Here's to You, Alleara Snoodle

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Party of our journey in Second Life is the people we meet and the friendships we make. Some have just a fleeting presence. And then there are those who you never forget. One of my closer friends here was Alleara Snoodle. 

 

She had first logged on in July 2008. It's hard to say exactly when we first started chatting. When I first started going to Club Cutlass around 2009 (when it was in it's 'Aztec pyramid' design), we probably just saw one another at a distance as I wasn't very talkative at the time. But one night I lingered a little after the party ended and most left. I was probably going through some notes to write a story for Dana when a white Felis kitty with red hair, dancing on a pole messaged me, asking me to come closer. We ended up chatting for a while, curiosity turning into happiness that I had found a new friend. And this breaking the ice conversation would be the start of a friendship that would last for years. 

 

 

It turned out this wasn't her favorite form. She had a few. Early on I saw her most frequently as a lioness or white tiger, with red hair, and sometimes with red wings and a red suit. But sometimes she would appear as a red kitsune fox, also with red hair and wings. Later on, that would be the look she was usually in. The lioness and tigress were of an avatar for sale she was helping to design. 

 

 I soon found out a few things about her. Besides the Sunnies, she was also active with the Chilbo community, which is known for it's artists. She was also in a SL program called Metanomics. 

 

She also would be part of a discussion at the Second Live Convention, the inworld part, in 2010.  

 

But unfortunately, she had also been severely injured in the past, pushed off a building from a height that would have killed most. She survived, but was never the same again. While she was eventually able to get around, with difficulty, without a wheelchair, it would eventually lead to health problems. In 2010, she would leave Metanomics and stepped down from a leadership role in Chilbo. 

 

As for the Sunnies, despite her injury, she was a busy one. As one of the Passionate Redheads, she helped with a number of builds, such as the "Really Wild West" exhibit for the Redheads' camp on the Relay track in 2009. And she wasn't just a good builder, but a downright smart one. I once heard she had somehow made a closing door with a script that contained just two lines of code. 

 

Alleara once showed me what she called a lag distributor, one that would allow those who had a group of sims to spread the processing across the whole area instead of just the one where all activity was dealing with. But only after making it did she wonder if letting Linden Lab know about it might be a bad idea as at the time they could be lazy when it came to development of anything that wasn't "bells and whistles."

Allie also made her way into a few SL Newspaper, and later on SL Newser cartoons. 

 

 

Allie confided to me and a few others she had an alt, Prouds Flinters, whom at first was usually a tigress, but later on saw her mostly in otter form. 

 

I would also meet a couple people through her, Linn Salamander who was in an anthro dragon avie. She and Allie would tell me they were real-life friends. 

 

 And there was Carol Cream, who appeared in either a polar "bearsy," or a white bunny. 

 

I would eventually learn details of Alleara's life on the other side of the computer. While I learned early on she was German, she told me she had been born in Romania, a gypsy. She and her parents would make their way over to Germany and become citizens. She would take occasional vacations to Norway. 

 

 Alleara also liked to draw on occasion. A self-portrait of her as her persona. 

 

 Alleara very much had a place among Nydia's Angels. I remember when Nydia threw her a rezzday party.

 

 And Allie would have a ball at Nydia's soon after.

 

She would also tell me she was a clothes designer, helping to make some of the Alessandra line.  But she wasn't officially part of the staff, preferring a lower profile. 

 

 A few months after the close of the SL Newspaper and the opening of the SL Newser in 2010, Alleara gifted me with this drawing she did. She would say of the cigarette she was trying to capture a "Bogart" look. She would also drop a copy off at the office. 

 

I would go on a few dates with Allie. But we also had plenty of fun together with Nydia and other friends. Here was one occasion the joking around between us led to a cartoon. Much like Nydia, she could have quite a frisky sense of humor, as did Lina, which led to a few memorable moments. She posted a few on her profile, notably when Nydia accidentally stated she was "known for her great heat" instead of heart. 

 

And when it was just her, she was always curious about what you were working on, or what game you were playing. And when she sensed something was troubling you, wanted to know what was wrong. 

 

There was one time Allie's helpful manner got her into trouble. Around May 2012, she had been trying to help a friend who made a sci-fi shuttlecraft load it onto Marketplace for sale, but it was buggy that day. She eventually got the attention of one Linden, who acted like he was annoyed to be called to help someone. The exchange of words soon got heated, and she found herself logged out, then notified she was suspended for three days, "I thought … he would at least react normally, but what can I say, his backyard." 

 

Unhappy with this development, I ended up writing about the incident. That got a number of people angry at the Lab, "Bah on anyone who would hurt Alleara." "Alleara is one of the sweetest people I know. If LL is now banning people (however temporarily) just for insisting that we GET what we are PAYING for, then the death of the grid truly is nigh." "Alleara is one of the kindest people. I know. If this Linden got snippy and banned her, even temporarily, he or she needs to be disciplined." When Allie herself found out, she was humbled by the responses, but would tell me she felt a little embarrassed. Looking back at the conversation, she concluded her banning wasn't entirely undeserved. 

 

Sadly, around mid to later 2012 I think, Alleara got into a bad accident. Her car was totaled, her dog was killed, and she was badly injured, especially one of her hands. Although she was able to regain partial use of it eventually, she would never be able to draw again like she had. 

 

By 2013, Allie had somewhat recovered, and was able to make the Second Life Tenth Birthday Celebrations in June. 

 

In Oct 2014, Alleara would gift Nydia with a guardian statue, it representing how the Angels group felt about protecting one another. 

