Linden Lab Updates The Terms And Conditions

On Tuesday 25th October LInden Lab officially announced some new updates to the Second Life Terms and Conditions via the Second Life official blog.

Its worth reading through the terms and conditions page if your not familiar with it and feel free share it with others.

Whats New ?

1. “We clarified certain functions associated with the LindeX as well as the terms applicable to orders placed on the LindeX”.
2. “We added a section describing the terms applicable to your use of Stored Value Accounts, including your relationship with Tilia LLC”. 

The next update will take place on 31st October 2022. If you decline the changes then you have to close your Second Life account down.

Here is the full blog post with the new changes below.

From time to time, we make changes to Second Life’s Terms and Conditions in order to improve the documents, update and/or clarify policies, and keep the Terms current – all of which assist in governing your relationship with Linden Lab. Our next update will take place automatically on October 31, 2022.

Here’s what’s new in this update:

We clarified certain functions associated with the LindeX as well as the terms applicable to orders placed on the LindeX.

We added a section describing the terms applicable to your use of Stored Value Accounts, including your relationship with Tilia LLC. 

By continuing to use our services after the changes take effect, you agree to be bound by those changes. No further action is needed from you to accept such changes. However, if you would prefer to decline them, then you will need to close your Second Life account prior to October 31, 2022.

Here is the Second Life Terms and Conditions page.

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More Linden Home Themes Are Coming (End of 2022/Early 2023?)

This week Patch Linden officially confirmed more Linden Home themes are coming soon which is good news. There will be additional floor plans and things out for previous Linden Home themes between now and the end of the year. Yay.

I think there might be a sneak preview of the Ranches at the upcoming SL Christmas Expo in early December 2022. This would be a good time to showcase the new Linden Home theme with a possible release in early 2023.

2022 Linden Home Themes

The lab have released the Newbrooke and Sakura Linden Home themes so far in 2022 including hundred’s of new homes and new hangout areas. It’s amazing to see the Bellisseria continent expand out further throughout 2022. More work is planned for 2023 by the Moles with more new themes in the works.

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Ranch Theme – (Possible preview in December 2022/possible release in January 2023/February 2023 at the earliest)

The Ranches are coming along nicely according to Patch for Premium Plus members. Patch mentioned that the lab have not set a particular date for the release yet.

First Premium Plus selection of Linden Homes will be available at some point. There will be more themes for Premium and Premium Plus.

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Theme 11 – February 2023 – April 2023 – (my prediction)

No details have yet been announced for this theme.

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Theme 12 – June 2023 – August 2023 – (my prediction)

No details have yet been announced for this theme.

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Can’t wait to see what comes next.

Lab Gab With Patch Linden and Grumpity Linden

On Friday 21st October 2022 there was a special live episode of Lab Gab featuring Patch Linden and Grumpity Linden. There was a lot of topics mentioned during the live session and some announcements too.

I think probably the biggest thing to take away is the Premium Plus will be able to hold a Homestead regions ($109 a month tier for a Homestead) without having the need to pay for a Full region. Premium Plus subscribers in Europe will soon see the removal of VAT from all subscription options (TBC).

There was a update on Linden Homes including the first premium plus selection of Linden Homes will be the Ranch theme – launching end of 2022 / early 2023 release (more themes are coming soon). There are new plans to get new floor plans for existing Linden Home designs before the end of 2022.

The lab are working on mobile plans and apparently there might be some teasing of this option in early 2023. Speedlight is still a third party viewer and is not part of the lab’s mobile development. The avatar expressiveness project is still in the early phases of development (more in 2023). The lab will be rolling out some big improvements to a first-time avatar customisation process soon. New starter mesh avatars may be released in the next few months or so.

There was more projects and updates mentioned. If you missed the live episode you can catch up below in two parts.

Part 1

Part 2

Announcements Expected At Today’s Lab Gab With Patch Linden and Grumpity Linden

Starting at 10am SLT/PT today on Friday 21st October 2022 there will be a special live Lab Gab episode hosted by Patch Linden (VP of Product Operations) and Grumpity Linden (VP of Product).

There will be at least a few new announcements apparently during this live session about upcoming features for Second Life. Spread the word 🙂

Submit your questions on the form here.

Tilia Announces Investment From J.P Morgan

Linden Lab made an official announcement on Tuesday 18th October about Tilia managing to secure a new strategic investment from J.P Morgan Payments to help “further enhance Tilia’s current capabilities throughout its processing platform including providing increased payment and payout methods, expanding pay-out currencies and support services”

“Virtual economies represent a huge financial opportunity particularly for game, app and virtual world developers,” said Brad Oberwager, Executive Chairman of Tilia LLC.“

• See the Tilia press release here about the new investment

See below for the full blog announcement on the via the official Second Life blog.

We’re excited to share with the Second Life community some news about Tilia LLC, the all-in-one payments platform that powers the metaverse. Tilia was originally built and continues to support the Second Life economy.Tilia today announced that it has secured a new strategic investment from J.P. Morgan Payments. In addition to the investment, Tilia is also working with J.P. Morgan Payments to further enhance Tilia’s current capabilities throughout its processing platform including providing increased payment and payout methods, expanding pay-out currencies and support services.

What do you think about this new investment?

