Mm20051011

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

A Second Life Publication

Use of First Land by alts clarified by Linden Lab

Inside

By KATT KONGO Staff writer

FASHION SHOW - PAGE 9

Sports

SL RESIDENT JAVIER PUFF and his team won Linden Lab’s movie trailer contest with their entry, which was untitled. Puff says LL provided the inspriration for the movie. - Photo by KATIER REITVELD.

HORSESHOES - PAGE 6

FYI

Puff team wins movie contest

By KATIER REITVELD Staff writer

The new island sim of Pixel Dreams, in cooperation with Schmooze Entertainment, is seeking contestants for its new show "The SL Dating Game."

If you are interested in being a contestant on the show, contact ReallyRick Metropolitan.

Index Perspectives . . . . . Page 2 Comics .. . . . . . . . . Page 5 Sports . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Classifieds . . .. . . .. Page 6 Entertainment. . . . . Page 9

Web Poll Go to our website at

A contest to find a new trailer for Second Life was announced in July by Lauren Linden. Linden said that the aim of this contest was for residents to "create a short video trailer which shows Second Life in all its glory."

She added that the "Trailer body should emphasize user creativity and socializing of the Second Life experience" and to "Use the concept "only in Second Life" as a starting point.

On Aug. 4, Catherine Linden closed the entry list and gave the nine entrants till Sept. 5th to finish off their movies. All of the final movies were put to public voting starting Sept. 15, and the results where announced on Oct. 9th by Jeska Linden.

The winners are "Diversity" from SecondTake Productions, second runner-up; "Second Life: The Trailer" by Elle Pollack and Wlle Pollack, first runner-up; and Untitled Trailer by the team of Javier Puff, Nyteshade Vesperia, Cara Dmytryk, Malakye Dmytryk and Maximillion Grant, winner.

Following the announcement, team member Vesparia said, "It's wonderful Linden Labs seeks to stay involved with their customers by hosting competitions like this one. Sets them apart in a huge way from other online [environments]."

Puff said, "The inspiration (for the winning trailer) originated with Linden Lab, I guess. In their announcement about the contest, they provided some details about the overall theme they wanted to see."

He added, "From there, it was a matter of decid-

ing how best to bring that vision to life, while dealing with the constraints I had.".

When it came to the actual storyline Puff said that "(he) was trying to deliver a simple message in a way that also generated excitement. That message was "You REALLY want to be in Second Life; you can do things here you can't do anywhere else."

Music proved to be the biggest problem for the entrants though. Linden Labs made it clear that the music had to be non-copy written, and because of that, songs that might have been chosen where disallowed.

In Puff's case, song composer Grant came on the scene at just the right moment, and in company with Puff's sister who played the guitar heard through most of the trailer, provided the musical score for it.

Puff said that perhaps his biggest enjoyment though was seeing the work of others. "By the time I wrap a film, I'm pretty much sick of it, I've seen it a thousand times.

So watching what everyone else came up with was a singular joy, that was perhaps my favorite part of the contest, the day when they all got put up for viewing," he said.

"Since the contest ended up being a popular vote, winning meant that a lot of people enjoyed the result of my efforts. I enjoy that, knowing that I manage to entertain people is the whole point of the exercise.

I'm just glad nobody expected any kind of acceptance speech," Puff said as he grinned.

The winning movie trailer can be viewed at www.secondlife.com, or at the site http://secondlife .com/movies/JavierPuff.mov.

www.metaversemessenger.com

to participate in our online poll.

This week’s question: What foreign language version of the Messenger would you like to see first?

Look for the results from last week’s poll on Page 2.

About Us Volume 1, No. 9 Second Life The Metaverse Messenger Sido (169, 195) Rose from Ash Publishing

Free

A recent post on the Second Life forums spawned furious debate when a resident confessed that she had purchased First Land on an account she described as being her "alt."

In a Sept. 28 forum post, Strawbearry Shortbread said she created this alternative character so that she could test buying things that her primary avatar had made and packaged for sale.

She went on to say that on Sept.

27 she noticed that the land next to hers, First Land, was available for purchase. She brought her alt inworld and bought that land.

She said that several residents told her that she was unethical, that she was gaming the system, that it was against the rules and against the spirit of First Land.

