2022 Sci-Fi Expo In Second Life

The 2022 Sci-Fi Expo in Second Life opens to the public on Wednesday 18th May through until Sunday 29th May 2022. This year the Sci-Fi expo marks it’s 14th year and theme is Brave New Future. Please note the Sci-Fi website is under construction and the web pages will be updated once the main event gets underway.

There are many exciting events to attend from DJ events, fashion shows, movies, dunk a Linden event, Trivia and much more. Check out the Events page and note that all times are SLT. The SLURL for the location will be announced/published nearer to the time.

This annual conference is the largest gatherings of science fiction fans, merchants, entertainers, roleplayers, creators and more. The conference features sub genres from steampunk, post-apocalypse, cyberpunk, fantasy, superhero’s and more. The Sci-Fi expo is a good way to support the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life of Second Life season.

The Sci-Fi Expo is made possible every year in Second Life thanks to all the amazing exhibitors, builders, volunteers and the visitors who make it a huge success. Everyone is welcome to attend the Sci-Fi Expo and don’t forget to spread the word about this great annual event.

Important Details

Timeline

• Setup: 14th to 16th May
• Early Access Press Day: 17th May
• Open: 18th to 29th May
• Breakdown: 30th May

Events

• Sci-Fi 2022 Events

Map

• Sci-Fi 2022 Map

Rules and Regulations

• Find out more details here
• No gachas of any kind, no bots, DJs may not have personal tip jars, No Game Rips

Check the Sci-Fi website every so often to see the latest new updates.

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Newbrooke Sub Continent Developments – May 2022 Update

During the past month there has been some new developments on the Newbrooke sub continent. I think probably the most noticeable thing has been the SSP regions highlighted in green up north. The Moles have added a brand new train station in the SSPAllrutti region with brand new railway line tracks going both ways (west and east). Recently the Moles have built a new railway bridge in the SSPBoomp region down south.

Expect more regions to be added in the months ahead full of new homes, rez points, water areas and much more. The Moles have added more Newbrooke Linden Homes along with new areas in green to hang out from SSPThimble Pond Farms to SSPBoomp.

New railway bridge in SSPBoomp

Bellisseria Continent Updates – May 2022

Sakura – Work is still going on to release these new regions. Sojisan NW, Sojisan SW, Sojisan NE and Sojisan SE now have orange squares around them. Release most likely in the next 2-4 weeks at best estimates.

Fantasy – Checks are still being made in the red square regions.

Chalet – Work is still going on in the central and east/south side with new houseboats and new areas still not finished.

SSP Development Area – No updates to report at this time

I will post June developments next month so stay tuned for that on my blog.

Mother’s Day New Last Names Now Available

On 6th May 2022 Linden Lab announced new last names for Mother’s Day (US) which are now available. These limited new last names will remain available until Friday 13th May 2022. You can change your account name here. and find the FAQ here.

• Mamacita
• Mommy
• Madre

Here is the full list of current last names now available….

The lab will announce more new last names throughout the year and for anyone that wants to suggest a new last name for Second Life then here is the Last Name Suggestions form.

Brad Oberwager Appears On This Week In XR Podcast

On 6th May 2022 Brad Oberwager who is the current Executive Chair at Linden Lab appeared on This Week In XR Podcast hosted by Charlie Fink and Ted Schilowitz. Brad starts by saying Second Life had a big boost over the pandemic from older members of the community coming back to the platform and there was new users. Brad mentions “the real growth came when the users came in the concurrency increased and so the economy increased” along with the social increase.

Brad comes in around the 10 minutes & 50 seconds mark talking about the growth of Second Life in recent years, new residents joining the platform, the business model and the land based model. Brad talks about how to build a creator economy, the metaverse and much more.

Brad says Second Life does 1.6 million transactions a day, 650 million dollar economy and that Second Life has 2.2 billion items in the world which is a huge amount. The podcast runs for 48 minutes and 3 seconds. Thanks to the sponsor Virbela.

