Have you ever been to a Compliments Duel ?
A most entertaining event : JJ Drinkwater and Exrex Somme gave a superb performance
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Loch%20Avie/128/128/0
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Duel of Compliments
Storytelling
Anna has been so kind to ask me to post some of my pictures on her blog. I have been thinking for an entire week which one to post first.
I have decided not to use one of the lovely windlight sunsets that I like so much (but they will come ;-) ) , but to document one of my favorite activities in SL: listening to the reading of a friend of mine: Aianna Oh.
Aianna is the author of a series of fantasy novels the valley of the Ivory Swan, the first volume of which she has for sale in Second Life.
But she has also brought back the old art of storytelling. She has a lovely voice and a great reading technique and listening to her is always a great pleasure.
She is regularly reading in regions such as Faeria (Huin Sim - Fri 5pm slt), Winterfell (Sat 2pm slt), and her own beautiful sim of Alurel (Sun 1pm slt - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alurel/181/206/24) where this picture was taken live, as she is still reading while I write :-)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Story of Mother's Day
Based on text from Wikipedia and web.
Different countries celebrate Mother's Day on various days of the year because the day has a number of different origins.
The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday." Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.
During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" -- the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic) after the American Civil War.She first suggested a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, MA, every year. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war.
In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. In parts of the United States it is customary to plant tomatoes outdoors after Mother's Day (and not before).
When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Originally the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, this building is now the International Mother's Day Shrine (a National Historic Landmark). From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
Please, feel free to leave your message for the Mother’s Day.
I wish a happy Mother’s Day and a peaceful and joyful weekend for all readers of this blog and your families.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Summer Model Contest
New Summer Model Contest brought to you by
Flavah Modeling Group .
Audacious Designs /Slick .
Audacious Bade is the Owner of Audacious Designs a high quality clothing store that has been reviewed and received excellent ratings from the SL media for her clean cut designs that compliment all women no matter what their shapes may be. In late May of 2008 Audacious will be launching her line of mens apparel called *SLICK* and for this reason we have decided to put a face to both clothing lines.
We are holding a 2 weeks search for both a female and male model to be the face of Audacious Designs and *SLICK* summer clothing lines. Along with many other prizes in which will be outlined and detailed below. Contest opens May 2nd last day to enter may 17th midnight.
For More information contact Audacious Bade in world
Flavah Modeling Group .
Audacious Designs /Slick .
Audacious Bade is the Owner of Audacious Designs a high quality clothing store that has been reviewed and received excellent ratings from the SL media for her clean cut designs that compliment all women no matter what their shapes may be. In late May of 2008 Audacious will be launching her line of mens apparel called *SLICK* and for this reason we have decided to put a face to both clothing lines.
We are holding a 2 weeks search for both a female and male model to be the face of Audacious Designs and *SLICK* summer clothing lines. Along with many other prizes in which will be outlined and detailed below. Contest opens May 2nd last day to enter may 17th midnight.
For More information contact Audacious Bade in world
Monday, May 5, 2008
FASHION ROCKS at Subtle Tease Galleria
This information just arrives from my new friend Annie McAlpine
Grand premiere of the Galleria at Subtle Tease Island featuring an exclusive fashion show starting at 8PM SLT Tuesday May 6th.
Featuring five of SL top designers showing their latest fashions, live music and tons of freebies.
Mark your calendar and plan to attend. Also, plan to hang out and join the after party at the Grand Opening Party at Picasso's Club. .... Adress here
be there !!
FASHION ROCKS!
Grand premiere of the Galleria at Subtle Tease Island featuring an exclusive fashion show starting at 8PM SLT Tuesday May 6th.
Featuring five of SL top designers showing their latest fashions, live music and tons of freebies.
Mark your calendar and plan to attend. Also, plan to hang out and join the after party at the Grand Opening Party at Picasso's Club. .... Adress here
be there !!
FASHION ROCKS!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
FASHION TRENDS AND TIPS
This is the May Issue I wrote for Déjà vu magazine. You can also find other great articles here: Deja vu international
Text and Photography from Anna Avalanche
I felt I am lost in terms of Second Life fashion style. There are very good outfits items on good stores. That’s not the question. Here woman decide about clothes, accessories, hair style, animation and also body skin and shape. This means everyone can get confuse from the many opportunity and combinations we have on Second Life outfit. I don’t pretend to make this article a fashion manual. But “All fashion is clothing; although clearly not all clothing is fashion...we need fashion rather than clothes-not to clothe our nakedness but to clothe our self esteem” (Colin McDowell – 1995). This quote is particular truth in Second Life. The difference we need to choose also shapes, skins, hairs, etc.
