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History of the TG Transition
Here’s my follow up post about the history of the TSL Transition. You may find it interesting to read about previous milestones since the very beginning of the idea of merging the grids. Friday 21st January 2011 marks the end of an era for Teen Second Life, after running for almost 6 years, which is 2, 167 days in total.
Terrance Linden has put in a lot of hard work in the past 6 months to make the transition as smooth as possible. Let’s Make February “Teen Welcome Month” in Second Life. The transition of hundreds of teens will arrive on the Main Grid immediately and I wish the teens the best of luck in their new Main Grid adventures.
Timeline of TG Transition Events
- Back in 2007, there were rumours spreading around about a possible grid merge with the main grid in the near future. There were plenty of discussions at office hours and on the forums on a weekly basis. Linden Lab kept on saying “We have no plans for a grid merge”.
- During 2008, at TSL5B, Mark Kingdon announced that Linden Lab are working it on, relating to the grid merge was “to better incorporate teens in a much broader way in the future”.
- On 19th January 2009, Philip Rosedale gave an interview to Metanomics, mentioned that “the future of Second Life needs to be one where people of all ages can use Second Life together”. The community took to the forums and blogs shortly afterwards roaring about it.
- Last February during 2010, TG residents were integrated into the Second Life Forums. The TSL forums was shut down and only a tiny part of the forums were archived apparently. Teens and adults now share the forums.
- Back in August 2010, during SLCC 2010, Philip Rosedale announced that the closure of the Teen Grid. Linden Lab wanted to keep Second Life “sustainable” and “growing” apparently. The plan was to have 16-17 old users transfer over to the main grid. For the younger part the plan was for 13-15 year accounts to be turned off. Since August 2010, Terrance Linden has announced a number of blog posts from the Second Life Blog on the transition informing the rest of the community on what will happen. There has been tons of mixed reactions on SL blogs, forums and inworld meetings ranging from excitement to disbelief on the closure announcement of the teen grid.
- In October 2010, Terrance Linden talked about the transition at Plush Non Profit commons region on the Main Grid.
- In late November 2010, Terrance Linden apparently went to have a meeting with the teens about the upcoming transition. The Teen Second Life Website was taken down by Linden Lab in late November 2010.
- In Mid-December 2010, Linden Lab changed the Terms of Service that pointed towards the under 18 year old residents moving to the main grid and closing of Teen Second Life. There was some confusion over teens creating accounts on the main grid when this update came into effect. In late December 2010, Global Kids hosted a “Youth Forum about TG Merger“. This youth forum allowed Teens to come and share their thoughts, concerns, ideas, and hopes for the future of Second Life.
- In early January 2011, Linden Lab created 4 regions on the Main Grid called Bonobos Isles. Linden Lab renamed these islands to Chimp Isles a few days later because the name was unsuitable. The first few days of 2011, Teen Grid Transition 2011 was delayed due to in-completed work. LL told us that the Teen Grid Transition will be happening on Thursday 20th January 2011, which didn’t happen because of technical issues.
- On 21st January 2011, after 1pm SLT teens were able to teleport anyone to any region on TSL. LL transferred teen accounts by last name, so many residents had to wait longer. The map should refresh any time between 12am-6am SLT on 22nd January 2011, so that you can see the TSL regions because they are currently hidden at the moment.
- Official Second Life Blog Post: LL Welcomes Teens to Second Life
- Check out the FAQ about the TSL Transition can be found here
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RIP TSL
Check out the History of Teen Second Life and Second Life
14th February 2005 – 21st January 2011
Teen Grid Transition Happening On 20th January 2011
The Teen Grid merge will officially happen next week sometime during early morning on Thursday 20th January 2011, according to Spark Master’s blog informing everyone about the new merge day announcement.
Terrance Linden announced new details at TSL last ever office hour apparently at the I-World Village on 13th January 2011, from 2pm-3pm SLT. Terrence will not be doing a blog post about it.
The full transcript can be found on Blaze Borgin’s blog post, as our days become numbered. Next weekend is going to be interesting and if anyone knows me then feel free to IM me/add me as a friend when you arrive on the MG.
I knew alot of friends when I transferred to MG in mid-December 2008 and its going to be good to catch up with them again.
So let the great migration begin…
Teen Grid Transition 2011 Delayed
Apparently according to Terrance Linden today the Teen Grid transition has been delayed into mid-late January 2011. The delay was due to something Linden Lab wanted to do over the christmas holidays but they didn’t complete it. The original date for the closure of the Teen Grid was due for 31st December 2010 but that was pushed back to a few days after January 1st 2011 which didn’t happen.
