Author Archives: ZoHa Islands

Last Chance to Visit Tempura

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Beloved Second Life Sim Leaving the Virtual World at the End of This Month After 14 Years & Millions of Visits

Tempura Second Life nature sim SL

Click here this month to teleport into yet another Second Life landmark that’s going away: The luminously beautiful island called Tempura, which since its inception 14 years ago, has attracted well over 2 millions visits.

It is, however, leaving the virtual world grid at the end of this month. Owned and lead created by Japanese SLer “Kikunosuke eel”, Tempura is a dreamscape of forests, gardens, and ancient buildings. But with his real life work taking up more of his time — and Tempura costing him well over $2000 a year in landlord server costs to Second Life owner Linden Lab — Mr. Eel decided it was finally time for Tempura to end.

For all these years, he subsidized Tempura at a loss, partly subsidizing it through sales from MANDALA, his virtual jewelry brand. Completely free to visitors, it’s been full to near capacity since launching, with thousands visiting and exploring every week.

Mr. Eel subsidized their visits despite the expense as an expression of personal faith:


“Tempura brought me better things than profit,” as he explained in a translated note. “My philosophy is based on Buddhism, and it influences me a lot. I’d always like to share happiness with many other people, even if it’s a small happiness. I might not be able to do a great thing for them [in the real world], but I feel good if I could touch others’ hearts in any way.”

It is fair to say that he has succeeded at that.

Linden Lab, sad to say, has not: Extremely high sim tier costs, even years after the entire virtual world grid has moved to the Amazon cloud, continues to bleed the existing culture.

Mr. Eel says he may eventually relaunch Tempura, but until then, after this month, its digital existence will be confined to social media posts like this.

Tempura Second Life nature sim SL New World NotesAs to a question that’s somewhat perplexed me for these last 14 years: Why name this lovely island after tasty deep fried vegetables and sea food coated in panko crumbs?

“I do not know if I could explain this well to foreigners,” says Mr. Eel via another translated message, “but I will try. The word was associated with a slang buzzword in Japan which describes a feeling of cheerfulness, excitement, or energy. And tempura is also a well-known Japanese food. So I came up with the name, TEMPURA, which people from all over the world could easily remember.”

Now I finally understand. And I’m also hungry.

Thanks to Tempura manager Polly Reina for help with this story!

Have a Great Week From All Of Us At Zoha Islands/Fruit Islands

Facebook Wants to Build a Hi-Res Version of ‘Second Life’

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It’s Calling the ‘Metaverse’

An older post of this story was slated to post October last year we decided to run it now with updates.

Facebook’s latest futuristic idea, which the company says it wants to build with a team of 10,000 new hires in Europe, sounds like a fancy new version of the mid-aughts virtual reality desktop game Second Life, only with Zuckerberg watching your online travels.

It’s internally being called “the metaverse,” though that might not be the name that sticks. In a blog post on Sunday, the company says it’s “a new phase of interconnected virtual experiences using technologies like virtual and augmented reality.” And, “At its heart is the idea that by creating a greater sense of ‘virtual presence’, interacting online can become much closer to the experience of interacting in person.”

This appears to be the next phase of the company’s investment in Oculus, and VR and AR tech in general. And for a few years Mark Zuckerberg has been talking about new applications for the technologies, like being able to redecorate a room in virtual space, or have virtual sit-down visits with people across the globe.

The blog post, which is bylined by head comms guy Nick Clegg and Vice President of Central Products Javier Olivan, also seems intent on blowing some sunshine up the arse of the EU, generally.

“We have long believed that European talent is world-leading, which is why we have invested in it so heavily over the years,” the post says. “Beyond emerging tech talent, the EU also has an important role to play in shaping the new rules of the internet. European policymakers are leading the way in helping to embed European values like free expression, privacy, transparency and the rights of individuals into the day-to-day workings of the internet.”

So, this is also an announcement of a recruitment effort, with a focus on specialized engineers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

“We look forward to working with governments across the EU to find the right people and the right markets to take this forward, as part of an upcoming recruitment drive across the region,” Clegg and Olivan say.