Dress from Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher
The problem is how combine everything to make us beautiful and desirable. How can we catch attention from our outfit on this wonderful world? On real life we can change very little our natural body shape with plastic surgery. This is not a problem on second life but might be a dilemma. I have seen people trying to make their outfit into a Christmas tree. Maybe we can find some “presents under the tree”. But, if you put a fabulous diamond on a box full of sparkling jewels you might not seen it. However, if you put this same fabulous diamond on a wood box with simple dull jewels you might notice it. “The best thing is to look natural, but it takes make-up to look natural” (Calvin Klein).
Dress from Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher
So I interviewed some fashion expertise friends about my doubts. Lucille Morigi is equivalent to “Gisele Bündchen” from Second Life. She is a SL top model, fashion teacher and an expertise on Second life fashion. She has attended some of the best modeling shows on Second Life like; Shakture Couture Unveiled Fashion Show on late 2007.
Anna Avalanche (AA): what's your style?
Lucille Morigi (LM): My mood tells me what kind of outfit I must wear. Sometimes I want to be the girl next door and others I want to be a Star. Therefore I don't have one outfit I like best.
AA: What suggestion you would like to give to designers?
LM: Show some real fashion, show things that come from your minds. Work with prims and attachments. Bring different textures, dare to be different!
AA: What is your advice for those women that what to be a models?
LM: Women that want to become models should get used to be thinner, have less muscle, less butt, hips and breasts. Never and I mean Never wear blings and body oil. And then apply to a Modeling School. It's really important. It opens doors for you. They should also start reading fashion blogs or magazines to know something about style. Start going to fashion shows and see what that is all about. They should also know that they will spend much money before anything happens. Portfolio, Classes, poses, skins, hair, outfits, all that have a cost. So, you'd better do it for fun.
AA: What is your opinion about people that like to use oil in the body and big muscle shape?
LM: In my opinion body oil makes avatar look like plastic people. Well, that's not my taste. Each person shows here what they want to have in return. Obviously, they are not well dressed, but maybe they don't care. The important thing is to be happy!
AA: What about Second Life?
LM: Second Life seems to be growing fast in fashion and entertainment. Musicians, video makers, builders and scripter’s these seem to have future. Second Life has amazing places to explore, to learn and to open mind, if one is willing to do so. That's really interesting. I can see some future here.
I also talked with Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher. They achieved success in Brazilian Second Life fashion world. In real life they really work on fashion. Halisson is graduated in Industrial Design from the University of Brasilia, Brazil. But he also studied product design and had a close relationship with professionals and fashions centers. Pietra has worked as a producer of fashion.
Anna Avalanche (AA): What are the difficulties for a designer?
Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher (PB and HU): The most difficulty is creating and innovating. Follow the SL progress require some real life time.
AA: What is your view about people outfit? Especially those that like to use oil in the body and big muscle shape?
HU: The stature of Brazilians avatars is influenced by the Latin-American people self esteem. The Brazilian people are vain and try to create a beautiful figure.
PB: About the fashion, I know a few women who really dress their avatars very well. Oil, tan lines and low-cut clothes, commonly seems artificial in the SL and I don’t like it. The extreme hinder the finality. Women with strong muscle legs and body lose their female curvilinear shape.
AA: What is your opinion about Second Life?
HU: The Second Life is the best interface to customize own appearance. For who has patience and wish a relationship it is a good tool for socialization and contacting new people. I believe that the Linden should seek partnerships and integration with browsers "in-world", expand the possibilities of real business and improve graphics mechanisms. The Integration with other Internet services is in my opinion, a matter of survival.
*************************************************************
I would like to give my personal fashion tips and suggestions. Please don’t understand this as an obligation to be beautiful. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself aloud” (Coco Chanel). This is only Anna Avalanche thinking of myself aloud. Lol!
Tall Boots:
Knee-high boots make great sense because they let you wear everything from skinny jeans to miniskirts. Black or dark color pairs with almost everything.
Fitted Jacket:
A great tailored jacket fitted to show off feminine curves, not a baggy masculine style, will pair with everything from work trousers to jeans. A jacket adds structure to your figure and creates waistlines and smoothes out lumps and bumps for all shapes.