However, Shortbread felt that if she purchased a second account, which she intends to keep, and bought First Land with it that she intended the second account to stay on, that she had done nothing wrong and nothing against the rules.

"With a basic account, you get only $50 a week and no land. With a premium account, you get $500, plus 512 without having to pay tier, plus the opportunity to buy First Land," she said.

She added, "Since I am paying for both accounts every month, I saw nothing wrong with getting First Land with my second account. My alt account bought it with her own money."

Shortbread said that those who create a multitude of alts with the sheer purpose of buying up all of the First Land and selling it at a profit to a land dealer, then deleting the alts, are wrong.

However, Robin Linden of Linden Lab, said, "Technically only someone who hasn't owned first land

See LAND, Page 11

Second Life residents invade New York City

By PHOENIX PSALTERY Staff Writer The first ever Second Life Community Convention (SLCC) took place Oct. 8-9 in New York City as well as within Second Life itself.

Some 120 SL residents were in attendance for the First Life portion of the convention, which was held at the New York Law School in Manhattan, termed by Hamlet Linden "the first Resident-sponsored gathering on a massive level."

Several attendees stated that they felt as though they were attending a family reunion, and that meeting people whom they had previously been acquainted with only in a virtual world quickly felt like a meeting with an old friend.

In keeping with the Metaverse

concept, there were also in-world events to complement those that took place in First Life, including a kickoff street party, a Come As You Were Party where avatars were asked to come dressed in their first newbie outfits, a masquerade ball, and more.

The in-world location of the SLCC was set up at the juncture of the sims of Bethel, Fortuna, Georgean and Brillant. A reproduction of the actual NYC Law School building where the RL portion of the convention was held was constructed there by Valadeza Anubis.

While many attendees expressed that they consider this convention to be a seminal moment in the development of the Metaverse, the limita-

See SLCC, Page 6

STROKER SERPENTINE AND January Bauhaus dance to the sounds of jazz and swing at the Second Life Community Convention Masquerade Ball. The event was held Saturday night as part of the in-world festivities of the SLCC. - Photo by PHOENIX PSALTERY.

Perspectives Page 2

The Metaverse Messenger Sido (169, 195)

October 11, 2005

A Bird’s Eye View Observations on Second Life and its denizens

By Phoenix Psaltery

History In the Making Tuxes and zoot suits… ball gowns and little strapless numbers… elegant masks and “all that jazz.” Last Saturday night, a crowd of SL’s finest gathered to celebrate the conclusion of the first Second Life Community Convention.

Freshly scrubbed and showered, I donned my tuxedo and waited patiently for my lovely date to emerge from her room, where she was getting dressed in her finery.

Finally, Katt Kongo emerged, looking like a dream in black and white satin, at that moment without a doubt the equal in beauty to any woman in all of Second Life. She literally took my breath away.

After a quick teleport to the Bethel sim, we made our way up to the roof of the virtual NYC Law School building, ingeniously built at the juncture of four adjacent sims. In the words of Mark Knopfler, “coming in out of the rain, you hear the jazz pour down.”

While the lag was admittedly pretty extreme at times, the company was outstanding. The guest list was impressive as well. As Katt and I salsaed, swung, and shimmied, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet a number of people who we knew by name, by reputation, or from the Second Life forums, but had never had the chance to meet “in the flesh,”

so to speak.

The music was wonderful, even to an old rock and roller like me. It covered about 50 years of musical history, encompassing everything from Sinatra and Satchmo to Michael Bublé, smooth jazz melodies blending with the rhythm of swing. We danced like tomorrow would never come.

Dinner was available, and drink, but it seemed that what most everyone was hungry and thirsty for was the opportunity to simply become closer as friends and colleagues in Second Life.

So, let me pose a question to you.

Do you realize the ramifications of what we are experiencing? It’s happening before our very eyes, on a daily basis, but most of us are either too blind or too jaded to see it. But on Saturday night it came a little closer to full fruition, as we partied at the SLCC ball, in the virtual and the physical worlds simultaneously.

You see, what we are experiencing is a thing of historic proportions — nothing less than the birth of the Metaverse itself. Just as in the natural, physical world, a child is not conceived, born, and grown to adulthood in an instant, so the birth of the Metaverse is not an instantaneous thing.

