These are on my 'to do' list.
Or to be more specific: fountain sounds. The fountains themselves, I can make.
As mentioned in an earlier blog entry, I was rather proud of myself for searching through my owned items and finding a Looping script, and putting a Library water sound in it. It does work. but it's too loud, and the sound clip being looped is too short--resulting in a sound that's more machine-like than water-like.
I've looked all over the Internet for advice. If there's a "here's how to make and/or find a sound for a fountain," or "here's how to adjust the sounds you put in scripts" how to, I couldn't find it. As with my 'storage prims' problem, it seems to be a question of doing a lot of reading and putting together the widely-scattered clues.
And, again: a more tech-oriented person would probably laugh at these frustrations. But I believe that Second Life can profitably be marketed to people like me----people with no experience in virtual worlds and little tech savvy. But I think it would be a more effective type of marketing if there were more clearly-understandable information around.
((Further caveat---I do applaud SL for having those excellent short videos, as well as the Knowledge Base, available on their site. I'm just hoping they continue to add to them...because I can't be the only one not finding information that is fairly basic---as with the 'fountain sounds' problem.))
Okay.
So through the SL Wiki I found notice of Audacity, and did download it this morning before work. Now I'll try working with it. It may well be the answer to my questions---I just need to figure out how to export the Library water sound into Audacity and, maybe, stretch it out or repeat it, and lower the volume. Those ideas may be completely wrong-headed. But at least I'll learn something from trying.
In re the Italian (or Mediterranean) Cypress trees: I want to buy one (a copyable one). I need tall-ish trees other than palms for my kinda-Egyptian build, and those seem like the best bet to look 'authentic'.
So I tried Search---but for "Cypress trees". That took me to the very interesting DePaul University pair of sims, and to Geon. I got some nice free or dollar-bie items.....but only American cypress trees. None of the Italian/Mediterranean variety. So, tonight, I'll try both "Italian Cypress" and "Mediterranean Cypress", and see if I'm more successful.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Victoriana
Saturday, before logging out of SL, I'd made myself a sort of faux-19th century outfit, hoping to get to the next day's discussion of Moby Dick in Caledon.
I had heard about this monthly book-discussion---or rather, had 'seen' about it---when touring the Caledon installation/exhibit at SL5B. (I'd particularly enjoyed the MushroomRoom, but also had been intrigued by the idea that Second Life might contain people who, ya know, READ BOOKS.)
I had somehow never read Moby Dick. Though I'm no youngster, I did grow up well after that period in which schoolchildren were expected to read anything more demanding than "My Weekly Reader". (I remember my parents being apalled that we were reading Tom Sawyer in the 9th grade---and still hadn't progressed to Huckleberry Finn by the 12th.)
So I started in on my lovely "Library of America" copy, which I'd bought by mail order back when they were offered by mail order. (Yes, I AM that old.)
I like Melville. I'm sort of assuming, here, that the narrative voice of Ishmael in MD is the same narrative voice of all Melville's first-person narrators----that Godly gamesomeness of his shines through. I always did like the Cheerful, Positive characters. "Augustus" in I, Claudius; Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks; Ed Grimley. Melville has a very similar presence.
Anyway, though I've made it only about halfway through the book (just past the Town Ho chapter) (!), I still intended to go to the discussion. So I made myself an outfit with full skirt, a la 1850s Britain, and suitably upswept hair, and overall gray/black scheme, in line with Serious Womanhood of the era.
But, I ended up having a schedule conflict, and didn't make it.
(So I need to go into Caledon again and find out what the August book is.....)
I had heard about this monthly book-discussion---or rather, had 'seen' about it---when touring the Caledon installation/exhibit at SL5B. (I'd particularly enjoyed the MushroomRoom, but also had been intrigued by the idea that Second Life might contain people who, ya know, READ BOOKS.)
I had somehow never read Moby Dick. Though I'm no youngster, I did grow up well after that period in which schoolchildren were expected to read anything more demanding than "My Weekly Reader". (I remember my parents being apalled that we were reading Tom Sawyer in the 9th grade---and still hadn't progressed to Huckleberry Finn by the 12th.)
So I started in on my lovely "Library of America" copy, which I'd bought by mail order back when they were offered by mail order. (Yes, I AM that old.)
I like Melville. I'm sort of assuming, here, that the narrative voice of Ishmael in MD is the same narrative voice of all Melville's first-person narrators----that Godly gamesomeness of his shines through. I always did like the Cheerful, Positive characters. "Augustus" in I, Claudius; Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks; Ed Grimley. Melville has a very similar presence.
Anyway, though I've made it only about halfway through the book (just past the Town Ho chapter) (!), I still intended to go to the discussion. So I made myself an outfit with full skirt, a la 1850s Britain, and suitably upswept hair, and overall gray/black scheme, in line with Serious Womanhood of the era.
But, I ended up having a schedule conflict, and didn't make it.
(So I need to go into Caledon again and find out what the August book is.....)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Hard Times for Land Sellers
I've been watching the Second Life land auctions. There have been quite a few Linden Dollar-parcels that have received no bids. (So far, the US Dollar-parcels have all had at least one bid, which I assume means that they sold at the minimum bid.)
In my home sim, there has been a triple row of ~1024m's (some were a bit less) for right around L$10/m^2 each....for as long as I've been in the sim, which is over seven weeks.
Last night, I noticed that the owner had split them into 512s and spent quite an amount of time landscaping them with palm trees and privacy screens, and putting "free with purchase" houses on them. The price is the same per square meter as was the case with the 'unimproved' plots from which these 512s were made.
Which seems like a fair indicator that the owner is willing to put in a lot of time and effort to---it is hoped--earn the same price he-or-she thought was possible to get without the time and effort.
And if this pattern hold true throughout SL---not so good for those holding land for sale.
The news in the last couple of months has been "Premium Memberships Down"....fewer people willing to pay the $6 per month (assuming an annual payment---$10 per month for the month-to-month customer).
The often-quoted Silver Lining is that those who HAVE bought Premium Memberships have been spending longer periods of time inworld. But that lining is only so silver. It can easily be seen as mere pewter. Or tinfoil.
Surely, if SL is to remain a going concern, they're going to have to break down and pay out some cash for advertising.
In my home sim, there has been a triple row of ~1024m's (some were a bit less) for right around L$10/m^2 each....for as long as I've been in the sim, which is over seven weeks.
Last night, I noticed that the owner had split them into 512s and spent quite an amount of time landscaping them with palm trees and privacy screens, and putting "free with purchase" houses on them. The price is the same per square meter as was the case with the 'unimproved' plots from which these 512s were made.
Which seems like a fair indicator that the owner is willing to put in a lot of time and effort to---it is hoped--earn the same price he-or-she thought was possible to get without the time and effort.
And if this pattern hold true throughout SL---not so good for those holding land for sale.
The news in the last couple of months has been "Premium Memberships Down"....fewer people willing to pay the $6 per month (assuming an annual payment---$10 per month for the month-to-month customer).
