Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Furry Discrimination


By Grease Coakes

Sometimes in Second Life I just want to chill and hang out at one of the many dance clubs in Second Life. Maybe to work on a writing project with a live DJ jamming tunes for me or goof off talking with friends. Electronic Music Informer is a good source of various music clubs to whatever music genres. Until one day when I walked into a club that was against furries which surprised me, as the majority of human clubs accept me for who I am.

So I find a club at Anaconda (42/32/22) that was playing hip hop. I was accepting that they were playing different music. It’s boring to hear EDM or electric dance music all the time. I was there for less than a minute and suddenly I got an IM from nowhere

Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): WE NEED TO CHANGE HUMAN PLEASE
Grease Coakes: why?
Grease Coakes: Furries aren't allowed?
Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): NO FURRY
Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): NO
Šassy Hausмaηη - Ivory  (Sassy Lexenstar): MOM WILL BOUNCE YOU
Grease Coakes: That's racist :O
Grease Coakes: I don't understand why don't you allow furries?

When I went there a second time without reason she booted me to a safe haven here at the Vilania sim. What really surprised me is that I was banned there just for being a furry. When I tried to go there to get more answers I ran into a message that said, “Teleport failed You are banned from the region.”

So not only did I not get a reason of why furries are not allowed at this club, I was also banned. That’s sad that in Second life that I ran into a racist club. It’s bad enough to see racism in my first life. Second Life should be a place to chill and relax and if I choose to be a walking talking fox then so be it.

I’m part of a group called  “Furs Against Social Inequality.” I shared my story within the chat group and got some swift responses.

Second Life should be a better environment then the real world to hang out at a club with or without your friends. It’s unfortunate although rare that there are clubs in Second Life that don’t allow you if you’re different then the human norm. Second Life is a fantasy where you should be allowed whomever you want. It’s a shame I found a club that wasn’t okay with that.

Grease Coakes

Editor's Note: The Newser has reported on avatar discrimination a few times in the past, a recent commentary in January examining them.

Monday, March 20, 2017

What It's Like To Acquire A Sim


By MajikVixen (bluevioletvixen.lorefield)

I knew that by the time I had four different parcels I was paying tier on, things were becoming a bit ridiculous, and it was time to investigate actually getting a sim.  With the beginning of Sansar underway, and the new increase of prims allotted to Second Life from Linden Labs, I figured there surely was a good solution to my predicament.

The first thing I did was call Linden Lab.  They gave me a good page off their website to go to (I have listed it at the bottom of this article in the URL section, and rehosted it at Tiny URL).  At that "Name Your Land" page, you can create a name for your region (or see if the name you want is available), find out which areas of the grid are available to make a sim (by putting in coordinates or another region name), and even click to chat immediately with a more-than-happy-to-speak-with-you sales associate.

I found the Linden Lab sales associate very informative, but my gawd, the prices were astounding! $600 USD for the initial buying price of a sim PLUS $300 USD a month tier -a car engine goes for around $500 USD.  Plus you have to take into account, their policy of residents not being allowed to own Homesteads without owning a Full private region, because Homesteads are essentially an add-on for a full region (not physically, but from a sales perspective).  Sadly, there are no discounts available.  Linden Lab only has the Premium incentive to offer: 1) weekly L$300 stipend deposited to your shop, 2) L$1,000 sign-up bonus for first-time Premium Account subscribers to be deposited to your account after 45 consecutive days, 3) Linden Home or 512 Square Meter Tier allotment for use towards a parcel on the Mainland, 4) Expanded Live-Chat customer support, 5) Exclusive Virtual Gifts, 6) Premium-only accessible areas and experiences in Second Life, 7) Exclusive activities and games, 8) Increased cap on missed Instant Messages, 9) Increased group membership limits, and 10) Voice Morphing.

I was a bit thwarted, but I decided to continue my research with one of the companies in Second Life that I had contently rented from for over a couple of years now, ZoHa Islands.  My relationship with them started because I Fish Hunt, and every time I went to their buoy, I was always greeted personally by a sales representative.  No matter that all I was interested in, was just catching fish, they were always polite and wished me good luck, consistently.  I thought that was really cool.  They built a good rapport with me, and I finally took them up on their offer one day, and haven't looked back.  They recently implemented a new system, where you must file a ticket on their website to get a response to any inquiry (I have listed that at the bottom of this article as the second link in the URL reference section).  They do this to make sure everyone gets answered and nobody gets accidentally missed on the group chat.  Tammy Mayo (tammiedee.mayo), a very helpful and patient representative, contacted me, and we talked for about three hours initially (but really, she did earn her commission, poor thing, *laughter*).

