Top Stories of The 2010s, Part Four

By Bixyl Shuftan

This is the fourth of our series of some of the top stories of the 2010s. For part one, Click Here. For part two, Click Here. For part three, Click Here.

The Content Creation Terms of Service Controversy

When content creators build things on Second Life, they allow Linden Lab a certain amount of control over their goods. Some is necessary as glitches on the Grid can easily mess up products and it takes the Lab to be able to manipulate the content to be able to fix it. There's also that when trying to market Second Life, the Lab will use pictures of the content others have made (as do online newsletters covering the virtual world). And for years, of people's creations inworld, the Lab had "rights to use it in Second Life and not much more," which practically everyone thought was reasonable, if not desirable.

Then in September 2013, word began going around about a certain change in Second Life's Terms of Service.

[..]you agree to grant to Linden Lab, the non-exclusive, unrestricted, unconditional, unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, and cost-free right and license to use, copy, record, distribute, reproduce, disclose, sell, re-sell, sublicense (through multiple levels), modify, display, publicly perform, transmit, publish, broadcast, translate, make derivative works of, and otherwise exploit in any manner whatsoever, all or any portion of your User Content (and derivative works thereof), for any purpose whatsoever in all formats, on or through any media, software, formula, or medium now known or hereafter developed, and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed, and to advertise, market, and promote the same. You agree that the license includes the right to copy, analyze and use any of your Content as Linden Lab may deem necessary or desirable for purposes of debugging, testing, or providing support or development services in connection with the Service and future improvements to the Service.[..] 

To many, this looked like a power grab by Linden Lab, saying it reserved the right to take people's hard-made content and sell it without contacting the maker in any fashion. Some accused the Lab of acting out of greed. Others felt the Lab was unlikely to just up and sell people's intellectual property outside Second Life, but these poorly-written terms ought to be changed as soon as possible to stop the loss of confidence of content creators. Still others called it an act of stupidity, "Other companies manage to sell digital merchandise without making the artist surrender their rights to their creations - the only thing they actually own. If LL cannot accomplish the same thing, then not only do they forfeit the right to claim to be a visionary tech business, but they will forfeit the right to be in business at all." Aeonix Aeon (Will Burns) speculated this was likely a long-term "exit strategy" by the Lab for the day they no longer felt Second Life would be profitable, selling what they could of the users content after closing the Grid.  He compared it to the owners of a warehouse where publishers go to store their books claiming equal rights to the contents. The slogan "Your World, Your Imagination" he felt no longer accurately applied to Second Life.

The Lab's initial response was to issue a long and wordy statement, saying their intention was to "unify the existing terms of service for our various products into a single version." They would go on to say they respected the rights of content creators expressing their "regret that our intention in revising our Terms of Service to streamline our business may have been misconstrued by some as an attempt to appropriate Second Life residents’ original content." But there was no change in the terms of service.

People in and out of Second Life would respond in various ways. CGTextures, a website for 3D artists, would state it was no longer allowing it's content to be used for Second Life goods, "The new Second Life ToS is simply incompatible with our own Terms of Use." They stated they contacted Linden Lab, and got only "nameless, canned replies … Apparently they don't care about this problem, so we don't see how we can come to a solution." Bryn Oh and other exhibitors resigned from the Linden Endowments of the Arts' committee, "As it stands now I don't feel comfortable luring artists into creating content for Linden Labs who can pretty much do whatever they want with it."

Tuna Oddfellow and Shava Suntzu responded by closing down their Odd Ball performances in Second Life, "Dear Linden Lab -- it's been a nice eight years, but you just broke the social contract with me as a creator in Second Life BIG TIME." Shava expressed her fear that should Linden Lab go bankrupt, that the intellectual property of it's users, such as the builds and images used in the Odd Ball, would end up taken away by it's creditors. They would take their show to the second-largest virtual world, Inworldz, for a time. Qarl Fizz, the former Qarl Linden, announced in his blog that he had deleted his sim, citing Linden Lab's new Terms of Service in regards to content creators, "i can imagine nothing more despicable. truly, you have become the most craven of the internet low life. i can hardly imagine where you might go from here - nigerian scam spams to your users, perhaps?" I myself would comment between the Lab trying to shut down third-party Linden exchangers a few months before and now this move, it was continuing to erode the trust of it's customers.

