Upcoming events in aid of RFL in SL

The Clothing Fair may be over but the fight continues click over to the RFL section to see what will be coming up this week in aid of RFL in SL

What a wonderful world we have chosen to live in????

Yesterday saw record numbers logging into SL with a concurrency of over 66,000 online. While Philip Rosedale gets ready to go before The Congressional Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and talk about "Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium" we, actually using it, struggle with huge stability issues and stale transactions that have troubled the grid for most of the week.

The stability issues have plagued residents to such an extent that after a few hours at peak concurrency the actual users online dropped by more than half as most gave up in sheer frustration.

"Our database has crashed and caused in world services to go down. We expect it will be ten minutes minimum before we are up and running again."

This was the message on the blog followed by yet again "Resolved" which of course did not last long, Logins were problematic as were in world transactions, teleporting, maps, search, attaching objects and of course the support portal (just when you need it most).

Together with the new ToS and branding issues it is becoming obvious that its open for a competitor to step in, in my opinion, if there was another platform out there with similar capabilities most of SecondLife issues would soon clear up as people took a better option.

Yes of course people will still sign up and yes businesses will look at it as an option for their venture into the virtual world, but with all the bad press and Linden Lab doing everything they can to put residents off and now stopping the very people who have promoted them freely, what business will they have to sell in 5 years time? As one resident commented "When somebody steals a texture or build from another resident, LL tells us that it’s got nothing to do with them - but when we use THEIR graphics they suddenly start caring about copyright. Just keep looking after number one, LL - it’s what you do best."

The worst of this new ToS is the manner in which they have yet again failed to deal with the people it affects the most, 'Please check out Brand Center FAQ, if you’ve still got questions, please drop an email to tm-questions@lindenlab.com - note that the trademark team can’t guarantee that they’ll be able to respond personally to all the emails they receive. If your question is urgent, you should contact a trademark attorney.'

Anyone that is not an attorney, and even those that are practiced in trademark law, cannot give a straight answer as the new branding, FAQ and ToS together are confusing and complex even to the point of those legal eagles not being able to agree on what is now allowed and what is not.

I look forward to some clarification from a press release supposedly forthcoming from Linden Research Inc®

sources: SecondLife blog massively

UPDATE: Several In-World Services such as teleporting, map usage, search functionality, IM/chat and image upload failure are being experienced across Second Life. We are working as quickly as possible to resolve these issues. We will update you here as soon as further information is available. Thank you for your continued patience. (unsurprisingly I cannot log in right now getting DNS server errors, NOT mentioned on the list of problems)

The Best of SL for RFL

What a fantastic show
Go to EVENTS to see more

Left: Frolic and Raven join in with the final dance at the Broadway Extravaganza.

Right: Entertaining us with her fantastic voice Cylindrian Rutabaga.

New Gallery

Artist, Author and Fund-raiser. Check out our M.A.C.E for more.

Saturday Delight

Saturday I was pleased to be invited to the Piano concert of one of my favorite in world musicians, Louis Volare . March 29 was the one year anniversary celebration at Amatsu Mitshkai, a lovely Japanese port city , which houses the training school for the geishas of sl.

Click here to read more from Gemma Cleanslate

Breezes Thoughts

Never in my wildest dreams did I think, upon entering this beautiful City of Samarkand, that I would find a place like no other. From the Hall of Justice to the pavillions filled with fountains, and to the gardens and tavern, the romance of the city overwhelmed me. I opened my arms and embraced this world.

Find out what Mommy has been up to in the PEOPLE section

Clubber's Zone

"Clubbers Zone" is different from other clubs this reporter has come across in that one of the owners not only built the place, but worked on several others.

Read more with Bixyl in EXPLORE

Fleurop.com - Interflora works with Starfruit to increase online sales

Starfruit, the developer of virtual world e-commerce outlets, has partnered with international florist Fleurop.com -Interflora to provide lovestruck online Romeos with the opportunity to impress friends and lovers with real gifts.

Find out more in the EXTRA EXTRA section

L$ scams supported by LL

Read our Finance section to see how Linden Lab supports the "International L$ Marketplace", where there is plenty of opportunities to throw away your money. Is Linden Lab really sponsoring scammers?

A new era for Second Life Media

History is being made this month, as the first ever Virtual Record label has launched. Accardi Records was founded and run by Dannylee Ashbourne, also owner of other media businesses such as Stars Acting Agency, CreamWater TV and up-coming Sick Magazine. The aim of the project, is to gather as many great artists who perform in Second Life, and will not only be provided concerts at clubs etc... but they will also have one or two tracks on a CD being made and produced by the label. Accardi Records are planning to release a new CD every two months, which will feature all genres, from rap to classical, so theres something for everybody. Dannylee has hired a small team to help run the company, which is gathering a huge amount of interest from Second Life residents. The plan for the company to artists is, when they are provided a performance, Accardi Records will only recieve 25% of the tips. All the money gained from tips, will be placed back into the business. If you are interested by this article and want to know more on how to be a part of the team, who to contact, and where to find them.

To be an artists under Accardi Records' management, you will need to contact either Dannylee Ashbourne (Accardi Records CEO) or Kenneth Sinclair (Accardi Records Vice-Chairman). When a meeting has been completed with either, hopefulls will be asked to submit a sample mp3 fils of their work via e-mail. When the sample has been reveiwed by the team, a decision will be made to whether your on board or not.

Feel free to contact Dannylee Ashbourne at danny.ashbourne@googlemail.com or locate him at Accardi Records office, located at Zveltsa 74,181,92- Ashbourne Media Enterprise. On the half sim, you will find CreamWater TV, SAA, Accardi Records and Sick Magazine.

More about RFL in SL with Pips and Nevar

The clothing fair for RFL finished, another fundraiser successful but what do Pips Fetid and Nevar Lobo, team captains for Relay Raiders (the organisers of the clothing fair), have to say about it?

Find out in the RFL section

Mafia Hit Foiled by Inmate

Violence has yet again erupted within the walls of Ghul Federal Prison.
For the full story read our People section

Mafia Boss Behind Bars: Sings Like A Canary

In a huge turn around of events, Mafia boss, Adolphe Freschi is jailed. To read the full story., click here

By Baron DeSantis

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

RL businesses in SL

Recently James and I set out to look at the real businesses in our virtual world, mainly looking at the car industry.

We are all aware of the hype surrounding a new RL business coming into SL, and lately, more often pulling out of Second Life, Mercedes are the latest to announce their departure after Pontiac.

My honest opinion? Considering I am a non driver in RL I had a great deal of fun! Zipping around the tracks trying out the huge loop-the-loop on Nissan island, finding the code to get your own free car or answering the challenge of Mazda, jump the gap and keep the car :) (It took James 3 tries LOL)

From what we saw Nissan have certainly got the right idea of how to show their product to its best advantage with plenty of information and a lot of fun activities which had kept people coming to the sim even though there were no staff on hand at any time we visited, there were still avatars having fun. The only disappointment was the boxy look of the virtual model, with sculpties nowadays a better model could be constructed although the internal detail was good. Mazda also was populated and set in beautiful surroundings too. The Mazda Hakaze was also one of the best built representations we saw, although, only having a simple drive script it may have limited real drivers enjoyment.
Peugeot disappointingly were actually selling their models rather than giving them away and we were quickly bored, very much set out as a RL showroom - yes there was a road but if you wanted to see it you had to get a bike since you couldn't Rez your car to get around. All in all a disappointment they obviously had spent no time in SL and had no idea how to best use it to sell their product.

How should Real businesses set about using Second Life? Well I am no marketing expert but if you don't make it fun and give people something to do then you are unlikely to succeed. You need to provide the information in a fun and interesting way, I believe Nissan have seen the possibilities the best out of the ones we visited, closely followed by Mazda.

To an extent it's the same as browsing the Internet for information on cars, BUT its much more fun and relaxed, Why go to a stuffy showroom if you can walk on a tropical beach and and enjoy the looks of your new car at sunset?

Can Second Life be used to sell real products? I believe it can if it is done in the right way. Just don't take us all for suckers and give us some real info to go with the free models!

Dana

The most powerful poem I have read.

