Fiftteen Years of Writing Second Life News

 

By Bixyl Shuftan 

Where to begin ...

By late summer 2007, I was just starting to find my way in Second Life. Although my journey here started in December 2006, shortly after I got high-speed Internet, for months I didn't log on much as the lady who invited me over was suddenly given more responsibility. Then in July 2007 she told me about the Relay Weekend and suggested I check out the area. So I did, and my interest in the virtual world was rekindled. I began dropping by more often, eventually finding Luskwood and making some friends there, and getting my first paid-for avatar, the red Luskwood fox. I girl I met at Luskwood told me about another place, the STA, and there I met more friends and found another hangout. 

I wanted to find out still more about Second Life, what events were going on and what interesting places were around. So I started checking out blogs and newsletters about this virtual world. Among them was the "Herald," which stared off as a Sims Online newsletter, which while occasionally informative was basically a tabloid. There was "New World Notes," a newsblog by Hamlet Au. Informative, but as Linden Lab's "embedded reporter," he was obviously limited in his ability to criticize them. And then there was the Second Life Newspaper, owned by JamesT Juno with Dana Vanmoer as the editor. It had a number of reporters and several sections, reporting on various people, places, and events around the virtual world, plus the latest on what the Lab was up to. Something else that got my attention, they occasionally called for submitted articles and pictures from the readers. So I decided to send in a few pictures plus a couple personal stories of mine at the time. I guess I impressed them, as James and Dana invited me in for a job interview. After some talk, they told me I had the job, and offered me the use of one of the office spaces.

In real life, I had been keeping up with the news on a daily basis since I was a teenager after hearing about a mob taking over our embassy in a foreign country and the government there siding with the hostage takers. And now, I had the chance to be a news reporter myself. I would use the payment for my first official article to get a fedora and leather overcoat, the classic reporter's look. Along with my fox avatar, it became my trademark appearance, one that continued as my main look with only minor alterations for over a decade. And of course there was the "Fox News" pun.

I did feel a bit of uncertainly in the first few weeks. I was the "new guy" and finding my footing. But I soon got the hang of things and was writing about various people, places, and events in this virtual world. With my sense of humor, I also ended up becoming the main source of the SL Newspaper's cartoons. Sometimes I would write about larger events, such as the Second Life Birthday and the Relay for Life and more noteable sims. Other times, I would describe more out of the way places and smaller events, such as of the STA, Woodlin Community, and Bahama Beach Club that I was a part of. After some prodding by James, I would also do one article about one of the more adult places and it's manager: ZZ Studios and it's owner Cindy "Zig-Zag" Babi. 

 

Sadly, not all of the articles were happy ones. I would end up writing about the closing of the STA just a few months after I joined the paper, and later on the sunset of Woodlin and the BBC. And the paper itself would soon run into some trouble in fall 2009 with the high-profile bankruptcy of our sponsor BNT, and James having to step away due to real life. I was made the office manager of SL Newspaper, which meant updating things when Dana couldn't. And in 2010, this was happening more and more. Finally in April 2010, Dana told the staff due to real-life she would have to step away from running the paper, and as she didn't have the authority to turn over the paper to anyone made the decision to close. So I talked to Gemma Cleanslate and two others, and as the Second Life Newspaper closed in June 2010, a new newsletter began, the Second Life Newser. And my role changed from just another reporter to the head of a team. 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. It was a very interesting year newswise, and we were there to cover it.

So week after week, month after month, year after year, I've been continuing to write about this virtual world and what it has to offer. There have been numerous stories about how this world helps people, such as fundraisers like the Relay for Life and Veterans Isle concerts, and help groups such as the Survivors of Suicide. I have written about controversy on occasion, but it's never been for it's own sake. Occasionally I've written about Linden Lab's goofing up, which was more common early in our history. Perhaps I've gotten a softer edge over time, but there's been less spectacular goof-ups over time such as the closing of the SS Galaxy due to a Linden telling a longtime owner of the sims he wouldn't get any more rollbacks due to damage by griefers. An incident like that hasn't happened in a long time. More recently are the stories of Linden Lab getting new owners and it's place in the Waterfield Network. And as always the occasional story of my home area: the Sunweaver community.