Please spread the word 🙂

Old Linden Homes Continents “Will Mostly Go Away”

It’s been a while since we last heard anything about the plans for the old Linden Home continents but according to Patch Linden via SSP? thread on the Second Life Forums on Wednesday 4th May 2022 the plan still stands where the old Linden Homes will “mostly go away”. Patch hopes to save some of them for historical purposes and hopes to keep areas online for those that may still want one.

Patch mentions there will be “some level of disruption that is unavoidable”. Patch gives an example saying “part of what will need to happen is the web based control system for the homes will be have to be removed and replaced with the similar/same control system we use in world today on the new homes”.  

There is no specific time when this will happen but I would imagine it will happen when the Linden Themes have been rolled out completely for the Bellisseria continent. This could be sometime in 2024-2025 or much earlier than that. I hope the lab will give advance warning to all those that still live on the old Linden Home continents when the closures/moves happen.

Patch Linden new update on the old Linden Home continents going forward.

Your memory is accurate.  The plan still stands that the old Linden Homes continents will mostly go away.  Being the preservationist that I am, I do intend to save some of them for historical purposes and to cater to those who may still want one.  We haven’t quite worked out how that will go yet, but I predict that there will be some level of disruption that is unavoidable.  For example, part of what will need to happen is the web based control system for the homes will be have to be removed and replaced with the similar/same control system we use in world today on the new homes.  

The old Linden Home continents locations can be seen below on the world map in Second Life.

Old Linden Home continents

Hopefully the lab will update everyone on a regular basis on the old Linden home continents when the plans get put into effect. I will blog about any developments when I hear more.

Should the old Linden Home continents go or remain on the grid ?

Linden Lab Extending MFA Protection To Viewer Login

On Wednesday 4th May 2022 Linden Lab officially announced that they will be Extending MFA Protection to Viewer Login. To start using MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) you will need to enable MFA for your account found here. Activating MFA provides additional protection against unauthorized usage on your account such as changing your password, performing L$ transactions or changing your payment method etc.

Not everyone will use this but it helps to add an extra layer of protection on your account if you choose to activate MFA. MFA will be coming in the next Beta build for the Firestorm Viewer and other third party viewers may want add this in the near future.

Here is the full blog post…

We are pleased to announce we have added MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) protection to the Viewer. Recently we added MFA to web login. Now it works with Viewer login as well.

To start using it, you will need to enable MFA for your account on this page: https://accounts.secondlife.com/mfa/status 

For more info about how our existing MFA works, see Introducing Multi-Factor Authentication for your Second Life Account and the Knowledge Base Article. 

You will need to download and install an MFA-enabled Viewer: https://releasenotes.secondlife.com/viewer/6.5.5.571282.html 

When you try to log in with an MFA-enabled Viewer, you will be prompted to enter a token from your authenticator app. If you have chosen to save your password information, a valid token will be saved for 30 days.  After 30 days your next login attempt will require another token.

For now, if you try to log in with a Viewer that is not MFA-enabled, nothing will change, and you will still be able to log in without a token.  However, if you have opted in to MFA then a token will be required for all Viewer logins beginning in the near future.

Web User Group Meeting Cancelled For May 2022

Linden Lab have announced today’s Web User Group meeting has been officially been cancelled. Many were expecting to hear more about what’s new at the lab and maybe hear something about Premium Plus. I’m guessing the Premium Plus announcement has been delayed from this cancelled meeting.

The reason for cancellation for this month is not known at this time.

I suppose the good news is that the next scheduled Web User Group meeting will be on 1st June 2022 at the normal time.

Happy May!

Today’s Web User Group meeting has been canceled. We will be back next month on June 1st. Remember to keep an eye on our wiki page and the Second Life public calendar for all updates about user group meetings’ dates, timings, and topics.

See you next month!

Hopefully we will hear something more about Premium Plus before the end of May or sometime in early June 2022.

Linden Lab Adds Key Leadership Roles To Support Rapid Growth

On Monday 2nd May 2022 Linden Lab announced two new leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This news came from PR Newswire and not through the official Linden Lab news press page which is rather surprising.

Steven Feuling (CMO) has worked for many of the world’s best known brands including Microsoft, Bloomberg LLC, The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, E*Trade and General Motors along with many successful start-ups. Steven has held senior roles with clients, media partners and agencies. Most recently as President of MDC Partners’ Assembly and he offers a unique perspective to support Second Life and Tilia. Steven will manage the communications and marketing side.

