How Second Life Makes Life Better For A Disabled Person

By Deaflegacy

Hello, everyone!  My name is DeafLegacy.  As per my name, I am deaf.  I have been deaf since birth.  I have managed to do just fine when my Mom learned sign language.  I was a lucky woman to have my Mom, who knew sign language.  Unfortunately, I lost her in 2013.  I miss her very much.

I came to Second Life three years and five months ago.  Someone mentioned Second Life, and that caught my attention.  At first, I was a shy person, using a female human avatar.  I wasn't sure how to get more Lindens.  As days went by, I started to know more about this virtual world.  For one, I know now how to get more Linden dollars, from winning contests, to Second Life jobs, or buying them with real money.  I do that once a month to make sure that my lots are paid for.

I find this amazing that when I first started using Second Life, I moved into an apartment on Cape Heron.  I have had two apartments but not at the same time.  I would remember my old living spaces with fondness.  When I was living in an apartment, I would be looking at houses on the parcels, and wanted to live on a parcel.  One day, I got parcels.  I can't say how many parcels I got because for some reasons, it's not right.  So I would just say that one day, I got some parcels, and ever since then, I have been making sure that I pay the rent.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, I can give you a few reasons.  I can tell you that I was lucky in finding Virtual Ability, which is a group for people with disabilities.  They have been there for me ever since I have been a member.  I can also tell you about writing for the SL Newser.  I was so happy when Bixyl Shuftan hired me.  I can definitely tell you that my desire to write never stops growing, even though I have a disability. I mean, when it comes to writing, who cares about the writer's disabilities?  We care about what the writer is writing about.

Second Life had helped me out a great deal since the day I signed up.  I have no regret in joining Second Life, and I hope to continue on as a member of Second Life.  In a way, thanks to Second Life, I'm now a writer, and I got lucky to have a partner, Six String (roleplayismylife).  I love Six String very much.

Thank you, Second Life, in giving me many chances.  I will never forget that.

Deaflegacy

Wisdomseeker and Whole Brain Health

By Bixyl Shuftan

When it comes to keeping one's mind healthy, the people to go to are Whole Brain Health at Inspiration Island. I recently interviewed the head of the group,  Wisdomseeker (Lissena Resident). We met in a skybox with a few pannels and chairs over the sim. "We hold our staff meetings here," Wisdomseeker explained.

"World Brain Health really began in 2013.," she told me, "I came into Second Life fascinated by the imaginative aspect of it, but not really sure what I would do here. Then I met Gentle heron of Virtual Ability Island. She encouraged me to do a presentation on brain health for her spring 2013 conference. I did that, and also set up what is called a brain Health Fair in real-life. In real-life, it takes place in a gym and allows seniors to try out many of the activities that promote brain health. I brought it into Second Life. That is my background and training, holistic evidence-based approach to brain health and well being. So everything here comes from that beginning."

I asked about the sim's name, Inspiration Island. Wisdomseeker pointed out, "The name comes from our logo." She pointed it out in the nearby wall: Inspire, Interact, Innovate - Change. "These are the things we focus on--educating through fun and thought provoking activities." I asked about the activities. She answered, "The idea is that people can learn what they can do to have greater well being, and we give them ways to actually try out those things. We work from five pillars of well being, activities that encourage self care--good diet, sleep, exercise and stress reduction, encourage social interaction that iis positive, encourage cognitive challenge, encourage creative self expression of all kinds, and help people develop a sense of purpose. Those five based on the research. So if you look around, you can find parcels that focus on them."

"We have for example a Multiple Intelligences Experience parcel to explore your greatest kinds of abilities--have you seen it?" I answered that I had noticed it from a distance. Wisdomseeker continued, "We hold our jazz concerts Wednesdays on the music stage there. Music is one kind of intelligence. My husband is a musician (smile). We have a number of music programs. (The) 50s sock hop for instance hosted by Curei on her Floating Gallery here. The map on the welcome board--which is all over the sim--is a good way to see what we offer. A great 'Relationships in SL and Beyond' program led by Pet Karu, who is a professional counselor. We have about 30 people who create programs and activities here, island members. Darth Vondran teaches chess here as a brain game. ... We take a group photo every year. It keeps getting bigger."

"I am on the board of Nonprofit Commons here in SL, and this region is part of Rockcliffe University Estate. I have a staff that is made up of gems. Thuja Hynes is Associate Director here. Francisco Koolhoven is Media Director. His is a scripter, made the Welcome Board behind us. And Katsii Tennen is our Music Organizaer. So the four of us work closely and others participate through their programs, like Osangar and her amazing brain! I never in a million years thought I would be doing this, it just sort of grew (smile)."

Wisdomseeker went on, "We are the virtual arm of a real-life nonprofit called 'Ageless Mind Project.' ... You see, I strongly believe that virtual lives enrich our other lives. AMP has the goal of educating the public about lifestyle choices that improve brain health and well being. In real life my husband and I give workshops, often using music as brain food as the theme. Music can contribute a lot to well being, a lot of research on this. One thing we are doing now is setting up a series of challenges/quests on the sim, a structured way for people to explore. So many tell us we have so much here, they don't know where to start. We will give people badges for completing challenges. Our staff is working on that now."

Wisdomseeker mentioned one could find their calendar of events at https://virtualinspirationisland.org/calwbh/ . She went on to say they try to have events every day, "we keep adding new ones--we also try to collaborate with other groups. For instance we are hosting a tea ceremony presented by another group, a special event next week. ... One thing, everyone who comes here and likes it, tells me. We are a friendly bunch.  People feel safe here. They like the feel of the place."

I asked her, "One question coming to mind, would someone in their 40s approach brain health a little differently than someone in their 20s? What if the person was in their 60s?" Wisdomseeker answered, "One way to look at it is this:  everything you do from the time you are born to protect your brain is important - at any age what we teach here is valuable - no matter how early or late you start - having this knowledge and practicing it is the key. The underlying concepts are universal. I say this as someone who turned 80 this year. I got into this because we took care of close family members who developed dementia. Once I realized there are things people can do to have a better chance - look at the football players, for instance, I wanted people to know about it. Now if they would just requie helmets on scooters."

Another question of mine to Wisdomseeker was, "Would you say on the whole, brain health is being taken more seriously?" She answered, "Very much so now. I keep up with the research so I can see how much more there is. Especially now that we know more about the brain itself, about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, how what you do can change your brain for the better, grow new neurons, improve memory, lots of good stuff. It's worth learning about and developing good habits around it. Second Life is important in one great way. I believe it has the power to reduce loneliness. Loneliness is connected to depression and is generally bad for brain and well being. That's why having positive relationships here is so important too, something we focus on."