 

 Sometime in the mid 2010s, Allie made this press tag for my fedora (this is a new picture, but shows it more clearly than those at the time)

 

 

 

For the Relay seasons, Allie would help with some Sunbeamer team outfits, such as the women's tracksuit, which she is wearing here in August 2016 in the post-season team meeting. One season she did one for all of the Relay for Life volunteer group. 

 

And then there were the music videos Nydia did. Alleara was a part of many of them. 

 

 She and I were in a few together. "The Fox" in December 2018 was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it would also be the last one she would take part in. 

 

 In March 2019, Raphie wanted his Yinglet avatar ready by the time of the release party, but was having trouble ironing out the bugs. So Alleara stepped in to help. 

 

 I would see her less often in the later 2010s. She had gotten a job working for Tesla, doing so remotely through her home desk (at the time, the owner was much less political than today). She would say it involved a new plant in the USA devoted to the manufacture of electric car batteries. I never did ask how much money she made, but was hoping it was plenty and for a good retirement. 

 

 But not all was well on her side of the computer. Some time after her auto accident, her mother passed away. Also in the later 2010s, her father died. It would be just her and her real-life friends.

 

2020 was the year of the Coronavirus Pandemic. She continued to work remotely, and stayed isolated in real life. The few times we met or chatted, we talked some, and wished each other well. 

 

In June 2021, we ended up meeting up and walking about the Chilbo community she was still part of. After many years, it had less territory, and some people were gone. But it was still active and the artists were still coming up with new things. Since I was still writing my science-fiction tale, she mentioned a series being done by another beginning writer, "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)" by Denis Taylor. 

 

We talked, chatted, joked. Perhaps we were both a little older, a little less perky, but it was still nice to meet up with good friends. When it was time to go, I felt happy, and hoped it wouldn't be too long before we met again.

 

But sadly, this would be the last time we met.  

 

In October, Nydia was messaged by someone saying he was a friend of Alleara's, and he had some terrible news. He would say Allie had been increasingly ill for days, showing signs of the Coronavirus she had isolated herself from. On Friday night, she messaged a friend to take her to a clinic Monday morning. But when the friend got there, he found Allie dead. She had passed away sometime the night before. 

Our beloved gypsy, the woman who had escaped death twice before, who had a great brain and a great heart, who had done so much for so many, was gone. 

 

 People would have much to say, "She was one of the few that showed care and compassion to many, myself included. She will be missed." "Alleara was always creative, always funny, and had quite a horrific personal history. I hope she is at peace now." "I know the goddess herself met her on the other side to welcome her home with a warm embrace."

 

Shockwave would have this to say, "She was my equal in building, though she had lots more time than I did early on. She was one of the first people I met inworld (Lusk if I recall.) We spent ten years trying to outbuild each other and finally just settled on mutual showmanship rather than competetion. She was horribly crippled from a car wreck, and got around the physical deformities by living in SL instead. 

 

"May God grant you ALL the answers, dear lady. Your suffering is ended at last, and your wings will free you from your prison." 

 

A surprise was soon revealed. Earlier I mentioned I'd met a couple friends of Alleara's, Linn and Carol. But it turned out they were actually her alts! I'd never seriously considered this possibility. 

 

 Nydia would do a tribute to her and Jessicabelle, whom had also passed away only a few months before. 

 

 Two memorials to Alleara would be done. The first was she would get an Eternal Flame at the Sunweaver Memorial in Sunweaver Eclipse. 

  

Later on in the Purfection Estates, near the Happy Vixen Beach club, Alleara would get one of her own, in the style of a Japanese shrine. 

 

A German friend would also do a small one on his land, but as his place is private property, it's location is not given here. 

 

Four years have passed, and the Sunweavers/Angels, Chilbo, and Second Life, have continued on.  Alleara's friends in my quirky community have dealt with a few more problems and trimphs, gotten a little older, we've gotten new people, and sadly other people passing away.

 

But we never did forget Allie. We still talk about her. We still think about the fun times we had. Her statue remains in Pacific Waters. Her drawing she left at the Newser office is still there. A Coke bottle she left at Cutlass as Carol remains. 

Alleara's legacy in Second Life remains far and wide, the clothing she designed, the pride felt by the communities she was a part of, the items she built, and the many memories she made with her friends. She is an example of what one can accomplish of one doesn't care too much who gets the credit (and sometimes somebody will make sure the credit is given), and what one can do with great brains, an unwavering spirit, and a great heart.

 

We'll meet again, our beautiful, brilliant, loving gypsy.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Looking Back: Shellie Sands and Grey Lupindo

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

When Second Life Newspaper closed down in early June 2010, four writers would go on to found and write for it's successor, the Second Life Newser: Gemma Cleanslate, Grey Lupindo, Shellie Sands, and myself, Bixyl Shuftan. Gemma and I have continued writing to this day. Sadly, Shellie and Grey have stopped writing. So who were they and what did they write about?

Shellie Sands joined up with the Second Life Newspaper sometime in 2009. Besides her articles, she also did poetry inspired by what she saw in this virtual world. In 2010 came a new subject: Ozimal bunnies, which she loved and would write about. She would also write about musicians and art. She would later get some Amaratto horses and write about those as well, one picture which Hamlet Au would cartoon in January 2010 following the results of the lawsuit between the two breedable pets makers.

Shellie would take a couple breaks in 2011, but came back, her last article in August and last poem in September. She would attend at least one more meeting, but sadly the Newser's poet would send no more.

