Linden Lab: Skill Gaming Policy update

On Monday 29th September Linden Lab posted a new blog post on the Second Life official blog announcing that from Saturday 1st November 2014 the new enforcement of the updated Skill Gaming Policy will come into effect. This will affect all residents in Second Life including those that have pending applications waiting for approval from Linden Lab.

In recent months there has been strong interest to become approved skill gaming Creators and Operators so that’s good news. If you are interested then you can apply here.

The full blog post

On September 1, 2014, the updated Skill Gaming Policy for Second Life went into effect. As a reminder, this policy allows for skill gaming activity in Second Life, but establishes that only approved Creators may make skill games with L$ payouts, only approved Operators may run them, and they may only be run on designated Skill Gaming Regions, where access is restricted to those who meet certain qualifications.

As our FAQs explained, applicants to the program who submitted their applications prior to the September 1 deadline have been permitted to continue their skill gaming activity while their applications are reviewed.

Beginning November 1, 2014, the enforcement of our Policy will apply to all Residents, including those with pending Skill Gaming applications that await Linden Lab review and approval. As of that date, any objects or regions found in violation of our Policy will be taken down. We strongly encourage all applicants to submit any outstanding materials for our review as soon as possible so that their applications may be processed before the deadline.

From the start, we’ve seen strong interest from Residents seeking to become approved skill gaming Creators and Operators. You can find the current list of approved participants here, and we’ll continue to review applications as quickly as possible to expand that list. If you would like to apply to become an approved skill gaming Creator or Operator, you can do so here.

Good luck to all those applying to become approved skill gaming Creators and Operators. 🙂

RFL of InWorldz raises over one million izzies

RFL of InWorldz reached the one million izzies mark last week which is incredible news and this marks a big step forward in trying to find a cure for cancer. Well done to all those that donated izzies and helped out to reach one million izzies for InWorldz. Woooooooot!!!!!!

As many know already back in 2013 Relay For Life of Second Life reached the $2,000,000 milestone for the American Cancer Society. Every year a new record is being set with history being made in Second Life and InWorldz.

IW Team Totals so far

• Team 1 General Account: Iz $359,677
• Team 2 Fashion for Life: Iz $163,961
• Team 3 Tiny Steps for a Cure: Iz $295,950
• Team 4 Tri Group Team: Iz $30,711
• Team 5 Roleplay for Life: Iz $179,693
• Team 6 Tsuki Mura for Hope: Iz $75,139
• Team 7 Dragons for Life: Iz $7,740
• Total raised: Iz $1,112,871

More information can be found on the RFL of IW website.

5th OpenSim Grid Survey: cast your votes now!

The fifth annual OpenSim grid survey launched on Saturday 27th September 2014 via Hypergrid Business. The aim is for the OpenSim community to rank their grids and to see how they compare to other OpenSim grids. The results in previous years have been most interesting and fascinating indeed. This is a great time to find out about new grids on OpenSim and to find out which grids are doing really well in terms of popularity.

• Voting closes on Thursday 2nd October 2014
• Please take this survey once
• Survey Link

Questions in the survey to fill out

• What OpenSim grid have you spent the most time on?
• How do you rate this grid’s content?
• How do you rate this grid’s community?
• How do you rate this grid’s support?
• How do you rate this grid’s technology?
• How do you rate this grid overall?
• Would you recommend this grid to others?

Previous OpenSim Grid Survey Results

• Results 2013 – 654 responses
• Results 2012 – 644 responses
• Results 2011 – 459 responses
• Results 2010 – 194 responses

 

The Drax Files Radio Hour #38: Nothing but Oculus!

Show 38 of The Drax Files Radio Hour is available to listen to and this week it’s nothing but Oculus Rift!.  As usual the radio hour informs you about the latest Oculus Rift news, Second Life updates and all things metaverse.

Main Hosts: Draxtor Despres and Jo Yardley.

Contact the show via skype draxfiles, avatar draxfiles or email radio@draxfiles.com.

 

InWorldz FrightFest 2014: Call for Volunteers

InWorldz will be hosting FrightFest 2014 on the InWorldz Event Sims starting on Friday 17th October through to Friday 31st October 2014 to celebrate Autumn and Halloween. FrightFest 2014 needs volunteers to make the event successful and this is a call out announcement.

Volunteer Roles:

• Live Performers, DJs, Entertainers
• Builders
• Photographers
• Artists for art exhibitions

To Apply 

• Join the InWorldz Events Committee group > Open Group Notices > Open FrightFest is coming up to apply for a role!

Event Details:

As the summer breezes roll out and the Autumn winds roll in we begin our preparation for this year’s FrightFest 2014

The celebration of Autumn and Halloween on the InWorldz Event sims will begin on October 17th and run through Oct 31st.