Despite the fact that I am in the Ghul Federal Prison, I still manage from time to time, to get news etc from 'outside'. An artist friend of mine sent me this poem. It brought me out in goosebumps. to read the poem.. "What Was Lost" click here

Space Shuttle Landing Viewed at ISM

While the Space Shuttle Endeavor landed at Cape Canaveral at 5:39 PM SL time, March 26, at the International Space Museum (ISM) the landing was seen by those watching the live NASA broadcast shown there.

Full story in EXPLORE

Is an Armidi fashion monopoly a bad thing?

The Second Life News Network raised a most interesting question recently about the rise of Armidi and their ability to suck the grid's talent pool of clothing and hair designers.

What triggered their question was the recruiting of designers from Savvy?, Sand Shack Surf Co. and Tres Blah in their staff while putting their personal projects on hold. The risks of an Armidi monopoly would be homogenized fashion and a lack of personal style in new clothing.

While this and other usual problems related to monopolies, are genuine questions, there might be a case to favor a bigger Armidi stranglehold on SL fashion.

For starters, quality and decent prices are the name of the game if you care in any way about the image you project with your avatar. And this is where Armidi shines. With the number of designers who do clothing in SL, a bit of fashion consolidation might just be a great way to reinforce creativity.

Too many people design clothing that looks amazing (such as trench coats) on their vendor signs, but that end up disappointing buyers because their flexi features are not good. Yet Armidi's clothing often looks better on us than it looks in their store because of attention to detail. Even for something as hard to produce as a trench coat, the quality level is very high.

Let's take one of the most important examples of a virtual monopoly to establish a comparison: Google. Their importance in Web search has not prevented others from creating search engines that are as efficient... it actually forced them to do so! Before Google, Web searching was a bit of a mess. Now, do your searches either at Google, Yahoo or Microsoft's Live.com and you will get plenty of revelant results.

Great creations inspire competitors. It's about time that a big player has that effect on others in SL. That's in addition to the impact that Armidi will have on the creators it recruits. The day they decide to give a new life to their personal projects, their time at Armidi will have been an amazing learning experience. Because let's face it: some of the people they hired have potential but their earlier creations could have used some polish. I won't point to specific names to avoid making it a personal affair. But I bought clothes from one of Armidi's newly-recruited creators before and I saw room for improvement.

And in defense of any company that ends up gaining importance, not all market-hogging players are bad for business. The impact of an important presence depends on the values of the people behind it. To me, it sounds like fashion is too fragmented in Second Life to come up with the monopoly word. It also sounds early to think that Armidi would be acting, say, just like a Microsoft of SL clothing.

It's not time to cry wolf yet. Besides, the "slutty looks" are way too popular around the grid to think that Armidi's clothing will be forced down everyones's throat ;-)

ABN AMRO will continue their activities in Second Life

The past few months there has been a rumour that the ABN AMRO was going to quit their Second Life activities. This is far from the truth. ABN AMRO is going to sell some of it’s islands though. Are you interested in one or multiple sims with low monthly costs?

Continue reading...

In November 2006 ABN AMRO was the first European bank who took a step into the virtual world. A total of 20 islands were designed to bring ANB AMRO experience in the beautiful virtual world of Second Life. Now ABN AMRO has learned from the Second Life activities over the past 16 months it has no longer use for all 20 islands. Therefore ABN AMRO decided to sell several islands.

The monthly rate for these islands is a beneficial and the islands can be transferred including the landscape.

Are you interested in one or multiple ABN AMRO sims? Contact us via secondlife@nl.abnamro.com. Make your best offer and let the negotiation begin!

Blues for Autism Event

A fun event for a good cause - read more here

Introducing.......................

Today we launch a new section for sl-newspaper Barbwire is brought to you by Dixie Barbosa. It will contain opinion articles, column-style stories, short tutorials and explanatory pieces, and will report on new developments in Second Life.

Click the new button on the left to see for yourself

Coming up this week at Zurich

Find out what is on this week at Zurich in the MACE section

Breezes Thoughts

I was flying thru the skies and what did I see? Way far away, a tiny speck, curiously I ventured forth to find what mysteries I might find.......

Continue reading in the PEOPLE section

Welcome to Corona Villas.

We bring modern and contemporary architecture to a wide audience by making it affordable and keeping it simple.
In a world where you can create almost everything, we have created a wide range of homes and furniture to help enhance your SL experience. Our homes are simple and spacious, playing with open floor solutions, giving you, creative freedom.

Find out more in the EVENTS section

All SL-xxxxxx ones go into hiding while you can !

So we need to go into hiding ? Start underground newspapers and not promote the game like we used to do ?

According to the new TOS, (and correct me if I am wrong) a lot of old, good and established companies should clean up their act in 89 days ?

SLexchange / SLprofiles / SL-Newspaper / SLGuides / SLNN / Secondlife Herald / SLReports / Second Life WiKi / SL Stats / SLRSS / and so on and so on ... NOT ALLOWED ANYMORE !

So did you make a youtube movie using the text secondlife ? BUSTED ! you should have said : “the Second Life® virtual world” phrase instead of the word SecondLife.

A comment we picked up in the secondlife (tm) (R) (C) blog from Jeska Linden was :

It is OK to refer to Linden dollars and Linden Lab’s other product and service names when you’re discussing them in blog posts and other forums. So, for example, it’s OK to say: “My store in the Second Life world accepts payment in Linden dollars.”

However, it’s not OK to use our trademarks in your brand names, for example, in a store name like “Linden Fashions” or “Second Life Styles.”

I hope we get some clarifications on this item soon. A lot of people will be affected again by these rules. Weird thing is that a lot of the now forbidden names were accepted in the past and even put on the secondlife (tm) website as resident links.

Comments are welcome.

Helping Hands Benefit Concert Tonight!

by: Lucy Halberd
I just wanted to let you all know about a benefit concert that will be held tonight at 5PM SL time on the newly opened September Rain sim (http://slurl.com/secondlife/September%20Rain/158/136/23). Pianist, Heath Elvehjem, will be performing live for the first three hours and then at 8PM, DJ Jameslarken Supply will spin some tunes to keep the party going!

to learn more about this worthy cause, please visit the EVENTS section!

RFL - Winter

Well it seems another SL-RFL clothing fair has come to an end after a week of hectic shopping and some amazing challenges, shortly before 9pm slt a huge roar went out as the Relay Raiders team hit their goal and raised 4 million lindens before the end of the clothing fair!

More in the RFL section

Drive by Agony Group Establishes Presence in Second Life

Through a friend, I had recently been introduced to Carmen Gray of the Drive by Agony group in second life. Both of our schedules had been full but we'd finally been able to connect setting up a date and time when we'd both be on-line. We met at her place, the Life Learning Center along with Hope McAlpine and Hiliary Grant for this interview.

Continue reading in PEOPLE

Nazz Lane

Take a Walk on the Moon

Great place to verify that, yes, man has been to the moon! There are left over machines up there. Intricate builds similar to those that actually were used by the original earth visitors.

See more in the EXPLORE section with Gemma

Brand Center

ON THE SECONDLIFE BLOG IT SAYS : With the Brand Center, we’re (LL) also launching the inSL Logo Program, which provides a new community logo for Second Life Residents. Display the inSL logo to show you and your brands are a part of the Second Life community. This logo may be used on your website, business card, promotional materials, product packaging, and in many other places where you may wish to promote your contributions to the Second Life world. BUT When using the logo, be sure to follow the Guidelines for Using the inSL Logo.

Then a huge list follows (ON THAT SAME FAMOUS SECONDLIFE BLOG) with guidlines and rules and things. And in the end the warning that you have 90 days to change anything you ever did with SL brand/logo's OR ELSE !

I am sorry I tried to promote a great "game" like secondlife !!!!!

JamesT Juno
ceo SL-Newspaper.com

Naughty images on Secondlife Main Page

Whats he thinking ? - Read more in our red-light section.

Tesoro Creations- Jewelry with Class

by: Lucy Halberd
Picture this: you’ve met the perfect woman and want to really show her how much she means to you. Do you need a necklace with earrings to match? How about showing her exactly how you feel with a gorgeous ring that has your birthstones showcased in a fabulous setting surrounded by diamonds? Any other jewelry you think she might like? I suggest you make a trip to Tesoro Creations...

read more about Tesoro Creations in the DESIGN section of the paper!

Keep it in your clique

Subcultures or high school mentality? Dashwood Dayafter has a rant in our Explore section.

