Second Life No comments yet

Ride the SL Railroad and Explore the Mainland with Linden Lab’s Latest Premium Gift

By on May 9th, 2012


If you are a premium member and you haven’t visited one of Linden Lab’s premium gift kiosks recently, you may want to do so soon. I usually wind up forgetting about the premium gift and missing out, but I’m glad I actually picked this one up. As you are probably aware, I am a fan of exploring and promoting the Mainland, and the SLRR is a great way to do that. If you are looking for more information on the SL Railroad and places to begin your exploration, I recommend that you check out the Virtual Railway Consortium’s excellent site.

Have you picked up the new handcart? What do you think so far? Got any recommendations on must-see SLRR sites that I should check out?

Second Life, something new, Virtual Commerce No comments yet

Delisting and and Reassessing

By on April 11th, 2012

Tabula Rasa If you find yourself looking for old Burbclave Biz product listings on the SL Marketplace, you won’t be able to purchase them there. For now, my shop in Roclaren is the place to find them. They were all still magic box listings, and I’ve decided that the transition to direct delivery is as good as any to take some time to reassess. Similarly, I have decided that my land in Bogong has been in its current state for long enough. I have decided to clear it for now, and build something new there. Coincidentally this is also the traditional time for Spring cleaning.

I’m not sure what I’ll be building in Bogong, but I will probably dedicate at least part of the place to my Mainland Renaissance Project. I don’t know what sorts of things will be available once I have decided that I am ready to list things for direct delivery in the newfangled SL Marketplace, but I suspect they will be new items…probably ones that have not yet been created. Now is as good a time as any for Tabula Rasa. Sometimes you have to break things before you can build them.

Uncategorized No comments yet

In Case my Blackout plugin Never Kicks In

By on January 18th, 2012

I think I am supposed to be seeing a black page right now, but I’m still seeing my blog. Just in case my blackout plugin never kicks in I’m leaving this here for your consideration.

Second Life, something new 2 comments

Nice new login screen. Umm… so how do I log in?

By on January 5th, 2012

I got a pleasant surprise today as I went to log back in to second life. I opened up the Second Life viewer to find an updated log in screen. It is certainly the epitome of modern web design. Rounded corners… check. Large image-rich features section…check. Lots of featured destinations. Awesome. An upcoming events and Linden Blog section. Cool. No more worries about people not seeing important updates.

I’m really excited and ready to get started.

If only there was a way to scroll down...

Hmm… Ok… I just need to get down to the log in section now and check some things out. Hmm… Ok… It seems that the log in screen is now below my toolbar, and I can’t actually get to it. Alrighty. If only there were a way to scroll down to the log in section. I guess I’ll try adjusting my screen resolution. Maybe that will help?

UPDATE: I adjusted my resolution and that gave me access to the log in screen. Apparently 1280 by 800 is no longer a good idea…at least not for the Mac client. If you’re seeing something that looks like the image above, push your resolution to 1440 by 900. That should get you all set.

Mainland Renaissance Project, something new No comments yet

The Free Town of Helvellyn is a Mainland Treasure

By on November 10th, 2011

The Free Town of Helvellyn


Indigo Mertel uploaded some amazing images of the Free Town of Helvellyn to the Mainland Renaissance Project group on Koinup. One look and I knew I’d found the perfect inaugural Mainland Renaissance Project feature for this blog.

The Free Town of Helvellyn is modeled after coastal towns in southern Europe. It is part of a larger community, known as the East River Community managed by a group with the same name. The entire area is quite beautiful and well worth paying a visit. The Free Town of Helvellyn was designed as an artist community and safe harbor for sailing vessels. A few more images follow. I highly recommend checking it out for yourself.

By the docks

Another riverside view

Visit the Free Town of Helvellyn here:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Helvellyn/38/152/31

Indigo Mertel’s shots of the Free Town of Helvellyn can be seen here:
http://www.koinup.com/IndigoMertel/work/93598/
http://www.koinup.com/IndigoMertel/work/93597/

Got Mainland recommendations of your own? Share them in the comments or share pictures at the Koinup group.

I will be showing off a few of my other favorite mainland finds and talking a bit about this project on the upcoming episode of Designing Worlds. Check it out for more Mainland magic.

Second Life, Virtual Identity 5 comments

Is Linden Lab about to kill Nexus Burbclave?