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UPDATE (8th January 2011)
On 7th January 2011 Terrance Linden replied back to Blaze Borgin about the delay and this is what Terrance Linden said about it…
Hey Blaze,
No problem at all. Thank you for checking in.
We intended to complete the merge this week; however, it has been postponed by a couple weeks because there are a few more things that I want to check off before being comfortable. Just getting back after the holiday season, I want to take a little time, double check a few items, and ensure that we have completed everything on the list. It has not been called off to be revised.
I plan to let people know the official date once I feel that it is 100% confirmed, which should be sometime next week.
Again, thanks for checking in, and have a great weekend!
Best,
Terrence
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From Terrance Linden – (6th January 2011):
It’s been delayed, but will still be Jan. Didn’t complete something we wanted to over holiday. I’ll let everyone know when we secure ta date
The official closing date is still not confirmed but you can expect Terrance to let everyone know very soon. I’ll keep everyone posted on the latest when it develops.
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UPDATE from Blaze Borgin - (6th January 2011)
A local Teen Grid resident, Doug Falta, confirmed with Jeremy Linden that an official date will be released by Terrence some time next week.
[2011/01/06 14:00] Jeremy Linden: First: It appears we ran into some delays with the TSL move, so it’s been pushed back a couple weeks. He’ll know the exact dates by next week.
[2011/01/06 14:01] Jeremy Linden: Second: There will be some teen-only regions after the move: Bonobos Isles 1-4It appears that we will also be recieving some regions with a Teen-Only land rating. Something new that was unexpected.
It looks like we’re going to have to wait a little longer before our teen accounts are finally on the Main Grid.
Global Kids hosts "Youth Forum about TG Merger"
Thanks to Blaze Borgin for sharing this news on his blog.
A number of TSL Approved Adults, hosted a youth forum meeting at Global Kids island on the Teen Grid on Wednesday, 29th December, 2010. This youth forum allowed Teens to come and share their thoughts, concerns, ideas, and hopes for the future of Second Life. Rik GKid, Rhiannon Ferlinghetti and Frans Marseille hosted the discussion with 20-30 teens for about one hour. The shut down of TSL is sheduled for the first week of January 2011.
Here’s the summary according to Blaze:
Some 20-30 teens participated (It was very short notice) and all shared their opinions. Here are the topics that were discussed.
- Why teens oppose the merge
- Why teens are for the merge
- Treatment of teens by adults and vice-versa
- Teen content creation
- The loss of our “close community feel”
- Ways of maintaining our “close community feel”
- How residents under 16 feel about the merge
- Alternatives to Second Life for those who are left out (Different open grids)
Overall, teens who are transferring seem to be excited about the merge, though they worry about how they amy be accepted into the adult community. Content creators see it as a positive change to be able to provide their products to more potential customers while others are excited about the new regions to explore.
Both teen age groups are not too happy about how well Linden Labs handled the younger group. Most feel that being enclosed in one region for 1-3 years or even cut off entirely before transferring is not a good decision.
Overall, the meeting proved to give quite a bit of insight on the feelings of those involved. It is clear that this move will not be easy, but like all other hard times, it seems we should make the best of it.
Apparently there will be a full transcript of the meeting on Global Kids website and on Betterverse website very soon. I will publish more info when I hear about it here on my blog.
TG Resident Blogs You Should Follow
- Walking The New World - Blaze Borgin
- The Voice of TSL - Foxdog Pawpad
- Black Coffee and Warm Milk - Skye Thing
- The Last Teen Grid Endeavor
- Ishy Wingtips Blog - Ishy Wingtips
- Second Life Feed - RosalieHale Quintessa
- Fashion Bloggers Unite - RosalieHale Quintessa
- SL Grid Merge Information
As many of you are already know the teen grid is due to be shut down the first week of January 2011. It’s going to be interesting what teens blog about between now and then. 
New Q&A Notecard On Teen Grid Migration 2011
Apparently Terrence Linden has sent out a new Q&A notecard with specific information about the upcoming Teen Grid migration in early January 2011. I managed to get this new info from this source.
NOTECARD FROM TERRENCE LINDEN DATED DECEMBER 2, 2010
“Teen Grid Q&A”
What is the “merge”? In early January, the separation between the Main Grid and Teen Grid of Second Life will cease to exist. At that time 16-17 year old accounts will continue (including inventory, L$ balances, etc), but will now have access to General-rated regions on the Main Grid in addition to the Teen Grid regions (all of which will still exist in their present location). Individual 13-15 year old accounts will no longer be able to access Second Life until they turn 16, unless they access Second Life under the umbrella of an organization.
When will this happen? In early January 2011.