Sometimes real life gets reflected into Second Life. One example is politics. In 2008, there were numerous political groups and locations for the candidates and discussion. But as time went on, the groups and locations became less common as political discussion in real life got more and more toxic and confrontational. One talk show held here would be canceled as the host felt no desire to keep repeating what had become an "echo chamber." Another would be the Coronovirus Pandemic that hit in 2020 and with people in quarantine were spending more time online, and here. 

Sadly among the things I've had to report on are the closings of some well done sims. Even sadder, I've had to report on the passing of a number of residents. Last year, this would include two friends of mine who were noteable members of the community I became part of. They would join the ranks of those who made great content for others, and then there would be no more. While it was an honor to write about them, these were some of the saddest articles I've had to write.

So what does the future hold? Over time there's been no shortage of "the end is near" comments about Second Life. With the virtual world currently in healthy shape, unless there's some kind of global calamity, it's a safe bet it will be around for several more years at least. For yours truly, I've also been doing some writing other than news stories. I have been doing a novel on the side, "The Corsean Encounter." It's mostly finished, just needing some editing, then I need to figure out how to publish it on Amazon. 

While there may be occasional disruptions, as long as there's a team to back me up, I'll be writing about the people, places, and events of Second Life for some time to come.

"And that's the way it is." Good day from Second Life Newser.

Bixyl Shuftan

News and Commentary: Have a Second Life Contingency Plan

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich)

In college, I took a whole course on business contingency. Contingency is “a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.” Everything is contingent. Whether you go in to work tomorrow depends on if work is still there. Whether you go home at the end of the day is contingent on if  home is still there. For many in my real life community, both are not still there. Not only has COVID-19 shut many businesses in my area down, an EF3 tornado dropped down a few blocks behind where I live on Saturday afternoon, and tore through the business district, grew into a massive wedge, and leveled homes. There were no casualties thanks to advanced warning and many being home because of COVID-19, but many people no longer have jobs or houses to go back to. The local mall and a handful of businesses are practically destroyed. If the tornado had dropped down sooner, I wouldn’t be writing this.

Here’s the important part: Second Life should be the furthest from your mind in life threatening and/or natural disaster circumstances, but wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry about it at all? Why wait until it’s not possible to do anything about your rent meter running out? Who will inform your Second Life friends of your whereabouts if you’re not able to get online? There have been a few instances when this publication has had to send out a call for help to discover the whereabouts of a missing Second Life resident.  

In my business contingency courses, we learned to write up a contingency plan for when the unexpected should occur. For instance, who would be in charge of things if the manager is out? A Second Life contingency plan doesn’t have to be as elaborate and drawn out as a business contingency plan, but think of who you would trust to help you pay your rent meter or tell your friends of your whereabouts if something should occur. Be sure that you can contact them offline or at least let them know that if you disappear one day to please help you with contacting friends or paying rent for a certain amount of time until you get back. I always keep at least two weeks on all my meters in case something happens like a week long power outage. Do you run a blog or website based around Second Life or do you run a sim or a club? Who do you trust to run those while you’re gone? Think of any possible thing that you can see not being taken care of if you vanished for a month and write it down and think of who can back you up in a time of need.

In these times of uncertainty, it’s good to have a plan in real life as well as Second Life for when things go horribly wrong. COVID-19 has had me thinking about this, and the tornado this weekend finally inspired this article. Don’t wait until it’s too late.