At the time, my main concern was being able to have a sim connected to my previous home of Faerie Crossing, a land of 10 neighbored regions.  Now, it is not possible for ZoHa to make a sim from scratch, off of any place on the grid, and sell it to you.  Nonetheless, they do have a fabulous selection of already existing regions to choose from (starting at $30 USD for the initial buy price, and about $120 USD per month for homesteads).  It is entirely conceivable to get a sim and have it moved (it costs a one-time fee of $150 USD, which is what LL charges).  However, in order to move a sim right next to another, and become neighbors, you need to have permission from the owner of the other region first.  All the areas on the map in the first link (under "Region Location" "Region Coordinates") that are cross-hatched in red, are these types of places you need to get permission for.  Everything else is fair game.  Also, it is just as easy to have any of ZoHa's sims renamed (it costs a one-time fee of $50 USD, which is also what Linden Lab charges). 

Next I had to decide whether I should invest in a Homestead sim or a Full.  The difference between them is not just price, but prims and avatar capacity.  They are exactly the same size of 65,000+ SqM.  However, a Homestead can only host 20 avatars at any given time, whereas a Full can have up to 100.  You also get 5,000 prims with a Homestead, but with a Full, you get 20,000.  This is why Homesteads are usually cheaper.  I figured it would be safe to give the Homestead a try, and I could always change to the Full later if it ever became necessary.  It's not like I was planning on renting out parcels or anything, so what the heck?

It took about a day or less to change the title of Vita Nova into Zamargad.  As far as Linden Lab paperwork goes, the Governor of ZoHa Islands owns it, but I have full control of the region.  From making it Moderate, who can visit (open to the public or not), generating parcels, to even writing my own Covenant; Zamargad is a little piece of me that I get to share with all who dare to tread it.  Not a bad deal at all.  I saved $950 USD (OMG!), and ZoHa gave me a current resident discount (for having already been a client).

After recovering from the shock and depression of being banned from my previous Faerie Crossing home of three years, and with some powerfully supportive decorating suggestions and tips from friends, it took about a month to finalize Zamargad.  I learned that the best way to see Second Life is to tick these in my viewer settings: "Automatically change environment to use region/parcel settings" and to "Use Firestorm Parcel Windlight Sharing."  Environment settings really set the mood for what kind of ornamentation is best.  I chose a night theme so the glowing vegetation and other structures had just the right touch of mysteriousness and wonder.  It took about $200 USD of birthday and Christmas money, and countless, relentless hours of scouring the Marketplace to turn my new home into a masterpiece.

I wanted an epic grand opening, and I definitely got one!  Vinnie (acoustic.rhapsody) of The Vinnie Show, one of the performers for my grand opening, mentioned something very key for setting things in motion, in the preparation of this event.  In anticipation of all the traffic this would generate, we were worried about crashing my Homestead of Zamargad.  Vinnie suggested a work around of using a parcel on a Full sim, and then having a tour of Zamargad afterward.  Tammy helped me again to get the grand opening party parcel.  I only had to rent it for a week, and I got another discount for having done so.  I went back into a productive creative mode, and designed the grand opening parcel set, so that all I had to do was "Take" it from Zamargad, and rerezz it at the parcel.  The grand opening was definitely a success!  Over L$2,500 were raised in donations during this all day event.  I was very pleased that everyone came to support and share my reverie with me.

I also learned that it actually doesn't matter where your region is on the grid.  You could be an adoption sim, surrounded by BDSM sims.  In any event, "location, location, location" doesn't matter, unless you're going for Mainland. And in that case, it's because you want to be a part of a historical continent, pricing, or clear rules instead of a covenant.  If your region is awesome, people will come, no matter what.  There are no such things as designated areas of the Second Life grid for fantasy, or any other what-have-you themes, even in Mainland where ironically the only constant theme is variety.  At one time there were a bunch of fantasy regions surrounding the realms of Faerie Crossing, Elf Circle, Farhaven, and Isle of Wyrms, but that is slowly dissipating.  I would love to see a huge continent of fantasy, but I suppose it's like when per say, a cell phone company buys out another cell phone company and they merge ... and they keep on buying all the other cell phone companies until there is almost a monopoly ... and then they split and get bought out by other cell phone companies altogether, and the cycle repeats.  It is just the nature of business and things. 