What will accounts have to do in order to transfer? There is nothing that users will need to do to transfer. Linden Lab will handle everything for both the 16+ year olds that will continue using Second Life, as well as for the 13-15 year olds when they turn 16 and will once again have access to their accounts. It should be a seamless transition on the users’ side.
What happens to the current Teen Grid land? All land will become part of the Main Grid, while staying in its current location on the Second Life map. Land ownership will continue as it is. However, for 13-15 year olds, please note that since your account will be on hold you will no longer be able to pay tier, and therefore you should take action to sell, or give up, your land prior to January.
Will adults have access to Teen Grid land after transfer? Yes, adults will have access to all public Teen Grid land after transfer. However, as you can now, it is possible to place privacy limits on parcels that you are renting.
What happens to inventory? All inventory will remain as is during the transfer process. 16-17 year olds will retain all inventory when they transfer, and 13-15 year olds will retain all inventory when their accounts are placed on hold.
Are there actions that 13-15 year olds should take prior to January? We recommend that 13-15 year old accounts cash out any remaining inventory balances and sell or give up their land prior to January. Otherwise, there is nothing that 13-15 year olds need to do.
What if the wrong birthday was put in for my account when I registered? These matters should be handled by filing a ticket with our support team.
Are Linden Homes available to users under 18? At this point, no. 16-17 year old users will continue to be able to have the other benefits of becoming premium Second Life users. However, they will not be able to access Linden Homes until they turn 18.
Terrence Linden Updates Teen Grid Residents About TSL Transition
Terrence Linden apparently went to have a meeting with the teens yesterday afternoon on 27th November 2010, at the resident owned region called Eutopia. Terrence Linden did a question and answer session on the most important talking points raised by Teen Grid residents. Blaze Borgin a teen grid resident who is a good friend of mine kept a log of the transcript and updates mentioned by Terrence Linden.
Latest Updates posted by Blaze Borgin:
- Teen Second Life will shut down in the first week of January.
- All active accounts age 16-17 will be transferred.
- All accounts ages 15 and under will be frozen and automatically reactivated when the user becomes of age.
- All land in TSL will be transferred.
- Transferred accounts will keep all items, friends, etc…
- 16-17 year old residents can have access to the marketplace but can not purchase items marked as “mature”
- Adults can visit teen grid regions that are transferred.
- Transfers are automatic and do not invlve anything done on our part.
- Linden labs is not doing this simply because of cost cutting measures as most people say.
- Teen users will not get tags, nor will adults, in the interest of safety.
- 80% of G regions do not border Moderate/Mature regions
- Terrence will provide more answers in a notecard (possibly)
Apparently there were around 100 teen residents that attended this special Q&A session and many posted their TSL questions on a page called Teen questions for TSL migration created by Terrence Linden. So far there have been 44 TSL residents that have submitted 62 questions along with cast 783 votes so far.
When I hear any new info I will publish it on my blog when it comes available.
TSL Transition Countdown, Update 2
Yesterday I had a meeting with Terrence Linden about the upcoming closing of the Teen Grid and I received alot of good feedback in the half an hour that I had. As many know Terrence posted a new blog post about Bringing Teens to Second Life’s Main Grid on Thursday 18th November 2010. Since then there’s been over 500 blog comments on the post and that number is increasing.
Here’s the latest news:
- The date has now been pushed back a few days after 31st December 2010
- Teens will only be able to go to G regions, until they become 18 years old
- Linden Lab engineers are hard at work preparing currently for the Transition
- The TSL website went offline last week officially by Linden Lab
- Everyone will see the teen grid regions and it will be visible (regions will stay where they are)
- Very mixed feedback from Teens and many have been asking questions on how things would be done during TSL office hours
- Terrence Linden has been talking to a lot of lindens on this, across all parts of the organization and has learned a lot about how LL internal systems work, code, policies, etc
- In profiles there will be no way to find out any teens age –> (safety/privacy)
- Terrence pointed out theres’s not enough communication with the landowners on the teen grid
- Linden Lab have noticed the teen grid declining
2011 The Big Change
As many of you know Terrance Linden goal is to make the experience for Teen Grid residents smooth as possible when they come over in early January 2011. Terrance added that this TSL Transition is good in the long run, in the short run it will be choppy and hard. It’s a big shift, a necessary one for the good of the grid and Terrence is excited to see what the 16-17 year old do on the main grid. Terrence thinks it won’t be as big of a change as people think, but it is definitely a change. G regions are 15% of the grid, Terrence wants to do this correctly and Terrence pointed out it is hard reading some of the blog comments because it is a change for people and change is difficult.