The often-quoted Silver Lining is that those who HAVE bought Premium Memberships have been spending longer periods of time inworld. But that lining is only so silver. It can easily be seen as mere pewter. Or tinfoil.
Surely, if SL is to remain a going concern, they're going to have to break down and pay out some cash for advertising.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
"F" is No Longer for "Fly"....
...and that is annoying. I'd gotten used to just hitting the F key to lift off.
I suppose if I hunt around I can find that you can still fly by hitting some key plus the F key. But it was nice when it was just the F key.
(I wonder, when they [Second Life computer engineers or any other computer engineers] are 'improving' their software, do they say 'what can we do to aggravate people'? I mean, SURELY not. .....But it sure does seem that way, sometimes.)
((No doubt the removal of the 'touch F to Fly!' functionality was absolutely necessary in order to provide some other, much more wonderful functionality......))
........
Okay, on a less cynical note: night before last I decided to take advantage of the large number of spacious unsold parcels near me and try out some more of my freebie vehicles. When I'd tried some out on the Linden road, I'd lost them.
The thing is, I'm not a gamer. So the skills necessary to operate these various vehicles are NOT second nature to me. I need a lot of space to practice in.
I guess I drove around in three or so vehicles for about an hour....lots of fun, and my brain WAS trained, to some extent, on how to drive a virtual car.
I suppose if I hunt around I can find that you can still fly by hitting some key plus the F key. But it was nice when it was just the F key.
(I wonder, when they [Second Life computer engineers or any other computer engineers] are 'improving' their software, do they say 'what can we do to aggravate people'? I mean, SURELY not. .....But it sure does seem that way, sometimes.)
((No doubt the removal of the 'touch F to Fly!' functionality was absolutely necessary in order to provide some other, much more wonderful functionality......))
........
Okay, on a less cynical note: night before last I decided to take advantage of the large number of spacious unsold parcels near me and try out some more of my freebie vehicles. When I'd tried some out on the Linden road, I'd lost them.
The thing is, I'm not a gamer. So the skills necessary to operate these various vehicles are NOT second nature to me. I need a lot of space to practice in.
I guess I drove around in three or so vehicles for about an hour....lots of fun, and my brain WAS trained, to some extent, on how to drive a virtual car.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
maybe a land-purchase bot? and Fountain!
I'm still puzzling over the appearance of the Bot or Person.
Quite a few hours after seeing it (and unrelated to seeing it) I decided to reduce the price of one of the less-attractive parcels on the first US$ parcel I'd bought a few days ago. I figured it would be good to have one of the parcels appear earlier in the Search Land listings---that might bring people to look who would decide they might want to upgrade a bit to one of the parcels on the water.
Well, apparently I put it just a shade too low--someone did buy it, and turned it around. No improvements. The person will make about two bucks US more than he or she paid me, so it's not as if I'm seething or anything. Heck, if the person promotes the parcel, that will bring potential buyers to my parcels, too.
It will be a learning process to figure out if I can use the 'price one less-attractive parcel fairly far below the rest' technique in such a way that I don't trigger the bots, and/or the speculators. It's all interesting, so I'm happy to learn.
Anyway, before this occurred, I'd been thinking about what I could place on all my parcels to make them more attractive--something to throw in for free. I'd tried one of my 9-Prim Houses on one parcel, but frankly I'm still refining the House to make it more compelling to buyers. I wanted something that wouldn't take up a 10m x 10m chunk of a 512, too.
(Though I think one of the main potential virtues of the 9-Prim House is that it CAN be used on a 512m---it will save the owner so many prims that the 117-prim limit will be less of a burden--there's no doubt that it looks kinda big on such a small plot. And when selling a parcel [in Second Life or in real life!], you don't want to make it look small.)
So my idea was to make a nice low-prim fountain---with sound.
I respond to water features, and I feel safe in assuming I'm not unusual in that. I also love good sound in SL--it probably motivated me to buy my first piece of land. (And as it happens, the ambient sound in that part of that sim WAS part of a sales-come-on...from the big, expensive parcel next to mine. I just got to enjoy the benefit of it for all those weeks that the parcel remained unsold, and the nice waterfall and bird sounds were audible to all in the area.)
So I ended up making a 4-prim fountain that I think looks pretty good. But what I'm proudest of is that I figured out how to make a Looping script and put the Library water-flow sound into it....and it worked!
I stayed up way too late doing all this---the time just vanishes when engaged in building. It's a kind of fun I would never have predicted I'd find compelling.
Quite a few hours after seeing it (and unrelated to seeing it) I decided to reduce the price of one of the less-attractive parcels on the first US$ parcel I'd bought a few days ago. I figured it would be good to have one of the parcels appear earlier in the Search Land listings---that might bring people to look who would decide they might want to upgrade a bit to one of the parcels on the water.
Well, apparently I put it just a shade too low--someone did buy it, and turned it around. No improvements. The person will make about two bucks US more than he or she paid me, so it's not as if I'm seething or anything. Heck, if the person promotes the parcel, that will bring potential buyers to my parcels, too.
It will be a learning process to figure out if I can use the 'price one less-attractive parcel fairly far below the rest' technique in such a way that I don't trigger the bots, and/or the speculators. It's all interesting, so I'm happy to learn.
Anyway, before this occurred, I'd been thinking about what I could place on all my parcels to make them more attractive--something to throw in for free. I'd tried one of my 9-Prim Houses on one parcel, but frankly I'm still refining the House to make it more compelling to buyers. I wanted something that wouldn't take up a 10m x 10m chunk of a 512, too.
(Though I think one of the main potential virtues of the 9-Prim House is that it CAN be used on a 512m---it will save the owner so many prims that the 117-prim limit will be less of a burden--there's no doubt that it looks kinda big on such a small plot. And when selling a parcel [in Second Life or in real life!], you don't want to make it look small.)
So my idea was to make a nice low-prim fountain---with sound.
I respond to water features, and I feel safe in assuming I'm not unusual in that. I also love good sound in SL--it probably motivated me to buy my first piece of land. (And as it happens, the ambient sound in that part of that sim WAS part of a sales-come-on...from the big, expensive parcel next to mine. I just got to enjoy the benefit of it for all those weeks that the parcel remained unsold, and the nice waterfall and bird sounds were audible to all in the area.)
So I ended up making a 4-prim fountain that I think looks pretty good. But what I'm proudest of is that I figured out how to make a Looping script and put the Library water-flow sound into it....and it worked!
I stayed up way too late doing all this---the time just vanishes when engaged in building. It's a kind of fun I would never have predicted I'd find compelling.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
bots
I was working on one of the parcels I have up for sale, night before last, when something that disconcerted me happened: a little robot-looking collection of spheres came into my range of vision, about 3 or 4 meters away (I'd guess). And when I looked right at it, it vanished. Then as I continued to work, it kept appearing and disappearing when I'd stop and look at it.
I nearly always have the Mini-map up, and saw that this phenonenon did show up as a green dot, same as any avatar.