One of the more important responses was the formation of the "United Content Creators of SL" group, led by Kylie Sabra (Kylie Angel Skyborne) on Sept 29. It would hold a legal discussion in mid-October. Among the things brought up was a seldom-mentioned part of the ToS change, that the Lab could sue a third party in someone's name and act as the person's attorney. Linden Lab's actions were called part of a trend in social median, a number of companies such as Facebook demanding more control of their users' content. While there was the possibility of taking the matter up with the FCC or a lawsuit, Kylie felt the latter was unlikely to succeed as in recent years California law, which Linden Lab fell under, had been more friendly to arbitration agreements. What was the most likely to succeed was a peaceful resolution with Linden Lab.

The UCCSL would send Linden Lab an open letter. Days later, someone from the Lab would respond. It declined their request for an open meeting, "We believe that it would be more fruitful to avoid further debate of the assertions made to date regarding the intent and effect of our updated Terms of Service." But they did say they were "currently reviewing what changes could be made that would resolve the concerns of Second Life content creators." Kylie was initially optimistic, but her later messages to Linden Lab would go unanswered. On January 30, she stated that she had concluded "Linden Lab has no intention of making any change to the Terms of Services." She would step down from the group in March, saying in her last statement the Lab had caused lasting damage with it's relationship with comment creators, "we will never again feel that we are partners in this endeavor with Linden Lab: We will never again trust so blindly as we once did."

But behind the scenes, Linden Lab was going through a change. In mid-January, The company's CEO Rod Humble left Linden Lab, no one outside the company knowing until he made a Facebook post about it days later. The Content Creator ToS Controversy would be one of the darker moments of the Lab under the tenure of CEO Rod Humble, and cloud his legacy.

The new CEO, Ebbe Altberg, would address the issue at the VWBPE conference in April, saying he was looking for a solution. Just as importantly if not more, he spoke more about the issue that hour than the company had in months, which gave residents concerned about the issue new hope. Finally in July 2014, after almost a year after the controversial change had been made, Linden Lab finally revised the wording of it's Terms of Service in regards to content creators. Some of the wording was iffy enough to make a few people hesitate to say the issue was finally over. But most were finally satisfied, and the controversy faded into Second Life history.

In an interview in October 2014, Ebbe Linden felt the main problem wasn't what the Lab intended for a Terms of Service update, but "the way it was rolled out." For the residents however, this was another big example of how by accident or design the Lab had a way of unnecessarily angering it's customers. While later Terms of Service changes would raise a few eyebrows, this would be the last time, at least in the 2010s, such a change created this level of outcry. Exactly why Linden Lab dragged it's feet on the issue for months can only be speculated on. Maybe they were feeling "ignore it and it will go away," or maybe they didn't truly realize what a mess they had on their hands. If so, Kylie Sabra and others are deserving of thanks for keeping the issue in the headlines for as long as they did.

The Rise and Fall of InWorldz

While Second Life may be the most successful virtual world, it hasn't been the only one. Early on, Second Life had some competition from "There." But it never did capture the media spotlight like Linden Lab's world, and shut down in March 2010. This meant that the alternative to Second Life were the various OpenSim worlds. By 2010, two were standing out from the rest, Avination and InWorldz. InWorldz was the more successful of the two. I took a look at it that year, but at the time I couldn't stay there more than a few minutes. Trying again a few months later, I was able to stay on and look around.

So what was InWorldz like? Someone compared it to like Second Life but with fewer bells and whistles and fewer people. The people making their virtual homes there, I had the impression many were attracted to the place as sims were cheaper than Second Life and/or they were fed up with Linden Lab. I imagine for some it was what they saw as a happy medium, smaller than Second Life, but larger than the other OpenSim worlds.

I would pay only a little attention to the place for a couple years afterwards, although did mention there were events going on there. Om January 2012, it would reach a total of fifty thousand users. In May 2013, the number had grown to 75,000. Many of these were probably Second Life residents who came over to get an occasional curious glance like myself. But as only just over a hundred were online at once, I was somewhat skeptical about the place as a source of news for a publication centered on Second Life.

Then came 2013, when Linden Lab made two controversial moves that upset many residents, the Third Party Currency Exchanger ban and the Content Creator Terms of Service controversy. With their way of buying Linden dollars now in jeopardy, some communities made up of residents outside the US began talking about moving to another grid. And when Linden Lab appeared to some to be saying, "anything you bring here is OURS to take and sell as we wish to anyone," some residents began feeling it was time to make a place for themselves elsewhere. And InWorldz would get a lot more attention from the residents of Second Life.