Weekly Business Review - 23 March 08

23 March 2008

Lawsuits, frauds and thievery …. oh my! Some old issues return and some new ones emerge as business and drama intersect in the Virtual Village.

9 questions for ... Morpheus Linden

Here is another post of our 9 questions. This time with Morpheus Linden!

Please read what he has to say about Second Life in our People section. And don't hesitate to comment there. :)

An Angel at the Table

A new venture for Katterina Dagostino of Last Call /Dazzle has been announce. Check out more in DESIGN

Baron Convicted

I arrived at the office building this afternoon to find a black car outside. The window rolled down and a large envelope was dangled out by a delicate looking but manly hand. The transvestite who was inside the car simply said that I was to print this right away. Read our People section to find out what I just found out on the Baron's trial.

Important SCAM info

I am bringing to your attention that SLX has a vendor for sale from a group called Relay for Life Donation Station. This business also has store fronts where they sell these kiosk. The kiosks for sale promise the owners a 5% cut of all funds raised. Aside from NOT being affiliated with ACS or Relay the activities involved are a violation of US IRS tax codes. If you hear reports of people using these items please contact myself, Fayandria Foley, David Jacobs, or Tayzia Abattoir.

FULL DETAILS ON HOW TO CHECK THE KIOSK IS AUTHENTIC CAN BE FOUND IN THE RFL SECTION HERE

I hope everyone will join together to stop this disgusting scam, anyone who could take advantage of such a worthy cause is lower than low and deserves everything they get, make sure if you see any of these kiosks inworld you IM David or Fay immediately, after you have made sure its not an official kiosk an ABUSE REPORT can be filed.

Lets hope SLX also acts quickly to remove this gross ...... - well words fail me for the first time ever!!!!!

Dana

Good Things in Small Packages

It takes two and it's very very simple, but good... Find out more in EXPLORE

Limited Editions for RFL

I haven't talked much about the fashions at the fair this year preferring people to go along and make up their own minds. But I believe there are a few special people that deserve a mention and that you would like to know about:

Find out more in the DESIGN section

Wanted !!!

SL Book Fair 2008 - call for participation

It's on again! The SL Book Fair 2008 will be held on 25th April - 27th April on Book and Publishing Islands.

Full info in the EVENTS section

Reports of IntLibber Brautigans' Death Greatly Exaggerated

Hi folks, I've been offline for the past 4-5 days due to a very serious bout of the flu. In the mean time, theres been a lot of real nastiness brewing by folks hostile to us, but were dealing with it in a proactive way and are moving forward.

Continue reading in the FINANCE section

Oil on troubled waters?

A few days ago I accepted an invitation to go sailing around Sailors Cove with freelance writer Delinda. I may say this was my first visit and I was stunned at the beauty and organisation of the huge area. I didn't know there was so much sea to sail in and I found my visit so relaxing - of course I couldn't help snapping away as we sailed, Delinda being an excellant navigator, I really enjoyed myself.

Yesterday I heard rumours of discontent and problems brewing at Sailors Cove and after my recent visit I pricked up my ears and hunted around for info.

It seems that there is some disagreement between owners and managers and sorting it out will be a long and arduous task.

Who does Sailors Cove belong to? Who legally owns it? What rights do the 3 owners/managers each have?

It seems to be a confused mess. Maybe if I was closely involved I would understand it better, but then again maybe not. Its one of the many difficulties Unique to Sl. One person may have officially bought the land but who knows who actually financed it, paid the tier for it? Does paying the tier mean you should have the land after disagreements arise between partners? How do you, after running into problems, divide an area like Sailors Cove? Should you divide it? Give it to the residents? What can be done in this situation?

At a meeting all this was discussed but with little resolution for the residents. From some points of view one owner is doing things the right way and trying to sort out the mess through negotiation and talks and all the time keeping the residents informed;

"I think Patrick is a real gentleman even to talk with them at all after all this. If it was me I would just tear up any agreement with them."

but, as always, there is another side that is not being made public.

"Though Patrick may have a valid point, taking over land is perhaps not the ideal move to settle something amicably...even if the initial intent (protect land from vandalism) was a good one"

The facts are clear the land is being divided, some going to one group and some to another. Objects have been returned and sims ruined.
Races and events are in doubt and residents in turmoil not knowing who owns what or who to trust for the answers.

Lets hope its cleared up quickly and painlessly for the residents. Sailors Cove is a beautiful place and it would be a shame to see it split up.

OMG a successful show

Yesterday saw me at OMG Inc's first fashion show.
A delectable array of ladies and gents daywear paraded before me down the catwalk.

Read more in the DESIGN section

*********Musical Beauty of the Heart*********

(click to enlarge)

Go over to M.A.C.E to find out more about this amazing Jazz singer

by Charltina Christensen

Wanted !!!

RFL - Summer

Each Designer was given 300 prims and a bare structure to work with and, as shown by the examples, the designers really got into the spirit of the fair, Julia Soothsayer of Awesome Designs who won last years 'Best Designer' is a shining example of what can be achieved.

Take a look in the RFL section to see more examples both from Summer and spring and find out what's happening today at the fair.

A Prison Yard Tale:

I exercise, I smile

I groan as I lift the weights,

I listen and learn as inmates chat

Oh Jeez… I could never do that!

Bench press now, my eyes to the side

Counting away, as was advised,

The yard if full of empty souls

But a laugh as Ripley tips his bowls.

The yard is fun, our meeting place

Now and then a brand new face.

‘Fresh Meat on the block’ there comes a cry

But me I am ‘crunching’ by the by.

A Guard appears.. Thank Gawd it’s Vince

Some inmates cringe, the rest just wince

For me he seems like clean fresh air,

Perhaps I just love his long dark hair.

This yard is cold despite the sun

Due to the fact we lost Yumtum,

Her tastes were, I admit, obscure

But as to her fate, we can never be sure.

A dead man rises, he’s had a dream

Nightmare more like if judging by scream,

He saw a ghost visit his cell

But all I said was ‘welcome to hell’.

So in the end I can only say

Please come and visit but do not stay.

‘Cause once you’re in, no disrespect

You’ll keep coming back..Oh what the heck!

From inside the walls of Ghul Prison
we think from Baron DeSantis but no word has been heard from him for a few days, we can only hope this is his way of letting us know he is still alive.
Dana

NEW VIRTUAL VILLAGE EXPLORES GLOBAL DRINKING WATER CRISIS

WaterPartners Village launches, celebrates World Water Day with virtual concert

KANSAS CITY (March 18, 2008) – You may not be able to travel to a developing country and see the global water crisis first hand, but now you can visit WaterPartners Village

Full details in EXPLORE

Therapy in Second Life - Support for Healing

I recently stumbled across a mental health therapy group in Second Life - "Support for Healing," based on the sim of the same name: SupportforHealing.

Stated on their card: "Supportforhealing is a group of people that believe that recovery from depression, emotional trauma, and mental and physical illness can be greatly enhanced by loving kindness and friendship. We are not aligned to any religion (our volunteers come from all spiritual backgrounds) and believe in the equality of all people."

Read Bixyls interview with one of the leaders of the group, Industria Dowler in the PEOPLE section

Pips in a scripted collision mess?

** Linden: In trying to debug lag problems in Rezzable Designs, your "Chain Hangy thingy" show up with many collisions - so it was returned. Please check to make sure object don't continuously collide. Sorry for any inconvenience

Full story in the RFL section

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Click!! You’re in a box!!

We visited a new art exhibit the other day. Gilberto Gregg opened an exhibit unlike any I have seen before in sl!! It is modern art ,but with a twist. Everything you touch or click will do something for you.. or to you.

Read more in M.A.C.E.

By Gemma Cleanslate

Breezes Thoughts

What has Mommy got herself into this week? Find out in the PEOPLE section

The Linden Party

So if you want to know about the Linden party it was a roaring success, although I was given pot, drowned, drowned again and sucked into the Crash abyss.

Read the full story in the EVENTS section with Charltina Christensen

Exclusive contest for sl-newspaper readers:

During the next few days you may find a strange code attached to the bottom of an article, IE: RFL012345, if you see this code you must go to the RFL clothing fair and find Nevar Lobo (hint, he can usually be found around the center but not always) and tell him this code in open chat.

If you are the first you will win a gift card donated by one of the many designers and sponsors of the fair!

Landmark to RFL fair:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rezzable%20Discover/44/218/21

(make sure you check all sections the code may not be on this page!)