One of its names ended in "bot". Now, what I can't remember is, was it the first name (in which case it could have been a person who named their avatar 'bot' and chooses to appear as a robot)? Or was it the last name? That could still have meant 'person', because I know there are (or were) circumstances in which people chose both their first and last names. (I should research that.)
But, conversely, if someone creates a bot, does a name with 'bot' at the end of it get assigned automatically?
When this happened, I wasn't even aware that a true bot (non-human directed, but rather just running according to a program) COULD appear as green dots on the Map. I assumed that since there was a green dot and an Avatar name-tag over the robot-looking thing, that that meant that a person was running it.
(A shy person, obviously, what with the instant teleporting away the moment my avatar stopped and looked at it.)
But having done some reading the past two days, I now know that it might NOT have been a person---that it IS possible to log in a program-in-the-guise-of an avatar. (And many, or even most, such creations aren't as clearly "robotlike" as this was---they look just like the humanoid avatars that most SL residents use.)
So.....I dunno. If it WAS a bot, what about my activities attracted it? What information was it seeking or gathering?
If it was a person.....WTF?
(No, I take that back...if it was a person, he or she doesn't need to be sweared at. I'm sure there is some unusual story there, if it was a person. Though I'm now leaning to the theory that it wasn't. A person.)
I nearly always have the Mini-map up, and saw that this phenonenon did show up as a green dot, same as any avatar.
One of its names ended in "bot". Now, what I can't remember is, was it the first name (in which case it could have been a person who named their avatar 'bot' and chooses to appear as a robot)? Or was it the last name? That could still have meant 'person', because I know there are (or were) circumstances in which people chose both their first and last names. (I should research that.)
But, conversely, if someone creates a bot, does a name with 'bot' at the end of it get assigned automatically?
When this happened, I wasn't even aware that a true bot (non-human directed, but rather just running according to a program) COULD appear as green dots on the Map. I assumed that since there was a green dot and an Avatar name-tag over the robot-looking thing, that that meant that a person was running it.
(A shy person, obviously, what with the instant teleporting away the moment my avatar stopped and looked at it.)
But having done some reading the past two days, I now know that it might NOT have been a person---that it IS possible to log in a program-in-the-guise-of an avatar. (And many, or even most, such creations aren't as clearly "robotlike" as this was---they look just like the humanoid avatars that most SL residents use.)
So.....I dunno. If it WAS a bot, what about my activities attracted it? What information was it seeking or gathering?
If it was a person.....WTF?
(No, I take that back...if it was a person, he or she doesn't need to be sweared at. I'm sure there is some unusual story there, if it was a person. Though I'm now leaning to the theory that it wasn't. A person.)
Monday, July 21, 2008
The 'spending more'
So, yeah. I went up one bump in tier. My rationalization was this (and I totally offer this as potentially useful information about the Average Second Life user, for the purposes of the Linden Lab marketing department):
I like building things in SL. I also have liked those instances in which I've logged in to see my L$ balance has jumped up, by the price of a parcel I've sold.
Those instances, so far, were about closing out of the first sim I'd bought into (two 512m parcels) and selling a parcel in my New Home Sim that I'd bought at auction. The first of the three represented a loss, as I deliberately sold below the L$/m I'd bought at, to avoid a tier bump up. The second and third represented modest profits on what I'd paid---if one does not figure in the tier or the monthly membership.
Now, to repeat the fun of seeing the L$ increase when I log on, and NOT be at a net loss each month due to tier and membership fees, I would have to buy extremely cheap. And, presumably, sell for a bit more per square meter. Even a couple of Linden dollars extra per square meter could result in a month in the black, if I'm dealing in a large enough number of square meters.
Thus, the move from a quarter sim to a half-sim of holdings. (Because the cheapest land to be had is in the 8000m range.)
So I have almost exactly a month to see how this experiment works out. I bought one of the two ~8000m parcels two days before my tier fee is due---a large chunk of money to pay for just two days, but I had felt that the parcel was worth it, in potential to return enough more than I paid for it.
If things don't move at the relatively modest prices I've set---and all pieces are as attractive as I can make them, in terms of parcel division, terraforming, and a bit of landscaping---then I can get out. Probably not at a loss, IF my time is considered to have no value. And since this is my chosen recreation--since I genuinely enjoy the terraforming etc.--then, yes, it's reasonable to consider my time as having no value.
......................................Thus ran my rationalizations and various and sundry calculations.
..............................................................(((a potential goldmine for smart marketers.......)))
I like building things in SL. I also have liked those instances in which I've logged in to see my L$ balance has jumped up, by the price of a parcel I've sold.
Those instances, so far, were about closing out of the first sim I'd bought into (two 512m parcels) and selling a parcel in my New Home Sim that I'd bought at auction. The first of the three represented a loss, as I deliberately sold below the L$/m I'd bought at, to avoid a tier bump up. The second and third represented modest profits on what I'd paid---if one does not figure in the tier or the monthly membership.
Now, to repeat the fun of seeing the L$ increase when I log on, and NOT be at a net loss each month due to tier and membership fees, I would have to buy extremely cheap. And, presumably, sell for a bit more per square meter. Even a couple of Linden dollars extra per square meter could result in a month in the black, if I'm dealing in a large enough number of square meters.
Thus, the move from a quarter sim to a half-sim of holdings. (Because the cheapest land to be had is in the 8000m range.)
So I have almost exactly a month to see how this experiment works out. I bought one of the two ~8000m parcels two days before my tier fee is due---a large chunk of money to pay for just two days, but I had felt that the parcel was worth it, in potential to return enough more than I paid for it.
If things don't move at the relatively modest prices I've set---and all pieces are as attractive as I can make them, in terms of parcel division, terraforming, and a bit of landscaping---then I can get out. Probably not at a loss, IF my time is considered to have no value. And since this is my chosen recreation--since I genuinely enjoy the terraforming etc.--then, yes, it's reasonable to consider my time as having no value.
......................................Thus ran my rationalizations and various and sundry calculations.
..............................................................(((a potential goldmine for smart marketers.......)))
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Landing Spots
Going around to all these Auction sites, I notice that though the place you Teleport to when you enter the name of a sim into the World Map is usually the center of the sim, it isn't always. About a quarter of the time, I land off-center----in a shop.
And when that happens, I look at the area where the center of the sim is, to see if there are (say) Ban Lines that would prevent people from landing there. So far, I haven't seen any.
So...................................................do the people with these shops that Search (through the World Map) sends you directly to, PAY Linden Labs some fee for this service??
....This may be one of those things known, without needing to be mentioned, by long-timers in Second Life. But to me, it still seems rather mysterious.
(I might mention that one of the sims I Teleported to today, due to an Auction to be held there tomorrow, sent me into a dug-out area under a 'physical' floor---------so that I was trapped. I've been around long enough [less than 3 months, but long enough] to know I could pull up the World Map and click on another place in the same sim and Teleport there.
(But a newbie wouldn't know that. You have to wonder how many people have encountered such things and left Second Life in disgust....)
