Second Life Herald

Gotham: City of Heroes - And Villains, Too

by Lavinia Carver

Gotham

Just randomly browsing round the metaverse can actually prove useful. I found that out a little while ago, when I stumbled upon Gotham. I had first seen Gotham when it was mid-construction, so it didn’t look too good. It also took forever to build, so I personally thought it would take FOREVER to open.

I am not in any way fascinated by the whole superhero or super-villain thing. I’ve never read a single comic, DC or otherwise. Really the whole appeal was that this was as close to a modern day, realistic RP that I could get without having the mafia, magic, etc. involved.

Ask a Domme

by Barbie Starr, Second Life Dominatrix

Send your questions to barbiestarr@gmail.com

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Slave with online Mistress has gf in RL - should she be told?

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Question: I am a slave and I have an online Mistress. She has allowed me to have a girlfriend real life. She is demanding that I tell this girlfriend about Her. I am very nervous and do not want to scare my girlfriend away. What should I do?

Answer: Well first of all the most important part of being a slave and having on-line D/s especially if it's serious is Honesty and Trust. You need to trust that your Mistress is guiding you in the right direction and also, you need to be honest with people around you if your real life permits it. If you do not trust the person's judgment you are with I would think you would have to pick one or the other if you cannot tell your new girlfriend about your secret desires then you may want to either ditch the girlfriend or if you can't trust your Domme, ditch the Domme.

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Get to know your Domme before being collared

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Question: I am interested in D/s and I would like to start out online. What is the best way to find out upfront if I am dealing with a fake or the real thing in Second Life?

W-Hat Goon's Land for Rent in Baku Sim

Intlibber Brautigan, Woodbury helping keep W-Hat afloat?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

rent where Plastic duck got his first ban - and the first mega prim was created

Metaverse urban renewal experts and history fans may want to look up IntLibber Brautigan at the Woodbury University suite at the Tampa Marriot Waterside during the SLCC this weekend - it seems that Mr. Brautigan has secured the rights to rent mall space in both the W-Hat sim retail area and the W-Hat land in Baku sim - both sites where the goons have gained a certain level of notoriety for controversial builds - and possibly other activities.

While controversy may upset some, it also creates traffic as curious onlookers come to gawk and anti-griefers come to abuse report imagery they find objectionable. High traffic creates opportunity, but the burden of with endless tier payments to Linden Lab has resulted in a new direction for Baku - an attempt to cash in on the traffic and offset the Second Life land tier payments.

Top Ten Armies Reviewed - Consumers' Guide to SL Military

A must-read for potential recruits

by Vinzenz Fiertze

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Part I - The Brass Accord (Iron Symphony Section)

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Army 1: Merczateers
Leader(s): Lurdan Huszar, Anthony Lehane
Background: Set in Post-Apoc Ukraine, hence the sim: Badnarik.
Current Members in Main Group (as of 9/3/08): 274
Rating: 9

Pros: I found the Merczateers to be one of the BEST armies the grid has EVER had. For a start, their leaders have both a sense of humor, while still maintaining a moderately strict attitude to keep his soldiers disciplined and aware. It could actually be said, that, perhaps the Merczateers are a mixture between Ordo, and an army of the Soveriegn Regime. Not ONLY are they of quality leaders and officers, but their recruiters are very good. They are not like Ordo, in the sense that they decline roughly 82% of their applicants, but they do not invite those minorities who know little to zero english. Aside from the soldiers, the armor is remarkable, and most unique. The huds and weapons are also very well created, and are professionally scripted (as most army weapons should be). The Merczateers are nothing short of professional, when it comes to battles, armor, or weapons.

Cons: I find few flaws within this army, and those that I noticed, were small at best. One of them was the minor drama that I noticed would occur from time to time. Although some of it, later on, I admit I started, there was from time to time many others who could not stand a drama-free army. Other than that, the rumors that are constantly passed about are false.

Live in SL: КАТЯ ЧЕХОВА

5 СЕНТЯБРЯ / 21.00 МСК /10.00 AM SLT / ВТОРАЯ МОСКВА* / КРАСНАЯ ПЛОЩАДЬ

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

Second Life resident Bobzorin Cortes tells us in a lengthy press release that there will be a live broadcast of КАТЯ ЧЕХОВА - Katya Chekhova - in Second Life from Moscow, Moscow Island to celebrate the Moscow City Day and “Anniversary of the official opening of virtual capital of Russia”. It was unclear at press time if the SL residents of virtual Georgia would join in the celebration, having recently been pwned by Russians in real life - but Mr. Cortes assures us, "the invitation to the concert is addressed to both residents of Second Life and all worldwide users of the Internet, irrespective of the country they are located in".