In the same way that a human

See, BIRD’S EYE, Page 11

The Metaverse Messenger Sido (169, 195) E-mail: metaverse_messenger@yahoo.com Website: http://www.1webspace.biz/metaversemessenger Publisher: Katt Kongo Associate Publisher: Phoenix Psaltery Composition: Katt Kongo Phoenix Psaltery Account Executives: Phoenix Psaltery Maureen McLean Lola Rosebud Office Manager: George Backbite

Distribution: Lola Rosebud Sports: Porscopino Brocco News editor: Katier Reitveld Staff Writers: Katt Kongo Phoenix Psaltery Katier Reitveld Sarg Bjornson Lola Rosebud

The Metaverse Messenger is published once each week on Tuesday for $L0 per year in Second Life. Subscribers send notecard or instant message to publishers. Any erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or reputation of any person, firm or corporation, which may occur in the columns of The Metaverse Messenger, will be gladly corrected upon being brought to the attention of the publisher(s). The publisher is not responsible for copy ommissions or typographical errors which may occur other than to correct them in the nearest issue after it is brought to the publisher’s attention and in no case does the publisher hold him/herself liable for damages further than the amount received by him for actual space covering the error.

Copyright © 2005.The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by The Metaverse Messenger and the Rose from Ash Publishing Company. No material may be reproduced without the expressed written permission of the publisher.

Write a Letter to the Editor Our policy pertaining to letters: The Metaverse Messenger accepts letters to the editor/publisher from our readers. Letters must include a valid SL name and an e-mail address. All letters will be verified before being published, and only letters that address SL matters will be accepted. To submit your letter, either send it via a notecard in-world, with “Letter to editor” in the file name or e-mail it to the newspaper.

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qDOT BUNNYHUG, a robotics and hardware expert in his First Life, has built a virtual bicycle that moves based on commands from a physical bicycle. - Photo by KATT KONGO.

A virtual bicycle from real parts

By SARG BJORNSON Staff writer Second Life has been defined many times as a virtual world, a computer-simulated environment mimicking a series of aspects from the real world.

However, being such, it also suffers from some of the current problems affecting virtual worlds and virtual reality.

Nowadays, virtual reality can reach a very high level of immersion and integration. However, the necessary technology is very expensive, and certainly out of reach of the common citizen.

Therefore, all virtual reality environments, such as virtual worlds, are

constrained by the unavailability of this technology, as well as the (generally) poor capacity of widely deployed communication networks.

The end result of this is the lack of a versatile human-to-machine interface.

However, there are some people who simply won't allow themselves to be limited to a keyboard and mouse. One of these people is qDot Bunnyhug, of Nonpolynomial Labs, who has considerable First Life experience in the fields of robotics and hardware.

After designing "Hooky," an input projector for Second Life (a software piece enabling the use of joysticks in SL), he set himself to a bigger project: creating a virtual bicycle for the

virtual environment, called LifeCycle.

Vehicles in Second Life, no matter how detailed or complex, are always controlled via the mouse and the keyboard. What sets Bunnyhug's vehicles apart from the rest is that they are virtual vehicles controlled by a real bicycle.

In other words, Bunnyhug has managed to modify a real bicycle to act as a game controller peripheral.

Bunnyhug's bicycle uses a Stamina 4700R exercise bike.

The exercise bike was inspected to figure out the numerical relations between the physical movement of the rider and the electronic signals

See BICYCLE, Page 11

Sports

Page 6

The Metaverse Messenger Sido (169, 195)

October 11, 2005

Meiji creates group to foster rich content

By KATIER REITVELD Staff writer

DIX DONOVAN PREPARES to jump into the trampoline catapult that will throw him across the sim to a giant water bowl in his version of horseshoes. . - Photo by KATT KONGO.

New game pitches avatars

By KATT KONGO Staff writer Dix Donovan has created a new game in Second Life based on his enjoyment of jumping and flying inworld. The game, called Avie Horseshoes, is similar to the First Life game of horseshoes.

"Except in this case instead of us throwing horseshoes, we toss ourselves," said Donovan, adding, "It's basically the same rules as regular horseshoes."