And when that happens, I look at the area where the center of the sim is, to see if there are (say) Ban Lines that would prevent people from landing there. So far, I haven't seen any.
So...................................................do the people with these shops that Search (through the World Map) sends you directly to, PAY Linden Labs some fee for this service??
....This may be one of those things known, without needing to be mentioned, by long-timers in Second Life. But to me, it still seems rather mysterious.
(I might mention that one of the sims I Teleported to today, due to an Auction to be held there tomorrow, sent me into a dug-out area under a 'physical' floor---------so that I was trapped. I've been around long enough [less than 3 months, but long enough] to know I could pull up the World Map and click on another place in the same sim and Teleport there.
(But a newbie wouldn't know that. You have to wonder how many people have encountered such things and left Second Life in disgust....)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Spent More!
..and yes, I rationalized it, with PAGES of calculations...
(I love that sort of thing.....)
(I love that sort of thing.....)
Friday, July 18, 2008
Vanishing posts
Wow, that's not good.
My post (the empty one below) vanished when I back-clicked to add "Labels for this post"---something I've never done.
Guess I won't try that again!
The confusing thing is, I've back-clicked before, to edit, and haven't ever lost a post.
So it must be some glitch connected with filling in "labels for this post". No labels in the future!
The post itself was a medium-length one to do with observations about todays LL auctions, the prices parcels sold at, and the seredipity involved in trying various textures that don't look promising initially. I had made some pillars and used a texture related to a TV show (that had nothing to do with Ancient Egypt), but had, happily, ended up with pillars that had a definite Ancient Egypt look to them.
Well, I guess I need to go to the extra effort to save everything I write here into Word before clicking on that Publish Post button. Annoying!!
My post (the empty one below) vanished when I back-clicked to add "Labels for this post"---something I've never done.
Guess I won't try that again!
The confusing thing is, I've back-clicked before, to edit, and haven't ever lost a post.
So it must be some glitch connected with filling in "labels for this post". No labels in the future!
The post itself was a medium-length one to do with observations about todays LL auctions, the prices parcels sold at, and the seredipity involved in trying various textures that don't look promising initially. I had made some pillars and used a texture related to a TV show (that had nothing to do with Ancient Egypt), but had, happily, ended up with pillars that had a definite Ancient Egypt look to them.
Well, I guess I need to go to the extra effort to save everything I write here into Word before clicking on that Publish Post button. Annoying!!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Nice to be of help...
I got an IM from someone who'd seen the two ~20 meter-across "cylinders" I'd placed across the pond I'm working on. (I ended up replacing them with box prims, because I wanted the scripted water movement to mirror the movement of the 'real' water in the bottom of the little canyon I'm making into a pond---and the ~20m 'cylinders' can only be scripted to have circular water movement [I'm pretty sure.])
So anyway, I was happy to be able to send along the fairly-simple instructions, which I'd gotten from Aimee Weber (et al)'s excellent book "Creating Your World". (Published in 2008 by Wiley, as part of the Official Second Life book series.)
As I said to the person:
The way to do it is to rez a Tube and make it 10m on all sides. Then set Y-Hole Size to 0.05. Then make Begin Twist (B) 90, and End Twist (E) 90. Your result should be almost 20m in diameter...kind of cheating, but it's a good way to save on prims. Hope this helps! Ponsonby
I liked that. Part of my newly-discovered (and surprising, considering my background) passion for Making Stuff, is that I enjoy the idea (and actuality!) of making stuff that others might find useful. Of course this wasn't something I'd discovered on my own. And I do hope, through experimentation, to find things that might be new enough to be helpful to a lot of people.
But, just passing along knowledge that others have discovered is also fun and good and something I want to continue doing. Not because I'm all that altruistic a person...it's self-interest, really, in the sense that it makes me feel happy. And that is a very, very selfish motivation.
(which seems, in general, to work for us humans pretty well.....)
So anyway, I was happy to be able to send along the fairly-simple instructions, which I'd gotten from Aimee Weber (et al)'s excellent book "Creating Your World". (Published in 2008 by Wiley, as part of the Official Second Life book series.)
As I said to the person:
The way to do it is to rez a Tube and make it 10m on all sides. Then set Y-Hole Size to 0.05. Then make Begin Twist (B) 90, and End Twist (E) 90. Your result should be almost 20m in diameter...kind of cheating, but it's a good way to save on prims. Hope this helps! Ponsonby
I liked that. Part of my newly-discovered (and surprising, considering my background) passion for Making Stuff, is that I enjoy the idea (and actuality!) of making stuff that others might find useful. Of course this wasn't something I'd discovered on my own. And I do hope, through experimentation, to find things that might be new enough to be helpful to a lot of people.
But, just passing along knowledge that others have discovered is also fun and good and something I want to continue doing. Not because I'm all that altruistic a person...it's self-interest, really, in the sense that it makes me feel happy. And that is a very, very selfish motivation.
(which seems, in general, to work for us humans pretty well.....)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
More Thoughts on Risk, and on Extortion
I don't see how buying a full Mainland sim, and hoping to make money from carving up parcels and selling them, can be anything but risky. I've seen enough parcels sitting there in all their Yellow glory for 6 weeks at a time---and I 'm sure that many of them have been there for longer than that.
(I've been in Second Life...what, 80 days or so, now? I didn't start being aware of particular unsold parcels until I first started seriously thinking of buying land, which was a week or two after I registered.)
So people with money to burn buy the land and just hold it....through inattention, one would assume. After all, though prices do rise and fall, SL land isn't like REAL land. With real land, the old saying is true: they're not making any more of it.
Clearly that is the opposite of the case for SL land. If the Linden Lab people decide that it's best for business if more people buy land (and therefore pay both Premium membership and monthly tier fees), then they will make enough land so that the price of a 512m parcel is, say, US$0.50.
I mean, they could do that.
They'd have to do it very gradually, because the move would enrage all those speculators who invested thousands (and tens of thousands!) of US dollars, or the equivalent, in buying SL land. I'm sure that if this is the LL chosen course, they will try to balance the potential income from new landowners with the potential mischief to be wrought by angry land barons. Not a fun equation to work out, certainly.
But, since any movement toward fifty-cent 512's will likely be very slow, my decision making has to be based on the here-and-now. In the here and now, there is a HUGE range of prices out there.
I'm thinking of my neighbor to the east, who got ~L$22/m^2 out of me for a seafront piece (32m of coast) because the parcel was smallish (~2000m), and because it adjoined my land, and because I decided that spending about US$190 made sense in terms of the fun I want to have in the immediate future. I could rationalize that expenditure.
I'm thinking, too, of my neighbor to the west, who has also put up his seafront land for about L$22/m^2. (About a dollar higher per square meter than the East piece.) In the case of that parcel, I'm not even remotely tempted, even though his land, too, adjoins mine, and the addition would give me even more lovely beach. But I would have to come up with nearly US$700 to buy the parcel that's around 8000m. And so my sales resistance kicks in. (The sales resistance is stronger because the vast majority of the parcel is far back in the sim---not along the coast.) I could not rationalize that particular expenditure.