Musasi Tanabe is quoted as saying, "Moscow Island is being surrounded with new territories", although Musasa did not detail whether invasion, or simple land rental from Linden Lab was responsible for the new territories.

Tanabe continues, "many representatives of the Russian business, education and politics have joined Second Life as well. We are constantly developing, new constructions appear every day, and the resident count increases rapidly. Second Moscow has confirmed its role of one of the brightest and best known projects, which is generally appreciated not just by Russian-speaking audience, but also by foreign experts, including the Linden Lab Company itself. The last year was very interesting and things-changing; it will be remembered among us for a long time, as well as a forthcoming holiday".

Long time observers of Second Life agreed that a certain sympathy between the Linden Lab game gods and Russians is natural, given their history and shared approaches to commerce, property, governance, and justice.

Residents Demand Warning Label For SL

SL can be addictive - activists organize JIRA petition for Lab action

by Mony Markova

Rallying to the cry of Activist Unite, concerned citizens are coming together to address the dreaded Second Life Addiction Syndrome -- an ugly topic that is all to common, though seldom mentioned in metaverse society.

What’s new? This very unpopular, scary issue is going official with a ticket on JIRA - the metaverse residents’ only way of asking for help from the game gods. Activist Unite are hoping for your vote, in hopes of convincing the superpowers at Linden Labs to take this problem seriously. That will only happen if people vote for it.

As you can see from this EllipticBlog entry from 2004 - which is still drawing comments - the SL addiction problem has many angles - but this JIRA petition is not an attempt to control or limit SL in any way. The proposed action is ONLY to make sure people its aware of the possibility of toxic immersion, so that they can be more careful of this “rare” possibility, and you know, just in case, help prevent it.

The Prince Diaries -- A Private Eye For An Eye

by Prince Plutonian, virtual rent boy

"Well that sucks."

Ginger had a knack for pointing out the obvious. We were having dinner at Restaurant Sea Breeze and I had told her all about the private detective that was waiting for me two days ago. She, of course, found it hilarious that my first foray into the world of escorting had been met with such a bizarre outcome. Well, it was a little bizarre in the first place, having to ask Ginger to walk me through my first escorting session with Mr Shlong, who apparently had a partner he hadn't mentioned. Would that have made me turn him down? Hmm, who knows? Fact is, I wasn't told, and now I was being blackmailed by a private detective.

Private Eyes metaservse detective agency

"Blackmailed?" Ginger asked with her mouth full of salad. She usually had her mouth full with something so I should be thankful it was only salad.

"You should just kick his ass. I have a great AO for that!"

I nodded with a smirk, although at the time, I had now idea what an AO was, (it means Animation Override, for all you newbies like me, which basically makes you walk, talk, fly, dance, much better). I then told her everything the detective -- Chase Nova -- told me: he was hired by Mr Shlong's partner to follow him around and provide evidence he was cheating. Nova was there the night Mr Shlong enlisted my services and got photographic evidence of us being together.

W-Hat Takes Up Arms

Suicidal rabbits and guns with no bullets stockpiled as W-Hat goons prepare for unconventional warfare with Alliance Navy?

by Metallicoe Gears, metaverse military reporter

Mall being demolished as goons move to a military footing

While doing my daily round of the bases, I came across the Mercz base once again, in Salamis. I walked up to the bridge and was greeted by the enlistees standing guard. I started a conversation with Merczateer Miko Finl about general war and things like that, then she mentioned that a new army was rumored to be starting. A military off-springing from the 'W-hat' group. I searched the group, then read their group charter. It said this:

'We aim to be a global organization that constantly stays a step ahead in dealing with change and creates new value, and contributes broadly to society'

Well, didn't sound much like an Army to me.

Miko told me they had a sim named 'what'. As I chuckled away at the utter randomness of the name, I was assured that Miko was serious. I pulled out my report’s notebook, opened the SL map, and searched for 'what', found it, then teleported.