I asked if they were planning anything this year that stands out. Wisdomseeker answered, "Our major focus is on giving visitors a clearer pathway to well being through our sim - so when they come here they will know more easily where to explore, according to their needs and interests. Many of our members also are planning new activities here. We are very open to having new people join us both as visitors and members, and to suggest additions and improvements."

Wisdomseeker and I parted ways. But I would return later to look around the island. And there was a lot to see, both on the ground and higher up. There are a number of places one can go to read information. But there are also games areas, such as the 3D Maze at (224/51/22) and those at Games Park at (203/55/701). One can get a list of locations here.

https://virtualinspirationisland.org/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Inspiration%20Island/151/234/39



Addition: Whole Brain Health made this video in 2016 of the activities on Inspiration Island.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sebastien Bouevier and Survivors of Suicide

By Deaflegacy

"Survivors of Suicide" is the largest group in Second Life for people dealing with depression or people who know someone who is. It is headed by Sebastien Bouevier. Recently, he and I met at their new location that was opened a week ago.  I asked him if we could stop by the beach.  We did. The beach area was well done, resembling one in real life. “That's what I was trying to achieve,” said Sebastien, “I wanted somewhere tranquil and serene for people to come and relax.”

We went to a lookout and sat down. I asked Sebastien if his group was particularly important this time of year.  “Yes," he replied, "the holidays is typically the busiest time of year for us at SOS, as a lot of people don't have much in terms of family and friends in real-life, as well as it being a stressful time of year for literally everyone.”

According to Sebastien, he didn't join SOS until just over six years ago. It had already been running for almost four years by then.  Krissy Sinclair, the original founder, started it after being a member of a similar group in real life, and realizing that there was a need for it here on Second Life.

I asked Sebastien how many members are there in the SOS. He said, “As of today we have close to 900 members.” said Sebastien, “Yes, we got over 100 new members during the Christmas Fair.” Their Christmas Fair was a month-long event to celebrate their tenth anniversary as well as gain awareness and raise money for the group.

My next question was, “Would you agree that SOS is attracting more and more members in the time of need because they are there to help people in need?”  Sebastien's response was, “Yes, I do agree with that. Survivors of Suicide is here for everyone and we are open 24/7. We have a team of mentors who are able to talk with people one on one, and when there aren't any mentors available, our group chat is active and very friendly. It is a sort of community of people all helping and supporting each other.”

The next question is if the SOS would continue on much longer. “Oh yes," said Sebastien, "we are the longest running group of this kind in Second Life. We have seen many other groups come and go, but none have stood the test of time. Judging by the immense support from the SL community at large during our event, we will continue to stay open, and continue to grow.”

I asked if anyone can come in the chat at any time to seek help. “Yes," replied Sebastien, "anyone is welcome to join the group chat at any time to ask for help. A group invite will be sent to everyone who lands at the SOS parcel.”

My next question for Sebastien was when the best time to ask for help would be. “Hmmm, it really depends," said Sebastien, "we have members and mentors from the US west coast, and even Hawaii, to Australia and New Zealand.”  “Lets put it this way, I've never been online and not have had at least a dozen of members online at the same time.”

The next question was, “Is there such a thing as exchanging emails with other members or/and mentors so they can continue to receive the help they need when they are not on Second Life?”  Sebastien's response was, “No, but that segues nicely into something I wanted to share with you and your readers," said Sebastien, "We have started embracing social media. We are now on FaceBook, Flickr, and we have our own Discord server. Are you familiar with Discord? ...  It is called Survivors of Suicide. We have a discord button in the entrance hall of the main SOS building long with a button for our website, FaceBook page, and Flickr.”

“I'm excited that we are now able to reach out to our members even when they aren't in Second Life,” Sebastien said, “It was really nice to see all the people that came to visit us during the event, we have over 3000 people come through, and I spoke with over one hundred of them, and everyone had stories of either themselves or people they knew who has gone through very difficult times.  We are going strong into the future, with a new club house, more meetings and activities than before, and that we are here to stay.”

As the interview came to a close, Sebastien said, “My main goal for 2019 is to grow the membership of SOS, I realized just how many people who needs us, or could benefit from us, but don't know we exist. So that is the main objective, and any publicity we can get is fantastic!”

The interview came to a close and I have a good feeling about the future of Survivors of Suicide.  As Sebastien said, they are here to stay. As a member of SOS, I look forward to many days with the group.  SOS is an excellent group, and they are helping people out in need.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Legenda/47/56/24

Deaflegacy

Interview With Bixyl Shuftan

by Deaflegacy

Bixyl Shuftan and I got together on December 17, which was his RezDay. I gave him congrats on turning twelve. “Thank you," he replied, "it's certainly been a long, sometimes strange, usually wonderful journey.”

I asked Bixyl what his greatest accomplishment in twelve years on Second Life is. “Good question," he replied, "I would say in keeping the Newser team going. Next to that, I would say getting it started. After Dana decided to fold the Second Life Newspaper, four of us decided to start a new one, with me as the head as I was one with the most experience.”

I wanted to know if at the beginning it was his dream to be a writer on Second Life. “Well, twelve years ago, I didn't really have any goals, other than to explore around, see what this place was like," Bixyl said, "After I saw the Relay for Life weekend, I started coming here more often. But it wasn't until I saw the call for Reader Submissions in James and Dana's Second Life Newspaper that I thought about writing about this virtual world.”

I asked Bixyl more about his accomplishments on Second Life, including working on Relay for Life as well as helping out with the Happy Vixen Club. “I've done my best," he replied, "For the Relay, once I became a member of the Sunweaver community, that meant being involved as a participant in the Relay, not just a reporter covering it. So I've helped them out by covering their events, as well as volunteering for a few fundraisers. The Happy Vixen, it's owned by Nydia Tungsten. who is my best friend here. When she asked me to help her manage it , I told her I could help out. At the time, it had only had two or three events a week. It being a beach club, the idea was it would be a bit more laid back. As DJs kept wanting to play there, we took on more events. It does keep me a bit busy, but most everyone's happy.”

I asked Bixyl what his advice would be to people wanting to be writers. “In short, go for it," he replied, "If nothing else, you could always put your writings on a personal website or blog. But you can always find an audience if you know where to look, or go. In the case of Second Life journalism, there are newsletters such as the Newser, that are open to new talent coming in. Fiction writers, you can always go to writers workshops to compare stories to those of other writers, get a little feedback.”

I asked if there are openings on SL Newser right now. “Yes," said Bixyl, "We're still open to new talent, provided they've been in Second Life for thirty days or longer, and can write an article once a week or more.” He would later tell me this applied only to reporters on the Newser team as they're paid for their work. Readers can submit articles of their own to be published any time.