Of course, different people will rationalize in different ways....but in general, I think I am starting to learn something about what will tempt people, and at what price. I'd generalize that if you have a parcel that's over 8000m, and most up it is inland, people won't want to pay nearly L$23/m for it.)
Of course I could log in tonight and find it has sold.....egg on my face and whatnot. That would be okay. But I'd bet that if that DOES occur, the buyer would be either someone who is quite new to SL, or possibly the person (or group) who owns the coast just to the west of the parcel (in a different sim, but it would make for a lot of nice beachfront).
We shall see.
The 'extortion' part of my title has to do with my discovery that there are still quite a few 16m^2 parcels selling for more than L$50/m, at the top of the Land Search. I wonder how many people have taken the time to page through far enough to see that this is the case...it does take a LOT of time. (Search, for me anyway, doesn't let you search for prices above a certain level. It just doesn't work. So you have to patiently let each page load---if you go too fast, it crashes---and go through dozens of pages to get to the highest per-meter parcels.)
I thought that the recent (February?) ruling by LL that they wouldn't permit ad-farm extortion to continue, would have gotten rid of L$50/m parcels.....but, I guess not. By the time I got to those last pages, I didn't have time to also teleport to those locations. But I would be amazed if those parcels did NOT have large revolving neon signs on them......
(sorry to be cynical!)
(I've been in Second Life...what, 80 days or so, now? I didn't start being aware of particular unsold parcels until I first started seriously thinking of buying land, which was a week or two after I registered.)
So people with money to burn buy the land and just hold it....through inattention, one would assume. After all, though prices do rise and fall, SL land isn't like REAL land. With real land, the old saying is true: they're not making any more of it.
Clearly that is the opposite of the case for SL land. If the Linden Lab people decide that it's best for business if more people buy land (and therefore pay both Premium membership and monthly tier fees), then they will make enough land so that the price of a 512m parcel is, say, US$0.50.
I mean, they could do that.
They'd have to do it very gradually, because the move would enrage all those speculators who invested thousands (and tens of thousands!) of US dollars, or the equivalent, in buying SL land. I'm sure that if this is the LL chosen course, they will try to balance the potential income from new landowners with the potential mischief to be wrought by angry land barons. Not a fun equation to work out, certainly.
But, since any movement toward fifty-cent 512's will likely be very slow, my decision making has to be based on the here-and-now. In the here and now, there is a HUGE range of prices out there.
I'm thinking of my neighbor to the east, who got ~L$22/m^2 out of me for a seafront piece (32m of coast) because the parcel was smallish (~2000m), and because it adjoined my land, and because I decided that spending about US$190 made sense in terms of the fun I want to have in the immediate future. I could rationalize that expenditure.
I'm thinking, too, of my neighbor to the west, who has also put up his seafront land for about L$22/m^2. (About a dollar higher per square meter than the East piece.) In the case of that parcel, I'm not even remotely tempted, even though his land, too, adjoins mine, and the addition would give me even more lovely beach. But I would have to come up with nearly US$700 to buy the parcel that's around 8000m. And so my sales resistance kicks in. (The sales resistance is stronger because the vast majority of the parcel is far back in the sim---not along the coast.) I could not rationalize that particular expenditure.
Of course, different people will rationalize in different ways....but in general, I think I am starting to learn something about what will tempt people, and at what price. I'd generalize that if you have a parcel that's over 8000m, and most up it is inland, people won't want to pay nearly L$23/m for it.)
Of course I could log in tonight and find it has sold.....egg on my face and whatnot. That would be okay. But I'd bet that if that DOES occur, the buyer would be either someone who is quite new to SL, or possibly the person (or group) who owns the coast just to the west of the parcel (in a different sim, but it would make for a lot of nice beachfront).
We shall see.
The 'extortion' part of my title has to do with my discovery that there are still quite a few 16m^2 parcels selling for more than L$50/m, at the top of the Land Search. I wonder how many people have taken the time to page through far enough to see that this is the case...it does take a LOT of time. (Search, for me anyway, doesn't let you search for prices above a certain level. It just doesn't work. So you have to patiently let each page load---if you go too fast, it crashes---and go through dozens of pages to get to the highest per-meter parcels.)
I thought that the recent (February?) ruling by LL that they wouldn't permit ad-farm extortion to continue, would have gotten rid of L$50/m parcels.....but, I guess not. By the time I got to those last pages, I didn't have time to also teleport to those locations. But I would be amazed if those parcels did NOT have large revolving neon signs on them......
(sorry to be cynical!)
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Seductions of Selling Land
For various reasons, I've sold three parcels of land in Second Life.
The first time, I priced the parcel somewhat below what I judged to be the market rate--and below what I'd paid. This was because I had a time constraint, and could have been bumped up to the next higher tier (a jump that, in US dollar terms, was more than I'd paid for the land). So the price was right, and (from what I can see) someone new to the sim bought it.
The second and third times, the price was at least at market, and (just) slightly above what I'd paid. In both cases, I had at least a fair idea that someone in the sim would want the land and wouldn't require a below-market price (as I'd employed in that first sale) to buy.
In retrospect, all three pieces sold so quickly, that I probably should have asked a bit more for each.
But even so: in each case, logging in and seeing that my Lindens balance had jumped up was TOO much fun.
I see that this is one way that people get sucked into to the Land Speculator biz. Or more properly, the Land Speculator hobby. Because there are fewer guarantees than even in RL, that you will come out on the positive side of the balance sheet.
But entering into this, er, hobby, is particularly seductive for me, because I enjoy terraforming so much....I could improve the HECK out of whatever I bought, and make it so attractive, that people couldn't RESIST buying it, and so I'd be able to completely cover the ruinously-high tier I'd incur if I bought entire sims, and....
NO. STOP. This way lies......madness......
(the kind of madness to gladden a Linden's heart.......^_^)
The first time, I priced the parcel somewhat below what I judged to be the market rate--and below what I'd paid. This was because I had a time constraint, and could have been bumped up to the next higher tier (a jump that, in US dollar terms, was more than I'd paid for the land). So the price was right, and (from what I can see) someone new to the sim bought it.
The second and third times, the price was at least at market, and (just) slightly above what I'd paid. In both cases, I had at least a fair idea that someone in the sim would want the land and wouldn't require a below-market price (as I'd employed in that first sale) to buy.
In retrospect, all three pieces sold so quickly, that I probably should have asked a bit more for each.
But even so: in each case, logging in and seeing that my Lindens balance had jumped up was TOO much fun.
I see that this is one way that people get sucked into to the Land Speculator biz. Or more properly, the Land Speculator hobby. Because there are fewer guarantees than even in RL, that you will come out on the positive side of the balance sheet.
But entering into this, er, hobby, is particularly seductive for me, because I enjoy terraforming so much....I could improve the HECK out of whatever I bought, and make it so attractive, that people couldn't RESIST buying it, and so I'd be able to completely cover the ruinously-high tier I'd incur if I bought entire sims, and....
NO. STOP. This way lies......madness......