I was greeted with the rather messy sight of a mall full of invisi-prims and random bits of buildings everywhere. I could see on my minimap that there was an inhabitant down below, so I flew down to take a look. Zoey Helguard.

Seikatsu Koba -- Post 6 Grrrl

[Whenever the thumbnail with the blue-haired head shows up on Flickr, you can be sure that another high-quality image has been posted. Plain and simple, that's the language Seikatsu Koba's pictures speak. She is highly creative and her work is widely respected without her taking part in the daily popularity contest that seems to be going on in the SL arts community. I felt honored when Seikatsu showed her interest in becoming a Post Grrrl and enjoyed our photo shoot in lag-hell Tempura Island to the max. – Bunny Brickworks]

Hello World,

I first came to know about Post 6 because an ex-friend of mine had his ass featured here. I was really curious about it, so I began reading about the guys and grrrls that have been featured, and after two or three of the posts, I decided that I wanted to expose my ass too; just for the heck of it.

I learned about Second Life a whole year before I actually joined. I read about it in business magazines, but what was most interesting to me was that there were many articles also featured in computer gaming magazines. On day I decided to check it out. I was very biased though, in the business magazines some people reported how it had changed their life for the better, and others how it had actually damaged or destroyed it. When I signed up, I kept telling myself that no one really gets to live a second life, so my name, Seikatsu Koba, means a life that is a lie.

Will LL Squeeze Combat Out Of Second Life?

Socrates Linden puts players in their place as concerns about new abuse report category's effect on military are voiced

by Caine Constantine

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This isn't a democracy. It's about enforcement of Terms of Service. The ruling party is me and my ban button. No others. - Socrates Linden

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Second Life is – regardless of what sort of economic or social theories you put behind it in your justifications as to otherwise – still at least in part a game. And as a game, it attracts a lot of gamers, especially those interested in first-person shooters.

Combat in Second Life is a popular hobby.

The combat community in Second Life is unarguably one of its most dynamic. Whether it be fighting between individuals armed with freebie AK-47s, or between well-funded military forces armed with the latest weapons of mass destruction, the endless competitiveness of it all has created a community of the finest builders, scripters, managers and fighters on the grid.

But if the new plans Linden Labs has for its abuse reporting system are put into place, this community could soon be under siege from without and within. IntLibber Brautigan, CEO of BNT Financial, said that according to a new line of abuse report categories being formulated for testing on the beta grid, fighting on the battlefield could soon become a punishable offense. Or is this simply being misunderstood?

WNBC Scoop: People Are Having Sex In Second Life!

Metaverse also allows children access to torture, human sacrifice, suicide, illicit drugs

by Sigmund Leominster

Earlier this week, the world was rocked by some startling and unimaginable news from NBC’s New York affiliate, WNBC: There’s an online game called Second Life and people are having sex in the game!

Yes, in a devastating 2 minute expose, Michael Garguilo, ace reporter, took a steamy trip to the “dark side” of Second Life and found horrors beyond imagination – horrors that OUR CHILDREN can now take part in! [ZOMG!!! - the Editrix]

caution - painfully bad reporting contained in the clip

The video clip is shocking and not recommended for sensitive viewers, if only because it contains mindlessly inane comments that appear to have been picked from the Moral Majority phrase book. Allegedly “some local law enforcement agencies and educators are asking, ‘how safe is this virtual world for teenagers?’” Apparently the same “agencies and educators” are not asking “How safe is the real world for teenagers?” and consider a night out in New York as good, clean, wholesome fun compared with the depravity and debauchery to be found in Second Life.

In a clip showing some besuited “expert” among a small group of good-looking soccer moms, he points to an off-camera screen and intones gravely, “This is not stuff we want kids to see.” Cut to a concerned and shocked mom who has presumably only ever had sex with one man, one time, and for the sole purpose of procreation.