I asked Bixyl if he is going to continue with Second Life. “Yes," he replied, "The Newser's still going strong. Second Life, for it's ups and downs over the years, will be around for some time to come. So we'll be continuing to write about it for some time to come. And of course, this is a team, so my thanks to Gemma Cleanslate, Grey Lupindo, and Shelie Sands who helped encourage me to get this project going. And those who joined the team along the way, such as DrFran, Grease Coakes, and of course you.”

My next question is if he felt he accomplished much while being on Second Life. “I hope so," said Bixyl, "What I do know is that many have sent us their thanks over the years for our coverage, such as from the Sunweavers and the Relay. We've also gotten compliments for our style of journalism.”

I thanked Bixyl for being a mentor and inspiration to me in my writing about Second Life. You're very welcome," he said, "Perhaps soon you'll be an inspiration to a new writer on the team.” He would say that he hoped the Newser had and will inspire others to start writing.

Bixyl did have one bit of advice, “I guess my last bit of advice is while there's a time to postpone plans and dreams as realities change or don't go to plan .... 'hang on to your dreams. Some become tomorrow's realities.' "

I thanked Bixyl for his time. I have a good feeling that he will continue to write about Second Life and lead the Newser, for years to come.

Deaflegacy

Interview with Nydia Tungsten

By Deaflegacy

I recently met with  Nydia Tungsten. She had recently celebrated her tenth rezzday in Second Life. Over the past ten years, she has made a number of friends, and been many things from DJ to club owner, to sim manager, music video maker, real-life writer, and more. She is the owner of "The Happy Vixen" beach club, co-owns the "Club Zero Gravity" space station club, and has owned others as well.

After congratulating her being in Second Life for a full ten years. My first question to Nydia was what she feels is her best accomplishment in all this time. “Having as many friends as I do, they keep me strong and here,” replied Nydia, “I could not have done it with out them.”


I then asked Nydia how she found out about Second Life.  “I was out riding with my brother as he drove (his) truck, we were at (the) company lot and someone told me about it, gave me the loader for it, and I forgot about it for about, four years, no, six years," replied Nydia, "When I got off the truck and started settling down in Reno again, it was about six to ten months after that I found the zip file he gave me. So I opened it and tried it, I was in a whole new world of discovery. Hoo boy, it was one of discovery!  I was popping all over the grid. I was more interested in the Furry community because I had discovered comics and art work that absolutely fascinated me.  It really opened my eyes as well, I made a few self-discoveries that first week as well.”

Nydia and I talked about the first of her clubs written about, Angels Beach.  “Angels Beach, I had just started my family group 'Nydia's Angels', ”answered Nydia, “and my first Angel was a very good artist and as we were building it. I though of her and the rest of my new family, and named it for them. You will notice a LOT of the things I do and have angels in it, I do it for them my family.” She then added, "Oh something I should add, 'Angels Beach' was not my first club, 'Infinite Desires' was my first attempt at a club.” I asked Nydia where the idea for “The Happy Vixen,” her longest running club, came around.  “Well," she answered, "truth be told I saw the name in one of my comics, 'The Happy Vixen Tavern.' And I loved it."

My next question would be how Nydia first came across the Sunweavers.  Nydia replied, “My very first friend in Second Life,"Treminari Huet, was a member and she brought me over and introduced to Rita, Lomgren, Ranchan, Audri, Thomas and many more dear friends that have since become one of my Angels as well.”

I know that Nydia had been making music videos for awhile.  I asked Nydia where the idea for making music videos come from. “Well, I was thinking of making videos for the clubs and I started watching some SL videos," spoke Nydia, "and saw some REALLY well done ones and decided to give it a shot. And I shared it with my angels and put them in them as well, and the strangest thing happened.... we had a BLAST! (laughter)”

Nydia published a novel that she had written recently, "Switched Destinies." I asked Nydia how many people have been reading it.  “Last count, 23," she replied, "I will never get rich from them, but I enjoy writing their stories and sharing them and it feels great to have others enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing them." I asked her if there is a sequel planned.  “Yes," she answered, "it should be released soon, as soon as my daughter  finishes a little art work in it.  They may be six to ten by the time I am done.”

I asked Nydia what her future plans are.  She replied, “I own a Second Life Radio station. It will be going to real-life status in February. I also have become active with a group helping to promote clubs and to have them help each other as well and I tuck everything I do under the WVE flag (WVE means White Vixen Enterprises).  Oh, we also do yearly calendars.”

With the end of the interview approaching, I asked her if there was there anything she wanted to add.  “I would really like to thank all my friends for their support in my life," Nydia spoke, "They are my family here, and they keep me going.”

I thanked Nydia for the interview and asked her if I could take a picture. She answered sure and I took some pictures.  This was a really good interview.  I do know that Nydia runs an awesome club, which is The Happy Vixen.  If anyone is looking for some good times, I would definitely recommend The Happy Vixen.

Deaflegacy

A Favourite Irish Musician Returns to Perform at Music Island

by Klaus Bereznyak

Two years since his last recital inworld, the composer, performer and raconteur, Dainial, returned to Second Life to give a live performance on Sunday December 9 at Music Island. A little slice of Ireland was created for this intimate opportunity to hear Dainial's music and stories once again. The audience were invited to join him around the fire in a traditional Irish croft house, with a roaring fire in the hearth and the sound of birdsong in the trees outside the window.

The room full of avatars, lounging in armchairs and perched on kitchen stools, was evidence enough that Dainial's return was much anticipated and his music well loved. We were treated to a program of original works entitled "an Sean Phobal " (The Old Parish), drawing inspiration from remembered faces and voices from the past. Dainial 's music is strongly influenced by Irish traditional music and song with a twist of jazz and classical expression. He uses synthesizer and piano to score layers of sound as a canvas for his lyrical saxophone melodies. While juggling all these elements during the live performance, Dainial kept up a patter in his soft voice, bringing each piece alive with his own memories.

The audience could follow along with a specially prepared souvenir program with text and photographs. It opened with "Equinox", a song written for "Mikey" , one of "old people" who Dainial recalls gathering each in an old shop that sold clocks, radios, bikes and bric-a-brac, to exchange songs and poems. The program continued with compositions in which the music was layered over poems, stories and songs passed down through the generations, from various sources such as an interview with Dainial's grandmother and an old cylinder from a German POW camp in 1914. We were also treated to interpretations over the words of poems written by Irish poets and read by people known and dear to the composer. His piece "Summer has Gone" in memory of Sean O Cinnéide was especially poignant. Dainial explains: "Sean recites a 9th Century Poem for Christmas: It is called 'l have news for you' and was written in the margin of the Book of Kells by a scribe monk. Really though, this is a song about my grief still at his sudden death last February. He was a true friend and colleague. With a remarkable voice."

