The Amazing Mainland
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.
There is a lot to love about the Mainland. My favorite is the Virtual Hotel Chelsea. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lanestris/51/172/99, and I will look through my pictures for more that are awesome. used to do a lot of Mainland exploring, love the sense of sl history, but AnnMarie’s stupid vehicles and the ban line issue forced me to stop mucking about there as much because it was taking too long to get anywhere.
Sounds like an interesting project. Even if most of the mainland is mess there are some diamonds hidden. Do you think it would be worth having a sister site on Flickr which is highly popular among SL residents?
Nexus – Designing Worlds are planning on doing a show about the mainland in the near future, and we would love to discuss this project with you. Could you contact me, either at my email address or inworld? Thanks!
[...] 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 [...]
Wow, thanks for the great comments. Sorry for the delay in replies. Now that I have my account issues all sorted, it is time to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
Jen, what a fantastic recommendation. Thank you so much for tipping me off to this. An art community based on the Chelsea with CBGB on the sim as well. This is exactly the sort of thing I am looking for.
Timo, Flickr is a great suggestion. I basically started with Koinup, because I already spend time there. I’m not sure how much time I’d be able to devote to a Flickr group with everything else I’m trying to implement in phase one, but perhaps I can make it happen for phase 2.
[...] very good news for Nexus and his partner (who was also banned for sharing his IP address), for his Mainland Renaissance Project, and for all of us at Designing Worlds, as we’re planning on featuring the Mainland [...]
[...] 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 [...]