Chic Colors
Opt for something red, crimson or pink…. Red can give your skin a lift. It reflects back its warm color to your skin. Whether it is a wide belt, round toe heels or matte red lips, this color is always a good choice. Also try the classic colors of black and white.
The Baby Doll Dress
Baby Doll dress rises to the occasion. The baby doll dress comes in different styles with fullness in the skirt and a shorter length. Perfect for day into evening... look cute and casual in a sundress, a pretty mini, or splash out in something special.
Skirts style
Some skirt could make your lumps and waist look bigger. Take care and reduce your lumps and waist if that is the case.
Emphasize Your Curves!
Women have coveted the hourglass figure for centuries. Now it’s easy to create those classic curves no matter how you’re shaped. You could also use clothes to emphasize that.
Face Light!
This is a tricky tip. The face light can shine your face. But don’t use the strong light in some places if you want to see the natural lights. You can fine a very nice faceFX Designer light at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cleary/102/72/114
I personally think that we should look at the overall situation, background and timing. Don’t forget that our “diamond” must shine. So maybe you must simplify. One who better understood the relation between fashion and context in real life was Coco Chanel. “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous” (Coco Chanel).
The background context changed with the introduction of automobile and modern industrial machinery on daily life. After 1900 women's clothing became lighter and lighter in construction and materials. A popular style in this period was the "Lingerie Dress" a feather-light white cotton dress inset with strips of open work lace and net.
Most women's dress in this era was highly influenced by the advancing feminist cause, which after 1903 escalated to widespread civil disobedience by "Suffragettes" (radical suffragists). Women modeled their behavior and appearance upon the “Gibson Girl” the popular image of the "New Woman". Men's clothing styles such as the suit, shirt, hard collar and tie were worn by women forcing themselves into professions formerly occupied by men. Health fads of the 1890's and 1900's also encouraged women's sporting activities, particularly bicycling, which, in turn promoted sport clothing as a fashion.
“Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening” (Coco Chanel). Chanel understanding of the relationship between woman context and fashion was unique. She was completely modern in this respect. She once said: “women have to be light, quick, to run to catch a bus or a taxi”. Maybe we might be less attached to be seen well in a lagging place. In Second Life we must understand that our image must download on someone else computer. With a lot of attaches, sparkle and particles you might be beautiful but not rezz totally. “Fashion is all about expressing yourself without saying a word” (MuñekaWear).
*************************************************************
I would like to conclude with real life designer's quotes that might help you.
“Be yourself is about the worst advice you can give some people” (Tom Masson).
“Designing is a matter of mixing known elements in new and existing ways in order to create fresh combinations and products” (Sue Jenkyn Jones).
“When in doubt, wear red” (Bill Blass).
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months” (Oscar Wilde).
“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safer, the creatures of the common place, the slaves of the ordinary” (Cecil Beaton).
“Zest is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest” (Christian Dior).
“Fashions fade, but style is eternal” (Yves Saint Laurent).
Lucille Morigi wore:
skin - Splashing Doll Pinkie
Outfit - TaP - Effervecent Dress
Shoes - Zhao Clover - Black/ Gold
Hair - DH, Sydney Hershey
Anna Avalanche sponsored by:
AA Trade Company, Cleary (111, 69, 113): AA Trade
For more pictures and information see my flickr
Text and Photography from Anna Avalanche
I felt I am lost in terms of Second Life fashion style. There are very good outfits items on good stores. That’s not the question. Here woman decide about clothes, accessories, hair style, animation and also body skin and shape. This means everyone can get confuse from the many opportunity and combinations we have on Second Life outfit. I don’t pretend to make this article a fashion manual. But “All fashion is clothing; although clearly not all clothing is fashion...we need fashion rather than clothes-not to clothe our nakedness but to clothe our self esteem” (Colin McDowell – 1995). This quote is particular truth in Second Life. The difference we need to choose also shapes, skins, hairs, etc.
Dress from Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher
The problem is how combine everything to make us beautiful and desirable. How can we catch attention from our outfit on this wonderful world? On real life we can change very little our natural body shape with plastic surgery. This is not a problem on second life but might be a dilemma. I have seen people trying to make their outfit into a Christmas tree. Maybe we can find some “presents under the tree”. But, if you put a fabulous diamond on a box full of sparkling jewels you might not seen it. However, if you put this same fabulous diamond on a wood box with simple dull jewels you might notice it. “The best thing is to look natural, but it takes make-up to look natural” (Calvin Klein).