According to Rabbinical mythology, Zamargad is the name of the land to which Lilith (Adam's first wife) betook herself in her flight from Paradise (the garden of Eden). And it is near the Red Sea, which could be metaphorically construed as the disapproving neighbors cross-hatched in red on the "Name Your Land" map. - Thus I do toy with the idea of poetically moving a water sim away from the fantasy realms I once knew...  But Zamargad currently rests, nestled between a bunch of other private estates on the grid, and is happy there for the time being.  Despite my otherwise assertive soul and meaningful trivia, I do think there are better things to put my money toward... like tipping performers and venues!

But that is what it's like to get a sim.  Lots of research, preparation, anxiety, support, a new found appreciation of everything that goes into all the places you visit in Second Life, and of course, the big payoff - celebration and sharing your imagination with the world!  Very fulfilling and worth it.  If I had more money and ideas, I'm sure I would do it again.  ...I hope this article helped you some, and gave you a bit more perspective on the matter.  Here's to your dreams coming true as well!

Additional Information:

SLURL:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Zamargad/143/108/21

URLs:
https://tinyurl.com/go2djxd
http://blog.zoha-islands.com/request-form/

Group:
^v^/<|;) (Group Key: 0dceeb4c-62ab-9436-ca6a-5f46106681b4)

Avatar Social Network:
http://www.avatarsocialnetwork.com/profile/MajikVixen
http://www.avatarsocialnetwork.com/ASNpage/BatsOutOfHats
https://asners.com/MajikVixen

MajikVixen (bluevioletvixen.lorefield)
Email: MajikVixen@GMail.com

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Sacred Cauldron's Lesson


“A Lesson In Humanity And Other Folklore...”-

By MajikVixen (bluevioletvixen.lorefield)

What does religion in Second Life mean to you?  Some people do not separate real life from Second Life, they admit that SL is just an extension of their real life.  Is it therefore important to find some spiritual grounding for your avatar?  I happened to think so, until I ran into a situation that made me feel really uncomfortable. 

It began with me recently seeing another article on Sacred Cauldron, Witch School, Wiccan Seminary, part of the Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, and I immediately took some personal interest.  I visited the Sacred Cauldron sim, and a lovely helper greeted me and answered some immediate questions.  She informed me that she volunteered to help pay for her classes, and they treated her very well.  I honestly liked the feel I got when I was there, I was given the impression that I could enroll and volunteer too.  It had been a dream of mine to fulfill my spiritual needs and to find a new place to belong to, especially since I spend so much time in Second Life.

She directed me to the application part of the Wiccan Seminary website, where it asked me for personal things like my legal name, phone number, birth date/time/place, current occupation, educational background, magical training, High Priest/ess contact info., and medical/mental/disability/learning issues, etc.  I filled all this out, of course, in good faith (part of the Wiccan Rede is "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"), thinking that perhaps I would be on my way to a scholarship. 

The next thing I did was contact Belladonna Laveau (belladonna.yarrowroot).  The helper said I should contact her, as she's the dean, and she would help me figure out what classes I needed (I had completed previous Wicca training in real life, and I was unsure as to how that worked with this new school).  I also informed Belladonna that I was looking for a possible scholarship, and explained that I was on a fixed income, various other things, long story short, I'm not Richie Rich, but that my intentions were pure and dedicated (I even offered to help teach a class on The Secret / The Law of Attraction, as compensation).  She got back to me a few hours later explaining that they understandably needed some proof of my income to qualify me for a scholarship, and a letter of approval from my current HP/s.  I confirmed with her where to send my proof of income to, and that my training was complete (but that she was welcome to contact my HP/s).  She thought that was wonderful, and that they should be able to set me up the next business day.  So I sent them  proof of my RL income to the e-mail address she requested it be sent to, and gave her my HP/s contact information.

Upon doing so, I received two e-mails (one of which included a manual PDF):

"Welcome to the Wiccan Seminary!

     "Merry Meet,

     "Thank you for your interest in WiccanSeminary.EDU. I am contacting you to help you register and transition into campus life. Please take a few moments to create a profile for yourself on www.wiccanseminary.us and set up your subscription payment at: http://www.wiccanseminary.edu/WSTS/tuition.html

     "Once you have set up your profile on the class website www.wiccanseminary.US and set up your subscription for payment for your classes, please take a moment to look over the 100 Level courses. We will need you to send us your two elective choices so you may be placed into classes.