(the kind of madness to gladden a Linden's heart.......^_^)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Auction
The auction for the parcel in 'my' sim, yesterday, was more exciting than I intended it to be.
While debating whether or not to buy the expensive ~2000m next door (the L$22/m^2 waterfront one), I decided that if I was able to win the auction for the inland parcel for a good price---since that parcel, alone, would bump me up to the next tier level---I'd go ahead with the more land/more tier.
It took me quite a while to think through all the numbers and to decide; I watched a lot of earlier auctions, spent time with the inworld Search land-sales list, and drew up some alternate plans.
By the time I came back to the computer, having decided to make a bid, it was twenty minutes before the auction was to take place. And.....I couldn't re-establish Internet access. AAIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!!
I tried a bunch of things; finally getting access back after shutting down the computer entirely, then powering up again.
By this time, it was FIVE minutes before the auction---and I still had to log in twice. (Maybe there's some way around this that's known to the auction-experienced. But I had to log into my Account, then log in a second time to make a bid.)
What with some loads that seemed glacial (but probably weren't, really) and some fumbling from nervousness, I finally registered my bid ONE minute before the auction was to close.
There had been two bids---one, at least, made a couple of days earlier. The second had been there a few hours, I think.
So this VERY last minute bid must have looked like a Tactic to those people. It wasn't really....it was just an Internet access problem.
Anyway, I did win the auction. I doubt that of the....what, always 38?.....properties up for bid, this one would have been of much interest to people not already in the sim. It's one parcel away from a Linden Road, true---but who knows how meaningful that will ever be? (As far as I can see, now, the main advantage is that the Road is handy for trying out the free vehicles I seem to keep acquiring.....)
So that is the saga. I hope I didn't seriously inconvenience the other bidders, but I guess if the parcel had been vitally important to them, they would have been certain to have a high bid on record. One would think.
(Back to terraforming!)
While debating whether or not to buy the expensive ~2000m next door (the L$22/m^2 waterfront one), I decided that if I was able to win the auction for the inland parcel for a good price---since that parcel, alone, would bump me up to the next tier level---I'd go ahead with the more land/more tier.
It took me quite a while to think through all the numbers and to decide; I watched a lot of earlier auctions, spent time with the inworld Search land-sales list, and drew up some alternate plans.
By the time I came back to the computer, having decided to make a bid, it was twenty minutes before the auction was to take place. And.....I couldn't re-establish Internet access. AAIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!!
I tried a bunch of things; finally getting access back after shutting down the computer entirely, then powering up again.
By this time, it was FIVE minutes before the auction---and I still had to log in twice. (Maybe there's some way around this that's known to the auction-experienced. But I had to log into my Account, then log in a second time to make a bid.)
What with some loads that seemed glacial (but probably weren't, really) and some fumbling from nervousness, I finally registered my bid ONE minute before the auction was to close.
There had been two bids---one, at least, made a couple of days earlier. The second had been there a few hours, I think.
So this VERY last minute bid must have looked like a Tactic to those people. It wasn't really....it was just an Internet access problem.
Anyway, I did win the auction. I doubt that of the....what, always 38?.....properties up for bid, this one would have been of much interest to people not already in the sim. It's one parcel away from a Linden Road, true---but who knows how meaningful that will ever be? (As far as I can see, now, the main advantage is that the Road is handy for trying out the free vehicles I seem to keep acquiring.....)
So that is the saga. I hope I didn't seriously inconvenience the other bidders, but I guess if the parcel had been vitally important to them, they would have been certain to have a high bid on record. One would think.
(Back to terraforming!)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
More for Lindens!
Here I've missed my Midnight deadline for blogging--so even though I'm blogging once each period-between-sleeps (otherwise known as a 'day'), it looks like I missed one. A cardinal sin in Blogging!
Anyway.......I ended up giving the Lindens more money.
On coming back to my home sim after the end of SL5B, I'd noticed that a 1024 in my sim was up for auction. More earth-shatteringly, the neighbor to the east (with a Road-reduced parcel around 2000 square meters) had put his/her property up for sale.
Now, all the finagling with the owner of that split-1616 (presumably a 2048 with the Road taking up the missing square meters) was in aid of staying at the $40 tier. Heck, even moving up from $25 to $40 had taken a lot of soul-searching.
But here was this nice parcel---a bit overpriced, at around L$22/m^2, even if it does have 32m of waterfront.
And if someone ELSE wanting to start a Club took it, my peaceful life would be even less possible....(there are already two Impressario-Hopefuls onthe sim).
Of course the only way to ensure against that is to buy a full sim. But since being on at least some water---real water, not plywood---is clearly important enough to me that I'll give up many Real World expenditures to get it----and furthermore, since paying out US$2000+ would NOT be smart at this time----then, spending another US$250 to get to beach parcel, plus some other cheaper ones to make the tier sensible, was something I could talk myself into.
I get the "US$2000" figure from that fact that in several full-sim auctions I watched last month the waterfront sims were going for US$1800 or more---and of course you are hit with the additional $195 tier fee, no matter how quickly you carve up and sell bits of the sim. I suppose if the Lindens bring so many new sims online that waterfront ones end up selling for US$200, I'll feel I've been foolish. But on the other hand, even if that does happen, I'll have had all the enjoyment of my little 14,000m, NOW.
(If you're going to pay a certain level of tier, it makes more sense to have property just shy of the point at which you'd jump to the next tier. This is assuming a long-term tenure in Second Life, of course, so that the cost of buying the land is amortized over that period. Might as well get that prim-capacity, since that's essentially what we're paying for when we pay tier.)
Anyway....lots of rationalizing, here. But I WILL enjoy the new land--I do love the terraforming!
Anyway.......I ended up giving the Lindens more money.
On coming back to my home sim after the end of SL5B, I'd noticed that a 1024 in my sim was up for auction. More earth-shatteringly, the neighbor to the east (with a Road-reduced parcel around 2000 square meters) had put his/her property up for sale.
Now, all the finagling with the owner of that split-1616 (presumably a 2048 with the Road taking up the missing square meters) was in aid of staying at the $40 tier. Heck, even moving up from $25 to $40 had taken a lot of soul-searching.
But here was this nice parcel---a bit overpriced, at around L$22/m^2, even if it does have 32m of waterfront.
And if someone ELSE wanting to start a Club took it, my peaceful life would be even less possible....(there are already two Impressario-Hopefuls onthe sim).
Of course the only way to ensure against that is to buy a full sim. But since being on at least some water---real water, not plywood---is clearly important enough to me that I'll give up many Real World expenditures to get it----and furthermore, since paying out US$2000+ would NOT be smart at this time----then, spending another US$250 to get to beach parcel, plus some other cheaper ones to make the tier sensible, was something I could talk myself into.
I get the "US$2000" figure from that fact that in several full-sim auctions I watched last month the waterfront sims were going for US$1800 or more---and of course you are hit with the additional $195 tier fee, no matter how quickly you carve up and sell bits of the sim. I suppose if the Lindens bring so many new sims online that waterfront ones end up selling for US$200, I'll feel I've been foolish. But on the other hand, even if that does happen, I'll have had all the enjoyment of my little 14,000m, NOW.