The first big name in Second Life to make the move was Tuna Oddfellow, whom closed the Odd Ball in Second Life and moved it to InWorldz. Their first event in October went without much trouble. In November, an InWorldz Connection Center run by Zia Larnia sprung up to help residents from the larger virtual world more at ease with transitioning over. When it suddenly closed a month later when Zia's partner up and left, Nydia Tungsten would open "The Grid Walkers Welcome Center" with her help. Nydia, along with a number of my friends in the Sunweaver/Angel community were getting increasingly uneasy with Linden Lab's blunders, and felt it was time to set up a "lifeboat" in InWorldz as a place to go to if the Lab shut Second Life down. On Saturday November 30, there would be an "InWorldz Discussion Group" chat to answer questions.

With more attention on InWorldz, I began finding out a few things. One was that Wingless furry avatars were available in one location. Luskwood would also give you a copy of an avatar you bought in Second Life to your InWorldz account if you requested. The Relay for Life was holding a second fundraiser season in the smaller virtual world. Club Fur would be duplicated in Inworldz in Oct 2013. The Podex virtual currency exchanger would offer it's services to InWorldz in Jan 2014. I would end up interviewing InWorldz founder Beth Reischl (known as Elenia Llewellyn inworld). Between this extra attention on InWorldz and the desire of some readers and writers to talk about gaming, there wound be a new SL Newser section: Other Grids and MMOs, later changed to Other Grids, MMOs, and Games. And over time, InWorldz numbers would grow to almost 90,000 in November 2013, and 100,000 on May 2014. When InWorldz had it's fifth anniversary celebrations in March 2014, it was those of an up and coming grid that looked like it had a bright future.

But things were about to change. In January 2014, Rod Humble stepped down as CEO, and in February Ebbe Altberg took his place. Linden Lab under Altberg became more talkative to people, and among the first things he announced was that the controversial changes in the Terms of Service in regards to content creators would be undone. And in July they were changed to the satisfaction of most.

With the reasons InWorldz was getting more attention now relaxed, residents in Second Life became less inclined to hop over. The Relay for Life would continue to hold events there. But overall attention fell. With Linden Lab announcing the development of their next-generation virtual world Sansar, perhaps attention that would have otherwise been paid to InWorldz by residents of Second Life was focusing there. The Newser itself would continue to pay a little attention to InWorldz, but not as much. The numbers of active users would go up and down some, then in Spring 2015 start a decline that would continue. The number of sims would spike in mid-2015, then start to decline. The decline in sim numbers was slower than the numbers of active users, though. Then InWorldz found itself facing competition not just from Second Life, but another OpenSim world. Kitely grew rapidly in just a few years to become about half InWorldz size in the number of registered users. By 2015, the two grids were about equal, and in 2017 Kitely had become the largest of the OpenSim grids. Another grid, Avination, which was a competitor for the largest OpenSpace world in their early days, was the target of theft by criminals, and then hit by a "catastrophic" data failure that led to it going under in 2017.

InWorldz itself began making some moves that raised more than a few questions. This had begun early on when in August 2013 their General Discussion forums were closed, citing an increased activity of trolling and hateful posts that was taking time and effort to moderate them away from their activities in keeping up the grid. In April 2017, they announced they would no longer publish their statistics of how many regions or active users they had. And to a number, this was a signal the grid was in decline, and the owner wasn't sure how to stop it other than hide it. Reischl was distancing InWorldz from other OpenSim worlds, insisting it wasn't really one, "InWorldz has moved on from Opensim a long time ago," and seemed to be saying she was no longer publicizing the statistics because of an "us vs them" attitude there.

In January 2018, Hypergrid Business published an article saying merchants in InWorldz were becoming concerned about the grid's future. "...we have seen a drastic decline in sales and residents," one merchant told Hypergrid, requesting anonymity saying he was concerned about possibly being banned. An "InWorldz Chamber of Commerce" had been set up in fall 2016 "To help promote in-world commercial activity, and to collectively advocate on behalf of their interests." But their director expressed disappointment in her meetings with Reischl, Hypergrid reporting, "She said it was not her job to keep merchants or residents in InWorldz." The article also stated, "Residents have also complained on social media that the founders haven’t been paying attention to their concerns. Of the top managers, owner Reischl moved to Panama and founder and CTO David Daeschler has mostly moved on to other projects." Another resident commented that early on, "one of the best things about IW was the fact that it was so easy to talk to the founders on the forum and they actually listened to us and gave us feedback it made IW feel like a community." But now it was looking more and more like how she saw Second Life at the time she joined InWorldz.

