to AR or not AR… That's The Question

As some of you may know I was always involved in projects that involved community development as an whole. At NCI (New Citizens Inc.) I was a teacher, at HIP (Help Island Public) and some private Orientation SIMs I was a helper… Always working on behalf of the community.

Came to my attention lately that some Second Life Residents claiming to be acting for a greater good, do AR people that are in the privacy of their own homes doing nothing wrong, acting only by suspition and presenting no actual facts to prove break of SL's TOS.

That act per se is a break of SL's Community Standards, therefore a break of TOS itself.

What makes me sad is that Linden Labs, acting in good faith I might add, do accept this Abuse Reports (ARs) and acts upon them, sometimes harming good community acting residents for mere suspitions of TOS break.

If your a good resident and want to help, please before AR someone make a break, have a Kit Kat.

If those people are doing something that offends you in some way feel free to mute and delete them from your friends list… but that per se doesn't mean it's a TOS break and that those people are harming the community.

See First all the good things they have done for their fellow residents and to SL as a whole… You might be very unfair to someone doing that, and you with your AR, be in fact damaging the fabric of SL's Society.

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World Wide Web

Since the introduction of the Mosaic Web Browser in 1993 the World Wide Web (www) has developed very fast.Web Browsers have changed quite a bit offering a lot of options like streaming video and audio, live cameras even developed it's own language through chatrooms. People made it part of it's daily lives, using it to read the news, talk to friends that are physicly far away, watch their favourite TV Shows and a row of other goodies that wouldn't be possible otherwise. With the web 2.0 concept developing everyday, Social Networking tools, like Facebook, Flikr and Twitter, became as fast as thought and a lot more interactive. Second Life offers all the Web 2.0 tools since Jun 2003 and will be celebrating it's 6th birthday this year. Second Life is the materialization of the Global Village as we know it, once you can represent any site tridimensionly, make it interactive to the public in general, and it also allows Voice Chat in real time making it perfect to work presentations, online portfolios and multiconference meetings of any kind. After practisisng SL Surf, the term Surf the Web have a whole new meaning, so… Don't be a Poser… Surf!

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UnPlugged

"Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake. ". What binds people? Why does MSN have a tick to display what you're listening to others? Why do people follow DJs and Musicians around in Second Life? Music seems to bring all of us together… Who doesn't have a music that brings a memory of someone, a memorable day or a specific event of one's life? It gives us an identity, make us lighter and high spirited, capable of binding with other human beings. That's why we have iPods, Car Radios and Media Players… to set the mood; Rythim to work, passion to love and joy to live. Internet is faster, through it we discover new bands, new composers, new DJs and new ways to listen to it. New friendships are born, new flames light and new sounds discovered. Truly Urban Hymnes.

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Type

Typing can be liberating… You're home chatting away your thoughts with someone that you don't know in Real Life. It's easy to speak your heart and mind and see no harm in it right away. The fact is that you're unaware of the real consequences that might have for you or other people's life. When you type it, it becomes real and it can't be 'un'typed. So, when you're at a chatroom, like in Real Life, be really careful on what you say and how you say it. Words can have great strength, so make that impact a positive one: Think before you type.

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Appearance

Appearance can be deceiving, yet it can define you. How would you describe yourself in one word? Cheerful, apprehensive, optimistic, sensitive? It's true, we dress ourselves daily based upon our moods, if you're in a rush you'll be sloppy, if you have the time will be more careful on what you choose to ware that day. In Second Life the same happens, and inWorld seems to be easiear. It's the "Mos Eisly" Factor in Second Life that makes it so rich and meaningful. You can chat with a Nekko, play chess with a Dragon, watch a movie with a Vampyr and go dancing with a Furrie. Hail variety: Furries, Nekkos, Vampyrs, Angels, Dragons and Humans unite. That's what really makes a difference in Life, to always look beneath the skin.

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Communication

I'll send a S.O.S to the World, a Message in a Bottle. Is language a barrier? Do Non-Native English language feel like outsiders sometimes? Do they build Ghettos and lock themselves in? Or do north-american residents just assume everybody knows their language and don't make an effort to learn new languages like they expect others to learn theirs? A little of both maybe… So why not make an effort to understand each others language? Let's make a bridge made of understanding and build together this Babel Tower… With Prims.

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Beginnings

In the Beginning there was the Verb. And EL was his Name, Connor he became. More than a Nick he became a Name. When the End comes, a new Beginning unfolds. Life is like the song… A Never Ending Story. When I first logged in Second Life, I had no idea what I was going to find. I was told it was a lifelike game. Like in Life you had to find your own goals, decide what you want to do for a living, choose where you want to hang out and with whom… In the past two years I realized it wasn't a game, met wonderful people that are my friends since the very beginning, learned about other cultures and fell in love for this new communications app that could do everything… And it was the beginning again.

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