Dress from Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher
So I interviewed some fashion expertise friends about my doubts. Lucille Morigi is equivalent to “Gisele Bündchen” from Second Life. She is a SL top model, fashion teacher and an expertise on Second life fashion. She has attended some of the best modeling shows on Second Life like; Shakture Couture Unveiled Fashion Show on late 2007.
Anna Avalanche (AA): what's your style?
Lucille Morigi (LM): My mood tells me what kind of outfit I must wear. Sometimes I want to be the girl next door and others I want to be a Star. Therefore I don't have one outfit I like best.
AA: What suggestion you would like to give to designers?
LM: Show some real fashion, show things that come from your minds. Work with prims and attachments. Bring different textures, dare to be different!
AA: What is your advice for those women that what to be a models?
LM: Women that want to become models should get used to be thinner, have less muscle, less butt, hips and breasts. Never and I mean Never wear blings and body oil. And then apply to a Modeling School. It's really important. It opens doors for you. They should also start reading fashion blogs or magazines to know something about style. Start going to fashion shows and see what that is all about. They should also know that they will spend much money before anything happens. Portfolio, Classes, poses, skins, hair, outfits, all that have a cost. So, you'd better do it for fun.
AA: What is your opinion about people that like to use oil in the body and big muscle shape?
LM: In my opinion body oil makes avatar look like plastic people. Well, that's not my taste. Each person shows here what they want to have in return. Obviously, they are not well dressed, but maybe they don't care. The important thing is to be happy!
AA: What about Second Life?
LM: Second Life seems to be growing fast in fashion and entertainment. Musicians, video makers, builders and scripter’s these seem to have future. Second Life has amazing places to explore, to learn and to open mind, if one is willing to do so. That's really interesting. I can see some future here.
I also talked with Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher. They achieved success in Brazilian Second Life fashion world. In real life they really work on fashion. Halisson is graduated in Industrial Design from the University of Brasilia, Brazil. But he also studied product design and had a close relationship with professionals and fashions centers. Pietra has worked as a producer of fashion.
Anna Avalanche (AA): What are the difficulties for a designer?
Pietra Biondi and Halisson Usher (PB and HU): The most difficulty is creating and innovating. Follow the SL progress require some real life time.
AA: What is your view about people outfit? Especially those that like to use oil in the body and big muscle shape?
HU: The stature of Brazilians avatars is influenced by the Latin-American people self esteem. The Brazilian people are vain and try to create a beautiful figure.
PB: About the fashion, I know a few women who really dress their avatars very well. Oil, tan lines and low-cut clothes, commonly seems artificial in the SL and I don’t like it. The extreme hinder the finality. Women with strong muscle legs and body lose their female curvilinear shape.
AA: What is your opinion about Second Life?
HU: The Second Life is the best interface to customize own appearance. For who has patience and wish a relationship it is a good tool for socialization and contacting new people. I believe that the Linden should seek partnerships and integration with browsers "in-world", expand the possibilities of real business and improve graphics mechanisms. The Integration with other Internet services is in my opinion, a matter of survival.
*************************************************************
I would like to give my personal fashion tips and suggestions. Please don’t understand this as an obligation to be beautiful. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself aloud” (Coco Chanel). This is only Anna Avalanche thinking of myself aloud. Lol!
Tall Boots:
Knee-high boots make great sense because they let you wear everything from skinny jeans to miniskirts. Black or dark color pairs with almost everything.
Fitted Jacket:
A great tailored jacket fitted to show off feminine curves, not a baggy masculine style, will pair with everything from work trousers to jeans. A jacket adds structure to your figure and creates waistlines and smoothes out lumps and bumps for all shapes.
Chic Colors
Opt for something red, crimson or pink…. Red can give your skin a lift. It reflects back its warm color to your skin. Whether it is a wide belt, round toe heels or matte red lips, this color is always a good choice. Also try the classic colors of black and white.
The Baby Doll Dress
Baby Doll dress rises to the occasion. The baby doll dress comes in different styles with fullness in the skirt and a shorter length. Perfect for day into evening... look cute and casual in a sundress, a pretty mini, or splash out in something special.
Skirts style
Some skirt could make your lumps and waist look bigger. Take care and reduce your lumps and waist if that is the case.
Emphasize Your Curves!
Women have coveted the hourglass figure for centuries. Now it’s easy to create those classic curves no matter how you’re shaped. You could also use clothes to emphasize that.
Face Light!