Donovan, who describes Avie Horseshoes as the game for avatars who like horsing around, said it's free to play and practice the game anytime, and that as soon as he gets enough residents interested, he will host horseshoe events and tournaments.

Donovan has set up rules for various forms of play. For individual

play, a player will have three rounds on each platform. In duo play, each team of two takes turns from each platform while trying to score.

In regular team play, teams consists of three players each. Each team should wear a different color.

Team members alternate jumping from one platform to the other while attempting to land in the water bowl.

Donovan said landing in the water bowl is the equivalent of the ringer (20 points) in horseshoes.

Said Donovan, "Landing on the rim of [the] bowl is five points less, landing between rim and lighted half circle is another five points less, and landing on the outer lighted ring is another five points less."

He added that avatars who land beyond the center yellow line but outside the fuchsia colored circle will win their team one point. The first team to score 40 points or high-

er in a round wins.

However, Donovan noted that each team member has to catapult at least over the center yellow line in order for the play to be counted.

Each player can have two attempts at scoring.

Donovan said he has two game systems set up side by side here.

"The one on the northeast side is designated for men, and the one next to it is designated as the course for women."

He said that his testing has shown female avatars tend to bounce farther than the male avatars. "So I made two courses to give everyone a fair, competitive chance," he added.

The Avie Horseshoes game is located in Ritch (243, 36). For more information about the game and upcoming events, or to schedule a time to practice the game, contact Dix Donovan.

Many residents of Second Life wish there was more variety when it comes to events within Second Life.

RyeDin Meiji was and decided to do something about it. On Aug. 17, Meiji announced plans to set up a group which he named the Foundation For Rich Content.

From that first tentative announcement, the response resulted in a large forum discussion. This discussion led to a group being formed and a formal charter to be written.

"The Foundation For Rich Content(FFRC) is united in a common goal, which is to foster diversity and richness in content and events in Second Life.

It will be our duty to provide the tools and funding necessary to support anyone wishing to host such events or create such content.

It will further be our duty to aid in marketing, promotion, public relations and other activities to garner general awareness of such content and events."

Meiji said that he saw "so many forum posts by people complaining about all the Tringo, bingo and *ingo" in SL. In response, he said, "Instead Of complaining, we can do something about it. A lot of arguments went something like 'Linden Labs stopped funding events... that's why everyone hosts Tringo cuz it's the only thing that can make them any money.'"

Meiji felt the logical solution was to bring back that subsidized event model without relying on LL. To clarify, Meiji said, "Everyone should know, though, we have nothing against Tringo, just trying to sup-

port other stuff."

This statement w a s supported b y

RYEDIN MEIJI

Persephone Phoenix, a member of the FFRC, who said, "Tringo has a valuable place in SL." Said Meiji, "(The FFRC) will be providing funds for people who wish to host these 'rich and diverse' events. We will acquire the funds through a couple different channels."

Examples given by Meiji were sponsorships, donations, fund drives, etc.

Funding isn't the only thing that Meiji plans to offer. The Foundation will also provide marketing support for events.

People who have ideas for new and diverse events will be able to approach the foundation for funding.

Meiji did say, however, that "by the end of (October) we'll have forms for people to apply for grants," adding, "We'll also have a published set of criteria guidelines outlining what events are suitable for funding."

Phoenix added, "We will need to get systems in place in a way that all group members agree with, and that can take time."

Meiji said, "This is a public advocacy group open for all to join, no matter what level of input they want to throw in."

Anyone who would like to assist in the FFRC should contact RyeDin Meiji or any other officer of the foundation.

SLCC From Page 1 tions of the present technology were humorously displayed during the keynote address by Philip Rosedale, CEO and founder of Linden Labs, known within SL as Philip Linden.

Linden spoke of how amazing it was that residents could pull off such a convention, and how, even two years into SL, we are really still pioneers. He talked also about how he sees SL as the beginning of something that will someday be ubiquitous, and compared SL to what the Web was in the early 1990's.

Live video of Linden's address was being streamed into Second Life as he addressed the convention in New York. Reciprocally, the SL location where the video was being

displayed was shown on large computer monitors in the convention hall.

Problems occurred with the video transmission, however, which caused the stream to stutter and freeze a number of times during Linden's speech.