As the Associated Press notes, Facebook has made a number of pie-in-the-sky projects public that haven’t yet become realities, not the least of which is Facebook’s foray into cryptocurrency — which faced huge backlash from EU regulators, and which would also be a key component of making the “metaverse” profitable.

Game-maker Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, is also working on a “metaverse”-type project, and other companies may be as well. And it should be noted that the virtual economy within Second Life itself, bolstered by NFTs and a longstanding crypto marketplace of its own, boomed during the pandemic, which Facebook no doubt was watching. And Facebook acknowledges in their announcement, “Bringing this [project] to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators and policymakers.”

But will anyone ever be satisfied with virtual meetings or virtual “vacations” with family, that are essentially just Zoom calls in Second Life? Some segment of the population may always be more excited about living as an avatar in virtual space, but is this something that most people are ever going to be truly comfortable with? And isn’t this just another potential forum for harassment and abuse that Facebook won’t be able to adequately combat?

Of course Facebook wants a big hand in such a project, and the EU ass-kissing is a strategic first step, given that Facebook has a lot of critics across the pond who will want to put the kibosh on the company trying to infiltrate our lives any further than it already does.

If you are looking for updates to this story well like most of the “Metaverse” you won’t see one soon. It seems Metaverse however starting out fast found out what everyone else suspected they are WAY off timing on this project and by at least 5 years. Stay tuned! Just kidding don’t hold your breath for “Metaverse” to ever be close to what Second life is or ever was. Just an opinion but seems to be shared by many.

Have A Great Week From All Of Us At Zoha Islands And Fruit Islands

Russian Content Creators in Second Life

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Russian Content Creators in Second Life, Now Sanctioned & Unable to Cash Out, Contemplate Bad Options in Both Realities

SL Moscow protest sign

Though Linden Lab has not yet announced any plans to ban payments from Russian users on its virtual world platform of Second Life, the US and EU banking sanctions have already taken their toll on SL content creators in Russia — especially those who depend on Second Life for their livelihood:

“After the blocking of PayPal,” as reader “Alex” explains in a recent comment, “all Russian creators were deprived of the opportunity to receive money from sales in SL. For many of them, working in SL is their main and only job.”

All this happens as Second Life users around the world create pro-Ukraine/anti-Russian images and the Second Life island of Moscow has been inundated by so many anti-invasion protesters, the owners resorted to posting a massive billboard in virtual Red Square, imploring visitors to refrain from activism (above).

In group chats, Second Life content creators based in Russia are now privately discussing their options, but are reluctant to air them with the Second Life community at large:

“[O]ut of sympathy and compassion for what is happening in Ukraine,” as Alex puts it, “Russian creators do not bring their problems into public discussion… Many [Russian SL] creators and their families are already left without a livelihood.”

Alex believes that some creators in the short term will continue creating in Second Life, even without a cash-out option, but “we will not be able to do this for a long time and will not be able to support our customers in the game as we have always done.”

Russian Second Life creator MossuRussian creator Akirakiyoi Resident (pictured) tells me a similar story. In a painful irony, he was among the many Russian Second Life users who rallied to support their brethren creators in Ukraine.

Putin’s base of supporters in Russia, he tells me, are “elderly people who don’t know what Netflix for example or Second Life is. Younger generations playing games and drinking Starbucks are not the people who vote for him, or who support him.”

Many of them not only play Second Life but in recent years, as Russia’s economy continued to falter, have turned to virtual world content creation into a career.

“Most of these creators don’t have a real job since SL was their full time and we expect a major crisis in the country with high unemployment rates,” says Akirakiyoi, who then adds: “But of course the first thing that needs to happen is this invasion to finally stop.”

Russia protest SL Moscow

Above: After pro-Ukraine protests by Second Life users, the owners of Moscow island in Second Life erected this billboard in Red Square: “[T]his is just a historical sim, please do not gather here with political slogans!”