Grey Lupindo was different from other reporters at the Second Life Newspaper in that I first met her before she joined. I ran into her at the Second Life Sixth Birthday grounds sometime in June 2009. When I mentioned I was covering the event for the paper, she told me she had yet to hear about any newsletter covering Second Life and had a few questions. A few months later, I would see her at the office getting a job interview by Dana, hired, and given an office. Like me, Grey was quickly distinguishable from the others with her furry appearance: the starter furry avatar with the stiff tail replaced by a flexible one, which she called her foxette.

Grey would write the first of the Newser's articles after it's introduction, and would go on to report about a variety of subjects. She would write about the Fantasy Faire. She would interview fellow reporter Grease Coakes about his just published book. She would write about the Meeroos, the fashionable breedable pet of 2011. But what I most remember her for are her articles about various locations across the virtual world. She would also write about her home community of Syzygy. One community event she reported took place outside their estate when several of the folk went down the mainland highways in tanks.

Grey would take a break in 2014 in order to deal with matters in real life. She would return in April 2016 when things on her side of the computer became less hectic. She would do a few more articles, such as an interview with SLB Cake builder Mikati Slade. But then the articles would stop. It would seem real life had taken over once more.

Over time, the Newser has had a number of reporters. A few sent in one or two articles after they were officially in, then having to leave. Others would write for years. But twelve years later, I still remember fondly these two whom helped found Second Life's best newsletter.

Bixyl Shuftan

Commentary: Fourteen Years of Writing About Second Life

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

In real life, I take pride in a number of things. One is keeping up with current events. I recall as a child, hearing a foreign country had up and stormed our embassy, taking our people there hostage. So I kept up with the story by watching the news. Eventually, the hostage crisis was resolved, but I continued watching, learning about daily events in the wilder world around me beyond that of school and the video arcade. Another thing was writing, a lifelong hobby of mine. I enjoyed writing stories in school, and would sometimes write for fun, occasionally sharing them with friends. This included a few that were background stories for roleplaying game characters. While my studies in community college were for a degree in natural sciences, there were a couple creative writing classes. When I finally got access to the World Wide Web, eventually I would start my own website, one with some science-fiction stories of mine (and updated most every weekday with a new joke).

While I first came to Second Life in December 2006, shortly after I got high speed Internet, it wouldn't be for a number of months that my story here truly began when I started logging on here on a regular basis. By this time, the FTP for my website updating had broken, and I decided to take a short break from writing. Instead, I went about exploring Second Life, and coming across some fascinating places and things, as well as events. Wanting to learn more, I started looking up blogs to read about the virtual world, and came across magazines and newsletters too. One such newsletter was the Second Life Newspaper, founded by JamesT Juno, and managed by Dana Vanmoer. It would have stories about the people, places, and events around Second Life, and regularly checked up on it.

One day, I noticed a request for reader submissions, either articles or pictures. So I sent in a story of a couple personal accounts and a few pictures. It seems I did something right, because I was invited to the office to talk to the editor and owner about a job. The meeting was in voice, but fairly short. I was given an office, and was now a reporter. And after turning in my next story, I used the payment to get a fedora and overcoat, which along with the fox avatar became my trademark look.

It did take me a little while to get the hang of things. But before too long, I was coming out with stories of all kinds. I would write about various people, places, events and things across the grid. Sometimes these were big events like the Second Life Birthday and Relay for Life and better know sims. Other times these were smaller events and out of the way places. Two of my high points were the second anniversary party, which was also the high point of the newspaper. The second was when I was made the office manager, which was updating the paper when Dana couldn't. But not all of the stories were happy ones. Sadly some were reports of the troubles and closings of hangouts and communities I was a part of.

In 2010, my time as a journalist here would change. Due to events in real life, James and Dana made the decision to close down the Second Life Newspaper and leave Second Life. So I, Gemma Cleanslate, Shellie Sands, and Grey Lupindo would form a new paper with me as the editor: the Second Life Newser. We hit the ground running as our first big story was a week after our start, Linden Lab laying off a third of it's staff. I was still reporting about the people, places, and events across Second Life. But it would be as the leader of a team.

Fourteen years later, I've written plenty about what I've come across and seen. Some of it is about the community I've become a part of, the Sunweavers. There's also yearly events such as Burn 2 and the Relay that provide plenty of story material. But I still come across new people, places, and events that are noteworthy. The Newser continues to be in solid shape, with sponsors providing ad revenue. .

Second Life itself has seen many changes. I came on during it's Golden Age when it seemed to some this was the future of the Internet and some big companies such as Circuit City and IBM were putting big money here. But many were confused by the lack of clear goals, "how do you win?", dissappointed by the quirks, crashes, and the ever-present lag, had bad first impressions such as running into griefers. So it stopped growing, and the Lab was trying to figure out how to continue the growth, then trying to figure out how to stay profitable. The Lab has gone through a few CEOs over time, and being acquired by an investment team. There have also been efforts to technically improve it from Mesh to moving the data to cloud servers. A number of Lindens have also left, including some popular ones such as Torley, Xiola, and April.

While some of my competition in the past liked to focus on drama, such as the Herald, for the most part I've avoided that. It's better to focus on what and who makes Second Life a fun place. And then there is showing the good this virtual world can do good. The Relay for Life is one prime example, raising thousands every year for the American Cancer Society. Then there are the veterans benefits. There are the science and health discussions. There's the mental health group therapy. There are the writers' groups for aspiring writers.

Sometimes real life gets reflected onto Second Life. In 2007 and 2008, one could keep a political discussion civil between opposing sides and there were a number of groups around the US Presidential Election. But things would soon sour, and became full of drama. More recently, the Coronavirus Panemic has had an impact on Second Life through increasing it's numbers, at least temporarily, as more were looking for things to do online.