The SL residents in attendance at the virtual location began to jeer and throw objects at the screen, most notably (and humorously) watermelon projectiles.

The sight of this caused raucous laughter among those in attendance at the First Life convention site, which increased until Linden interrupted his speech to look at the displays in order to find out what was going on.

Classified Ads For Rent

Other sessions included a discussion on SL culture with residents Jade Lily, Misty Rhodes, and Pendari Lorentz. Among other matters, they spoke about the Relay for Life. There was a representative from the American Cancer Society present, describing how their organization was blown away by the success of Relay for Life in SL, and its future possibilities.

When asked what the most valuable thing was that he gained from the SLCC, Travis Lambert said "I guess the biggest lingering thing on my mind is that we're all important. “ Our community is like a recipe for Mama's best lasagne, and each of us is a critical ingredient, in our own way."

THE RENT is $200 a week for 175 prims, parcel can be named what you choose, and the stream can be set on your preference. The view at this location can't be beat. It's the perfect home for a newcomer to Second Life.

Catocala (41, 113)

The Metaverse Messenger A real newspaper for a virtual world

October 11, 2005 The Metaverse Messenger Page 7

October 11, 2005 The Metaverse Messenger Page 8

BIRD’S EYE From Page 2

Entertainment Page 9

The Metaverse Messenger Sido (169, 195)

By LOLA ROSEBUD Staff writer

A MODEL SHOWS off the Le Crème gown by designer Rebel Hope.

The gown was one of many shown at the event. - Photo by KATT KONGO.

Rebel Hope designs showcased in fashion show by Zouk Models

By KATT KONGO Staff writer Zouk Models presented the work of Rebel Hope on Sunday with a fashion show attended by many clothing connoisseurs.

Hope said that this was her second fashion show. "I had one two weeks ago on Le Cadre Island," she said, adding that she used Zouk models on that occasion as well.

Not all of the dresses were newly released creations, said Hope. Her newest fashions are Hope Nouveau, Salsa Sensations, Salsa Sensations II, Buckle Bound (both outfits, one is pants, and one is skirt), Luscious Lace, Garnet Nouveau, Isis, Nebula and the Endless Love wedding gown.

Hope said that her husband, Rich, inspires her. "I love doing these gowns, have from pretty much day one," she added.

Lexy Ludovico, member of the Zouk modeling group, was the Master of Ceremony for the show.

She began by thanking everyone for attending and a request to remove anything that would create lag. .

The first gown shown was the Le Crème, a soft flowing classic Victorian type of gown, done in a very soft cream and gold fabric.

Ludovico said the dress comes with two prim skirt options, a full prim skirt and a smaller mermaid style skirt.

Included with the purchase of the Le Crème are panties, bra, leggings, gloves, bow and top.

Next was the Paradise Gown, done in a rich red Jacquard fabric, which showed a lot of detail. The gown comes with the top, skirt, gloves, bow and leggings. Said Ludovico, "[It’s] quite a sophisticated look but still showing an island taste."

Two models came out then wearing what Ludovico described as Fusion Gowns, which have silky fabric with a hint of shimmering animal print. The Fusion line of gowns was Hope’s first, said Ludovico, and comes in ten colors; blueberry, passion, chocolate, black, Barbie, purple, emerald, lavender, lemon and fuchsia.

Gowns in the Fusion line include

the top, skirt, gloves, thigh high stockings and prim skirt.

Ludovico then introduced a model wearing the Animalistic gown, which is done in a cheetah fur fabric.

The silky look to the fabric gives the prim skirt a sheen, she said.

Next up was the Salsa Paradise gown. Said Ludovico, "A spin-off of the paradise gown, the salsa dress is spicy." Included in the gown set is the top, prim skirt and thong panties.

Ludovico then introduced the Salsa Sensation line, which is done in vibrant colors and animal print fabric. Included in the gown set is top, skirt, panties and prim skirt.

The next gown shown was the Sophisticate gown, another spin-off of the Paradise gown. The dress is crafted in a navy blue silk jacquard, and includes skirt, top, leggings, gloves, prim skirt and bow.

As in First Life fashion shows, this one closed with the presentation of wedding gowns. First appearing was the Timeless wedding gown, done as a tight fitting skirt with a half-prim skirt. "The sheer prim skirt flows very nicely and has a bow in the back as well," said Ludovico.