(If you're going to pay a certain level of tier, it makes more sense to have property just shy of the point at which you'd jump to the next tier. This is assuming a long-term tenure in Second Life, of course, so that the cost of buying the land is amortized over that period. Might as well get that prim-capacity, since that's essentially what we're paying for when we pay tier.)
Anyway....lots of rationalizing, here. But I WILL enjoy the new land--I do love the terraforming!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Fun With Freebies
I've been enjoying unpacking stuff I acquired at SL5B....talking donuts and 'books' and interestingly-scripted stuff, as well as the predictable T-shirts and such.
I got some vehicles I'm anxious to try out, even though my previous attempts to drive vehicles have run afoul of the Red Ban-Lined properties in the sim.....when I inadvertently touch on these parcels, I lose the vehicle, freeze, etc. Generally the vehicle appears in my Lost folder (of my Inventory) eventually. Kind of a bore, really.
A piece of land adjoining mine came up for sale---at a price about 5.5 times the current rate for Mainland (prices about L$4 per square meter). Pretty high. I may not go for it, though I'm thinking about it. It would keep Red Ban Lines from appearing..... (!)
I got some vehicles I'm anxious to try out, even though my previous attempts to drive vehicles have run afoul of the Red Ban-Lined properties in the sim.....when I inadvertently touch on these parcels, I lose the vehicle, freeze, etc. Generally the vehicle appears in my Lost folder (of my Inventory) eventually. Kind of a bore, really.
A piece of land adjoining mine came up for sale---at a price about 5.5 times the current rate for Mainland (prices about L$4 per square meter). Pretty high. I may not go for it, though I'm thinking about it. It would keep Red Ban Lines from appearing..... (!)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
eight hundred seventy
...That's how much stuff I picked up in SL5B. About.
When I logged in last night, I had 6,867 items; I'm not sure of the exact number I had when I stepped on SL5B sims for the first time, but "870" seems about right.
I made 10 nice storage prims for the stuff, last night--the "Egyption pillar", with a texture from a Snapshot I took of my favorite place of all I saw in SL5B: the Grafix Writer 'building'.
I discovered this place only the day before the end of the exhibit. I felt genuine grief over this, as, if I'd known about it earlier, I'd certainly have visited every day. Many of the 30+ Snapshots that I paid L$10 apiece to download, were taken there.
On my list of tasks: to find out if there's a more permanent installation by that artist (or group of artists?) inworld. Interestingly, this installation was one of the very few in SL5B for which there was no Notecard Dispensor, or any information, really.
Not that I'm faulting people for wanting to generate business for themselves, or (if one wanted to be generous) for wanting to inform visitors of their main Second Life places of business.
But I'd say the lack of commercial pressure fits amazingly well with the degree of artistry in that installation.
Anyway..........all I accomplished in my 90 minutes last night, other than making 10 varied pillars based on the texture (and of course I can't sell them, or use the texture in any commercial way---and if the artist(s) wanted the pillars destroyed, of course I would comply....but for now, I'm enjoying the reminder they represent)...where was I? Oh yes: all I accomplished other than to make the pillars and offload 95 of the new items into them, was to make three 'canvases' for three of my SL5B Snapshots. Then something weird happened to either my Internet connection, or Second Life, and my blank canvases turned "You cannot Modify this", and I had trouble even moving them. The Lag Meter had red dots, so I logged off.
I do hope that the sailing will be smooth when I return tonight; I have a lot to get done!
When I logged in last night, I had 6,867 items; I'm not sure of the exact number I had when I stepped on SL5B sims for the first time, but "870" seems about right.
I made 10 nice storage prims for the stuff, last night--the "Egyption pillar", with a texture from a Snapshot I took of my favorite place of all I saw in SL5B: the Grafix Writer 'building'.
I discovered this place only the day before the end of the exhibit. I felt genuine grief over this, as, if I'd known about it earlier, I'd certainly have visited every day. Many of the 30+ Snapshots that I paid L$10 apiece to download, were taken there.
On my list of tasks: to find out if there's a more permanent installation by that artist (or group of artists?) inworld. Interestingly, this installation was one of the very few in SL5B for which there was no Notecard Dispensor, or any information, really.
Not that I'm faulting people for wanting to generate business for themselves, or (if one wanted to be generous) for wanting to inform visitors of their main Second Life places of business.
But I'd say the lack of commercial pressure fits amazingly well with the degree of artistry in that installation.
Anyway..........all I accomplished in my 90 minutes last night, other than making 10 varied pillars based on the texture (and of course I can't sell them, or use the texture in any commercial way---and if the artist(s) wanted the pillars destroyed, of course I would comply....but for now, I'm enjoying the reminder they represent)...where was I? Oh yes: all I accomplished other than to make the pillars and offload 95 of the new items into them, was to make three 'canvases' for three of my SL5B Snapshots. Then something weird happened to either my Internet connection, or Second Life, and my blank canvases turned "You cannot Modify this", and I had trouble even moving them. The Lag Meter had red dots, so I logged off.
I do hope that the sailing will be smooth when I return tonight; I have a lot to get done!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Back Again, with Heavy Inventory
Actually, I don't know how heavy it is. I haven't looked at it in days.
I'd made sure to get it below 6,000 items (barely) before first going into the SL5B sims. In my first days in them, I thought I'd offload stuff each night. But it soon became clear that I was going to want a lot more time in the sims than I could get, what with my 60-to-90 minutes per day limitation. And taking a solid 15 to 20 out of that, each night, to offload stuff didn't make sense to me.
(Similarly, I chose not to blog the last few nights. I wanted the time inworld.)
So I'm wondering what I'll find in that Inventory, when I log on in a few minutes.
My guess: at least 7,000 (we'll see!)
Most of it is notecards---I wanted information, but didn't want to stop to read it. I figured as I read over the cards, later, I'd remember the places I'd gotten them. If I don't, that would be a sign that the installations weren't that memorable!
I'll be aided by the 30 or so snapshots I took (again, a rough estimate). I plan to make a little photo gallery on my land.
I had been 'sleeping' on the SL5B sims, for the past 8 days or so...Quitting while there. I kind of wondered what would happen if I remained there right up until midnight, Linden time.....but I was nervous of creating glitches for myself, so I teleported Home before that point (and went to bed, as that's 3am, my time). I will read around to see if anyone talks about that....
One thing that interested me was being able to see the Orientation and Help Islands from the SL5B easternmost sims, on the World Map. It wasn't possible to look at them closely (I guess, roughly 1-inch-square overviews of each sim-sized one was as close as a person could get). It was fascinating, though, to see how the programs shunt people to one until it's considered full.
(As I may have mentioned, I never did get to a "real" Help Island---just to the Public Help Island, later. If I do end up paying the ten bucks to make an alt account, I will enjoy the Orientation and Help all the more, for having seen the aerial view of the sims.)