RFL is HERE!

The Relay Raiders Clothing fair started last night at 10pm kicking off with a live concert by LabGraal (read more about them HERE)

Last week I was lucky enough to be one of the first to see the Rezzable sims as Pips Fetid worked to shape the land and began to build.

What she has accomplished is amazing to behold, from 4 flat barren wastelands has grown the 4 seasons with lovely walks and pathways to the huge stage structure in the center.

You walk through spring flowers and blossoms to the white snow covered trees of winter in a few short minutes. You can almost hear the crunch of leaves on the ground as you wander under the colourful canopies in Autumn and hear the birds singing as you wander through summers bright glory!

Shops line the avenues with each and every designer making the effort to blend their designs into the surroundings.

If you want to shop this week then this is the place to go.

4 sims dedicated to showing you the best SL has to offer and all in one place - why go anywhere else?

84 top designers coming together for one of the biggest charity events in the Metaverse.

Already within 4 hours of opening the grand total stood at 2.4 million Lindens

with the Relay Raiders totalling L$1,144,783

The support for this valiant effort is unbelievable and brings tears to the eyes of those who have worked so hard to make it happen, the 4 sims are almost constantly packed and yes there is LAG, yes you may lose your hair and not look great while you are there - but this isn't about how you look, its about showing your support for those that need it most. So take off those prims and SHOP til you drop. Each and every designer has come up with an outfit designed especially for the fair and 100% of the proceeds for these outfits go to Relay! SHOP SHOP SHOP!!!!!

Other clothing fairs come and go with their main goal to help themselves and promote themselves and their sponsors - Relay Raiders and RFL are all about the people and helping to Celebrate, remember and fight back! Can we honestly do any less?

Dana

P.s Don't forget to keep watching the RFL section I will be posting much more detail there

New work from SIgfred Rodenberger at Small World Art Gallery

Full details in M.A.C.E.

Baron and I, Part Deuce

When my fellow newsies and I had our scheduled meeting, one of the sticking points was Baron DeSantis being in the slammer in Ghul Prison. After IMing him through the cell phone he managed to find, we decided to try to teleport him over. It worked, and he was able to stick with us part of the time, including the group photo in which he sported a collar.

Read more in EXTRA EXTRA

Tonight Live Sim Search – Best Shopping District

Now there is a chance for you or one of your staff to be a guest on "Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe " while we shoot a episode live "on location" in your sim in front of our live audience.

Full details in the EXPLORE section

A P Designs- For Your Darker Side

by: Lucy Halberd
Do you ever feel the need to dress as a vampire, demon, or goth? Perhaps you need something to make you stand out at those club contests you’re always trying to win. Are you looking for a couple of neko items to set you apart from the crowd or just wanting to add some new pieces to your already huge dark clothing collection? Whatever the reason, rest assured… I’ve found just the place!

read more about A P Designs in the DESIGN section of the paper!

Who Can You Turn To?

Second Life brings with it some of the dilemmas faced in RL. But who can you turn to for support. Find out in PEOPLE

Second Life Shakespeare Company

To be or not to be in second life. Check out the new SLSC in our M.A.C.E. section.

Weekly Business Review - 16 March 08

Click BANNER to go to FINANCE

Loch Ness monster sighting

Hello JamesT,
here are the photos of my sighting, it was amazing to find Nessie alive in SL
best wishes
Kwant Capalini

Coronado Island's Grand Opening

March 8th was a roaring success for Coronado Island’s Grand Opening.

Read all about it in the EVENTS section

Blood-Soaked

Vibes, Visions and Veins....read our People section to see what trouble is brewing with Dashwood Dayafter now.

Reporter's Reputation in Shreds

Some days it just does not pay to be in the office alone. Or anywhere alone for that matter. Read our People section to see what has given Dashwood chills ...

Devils Moon Chinatown

Another great place featured in our Explore section. Read about Devils Moon, a futuristic Chinatown and a fantastic build, made by the Abranimations consortium.

Rumor control: prim savers not banned.

Yesterday, SL Newspaper picked up on a rumor that has been going around. The rumor said that rez-boxes, also called prim savers or temp rezzers, because of their function, would be banned from Second Life alltogether. The reason for this would be that they cause too much lag.

For those who don't know what it is: A prim saver (for example the famous Rezz-Box by Stukas Zephaniah) is an item that you can put your build in. Whether it's a tree, a building, home decoration, whatever. What it lt does, is rez it, but as temporary prims, over and over again. Those don't count against the prim limit of a parcel, but are still there. It's a way to be able to rez more than your prim limit.

Of course, if this rumor was true, half of SL would be jumping up and down out of frustration. Many people use these boxes, including builders, club owners, land owners, basically all kinds of people. It could also have great impact on land owners, because suddenly their parcel would not be big enough to hold everything they want to rez or create, and they would have to buy more land.

We went out to investigate and talked directly to one of our Linden Lab sources. Their response was something along the lines of: If this was true, we would post an announcement on the official LL blog. We don't plan anything like outlawing temp rezzers for now. But people should realize that they are pretty severe on server performance (causing much lag and sometimes even cause sim crashes).

Actually, this is what we already thought, but it was good to have it confirmed from LL side. So all we can say is: the rumor is not true. Even though the rumor tells that Lindens are going from sim to sim, deleting those items as undercover agents, there are many possible explanations for that. I only heard of one of those cases, but if it is really true, it could easily have been been because of a bad rez box causing trouble somewhere. It could have been reported by an angry neighbor and reported upon.

Either way, if you plan to use prim savers AKA rez-boxes AKA temp-rezzers, please use them wisely. There are some bad ones on the market, causing lots of lag, but there are also a few good ones. It is true that any temp-rezzer is lag causing, but usually only cause problems if there are many in one region.

For those who heard the rumor too: please ignore it and/or tell people that it's not true.

SL Burnout

SL Junkie? Do you need help? Check out our People section to see what I am talking about.

Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale Stepping Down

The Reuters news agency reports very big news today: Linden Lab's founder Philip Rosedale (Philip Linden) will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer to become chairman of the board.

The agency reports that LL is looking for a CEO with more management experience. The move will be completed when they found the right candidate.

By becoming chairman, Mr. Rosedale will take the seat of Mitch Kapor, who will remain a board director and investor.

In the business world, founders who move to the chairman post are generally the visionaries who keep looking after their creation, but who leave the day-to-day operations to someone else. LL is saying that this change was expected to happen at some point.

Such changes sometimes work but sometimes they don't. The biggest known companies that had their founders return to "fix it all" in the last years have been Apple, Dell and Starbucks.

On the other hand, it is very difficult to compare their situations with Linden Lab since CEOs often become chairmen when their business is thriving. Linden Lab's situation is different since Philip Rosedale will be stepping down exactly when Second Life growth is less stellar than it used to be.

TOURISM IRELAND HOSTS WORLD'S FIRST VIRTUAL ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

Tourism Ireland will host the world's first virtual St Patrick's Day parade on Sunday 16th March, in the internet-based, virtual world of Second Life. The virtual parade will include 20 Irish and Celtic themed floats and will be the highlight of a three-day Discover Ireland Festival in Second Life, sponsored by Tourism Ireland.

Full details are available in our EVENTS section

Something to do this weekend?

Click to teleport

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Huge Cyber Attack to Get your SL Account !

Cybercriminals have launched a huge worldwide attack on more then 10,000 websites yesterday. Goal was to infect those 10,000 websites with a codechange to redirect visitors to another website. This redirection would make it possible to gain entrance to the victims computers and so gain acces to their passwords.

Remarkable in this attack is that the main purpose was to get passwords for online games like secondlife , World of Warcraft etc...
After retrieving the login data money or valuable items can be transfered or stolen.

Threat Researcher "Toralv Dirro" (McAfee) says that this was one of the biggest attacks of this kind sofar.

SL Newspaper Crew Meet

A succesfull crewmeet on the Ian Bernard sim has resulted in some fresh idea's that will be worked out during the next three months. As ceo and owner of SL-Newspaper I want to really thank all the people in our crew-team for the wonderful work they do ! ( /me bows deep and thanks you all ! )

Sparks Ignite Reopens

Sparks Ignite was originally opened in the Star Bright sim by Sparklin Indigo in January 2008. Part of the inspiration for it's name came from the dance floor, dazzling stars and lightning arc effects. It did well, and hosted parties almost every night.