Dainial learned music in the traditional, aural way, by playing and by listening and, although he can read music, he doesn't sight read, and prefers to learn by ear. While he scores his music, he says "it doesn't feel intuitive to me. I suppose this is not surprising for an Irish musician in a way, because I share this way of learning tunes, by ear, with generations of traditional Irish musicians, but also my own family who are alluded to by my grandmother in my tune 'the music is in all of us'."

We came back in to land by way of "The incantation of Amergin", featuring the voice of  Padraigin Ni hUallachåin singing an ancient Irish poem. The magical, transportive experience was over all too soon, leaving the audience hungry for more. Dainial thanked Kate Miranda of Music Island for hosting the concert. We hope it will not be as long as two years before we have the chance to hear him again.

You can hear a little taste of Dainial's music on his SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ceolsampla
Music Island has an ongoing program of wonderful live music performances:

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VIRTLANTIS%20Community/197/66/23


Klaus Bereznyak

Mermaid Celene About The Radegast Viewer

By Deaflegacy

Mermaid Celene (celenehighwater) and I met for an interview about Radegast. My first question for Mermaid was, “Which viewer do you use for Second Life?” She responded, “I use Radegast. It is a text-based viewer that allows the blind to use Second Life.”

My next question for Mermaid was if the program is helping her out. “Without Radegast, I could not use Second Life. It is the only viewer that is text-based for the PC,” she replied, “I have been using it for seven years and I would say that it has given me a nice Second Life experience. I fish, volunteer, participate in gatherings, shop, etc.”

I wanted to know about the wonderful things about Radegast. Mermaid told me, “Radegast is a light-weight client, meaning it doesn't take a lot of processor power to run. It works seemlessly with the user's screen reader. So it makes getting around in-world easier because you aren't having to learn to use anything other than the viewer itself. It reads the objects sighted people usually see with their eyes. As long as they are labeled with labels that tell us what they are, we are able to get a great picture of what is around us. That allows us to interact with objects and people. We dance, we swim, and we can shop for items in-world.”

I wanted to know if Mermaid would recommend Radegast to people, especially people with vision problem. “Oh absolutely! We have a growing community of blind and visually impaired users in Second Life and an active community of sighted SL users committed to helping them live their best Second Life. This includes accessibility awareness, projects, assistance and anything else they need. Virtualability.org is a great resource for the disabled real world community looking to enter Second Life.” replied Mermaid, “Second Life is so much more than a "game." It is a virtual community of educators, social events, non-proffits too. The opportunities are endless, even for the blind and visually impaired user.”

As the interview came to an end, I thanked Mermaid for the interview. I'm glad that there is a program out there that is designed to help people with vision problem when it comes to Second Life.

Deaflegacy

CDS Election Campaigning: 恭子 Kyoko (Samara Barzane)

By Bixyl Shuftan

Different communities have different ways of how things are run. For the Confederation of Democratic Simulators, the community has elections twice a year in which local citizens (those who own land in the community) chose who will be in the Representative Assembly and who will be their leader: the Chancellor. This election, two people are running for Chancellor. They are Drewski Northman, and 恭子 Kyoko (Samara Barzane). The part of Kyoko's display name written in Japanese kanji also spells "Kyoko."

Sunday November 11 saw two events in which both candidates had a chance to explain themselves to the voters. Drewski had his at 11 AM. Kyoko's was the second one, taking place at 2:30 PM SL time.

I'd like to invite  you to join me for an informal discussion of my platform (attached) and listen to what YOU want to see (and help make happen) in C.D.S. Ask away, but I want to hear from you too!

Kyoko has also put her case for being elected, as well as her goals, on notecard. Her campaign could be summed up as "Respect, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness."

I am running for the honor of serving you as the Chancellor of C.D..S. for the 30th Term.

I have been a citizen of the C.D.S. since 2015 and am currently serving as PIO Head and as a member of the Land Use Commission. Last March’s successful Celebrating SL Women 2018 was planned by Brooke Brandenburg and myself. I have owned and managed The Art Cafe in Locus Amoenus since 2015 and was recently made an Estate Manager

An SL member since 2007, I have worked at a number of SL jobs, which included customer relations as well as store and sim management, marketing, public relations and events. Employers have included store Elikapeka Tiramisu of ETD (now [e]), Roslin Petion of Fleur and designer Mills Michinaga. I owned and managed Park Galleries from 2008 to 2011 and continue to exhibit my own artwork in C.D.S. and elsewhere.

I also owned and operated a translation agency, and served as sim manager for a shopping sim taking care of rentals, marketing, public relations and events. Active in Relay for Life of Second Life since 2008, I was sponsorship chair in 2011.

In that role I raised $11,000 US for Relay for Life of Second Life. These experiences have included the development of program and marketing strategies suited to Second Life. Throughout these work experiences I have interacted with diverse SL individuals and groups.

What I stand for:

RESPECT
As Chancellor I pledge to respect each citizen, as well as the history and structures of C.D.S

RESPONSIBILITY
I pledge to take responsibility for my assigned duties in a timely manner and for any mistakes that I make.

RESOURCEFULNESS
Finally, I pledge to be resourceful in problem-solving, in the judicious use of C.D.S. assets and in seeking out citizen skills to support the C.D.S. vision.

SPECIFICALLY
- Work with key members of the executive and citizenry to develop and execute a marketing strategy for Land Sales and Citizen Retention
- Encourage the Land Use Commission to continue its creative vigilance with regard to our simulators.
- Continue a program of varied events that appeal to our citizens, as well as promoting C.D.S. to others. I will also encourage citizen participation in creating new events.
- Meet with citizens for both social and discussion purposes on a regular as well as ad hoc basis.


The event was held at the CDS Amphitheatre in Colonia Nova. Earlier in the day, Kyoko had held a Maiko dance event, "Odori No Aki,: there. Now, the place was the site of a political event. Rosie Gray, whom was Chancellor earlier this year, told her, "Thanks for organizing the Maiko dance event, I thought it was really interesting, and something totally different for here." "You are welcome," Kyoko told her, "They are good people."

More people arrived, and they sat on a circle of chairs on stage, "Rosie, if we need more chairs can you move us around?"Kyoko waited a few extra minutes for more to arrive, then "OK, why don't we get started? First thank you for coming and welcome. I have a few remarks prepared, (what candidate doesn't *laughter*) But I thought I would start with a couple of stories.

"My poster slogan is Respectful, Responsible, Resourceful. You, of course, will be the just of whether I treat others with respect. It is my intent. But there are other things to respect here at CDS, our vision of democracy in a virtual world, the integrity and functioning of our political structures, as well as our traditions that pull us together.