Akirakiyoi himself runs a successful SL brand — so successful in fact, that due to the sanctions, he might leave Russia itself, in order to keep creating and selling virtual content:

“I’m not going to leave Second Life,” he tells me, laughing. “I will leave the country to access payment, but not Second Life.” He loves the virtual world, for one thing, a regular Resident of Second Life, as are roughly 12,000 fellow Russians. For another, he is not the only person in Russia depending on his continued work int he virtual world.

“It’s my full time business and I spent years building it,” as Akirakiyoi put it. “And also have my parents I need to help.”

Other tech savvy Russians yearning to escape Putin’s reach, he acknowledges, may not be as lucky.

Have a Great Week. From all of us at Zoha Islands/Fruit Islands

Linden Lab Statement on Ukraine

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Linden Lab strives to make positive change in the world by helping people connect, discover themselves, and grow both personally and financially. Ultimately, we build and support communities. Therefore, it is especially shocking to see the actions in Ukraine, to see the unwarranted attacks on people – on communities. We are heartbroken and horrified by the situation in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis it has perpetuated. We are a proudly diverse team, and many of us have ties to these events – historically, emotionally, professionally, and socially. Our products reach worldwide, and many of our partners and customers are directly affected by this crisis. 

As a leadership team, this crisis has challenged us to better define and embrace what we believe to be the core principles at Linden Lab – our TAO so to speak.

Specifically, our TAO says:

MAKE CHANGE ON A GLOBAL SCALE

Our work brings people together, builds communities. Our work helps people understand who they are, helps them be better. Our work brings empathy, helps people see the world through others’ eyes. Settle for nothing less than changing the world for the better.

We intend to live up to this principle, and while there is much work to be done, we are starting with: 

Effective Monday, we will be further supporting our eligible Ukrainian-based community members by granting them a temporary 30-day moratorium on recurring account fees such as Premium Membership and Land Maintenance fees.  We will review this again after 30 days and assess what we can do as next steps where necessary. We invite any of our Ukraine-based community members to contact support with any specific questions they may have.

Finally, we encourage our community to look at ways that they can help show their support. It is heartening to see the Second Life community come together to support each other with numerous inworld events and helpful initiatives that bring us together as a force for good in both the physical and virtual worlds.

Good day from all of us at Zoha Islands/Fruit Islands

Second Life Community Creates Flickr Group for Virtual Tributes to Ukraine

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Wednesday, March 02, 2022

Second Life Community Creates Flickr Group for Virtual Tributes to Ukraine

2022-03-02 (1)

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

SL STAND FOR UKRAINE is a new Flickr group devoted to Second Life images created in support of the Ukrainian people during Russia’s invasion of the country –click “Add Photo” to contribute your own.

Second Life artists can be counted on to respond to important world events. Milena Carbone captures the Russo-Ukraine War perfectly with the single word, “Madness” since it surely is madness for Putin to assume people will cede their autonomy on his say-so. 

In the image comments, she explains her use of the swastika and how it is completely justified: Putin’s favorite advisor Aleksandr Dugin is proudly fascist. One of the three books Putin insists people in his circle is by Ivan Ilyin, another fascist. I think when Putin claims his mission is “de-Nazification” of a country that is led by a Jewish president it is clearly pretext. Milena’s picture is a potent example of symbolic imagery, the bleeding heart, the colors of the Russian and Ukrainian flags. You can get a free copy at her gallery. 

For more support for Ukraine

2022-03-02

I think Kyle Racho’s “no title-no comments” is magnificent. It’s basically simple, a blue and yellow projector illuminates him and the backdrop, forming a Ukrainian flag. I think it is important that he is not wearing clothes, there is nothing between his humanity and the war. War is always waged on humanity, on our bodies and our sense of ourselves. There is nothing between him and the truth, no shelter, no escape. He also has a lot to say in the description. All three artists wrote about the war with conviction and honesty. You should read them all.