A Look Back At Second Life Private Estates During 2022 So Far

Basically since the start of 2022 Second Life gained 200+ Private Estates then lost roughly 200 Private Estatesk which is concerning to say the least. If downward rates continue as they are or get much worse then you can expect to see Private Estates drop under the 18, 000 mark before the end of 2022.

In early January 2022 there were 18, 332 Private Estates on the grid and there was positive net growth that followed for months. Back in late July 2022 there were 18, 326 Private Estates. A declining pattern has been happening since July 2022 for some reason.

During the past month it appears that Private Estates have dropped by -29 regions from 18, 164 in September 2022 down to 18, 135 as of 17th October 2022 via the Second Life Grid Survey.

It’s important to mention that back in early January 2020 private estates was around the 16, 036 mark. Back in late January 2011 there was like 24, 815 private regions on the grid. Private Estates have gone up and down a lot during the past 11 years.

Inflation globally and other factors will have a critical part during the next 2 – 6 months or so which will effect the Second Life grid statistics most likely. I hope we will see growth again soon in Private Estates in Second Life.

I remember a few years ago or so when the grid regions declined by the hundreds every month and I hope we won’t see that happen anytime soon.

I will publish another update on the region numbers in November 2022 and in December 2022 to report changes.

What are your predictions for private estates for the rest of 2022 and 2023+ in Second Life ? Please share your views in the comments section below.

New Premium Levels Coming Soon

Linden Lab are working on new Premium levels after the successful take-up of Premium Plus. The lab are looking to deploy the first of Premium levels by the end of 2022.

The news came from this week’s web user meeting for reference. Watch the whole meeting here including other Second Life project updates too.

The lab will be making a formal announcement about the new Premium levels (side versions) and what’s included by early November 2022 at the earliest depending on progress of course. In 2023 there could be multiple subscription levels and options to pick from.

Generally speaking more news about Premium levels should be announced by the start of November 2022 (it could be pushed back).

Keep a look out on the Second Life blog and via inworld user group meetings.

Tenth Annual OpenSimulator Community Conference

Preparations are under way for the upcoming Tenth Annual OpenSim Community Conference which opens on 10th and 11th December 2022. The OpenSimulator Community Conference is an annual conference that focuses on the developer and user community creating the OpenSimulator software.

The conference features many keynote sessions, social events, presentations and more. This year’s conference will focus on inspiring our imagination and energizing our community. It’s going to be awesome this year.

Important Dates & Deadlines

• October 17, 2022 – Proposals are due by 11:59 PM PST (Pacific Standard Time).
• October 30, 2022 – Proposal acceptance emails and with conference information.
• November 7, 2022 – Accepted speakers must register for the conference to create an entry in the conference schedule and the program.
• November 12 & 19, 2022 – Speaker Orientation & Training sessions and Presenter Booth Setup to prepare speakers for the conference.
• November 28, 2022 – Deadline for stage props and audio-visuals (beyond textures) for the conference program.
• December 10-11, 2022 – OSCC22 Conference dates!

Useful Links

> Call for Proposals here

> Volunteer for the conference here

> Login Information here

> Watch Live – (stream goes live in December 2022)

2022 Halloween Shop & Hop Opens Thursday 6th October At 9am PT

Halloween is fast approaching!

This year’s 2022 Second Life Halloween Shop & Hop event will be opening to the public at 9am PT on Thursday 6th October through until Tuesday 1st November 2022. This is a multi-region inworld shopping event.

There are over 320+ Second Life content creators participating this year across 16 regions. Come and celebrate Halloween through October featuring amazing gifts and much more. This is a great opportunity to discover interesting brands offering loads of cool stuff.

Visit the Second Life Halloween Shop & Hop regions here.

Forsythia

Halloween Shop & Hop 2022 regions

Please spread the word 🙂

Second Life Premium Plus Members Who Use SpeedLight Get More Benefits

Breaking News

On Tuesday 4th October Linden Lab officially announced that Premium Plus members who use the SpeedLight to access Second Life will now get more benefits.

The new benefits include the following…

• Unlimited online time at SpeedLight
• Advanced 3D World view
• Prioritised support (tickets and live chat)

Having unlimited online time sounds pretty good along with advanced 3D World View with more support. The Speedlight mobile app has been around for awhile now and its already proving popular with the Second Life community.

The Speedlight app is on Android and IOS along with the web browser version. In corporation with Linden Lab – v25 (September 2022) update:

The Speedlight mobile app is already popular with many of our community members since it enables Residents to stay connected with Second Life while on the go, and now Premium Plus subscribers get access to additional Speedlight benefits: no online time limitations along with prioritised online support. Now you can enjoy Second Life on your mobile devices (or in a web browser) with the freedom to stay connected as long as you like! To get these benefits, all you need to do is access Second Life using SpeedLight with your Premium Plus account

“SpeedLight is free! The only limitation is 6 hour online time (you can re-login immediately). The additional Gold facility adds unlimited online time to your avatar”.

“SpeedLight features:- Second Life search- friends list- local chat, group chats, IMs- IM autoresponder- group management- inventory management- L$ transactions history- and other Second Life featuresGold (premium) features:- advanced 3D- unlimited online time- mass IMs- message templates- mass messaging”.

Please spread the word and give it a go on the SpeedLight app. Feel free to post your views in the comments section below.