Cyfir

Interview With Bixyl Shuftan

By Penny (Deaflegacy Resident)

Bixyl Shuftan had been a reporter covering Second Life for 12 years now.  He worked with the SL Newspaper from November 2007 until June 2010, which then closed because at that time the owner, JamesTJuno, was leaving Second Life.  The editor, Dana Vanmoer, didn't feel she had the authority to just up and grab ownership without his permission.  Dana gave the news to the crew in April 2010. After their initial shock, Bixyl started talking to the others on what they should do.  Gemma Cleanslate, Shelie Sands and Grey Lupindo agreed to form a new paper.  "Since I was the 'office manager' of Second Life Newspaper, taking care of it when Dana couldn't," they felt Bixyl should be the editor of it. 

Because Dana didn't want Second Life Newspaper to end with just a simple and sad goodbye article, instead she wanted to have a party as a tribute to their time and work together.  SL Newser was officially announced at the closing party of the old one, on June 5, 2010.  In SL Newspaper's final article, Dana credited Bixyl in keeping the old paper regularly updated.  "The paper's front page was 'closed' with a link to the Newser at the bottom," said Bixyl.

Bixyl helps out with the Relay For Life, both as a news reporter and a volunteer.  He gets the news about Relay For Life out through the Newser by Press Releases and news stories of events. But he's also a member of the Sunbeamer team. According to Bixyl, the Relay for Life is the largest fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  "There are chapters all over the United States, and presumably in Canada and elsewhere." replied Bixyl.  "The Second Life chapter, last I heard, we were the 17th largest."  Bixyl believe that the Relay has been going on in Second Life in some form since 2006. Bixyl covered some of their events for the Second Life Newsppaer, and under the Second Life Newser, it remained a priority.

The Sunbeamers are the team of the community of where Bixyl make his home in Second Life, the Sunweaver/Angels. Covering their events gives Bix a chance to both highlight the good Second Life does, and putting his community in the spotlight. Rita Mariner is the team captain. Every year, they have gotten an award for fundraising.  The first year, it was silver.  Last year, it was Jade. "A couple times we've gotten one for the campsite, which Cynthia Farshore and Shockwave Yareach deserve the bulk of the credit." said Bixyl.  

He writes on more than just news stories. At the moment, Bixyl is working on a novel. "The working title for it is 'The Corsean Encounter,'" he explained, "While science-fiction, it's not your standard space opera with spaceships shooting lasers at one another. In a sense, it turns the scenario of the evil alien invader upside down with the invaders being human. The hero of the story, a human who came to the world to help out, has to help his new friends deal with them."

I asked him about who his inspiration is, and he said, "I guess you can say the rest of the Newser crew is one inspiration."  Bixyl also liked to read and have kept up with the news in real life.  "I guess it's fitting. Here in Second Life, I help keep residents posted about it."  When we talked about a single high point when it comes to the Newser, he said that it was interesting coming face to face with Ebbe Linden. 

"Covering the Relay and Second Life Birthday has always been nice, even if it does make me busy."  Bixyl went on to say that he often calls May and June his "busy time," between the SL Birthday and Relay Weekend. Though that could also apply to October and December, with Halloween and Christmas.  "I've written about many people, places, and events over the years.  "I guess it can be a challenge keeping it up." replied Bixyl.  "But the compliments and people saying 'thank you' have been another inspiration.  I asked Bixyl what he thinks when someone like me says that he is an inspiration.  "I feel happy, proud," said Bix with a smile.  Bixyl added that he has very intention of continuing the Newser to its' tenth anniversary, and beyond. "Probably until that one day Linden Lab makes the decision to close this world, whenever that is.  Probably not for several years though," commented Bix.

On the same night I was working on the article, Bixyl got a "thank you" from the Veterans Tribute team.  Keep up the good work, Bixyl. 

Penny

Interview with Lanai Jarrico, Editor of the SL Enquirer

By Bixyl Shuftan

Lanai Jarrico is the editor and owner of the Second Life Enquirer, one of the leading newsletters covering this virtual world. She recently celebrated a double milestone. Saturday May 9 was not only when she celebrated her tenth rezzday, but also the tenth anniversary of the SL Enquirer. On the day after the celebration, I met up with her near her yacht at Mont Fleuri Isle for an interview.

