A couple of URLs that I found

This one is for the SL Liberation Front...

Virtual loses its virtues

LA Times article on the fight to right the wrongs that exist in SL... Fascinating

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fi-second22feb22,0,4800566.story?page=1&coll=la-home-headlines

In Second Life, no-one knows you're a lapsed Catholic

Worth reading if only for the following quotes:

"It's like online sex — it's satisfying in a weird way, I suppose … but the real thing is so much better, why would you want to waste your time on it?" asked Francis Maier, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver and an avid video gamer.

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The Easter service this morning will be an experiment — and it carries some risks. "Griefers," or online vandals, have been known to disrupt church activities by manipulating their characters to streak nude through a chapel or belch loudly during meditation. There's also a danger that nonbelievers posing as Christians could engage visitors in text-messaged conversation and teach them false theology.

But in the end, Gruenewald expects great benefits when cats, emus and impossibly buff surfer dudes gather together to celebrate Easter. "This is definitely a messy frontier," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-virtual8apr08,0,5161696.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Blogged with Flock

Two weeks in

Another week spent getting basics sorted out for the campus - primarily, my first steps at mastering the SL building editor, and getting my first 'structure' up (a floating transparent circular 'viewpoint' (with chairs) that sits above New Hope.

Yesterday, I attended a Scilands meeting, where I put forward our case for getting the DIS campus located in their reserved space. This appears to have been successful, and I would hope we'll be in there my mid-May with a workable campus. Thanks go to Dave Taylor (National Physical Laboratory - Davee Commerce in-world) for the invitation to join. DIS will be located in a non-commercial space (barring some oddities who have got land in Scilands by accident - notably, some "Trekkies"), and we join a number of govermental and public-sector organisations from around the world.

The meeting itself was interesting as well, with 12 or so people sitting around and chatting to each other (along with IMs). Meetings require a concentration, as people tend to chat at the same time - I noticed that one or two of participants would chat to me, whilst others were talking to others. The text-based messaging on SL thus rather 'flattens' normal conversation in a room, and means that you have to be on your toes.......

DIS was one of three invitees who were asked to state their reasons for joining Scilands, and I'm going to join their Google group when back from holiday.

Next step after Easter is to get our island ordered. And then the fun will really begin....