Sadly, with change comes loss. I've had to write about the closing of some good places. And unfortunately about the deaths of some people, including a few friends. While sometimes what they made could be continued to be enjoyed, there would be nothing new. While I consider it an honor to help make a record of them, obituary articles are sad ones to write.

So what does the future hold? There's been no shortage of "the end is near" proclamations for Second Life since I was new. And while the new owners of the Lab haven't been perfect, it would appear they would prefer to keep the virtual world running and make money over the long term. So it's a safe bet that there's at least a few more years of Second Life news for me to write about.

But that isn't all that I've been writing about. I have a blog "Food on the Table," in which I write about something other than Second Life every few months or so. There's the occasional short story. And I've been writing a science-fiction novel on the side: "The Corsean Encounter." This tale is about First Contact between a couple humans in the 1920s who come across a portal and find a planet of beings Medieval to Colonial Age in technology. In order to get a chance at returning home, they'll need the help of friends and allies, as well as having to deal with those who see them as monsters to keep in a cage, or worse. It ultimately will be a series of novels as the first is finished and I've been going between editing the first (someone I was going to ask has been busy lately) and writing on the second. Hopefully I'll soon be done with the editing.

That's all for now. See you in the virtual world.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Interview With Sudane Erato of The CDS And New England

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

The Confederation of Democratic Simulators has a number of noted residents. But among those from it's early days the person active the most would be Sudane Erato. Recently I met up with her to talk about her time here. We met at a rustic building in Neufreistadt, resembling a house built inside what was left of an ancient stone structure. "I've taken a liking to homes in ruins," Sudane explained, "This area of NFS, I took a liking to before we even had parcels, in Anzere, and I've been here ever since."

Of how she came to the CDS, "I arrived in Second Life in November 2004. By early December, I had attended an orientation session here, and had met Gwyneth. And (I) regularly attended discussions that she held in the Church, the Kirke, that was here then. So, essentially from the beginning, since the CDS was formed in Sept of that year." Of what attracted here, "I think it was less the visual environment, which was very primitive then. But rather, this really interesting sense of experimental community, around what really felt like a REAL place. Gwyn's discussions were extraordinary. And the social experiement, that was really interesting. So I got involved. The building (I did) came much later. Ulrika and kendra did all the building (then)."

Of how things went ad a community at the CDS in the early days, "It was intense. By that February, everyone had left except me, Gwyn and Ulrika. And Linden Lab kicked us out of Anzere. Fortunately, they cloned the sim for us, including everything on it. And it was a private island then." When asked why the Lab kicked them out, "They became disillusioned about the goals of the program which had gotten it to us in the first place. But the Lindens decided the goals were not achieved. So they ended it, and set us on this island, that of course we had to pay for." She mentioned that today, Anzere is a snow sim on the mainland, "So, that was the beginning of the normal estate, with parcels and people paying. The population built back (up). So we supported ourselves. But, it became very intense, huge political fights."

Sudane asked me what my impression of early political CDS controversy was. When I answered some were saying only one leader seemed to be controversial to them, she responded that her perspective that the most controversial of all was "Ulrika. ... quite honestly, Urika was truly a genius, the person who conceived of this experiment. But, she was an evil genius, perhaps the most evil person I've ever met. And I've met a lot of people in my 73 years." She would say, "Kendra sided strongly with Ulrika, and almost everyone else sided against them. I wanted some sanity and fairness. We finally pushed her out. So, the controversial people who came later, they were a pale shade of the problems that Ulrika caused."

After Ulrika was gone, "We got the concept of democratic government back on track. That was the major thing. The structure evolved from what she had devised. And, it's easy to point out many remaining flaws. But still, its our best efforts to create something that is really a democracy, where the residents set their own policies. It's a bit of an anomaly, a poor fit in Second Life, since someone has to "own" the estate. But we aim to strike as close to a democracy as we can."

And what did Sudane think were some of the more interesting details of the CDS's system? She thought about it, "Well, the core I think is the Representative Assembly. It's the democracy. And it struggles along, at least everyone understands that concept. Then there's the Scientific Council, which everyone thinks of as the Supreme Court. But it isn't really. So that's a bit harder to understand. It was one of Ulrika's brainstorms. I don't fully understand it. But that's no problem. They wouldn't want me on it anyway (smile). Then there's the Chancellor, which is our own invention. Ulrika never conceived of an Executive. Rather, she had the Guild performing all the administrative functions. But that proved, in my opinion, very impractical. And we devised the Chancellor. But that role is still a work in progress I think. It's VERY hard for the person who holds the role. But, all that said, interesting."

"Probably the most interesting to me," she commented, "Is my own role, and trying to devise ways to hand it off, since my alt is the estate owner and I'm the Treasurer. Both of those functions require a real neutrality, which is often hard to achieve. Treasurer (is) easier probably, since in real-life I'm a bookkeeper. But estate owner, jeez! How many times have I been accused of manipulating affairs in the CDS, just becasue my alt is the EO??!!? So, that's 'interesting.'"

"Oh. Also, I've grown to LOVE building and landscaping. So I could do that eternally (smile)." When asked how many buildings she did, her answer was, "Oh my God, a LOT! Perhaps almost half of the buildings in the CDS. Well, maybe not half, but a LOT! Rosie and I did the Schloss together. She did the Kirche. I did the new Monastery. My current project is 'densifying'  the city, rebuilding the houses within the walls so that they fill the entire space, and you get a better sense of narrow twisty streets. I've done maybe eight or ten of those buildings so far." And how long would this project take? "No set date. I've been doing it simultaneously with other projects. The first houses were on Ulrikastrasse on, and on the Platz, Lil's pub, that was the first. Then one on Catfahrt, and two on Gwynethstrasse. I have in my target three more on Gwynethstrasse, plus a couple on Sudanestrasse. Oh, there were two on Kendrastrasse and on on talenstrasse. Jeez ... Heehee, I really do like building. 