     "Please remember that your monthly subscription covers your core classes and two electives and is under your control. We can not stop or terminate the subscription from our end and when you complete your schooling, you will need to terminate the subscription unless you wish to continue to support our efforts for Wicca.

     "We have you scheduled for Joining the Circle: Orientation, which occurs Wednesday at 7pm PST

    "Have you created an avatar in Second Life and visited the Virtual Online Campus, Sacred Cauldron? Have you joined us at any of the online classes, rituals, or events?

     "There are so many fun things to do everyday. Our next session began on April 3, 2017, but you are welcome to join in your classes once the registration process is completed. I’d be happy to meet you on campus, show you around and introduce you to everyone. When would you have time to set up your avatar on Secondlife.com and meet with me?

     "Please remember that you can always find updated information on the Google Calendar in the lobby of the Castle on SecondLife or on www.wiccanseminary.edu website. To see the Session Dates, view the calendar by month and look up at the top of the calendar for extended date listings.

     "I look forward to hearing from you. I am attaching a copy of your Student Manual that has lots of great information that you will need in order to succeed here at WiccanSeminary.

     "Blessed Be,

     "Tarren/Badger

     "Enrollment Coordinator

     "Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary"



"Greetings  ---RL-Name-Removed-For-Privacy---

     "Thank you so much for applying for a Service Scholarship at the WSTS.

     "The Scholarship Program offers access to classes in exchange for your skills and effort in a given position.  The minimum time requirement for any Scholarship position is between 15 and 20 hours hours per week.

     "Before you are granted access to your classes, you must complete a 30-day probationary period. If you can be placed in a position where your service can be of value to the school, your tuition will be waived as long as you uphold your scholarship commitments.

     "You will need to plan on attending the Career Counselor's meeting at 5:00pm SLT on Wednesday's which is posted on the calendar in the Lobby of the Sacred Cauldron. You can also contact Capewind Dept. Director or Belladonna Laveau, Dean of Wiccan Seminary.

    " We are so glad to have you as a part of our growing student community, and look forward to working with you as you grow with us.

     "Should you need immediate access to your classes, you are welcome to move forward with paying tuition for your classes. There are several tuition levels that may be able to help you.

     "Bright Blessings,

    "Capewind,
    "Volunteer Director"


To both of these e-mails, I responded by explaining my real-life work schedule, and that Wednesday would be a problem for me, and to please help.

I waited a couple of days, and Wednesday anxiously drew near.  I then, finally decided to contact Belladonna again.  She responded a few hours later that she never got my e-mails and that they would not be able to provide me a service scholarship because I work.  That the scholarship requires 15 hours of work a week, and already I was having scheduling issues.  Furthermore, that I should consider a hardship discount instead.

I was baffled.  Now, the e-mails I got, looked very much like "welcome aboard" letters to me.  I was just concerned about getting my initial bearings and welcome class underway.  The manual I had been sent along with these e-mails prided itself on the students being able to earn their degree through just the use of the website, and that it wasn't necessary to go inworld (it also contradicts itself and says that at least 1 hour a week for class labs is required as a Freshman).  My main concern however, that I also shared with Belladonna, was that a school would turn down a scholarship to someone who was trying to better themselves by working while being on a fixed income.  And how would I not have enough time for spirituality and their school?  In SL, I have been self motivated enough to have my own store, my own sim, write for the SL Newser, write the Lindo TOS, have a great rank in the Fish Hunt game, and had even worked my way up to Gateway Guide in Faerie Crossing and edit their Magic Messenger.  I additionally pointed out that this could be the beginning of a good business relationship, as once I was properly trained by her school, I could broaden their schedule to other hours that weren't previously available for people all over the world.  I explained that I gave her all my details upfront, especially RL info., but now, because of my RL work schedule, my scholarship was no longer a consideration?

Belladonna responded that wasn't about me not being able to attend events, that it was about the needs of the school, as scholarships are not guaranteed.  They found that people with already full schedules do not do well in scholarship programs, and based on the information I provided, I was not qualified.  She wanted someone who would be reliable in their job duties and someone who can be respectful to others when there is a problem.  Consequently, there were no job openings, not even for mascot (which I filled out the application for as well).  She added that she was not discriminating against me, she was just following the policies set forth by the school.  To that, I replied that it seemed she was judging me unfairly, and that a disclaimer would have been nice before I took a chance in sending them all my RL information in hopes of such. 