But there was no sign of serious trouble to most until Monday July 23 when Beth Reischl announced the grid was facing shutdown in a few days. At the same time, she set up a Gofundme that was supposedly to save InWorldz. But after most of her goal amount was raised, she changed the objective to starting a new grid. This caused no shortage of confusion and feelings of anger. Zia would comment, "There are a lot of disabled people and older people who play here.  That sort of sudden 'get out' message is hard for someone not in great health to stay up for two days straight and download 8 years of their life." But there was also sadness as after almost a decade, the virtual world where so many hopes and dreams had been created was going away, and on Friday July 27, 2018 the lights finally went out.

Following InWorldz's closure, one of it's staff opened up a small OpenSim grid for former InWorldz residents. Other OS worlds would invite those displaced to go to theirs, and a number did, one example being Kitely Marketplace sales going up 300% in the days after the larger world's closing was announced. A number went back to Second Life. But others held out for Reischl's next world, Islandz. It would finally come online in November 2018. But it didn't last long. On Saturday January 26, Reischl announced that due to real life financial troubles she couldn't overcome, she would have to shut down Islandz, "I'm done with the metaverse. ... I have zero, zilch, zip, nada, just maxed out credit cards." Following a rash of confused and angry statments, the Islandz Discord server was taken down. Instead of a new beginning, it was a sad epilogue.

So what happened? Not being in Reischl's inner circle, one can only guess. It appears that the team she assembled early on was able to make and maintain a great grid. But as people left, the positions were either unfilled or someone not as good took over. With fewer people and less money coming in, she eventually had to borrow money to maintain it. Either the bill came due and she didn't have the money, or as she stated there was a failure to communicate with the people she borrowed it from.

As a resident of Second Life, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. The big thing was seeing the hopes and dreams of hundreds fade away. But deep down, I wondered if years from now I myself would be in their position as Linden Lab would make the decision to shut down Second Life. But our virtual world will likely be around for a long time to come. It is a small irony me and my friends got a few sims there a few years ago as we wondered if our virtual homes were at risk of being closed, and in the end it was the place we were interested in that closed down. As time has gone on, another Opensim Grid, the Great Canadian Grid, would end up being shut down. It would seem as clumsy as they can be at times, Linden Lab ended up creating the virtual world that endures year after year.

Bixyl Shuftan   

For Part Five, Click Here. 

Commentary: Has the Collapse of InWorldz Stopped Many Second Life Residents From Considering Another Virtual World

By Bixyl Shuftan

When there were a number of residents raising serious questions about Linden Lab and the future of Second Life in late 2013 and early 2014 during the ToS Content Creator controversy, when it looked like Linden Lab was reserving the right to take any content it's customers uploaded and use it for it's own purposes or even sell, some started making plans to leave. While a few talked about leaving virtual worlds altogether, most comments I heard were from people saying they planned to head to another virtual world. Of these, some talked about an Opensim world, but most talked about one particular one: InWorldz, the second-largest of the grids in population. The concerns got to the point a number of my neighbors got a few sims in InWorldz as a "lifeboat" in case Linden Lab shut down our virtual world. It was stated at the time that if Second Life folded, about a third would head to InWorldz, a third would head to OpenSim, and a third would give up virtual worlds altogether. But eventually, Linden Lab responded to the residents about the Content Creator controversy, and the plans to head to InWorldz were put aside. But still, if anything happened to Second Life, InWorldz was still around as our "backup."

So with Inworldz itself folding in July this year, how has this changed the answer to the question "Where would you go it Second Life shut down?" If Linden Lab was hoping for some to consider their "Next Generation Virtual World" Sansar, they're in for a disappointment. I've only heard of a handful of people saying they go on Sansar regularly, and only one region from the older grid has moved there. Sansar has more going against it besides the people here already having a virtual home. While Sansar looks good, you can't really interact with objects and people like you can in Second Life. And even among next-generation worlds, Sansar is far behind VR Chat in popularity. Some of the comments I've read are from people who remark that socially it has more of the feel of the early Second Life.