What are your views on the TSL Transition at this stage ?
TSL Transition Countdown, Update 1
Between now and the closing of TSL I will publish any new information that I hear about on my blog on the TSL Transition which is now due to happen in Early January 2011. Stay tuned for upcoming updates!
NEW – 18th November 2010
17th November 2010
- Update by Terrence Linden: “There will be a blog post very soon with final info”
- Bits of news from the TG posted by Arwyn Quandry.
13th November 2010
- The clock is ticking posted by Tateru Nino.
Update 1: Updates will be published regularly here on my blog.
Update on Future of TSL from Terrence Linden
Terrence Linden came to talk inworld today at Plush Non Profit commons region about the upcoming Teen Grid Transition. Over 100 avatars attended the meeting, organized by Techsoup. It can’t be easy one Linden against 100+ avatars in the same location but Terrence Linden delivered really well this morning. Expect an official transcript posted on the Nonprofit Commons website very soon. Alot of new useful information was exchanged between residents and Terrence Linden.
Terrence Linden 3rd right with the monkey on his back, on the green chairs in the front.
Important New Updates from Terrence Linden.
- Expect a blog post in about 2 weeks on the Official Second Life blog about the layout dates for the TSL Transition
- All of the sims that are on TG now (including teen mainland) will become part of the Main Grid still in their current locations and teens that have land will be still there during the transition
- 13-15 year olds will come to MG via special registration APIs for the organization. 16-17 year olds will be able to join through the SL public process then to be added to the region by that group
- Teens will be able to visit “G” rated sims
- Between 5-10K registrations a month on TG for new Teen residents
- Combat sims are being looked into
- New terms of service for users to agree for those that are involved when the time comes
- Many teen residents have been sending Terrence letters of protest and youtube vidoes of why they love TSL
- LL are exploring the idea of field trips where groups may set up trips for a limited amount of time for teens to visit sims on the main grid. Or maybe friend another Teen region and have an exchange. I.e teens visit the NASA sims etc.
Terrence Linden finishes up by saying:
- I think the best that we can all do is make suggestions both regarding safety and experience for these individuals and be patient with us, that is A LOT to ask I know.
- However, we are trying to move everyone on the Grid forward
- I look forward to seeing/talking to everyone again down the road!
I now have a copy of the full transcript if anyone would like a copy inworld. What are your reactions on the teen grid transition and if you went to the meeting what were your throughts of it all?
I would love to hear from you in comments and I will post futher blog posts on this when I have more to report on.
Linden Lab Welcomes Teen Grid Orgs To The Main Grid
Terrence Linden published today that Linden Lab will be Welcoming Teen Grid Organizations to the Main Grid. It’s been just over a month since Linden Lab announced the plans to shut down the Teen Grid on 31st December 2010. That blog post received 1, 750 comments from the Second Life community and also received 32, 159 views since then. I can remember the days when SL blog comments were limited to 100 but with 1, 000 comments it’s rather laggy to scroll through all the comments.
Back in August 2010 Linden Lab were still “evaluating” ways for 13-15 olds to have safe access to limited locations on the Main Grid. Since then there have been a number of meetings, discussions to enable there to be better solutions for the upcoming Teen Second Life Transition to the main grid. Non-profit and educational orgs have been keeping in touch with Linden Lab to understand their needs and measures.
Important New Changes
- Today, we are excited to tell you that we will be able to continue serving all of the educational and not-for-profit communities of the Teen Grid, including those that serve 13- to 15-year-olds, without an interruption in service.
- I’m happy to say that we are able to meet these needs, and allow 13- to 15-year-olds access to limited locations on the main grid, with appropriate controls for administrators. We will implement these controls and transfer these rich and exciting projects from Teen Second Life before the end of this year.
- The 13- to 15-year-old students affiliated with these organizations will be unable to visit any regions except those of their hosting organization, and those accounts will not have the ability to search the Grid or to purchase items from the Marketplace.
Within the next three months there will be more announcements from Linden Lab I think until the final date of closure of TSL. Again this latest announcement is a small step forward in the right direction at the moment. There is the Teen Second Life Transition FAQ for more information.
What do you think about this latest announcement ?
Update On The End of TSL
It’s now official that the Teen Grid will be switched off on 31st December 2010 and that the minimum age for the Main Grid will be lowered to 16 years old. 16yrs and 17yrs inventory’s will be transferred to the Main Grid and LL are working on groups/friends/land. However for 13-15 year olds the accounts will be preserved until they reach 16 when they can join the Main Grid.
Official announcement:
There will be upcoming inworld meetings set up by LL discussing questions and suggestions for TSL. Details still to be confirmed..