"Okay, responsibility.  A story. I was recently made an Estate Manager. One of my first acts was to turn this amphitheatre into a water parcel." That statement got a few chuckles from some of the others around, "ha-ha." Kyoko continued, "I was so embarrassed, flattened all the land to the water (laughter). I contacted Rosie and Sudane Erato and confessed, pleading for help, and offered to resign. Their response? They said, 'don't worry. We've done worse.' That told me a lot about the quality of the people caring for our sims. And I will always take responsibility when I goof." Rosie remarked, "None of us is perfect." Kyoko responded, "Rosie while true, that was a lovely goof I made (laughter)."

It was about this moment Han Held (Hannah Marie Tempestwolf), the current Chancellor, arrived. She remarked, "they said they've done worse and I TP in, 'Speak of the devil and you see her horns.' ... I can vouch that you've got the skills, temperment and education and background to do very, very well."

Kyoko continued, "OK, resourcefulness. We don't always have a lot of money lying around for events. As a result two of our Oktoberfest events, The Pub Crawl and Friedsee by horseback were citizen-generated, a load of fun and, free. There are so many ways to to make that happen again and again. And that's one way we can be resourceful. For those of you who attends this afternoon's event, Odori No Aki, remember the last folktale about the frogs. The moral  there was that it is people who make a community thrive. And we have the people, I know."

"I had more prepared," Kyoko spoke, "But I'm happy for questions, suggestions ideas. The floor is yours." Keila Forager had the first question, about getting buyers for vacant land, "Thank you.  What are your plans to reduce the 'yellow' on the map?" After a few comments about a new keyboard, Kyoko answered, "Not my favorite color. One of the main tasks of the incoming chancellor will be to turn those to green or later snow. My three prongs if you will are Marketing and citizen retention. It takes a community to build a community. While it's the chancellor's task, it is also the task for all of us. What do we value about CDS? What might need to change?" She glanced at her papers for a moment, "Let me look at my notes a sec. ...The three prongs are marketing, outreach, and events. They are all connected. In marketing we need to refresh and refocus our advertising. I have some ideas, but the more the merrier. As for outreach, as I mentioned we should encourage citizen generated events.

"Outreach, develop ways to cooperate with other communities on items of mutual interest. Whether it's events of project we both support, that's a gain for both communities in life and vitality. Cooperating with other communities should not involve poaching, but a reputation as a good community to work with helps drive interest and hopefully more green and less yellow. I've already talked about events as a community project under resourcefulness. Marketing involves selling us, obviously. But outreach and events help sell us also. As the frogs (in the play) said, a community is it's people. We all need to step up. If I am not elected I will not disappear. I will keep working for the well-being of (the) CDS.

While she spoke, others had questions. Keila wondered about if the CDS was in the Linden Destinations Guide, and Rosie told her they were, showing them the link to the Neufreistadt sim. But Lyubov remarked, "I've never found us in the Guide." Then in response to cooperating with other communities she asked, "Do you have come communities in mind, that may share interests?  Steampunk? Victorian roleplay? ... What would be a measurable goal, or achievement, after your six month term?" Keila asked, "I think retention should be an issue also.  Once you get new citizens, how you plan to keep them.   Aside from Rosie here, I've just recently met everyone else and have been a citizen since June this time.   I've been part of CDS off and on since 2007."

Kyoko went on, "Yes, I'm a retired university professor, and student retention is a big worry. A place to start is why we each are here, what makes us stay, what makes us come back? For me it is a community that works together." "And what makes us leave?" Keila threw in. Kyoko responded, "Oh yes that one too Keila. Why do people leave? We need to understand that. ... As for metrics, I'm a philosopher, not a statistician (wink). I would hope that we make a lot of progress on banishing the yellow, that we work together as a community. I will aim for as much non-yellow as possible. If the RA were to want to see a measuring metric that is fine. But often when we seek a number we miss options to  reach the same goal by a different route."

Kyoko them commented, "Can you tell I've been on too many assessment committees? Did I miss a question?" Lyubov commented, "I'm speaking only for myself, not for the RA (smile), but thank you." Kyoko continued, "Of course my job as chancellor is to keep a sharp eye on fiances and other matters. I will do that  to the best of my abilities. But we need the citizens to work together to help us grow, not just in numbers and (money), but in community. I'm not naive. I've been in many communities both real and virtual. The important thing is not to get bogged down in the past, but to look forward. We have amazing sims and that's one of our biggest selling points. I will be as available and consistent as is humanly possible. But I will be working with you to find the energy we need to be even better than we are."

Keila remarked, "Nor could I find a list of places to visit while here, do we still have that too?" Kyoko answered, "The Land Use Commission is working on that right now, and I am hoping we'll have a working list by the next term. Rosie and I will also accept suggestions for places to list." Kyoko apologized for any typos made, "I just get excited about the projects."

Kyoko then brought up, "Do you want to know why I decided to run?" There were answers of "Yes." The candidate then began to explain, " I've been in CDS since mid-2015 as a gallery owner and resident, with absolutely no intention of running for office. I mean absolutely no intention. Rosie knows how absolute (wink). So what changed my mind? A sense of duty and a higher calling?" Lyubov grinned, "You were drafted." Kyoko answered, "Not that simple really, although my arm is still untwisting." Lyubov kept grinning, "Rosie, keep it twisted tight! don't let her go!" The former Chancellor chuckled, "Haha, no I didn't twist her arm at all." Kyoko responded, "You darn near broke it off." There were more snickers from the others.

The candidate continued, "Over time I came to appreciate the democratic ideal that drives C.D.S., and began to notice the citizens who were working for the well-being of our community. Art Cafe was part of my hoping to provide a resource for C.D.S., its citizens and our visitors. As Public Information Officer for the 29th term I attended most of the Resident Assembly meetings and was overwhelmed by the quality of our elected representatives and the care they were taking with the welfare of C.D.S. Additional experience on the Land Use Commission has only reinforced that realization. Our representatives really care. My 'vision' for C.D.S. comes from these experiences; that we need to find ways to keep the C.D.S. project fresh and vital, and that we ought to explore future options together. The fact is, the bulk of the Chancellor's job is paperwork and details, all important, in keeping the engine humming, but not glamorous. I mean no one in their right mind would run for Chancellor (laughter). The opportunity for the chancellor to effect much change in 6 months is smaller than you may think. But the avenues that ARE open are ones we can travel together and get some things done. "

"OK here we circle back to where we started. The areas we can affect most easily are marketing, outreach and events. All three are inter-connected. Of course I have some ideas and dreams for C.D.S., but my biggest hope is that we will work TOGETHER to develop these new approaches. Working together we can be more than the sum of our parts. Our major resources are the belief that democracy is possible here and the outstanding beauty of our sims. The Land Use Commission works hard to keep our sims fresh and functional. I've had a wonderful time wandering the sims lately, finding many amazing locations to enjoy, AND list for your enjoyment (wink). If elected Chancellor I promise to be accessible and responsive to your concerns and ideas, especially for marketing, outreach and events, because those are the most accessible means we have to grow as a community."

