| 15:01 |
Tali Rosca |
Welcome to this week's QA. It's a minute past, so let us start. |
| 15:02 |
Tali Rosca |
Given the last week's events, I believe an "official statement" is in order. |
| 15:02 |
Tali Rosca |
So here goes: |
| 15:02 |
Red Quixote |
make it so |
| 15:02 |
Tali Rosca |
Make it snow. |
| 15:02 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Cut and paste away! |
| 15:02 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
:P |
| 15:02 |
Tali Rosca |
(Sorry. I had to) |
| 15:02 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
:D |
| 15:02 |
Tali Rosca |
There has understandably been some uncertainty about the future direction of Oxbridge. It stretches back to the uncertainty arising out of Linden Lab's proposal to clone Oxbridge for an A/B test (which the faculty rejected), and has been amplified by the resignation of Martini and Ravelli. |
| 15:03 |
Red Quixote |
let it rain |
| 15:03 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
I'd make the statement, but I don't know what it is! |
| 15:03 |
Tali Rosca |
But we'll make it clear: Oxbridge is not going anywhere. |
| 15:03 |
Tali Rosca |
We have scheduled classes, we have teachers. We have a tutorial path which helps a lot of people, and we have tutors doing a Herculean task (often with more patience than I can personally muster). |
| 15:03 |
Tali Rosca |
So all the ingredients for Oxbridge are still here. |
| 15:03 |
|
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) cheers! |
| 15:03 |
Tali Rosca |
Funding is always a specter looming on the horizon, but that is really just another ingredient. The outlook for that is good, and there are certainly no immediate problems. |
| 15:03 |
Tali Rosca |
Carl is stepping back up to the role as chancellor. We will need some experienced, diplomatic and dedicated people to fill the remaining vacancies, but I believe there are good candidates in the community. |
| 15:04 |
Larkylouz |
Don't forget the remaining Deans/Chancellor who are doing a heroic job as well! |
| 15:04 |
Tali Rosca |
So while we quite literally need to regroup, we will carry on, and can even do so *while* regrouping, thanks to all the volunteers. |
| 15:04 |
Tali Rosca |
I'd imagine there are still some questions, so, well... this is the QA. |
| 15:04 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Go fighting...whatever Oxbridge's mascot is! :D |
| 15:04 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Dodo |
| 15:05 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
The pixel. :P |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Our mascot is the nobel Dodo |
| 15:05 |
Glorf Bulmer |
And he's a great kisser |
| 15:05 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
:-) |
| 15:05 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
So have decisions been made about who's going to get the nod for greater responsibilities? |
| 15:05 |
Tali Rosca |
We may not always know all the answers, and we may not even always agree, but we'll do our best. |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
No. We are still thinking. |
| 15:05 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Nobody knows all the answers... |
| 15:06 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Wordsmith was traveling this week and we really couldn't start talking about it until Friday |
| 15:06 |
Tali Rosca |
To be honest, we have not even approached the discussion about replacements yet. |
| 15:06 |
Larkylouz |
That's why we have the Dodo - a repository for answers. |
| 15:06 |
Glorf Bulmer |
The first question in my mind is how the rest of us can help out with the workload that must be incoming. |
| 15:06 |
Larkylouz |
Yes, Glorf |
| 15:07 |
Jaz Beverly |
Yes, are there current tasks that could use an extra hand or two? |
| 15:07 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Yeah, me and Gronk had the idea for a class that seems almost needed now but with what's happening, I doubt that'll fit. |
| 15:07 |
Tali Rosca |
Largely, by carrying on as usual. There is no immediate increase in workload. |
| 15:07 |
Carl Metropolitan |
What class? |
| 15:07 |
Tali Rosca |
Obviously, more classes are always welcome. |
| 15:07 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
A sort of prims vs sculpts vs mesh thing. I recently had someone actually ask me what the difference was between the three. |
| 15:07 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We need to fill the following positions: Dean of Development, Dean of Commons, Dean of Information, as well as assistants/understudies for each of those and existing Dean positions |
| 15:08 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Then as part of the class, it'd be a show and tell thing, me and Mariano between us have, I dunno... ALL of the avatars |
| 15:08 |
Red Quixote |
that's more of a 'workshop' than a 'class' idea |
| 15:08 |
Tali Rosca |
...which actually ties in to a heated debate we've had. |
| 15:08 |
Tali Rosca |
How much should we do classes, and how much should we do more participatory workshops. |
| 15:09 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Workshops and discussion groups certainly have their uses - and they've always had a place here, haven't they? |
| 15:09 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I think it's the "workshops" that keep people coming back. Even making a simple hat or click is a good achievement for the newbies. |
| 15:09 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
They have, at least since I've been dean. |
| 15:09 |
Larkylouz |
Participatory learning tends to 'stick' better, imho. It isn't appropriate for everything, but I have long wanted to include more of that in my classs. |
| 15:09 |
Glorf Bulmer |
I'm thinking of things like ZenMondo's office hour, or the Atelier practicals |
| 15:09 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Different people learn better in different ways |
| 15:10 |
Larkylouz |
true |
| 15:10 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That's why we've tried to offer multiple paths to learn stuff when possible. |
| 15:10 |
Tali Rosca |
The workshops tend to require a little more knowledge about SL to make sense, though, than what the typical first-week newbie has. |
| 15:10 |
Carl Metropolitan |