The next wedding gown was the Drama gown, one of Hope’s first creations. The gown has a very silky satin fabric with an almost quilted texture in gold threading with buttons of pearls throughout. The gown is sleeveless with a deep V-neck.

Included with purchase of the gown is top, skirt, panties, bra, thigh highs, prim bow, prim skirt and gloves.

The last gown of the evening was the Classic, which is created out of a silk fabric that has detailed embroidered flower print. This gown includes the prim skirt, top, skirt, and two bow option, one with a rose and one without. No veil is included with the Classic wedding gown, but a custom veil can be made by Hope, said Ludovico.

Minky Mousehold, the founder of Zouk Models, said she holds weekly fashion shows. She charges $1,500L per show, and services include construction of a stage, trained models to work the show, a Master of Ceremony and card invitations.

"Designers just have to provide the clothes," she said.

The grape vines are buzzing in SL this week... After a crazy night in Sleezywood, the newly married Bridgit Thirty is having her husband Cornbread Yaffle's baby. Bridgit's good friend Katja Marlowe conceived that night as well, though the origin of her pregnancy is yet to be pinned down...

Roller disco is about to hit SL. We'll be hearing more about that in the coming days and weeks...

Roland Archer, DJ at the now defunct Underground, has been spotted back in SL in recent days.

Welcome back!

October 11, 2005

Kali Jarrico has been spotted in clubs again. The rumor of the Jarrico/Marlow sisters crazy clubbing has been confirmed. Ladies, watch your boyfriends!

Here Comes Trouble seems to be the new place for women's hair. New styles are popping up like rabbits, and crowds are forming as they fly off the shelves...

Treasure hunting seems to be the new craze. At least two groups are offering treasure maps and a chance to get rich...

The Zouk sim is getting a remodel. The rumor is it's not to be missed...

And last but not least - a tale of love gone horribly awry. Watch out

for the G.I.R.L.s....

Boy meets girl and falls in love.

Girl dumps boy to look for another girl.

Boy recreates himself as girl and gets girl to fall in love with her (him?).Girl falls too deep and must confess - she is also really a he!

Prescription - avatar background checks are needed.

Those who would like to send in their gossip tidbits to Lola Rosebud should send an e-mail to gossip@metaversemessenger.com Editor’s Note: The Messenger makes no claim that the information contained within this article is true.

This article is intended for entertainment purposes only.

"I'm here to tell you, advertising in the Messenger really works!

Since I started advertising, my sales have increased 30%, and I recouped my ad costs within the first day of the ad running.

From that point on, it was all gravy."

-- Jamie Bergman of Bergman's

October 11, 2005 The Metaverse Messenger Page 10

October 11, 2005 The Metaverse Messenger Page 11

BIRD’S EYE From Page 2 being begins as a sperm and an egg cell unite, and gradually develops over a nine-month period until that child is able to survive outside its mother’s body, but then still requires several years of close parental care before it is ready to venture forth, so the Metaverse is gradually developing, bit by bit (or is that byte by byte?).

I see it every day, particularly on the SL forums — many of you become so upset and so irritated at the present-day limitations of Second Life. However, what you must come to realize is that SL is still the software equivalent of an infant.

Being upset with some of the problems with Second Life at this stage of development is, frankly, tantamount to being upset with a newborn human being because he can’t drive a car, or with a second grader for her inability to do college algebra.

There are many years of growth and development ahead, as this infant Metaverse grows and develops into a fully developed and capable full-blown virtual environment which will someday support any kind of commerce, any kind of entertainment, any kind of communication that we desire to use it for!

As I have said before, “Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.” There is also a saying (I think it may be

Biblical) that you shouldn’t despise the day of small beginnings. As amazing as many of us already find Second Life, it is still in the days of small beginnings.

As much fun as SL already is (and as addictive!), it positively pales in comparison to what tomorrow will bring.

In a conversation Saturday night at the SLCC ball, Brent Linden was heard to say that the upcoming version 1.7 upgrade has greatly increased the number of avatars that each SL server can support.

He indicated at one point that LL had more than 90 avatars in one sim on the 1.7 preview grid and everyone was still able to move around reasonably well.