We need volunteers for many areas. This year we will have a blend of light hearted fun, a variety of entertainment, spooky builds, and some thought provoking art installations. Below is the breakdown of the areas in which we need your assistance. We are working on a shorter time frame this year so we need to set a deadline of FRIDAY SEPT 26 to receive all your requests for spaces. While we may accept requests after this date we will not be able to guarantee a spot after this date. Requests will be handled on a first come first serve basis.

NOTE— All builds will need to be completed by Oct 15th for inspection and final resource approval/adjustments by Wolf Hartnell and EventsCoordinator InWorldz.

Event Team

• Astoria Luminos – Entertainment Scheduling and Bookings manager
• Mike Chase – Stage and Sound Manager
• Nickola Martynov – Adult Community Build Lead
• Nine Septillion – Builder for Storytelling area and Crypt interactive project
• Nyx Breen – Builder of Special Project “Surprise build”
• OldeSoul Eldemar – Tiny/Dinky Community Build Lead
• Rhiannon McKenna – Art Installations Lead
• Wolf Hartnell – Script, Landscaping, Resources Manger, Events Assistant

Ebbe Altberg joins the list of speakers for Expand NY 2014

Ebbe Altberg 

On Friday 7th to Saturday 8th November 2014 Engadget Expand NY 2014 will be taking place and Ebbe Altberg CEO of Linden Lab will be speaking at the event. I would imagine we will hear more about the next generation platform (SL2,0) that Linden Lab are working on and the latest updates on Second Life. Hopefully there will be a live stream to watch Ebbe speaking at Expand NY 2014 which would be most interesting.

• Tickets are available here

Experience the Future of Technology

Engadget Expand is designed from the ground up for technology fans. The consumer event gives tech enthusiasts the unique opportunity to hear from favorite technology and science luminaries on stage, talk directly with Engadget editors, and get their hands on some of the latest and greatest new devices at the show floor exhibition. Expand NY is held annually in the North Hall of Javits Center, Manhattan’s premier venue for large-scale events.

I hope to post more about this event during November 2014. Stay tuned for updates. 🙂

New Video: Avatars for Net Neutrality!

Draxtor Despres uploaded a new video called Avatars for Net Neutrality! on Wednesday 17th September 2014. The  video runs for 1 minute & 32 seconds. See the video below! 

While we might not be able to get rid of all lag in Second Life we most certainly should raise our voice in the battle for the net.

Watch more episodes of The Drax Files here.

Home and Garden Expo 2014 Maps

Check out maps of the Home and Garden Expo 2014 happening now in Second Life. Enjoy!

Home and Garden Expo 2014 Master Map

Regions now OPEN!

7th Annual Home & Garden Expo starts today

The 7th annual Home & Garden Expo starts today and runs through to the 28th September 2014. There are nine sims to explore featuring over 85 designers, design products and creator tools. This year’s Home & Garden Expo is supported by nine Platinum Sponsors and eight Gold Sponsors. During the 2014 RFL of SL season, $415,000.00 USD was raised. Incredible!

The grand display of Second Life’s Home & Garden creators benefiting Relay For Life!

Home & Garden Expo regions 2014

About Home and Garden Expo

Home and Garden Expo (HGE) raises money for Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL). Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, and RFL of SL is one of its virtual counterparts. You can get more information about RFL of SL here: http://relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/.

 

 

Registrations now open for the 2014 OpenSimulator Community Conference

OpenSim Community Conference 2013

Great news to hear is that registrations are now open for the 2014 OpenSimulator Community Conference and tickets can be found here. Registration is a first come first served basis until the maximum number of tickets is reached. This year the conference will be live streamed via UStream for those that can’t get a ticket.

The 2014 OpenSimulator Conference will take place on 8th and 9th November 2014 on the OpenSimulator Conference Centre grid.

Keynote Speakers

• Philip Rosedale – Talking about the opportunities to develop an open platform for virtual reality
• Dr. Steve LaLalle –  Talking about ways to bring the Oculus Rift headset to the mass consumer market
• See more Speakers here

OpenSim Community Conference 2013

About the OpenSimulator Community Conference

The OpenSimulator Community Conference is an annual conference that focuses on the developer and user community creating the OpenSimulator software.  Organized as a joint production by the Overte Foundation and AvaCon, Inc., the conference features two days of presentations, workshops, keynote sessions, and social events across diverse sectors of the OpenSimulator user base.

The OpenSimulator Community Conference 2014 features four themed tracks and a Learning Lab for hands on hackerspaces, speedbuilds, and more:

• Business & Enterprise
• Content & Community
• Developers & Open Source
• Research & Education
• Learning Lab