Well, I could blather on longer, but I'm anxious to get Home and start unpacking all my free stuff! I'll just say: the experience was wonderful for me. I would imagine the experience was different for people who get to spend longer in Second Life each session---maybe they tired of the SL5B sims and spelled themselves by going home. I admit to missing Building stuff TERRIBLY (something I'm looking forward to, tonight, at least as much as the unpacking of the free stuff.) But overall, the 10-days (for me) experience was mind-expanding. And that's never bad.
I'd made sure to get it below 6,000 items (barely) before first going into the SL5B sims. In my first days in them, I thought I'd offload stuff each night. But it soon became clear that I was going to want a lot more time in the sims than I could get, what with my 60-to-90 minutes per day limitation. And taking a solid 15 to 20 out of that, each night, to offload stuff didn't make sense to me.
(Similarly, I chose not to blog the last few nights. I wanted the time inworld.)
So I'm wondering what I'll find in that Inventory, when I log on in a few minutes.
My guess: at least 7,000 (we'll see!)
Most of it is notecards---I wanted information, but didn't want to stop to read it. I figured as I read over the cards, later, I'd remember the places I'd gotten them. If I don't, that would be a sign that the installations weren't that memorable!
I'll be aided by the 30 or so snapshots I took (again, a rough estimate). I plan to make a little photo gallery on my land.
I had been 'sleeping' on the SL5B sims, for the past 8 days or so...Quitting while there. I kind of wondered what would happen if I remained there right up until midnight, Linden time.....but I was nervous of creating glitches for myself, so I teleported Home before that point (and went to bed, as that's 3am, my time). I will read around to see if anyone talks about that....
One thing that interested me was being able to see the Orientation and Help Islands from the SL5B easternmost sims, on the World Map. It wasn't possible to look at them closely (I guess, roughly 1-inch-square overviews of each sim-sized one was as close as a person could get). It was fascinating, though, to see how the programs shunt people to one until it's considered full.
(As I may have mentioned, I never did get to a "real" Help Island---just to the Public Help Island, later. If I do end up paying the ten bucks to make an alt account, I will enjoy the Orientation and Help all the more, for having seen the aerial view of the sims.)
Well, I could blather on longer, but I'm anxious to get Home and start unpacking all my free stuff! I'll just say: the experience was wonderful for me. I would imagine the experience was different for people who get to spend longer in Second Life each session---maybe they tired of the SL5B sims and spelled themselves by going home. I admit to missing Building stuff TERRIBLY (something I'm looking forward to, tonight, at least as much as the unpacking of the free stuff.) But overall, the 10-days (for me) experience was mind-expanding. And that's never bad.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
I Haven't Been Home in Three Days!
Home in Second Life, that is.
I feel a certain urgency to see as much as I can in the SL5B sims. And since, most days of the week, I have only an hour, or an hour and a half, in which I can enjoy SL----I've been Quitting while on one of the sims. (I usually try to find what looks like it might be a quiet corner...and not right in the middle of what might be a venue for Events.)
So this will probably be true tonight, as well. Though I'm curious to see what might have changed at 'home' during my absence. When you buy in a newer sim, you never know what the heck might show up!
One thing that I'm not at peace about: the question of ignoring people. I would never ignore someone who spoke to me. (Or more properly: who Local Chatted to me. I still haven't taken the time to activate the Voice modality; I figure I probably have to buy and install a microphone in order to take advantage of that, and I haven't gotten around to it. Though, from some of my reading on the SL site, it's recommended to activate Voice even if you don't have a mic, because then you can listen to speeches and such.)
Anyway, I wouldn't ignore someone who contacted me. BUT......and many will have had this experience on the 20 SL5B sims.....at some hours (when I tend to be on, for instance), they are pretty sparsely populated. So when someone's avatar is within a few meters, you sort of feel that they should be acknowledged in some way.
But here's my deal: I'm not really the Go Up To Strangers And Start Conversations type of person at any time. I HAVE done it, I CAN do it, but it's not my natural bent.
And on these SL5B sims.....I'm very conscious that the whole thing will cease to exist in a few days. (4, at this point, I think.)
So I'm more oriented toward seeing as much as I can than toward getting to know people.
So I don't approach these avatars.
I'm probably fairly safe in assuming that they've reasoned things out in a similar fashion, and and so are NOT offended that I don't speak to them.
Or so I've decided to believe.
Still, it can feel as though I'm being kind of rude, and I regret that.
Oh, well!
I feel a certain urgency to see as much as I can in the SL5B sims. And since, most days of the week, I have only an hour, or an hour and a half, in which I can enjoy SL----I've been Quitting while on one of the sims. (I usually try to find what looks like it might be a quiet corner...and not right in the middle of what might be a venue for Events.)
So this will probably be true tonight, as well. Though I'm curious to see what might have changed at 'home' during my absence. When you buy in a newer sim, you never know what the heck might show up!
One thing that I'm not at peace about: the question of ignoring people. I would never ignore someone who spoke to me. (Or more properly: who Local Chatted to me. I still haven't taken the time to activate the Voice modality; I figure I probably have to buy and install a microphone in order to take advantage of that, and I haven't gotten around to it. Though, from some of my reading on the SL site, it's recommended to activate Voice even if you don't have a mic, because then you can listen to speeches and such.)
Anyway, I wouldn't ignore someone who contacted me. BUT......and many will have had this experience on the 20 SL5B sims.....at some hours (when I tend to be on, for instance), they are pretty sparsely populated. So when someone's avatar is within a few meters, you sort of feel that they should be acknowledged in some way.
But here's my deal: I'm not really the Go Up To Strangers And Start Conversations type of person at any time. I HAVE done it, I CAN do it, but it's not my natural bent.
And on these SL5B sims.....I'm very conscious that the whole thing will cease to exist in a few days. (4, at this point, I think.)
So I'm more oriented toward seeing as much as I can than toward getting to know people.
So I don't approach these avatars.
I'm probably fairly safe in assuming that they've reasoned things out in a similar fashion, and and so are NOT offended that I don't speak to them.
Or so I've decided to believe.
Still, it can feel as though I'm being kind of rude, and I regret that.
Oh, well!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Rush, Rush, Rush....
I now regret those days in which I used up my 60-90 minutes per day in trying to get my Inventory down below 6K---they lessened my chances for seeing more of the SL5B.
It's clear now that there is a lot of fairly routine stuff. People selling their somewhat routine goods. (Not that they don't have every right.) But there's also stuff I'd be glad to see and know about....I just may not get to it.
Oh well. I'll enjoy what I get to. And not worry that my Inventory is creeping above 6K a little more each night, as I collect notecards and landmarks and Free Gifts.....
It's clear now that there is a lot of fairly routine stuff. People selling their somewhat routine goods. (Not that they don't have every right.) But there's also stuff I'd be glad to see and know about....I just may not get to it.
Oh well. I'll enjoy what I get to. And not worry that my Inventory is creeping above 6K a little more each night, as I collect notecards and landmarks and Free Gifts.....
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