“Linden Research remains one of the most innovative companies in technology, and it’s exciting to join the team that will lead the next stage of its development,” said Feuling. “Whether helping to support the renewed interest in metaverses for Second Life or building awareness of Tilia and virtual economies, I’m thrilled to apply my broad marketing expertise to assist in Linden’s growth.“

Peter Capraro (CISO) has spent almost half of his career on the financial services cybersecurity side. He held security roles at Bank of America for ten years, was the deputy CISO at fintech start-up and was involved in Akoya, spin-off from Fidelity investments. Peter will be the strategic leader to protect information assets and ensure security for the lab.

“As the metaverse is transforming into the next iteration of the internet, security will play a major role as the industry as a whole is being created in real-time,” said Capraro. “It’s an exciting time to be part of the Linden Research team and ensure security for the company and our users.“

Brad Oberwager who is the current Executive Chairman of Linden Research, Inc has said this about the new leadership roles…

“Steven and Peter are filling critical roles for Linden Lab, as the virtual world landscape takes front stage again,” said Brad Oberwager, Executive Chairman of Linden Research, Inc. “Each of their respective expertise at both successful startups and world-renowned companies will have a tremendous impact on our leadership teams for both Second Life and Tilia.“

I’m sure Steven and Peter will do a great job at the lab helping to support rapid growth for Second Life for many years to come. I wish them the best of luck with their new roles at the lab.

Linden Lab Announces New Event Regions

On Monday 2nd May 2022 Linden Lab announces new “Event Regions” in Second Life via the Second Life official blog. After successful testing at recent large events the lab are excited to present this new event region offerings today with details on the capabilities and what’s included. The tests recently saw nearly 200 avatars successfully able to party/shop in the new event regions apparently. It’s not clear from the tests what the lag was like though.

Pricing:

• Introductory price of $599 with no additional setup fee until 6th June 2022
• Following introductory pricing event regions will have a set up fee of US$999 includes first month and a rate of $899/month after the first 30 days

What’s New ?

For some these prices are pretty expensive to be honest but it does include a fair amount of benefits in this. It’s great to hear that in the event regions they can now have a maximum avatar limit of 175 per Event region with up to 30, 000 land impact. The new Event region comes with over 20% improved script performance, rollbacks as a service and instancing as a service. There is extended chat ranges upon request which means local chat will travel further across the region. This comes with the white glove Concierge service.

How to order a Event Region today:

• Submit a request via the support ticket system here: https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/home
• Select Land & Region > Region Purchase
• You can order multiple Event regions on your ticket

Follow the latest discussions on the Second Life Forums here.

Second Life May 2022 Events & News

Summer is fast approaching now and there is plenty of events happening during May 2022 in Second Life. Bay City will reach it’s 14th anniversary (press release soon) in Second Life later this month and the lab is due to announce details about Premium Plus at long last (scheduled for late May).

The Sakura sub continent will most likely open this month along with many released available homes. There will most likely be more news this month from across the metaverse.

There are many events happening during May 2022. Check out the events below and spread the word about them.

• The 2022 Fantasy Faire is still open until Sunday 8th May 2022
• Second Life Book Club – Every Wednesday at 12pm SLT
• POSH Event – 1st May to 23rd May 2022
• Bryn Oh’s Lobby Cam – 1st May to 30th June 2022
• Vanity Event – 2nd May to 25th May 2022
• May the 4th Be With You – Star Wars Day – 4th May 2022
• RelayStock – 13th May to 15th May 2022
• Mental Health Symposium at Virtual Ability Island – 13th May 2022
• The Great Gatsby (SLURL) – 15th May 2022
• Raglan Shire Artwalk – 15th May to 19th June 2022
• ToddleeDoo 10th Anniversary Fair – Runs until 24th May 2022
• Sci-FI Con – 18th May to 29th May 2022
• And there is more

Check out the Featured Events page and the Shopping Events page on the Second Life Destination Guide. What events are you most looking forward to most during May 2022 ?