Uri meets Pixeleen -- In Real Life!

by Urizenus Sklar

Pixeleen not only rocks Jurassic technology, but is self-identical

It wasn’t easy. Month after month of failed attempts at google stalking. Stringing together clues from the writings of Prokofy Neva and Deadly Codec. It was all for naught, until three months ago I caught a break. A man named Louis Cyphre contacted me and gave me an address in Minnesota. I caught the next plane to Minneapolis but was too late – Pix had moved on. Further inquiries among her neighbors pointed me to North Carolina. Armed with my new batch of clues and some additional information from Mr. Cyphre, I followed her to North Carolina, to a string of abandoned apartments, always arriving on the scene just days or even hour after she had moved on leaving behind nothing more than an empty bottle of Jolt or a duct taped canine. And then the trail ran dry once again. But just as I was about to give up, I had the good sense to crash a tri-delt sorority party at UNC, where I met a sorority sister named Epiphany that looked for all the world like Lisa Bonet, and who not only knew Pix, but provided me with directions to Pix’s cabin deep in the woods. I mean really fucking deep in the woods. And there I found her.

Bunny Gets Banned -- No Roleplay At the Hair Fair

Herald Post 6 photographer is tossed out of Hair Fair on her little fluffy tail!

by Kris Dibou


Willow Replacement's profile is not broadly offensive - but taking her at her word is

The Herald's own little Bunny Brickworks was bouncing down the bunny trail at the Hair Fair 2008, frolicking through the freebies and spending L$s like they were a fictional spacebux currency, until the fair turned foul. Here is how Bunny describes the scene:

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This Bunny girl was strolling along hair fair, collecting freebies, buying some stuff. all nice! when suddenly a girl stood behind me. I am a profile whore and checked hers and it was like 'I am a dirty slave and need punishment. anyone who wants to abuse me sexually, just send an IM, I deserve dirty treatment as you please', and suddenly another chick showed up

Willow Replacement: greetings Mistress Helke
Helke Duettmann: how are you?
Willow Replacement: silly cow is allright, Mistress Helke
Helke Duettmann: You have no right to call me "mistress"..as I am not your mistress..
Helke Duettmann: ah..
Helke Duettmann: and i trust silly cow is well?
Willow Replacement: 1ce upon a time, but silly cow likes to still refer to You as Mistress, Mistress Helke...

THAT CHICK REFERRED TO HERSELF AS SILLY COW!

Willow Replacement: silly cow is ashamed for doing so, Mistress Helke
Helke Duettmann: as well she should be

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SL's Economic Statistics Hold Steady

by Jessica Holyoke

Positive Monthly Linden Flow growth stays positive

There are a number of theories flying back and forth regarding the state of the Second Life economy, with some advocating for less regulation as a means to make the economy flourish, and others arguing that the performance of a company is the same thing as a virtual world's economy. The bottom line for Rivers Run Red, Electric Sheep Company, and even Linden Lab is in that the fortunes of these companies are in no way an economy. Any fiscal measurements of those companies are either a measurement of their success, or the strength of their specific sector. A company's RL performance is not the same as a virtual world's economy - or 6 economies -- despite what some graphophiliac gadflies might say at great length.

LL Voids Zorkmid Gambling!

Lab changes its mind about Z$ gambling scheme -- was Zara Linden overruled?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

1Z$ = 1L$ -- now closed until further notice

Second Life’s Z$ casinos disappeared Monday, after the Linden game gods apparently changed their minds about the legality of the Zorkmid Z$ gambling system. Z$ casino owners had claimed their system exploits a loophole in the TOS and RL laws by using a fictional currency for gambling, and allowing players to play a game of skill to turn the Z$ fictional currency into the L$ fictional currency. Linden Lab and others provide foreign exchange markets that allow L$ to be converted into non-fictional currency such as $USD.

As I toured the devastated fictional casinos, the owners did not seem pleased with Linden Lab. denjobi Odell told me, “well it was a loophole .. never official .. and so .. LL changed its position again and told all the loophole gambling systems to shut down before monday”.

Moggs Oceanlane -- Post 6 Grrrl

[Miss Oceanlane is one of the busy bees in SL, I knew her name from flickr and several other social networking facilities. All I knew about her person was that she's one of the smarty-pants, a girl known for her wits, and so I was more than surprised when rumours spread that she was interested in becoming a Post 6 Grrrl. Of course, I was more than delighted when she said that those rumours were true and immediately fixed an appointment with her. She provided me with all her contact data and the pics of some outfits she had chosen for our photo shoot – a professional approach I more than appreciate. All I had to do was choosing the right location and I think I found it in La Reve, a sim worth visiting. - Bunny Brickworks]

My second life, like my first is driven by my inate curiosity and love of people. Like my real world the people I associate with in world are quite a diverse bunch with mixed interests and talents. I'm mostly playful - though sometimes amusingly serious - I tend to juggle a number of tasks and people at once and am often seen roaming around on my own and muttering to myself.