This is a tricky tip. The face light can shine your face. But don’t use the strong light in some places if you want to see the natural lights. You can fine a very nice faceFX Designer light at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cleary/102/72/114
I personally think that we should look at the overall situation, background and timing. Don’t forget that our “diamond” must shine. So maybe you must simplify. One who better understood the relation between fashion and context in real life was Coco Chanel. “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous” (Coco Chanel).
The background context changed with the introduction of automobile and modern industrial machinery on daily life. After 1900 women's clothing became lighter and lighter in construction and materials. A popular style in this period was the "Lingerie Dress" a feather-light white cotton dress inset with strips of open work lace and net.
Most women's dress in this era was highly influenced by the advancing feminist cause, which after 1903 escalated to widespread civil disobedience by "Suffragettes" (radical suffragists). Women modeled their behavior and appearance upon the “Gibson Girl” the popular image of the "New Woman". Men's clothing styles such as the suit, shirt, hard collar and tie were worn by women forcing themselves into professions formerly occupied by men. Health fads of the 1890's and 1900's also encouraged women's sporting activities, particularly bicycling, which, in turn promoted sport clothing as a fashion.
“Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening” (Coco Chanel). Chanel understanding of the relationship between woman context and fashion was unique. She was completely modern in this respect. She once said: “women have to be light, quick, to run to catch a bus or a taxi”. Maybe we might be less attached to be seen well in a lagging place. In Second Life we must understand that our image must download on someone else computer. With a lot of attaches, sparkle and particles you might be beautiful but not rezz totally. “Fashion is all about expressing yourself without saying a word” (MuñekaWear).
*************************************************************
I would like to conclude with real life designer's quotes that might help you.
“Be yourself is about the worst advice you can give some people” (Tom Masson).
“Designing is a matter of mixing known elements in new and existing ways in order to create fresh combinations and products” (Sue Jenkyn Jones).
“When in doubt, wear red” (Bill Blass).
“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months” (Oscar Wilde).
“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safer, the creatures of the common place, the slaves of the ordinary” (Cecil Beaton).
“Zest is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest” (Christian Dior).
“Fashions fade, but style is eternal” (Yves Saint Laurent).
Lucille Morigi wore:
skin - Splashing Doll Pinkie
Outfit - TaP - Effervecent Dress
Shoes - Zhao Clover - Black/ Gold
Hair - DH, Sydney Hershey
Anna Avalanche sponsored by:
AA Trade Company, Cleary (111, 69, 113): AA Trade
For more pictures and information see my flickr
Friday, May 2, 2008
New SL site rankings may signal end to camping
From Reuters: New SL site rankings may signal end to camping
Text: Eric Reuters
Linden Lab is working to revamp its current traffic ranking system, which has long been manipulated by landowners who pay users to camp out for hours or days at a time in an attempt to climb to the top of the “Popular Places” list.
“It is clear that the current Traffic system is not an effective means of determining the success or popularity of a parcel, nor does it provide useful information about Residents visiting those parcels,” Linden executive Jeska Dzwigalski said in a blog post.
The “Popular Places” tab is often one of the first places that new Second Life users look when exploring the virtual world. But the sites listed almost never offer the rich educational and social content beloved by Second Life’s dedicated users. Due to property owners gaming the system, the top results often offer “free money” or adult-themed content.
Linden is seeking input on how to change its site rankings as a first step in improving Second Life’s in-world search engine. Dzwigalski said Linden will offer a “Second Life Showcase” of content it feels best represents its virtual world.
The current system gave rise to the Second Life phenomena known as “camping”: in order to boost their listing on Linden’s traffic rankings, landowners pay avatars called “campers” simply to visit the sim and spend time there. Camping benches, which pay cash to an avatar simply for sitting on them, are ubiquitous at top ranked sites.
“The system was completely gamed and useless,” said Taran Rampersad, author of “Making Your Mark In Second Life: Business, Land and Money.”
Surprisingly, many owners of sites currently listed on the “Popular Place” list say they don’t mind the change.
“We all knew that the popular list wouldn’t last forever, and it will force some of the islands to reconsider their whole marketing strategy,” said Doug Sievers (Second Life: Doug Pau), whose “Freebie Island” currently ranks as the sixth most popular place in Second Life.
Sievers and other camping site owners complain that even as they’re gaming Second Life’s rankings, users are gaming them. The past few months have seen a rise in “bots,” software-controlled avatars that take up every open camping chair. The bots have forced camping sites into an arms race of open seats and pushed camping rates down from as high as L$24 per hour to under L$3.