"My Father was a real-life architect who built the hoses he designed. I probably got it from him (smile). Easier building in Second Life. But go visit Amiais. Moon Adamant and I are building dozens of houses there!" But of her buildings, "He wouldn't like them. He was an avid devotee of Frank Lloyd Wright while I like ancient places."

Sudane did mention, "I am in a new, unrelated project now for real-life, a contract for a Portuguese University to create a replica rural village for an anthropology study, called Amiais, on sims by that name. Visit that any time, a work in progress." She also has some land in the New England area, "Do visit New England to, if you have time. It's a beautiful place in the Blake Sea area."

(Click here if the video does not play)

Sudane is staying busy with her many projects, and is happy doing so.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Looking Back at Dax Loon and Woodlin

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

I recently found out from a friend the other day that Second Life resident Dax Loon had passed away. And looking at her profile, it stated that she had. For me, it was a reminder of earlier times in Second Life, several months of happy occasions followed by a sad parting.

Early in my time in Second Life, I didn't really have a home. It wasn't until Summer 2007 I began coming on regularly, and while there were places I hung around, notably the Student Travel Association and Heaven's Sky Garden Village. At the latter, I was given a room to stay for several weeks without being asked to pay for it. Sadly both places would close, and my home area would be the private office I was given at Second Life Newspaper.

Sometime in Summer 2008, a human friend I'd met through another human friend I made at Luskwood told me about an interesting club called 6th Circle. Dropping it, the place was a hell club with flames and lava all around, and in the middle of the place was a red-eyed skunkgirl named Dax Loon, with red streaks in her hair and sporting heavy leather boots, whooping and cheering. She was the owner of the club, and cheering everyone on to have a good time.

The second time I went there, I came across a few more friends of hers, and ended up going to ground level of the community: Woodlin. The place was made up of two sims, Dreamers Cove being the main one and Hopefull Shores being the smaller one in terms of content and capacity. The first thing I noticed was the trees. There were a large number of them of various sizes. There were one or two that were especially high, a few hundred meters I think, with plenty of apartments. Most were smaller, such as medium-sized trees with two or three, and small trees with just one. The sim also had a number of hills, caves, and streams, looking much like a forest when looked at from some angles.

And this wasn't all. There was a shopping mall where people could get new clothes, accessories, avatars, and more. The sim also have a movie theater, and for a time people could see movies in their own homes as well. They didn't clash with the natural landscape as the way they were build and looked from the outside blended in. The largest of the caves had a temple for anyone to meditate at.

6th Circle would close soon after my arrival. But Dax soon opened up a space club: Star Tails. She would later start building a space station next to it, and had plans for a space combat game at one point. Later on was the Margaritaville beach club. One of my regrets is not taking more pictures of the place, though I did take a few.

And there were the people. Dax had a close friend named Staticminded Waco whom went about in a husky avatar. Others I knew there were Mistressbubbles Bondar the pandagirl, Marai the snow leopardess, Jessicabelle the skunkgirl, Isegrim the wolf, Miki the demoness, Megathearon the neko, Ekedo the young fox, Rory Langdon the blue skunk, Galvenized Hammerer whom went about in a freebie purple feline, and a number of others. We'd party at Star Tails, "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode being played almost every night there, and when the space station started going up play a few games of "Una" and spend half the time laughing in Voice mixed with chat. We'd watch a few movies together, once watching "The Hulk" and I changing to a green Wingless fox in the middle of it and at the end we all had a good chuckle. There were also gatherings in the social area of the larger treehouse that turned into improvised parties. I had some of my best times in my early Second Life days there.

And of Dax Loon herself, she was Japanese-American in real life, a small woman whom was a survivor. She had overcome a difficult childhood, made a living for a while as a waitress in Hooters, and eventually came here to Second Life, becoming one of the personalities at a club called DV8. Then came trouble. She developed cancer, and the treatments to save her life ended up costing her voice. She would tell me only one person in Second Life ever heard her speak. And the medications she was still on could cause trouble. She once told me a heavy television ended up breaking her arm when it fell on her, the bones a bit weakened by her prescriptions. Still, she refused to let that get her down, and was determined to make a happy place for herself and her friends. She once commented she imagined Woodlin as the place she would like to be after she passed away.

The happy times continued for months. Then Dax went on a trip to Japan. She had been adopted, and the only blood relative she knew was a brother she'd gotten in contact with a few years earlier. The brother finally talked her into going over to meet her biological parents. But, it did not go well. And it showed in her reactions with others. The once happy skunkgirl was often withdrawn and depressed. There were times I found her at the temple area, sitting there, alone. And not sure what to say, I could only sit with her as a show of unspoken support.

Plenty happened in these few months, some that's probably best left unspoken and unwritten about. During this time, one close friend of mine did a prank on someone. But he reacted badly, and as he was now the manager of the place ordered her to leave. This was followed by others leaving. But the big incident was when Dax's account was supposedly hacked and whomever it was was shouting a string of profanities while deleting or returning everything. We wouldn't hear from her for hours, eventually the sim manager calling the Lab and getting the place rolled back. Dax would eventually contact us, saying she had logged in through an alt, and seeing everything happening fell off her chair and knocked herself out. But talking to one friend of hers, the person wasn't so sure she was hacked as Dax had up and lost it in the past.