By on October 23rd, 2011

12072007(022)

crime scene chalk by miikkahoo, on Flickr


When I announced the Mainland Renaissance Project just over a week ago, I had a renewed optimism for Second Life and high hopes about doing something good for the mainland. Unfortunately I didn’t anticipate being locked out of my account the next day, and potentially losing my account, my land, my creations, and a part of my virtual identity altogether on October 26th unless the trouble ticket that I filed a week ago is dealt with quickly.

I’d like to apologize to anyone who has sent me any landmarks to check out for this project. Should I be allowed to return to Second Life, I fully intend to go forward with this project, even though it has now been a bit delayed.

Unfortunately I find myself in a position that is far too common with Linden Lab’s customer support, a sort of limbo where I’ve jumped through every hoop requested to correct a mistake that they partially share the blame for… and waited…wand waited…and waited. That is essentially the TL;DR version of the situation, but for those who are curious, I provide you with all of the sordid details (minus names and other identifying info of course)…

Around June of this year I became the victim of identity theft. An unauthorized charge from a driving school in England showed up on my bank statement from out of nowhere. Of course, when stuff like this happens, you immediately cancel the card, and get a new one issued. When the new card comes, you change all of your automatic debits over to the new card, and check to see if any of your automatic debits failed to go through in the mean time. I did all of those checks and after going through the process, nothing was showing up amiss (more on that later).

Apparently my $10 membership fee on June 20 didn’t actually go through. Between the time of the failed charge and October 15…

  • Several charges for both tier and membership went through without issue.
  • My account never reflected an outstanding balance.
  • I received no email or other notification that I had an outstanding balance.

On October 15, having had no prior knowledge that anything was amiss, I found that my account was locked out, and that worse still my girlfriend had her account locked out for the crime of surfing from the same household and therefore having the same IP. Having no idea what was going on, I didn’t wind up putting in a ticket for the issue until Sunday October 16. As of Monday the 17th at the end of the day the ticket had not been touched. I made a call to Linden Lab, and was finally informed of what the issue was, but was given no easy way to take care of the issue while on the line. In fact I was told that I’d have to jump through many hoops to actually make arrangements to fix this, and repeated requests to speak with a manager that COULD fix the issue were denied. So I jumped through all of the hoops that evening and updated my ticket. That night I was informed on the ticket that I needed to update my billing information and then the bill would go through and the issue would be resolved. On October 18, I updated the requested billing information, made a note of it in the ticket, and I waited…and I waited…and I waited. Two other requests for updates to the ticket have been ignored. Here we are a week after my initial contact, 5 days after my last contact, and I remain in limbo.
This is really not the way to run a company.

Could this be the end of Nexus Burbclave? Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Just got some good news. The issue has been resolved, and I will be able to return in-world. I look forward to getting going on the Mainland Renaissance Project.

Mainland Renaissance Project, Places, Second Life, Virtual Worlds 7 comments

The Amazing Mainland

By on October 14th, 2011

At the top of this article is a widget for the Koinup group Mainland Renaissance Project. This is the photo submission group for an in world/Web project of the same name that I am starting to celebrate the amazing things still happening on the mainland and to foster amazing public mainland uses of all sorts. As the name suggests, I believe Second Life is about due for a mainland renaissance.

Lets not mince words, there are lots of abandoned land and ban lines as far as the eye can see in much of the mainland. There are also builds that many will view as garish. Though here I respectfully disagree with the mainstream opinion. One person’s garish build is another person’s DIY paradise, an opportunity to create, build and learn. I enjoy the creative chaos of the mainland and love the fact that it isn’t all built to one person’s taste. I can practically guarantee that you will see builds that you hate on the mainland, but I also think that is partially the point of the mainland…learning to tolerate and even celebrate the diversity of aesthetics that make Second Life what it is. End mainland rant…

The mainland still has a lot going on that is worth sharing, promoting, and growing. That is the main point of this project that I am starting. Commercial, residential, parks, hangouts, what have you. All interesting publicly accessible mainland plots can be a part of this initiative. My goal is to create a directory of all such land and to promote some of the cooler plots here on this blog as well as in the koinup group. I am just getting started with this initiative so some of these goals will probably change over time and new ones may be added. What I need most right now are places to begin exploring. If you know of any publicly accessible mainland plots that you think should be promoted, please let me know, by submitting them in the comments, submitting a picture with a SLURL to the koinup group or even sending a notecard with a LM attached to Nexus Burbclave inworld.