Listening to friends, some stated they would head to Opensim. But there's no one world that people seem to favor. When InWorldz fell, there was a great diaspora of the residents among a number of places, Kitely, Sinespace, DigiWorldz, Discovery, Tranquility, The Great Canadian Grid, and many others. When talking to my virtual neighbors, many commented they'd spent more time with friends in games, such as Ark Survival Evolved or Fortnight.

So with no "second place" virtual world, it appears instead of an exodus mainly to one destination, a shutdown of Second Life would mean a virtual diaspora with it's residents heading to a number of far smaller worlds and a number of MMOs. Once seen as "Internet 2.0," it would be the end of an era when a virtual world could hope to have thousands of active residents.

There is one thing to consider. At this time while many residents still have the love-hate relationship with Linden Lab they've had for years, it's much better than the days of 2013-2014. While a number grumble that the Linden's effort on Sansar could have been much better spent here, there's no crisis of confidence like there was in the ToS CC Controversy, no big worries that Linden Lab is going to steal the content of it's users, or that they plan to up and shut down this world. If there were, they'd start making more serious plans for exit strategies again.

So while today things look like the sudden end of this virtual world would mean it's users would be scattered in the wind, perhaps five years from now, the answer will be different. That is, unless the big fear is realized and Second Life really does end up shutting down.

Bixyl Shuftan

Tuna Oddfellow to Resume Performances in Second Life

By Bixyl Shuftan

Tuna Oddfellow, the Second Life performer known for his unique "Odd Ball" caused a stir just after the Terms of Service controversy started when he and Shava Suntzu announced in September that they were stopping all performances. They took the Oddball to InWorldz, where they would perform for many months.Tuna didn't leave Second Life entirely, but returned to play a game with friends, as well as to publicize the Oddball events in the other virtual world.

A few days ago, Tuna announced that the Odd Ball would be returning to Second Life. "I still plan to do shows in other worlds," he wrote in his blog, "and even do a few tricks that are not possible in Second Life. Can you even imagine that? If you color outside the lines and join me in other worlds too you wont be disappointed."

"Let me be clear,this does not mean that the views of our rights to our intellectual property are fixed with a magic wand. On the contrary, nothing is fixed. We have lost some talent in SL and others who would be strong voices for change have been squelched. We need to make noise as a community and on that front I see too many would be crusaders who get burned out. I feel so strongly about this as an artist that I can not be quiet about it, so deal with me please and help me with the battle. I will continue in that fight. I will be fighting for change in Second Life as well as educating people on what they give up by sharing their creations in SL as the TOS stands now."

"My partner Shava Suntzu will not return to Second Life until the TOS is changed so you will need to find us in action in other worlds some times. I hope to teach many of you how to expand your metaverse so we can jump to the best the 3d web has to offer and share without walls."

I would later contact Tuna, and he would have a few more things to say, "So it is strange coming home. But is should be exciting too." He explained events in Second Life had steered him to change his plans, "There is no longer enough focus in SL to (get) activists' voices out, and I need to be one of them here. I will be loud about getting the reform to happen.  will continue my regular shows but also have more political non odd ball events that EulaProtest Resident may visit occasionally." Of the United Content Creators of Second Life group's leader stepping down, "This is a big thing to me. I was really disappointed in their structure and approach and ultimate failure."

So when would Tuna start performing in Second Life again? "My first performance really depends," he answered, "I am eager to get on the horse and ride.  I should have the site set back up today in full working order.  I may do a show over the next few nights. It can be an itching. When you are a metaverse entertainer the object of the game is you can draw an audience at any time with the right notice and the willingness to be playful and truly love your community." Of Shava remaining in InWorldz, "We both are doing things in all worlds. Shava's heart is in Second Life but she will be back here wirth the Odd Ball when they change the TOS. She is a political animal." Tuna described her as taking on a new project, "She is the Privacy Evangelist for Blackphone."

Of how he thought InWorldz was doing, "I moved to InWorldz when a lot of real life coming down on our heads with Shava's real life job and health issues.  I love some of what I have seen in InWorldz but I can not say I got as connected as I wished to. InWorldz is doing very well for themselves. InWorldz is a small town not a city. The different styles of worlds fit different needs in people. Some folks for example like worlds with no economy but a gift economy such as OSgrid. I am a resident there too and I have big plans in OSgrid because I make giant interactive art experiences and grids are my canvas. I am even in talks with Metropolis 6th anniversary next month." He would likely be performing at the event, but wouldn't say it was a sure thing, "I will let you know when the ink dries on that plan."