Bixyl Shuftan: "So how did you first find out about Second Life?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I had heard about it from some friends in the Sims Online who were migrating here back in 2004, but I wasnt too interested until filmmakers ... found me there, flew to see me in my state and asked me to bring the paper here." At first I didnt want to come, but decided to take a look."

Bixyl Shuftan: "So you were in the Sims Online before coming to Second Life, and doing a paper there as well?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Yes the original paper was called The TSO Enquirer. I launched it on October 4, 2004, in the city of Blazing Falls, just weeks before Alphaville Herald. It was known as The Sims Online Enquirer."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Interesting. What did you usually cover there?"

Lanai Jarrico: "There was a large community of mafia families there, and they used the paper as a bridge of communication. That is what made it go viral there"

Bixyl Shuftan: "People were interested in the mafia there?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Oh my God, yes, that is where the roleplay mafia families were born, in my opinion. It was huge. I would say there were more than eight strong families with 25-30 members each. The mafia families migrated here (to Second life)and went underground and branched off into different things. I am still in touch with some of the old godfathers and leaders from those times."

Bixyl Shuftan: "What else did you cover there?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I would cover the things I did. I was an explorer and just documented my journrey aside from covering Mafia activities. It was just me reporting for the first year, and then I got a mafia writer. But things were getting crazy and I was getting threats."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Threats?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Yes. I was a very bold writer and reporting things that caused wars between families. I was asked to be a Godmother by a few because of the power the paper had. I've collapsed families in my writing due to their bad behaviors and antics. And in turn they would get angry and threaten me.  When I moved here, I left the mafia reporting behind and began writing about the culture and activities here and made it more mainstream."

Bixyl Shuftan: "How did your first days go here? The newcomer experience, and all?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Well, it definetly was a learning curve. Before I could launch the SL Enquirer officially, I had to learn how to get around and do simple things like use notecards and such. Then immerse myself in the community and meet people. Once I established some balance, I was able to slowly write about things here. When I was ready, I purched the slenquirer.com domain and made the change."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Whom helped you the most in learning how to write as a journalist?"

Lanai Jarrico: *thinks on that* "I have to say I've always written in my own style but I learned new techniques from my writers along the way and also college helped because I was writing papers weekly for four years. I also did fashion articles for a company in real life. All that practice taught me a little. I continue to learn."

Bixyl Shuftan: "What were the first articles that began to draw an audience to the SL Enquirer?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I think the articles that got the most notice were my personal entries labeled 'Lanai's Diary.' I wrote them as if no one else was looking at my innerthoughts on various topics. I think people like the emotion in them. (They were about) sometimes humor, other times just me rambling about something. Then wehn I brought a team of writers onboard, it branched out into various topics from other perspectives, and writing styles."

Bixyl Shuftan: "About when did the SL Enquirer overtake the The Sims Online Enquirer in readership?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I would have to say the transition took place in a span of six months from TSO Enquirer to SL Enquirer in Second Life. The sad thing is I had to switch hosting like three times, and each time I lost all my readship stats and tons of articles. We had close to 300,000 views in just one of those transitions. Does that answer your question? I hope I understood it."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Ouch, that's a lot. You had to put the articles back in the archives?"

Lanai Jarrico: "There wasn't a way to transfer them over from the original domain the the 2nd, so a huge loss there, then to the third. I finally settled with blogger and it is about 30,000 pageviews from 1 milllion but in all I'm sure it is close to 3 million if I carried the stats over, maybe more. Google+ stats alone is up to 13.3 million views and I have no clue how it got so high."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Nice. After that, did the SL Enquirer look more or less like it does now?"

Lanai Jarrico: "No. With each transition, I've changed the look due to each hosting having different templates. But this one I like and it has remained for some time now."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Sounds good. What kinds of stories does the SL Enquirer usually cover?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I would say a variety of things, such as press releases from our advertisers about events and products, spotlight features on locations, and Avie Polls. In a nutshell, the culture in various forms. I see SL Newser as covering more business topics, while we cover more entertainment."