I'd hoped Dax and those friends of mine who left would patch up their differences and all would be well again. I didn't want to pressure Dax as her high hopes for a happy family in real life had been dashed. She would soon return to America. But the problems continued. After one more incident, the details which are best left unwritten, more friends of mine left. And I myself came to the sad conclusion it was time to leave. I gathered everything of mine that was non-copyable in my apartment, and left, never to live there again. I would make one more trip to the sim a few weeks later. Much of the place was a mess, many of the trees gone, and various items scattered about like some sandboxes. The smaller sim was offline and gone. Perhaps it was a reflection on Dax's state at the time. Soon after in late March 2009, the sim closed down. The community that had been my happy home for months was gone.

With Woodlin gone, Galvenized I never would see again, him having left Second Life. Bubbles went to a fantasy sim. I would join several others including Jessicabelle and Marai whom made a new community, Foxworth. It might not have been as exciting as Woodlin was, but it was home. The owner left the clubbing to Rory Langdon, whom had the Bahama Beach Club in another sim and invited us over a few times a week for events. But about a year later, the sim owner couldn't keep things going due to one big renter moving out and the Lab discontinuing another big source of his Second Life income due to a technicality. So in March 2010, the Foxworth community closed. Rory would have to take a break from Second Life due to real life not long after he retired the beach club after several months. A few of us moved to one small corner in another place, but there wasn't enough room for me.

By this time, I had been going regularly to Club Cutlass for a while, and when I mentioned I was looking for a new place to stay, Rita Mariner invited me to rent a spot in the Sunweaver community. As it turned out, it was cheaper than either Woodlin or Foxworth. Still, I missed my former home. And when someone told me that there was a treehouse in the style that was around Woodlin, I got it and used it. This would be my home for years, until I finally got a mesh treehouse with a ladder, and no need to fly up or fall down.

I would come across Dax only once more. Someone told me about another sim, and to my surprise I saw Dax DJing to the crowd, dancing with Static. We had a few words, and we parted once again. That was the last time I ever saw either one of them, and would hear nothing more until being told she had passed away. Supposedly she had gone on a trip on foot through Europe. While the cause of her death was unlisted, as she was a cancer survivor it's probable she had a relapse she couldn't recover from.

If there's a lesson in what happened at Woodlin, perhaps it's that happy times don't always last forever, and sometimes neither do friendships. Second Life being a virtual world, places come and go and I've heard of many nice places soon having faded away after being around just a short time. The real-life circumstances of the people who make them can change, and without help they can easily fade away. Friendships can last for years, even decades sometimes. But sometimes when people change, end up having disagreements, or both, friendships can be tested. And when two friends of someone end up fighting, it can be quite a mess for the person caught in the middle and a dilemma. And sometimes too much has happened for a friendship to keep going.

But while I was sad at the place closing, there were also many happy memories. So it's best to remember Dax as the high-energy enthusiastic skunk girl whom for a short time held together a community of friends in a fun place. Of her wondering if Woodlin was the kind of place where she'd end up after she passed away, perhaps she has.

Rest in peace, Dax.

Bixyl Shuftan

My Decade in Second Life

by Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich Resident)

I didn’t start regularly using Second Life until 2012, but I’ve spent the majority of the decade being a part of the furry community in Second Life. I actually first logged in to Second Life a year or two before but I couldn’t quite grasp how it worked at the time and ended up forgetting my username and password so I had to start over with a new account and this has been the account that I stuck with. I mainly was pulled back in to Second Life at the time by one of my exes. I spent most of my time with him on his little parcel at first, but I started meeting other people and I eventually met someone that introduced me to Fox Haven after my relationship went south.

I started out there renting a little house and hanging out with my new friends. It wasn’t like before I felt like I belonged there, which is honestly something that I had never felt before. I had always felt out of place anywhere I was and this got me hooked to the platform. I began to believe in the potential of the platform to do the same thing for others and I wanted to help anywhere I could. I began by volunteering my time as a “sim checker.” Since the sim was also rented out by others, many residents would lose their objects around the sim and it was my job to find them and return them. Many objects would get captured by the bottom corner of the sim, and I always thought that this was a weird bug.

I slowly became friends with the sim owner and took on more roles to help the sim grow. I learned how to DJ from real life DJs at the time. I managed the club, did security, and eventually became a sim co-owner. I went to the main sim-owner’s house in real life a few times to hang out. I was there when he purchased a new sim and I got to learn how that works and what the initial processes are.

Unfortunately, Fox Haven closed, and I had to find a new community. I ended up applying at Furry Fashion as a DJ and got the job. I met new friends there as well as my current boyfriend. However, I originally got to know the sim owner first and we ended up clicking and dating for over a year. In that time I was given opportunities to manage their club and sim and I helped turn some things around for them even while the sim owner was away on medical leave. I felt really accomplished in regards to this. But unfortunately my relationship with the sim owner started becoming less and less healthy for me. And after we broke up I started to be treated differently and by that point my mental health had deteriorated to the point where I realized that I needed to make an exit because I could not effectively make improvements that I thought were needed. We’re all human and stuff happens. I wish things would have turned out differently, but there’s nothing I can do to go back.