"I have always found ways to reinvent my art and create new experiences so it does not get stale for me or the fans, The Tunaverse. See I love the Tunaverse and they are spread through out the 3d web now. I can't wait to turn more of my dreams into visions for all of you. Remember, I started doing all this because in real life I am a magician. I wanted to give a magicial experience in a world where the first thing people learned how to do was fly."

"I will do more with the art both in and out of virtual worlds and even do mixed realty shows with the Odd Ball projected on a giant wall in the UK while I am in the USA doing my show. People in real life are watching those shows and dancing in Real Life." He talked about Jana Kyomoon (Facebook link) doing "mixed reality" events, "Those happen on the first Sunday of the month most every month. Jana performs her own music at those shows. Sometimes my shows with Jan would happen in InWorldz or other worlds as we go."

"I like to say, I was born in Second Life but I am a metaversalist." For Second Life residents thinking of exploring others worlds for the first time, he recommended InWorldz, and OS Grid, "OSgird is one of the best places to start your hypergrid adventures and that means learning to jump from one hypergrid world to another like a simple TP."

Tuna told me he was still making his plans for his return, " I haven't even begun my thoughts on a few new shows in the works and perhaps an Odd Theater for other performers to play with me." Eventually, it was soon time for us to part ways, "The final word is don't be final and be willing to allow growth and change but always stay odd."

And so, Tuna went on his way, making plans for his artistic return to Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan

A New Computer

By Bixyl Shuftan

In Spring 2007, shortly before I began going to Second Life on a regular basis, I was in need of a new machine. At the time, new PCs were coming with not the fairly reliable version of Windows at the time, but Vista. I'd knew it both by it's reputation, in addition to someone I knew who had the misfortune of getting the relatively new system. And it was buggy as heck. It was clearly released before the bugs were worked out, resulting in the joke of early users being known as "gamma testers."

"Vista is the best advertising Mac has," people joked. And it was more than just a joke. I'd grown up with an Apple 2 in the house, and with "Beastia" making computer users tear their hair out, it was time to go "back to Mac." So going to the local Apple place, got an iMac. It was faster than the PC I'd been using, both on World of Warcraft and Second Life. And this was the machine that I began as a reporter inworld, and then editor.

But over time, Second Life was updated, as well as other things across the Internet. The new kind of official viewers didn't work so well, and neither did the later versions of Phoenix and then Firestorm. And after server-side baking, things began to slow up more. I was eventually at the point the viewer would freeze momentarily in the middle of me typing a sentence.

So after more than six years, it was becoming clear I was in need of a new computer if I wanted to go about inworld without trouble. So over time, I began saving up for one, one with a better graphics card so lag would be less of a problem. In short, I needed a "gamer PC," which would cost more. And as a blue-collar worker in real life with a mortgage, getting the money would take time. It's no wonder to me why many Second Life users continue to cling to old machines rather than get something new.

One catch, I'd need to have the old Windows 7 installed as Windows 8 was having problems not unlike Vista. The person who'd talked to me about his seemingly endless problems with "Beastia" some years before had recently gotten a computer with the new Windows. And once again, he'd gotten burned. After a few months of use, the machine locked up, and the local computer shop couldn't save it. He had to get another.

It took some time to save the money, but eventually, I got my new computer. My celebration had to wait though as the first one I got didn't work. Sending it back to get a new one would take about a week and a half. But once the new machine was hooked up to the Internet, I was in business.

I'd had experience with using PCs at the workplace, plus when I owned one a few years before. So I didn't have as much of a "culture shock" as a Mac owner. Connecting into Second Life, the results were a big improvement. The annoying "chat lag" was gone, at least the other kind I was getting. And the scenery loaded faster. For instance, when dropping by at Luskwood on the older computer, the appearance of the place and avatars could take twenty minutes to load. Dropping by on the new one, everything and everyone could be clearly seen less than five minutes. World of Warcraft also ran a bit faster, though not as big a difference. As time went on, the differences weren't always as big as my first look at Luskwood with the Gamer PC, but they remained better.

So my Second Life experience was saved. Not sure how much longer it could have gone on with the older machine. A number of friends have taken an interest in Inworldz, which happens to have less of a lag problem than Second Life, and my older computer can handle the place okay. So it's possible I'd end up spending more time there.

And since it's a PC, some of my virtual neighbors have been asking me to join them in "World of Tanks," "War Thunder," and other MMOs that require a machine with Windows to run. So will be joining them some, and I just might write a review on a few.