Imagine being able to comfortably gather nearly 400 avatars at a fourcorner sim junction, rather than the lag becoming unbearable when you approach 40 avatars in a sim as it is now.

Imagine tomorrow’s servers, running on as-yet-undesigned CPUs generations removed from today’s systems, say, five or even ten years from now, running virtual cities containing millions of inhabitants, linked together in a fully integrated Metaverse that we can only dream of today.

It’s coming — and sooner than you think.

LAND before with any account can purchase First Land."

She added that it’s a challenge for LL to always know which accounts are alts. "I'm sure it wouldn’t be the first time that an error was made, as the system isn't as foolproof as we could wish," she said.

Linden said she thinks the company probably catches most of the mistakes and that residents are not asked to "self police with respect to First Land."

Said Linden, "On the other hand, the point of the program is to make affordable land available to new residents.

If other residents take advantage of the system, or use the program as a way to buy up cheap land and then sell it for a profit ultimately it reduces the effectiveness of the program."

Linden stated succinctly that First Land is for people who haven't owned land before, and alts don't count as new residents who haven’t owned land before.

She said, "You know it's possible that people have

From Page 1 purchased first land with alts legitimately, if for some reason the system didn't recognize the account status.

And they didn't know. But the intent of the program is to support new residents, and we'll keep looking for ways to make sure the land is there when they're looking for it."

Linden said LL’s biggest concern is the person who uses the system for fraudulent purposes, or who scams "newbies" out of their First Land in order to grab some quick profits.

"And if we're going to focus on policing land that's where I'd want to put our energy," she said.

Forum poster Jillian Callahan wrote about the issue, commenting, "Is it unethical? You bet. First land is about giving newbies a shot and a leg up. You need neitheryou're well established."

The forum post by Shortbread received over 400 replies before finally being closed by Jeska Linden because of "personal attacks.”

BICYCLE sent to the speed display.

Those signals are then sent to a Xport Botball Controller which modifies them to comply to SL's communication protocols. A modified version of the Hooky program then converts those output signals to mouse and keyboard outputs.

In this relatively complex way, the pedaling movements are converted into a forward speed that the game recognizes in the same way as when someone presses the 'w' or 'Up' key.

In this first version of the virtual

From Page 5

bicycle, there is no way to discern between forward and backward pedaling, and turning movements are still handled with the keyboard (or a joystick using the Hooky program).

Future versions of the bicycle will implement these features.

It must be pointed out that even though LifeCycle is a virtual bicycle in the sense that it is built around an exercise bike peripheral, it can be used to control any vehicle in Second Life or, at least, any vehicle that uses the standard controls. In fact, any

physical movement with a forward motion could in theory be controlled

by LifeCycle.

If the device could be replicated, it would lead to all kinds of new perspectives for Second Life users, such as bike races using real life bikes, realistic pedal boats and the possibility of exercising while playing a computer game.

The details of Bunnyhug's project are available in his blog, at http://www.nonpolynomial.com/cont ent/2005/09/lifecycle.php.

Open house planned for the Messenger’s new office building in Sido

By PHOENIX PSALTERY Staff Writer The Metaverse Messenger is having an open house -- and you’re invited!

Friday, Oct. 14, from 7pm-9pm SL time, the Messenger staff will

host a meet’n’greet style open house at the Metaverse Messenger building located in Sido (175,196).

All interested SL residents are invited to tour the new building and learn about upcoming projects of the Metaverse Messenger and its parent company, Rose From Ash

Publishing.

A number of prize giveaways will be held as well, including a drawing for a gift certificate to Nomine, good for for a L$5000 avatar skin by Munchflower Zaius, a winner in the recent Best Of SL contest sponsored by the paper.

Other prizes include four weeks of 1/2 page advertising in the Messenger (valued at L$4400), moneyball giveaways, free Messenger promotional items, and more.

Dancing and refreshments will also be featured, and new players less than 30 days old are invited to

pick from the money tree in the Messenger’s lobby.

Messenger publisher Katt Kongo said that she hopes that many SL residents will attend, not only for the prizes and fellowship, but to learn what the Messenger has to offer the SL community.

October 11, 2005 The Metaverse Messenger Page 12