Recession Survival Tactics, Virtual Commerce, Virtual Worlds 2 comments

Can Virtual Worlds Survive the Great Recession?

By on September 7th, 2011

It seems like everywhere you turn these days, there is another story about about old favorite sims that are closing or on the verge of doing so. In fact, New World Notes now has a sim deathwatch tag dedicated to this topic. This parallels what is happening outside of the confines of virtual space. I was shocked to find out that Borders books would be closing its doors and just found out that my favorite independent music store, Criminal Records is now caught in the cross-hairs of its own “sim deathwatch”. As much as I’d like to see Criminal Records saved, there probably isn’t much value to be found for them here on this little blog. Sim deathwatches, on the other hand, do fit the virtual theme here rather nicely.

Are things as bad as they seem? How big is the impact of the recession on Virtual Worlds. Is there anything that we can do to help save our favorite in-world locations and brands? What can location owners do to make their properties more recession-resistant if not recession-proof? “Adapt or die” is a common business adage. Is it possible to adapt when the changes are as rapid and severe as they seem to have been during this recession? I plan on going in-depth on some of these topics in upcoming posts. For now, I leave you with these questions, and would love to hear any thoughts that you have or survival tips that you would like to share in the comments.

Second Life, something new, Virtual Worlds No comments yet

Bringing Second Life Down to Size

By on July 19th, 2011

6 foot 2, eyes of blue


I recently read an interesting discussion of scale in second life (tip of the hat to Tateru Nino for pointing it out). This argument did something that most arguments about size in Second Life don’t accomplish. It gave me things to actually think about regarding Scale Inworld. It was refreshing not having to read through an article that simultaneously recounted all of the ways that people of real life height are oppressed and called for some sort of forced resizing for all avatars, blind to their own hypocrisy. For once this was not just about avatars and actual human size. This article says something substantive regarding the scale of builds…something worth giving some serious thought.

I know that I will be rethinking my own builds as a result of this. I will probably attempt to make some builds that do fit “actual human scale”, but perhaps more importantly, I intend to tune my existing builds so that each build has exactly one scale that all items are built to, whether that scale is Average avatar height, average human height or something altogether different. I’ve also adopted a 6’2″ avatar to use as my primary avatar for the next month to walk a mile in the Real Height Avatar shoes and help me think about scale by giving me a new perspective from which to view it. This is just a tad taller than my RL height and roughly 6 to 8 inches shorter than my typical SL height.

If you are starting from the viewpoint that your own worldview should be compulsory, you’ve already lost me, even if I might otherwise be sympathetic to your cause. If you make some good points and give me something to think about, you might win yourself an ally, even if I don’t share your viewpoints 100%. I think this post accomplished that, and I’m going to try and practice mindful scaling going forward (though not always to real human height).

Second Life, something new, Virtual Worlds No comments yet

Second Life Hobby Becomes First Life Hobby

By on July 14th, 2011

Possible in Real LIfe


Often people (particularly people with little or no virtual world experience) talk about virtual worlds as things that take away from real life, but I’ve found at least one real world hobby thanks to a hobby I picked up in Second Life.

This is a picture that I took with my digital camera from my parking lot, a captured moment that I owe at least in part to Second Life. When I was much younger, I took photos with a borrowed SLR camera for a time, but it was a hobby that I quickly moved on from.

X years later (where X is some number that I refuse to admit to) I discovered the joy of virtual worlds, the thrill of creating and enjoying other people’s creations. One thing I discovered very quickly is that builds in virtual worlds are ephemeral… “Here today, gone tomorrow” writ large. To preserve the memories of the niftier places that I found I got into Screen Caps. Because I was particularly interested in builds, seascapes and landscapes, my inworld hobby really took off when WindLight was introduced. At the same time that my collection of virtual photos started to build (it continues to build as I have stuck with my virtual hobby), I started thinking about getting a digital camera. I had recently started going on urban walkabouts to get some much needed exercise, and having the camera might give me an additional excuse to make those walks. I got myself a decent digital camera, and the plan has worked. I’ve been getting more exercise and taking lots of pictures. Hard as it may be to believe, I’m actually getting out more and getting more exercise thanks in part to Second Life.