The meetup would go a little longer. But eventually it was time for it to end. So people went their separate ways.

The polls open on Saturday November 10 at Noon SL time, and will close a week later, on November 17. The election results will be announced on November 24.

Bixyl Shuftan

When A Friend Passes Away

By Deaflegacy

Most of my story will be about real-life, but it's one I need to tell.

October 27, 2018, was one of the hardest days I had in my life.  It was the day that my best friend of nearly four years passed away.  Her name has been changed to give her friends and family privacy so I will settle on Yvonne.  My other best friend, Larry (name changed for the same reason) texted me.  He wanted me to call him.  So I called Larry.  It was then Larry told me that Yvonne had passed away.  At first, I thought Larry was kidding and Larry said no.  We made an arrangement to meet. Larry's girlfriend, Beth (name changed for the same reason) and Larry pick me up.  We stopped by Yvonne's house.  It then hits me.  Yvonne is gone.  She's not coming back. 

We knew it was going to happen because Yvonne kept falling asleep.  She passed away in her sleep most likely from a heart failure.  I miss Yvonne very much.  Even when Beth told me that I have to move on, I still miss her very much.  If there is one thing that never will change, it's that Yvonne will still be my inspiration.  She was one of the few people who inspired me to write in my journal every day.  Even when Yvonne is gone, I will continue to write in my journal every day for Yvonne. 

But I know Yvonne will not be forgotten. I remember last year when Bixyl and Gemma told me about their SL friend Breezes Babii passing away. Her friends came together to give her a funeral here in Second Life. They still talk about her once in a while. A few weeks ago, Akea Grommet, another of Bixyl's SL friends, passed away. Akea's friends gathered at his partner's house here in Second Life to share stories about him. Some hadn't seen him a long time, but still they came to pay their respects.

At least, I know that Yvonne is at peace.  She is in a better place and that's why I'm tell you all about my best friend of nearly four years.  Yvonne was a wonderful and kind person, who cared very much about me.  Even though I know that Yvonne is in a better place now, it doesn't stop me from missing her.  From the day I left her house, carrying a large teddy bear, I know right now that Yvonne is with me.  Best Friends Forever.

Deaflegacy

Interview With Cynthia Farshore.

By Deaflegacy

Cynthia Farshore and I met at her place.  She offered me some tea and I accepted.  I asked Cynthia Farshore how she found out about Second Life.  "Real-life friend," said Cynthia Farshore, "Really talked it up and said would have things ready for me.  I hadn't had any experience in inworlds so didn't know beans about it."

"Could you please describe to me what your first days on Second Life were like?" I asked Cynthia. She replied, "Mmm, first days.  I was really shy. ... October 3 was my ninth Rezz Day so we're covering about nine years in a hurry."  I wished Cynthia Farshore a happy belated Rezz Day, then she continued, "Now, one of the people to bring me in was Raschid Marenwolf who I stuck with til Eternity. But that sim group was dying. ... Well there's more to the story than that. Actually my first home was 7isles and that is my destroyed land felled by strange magic.  In other words, Linden Lab screwed things up. But that's another story.  Then I traveled to Eternity Castle where I met a few like Liska." 

"... I Looked around and had been told of the Sunweavers," Cynthia Farshore continued on, "Now I had a rough growing up, wasn't liked in High School, was bullied some. The Navy wasn't the best place to have REAL friends, so I was outgoing.  Why I say that is so you understand why I was sneaking around Sunweaver.  I didn't know what kind of people I was going to run into and my experience so far in Medieval roleplay sims was not always the warmest.  But one day, I was floating around, cause I would less likely to be seen or contacted. I ran across a pyramid building and saw a line of furries dancing in sync.  I thought I would like to be a part of that.  I began to explore the building and then realized Raschid knew some of the residents."

Cynthia Farshore went on, "'Ok so must be a good place,' so I got brave and walked in during a dance.  There, one of the first to greet me and start talking to me was Shockwave, and we hit it off right there.  On the roleplay sims you get a casual greeting. But once there, I found people actually talk to you.  Finally a place I felt welcomed and was happy.  Once I was comfortable I began asking questions on how things worked and started building my first house, and it looked like it. Thus comes in Shocky.  With his help, I learned and my skills grew.  Now Caledon, well that came much later.  I collect some antiques, so of course 19th century steampunk attracted me."

At that point, Shockwave Yareach came in and Cynthia Farshore greeted him.  I asked Shockwave  if he didsn't mind having his name mentioned in the article.  Shockwave replied, "Not a bit.  I'm proud to be with my lady." Cynthia explained that we were talking about coming to Sunweaver.  "You were.... hesitant." replied Shockwave  "And the first time I walked in to Cutlass which was the first real Sunweaver contact and the wolf was one of the very first to say hello.  So now we're at coming to Caledon. Again I sort of hid in the shadows and looked around.  This time 'cause being furry I found places like 1920's Berlin and Civil War RP to not be so happy about some one with more hair than them.  But soon I found enough to see it was open." said Cynthia Farshore.  "Place was not so populated so getting anywhere in membership and a place was slow.  Finally found some one who granted me citizenship.  It took a bit but finally got this parcel we're on and found a ready made store that would fit in perfectly."

My next question was about Cynthia Farshore's projects, especially the award winning build she did for Relay For Life a few years ago.  She answered, "Mmmm.  Ok well, I was just building small for myself when there was a disturbance in the force so to speak.  Someone who had built a lot of Sunweaver things, took their ball and went home.  So I being able and feeling I could help started by replacing the fishing deck that Zorro uses today on Sunweaver Space, in addition to having been asked to build a new Cutlass.  Course my jaws dropped off my skull.  It's the buckets of bolts hanging in the sky today.  I had the sim Pacific Waters and went nuts building there, since I'm from an aviation family: Air field! 

"Which lead to the air show idea after I joined our Relay For Life team.  Naturally once on that team, Rita the Chief, the two of us, " she pointed to Shockwave, "got called out to build.  We decided to take turns being chief builder per year.  Ohhh, my first camp nearly killed me, was fighting to get things to work to the last hour.  Was up all the night.  Learned a lot what NOT do do.  That was a couple years later and it was the theme Once Upon A Cure, so I thought story book let's just make a story then.  So this was different."

