium Residents, and there would be a fee for it.

Soon it will be possible to change the name of a Second Life account. This is one of our Residents’ most requested features and we’re working furiously to make it available by the end of January.  Name Changes will be exclusively for Premium members at an additional fee. Changing one or both of your First and Last Name will be available as a single transaction. Last Names will be picked from a list, which you can help us curate.

It was also announced the Lab would soon hold a contest for suggestions on new last names. Five of the people who submit suggestions will get a free name change, regardless of their being Premium accounts or not. The contest will run for a month from December 16 to January 15.

At the SL16B this year, Oz Linden stated that the reason it was taking so long for last names was, "every part of Second Life, absolutely everything, was built with the assumption that your name can never change.  ... we have to go back and find that assumption everywhere in Second Life. And that's a *lot* of code."

The Lab would also announce a new level of Premium membership, Premium Plus, "an additional choice for Residents who want to get even more value from their Second Life."

Also announced were changes in Marketplace, including the fee to list an item as Featured reduced ten percent and "commission rates on Marketplace sales will become 10% of the item price." There was also a reminder about the Linden Home at the Christmas Expo.

To read the blogpost in full, Click Here.

Resident Spotlight - Albright

In his latest article, Cyfir felt there was a resident who deserved the spolight: Albright. Albright (Nihilisticloupe Resident) is known online as an artist. But in Second Life, her duties include being not just being on the staff of one business' sim, but two: Timber Wilds Industries (TWI) and Furry Fashion. Cyfir recently met up with her and asked her how she came to Second Life and ended up helping out the two companies.

Read Cyfir's interview in People.

Themed Learning Islands in Development by Linden Lab

First impressions, while not everything, can mean a lot. And for Second Life, the first impression new users get is Learning Island. Having been around since 2013, they're part of a two-step process in which new arrivals first arrive in a place only they can be, and after some basic instructions head on to Social Island to continue their orientation, though possibly with the guidance with established residents. In 2017, they were remodeled with a new look. In a recent article in Modem World, Inara Pey stated over the past few months there's been something new in development by Linden Lab: themed Learning Islands.

The idea is that Linden Lab will run various Internet advertisements with a certain theme, such as the science-fiction one pictured in Inara's article. Clicking on the ad brings up a page in the theme of the ad, and those signing up through it will be taken to a Learning Island that is in the style of the theme of the ad and page. These are not yet complete, still in the testing stage as Brett Linden told her.

Linden Lab is still in the early weeks of testing the concept of Themed Learning Islands. The initiative began quietly a month or so ago with a Romance-themed island test that is not currently active. Next up is a Sci-Fi-themed learning island that we’ll begin testing very soon. We’re also looking at several other themes for future tests, [and] it is also possible that we’ll revise the Romance and Sci-Fi themes as we gather more data on them.

Besides the themed ad campaign and sign-up process, the Lab will be looking into just how well it is working. It will also be looking at smaller elements as to what works and what doesn't, such as offering the new user a lot of information or having them find out more on their own. Patch Linden would state the new Learning Islands would not usually be open to established residents during testing.

We actually want to discourage public access to the islands while in testing so that our statistics, measuring and data-gathering don’t get influenced by having the islands inundated with established users coming into them and possibly preventing new users from naturally proceeding through the anticipated test flow. That way, we can gather as accurate information as possible on what’s happening in terms of acquisition and retention against everything else.

Talking to Brett, Patch, and Leira Linden, Inara came to the conclusion that the Lab was making a more intensive effort at user retention than before, "One thing that struck me ... is just what is going into user acquisition and attempts to improve user retention, when it is perhaps a little to easy to assume the Lab is just “tinkering without understanding”. Considerable thought is being put into trying to increase new user engagement and retention, and it does involve a lot of number crunching, analysis, and trying to build on what is shown to work, as well as trying entirely new approaches. ...it’s clear from talking to Brett, Keira and Patch that the Lab is pouring a lot of effort into this approach, as well as looking at other avenues of user acquisition and retention."

The earliest effort at the newbie experience, Orientation Island, was estimated to have only a ten percent retention rate. Destination Island, which was around from 2012 to 2013, was a bare-bones experience that was much more confusing and frustrating to new users and most likely had a much lower retention rate. Why a fair experience was replaced with a bad one back then, one can only speculate at the reasons why. But it's clear several years later, Linden Lab is making a much more serious effort to not just bring new people into Second Life, but to make a good first impression in the first hour or two that can make all the difference in which a new user decides whether or not to keep coming back.