Find out what happened in the EXPLORE section

End of an Era, What really happened to the Dinos........

A few weeks ago The Relay Raiders SLRFL clothing fair was in serious trouble they needed sims to host this years fair.

Now as we all know Callie Cline introduced then to Rezzable what many don't know is the trouble Rezzable went to to enable them to give them the sims they needed:

Acid rain showered down on the dinosaur skeletons, meteor showers left brighly coloured trails in the sky as the rainbow coloured Mothership came crashing down on to the sim.

A huge blinding ball of light engulfed the sim as everyone watching gasped, then as the explosion subsided they could see the round colourful, almost translucent, ship stuck in the ground and all around was naught but a barren wasteland and a ship.

The Greenies had landed!

unfortunately destroying the beautiful Liberty sim with their landing.

RightasRain Rimbaud from Rezzable had this to say:

We try to support good causes when we can. We think SLRFL is a top one and has a great following, so we are pleased to be able to donate 4 sims and help with logistics. The Relay Raiders are doing a great job and their dedication is really impressive.

Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society's signature event started back in 1985 by a Colorectal Surgeon from Tacoma, WA; and has now become an international movement, with over 600 communities spanning 18 countries outside of the United States. Relay For Life is designed to "CELEBRATE" survivorship and raises money for life-saving research and programs, "REMEMBER" those who have lost their battle, and unite community members committed to "FIGHT BACK" against cancer.

The Relay Raiders Clothing Fair opens THIS Monday so get ready to SHOP for a great cause and have as much fun as Rezzable did while you are doing it!

Dana

Pictures kindly from VintFalken more pictures can be found here

Click here to watch a video of the motherships' landing

Breezes Thoughts

Oopps, fell over a man on the floor, nobody was even noticing me. I knelt down to see if I could help this poor guy 'praise be' he had a knife piercing his chest. well of course I must help, but wait a minute, no one spoke to me, people dancing merrily having a fine old time.
Bang a shot rang out whizzing not far from me, laughter arose and the music stopped.

What has Mommy been up to? Find out in PEOPLE

Zeusdinne Baroque, Gallery Zeusdinne

Today Isolde Flamand talks to Zeusdinne Baroque from Gallery Zeusdinne:

"The challenge of art galleries is just like being an artist—working through your curiosity."

Read the full interview in M.A.C.E.

Should First Meta be taken seriously?

In the scandal-ridden financial world of Second Life, there has been the rise of an interesting player since last summer. It is called First Meta. This newspaper published a few reports on the way they established themselves and their programs such as virtual credit cards called the MetaCards.

Can we take them seriously after everything we have seen, from fake banks to strangely managed financial markets? I believe there are two ways to evaluate this: the company's conduct and its business model.

The first important element is easy to take a look at, especially if you ever dealt with First Meta. Their approach to doing business has been one of the most serious I have seen in Second Life.

Before the banking ban, they paid smaller interest rates on savings than the ones they charged for balances on credit cards. This is light years away from the illogical rates that fake banks like Ginko used to pay. As soon as the Lindens banned interest payments, they quickly set up a legitimate rewards program called MetaPoints.

First Meta also does a lot to cover risks. It caps Gold card credit limits to L$10000 and requires security information to have a way to recuperate funds, should customers fail to pay their balances.

The company also put faces on its business with real people. This is another sound move since if you are going to ask thousands or millions of people to trust you with their money, you better tell them who you are! In addition, they have a superior customer service in comparison with many other players of SL's financial world.

All of this sounds good, but here's the rub: First Meta may not have great long-term perspectives with its current business model.

Their MetaCards come with shocking interest rates: 40% for the Gold card and 54,75% for the Basic card. Given that a RL card's rate can range from 10% to 30%, this is not competitive. Most adults with revenue and a Second Life should be able to get even the most basic RL credit card. If they are to pay for their SL purchases with credit, buying their Linden dollars with a RL card makes more sense. PayPal users who inject money from their bank account could care less about a MetaCard.

This leaves little room for virtual credit cards.

This makes me think that although First Meta is a serious entity, the potential looks limited. Their services are great for merchants like me. They have a good pay script that offers many functions and any purchase made with the MetaCard is one that might not have been made in cash. With good support from them. But even there, the number of SL's biggest shops that accept the MetaCard is rather limited.

Will First Meta see this and add other financial services to its offer? Or do more to recruit the merchants it needs to make it further? It will be interesting to see.

Prison Hostage Crisis

A report has arrived, leaked from Ghul Federal Prison, that an attempted peaceful ‘hostage role play’ scenario resulted in two inmates being shot, one of whom is still missing.

To read the full story click here.

THE TWO MOST UPSCALE GLBT SIMS JOIN FORCES

FIRE ISLAND GETS SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENT FROM TANGLEWOOD

Carter Giacobini (Owner of Fire Island and CEO of Rivercrest Properties, LTD) has welcomed a significant capital investment from Archangel Yesheyev (Owner of Tanglewood Private Equity) to develop the Fire Island Estate and allow the company to expand and continue to raise the bar as the most upscale GLBT Island in Second Life.

The substantial strategic cash investment in Fire Island's future will fund the expansion of the Estate and secure FIRE ISLAND'S program of special events over the coming year. Additional sims will appear at Fire Island over the coming weeks, dramatically increasing the land size of the Estate and providing unique accommodations, imaginative events and public spaces for all residents.

Welcoming the partnership, Carter Giacobini said, "Archangel understands and supports the REAL sense of community that we've been developing since I bought the island last April. It's such a joy to find someone that shares the same vision of that we all have and is willing to invest into that. This is going to be a real windfall for the GLBT community as we continue to expand and offer more services to the community!"

Originally, plans were made to launch a public offering and entice multiiple investors. However, negotiations opened between Giacobini and Yesheyev, and terms were very quickly agreed upon.

"There were no road blocks. There were no disagreements. I really feel this is a perfect match," Giacobini said of the talks that led up to the partnership.

Commenting on the investment Archangel Yesheyev said, "Carter's ambitions for building and nourishing a geniune sense of community around Fire Island was a tremendous incentive for us to invest in his unique vision in Second Life. I have complete confidence in his single-minded dedication to Fire Island and in his abilitiy to building the Estate into the leading glbt destination in SL. The investment we've provided through our venture capital fund will allow him to develop his vision in many new and, I hope, remarkable ways. This injection of capital marks the latest investment by TANGLEWOOD PRIVATE EQUITY in 2008 and we plan several more straegic interventions in the coming year in other enterprises that show the same degree of promise."

Fire Island, as it is today, arose from the ashes of the "old" Fire Island. The original island was founded by Vito Desoto and was a totally non-commercial or public residential island. In the latter part of April, 2007, Vito decided that it was time for him to close Fire Island. His decision to close the island was not easy for him and it was not a snap decision. However, he felt it was best for him and his life.

Carter Giacobini bought Fire Island from Vito and re-opened it on May 22nd 2007. Carter's desire to keep the island open and to make it self-sustaining led to the decision to make the island a mixed-zone island. The necessity to dedicate some of the island to income producing ventures was not out of shear monetary concerns. Additional activities and interest is a way of ensuring that the island stays vital and relevant.

After meeting with the folks that frequented the island the most; considering what he loved most about the old Fire Island; and considering his financial concerns - Carter made the decision to have the island flanked on two sides by shops or residential accommodations and keep more than one half of the island totally open and free to the public.

The stores allowed many of the regulars of the old Fire Island to open shops and the residential area allowed many of the regulars to realize their desire to live on Fire Island. And, the public areas include a dance floor, pool area, campfire and pond (as the old Fire Island had similarly created spaces).

All of this, combined with daily events, live peformances and dj'd events make this one of the hottest places to call home and to meet up with friends for a fun night out!

TANGLEWOOD ESTATE is another gay multi-sim estate in Second Life funded by TANGLEWOOD PRIVATE EQUITY. Tanglewood owns and operates five sims including exclusive and high-end rental properties; an imaginative programme of regular large scale events including Gay Rodeos, WinterWonderland Extravaganzas, Halloween Celebrations, Valentine Galas and numerous concerts throughout the year and benefits from a concert venue that it shared with its neighbours on Heron - the unique Heron Island Performance Space.

Calling all shoppers!

Are you tired of teleporting from sim to sim to find that perfect outfit? Ever been embarrassed landing only to find your hair attached to you tush? Can you picture a better way? Close your eyes and imagine… 4 sims packed with the finest designers SL has to offer, entertainment 24/7, treasure hunts, and more.

You're not dreaming. The Clothing Fair 2008 is here! We are just days away from SL's premiere shopping event of the season. Featuring 84 shining stars… ahem, designers all coming together to kick off the 2008 Relay For Life of Second Life's fundraising season for the Relay Raiders.

Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society's signature event started back in 1985 by a Colorectal Surgeon from Tacoma, WA; and has now become an international movement, with over 600 communities spanning 18 countries outside of the United States. Relay For Life is designed to "CELEBRATE" survivorship and raises money for life-saving research and programs, "REMEMBER" those who have lost their battle, and unite community members committed to "FIGHT BACK" against cancer.

It's hard to imagine that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. 1 in 8! We can make a difference!

Go Relay!!!

New Horizons

For more details see EXPLORE

A word on comments:

We have always believed that our comments should be open to all and not moderated in any way but this has led to some abuse and a lot of spam.

Because of the damage some of these spam comments can lead to we have now turned the word verification feature on our comments on - this doesn't mean that your comments are now moderated but that 'spam bots' should be stopped (hopefully).

The only times we will step in and delete comments are :

*Overly offensive language

*Off topic/spam

*Press Releases or other advertising

*Too many links (we don't mind linking to something relevant to the article but it has to be relevant)

Please feel free to continue to comment we love to get feedback and the comments are a great way to get your opinions across.

JamesT and Dana

Through the SL Looking Glass

Curious as to why other SL residents choose forms different from yours? Wanting to understand your own reasons for choosing your current SL identity? Take a peek at PEOPLE

Bellagio holds its first ever fashion event

5 Designers, a new venue, a new modelling agency how could I NOT be there?

Despite SL I made it .........

click DESIGN to find out more

gBay brings auctions to Second Life

More information can be found in the EXTRA EXTRA section

Searching for clues..."The Great Scavenger Hunt"

I Recently sat down with Logger Sewell and Melody Regent to get the inside scoop on the 35K Grid Wide "Great Scavenger Hunt" here is what they had to say....

Find out more with Delinda Dyrssen in the EXPLORE section

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Can't get inworld? you are not alone

This is the error message I get when I try to log in, although from what support has said there could be several different variations that people are getting - the advice I was given - 'please wait 30 minutes then come back to live help if you still cannot log in'
They are aware of the problem and I was told to check the blog - oopppsssyy nothing on the blog about it, which of course I had to point out, 'We are aware of the problem and are considering a blog post about the issue, sorry for the inconvenience'

some good news I did manage to log in after downloading the new windlight release candidate but still Very VERY laggy

Dana

Saying Goodbye and Why it Hurts

by Firehorse Rearwin
A sad goodbye to a place that was as much of friend as the people in it.
Rememberance of things past and happy times.
Click explore to continue reading

Vendor draw winner.......... Annette Wilder

Wilder Public Relations Inc. is managed and owned by Annette Wilder. We offer services in Public Relations, Promotions, and Publicity. Having an event? Let us know, we get the word out to the SL public and we help you get the media attention your business or event deserves.

Annette Wilder began her career in SL public relations with Avenue Models Inc. She has done public relations for some of the most well known highly influential fashion designers in SL. In RL Annette has a Bachelor's degree in Communications and she uses the skills acquired in her RL field to help her expand her PR business in SL.

December 17, 2007 she opened Wilder Public Relations Firm which has now grown to Wilder Public Relations Inc. All work was done without any staff other than Annette until she hired an associate, Bibe Mayo, who is now the Vice President. The two of them together are a force to be reckoned with.

The motto for Wilder Public Relations Inc. is "Empires were not built on word-of-mouth alone, strategy is everything."




Click the banner to find out how you can win 1 months advertising

Labgraal to open at RFL clothing fair

In just over a week the Relay For Life Clothing fair opens to the public and opening the concert will be LabGraal; The LabGraal is one of the Italian groups of Celtic music that has deservedly won itself a prominent position on the international musical scene. It is made up of a formation of five musicians, who often also dedicate their time to the defence of cultural minorities, to struggles to safeguard the environment and animal rights and to initiatives of solidarity and for Peace.

Read more about LabGraal in our MACE section.

Later this week I will be telling you how 'Rezzable' came to the rescue and not only supplied the Relay Raiders clothing fair with the sims they needed but actually destroyed some to be able to do it!

Introducing...............

' Mommy' has finally agreed to write some of her thoughts and unique perspective of her SL down and share it with us all, those that know Breezes love her and no-one can help but be attracted to her unique way at looking at our Secondlives.

I have known Breezes for over 5 years now (no not just in secondlife) and she just has a wonderful way of looking at the world, so I am happy she has decided to share this with us at sl-newspaper.

Click PEOPLE to read her first column;

'Wake up wake up you sleepyheads. There is much to explore in this Fantasy World of ours.'

Dana

A panthers prayer (part 4)

So here I was, a panther a vicious wild woman for oh about a day, already bound and being dragged mercilessly along the ground, a strange hatred started to form and grow within me as i felt my body being flung over the side of a boat, my captor tossed a silver tarn to the captain and called out "Valhalla Captain I'm taking my new slut home!"

The Journey was rough and long the water turbulent as the men rowed the boat I was left ignored for the journey thankfully as the men, who look suspiciously like pirates the pirates my Master had hated and loathed, drank tankard after tankard of paga and laughed and jeered as the Kajira danced for them. The girls were beautiful in their silks their body's swaying to the music as they tempted the males with their long tanned limbs, stripping off their silks and tossing them as the men clapped.

Then suddenly the full reality of my situation hit home hard, as I lay shivering and bound on the deck, I realised I was no longer one of those girls, my master wasn't going to come. I was no longer cared for and cherished or safe, slow tears dripped down my cheeks as I blinked angrily at myself not wanting my weakness to be seen or discovered.

After what seemed like an eternity the boat drew into the docks of Valhalla, my capture whom I had now heard being called Thorn marched over laughing and grabbed my body up off the deck and tossed me easily over his shoulder. He planted a sharp slap to my ass, the smell of his breath heavy with the paga filled my nostrils as he laughed " we are home mine"

He ran easily with me over his shoulder, my wriggling and kicking doing nothing to hamper him, I even sunk my teeth hard into his back and was merely rewarded with a further slap, and his voice ringing in my ears " I like the fire in you girl"

We arrived in the camp and he dropped me on the ground and pulled out a dagger chuckling he started to cut away what was left of my silks and tossed them aside.

My skin crawled as I felt his eyes running over my body almost appraising, and then to my surprise he spoke confidently to me

" I'll tell you what little panther girl, I'll make you a deal for your freedom."

"Yes yes anything" Ireplied a relief flooding over me to find out that there was a way out.

I then saw a smile and a hunger in his eyes as he chuckled out his words " So I let you go now you can run naked back to the boat, get yourself safe back to your sisters, but as payment, you will return here and come willingly to my furs"

I blinked slightly having no intention of ever giving my body to this..this....stinking pirate, I still remembered the way my Master cursed them branding them sick evil rapists, but I was quite an actress and for the cost of my freedom I would tell any lie

"Aye male you have a deal" my words came out easily I even managed a smile.

With this he seemed satisfied and using the dagger he had used only moments before, to cut my clothes from me, he sliced threw the binds and pulled me to my feet, my hands trying to cover my naked body and he merely laughed,

" Now run panther girl but i will see you soon"

So indeed I ran, I ran as fast as i could manage my limbs still stiff and numb from the ungiving binds, I reached the docks and managed to stow myself away on a passing ship and couldn't help but laugh to myself at how foolish he was if he ever believed I would go back there, as the boat sailed the waters calmer now I let the wind run threw my hair and drew in deep breaths, adrenalin running threw my blood from the experience, and knew from now I would be stronger, cleverer and I would keep myself safe.

Content creators bare their frustration

Yes I can fully understand the creators frustration and I generally support their efforts to stop content theft, but this campaign does raise a few questions:

*Are the creators just giving publicity to the problem, thereby encouraging others to find out how to copy?

As shown by 'The Herald' recently actually showing how copying is done!

*Will it raise awareness?

*How are buyers to know that the content they are buying is stolen, it doesn't come with names on and even if it did a company/group name can be different from a creators name?