My last question was about "Bid Me Foxy." She answered, "Bid me Foxy, ohh boy," replied Cynthia, "I have been a goat all my SL life, until then.  It started with my friend Liska (doing a) 'Bid me Goat,' guess why goat (grin). So in response I got brave and put in for 'Bid me Fox.'  As Liska had basically my avatar as I am a heavy modded AV, I found her fox still available, the game was on.

"Booyy I had no idea the Sunnies would sentence me to twelve weeks!!  And if we include Shocky he also got twelve weeks as a goat!  But hey, we raised over 64 K.  So for 12 weeks me and Shocky was close to reversed."

I asked Cynthia  if there was anything else she would like me to mention in the article.  She relied, "Oh, and the DJing and two radio steams.  One is classic rock and the other steampunk or events.  For someone to have come in hiding behind trees, I now build, DJ, holder of two sims and two parcels, am a Duchy in Caledon and have a large number of friends.  Second Life has helped me in my real self. I have DJed for Sunweavers, Nydia's Angels, Caledon Nights and still do some as a matter of facts I'm DJing this weekend for Caledon Oxbridge University fund drive tomorrow night  (Saturday Oct. 20) 7 - 9 SL time." Cynthia Farshore went on to say that she will also be DJing  on Oct. 27th from 6-8PM SL time at the Goblin Cave Entertainment Center in Caledon Downs (104,89,32).

Over the past nine years, "The goat you got," as she once called herself, has come a long way.

Deaflegacy

Interview With DJ Khyra Ares

By Deaflegacy

Khyra Ares is a DJ in Second Life.  In the past, she's DJed at places such as the Heart of Gold club. The Newser best knows her for her DJing Monday nights at the Happy Vixen beach club. There, she's best known for her "EDM" style music, and her unique "dazzle" pattern of stripes, which has given her the nickname the "Dazzlecat DJ." She and I recently had an interview.

I met Khyra on Discord instead of on Second Life for the interview. It seemed like a good idea. My first question for her was how long has she been Dj-ing for the Happy Vixen Club? “Close to if not just over a year now,” said Khyra. When I asked her if she is also a DJ in real life, Khyra replied, “Actually yes. Some of the people I have known in Second Life have gotten me a few gigs here and there, mainly at conventions.”

I asked Khyra how she found Second Life. She answered, “Back in September of 2006 I was engaged to a guy that I had been dating for about seven years. On the second of September, he took me to his house and confessed how much he loved me and how it hurt when I wasn't there with him. He told me he would always be there for me. The last words he said were 'I'm sorry.' I had looked down for a moment when something hit the floor, and the next sound I heard was the gun as he took his own life."

"I was devastated,” said Khyra, “I shut down completely and wouldn't talk to anyone, I hardly ate, I didn't sleep. I retreated to the only safe place I knew of: my computer. I found myself searching the internet randomly, not really for anything in particular. But then an advertisement on a random webpage caught my eye. It was an ad for Second Life. I downloaded the viewer and retreated into the virtual world, trying to keep myself as far away from reality as I could. I made friends, lived my life there, and after a week or so, it became more of a grief therapy than a game. I wasn't able to sleep for almost a month, just spent that time in world. Second Life helped me more than anyone will ever know.”

The question after that was how she came to have that particular avatar that she has now. Khyra replied, “I always had a vision of how I wanted my avatar to look. It took a few years and saving lots of tips from dancing and DJing to be able to get an avatar creator to do a tribal stripe design for my tigress avatar and purchase all the other parts I needed.” replied Khyra, “The avatar mimics my real-life fursona.”

I wanted to know if Khyra was planning on staying as a DJ at Happy Vixen Club for a long time. “I am indeed. As long as they will have me,” said Khyra with a smile. The last question I had for her was what are her future plans. Khyra replied,  “I think this question deserves one of my favorite movie quotes. 'The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves' - John Connor, Terminator 2. Allow me to explain. My schedule in the real world is very hectic. One month I could have nothing to do at all other than my two day a week job. The next month I could be working 24/7 for three months straight. I live day to day, making my future as I go along."

"Aside from Djing in Second Life as well as room parties at real-life conventions," Khyra explained,  "my main job is as a Field Technician for Talton Communications, a company that provides equipment for telephones for detainees at multiple I.C.E. (immigration) detention centers across the country. I go to the facilities that I service once a week and do any repairs that are needed. My hobby, which other folks call a second job is I have a small, one person mobile computer repair business. I build computers, repair them, upgrade them, install home networks for wired and wireless internet, and install camera systems for residences. I am unsure of whether or not I will be able to DJ sometimes, but some how, I always pull it off in the end, one way or another.”

Khyra DJs at the Happy Vixen each Monday (baring real-life interruptions) from 6 to 9 SL time.
Purrfection Estates (236/219/24).

Deaflegacy

Interview With Tonya Souther of Team Firestorm

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was a week ago that Team Firestorm celebrated it's eighth anniversary party. Among those there was Tonya Souther, whom heads the part of the team that works on the Firestorm  Apple computer viewer, and is a founding member of the team. I recently met up with her to talk about her and her time with the team.

Noting that she had been around since 2009, I asked Tonya how she found out about Second Life. She answered, "I have an real-life friend who ran a club here for quite a long time. She's known as Axi Kurmin inworld, and as DJBronxelf in real-life. And yes, she will happily combine the two. I've known her for much longer than I've been on Second Life. She got me interested, and going to a furry convention (RCFM) that had some Second Life content.  I created this character before I got on SL, and was thrilled I could be the tigress I'd been playing online for years. ... .I was part of a group who'd been together on IRC for years. ... I bought the first avatar within moments, but that's because I'd met the creator at RCFM before signing up."

Tonya's first days and weeks went, "like learning any new platform, but Axi did a lot to help me up the learning curve, and so did the folks at the RCFM sim." One thing that got her attention was the futniture designed for Restrained Life furniture in mind, not just the cheeky aspect, but that people had the ability to design these kinds of things here, "that was what sold me on this platform being something that could be much broader than I'd magined." She would develop and sell her own line of RLV furniture.

Although Tonya became a user of the Emerald Viewer, "I liked the feature set ... I didn't meet Jessica until July of 2010. They had come up with a new release, but there was no Mac version available. They'd had problems getting it running, and their previous Mac developer had left in a huff. I got it working, and got invited to join the project, right before the whole Emeraldgate kerfuffle happened. I was an Emerald developer for a grand total of three weeks before it imploded.