Centrax Runner’s Guernica 2022 took my breath away. For me, Picasso’s Guernica is the most powerful anti-war painting ever made. I love that Picasso remembers the nonhuman victims of war, the animals. Picasso used whites, grays, and blacks to make a subdued and colorless painting. He even made a point of using matte paints so there was no gloss. In a way it feels “wrong” to see the colors of the Ukrainian flag overlaid on the painting, but then war is blasphemous, isn’t it? The man viewing the painting stands still and strong, but I have to ask. Is that a gun strapped to his leg? 

Centrax is doing more than creating photos. His country is hosting refugees fleeing the Ukraine and he is doing his part to help. He is also a one-man online disinformation disrupter. I will let him explain: 

I send private messages to Russians, in Russian, via FaceBook informing them about the facts – crimes committed by their military and the losses of the Russians. Their mothers do not even know that their sons are dying attacking a neighboring country. The Russians are cut off from information and live in the information bubble of Putin’s propaganda. And I call them to protest, to overthrow this war criminal.

I’ve already sent hundreds of messages and won’t stop until this nightmare is over.

These and other pictures can be found in a new Flickr group: SL Stand with Ukraine. Be sure to check them out. If you want to make your own image for Ukraine, please add it to the group. There are also a few people curating galleries of anti-war imagery. Beatrix Wallace has Stop the War and Decadence has Peace Not War.

See all of Cajsa’s Choices here. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter, on her blog, and on her Ko-Fi.

May Peace Find Ukraine

 

 

 

Osmia in Hiding

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Messages from a Second Life Creator in Ukraine During Russia’s Invasion – UPDATE: Her City is Now Occupied

Hanna Lindberg Osmia Second Life Ukraine

While the Second Life community rallies to support Ukrainian users in the virtual world, such help during a time like this can only go so far. I’ve been thinking about that over the last few days while intermittently messaging Hanna, creator of the beloved SL fashion brand Osmia.

While Osmia is listed among the Second Life merchants based in Ukraine, Hanna has not been able to access her SL account lately, and her access to the Internet has been sporadic too. 

Or as she expressed it via a social media Instant Message: “You can ask questions. But if I disappear for awhile, it will mean that we are hiding.”

Second Life users have been buying items from her and other Ukrainian merchants in the hopes that they’ll be able to convert the Linden Dollar sales into local currency.

But in Hanna’s case, at least, that won’t happen any time soon:

“I am very grateful to everyone who is worried about me and my [Second Life] store,” she tells me. “Unfortunately, getting money now is not realistic, currency exchange offices do not work with us and it is very dangerous to go to the bank.”

Now sheltering in place with family in one of Ukraine’s major cities, Hanna has more immediate concerns, than cashing out Linden Dollars: She is over 6 months pregnant.

Hanna Lindberg Osmia Second Life Ukraine shelter

“My husband managed to buy the necessary medicines, including the hormones that I need to maintain the pregnancy. We need to survive heavy shelling. My father and husband want to take me to Poland, but it is very dangerous to travel now. You can get on the road [but will need to face] looters and shelling. There is no clear plan, we are trying to survive.”

Hanna has been posting frequent updates on her status in Ukraine to social media, photos and videos of her home city under brutal, sustained attack, and images of the shelters she has hid inside, to escape bombardment. Next to those are posts from Osmia fans who have tagged her in their screenshots, carefree fashion poses from Second Life. The contrast is surreal and wrenching.

“Honestly,” Hanna tells me, “I don’t know what to write to you. Children, families die, people disappear (they are found shot in their cars)… my city is surrounded. Now I don’t know what this will lead to.”

Another recent post by her suggests another way people who care about her and other Ukrainians might help, well beyond buying virtual fashion — by donating real currency to the National Bank of Ukraine to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Update, 10:58pm: Checking in with Hanna tonight, she sent a harrowing new status: “Hi, my city is occupied. There are a lot of soldiers and equipment on the streets. We don’t go out because they can kill.”

We will continue to re-post updates as we get them.

Zoha Islands wish to extend our prayers and support for all in the war torn Ukraine.