| 15:00 |
Carl Metropolitan |
It is 3 PM, SL Time, and it is time to start. |
| 15:00 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Welcome to this Sunday's Oxbridge General Q&A. Andrea and I are here to answer any of your questions about Second Life, Caledon, Oxbridge, Steampunk, Linden Lab, Virtual Worlds, and anything vaguely related to any of the above. I'm also good at trivia questions. |
| 15:00 |
Carl Metropolitan |
If we don't know the answer, we can Google it. In other words, we know where to look, or at least can probably put you in touch with someone who does know the answer. |
| 15:00 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Before we start with the questions, Andrea do you have any announcements that you would like to promulgate? |
| 15:01 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Tuesday night we will be in the Cemetery Ruins with DJ Major General Badger. Happy goth is the theme. We get started at 6pm. |
| 15:01 |
Larky (larkylouz) |
Promulgate? Is that like Watergate, except at Prom? |
| 15:01 |
Oxbridge Donation Coin R1 (Alternate Lecture Hall) |
badgerofzen gave a generous donation to help support classes and tutorials at Caledon Oxbridge Gateway. |
| 15:01 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Thank you BadgerofZen |
| 15:01 |
|
Jan Stroikavskoi giggles |
| 15:01 |
Jan Stroikavskoi |
Oh exciting! |
| 15:01 |
Carl Metropolitan |
"promote or make widely known (an idea or cause)." |
| 15:02 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Thank you Badger. |
| 15:02 |
Phrynne |
happy goth? |
| 15:02 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Nods. I can drop a notecard to anyone who needs it. |
| 15:02 |
Oxbridge Donation Coin R1 (Alternate Lecture Hall) |
Larky (larkylouz) gave a generous donation to help support classes and tutorials at Caledon Oxbridge Gateway. |
| 15:02 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
just IM me. |
| 15:02 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Thank you Larky. |
| 15:02 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Back to you Carl. |
| 15:02 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Propagate? |
| 15:03 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Thank you Andrea. |
| 15:03 |
Soup Jonson |
Promulgate definition is - to make (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people by open declaration : proclaim. |
| 15:03 |
|
Soup Jonson looks around. |
| 15:04 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Yes, it is a real word. I did not realize it was not commonly used. I will change that part of the introduction in the interests of clarity |
| 15:04 |
Gronk Seriman |
It's a perfectly cromulent word. |
| 15:05 |
Larky (larkylouz) |
I was just joking, Carl. |
| 15:05 |
|
Soup Jonson strikes promulgate from the minutes. |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
So I'm sorry I missed the last two sessions. |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I was not feeling well last week, and the week before I had a work-related issue that came up unexpectedly. |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I hope not to make a habit of this. |
| 15:07 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I am sure this is all old new by new to everyone, but Sansar was sold late last month. |
| 15:07 |
Carl Metropolitan |
https://modemworld.me/2020/03/28/sansars-sale-and-tilia-inc-ebbe-altberg-reveals-more-on-both/ |
| 15:07 |
Carl Metropolitan |
LL seems entirely focused on SL and Tilia (their virtual world currency company) |
| 15:08 |
Gronk Seriman |
Thank goodness! |
| 15:08 |
Carl Metropolitan |
According to the most recent news from LL, their main effort for the rest of the year will be moving SL to the cloud and off LL-owned dedicated servers, getting LL out of the business of buying, maintaining, and leasing server farm space. |
| 15:08 |
Carl Metropolitan |
https://modemworld.me/2020/04/04/lab-gab-20-summary-second-life-cloud-uplift-more/ |
| 15:09 |
Gronk Seriman |
Goodbye, Sansar. We hardly knew ye. Really. |
| 15:10 |
Carl Metropolitan |
VWBPE (Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education) conference was held the week before last. I attended a number of sessions and Oxbridge had an exhibit there. It was interesting, but not much related to our specialty here. |
| 15:10 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Server outsourcing, then. |
| 15:12 |
Carl Metropolitan |
SL has seen some increased usage due to the various social distancing and quarantine orders in place due to the coronavirus epidemic. A lot of old residents stopping back in, too. |
| 15:12 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I'm sure people on the ground at Oxbridge have seen a lot of that. |
| 15:12 |
Agatha Macbeth |
Woot. |
| 15:12 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Lots of returnees with old and new accounts. |
| 15:13 |
Soup Jonson |
That is a good thing. I hope they find SL interesting enough to stay. |
| 15:13 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Including some Finns. |
| 15:13 |
Soup Jonson |
Yes! |
| 15:14 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Caledon lost two sims this last week: Wellsian and Morgaine. The three sims to the west of them (Kittwickshire, Tanglewood, and Stormhold) all shifted two spaces over to the East. The map has still not updated, so there is a phantom Tanglewood & Kittwickshire showing. |
| 15:15 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I'm told that the remaining sims are much healthier now. |
| 15:15 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That's all the SL and Caledon news I know |
| 15:15 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Let's open things up to questions. |
| 15:16 |
Agatha Macbeth |
How many Caledon sims have gone altogether now? |
| 15:16 |
Gronk Seriman |
The Caledon Quest is closed for renovations. Anybody know about the CATs? |
| 15:16 |
Phrynne |
The CATS are being rescripted and are closed until then. |
| 15:16 |
Carl Metropolitan |
CAT = Caledon Air Transport |
| 15:17 |
Phrynne |
At least that is the info from the CAT transport hub in Caledon Cay |
| 15:17 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I think the trains have already been repaired and are back and running. |
| 15:17 |
Richelle (richelle100) |
how long will the Quest be closed? |
| 15:17 |
Phrynne |
Until it's rescripted. I do not have a schedule. |
| 15:18 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Agatha, Caledon has shrunk by about 40% from its height I believe. |
| 15:18 |
Agatha Macbeth |
Oh dear. |
| 15:18 |
Agatha Macbeth |
That much? |
| 15:18 |
Phrynne |
