niko donburi

As some of you may know, I am one of the performers that will be playing at SLCC. Like many others, particularly Kei and Kaklick, I have been working with Nethermind and the folks at The Future United and Phreak Media to get this matter resolved in a way that would be acceptable to everyone.

I have had the opportunity to review the final version of the performer release form (see http://www.slnn.com/index.php/article.html)and find it perfectly acceptable. In fact, it
is much better than I anticipated it would be. Using CC's attrib-no
deriv license (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/) was
an excellent idea. Astrin is entirely correct in his statement that it sets a wonderful precedent for OUR community convention.

I am saddened, however, that some of the selected performers chose not to wait for the final version and instead elected to cancel their performances. I am publically requesting that they be allowed the opportunity to reconsider their decisions as I, for one, would enjoy the chance to see them perform at SLCC as originally contemplated.

As for myself, I look forward to having the opportunity to perform my own SL parodies for all of you, whether you be physically or virtually in Chicago.

niko

You need to interview Niko Donburi--of course!

"Imagine SL closes at midnight tonight, and either isn't coming back, or isn't coming back for a long time. Where are you tomorrow, and why?"

Hmm... I'd probably find myself on a treadmill at a health club, trying to recover all the cardio I've lost since I started my Second Life. After that, I might head over to a coffee shop and meet with some non-virtual friends that I haven't seen in, oh, about a year or so--yes, since I started my Second Life.

Next up would be a trip to the mall to get some new clothes. Since I would no longer have to bother with tier payments, premium fees or constantly upgrading my computer to keep current with SL's system requirements, I'd be flush with RL $$ burning a hole in my pocket.

Then I'd go home and watch TV.

;-)

niko

Coyote asks "are there any reasons to go premium anymore?"

Yes:

"When you open your log-in screen and see in the upper right hand corner Grid Status: Restricted, you’ll know that only those Second Life Residents who have transacted with Linden Lab either by being a premium account holder, owning land, or purchasing currency on the LindeX, will be able to log-in. Residents who are in Second Life when this occurs will only be affected if they log-out and want to return before the grid returns to normal status." See http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/02/16/contingency-measures-to-ensure-service-as-second-life-grows/#more-777

Niko

Second Life, second chance

Unless I'm missing something, according to the "Official Linden Blog Guidelines for Blog Comments" located here: (http://blog.secondlife.com/guidelines-for-blog-comments/) the sanction for flaming, trolling or personal attacks is deletion of the offending post and not the banning of the poster:

"Negative or contrary opinions are welcome as long as they don’t violate the common rules of netiquette. Those that do will be edited, or if necessary, deleted.

"Comments will be edited or deleted if they meet the following definitions of flaming, trolling, or personal attacks:

flaming - messages which are hostile or deliberately insulting
trolling - making comments intended to induce an angry response or disrupt the flow of discussion
personal attacks - derogatory, profane or offensive messages directed toward a specific individual."

I would suggest that the appropriate "punishment" for Prokofy would be to have all his comments held in the moderation queue for review rather than a blanket ban. I, for one, often find his comments thought provoking and informative (and yes, agree that sometimes he goes a bit too far).

Niko

Lucy, according to Item 2.4 of the ToS you can bequeath your account to another: "....Linden Lab will not unreasonably withhold consent to the transfer of an Account in good standing by operation of valid written will to a single natural person, provided that proper notice and documentation are delivered as requested by Linden Lab." Presumably this would include your inventory as well as any land you own.

With regard to insurance in Second Life, I have been exploring this for some time. There are a number of difficulties, most notably proof of possession (i.e. that you actually owned the item) and proof of loss. If anyone is interested in the finer details of insurance law and Second Life, feel free to IM me in-world or join the group called (if I remember right as the grid is down) the Second Life Insurance Company.

Niko

Wait a minute, I thought Al Gore invented the Internet....

Rather than the Internet as a whole, I tend to view SL as CompuServe. Remember them? From their website:

"Founded in 1969 as a computer time-sharing service, Columbus, Ohio-based CompuServe drove the initial emergence of the online service industry. In 1979, CompuServe became the first service to offer electronic mail capabilities and technical support to personal computer users. CompuServe broke new ground again in 1980 as the first online service to offer real-time chat online with its CB Simulator. By 1982, the company had formed its Network Services Division to provide wide-area networking capabilities to corporate clients.

CompuServe also led the interactive services industry overseas, entering the international arena in Japan in 1986 with Fujitsu and Nisso Iwai, developing a Japanese-language version of CompuServe called NIFTYSERVE. In 1989, the company expanded into Europe where it grew to be a leading Internet service provider...."

Later, of course, it went on to be gobbled up by AOL.

While there were other online service providers around before and during CompuServe's time (just as there were and are other graphical virtual worlds other than SL), CompuServe was one of the first to make it into the mainstream. Sound familiar?

IMHO, the OpenSource Metaverse Project is more akin to the Internet than Second Life. At best, LL will become the AOL of the virtual world universe. That is certainly not demeaning LL or AOL. Many millions of us have used AOL at some point during our lives, particularly when getting access to the internet directly was all but impossible for those not affiliated with the educational system.

Niko

"Putting the 'Life' into Second Life"

Look at the brightside:

If the Lindens you make in SL are considered taxable income, then wouldn't you get deductions for the expenses of EARNING that income? That could arguably include your monthly subscription to SL, land costs (including tier which is essentially a property tax), advert costs, etc. Heck, perhaps you could even depreciate that new computer you've been eyeing--as long as you used it solely for your SL "business."

Perhaps some Aussie accountant can provide some insight?

Niko

Given the (not entirely unwarranted) jab you recently took at secondcast, I wasn't surprised to read that you are considering giving them a bit of competition....

If I were to put together a show on SL, I would put out two 30-minute shows per week rather than a single 60 minute show once per week. I would publish them on Monday and Thursdays, with a format something like:

Monday show
(1) 5 minute recap of the weekend's events
(2) 5 minute "tech talk" on some aspect of SL hardware or software (such as server class, how to rebake textures, etc)
(3) 5 minute on SL economy during previous week (like a farm report: # of users, # of sims, current $-to-L exchange rate, etc)
(4) 10 minute interview of someone SL related
(5) 5 minute feature on live music in SL focused on a different performer each week

Thursday show
(1) 5 minute "SL Timeout" summary of different events which are set for the weekend (i.e. what's coming up)
(2) 5 minute interview related to one such pending event
(3) 5 minute spot on scripting/building news
(4) 5 minute on the recent "update" to SL or what to expect with the next update
(5) 5 minute "noobie news" for new users on "what is" or "how to do" type stuff
(6) 5 minutes on SL to RL and RL to SL issues (media coverage of SL, cool new SL products that interact with RL, etc)

Why twice per week rather than once? Simple: better coverage of what's going on in SL as it or just shortly after it happens.

Niko

PS. Oh, one more thing, I'd also offer Prokofy Neva the chance to editorialize in some way, like Andy Rooney on 60 minutes. That would guarantee an immediate listenership and lots of fan & hate mail!