Bixyl Shuftan: "In your opinion, what have been the most interesting topics to cover?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I have to say when I do interviews on a person about what they do. Not only do I get to meet someone new and add them as a friend, but I like to see what creativity is going on."

Bixyl Shuftan: "You mentioned some of your Sims Online Enquirer articles had gotten threats. Were there any SLE articles that sparked controversy?"

Lanai Jarrico: "(laughing out loud) Well yes. One thing I've learned in media is you cannot please everyone."

Bixyl Shuftan nods

Lanai Jarrico: "While some people might like what I have to say, others get bent out of shape, and I sometimes find nasty anonoymous comments in my inbox. I find it cowardly. If I put my opinions out there for all to see I would respect an opinion from someone who uses their name if they want to challenge me. Otherwise it holds no value to me."

Bixyl Shuftan nods and takes notes

Lanai Jarrico: "Years ago, a woman told a mutual friend that I shouldn't be taken seriously because I was uneducated.I didn't have a degree. Rather than letting that woman discourage me, it inspired me to get a degree and continue to do what I do."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Has your coverage of Second Life changed any over time?"

Lanai Jarrico: " ... Yes SLE is always changing and growing with the times. I'd like to say when I started the paper, it was just for a circle of four friends as entertainment. I had no idea it would go viral, so I had to learn how to adapt and create my own system to make it work. I have no real life journalism background."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Well, looking back over the past ten years, which articles would you say have been the most important ones?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I would have to say a series of article I wrote in regards to child avatars about six years ago, or even earlier, made an impact. It was right around the time LL changed the Terms of Service about them because of the inappropriote behaviors associated with child avies and pedophiles in SL. Soon after those articles were put out the TOS changed. I don't know if what I posted had anything to do with it, but the timing was right."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Interesting. Has there been anything more recent that's gotten a great deal of attention?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Yes, a couple months ago a story broke about the Blarney Stone Pub, written by one of my writers. That seemed to kick (a) hornets nest, and we got a huge spike in readership and comments due to it. Drama and controversy will do that. I've kind of stepped back from writing opinion pieces."

Bixyl Shuftan: "How did the writing ...  create drama and controversy?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Well, the story focused more about how they treat visitors and the way staff conducts business. The writer pointed out how they treat people and it sparked a firestorm in comments from both sides. Those who were mistreated while visitng their and staff trying to defend themselves: http://www.slenquirer.com/2014/09/a-dark-peek-into-once-mighty-sl-blarney.html .

Bixyl Shuftan: "Well, now that ten years have come and by, do you have any words of wisdom to Linden Lab or people thinking about giving Second Life a try?"

Lanai Jarrico: "I have to say Second Life is not like it used to be. The wide eyed wonder of something new has faded for those of us who has become established residents and learned the ins and outs of this community. I feel like the morale is declining because Linden Lab isn't as involved as it was in the beginning, and we are left to deal with newer residents who don't share the same sense of community as the elders. It makes it difficult for us to maintain what is left of the hope we have in it continuing to be the best virtual world. Now with the new SL 2.0 grid being on the horizon, peole are wary and have questions. Linden Lab could lose the trust of people if they do the same thing there that they have done here. People feel abandoned."

Lanai Jarrico: "Another thing I see happening more now is people have been so accustomed to forgetting there are people behind each avatar and aren't as thoughtful and caring as before. That's bad."

Bixyl Shuftan: "What could happen if those trends continue?"

Lanai Jarrico: "It will lead to the death of virtual worlds for people who are investing lots of money. Well, not all virtual worlds, but Second Life would fail, and become a playground for griefers. I still have hope because I still see elders here, but they are becoming more rare."

Bixyl Shuftan: " ... Was there anything else you wanted to add?"

Lanai Jarrico: "Not that I can think of. ...  Thank you Bixyl."

Bixyl Shuftan: "Welcome Lanai. (smile)"

It was then that we parted ways. Lanai Jarrico continues to run the SL Enquirer, writing about the entertainment side of Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan