Developer Focus

Cybraries: More than Just an Online Library

Talis is a respected provider of library management systems for public and academic libraries in the UK and Ireland. Talis has long been known for meeting the changing needs of libraries. Now they've ventured into Second Life. "We're moving beyond the library sector while taking our heritage and capabilities with us," says Dr. Paul Miller, Senior Manager and Technology Evangelist at Talis, who is known in-world as TalisPaul Fossil.

The Teen Grid

Private Islands: Teen Grid Style!

Previously, we looked at several non-profit and educator-owned private islands and the first teen-owned private islands in Teen Second Life. Having seen that running a private island is potentially profitable, teens are catching on and the number of privately-owned teen islands has grown.

Tips and Tricks

This month, I wanted to explain a bit about our Knowledge Base. It's a central repository for Second Life support info. The Knowledge Base includes the usual documentation you'd expect, as well as an eclectic variety of tips & tricks.

SECOND LIFE GOES OPEN SOURCE!

Ok, so unless you've been living under a virtual rock, you've heard that Linden Lab has released an Open Source version of the Second Life client software. Now, you might be wondering, "What does this all mean to me, your typical avatar on the street?" Well, for starters, check out Resident Gwyneth Lewelyn's excellent summary, Fortune Magazine's Open Source coverage, and CNET.com for great overviews of the project and what it means for the future of Second Life.

Other Breaking News

Better World: Never Underestimate the Value of a Virtual Yak

For families in Tibet, Yaks provide nutritious milk, wool for knitting, and labor for ploughing fields. Yaks are an essential part of rural Tibetan life and people depend on these beasts of burden to survive. For many in Tibet, the cost of owning a Yak is prohibitive. That is where Save the Children Wish List comes in. Save The Children, in collaboration with Aimee Weber Studios has embarked on a unique fundraising experiment in Second Life. They've sponsored a Yak building contest where the winning Yak is available for sale for L$1000. All proceeds collected from virtual Yak sales are then donated to the real life Yak fund. You can help out by visiting the Yak Shack in Midnight City and purchasing your own!

Civic Center

The DMCA and YOU

While cruising around Second Life one day, you come across a perfect, absolutely spot-on "painting" by Gustav Klimt to hang in your house. You know it will look perfect between your first attempt at building a fireplace and the waterfall your neighbor made you. At only L$10 it's a steal, so what's the problem?

Barzny Soyer
w/ Frontier Linden

Name Dropping

Big thanks to Barnzy Soyer, a very helpful Mentor and Live Helper who's had tons of ideas for improving the volunteer program! Barnzy is often found hanging around the Help Islands helping as many new Residents as possible.

Median City

Much appreciation to Baal Zobel and Jade Steele for constructing a welcoming environment for new Residents on Midian City. This active role playing community combines creative storylines and socializing into an exciting experience for all Second Life Residents.

Know someone worth mentioning? Tell us!

As We See It

Linden Presence in Second Life

The world of Second Life is growing by leaps and bounds. As the number of Residents continues to increase, the number of Linden Lab employees is inevitably becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of the total population. This has prompted many Residents to ask "Where are all the Lindens these days?"

Agree? Disagree? Let us know - send us your Letter to the Editor - with your Second Life username - and we will publish a representative set in the next edition of The Second Opinion.

Your Letters

We received many thoughtful responses to our opinion piece: Diversity and an Open Community. Below is a sample of the replies. Thank you for your responses!

Richer Experience for All

I agree that the open access policy is great. Lots of people are joining who are renting land from people with private islands and are so contributing just as much to the economy as the so called payers. Plus lots of these people buy clothes, houses, and all sorts of stuff from existing members.

My experience is that they generally make it a richer place to be. Many also often go on to become premium members and without the free start up many would not have joined in he first place. I say keep the open membership going and also keep developing SL to cope with larger community.

- Absolute Balderdash

International Flavor

We (managers of the Latin community: Corazon's Inferno) are very grateful for the open registration. Many new players from Spanish speaking countries have arrived in the game and it brings us so much joy to help them learn and adapt to an English based game. Mostly from Venezuela and Spain they typically stay free accounts but still play, build, and have fun just like anyone else, and the many resident made personal translators help a ton. From my viewpoint, your idea worked and I've watched the results first hand. Thank you.

- Yumil Ogre

Basic Account Holder Speaks Up

I am a basic account user my name in SL is Anna Sparrow.

I have contributed thousands of Lindens to the economy. I my not have put them in my self using of the payment systems but I did work for them all. This is how an econamy functions. People work and then spend.

- Anna Sparrow

Building the Metaverse isn't Easy

I am a basic account user my name in SL is Anna Sparrow.

I am one of those "basic account holders [who] are finding their place within Second Life and settling in", and I encourage you to keep open registration in SL. I began exploring SL with a basic account and now have a premium account paid up for one year.

- Reuben Kraft