My curiosity has me meeting interesting people, reading every notecard that comes my way, exploring sims, playing with gadgets and in-world tools, sharing ideas and having great adventures along the world. I am constantly in awe of my fellow residents for their creativity, kindness and points of view. There are so many amazing people in this space that my eyes are constantly opened in wonder while my hands clap in delight.

The Worm Hole

Lab's experiment creates hole in space-time continuum - sends residents to alpine sim twilight zone

[While ex-Linden staffer happy-news Hamlet Au reports a new peak concurrency of 67,335 players (up 906 players from last March), the incredible risks Linden Lab is taking to expand the world become clear in this report from Metallicoe Gears. - the Editrix]

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by Metallicoe Gears

Sunday night, (I'm in UK), at 6:17pm SL time, it seems some residents of Second Life, including me, were part of a Linden experiment gone horribly wrong.

There I was, minding my own business roaming the mainland when I got a bit bored and decided to go home. I opened up my map, clicked go home. It loads.

But instead of arriving at my wonderful sky apartment, I was teleported to a courtyard outside approximately three houses, surrounded by snowy landscape and silence - the sound of loneliness. But wait, others started arriving, 1, 7, 20. I was beginning to think that everybody who was trying to get home, ended up here.

snow cabins became an involuntary home to approximately 30 residents - in the middle of nowhere

I hung around a bit, listening to the distressing sounds of residents swearing at Linden Lab, and new residents being teleported in crying out 'This isn't my home! Who are you!' As I tried to calm the situation down by saying its probably a Linden error, the troubled residents were coming to conclusions. One worried man cried 'Its the end of the world! Goodbye'. Although none payed any attention to him, as it was hard to pick up the message amongst all the complaints and the growing number of people around asking how they got here.

The Prince Diaries -- Into The Wood

by Prince Plutonian, virtual rent boy

He looked at me before unzipping his pants.
I froze.
"Aren't you gonna do anything?"
Yes, I kept thinking, as he pulled out his tallywhacker. Really, Prince... you need to do something. But no matter how many times I kept telling myself to please this guy, I couldn't move.
So there we were, on his bed, completely naked... and I choked.

How the hell did I get myself into this situation?

It started, like all the good stories do, with a girl called Ginger. I hadn't been living my Second Life for long before I met her. She was dazzling, from head to toe. And I mean really, her sparkling outfit almost blinded me. At first I thought she was just dressed to impress... and then it dawned on me she was dressed to be undressed. She was a hooker. Or to be more precise, an escort. We struck up a conversation about how good we both looked, which then turned to Gucci and Prada (as well as some Vivienne Westwood and Rick Owens thrown in for good measure). It was at this point she realized I had to be gay. I'm sure I don't know how she reached that conclusion. Does fashion knowledge really mean you're a screaming 'mo?

Anyway, as a writer, I was curious to know what it took to be an escort. As a penniless hobo, I was even more interested to find out if I had what it took to become one. Turns out I didn't -- I still had no penis. Little did I know I had to actually go out and either buy myself some tackle, or find some freebies. Ginger assured me there are free genitalia lying around all over the place but something about that image really didn't sound right to me. So, with the escort business dissected for me by my big breasted friend (seriously, they're like air bags), I headed out to find myself some manhood. It didn't take long of course: sex is the biggest part of Second Life, there's no denying that fact. But I soon found out that when you're planning on buying yourself a dick, it's probably best not to impulse buy, as I found out later when I stood mesmerized by a dancer's much bigger, and much better wang.

Anti-Furry Church Preaches Hate

Roleplay or improv theatre? hate as an artform with sacred daleks and anti-yiff spray

By Kris Dibou

Cross in St. Devros Church

Jacada Ansar had a vision.  Like some who have visions, Jacada started a church; a church that can could previously be found at Woodbury Longcat sim.  While puzzling over many churches built in the name of love, yet inciting hatred over those who do not believe as they do, Jacada decided to create a church based on hate in order to make a statement.  And who better, in Jacada’s opinion, to direct that hatred towards than the furry community.

During my visit to Jacada’s church, I witnessed two attacks and one redemption.  The whole thing ran like preplanned role play and certain comments made by Jacada reinforced this supposition.