“One of my associates and I worked out how much the ‘camping bots’ could be potentially making if they just ran 3 PCs on a 24 hour schedule and it was well over a few hundred dollars a day,” Sievers said.
While the absolute sums are trivial — L$24 translates to less than nine American cents — within Second Life’s economy they can represent significant pocket money. Many avatars have no access to credit cards and no way to purchase in-world currency, and in Second Life’s inexpensive economy, many virtual goods are priced from L$1 to L$10.
If the traffic rating is eliminated, one unexpected result may be a decrease in Linden’s population metrics. It’s impossible to measure how many of the roughly 60,000 avatars typically online in Second Life are campers or camping bots, but it is widely considered to be a significant component of Linden’s population. Second Life’s total hours may also fall sharply.
The camping sites say bots poisoned the old model anyway, and they’re ready to adapt.
“Things change and the system needs to be changed,” said Kenneth Boone, whose Second Life avatar Tray Dyrssen runs the number three and four ranked places in Second Life, “Money Island” and “Money Tree Island.”
“I am not worried about the popular places,” Boone said. “We are able to build interesting things to bring in the traffic.”
Dear readers what do you think about the end of camp? Will that be good for the SL economy?
Text: Eric Reuters
Linden Lab is working to revamp its current traffic ranking system, which has long been manipulated by landowners who pay users to camp out for hours or days at a time in an attempt to climb to the top of the “Popular Places” list.
“It is clear that the current Traffic system is not an effective means of determining the success or popularity of a parcel, nor does it provide useful information about Residents visiting those parcels,” Linden executive Jeska Dzwigalski said in a blog post.
The “Popular Places” tab is often one of the first places that new Second Life users look when exploring the virtual world. But the sites listed almost never offer the rich educational and social content beloved by Second Life’s dedicated users. Due to property owners gaming the system, the top results often offer “free money” or adult-themed content.
Linden is seeking input on how to change its site rankings as a first step in improving Second Life’s in-world search engine. Dzwigalski said Linden will offer a “Second Life Showcase” of content it feels best represents its virtual world.
The current system gave rise to the Second Life phenomena known as “camping”: in order to boost their listing on Linden’s traffic rankings, landowners pay avatars called “campers” simply to visit the sim and spend time there. Camping benches, which pay cash to an avatar simply for sitting on them, are ubiquitous at top ranked sites.
“The system was completely gamed and useless,” said Taran Rampersad, author of “Making Your Mark In Second Life: Business, Land and Money.”
Surprisingly, many owners of sites currently listed on the “Popular Place” list say they don’t mind the change.
“We all knew that the popular list wouldn’t last forever, and it will force some of the islands to reconsider their whole marketing strategy,” said Doug Sievers (Second Life: Doug Pau), whose “Freebie Island” currently ranks as the sixth most popular place in Second Life.
Sievers and other camping site owners complain that even as they’re gaming Second Life’s rankings, users are gaming them. The past few months have seen a rise in “bots,” software-controlled avatars that take up every open camping chair. The bots have forced camping sites into an arms race of open seats and pushed camping rates down from as high as L$24 per hour to under L$3.
“One of my associates and I worked out how much the ‘camping bots’ could be potentially making if they just ran 3 PCs on a 24 hour schedule and it was well over a few hundred dollars a day,” Sievers said.
While the absolute sums are trivial — L$24 translates to less than nine American cents — within Second Life’s economy they can represent significant pocket money. Many avatars have no access to credit cards and no way to purchase in-world currency, and in Second Life’s inexpensive economy, many virtual goods are priced from L$1 to L$10.
If the traffic rating is eliminated, one unexpected result may be a decrease in Linden’s population metrics. It’s impossible to measure how many of the roughly 60,000 avatars typically online in Second Life are campers or camping bots, but it is widely considered to be a significant component of Linden’s population. Second Life’s total hours may also fall sharply.
The camping sites say bots poisoned the old model anyway, and they’re ready to adapt.
“Things change and the system needs to be changed,” said Kenneth Boone, whose Second Life avatar Tray Dyrssen runs the number three and four ranked places in Second Life, “Money Island” and “Money Tree Island.”
“I am not worried about the popular places,” Boone said. “We are able to build interesting things to bring in the traffic.”
Dear readers what do you think about the end of camp? Will that be good for the SL economy?
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