It's not completely without problems. I'll still crash with it once in a while. Curiously, I'll crash while going about on InWorldz with it, while on the Mac I seldom do. Some friends tell me unless the graphics card is just right, Second Life may have some issues with it. Guess you can't win them all.

As for the iMac, I'll still be using it. It's better with editing screenshots than the PC is, such as lightening up a screenshot that's too dark, or cropping someone's text. And as I mentioned, it can handle Inworldz just fine. So I'll still be using it. Although it can't run Second Life without stalling from lag, the old machine still has plenty of life left. But unless the PC is down for a few days with a problem, chances are when you see me, I'll be using the new PC.

Bixyl Shuftan

Wingless Avatars in Inworldz

By Bixyl Shuftan

With the controversy over Linden Lab's new Terms of Service directed at content creators, alternative virtual worlds to Second Life have been getting more attention. Second Life residents have been dropping over to look. But what about Second Life residents who prefer furry avatars? Going over, unless one was a content creator, he/she'd have to go tailless.

But for those visiting Inworldz, some good news. There's a package of freebie furry avatars available for anyone to pick up for free.

The package is available in the Amber sim, at the Furry Welcome Center in Amber (114, 92, 23). Turn around, and head to the tables. One has three cubes, one labeled Wingless Emoto Avatars. Click on that to receive a copy. For those interested, there's also a pony avatar and house.

For those who don't know, Wingless Emoto is an avatar designer in Second Life. Some years ago, he had a dispute with the retailer he was selling them through, and since the contract stated he couldn't sell his avatars at the time through anyone else, he made them freely available to all. Many residents have kept a copy of a package of the avatars on them to give to others wanting to try a furred avatar. Even after several years, although other avatars have been available for free, no other package that can be held to give to others has emerged. There was a package of newer free avatars available at the AnthroXtacy store recently, but with the company closing down, those avatars are not known to be available.

Like the package in Second Life, the InWorldz Wingless avatars come in a variety of anthro fox, wolf, horse, and hyena avatars in a variety of colors, red, white, blue, pink, etc. But the cube passed around in Second Life was mostly fox and wolf while the InWorldz package has a roughly equal number of the four, plus a few reindeer and werewolf avatars. Like the avatars in Second Life, the Wingless avs in InWorldz have both male and female skins (except the werewolf), and both parts for plantigrade and digigrade feet (except the werewolf and reindeer, plantigrade and digitgrade only respectively), and options for large and small hands. But the Customization and Control HUDs are not in the InWorldz Wingless avatars. A notecard included with the avatar package stated this was a first release, with another one planned later with HUDs.

Like it's Second Life counterpart, one doesn't have to wear the whole avatar. One can just wear the ears and tail (and feet) for a kitsune-style neko look. There are also a few hairpieces included.

So for those in Second Life who prefer looks with a tail, the option for furred avatars is available in Inworldz.

Inworldz Grid, Amber (114, 92, 23)

Bixyl Shuftan

Another Look at Inworldz

The first time I took a look at one of the alternative virtual worlds some friends were talking about, Inworldz, the results were disappointing, not able to stay on longer than a minute before crashing. After a while, I checked again, finding both Inworldz had done some updates. As before, Inworldz’ own viewer didn’t work for me. But the Imprudence did, and this time it stayed on. I was able to go about the Inworldz entry sim, called “Inworldz Desert Island.”

Starting out, I was in a bald, female avie with red pants and shoeless. Fortunately, I was able to create some clothes, with a little help from a texture package on me, so was soon able to upgrade my look from newbie to newcomer. Looking around, I found a freebie place aimed at male avatars, Man Icons at (82, 215, 22). For the women, there is The Feminine Coil at (145, 211, 22). I found a few gestures, male skins, of which I chose a dark tone, and hair pieces. Not exactly my familiar foxy self, but still a couple steps up from where I started.

The place certainly looked like the Second Life grid, at least with this Imprudence viewer. Checking the map, it did look a little different. There were a few times it crashed again, notably when I tried to get the profile of someone else. So perhaps there are no profiles here.

Finding an Inworldz guide in the shop, I took a look at the notecards for other places. A few places were definitely aimed at the adult crowd. But there were plenty of others. The ROMA group from SL had a presence here, as did the tinies of Ragalan Shire.

But further exploring in Inworldz will wait for another day. I’l look again soon. Sooner if someone can tell me how I can be my familiar self here.

Bixyl Shuftan.