Lastly, Belladonna explained that the 2 received e-mails I got with the manual that made me think I had already been accepted, were actually form letters (as in, pre-written corporate letters that everyone gets).  She asked if I had noticed the part where they mentioned my monthly subscription covering core classes and 2 electives.  I told her I did notice that part, and I figured someone would respond to my e-mails and explain it to me, or that they would be covered in orientation on Wednesday.  She then said that she had responded to my application (during this last instant message), and that the others had written her about the fact that I did not qualify, and wanted her to make a decision so I wouldn't have to wonder any longer.  After figuring out the circumstances and feeling a bit duped, my last reply was, "This whole thing has been a fantastic journey of wanting something and not being good enough to get it, but I thank you for the lesson and wish you well," and it seemed rather hypocritical but expected, that her last words were, "Blessed be."


I'm sure there are probably lots of testimonials that would say otherwise, however, my final thoughts for those of us who are genuinely kind people and trust too easily (and can therefore be taken advantage of): 

♦NEVER give out your real life information and make yourself vulnerable, unless you are SURE that it is worth it, and you have researched the crap out of the asking party's intent.  Just because a website looks official, doesn't mean that it actually is.  If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. 

♦Any spiritual school, especially from Second Life, that is going to send out form letters to applicants, does not strike me as professional, instead they come off in the end as impersonal, manipulative, and not worth any investment.  If they give the impression that they are too busy for an applicant, then their goal of trying to coerce money (or other things) out of potential applicants seems counterproductive.

♦Always be on your guard; never be so desperate to fill a void in your heart that you end up throwing yourself or others under the bus.  Trust takes time for a reason, but all things of value are worth the wait.  Sometimes being an overachiever and being on top of everything means to have the virtue of patience.

I wish you all well in your SL: go forth, being true to yourselves, as well as wary.

By MajikVixen
MajikVixen@GMail.com

Editor's Note. I contacted Belladonna Laveau about the matter. Her response was "MajikVixen had applied for a service scholarship, meaning she would be allowed to attend school in exchange for working for us. Based on the information she provided in her application, she does not qualify for a scholarship. We welcome all students, and we make it possible for every person, who truly wants to go to school to do so. We have policies and limits, that protect the integrity of the school, the applicant and the rest of the student body. We have many hardship programs, which fit into almost any budget. We did our best to help MajikVixen, but were unfortunately unable to meet her demands."

Monday, March 13, 2017

Mauritius in Real Life and Second Life


By Mylie Foxclaw

The 12th of March is an important date in a very tiny part of the world, often overlooked by many but still significant for those residing there.  For those who are wondering, on 12 March 1968 Mauritius gained its independence from the British Empire, becoming a democracy.  Usually, as many residents have never heard of Mauritius, we get asked all sorts of questions.  Hence, through this post, you can learn a bit more about us.  

While Mauritius is unheard by most people, we do have Second Life residents from this little island. But first, let me tell you a little bit about us.  Mauritius is a tiny little island of 1.4 Million (yes that’s correct) inhabitants.  I fondly call it a tini-mini dot on the globe.  It’s situated near Africa, most specifically close to Madagascar (yes we do like to move it too).  We’re known for our beaches.  In fact, during my first two years in Second Life, I found a Mauritius sim and this is where I met a few Mauritians.  It was a beach type of resort with a dodo.


We’re the third smallest country in Africa and also among the most developed countries in the region.  We rely on tourism, ICT and the financial sector.  We’re also known because of the Dodo which originates from our country.  We speak French and English and Creole is our mother tongue. We’re a multicultural state with people originating from Europe, Africa and Asia and we respect each and every culture.  Sega is our national traditional dance.  The traditional sega is very popular, even today though there are some musicians who have added a little modern twist to it. 


As internet has become more accessible, there are more people discovering the internet.  Social media is a common favourite by most people.  Gamers seem more rare, at least in Second Life.  I have met a few fellow Mauritians in 2016 and it was a pleasant surprise.  The fact that SL is so huge makes it so amazing.  It’s really a chance meeting if I do actually meet another Mauritian.  The Mauritius sim does not exist anymore but maybe in the future someone may reproduce Mauritius with its popular landmarks to give Second Life a better idea of Mauritian Culture. 


Mylie Foxclaw