As Tonya had just joined the team, her perspective from inside during Emeraldgate was somewhat limited, "What I saw was the fallout from the metadata data collection and the DDoS. I didn't know any of the players well, but I knew who were the big contributors. When LL issued their ultimatum, I wasn't all that surprised. The big problem for us was going to be to keep the project going. I wanted to have Emerald continue as before, minus the three people that Linden Lab had demanded depart. Two of them did, but one did not...and his refusal essentially shot Emerald in the head."

She described what happened next, "When it became obvious that we were going down in flames, I got with Jessica. She'd made comments about forking the project, and I convinced her that we were going to have to do just that if we couldn't eject that one developer. We did try. Jessica had admin privileges on the Emerald servers and she tried to lock that developer out of it, but got caught and shut off. So I talked her into starting a new project, which came quickly to be known as Phoenix (from the ashes of Emerald). She was reluctant at first. But she realized after I twisted her arm that it needed doing, and she was about the only one who could. And so we did."

Tonya called the next few weeks, "Hectic as hell! We were busting our collective butts to get something, anything, ready to release ASAP, so the users would have something to work with. Linden Lab had been very, very clear in their insistence that if their ultimatum wasn't met, Emerald would be blocked. But we got something built and running and rebranded,-that was most of the hard work, really - and released. And as soon as we did, Linden Lab dropped the banhammer (on Emerald)."

When I asked if the reaction of Team Phoenix to the Lab putting their viewer on the approved list was a sigh of relief, Tonya responded, "Yes, and not from just us, either. I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure Linden Lab was waiting for us to release before banning Emerald. They were quite happy that they had an alternative available for folks who didn't want to use 1.23." And the reaction fron the new team to what was left of Emerald signing up with Utherverse the owners of the small "Red Light District" adult-oriented virtual world? Tonya called it, "A collective eyeroll, and that was about it. We were up to our a**es in our own alligators enough, and we didn't have time to worry about what folks Linden Lab had run off were up to, as long as they didn't bother us. They tried. They released a version of Emerald, the 2600 release, that was designed to evade the ban, and got themselves thrown out of SL for their troubles. ... I don't know how many were banned just for using it; I only know that two were banned for releasing it - one of them one of the ones Linden Lab had demanded we eject from Emerald." This was Lonley Bluebird/Phox, "the other was Arabella Steadham, who was Emerald's PR person. Me, I never understood why an open source project needed a PR person in the first place, and when she started trying ot run the Emerald project at the end, that struck me as a serious case of (the) tail wagging (the) dog."

But after their hectic start, things began to calm a little. But they weren't truly out of the woods for a little while, "Once we got the first relase out, things quieted down a bit. We had some teething pains, with one developer trying to take over the world and getting run off, and juggling infrastructure. But it settled down after a few months. That's when we could start back to working on actually improving the code and fixing stuff that had been broken. I'd say we were in a state of flux for about the first six months, and then we could really get on with the business of making a viewer people would actually want to use. We were conscious that we were rising form Emerald's ashes. The topic on the Skype channel we were using to communicate at the time got set to 'Wie Phonix aus der Asche werd ich auferstehen' ...a line from Megaherz's song Kopfschuss. 'They tried shooting us in the head and we rose again.' And we knew that all eyes were on us, just waiting to pounce if we screwed up even a little bit. So we went out of our way to be squeaky clean."

So what was the feeling of the team at their first anniversary? Tonya described it as, "Surprised we'd made it that far, and relief that we'd put the worst behind us. We figured that if we'd lasted that long, then we were going to keep going indefinitely. Most of that was due to Jess. It's actually very rare for an open source software project to be led by a non-programmer, but she's done a masterful job of it." When asked what the biggest challenges the team faced since their first few months were, she remarked, "The biggest challenges have been personalities, mainly, Jess will joke, as she did at the party Sunday, about having two developers near each other who aren't trying to kill each other, but our disagreements have been ... passionate, at times. But we get through them."

I asked about the times Linden Lab stepped in and asked them to remove something, such as the feature early on that told users what viewer others were using. Tonya answered, "A few times, yes. We go back and forth with Linden Lab quite often about what goes into the viewer and what stays out. Most of the time, we agree pretty quickly. But there have been some serious arguments. That was one. The reason Linden Lab gave - that it was leading to bullying of users not using Phoenix - I think was BS, but LL does have the power to demand that we do things a certain way. And in the end, we do them if we can't change Oz's mind. Fortunately, he does listen to us and champion us internally. I asked if that was the biggest difference of opinion between the Lab and the team. She answered, "Mrrrr...that's a good question. I think it was, but there have been others almost as big. Take our 3-reelase policy, for example. We now will disable versions of Firestorm older than the current release minus two. We didn't want to do it, but the Lab insisted and said that we could either do that or else use their automatic updater. We're all about giving the user choices, so we do it our own way."

And while the team had their share of challenges, what were the parts that were the most fun? She answered, "The fun parts for us are when people discover something in Firestorm they didn't know was there that makes their lives easier. That gives us a real boost.  Events? We don't really have things that turn us on as a team. We're proud and happy when Jessica gets recognized for the work we've done."

Being part of Team Firestorm is only part of what Tonya does. She also runs a sci-fi roleplay inworld, about a group of Earthfolk whom are in a symbiotic relationship with extraterrestrials known as the Lategum, "Roleplay is alive and well in Second Life! I've got a sim I manage, and a group, that has an ongoing roleplay with some serious worldbuilding behind it. That's been rewarding, not just for its own sake, but as a place to belong among like-minded people. I'm wearing the uniform of the RP group, where I am known as Sister Alpha 8369. We spend quite a lot of time with each other, and it points out the real genius of Second Life: we can be who and what we want to be, deep down inside, and enjoy the company of others with similar interests."

Tonya showed me one of the meeting areas of the roleplay, "This is our common gathering area. ... We're actually 3 0 meters below the surface of the island nation of Jimat Pulau, in the South Pacific not far from Tahiti." There were some pictures nearby in a hallway, "We have a couple of furry artists among our members. But we are not furry-exclusive. We'll happily accept any species we can make a uniform for. In practice, that means they need to use a body that's SLUV compatible. Making uniforms for all fo the different mesh bodies is a rabbit hole that goes very, very deep. I made the uniforms, originally, and have adapted them for Maitreya and Omega."

"Second Life is a big part of my life, in general," Tonya told me, "Without Firestorm, I'd have left long ago. Yes, I'm a developer, but I couldn't do it by myself, not even close. We have a pretty large team, and every last one of them does something we need. They all deserve thanks."

Tonya Souther can either be contacted inworld, or email her at tonya.souther@phoenixviewer.com

Addition: Tonya Souther also has a blog, where she talks about "Second Life, from the perspective of a user, builder, vendor, and third-party viewer developer." - http://secondden.blogspot.com/

Bixyl Shuftan