For the past year I’ve mainly used Second Life to be with my boyfriend on our parcels, which is oddly how I started out. I have not found another community that I’ve really meshed with and aside from maintaining my store, for the most part I don’t really pay attention to it and just have the browser open in the background most of the time. I reverted back to real life hobbies to fill my spare time, and since writing was one of those hobbies I started writing for the Second Life Newser. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from Second Life it’s that it’s not real life. I spent so much wasted time in Second Life worrying about it like a career and dealing with trolls and politics when in retrospect the only thing that’s real on the platform are the relationships you foster with others. The only thing that separates a sim owner from anyone else is that they’re willing to pay Linden Labs a stack of money. The only thing that ever separated me from anyone else was that I was on friendly terms with the sim owners. It doesn’t work that way in real life. Second Life is not worth losing sight of what’s really important because in the end it doesn’t last and your real life will still be there.

What’s next for me on the platform? I don’t know. If an opportunity came to maybe help out another sim I don’t know if I would take it. I might if the situation was right. I’m focusing more on my real life. I’ve racked up plenty of experience to manage a whole sim and create something fun for others if I had the money but I don’t. At this point, I’m assuming that once my long distance relationship is no longer long distance, I may end up abandoning Second Life as there would be no reason for me to be there. That might sound like I’m being negative and dramatic, but it just means that it’s possibly run its course in my life and real life will go on when my Second Life ends. I really don't know where to go from here, it's been a year since I've been involved in the Second Life community beyond writing articles.

Cyfir

Commentary: Twelve Years of Reporting SL News

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was twelve years ago this month that yours truly started writing the news about Second Life. The actual anniversary was a few weeks ago. But as so often, have been busy with both keeping up the Newser, as well as other activities in Second Life.

I'd been in Second Life for a little less than a year, and logging in regularly for the past few months, hanging out at Luskwood and the now-vanished STA. I was browsing newsletters and blogs, and in October 2007 came across an invitation by the Second Life Newspaper for reader submissions. After sending in a few, in early November 2007 owner JamesT Juno and editor Dana Vanmoer offered me a position as a reporter.

And so for two and a half years, I would write articles once or twice a week for SL Newspaper, writing on a variety of subjects about the people, places, events, and things around this virtual world. I was part of something that kept readers new and established in the know about Second Life.

In June 2010, my mission here would change as the Second Life Newspaper closed it's doors, and a new newsletter, the Second Life Newser, opened with Gemma Cleanslate, Grey Lupindo, Shelie Sands, and myself as it's writers, with me as the editor. So it was up to me to go through the articles of the others and post them in addition to putting up my own. Most weeks, I only have two good-sized articles up. The Newser being a team effort, the rest are done by other reporters.

Over time, I've written many stories about Second Life. This includes some annual events such as the Second Life Birthday and Relay Weekend done again year after year. The latter is one example of the good that virtual worlds are capable of. I've also written about some interesting new places, people continuing to find inventive ways to express themselves in an online landscape that's gone on for over sixteen years.

And then there are the people. Some are well off in real-life, successful on both sides of the computer. Others have physical or mental disabilities, and Second Life allows them to accomplish what they couldn't in real life. I've had to write about some great places closing down, though happily a few have come back. Sadly though, I've had to write about a few people here passing away, including a few I had personally talked to. While I do feel some sense of pride in helping that they will not be forgotten and people will know more of the good they did, it's still a sad feeling that I won't be talking to them again, at least not for a few decades.

"So how do you find the time?" and "How do you keep it up?" some might ask.  Over time, I have ended up with additional inworld responsibilities, such as helping a friend with her club. And I do enjoy some gaming, a little time to relax, often with friends. But I've always liked writing, and have almost always found some time to do so. Occasionally, there's so many things going on that catch my attention, I need to pick and choose what gets written about now, and which gets put to the back burner. There have been a few subjects I haven't been able to write about in detail, or at all, due to so much happening at once.

The reaction I've had in real-life to my writing has been mainly positive, especially when it concerns topics like the Relay or Veterans. I have had a few people tell me it's time to move on, such as writing for a "red meat" political blog for some quick cash. But I'd rather not alienate half my audience. I am writing a science-fiction novel on the side. But the Newser has been my best audience as a writer, as well as the means as a writer I've done the most good. I am not giving it up any time soon.

As for the future, how long I keep writing about Second Life depends on how long Linden Lab will keep it going. For years, there's been predictions that the virtual world is on the verge of dying. Over time, the Lab has made no shortage of decisions that looked like they were going for a quick buck and not thinking of the long term, or made no sense to anyone but themselves. But unless there's some great calamity such as a worldwide depression, it's a safe bet to assume the virtual world will be around for many more years. Eventually, someone will make a better product, and Linden Lab will be bought up or close it's doors, taking Second Life with it. But until then, or I end up in a real-life accident I don't walk away from, I have no plans to quit writing.

Happy to keep you informed about Second Life for twelve years, and here's to many more.

Bixyl Shuftan

Five Years in Second Life

By Kimiko Kanagowa (FoxytheJamie Resident)

I started my Second Life over five years ago. In that time, I have seen many sims come and go, and I have tried many things as well. From roleplay to clubs, I have seen a lot here.

    My Second Life started on March 13, 2013. The very first place I ever went to will always hold a special place in my heart, a club named Tiki Paradise. It was there that I first became a host. From there I frequented many clubs, including Wylies, Rock N’ Rustic, Toxxic Haven, Whiskey Barrel, and Castle Dark Haven, among others. After a while, I had a want for more from my second life, so I started looking at places to earn lindens from. Thus my short hosting career started. Eventually I found gambling sims, and spent a lot of time at these. It was also during this time, that I was introduced to the SL Newser.