Source: Modem World

Bixyl Shuftan

Newcomer Hangout "The Shelter" Turns Fourteen

Most new residents to Second Life need a helping hand. And one place they've gone to for help and guidance is "The Shelter." It was on August 20, 2004, Travis Lambert and Lars Bismark established the place. While it didn't start out as a newcomer helping place, with people bringing in newbies to the location, it eventually focused on helping them. For most of it's history, it has been in it's current location in the Isabel sim.

The Shelter is doing a couple things to celebrate it's birthday. At 1PM today, they will be having a music event with DJ Spug Shinn. They are also giving out copies of a vehicle.

To read the Newser's article on The Shelter from March 2011, Click Here.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isabel/25/207/59

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager.

Bixyl Shuftan

My Alt and I: The Story of Rezzdammit Resident

Alts have a number of uses in Second Life. Griefers are well known to use them to hide their identities. Some use them to explore around undisturbed. Some roleplayers use one with a name close to that of their character. For yours truly, I hadn't bothered to create one for years. Then when it came time to write about a new place only newcomers could see, I had to start one in order to do the story. But once the purpose he was created for was finished, I'd still bring him on, and more then five years later he still drops in inworld time to time. So who is this alt and why is he still around?

Read the story in Extra.

Second Life's Entry Areas: Learning And Social Islands

When yours truly decided to check out Linden Lab's new starting avatars for Second Life, the method done was to do so with a new alt, and as a result discovering the starting locations for newcomers, Learning Island and Social Island, had changed. So what are this new areas like, and how do they compare to previous first areas for newbies? This reporter took a large number of pictures to give you the readers a good look.

Read the article in Places.

Reader Submitted: Less Painful Than Real Life

Second Life is like what we get on to have fun and explore  but no one every realized it is just like our world. It has almost the same places but more nudity. But the thing is different is the violence.

Do you know the crime that is happening every second? Do you know what is going on in the world every second? In SL there is crime, but only for doing the wrong things and being bad. But in our world it is the same thing, but worse. There is war, killing, disease, And some people may be offended by the color of their skin, or what they wear, or if they like guys or girls or both.

Now that is what I call labeling. When you label, you are telling someone what they are or how they feel. It is like bulling, and on SL that is very easy. The person that is bulling, you can not reach.

But in our world we handle it with violence and hurting.

On SL, we can get pregnant fast sometimes. But in real life, we don't always get what we want. We think that real life is hard. But in SL, it is easy. It is not it is the same way you may think that you just have it easy. But you do not. We have to pay one bill on SL, But in real life, we pay a lot.

Things do not always go the way you want them to, even though you know something is right, but it is also wrong.

THE END

Toriishere

Last Names In Second Life

"What's in a name?" so goes the saying. Plenty. Names are after all our identity, whether in real life or Second Life. For the first several years, when you signed up for an account in Second Life, you chose a first name, plus were offered a choice of last names. Then the Linden Lab changed that, getting rid of last names for accounts and instead offering a single name for them, along with a separate display name. This was a controversial move that still bothers a number of residents Grease Coakes offers his opinion on the issue.

Read Grease's commentary in People.

The Oldbie Project: Caliandris Pendragon

Today, DrFran Babcock continues her Oldbie Project with a new article. Her latest interview was with Caliandris Pendragon. Having been in Second Life for over nine years, Caliandris has seen and done a lot, including a position as one of the Department of Public Worlds moles. Some residents might also remember her for being one of those interviewed by the online magazine "TheVerge" when they wrote about Second Life. She talked with DrFran about her Second Life journey began, some misadventures, and other things about life on the Grid.

Read DrFran's interview in People.

The Oldbie Project - Hikaru Yamamoto (Kamui)

Today, we have the third of DrFran Babcock's "Oldbie Project" series. In this story, DrFran interviews longtime resident Hikaru Yamamoto, known today as Kamui. Kamui talks about what first attracted her to Second Life, as well as what she encountered in her first day and her life in the early Grid.

Read DrFran's article in People.

The Oldbie Project – Pie Psaltery

It hasn't been easy finding those of Second Life's original residents whom are still around, but DrFran Babcock has. Today, she continues her "Oldbie Project" with Pie Psaltery. In her interview, Pie talked about her time in Second Life's early days, what she feels made them special, and what keeps her coming back.

Read DrFran's story in People.