I sympathize completely with the content creators in SL but without LL stepping in I don't see how it can be stopped and all that LL does in point you in the direction of the DMCA -

'Zara Linden: our developers are highly aware of them...there's nothing we can do to prevent them from being used'

Zara Linden: it falls under the DMCA law. if they are being used to copy another person's creations the violator should be reported using the DMCA process.

Zara Linden: we do take down objects that violate the terms pretty regularly

But as we do know they only remove the item from inworld not the inventory of the offender, that at least would be a step in the right direction.

Dana

Events this weekend

Well what an event filled weekend!

I guess spring must be here as there are far too many things going on for me to put in here make sure you check all our sections to find out what you can do!

MACE

EVENTS

DESIGN

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Blinker Hall reopens

Blinker Hall has been described by many as the best site for art andarchitecture. Architect DB Bailey (David Denton in RL)has totally remodeledhis studio and gallery and now opened it to the public with a spectacularexhibition of New Guinea photographs.

read more in M.A.C.E.

Coronado Island - GRAND OPENING

MARCH 8TH AT 3 PM SL
Coronado Island features:
LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES!!!
-Rezz-O-lutionz Night Club

-Daily Scheduled Events from 12 to 2 pm SL and 5pm to 7 pm SL
-Events throughout the day and night
-a friendly, easy-going environment
-Requests taken and music played by our hot DJs, live concerts on RezzRock-Stunning VIP area
-Private parties (Birthdays, Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties etc.)
-Store space for rent!
-Greedy Table
-SPLODER!!!
-Prizes-Exclusive Rental Homes
-Sweet Rezzin' - Romance in the Stone

Full details in our EVENTS section

Web Content on Parcel ! Finally !

With the 1.19.1 Release Candidate, available today, LindenLab has made some changes to the overall way that media is played inworld which results in a more general approach to playing media and, more importantly, allows you to display various types of Web content on your parcel! This is a great step toward further interoperability with the Web, which LindenLab has been discussing for some time.

The current parcel media player allows you to stream audio or video (or both!) to visitors on your parcel. The parcel owner controls what is played on the parcel and visitors to the parcel control whether or not they want to listen or see the media.

The new media on a parcel feature allows landowners to select and display a wide range of Web-based media content, including Web pages, movies, images, text documents and audio. This change replaces and expands the existing QuickTime parcel media feature, giving you more flexibility in your media presentations. Currently, the displayed media is entirely non-interactive, meaning you will only be able to view and not be able to click web links, use scroll bars, or press buttons on web pages displayed on parcels, although we hope to add this functionality in the future.

Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 3:26 PM PST by: Jeska Linden - source Linden Blog

LL moves to stop Island sale fraud:

Well it looks like Linden Labs are taking some action to stop fraud.

It has been known for disreputable island owners to sell their islands to more than one purchaser, this is possible because of the delay in transfer of ownership, the owner of the island after selling the same island several times over would then 'disappear' with enough to buy several more islands.

Now LL have decided :

For new transfer requests submitted on or after Monday 10th March we will be enabling the Buyer in an island transfer to pay the Seller through their Second Life account. This will be our default transfer process.

How does it work?

The buyer will now have to have payment info on file and then both will create a support ticket through the support portal and both parties would have to confirm the details before the sale is allowed to go through and of course LL will still continue to charge US$100 (L$28000) for the transfer.

This is not completely foolproof and ways to defraud the unsuspecting buyer are always possible but on the whole this is a step in the right direction.

[UPDATE 6:10AM SLT] Also read our article in the Finance section about how this can be used to dodge VAT charges when you buy a region.

source: secondlife blog

Exquisite Furnishings

He began by taking a chair, extending the back to be over 15 meters then he opened up his texture files and began sifting through them to decide which ones would be best for an Egyptian Pharaoh. After rejecting several ones that the interruption of the scene was questionable, Mr. Lungu found the Eye of Ra and a Blue Scarab which he chose for the Pharaoh and His Queen's Throne respectively.

Read on in DESIGN

Easter egg hunt anyone?

Great Gridwide Easter Egg Hunt 2008 Set to launch!

March 23rd to April 20th - Get ready for SLegghunt 2008! Four weeks of grid-wide easter egg hunt fun. If you missed last year's event, join the thousands of hunters and hundreds of sponsors by taking part this year!
Starting 12:01 March 23 2008 hundreds of easter eggs with cash and merchandise prizes will be hidden throughout second life! Hunt for eggs all around the grid to find new locations, meet new people, collect prizes and get entered into the daily jackpot! That's right, every day at 00:00 SLT we give away a daily jackpot of at least L$500 every day for all four weeks of the hunt. The more eggs in the game, the higher the jackpot will climb. Last year we gave away over L$200,000 in prizes!
Sponsors, contact Nite Zelmanov in world or through the site contact form for details about how to bring the hunt to your location!
click here for more info on how to join in

Relay For Life: One person can make a difference

Find out more in the RFL section

AVC Appoints Shareholder Committee

At a special meeting of shareholders of Atlas Virtual Capital (AVC) called by VSTEX officials to resolve matters related to AVC's de-listing by the exchange last week, shareholders voted to form a committee to review the complex set of transactions and charges that lead to the trading halt and to formulate recommendations for the disposition of the company. For the entire story, check SLN Finance.

The Red Lotus

by: Lucy Halberd
Lately I find when I go to clubs in Second Life they are always a bland, boring, carbon copy of the one I was at before. Why do I have to go to jazz clubs to find a little class? Well, I don’t have to worry about that anymore since I came across The Red Lotus last week!
visit our M.A.C.E. section to read more about The Red Lotus!

BNT To Launch Extropia Grid

In cooperation with Central Grid, BNT today inked a deal to open its own grid, named Extropia Grid, with its first 16 sim server. Extropia will be connected to Central Grid, share common presence and asset servers, as well as a common money system, as we work together to build a true grid of grids, the Intergrid.

"This has been the goal of BNT since over a year ago. We knew this was the direction BNT needed to evolve in the new era of virtual reality hosting," said BNT CEO IntLibber Brautigan.

Also as early adopters and minor partners in this new grid, OMG! Inc. and Bull Run are moving their Central Grid sims to Extropia and will also have an additional sim each for their development projects. BNT is actively courting major SL content creators to join its grid as their first foray out of SL, from skin and clothing makers to vehicle dealers and RP military groups.

"BNT's well known estate management experience is of key value to hosting content businesses in Extropia," Brautigan explained, "We know how to take care of our residents, protect their property rights, and make them feel like they are in a community, not just a random patchwork."

This expansion comes at a time when BNT subsidiary, Ancapistan Capital Exchange is opening branch stock exchanges in other virtual worlds as well as in Extropia. "We expect to be the leader in virtual finance and business hosting into the future, and our expansion connected to Central Grid will leverage that," Brautigan continued, "additionally, this signals to the SL financial community, that BNT is back on the growth path." With the recent addition of two SL sims as escrow assets for SLIB to the BNT estates, Extropia increases the BNT sim count to 56.

Travel article -- Syncretia

Did you ever wonder what happens to all those left-over dreams when they aren't put away?

Read more in the EXPLORE section about this wondrous place from ISOLDE FLAMAND

Politics in SL ...

When asked about the unofficial Second Life efforts, an Obama campaign spokeswoman said, “We are excited about the grassroots energy surrounding Obama’s candidacy online and in communities across the country.”

But the question lingers: Until people can vote in Second Life, can campaigns and activists be confident that their efforts in the virtual world will have real world results?


We from SL-Newspaper would love to here where to find more about RL or SL politics but WITHIN SL.

If you have an inworld location please drop it into the comments (SL-URL) or sent us an email so we can report about it.

Advertisement : Afantasy Emporium

AFANTASY EMPORIUM,

When you are looking for shoes and jewelry and anything that is special; Come shop AFANTASY EMPORIUM Where SexyEyes always brings us beautiful quality work for reasonable prices located inside the big wish isle pyramid!

Wish (171, 98, 31)

Advertisement : DragonLady Designs

DragonLady Designs

Featuring new Chinese Porcelain Carvings, and some new Dragon tattoos,We also have an animated artist easel that give out free paintbrushes,fully modifiable, so that you can change the picture if you want to ~

DragonLady's Store located on WISH ISLE; Wish (71, 168, 31)

HIT Stats Februari 2008

See the complete graph in our EXTRA section.

Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

For the PUNKI in Us All

by: Lucy Halberd
Do you ever find yourself in a bind when it comes to getting quality furniture at a fair price? Well, I’ve found just the place… PUNKI! Here you will find a wide selection of couches, chairs, rugs, and artwork!
to read more about PUNKI visit the DESIGN section!

NOAA Island - Virtual Weather

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the government agency researching the oceans and weather, has a sim in Second Life. The sim is called Meteroa, or NOAA Island. Unlike so many other uses of government money, you're unlikely to find this one boring.......

find out more with Bixyl in the EXPLORE section

Sidenote:

We at SLN have noticed some comments are worth repeating, to give more people the opportunity to read these, we will be putting them under the reader response banner above.
It is to be noted that we do not agree/disagree with these comments but feel they are of interest to our readers who may otherwise miss them.
JamesT Juno & Dana Vanmoer

2 such examples are in EXTRA and FINANCE

THE NEW ISLE OF LESBOS MALL - "Every Woman's Desire"

The ISLE OF LESBOS (IOL), the premier destination for lesbian and bisexual women, will be unveiling and opening the newly refurbished ISLE OF LESBOS Mall on Tuesday, 4 March 2008 to much bated anticipation. Both the isle and mall is owned and created by Janeforyou Barbara, the Empress of Lesbos, who is a well known respected figure and highly successful business woman in Second Life.

Reputed to be a haven for women where they can enjoy socialising, partying and relaxing in a safe and comfortable environment, the ISLE OF LESBOS enjoys a daily traffic of up to 50,000 women. With a proffering of romantic spots and dance area by luscious beaches, set amidst serene forests against a background of a castle and rolling hills with a variety of activities such as hang gliding, horse riding and quiet walks...it is no wonder that the ISLE OF LESBOS remains the top favourite haunt for women...................

Find more information in EVENTS

Where All the Good Men Have Gone...

A gay club may leave straight residents green with envy. Check out more in EXPLORE

Reader comment:

After reading this comment on Alesia's 'View from above' we think its worth repeating here, Mandy has given several very good suggestions to help to solve the content theft problem hopefully LL will also read it and think these ideas are worth looking into:

Click to EXTRA EXTRA

Rezz-O-lutionz opens 8th of March!

Several words come to mind when exploring one of SL's newest sims. Visually stunning is one of them when you stand on the live music venue in the mountain, mixing the feel of ancient rock with the modern aspects of a state of the art performance stage. Live concerts are to be a big part of Coronado Island, which kicks off it's operations March 8th with an eventful Grand Opening.

Read more about this fascinating sim in EVENTS

Dixie Barbosa comes of age

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

LOL so much fun and far to much to show here, due the surprise party we couldn't post a congratulations yesterday, I hope we made up for it today!

HAPPY REZ DAY DIXIE

CSL AVC Offer Withdrawal Linked to Tizzy Involvement

The recent withdrawal of an offer by Crystal Springs Land and Loan (VSTEX:CSL) to purchase Atlas Virtual Capital (AVC) has been attributed by AVC management to the scope and pace of a Virtual Stock Exchange (VSTEX) investigation into stock trades and asset sales by AVC CEO Monkey Canning. But Skip Oceanlane, CSL’s CEO, had a different explanation. Read the rest of the story in SLN Finance.

Opening a Can of Wyrms

When I had heard about Baron DeSantis getting arrested, I was as outraged as anyone else. I thought of giving him a visit, but not exactly looking human, thought those Ghul jokers would lay charges on me for being an illegal alien. But as they were willing to let him go if enough was donated to the American Cancer Society, I went ahead with a contribution. I guess it was enough, they let him go.
After finishing up some business in my office, I thought about IMing Baron to say hello, see how he was doing. But someone called me first, my friend Sparklin Indigo. She invited me over, so I agreed and was teleported over ...

continue reading with Bixyl Shuftan in the PEOPLE section

Dividend Payout For February 2008

2008-03-01 Crystal Springs Land and Loan Announces A .03 L Per Share Dividend Payout For February 2008!

CEO Skip Oceanlane says thank you to all investors, and says company is financially strong

Crystal Springs Land and Loan is proud to announce a .03 L dividend per share for the month of February. This L$300,000 dividend payout shows that Crystal Springs Land and Loan is financially strong, and buying into the IPO of stock was a smart investment.

While other stock exchanges and scamming companies use the banking ban and ad farm ban as an excuse to rip off depositors and investors, Crystal Springs Land and Loan proves that the economy in Second Life is just fine. Blaming Linden Lab to avoid paying out profits to investors is simply ridiculous.

Crystal Springs Land and Loan was a bank that paid back all their depositors at 100% IN LINDENS within 8 hours of Linden Lab's announcement. No stock was issued; no withdrawal limits; no scam of taking assets from an existing company and moving them to another to create an IPO to allegedly pay back depositors. We just paid back people what they were owed, and that is what ALL companies in Second Life should do immediately, if they haven't already.

So CSL stock investors, enjoy your L$300,000 dividend payout. Look to Crystal Springs Land and Loan and its sister companies to lead the way in secure, honest investment within Second Life for many years to come.

Skip Oceanlane, CEO
Crystal Springs Land and Loan
Safe and Secure with Service

Can we fight back against theft?

A bunch of well-known SL shop owners are trying to fight back with a public relations operation to educate Second Life users, as a way to fight back against content theft.

Given that copy bots and efficient hackers keep finding ways to rip off content creators and sell their products as their own, those who spend days working on creations rightfully feel that sales are stolen from them.

While I applaud at the effort to fight back, I wonder if it will produce tangible results for several reasons.

The first one is that awareness itself is very hard to raise in a fragmented world such as Second Life. There is no national media around here. There isn't one source of information or one place that everyone ends up visiting in a short time span. Should the campaign be short-lived for a quick splash, it will meet that obstacle. Should it be present for a long time, it will become part of the landscape and eventually draw less attention.

An additional roadblock could be found at Linden Lab. The people behind the campaign would like to have a dialogue with LL. But the Linden track record on prevention and regulation is poor at best. They either refuse to make a move or wait until it is too late to go ahead with a sweeping ban. Nothing in between.

The third issue is perhaps the most elusive, yet the worst of them all. This is a software world where a good chunk of the user base has feelings of entitlement.

In their minds:
- A L$500 outfit is too expensive even if it took days to create and its cost is barely around US$2.20;
- A L$300 piece of art made with much skill isn't worth its price although it is around US$1.45;
- A L$1000 photo shoot is pricey although it is two hours of professional photo work for US$4.08.

This entitlement and the edge that hackers hold against honest people in a software world makes theft very hard to fight against.

Can this battle be won? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.

Coming up this month at Caliber

For this months upcoming events at Caliber click here

First Meta™ CEO announces MetaPoints™

First Meta will continue to provide a full suite of financial services to the virtual world

First Meta™ will continue to offer both its MetaCard™ and MetaSavings™ products to customers in Second Life®. Effective today, we will make two changes to our MetaSavings™ accounts following our discussions with Linden Lab® regarding their new policy on in-world "banks".

see FINANCE for full details

Hospital of the Future

Virtual Palomar West: Hospital of the Future, a previsualization of Palomar West: Hospital of the Future. The virtual hospital – a simulation of a real world hospital campus due to open in 2011 in Southern California - gives visitors the opportunity to tour the facilities years before its doors actually open. Enjoy an immersive experience combining video, scripting, and architectural innovation.

JamesT and Dixie reporting from : http://slurl.com/secondlife/PalomarWest%20Hospital/79/142/47

LDPW Update

Jack Linden mentioned in the initial LDPW post that we’d be “… finally completing the missing coastline on the southern continent.” Well, the thirty new “Void” regions are now being terraformed, excavated, massaged, smoothed, named, and textured.

We’ll hide a few easter eggs here and there, but we’ll also include a small island which will be set in the gap between McManus and Pogon. We could just throw down some palm trees but that’s no fun so we need suggestions. What do you think? Tiki huts? Evil supervillain hideout? Man eating tigers playing bocce? The island is small (under 100 meters across, maybe 200-300 meters long north-south) and therefore it only has a few hundred prims. So whatever you suggest, consider that it probably shouldn’t be too complex or large as it’ll be a couple of hundred meters from the nearest Resident-owned land. (source : LindenBlog)