    Starting in my second year of Second Life, I went from clubs and games, to roleplay sims. I originally started roleplaying at medieval sims, and viking sims. From there I briefly joined a Star Trek roleplay, but shortly after graduating from the academy, that went into my back pocket. I stayed with medieval sims for nearly a year and a half, going from dragons, to furries, to humans, back to furries, to kemonos. I soon traded my stone walls and horses, for brick walls and cars, as I went to city roleplays. I started at Fair Haven, as a fire fighter. I stuck with Fair Haven until it became Cedar Creek, and I left shortly after, looking for new roleplays.

    I soon ended up at a beautiful, sim, named The Tellus Sector. It was a science fiction sim, based on a distant planet. I started a small faction there, The Hunters, but only one person joined. That person then invited me to his military sim, ADI. I went there, fell in love, and soon, I was in the SLMC, flying planes, and shooting guns, for the Atlas Defense Industries. Pretty soon, I traded up and joined T’Koi, became their acting second, for their aerospace division. After a while, SLMC became a bit tiring, so I joined a group named Megiddo, from there I got back into it, and joined Coercion. Soon after, I helped found and stabilize All Hallows. At this point in time, I am on an indefinite hiatus from the SLMC.

    Shortly after joining ADI, I joined a city roleplay named Pine Leaf. This sim will forever be in my memory, because it started my four years of roleplay as a police officer, for the same sim. The sim’s name changed over the years, but the people, and roleplay did not. That sim soon became Leominster Valley. In my honest opinion, Leominster Valley has, and always will be, my very favorite city sim. Alongside Pine Leaf’s change to Leominster, I joined another roleplay as well. The Starfleet Galactic sim. Starfleet Galactic has become a sort of fourth home I would say, considering I went from a cadet, to Captain of two vessels of my own.

    I have found other sims between then and now, some good, some bad. You never really know what a sim is like until you try it out. However, one thing that is for sure at this point in time. I am always looking for my next adventure, and I hope it’s a good one.

Kimiko

Reader Submitted: Mourning the Loss of Two Relayers

“I don't think there's one word that can describe a man's life.”- Citizen Kane

This is probably the hardest post I’ve had to write. I remember when I was in the hospital, Henrietta stayed up almost every night with Sidonie and Cuddly. She always presented this shy demeanor, but beyond that was a woman who was deeply loyal, deeply committed to the causes she believed in.

 Sid, Cuddly, Henrietta and I talk almost daily. Three years ago we created a Facebook chat group that we just chat into, and no matter what we always talked through things. Hospital visits, strokes, dying cats, ferrets, movie quotes only Henrietta understood, and just life in general.

If there was one thing that I could always count on, it was my troupe of four. I recently went through a bit of depression that I could not explain- it happens to all of us. I must’ve chatted into the group at 3am my time and since we all have the group on our phones we all see the alerts. Henrietta woke up and kept me company through a time that was particularly hard for me.

Sometimes it is easy to forget but Second Life is not one dimensional- we are more than just the avatars we create.

Over time all four of our lives,  in world and out of it, became important. Cuddly got a live in boyfriend toy thing, Sidonie had new cats and Henrietta lamented about ferrets. We all know each other so well that if we met in real life, I don’t think we would even notice that we weren’t hiding behind our Second Life skins.

That’s what I love about Henrietta- she is so real, so true to herself that Sid, Cuddly and I had a shoulder to lean on to and rely on. She is always full of movie quotes and tv show quotes that none of us had heard of before but yet she persisted...

Henrietta Demina had many passions. Living life with a smile and laughter was one of them. She was dedicated to her real life family and friends and treated us SL family and friends just as she would in real life. She wrote about her Strange family on her website and was immensely proud of all of our accomplishments. Henrietta had her Demina family too, passionate about role playing as vampires. She was dedicated to the character she made on Second Life, changing only her hair to accommodate Relay season.

For the last five years she was deeply, deeply passionate about Relay for Life. She and her brother Hilshire made RFLSL as real as it could be- they collected monies in real life as much as they could and usually donated it in pieces.

Henrietta was the definition of a true relayer. She attended as many events of other teams as much as possible, slowly draining that chunk of change (which was easily in the thousands dollar wise) at each team event showing her support.

She volunteered to DJ at just about every single event possible. She was passionate about the Fantasy faire, Christmas expo, you name it she was there.

Quiet but steadfast defined Henrietta’s Relay journey- she was happy to let others in the spotlight even if she was more deserving. Most recently she was heavily involved with the Christmas Expo as a host and was happy to spend her entire week only at the Expo.

She became the Team Captain of Team Strange Journeys last year and held the baton with pride. She dedicated part of her sim to the team’s accomplishments and journey.

Above all, she was the Co Coordinator of the Castle Home and Garden contest. She retired a few years ago so she made the CHG her full time job, almost literally. She worked so hard that she worked herself into having a stroke right before the Opening Ceremonies last year. She was respected and loved by all of our contestants and our merchants. It was usually her that people would go to for support, and she was more than happy to give it.

It feels strange- life is a journey and I preach that, always. This week we lost both Henrietta and Hilshire Demina. They were killed in an accident early this week and it just doesn’t make sense.

I can see Henrietta standing in front of me, giggling, saying that sometimes life is funny that way. I can see her saying a quote from a movie she admired 40 years ago, and something about “don’t worry about it”. She would probably kill me if I said anything like “I can’t do the CHG without you”. She would want you all to smile and keep fighting. She would say, “don’t worry about lil ole me!”

Henrietta, you made a profound impact on my life and that will stay with me forever. You have made a difference and we won’t soon forget it.

Henrietta and Hilshire Demina, thank you. You can rest in your coffins now, and bite as many people as you want.

We will hold a memorial service and will send details when we have them.

Rowena Dubrovna