The Oldbie Project: Malachi Petunia

At the time of Second Life's Tenth Birthday, DrFran wrote about the virtual world's first sims. She was planning something else, and began getting in contact with residents of those early days. Today has the first of her interviews of "The Oldbie Project," lifetime member Malachi Petunia. He had quite a few things to say about Second Life's first days.

Read more of DrFran's article in People.

Breaking News: No Return for Last Names

Some sad news for Second Life's more recent residents hoping to have their accounts get a last name like those who came earlier. Linden Labs won't be bringing back surnames for new accounts after all.

The news was posted by Linden Lab CEO Rodvik Linden in the Second Life forums, "when it comes to last names, I have spent a lot of time going through all your comments and chatting with the team here. I learnt a lot. Firstly, as I already knew identity is very important, and the last name issue is extremely polarizing. What I didn’t know was how big a negative impact it used to have on new users signing up (the data is startling at how much friction it added). Folks just wanted to create their own name; they became even more annoyed if there was a pre-done last name that could fit but that had already been taken. The namespace hijacking issue was not solved by pre done last names."

"...if we couldn’t figure out a way that was a win/win for folks who want complete freedom vs. a list of last names, we wouldn’t do it. We couldn’t, so we wont."

"Thanks again for all these comments and discussion. It’s a pity that the first one couldn’t come up with a clean solution that solved all the world’s problems (or cats’ problems) but it was valuable nevertheless."

The forum post didn't allow for comments, but there was a link to Rodvik's profile posts, where residents posted a large number of replies. Naturally, there were many disappointed people. Rodvik had suggested the possibility of adding the option of a hyphen, but residents commented that was a poor substitute.

Prim Perfect already has an article on the matter, "the Lab has just blown off one way that could have given a greater degree of engagement and building community – without costing residents money."

*Addition* In Hamlet Au's article, he supports Linden Lab's decision. But most of those commenting on it were either outright opposed or skeptical, which seems to be the general feeling.

Vampire "Resident Hosted Event" on the Forums

It seems Halloween wasn't the last we've seen of vampires in Second Life. This week when logging in, the screen mentioned a vampire discussion thread, plus a resident-hosted event from November 7 to the 8th which offered a chance for others to learn a little more about these creatures of the night on the Grid.

Curious about vampires? You can learn more about Second Life’s vampire community in a special Resident-hosted event, held Monday, Nov. 7 and Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Pacific) in the official Vampire Forums.

Your event hosts for this special event are Second Life Residents with experience in vampire or dark-themed communities and/or blogs. Plus, check the Forums starting Nov. 2 to read interviews with these hosts as they answer questions and share their real feelings on a variety of topics, including their struggle with stereotypes and the sources for their creative inspirations. You might even read a bit about what some of the hosts really think about the “Twilight” series and the current rise in popularity of vampires in popular culture.

As Lilah Munster's picture shows, they're certainly not without a sense of humor.

How to Create a New Avatar With a Surname

The “Prim Perfect” newsletter has a useful tip if you want to create a new account with a last name chosen from a list. One can through a third-party portal: the New Media Consortium portal. Saffia Widdershins, who wrote the article, credits the tip to Whirly Fizzle. She thought there were similar portals to the Grid where one could also get an account with a surname, but wasn’t aware of them yet. For now, “if I meet someone who wants to try out Second Life, I’m going to be pointing them here as their starting point.” The list of surnames she thought was a bit small, but still it was a choice.

Saffia (and presumably many others) feel the tip is a necessity because getting stuck with the generic last name of “Resident” is undesirable to many, “why is Linden Lab still insisting on something that a large number of existing residents hate, and which is causing misery and confusion for new residents – and landing them with something that may well prove a burden to them for much of their Second Lives?” Others, such as Ceejay Writer and Arwyn Quandry, have expressed similar opinions, feeling Linden Lab’s new naming system permanently labeled these accounts as noobs. Ceejay commented with older shopkeepers jittery of theft might be quick to conclude “Resident” avatars are copybotters and ban them for no other reason.

Bringing up her question, Hamlet Au commented, “Interestingly, I've talked to several Lindens past and present about the topic, and they don't like the new system either. But it may be too late to change, or too far done the priority list to change it any time soon.”

There is a JIRA requesting that Linden Labs at least make last names for new accounts an option again. As of this article, so far it has over 1200 votes.

Sources: Prim Perfect, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

The Shelter

Open for almost seven years, "The Shelter" is one of the oldest and most noted newcomer help places in Second Life. Xymbers Slade recently stopped by, and asked one of the staff a few questions.

Read more about The Shelter in People.