it was nearly 50 regions at one point. |
| 15:18 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We are still here and still the largest of the Steamlands. |
| 15:18 |
|
Agatha Macbeth nods. |
| 15:19 |
Richelle (richelle100) |
I started the quest before it went down I found 13 of the medallions |
| 15:19 |
Phrynne |
When it comes back up you will have to start over with a new logbook. And the various waypoints may not be in the same order. |
| 15:20 |
Richelle (richelle100) |
Nuts. |
| 15:20 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I know that at least in Oxbridge we've gotten a bit more aggressive about pushing Caledon as a place to live. We have the new "Looking for Land in Caledon" posters throughout the area and that is part of the spinners I made, too. That's not at the behest of Desmond Shang, either. |
| 15:20 |
Carl Metropolitan |
A healthy Caledon is good for Oxbridge. |
| 15:20 |
Soup Jonson |
Yes. My interest in Oxbridge has always been to be a marketing place for Caledon as a way of life. |
| 15:21 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I know a number of Oxbridge regulars have moved into Stormhold recently, too. So that helped I think. |
| 15:21 |
Soup Jonson |
Stormhold forever! |
| 15:21 |
Oxbridge Donation Coin R1 (Alternate Lecture Hall) |
Kara2016 gave a generous donation to help support classes and tutorials at Caledon Oxbridge Gateway. |
| 15:21 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Thank you Kara. |
| 15:21 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Andrea has adopted the HG Wells branch of the Caledon Library that was in Wellsian formerly and it is now in Oxbridge Village. Thank you Andrea. |
| 15:21 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Thank you Kara. |
| 15:22 |
Kara2016 |
Smiles brightly. |
| 15:23 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Okay. Does anyone have any questions? |
| 15:25 |
Gronk Seriman |
Where is the Library in the Village now? |
| 15:25 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Across from the scholars circle. |
| 15:25 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Where the light house was. |
| 15:25 |
Gronk Seriman |
Ah! Thank you. |
| 15:26 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Light of knowledge, then, now :-) |
| 15:26 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Caledon Oxbridge Village (58,248,27) |
| 15:26 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
The HG Wells Memorial Library extension. |
| 15:26 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We also have a branch of the Caledon Library at Oxbridge in the domed building at the center of the campus. I'm not sure who is in charge of it right now, though. |
| 15:27 |
Agatha Macbeth |
Yay |
| 15:27 |
Phrynne |
Each of the Caledon libraries has a different collection of books. Click on the bookcases and on the signs to access them. |
| 15:28 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Does anyone have any questions? About anything? |
| 15:29 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
It may be that the major question lots of people would like to ask is the kind no one could answer at the moment. |
| 15:30 |
Gronk Seriman |
Is it really better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? |
| 15:30 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Is it related to Caledon or Second Life? |
| 15:31 |
Gronk Seriman |
Not really... |
| 15:31 |
|
Gronk Seriman shrugs. |
| 15:31 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Hopefully the biweekly event for the COU will start next Sunday. |
| 15:31 |
lovejoy2199 |
One question. With the sell of Sansar, does that mean there will not be VR in SL? |
| 15:32 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I don't know. I know that people have used VR equipment to view Second Life in the past. It is clearly not a major push of LL anymore. |
| 15:33 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That makes sense as VR has still not taken off. |
| 15:33 |
Gronk Seriman |
There are apparently hacks that make VR work in SL. I believe Cymbal Constantine has done it. |
| 15:33 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Sansar seems to be concentrating (under its new owners) on supporting large events. |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
High Fidelity, Philip Rosedale's VR-centric virtual world has shut down. The company is still there and working on something. |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
So I'm not sure VR is going to be attracting much new funding until it has a "killer app" |
| 15:36 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
I tried to get in there, could not run the viewer. |
| 15:37 |
lovejoy2199 |
Always the 'killer app'. |
| 15:38 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Maybe the porn industry will figure it out again. Who knows. |
| 15:38 |
Gronk Seriman |
I tried High Fidelity. It was even less intuitive than SL to get in and learn. I gave up not long before they shuttered. |
| 15:38 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Maybe after VR manufacturers learn that there is very few "standard" pairs of eyes... |
| 15:40 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I had the same problem with Sansar. It was slow and hard to get around in. And had a depressingly ugly starting area, too. |
| 15:42 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
My glimpse of Sansar was during their cooperative event with DeviantArt. |
| 15:43 |
Gronk Seriman |
I only saw Sansar on my flat computer monitor. It was gorgeous. Fun to explore. But the loading times on my net connection were a bear. And you can't "get in" until the entire place loaded. |
| 15:44 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Maybe the new owners will be able to make something of it. I wonder if LL want so far in trying to avoid making something too similar to Second Life, that they ended up creating a world that lacked the appeal of SL. |
| 15:45 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Let's get back to questions. |
| 15:45 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Anyone have any others for us today? |
| 15:47 |
Carl Metropolitan |
If there are no more question, I guess we will adjourn a bit early. |
| 15:47 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Next week is Q&A With the Deans |
| 15:47 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Every second week of the month. |
| 15:48 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Andrea, Phrynne, and Wordsmith will be here to answer your questions. |
| 15:48 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Thank you all for coming today. |