The basics are handled by the orientation path, backed up by helpers, backed up by the COUG "live help" |
| 15:10 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I dunno. Samm and whomever does the clockmaking one do a great job at it. |
| 15:10 |
Tali Rosca |
And the balance between "helping newbies" and "drawing people back in" has been part of our discussion. |
| 15:11 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
may i say something? |
| 15:11 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
That's Miss Harbour who is doing the clockmaking. A recent addition. |
| 15:11 |
Tali Rosca |
Virginia? |
| 15:12 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
as a noob i have found many places willing to help |
| 15:12 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
time here should be spent better then that |
| 15:13 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Can you be more specific about how you see that "better"? |
| 15:13 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
new citizens incorp, and such places are better for noobs |
| 15:13 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
they are geared to all noob problems |
| 15:13 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Then that's a problem we need to address. We should be best for new users. |
| 15:13 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Thats the core of our mission. |
| 15:13 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
NCI also lags like a tar pit, in my experience. I couldn't wait to escape it when I first started. |
| 15:13 |
Larkylouz |
Please add detail, if you will, Ms Virginia |
| 15:14 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
oh thought you where a level above that |
| 15:14 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
NCI has nothing like the eternally available beginner tutorial here, do they? I think that is pretty significant |
| 15:14 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We are at multiple levels to help people in multiple ways. |
| 15:14 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
they offer interactive help |
| 15:14 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
They've got links and freebies, but nothing like the tutorial. |
| 15:14 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
well, maybe you can see for yourselves |
| 15:14 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
We know the area |
| 15:14 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
And a lot of those are 2008-ish, they never... I don't think they ever upgraded. |
| 15:14 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Miss Complexity, have you taken any of the classes here? |
| 15:14 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
not the best as describing it |
| 15:15 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I'd like to add here that any changes to how Oxbridge does stuff anything will be gradual and evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. What we have works, but we are going to get new perspectives as we replace deans, and come up with new ideas on how to make things better and more inclusive, and serve more people. |
| 15:15 |
Red Quixote |
I have seen NCI helpers bring n00bs here to do 'our' tutorial |
| 15:15 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
So some of those might not even exist anymore in their LMs. |
| 15:15 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
just one, and that was teh photo class yesterday |
| 15:15 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
i fel taht is it above teh basic level |
| 15:15 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
and am happy about that |
| 15:15 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I know NCI well. I built most of it. And a lot of it hasn't changed much since I left in 2009 :( |
| 15:15 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Well, the tutors and other volunteers here do offer direct help with the most basic SL problems! |
| 15:15 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Heh. Time for an upgrade... |
| 15:15 |
Tali Rosca |
Nevertheless, whatever we feel, when a new person tells us that NCI is better for that, we had better listen and believe it. |
| 15:15 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
sorry, new at typing too |
| 15:16 |
Larkylouz |
That is a class for intermediate and advanced photographers. It is definitely not the first class I would recommend to a newbie |
| 15:16 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Brace Coral is back in Second Life and is working on NCI. I wish her the best. |
| 15:16 |
|
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) nods |
| 15:16 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
What Larky said. |
| 15:16 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We have holes in our class schedule I'm sure. Wordsmith can comment better on that. |
| 15:16 |
Larkylouz |
On the other hand, we have classes like Professor Samm's basic building and Lindal's Avatar Safety, which are definitely for newbies. |
| 15:17 |
Jaz Beverly |
Are there specific questions you had that were better answered by the interactive help at New Citizens Incorporated, Virginia? |
| 15:17 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
The tutorial and tutors address that basic skills level. The classes and their way of presenting I'm looking for a broader spread. |
| 15:18 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
well, if a person is new, like loosing alphas , i take them to NCI because it is full of people always |
| 15:18 |
Tali Rosca |
While Carl said that our core mission is to be the best introduction for newbies, it is probably not a secret that I am of the opinion that we need to make sure we have a (Caledonian) community to anchor that in, and create a stimulating environment for ourselves as well. Otherwise, I fear a burnout. |
| 15:18 |
Larkylouz |
I have often wondered if more tutor coverage is needed. Unfortunately, in the dead of the SL night, things are quiet here, staff-wise |
| 15:18 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
here i am not sure who to ask for help, i cannot help a noob but so much |
| 15:18 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Okay. That makes sense. |
| 15:18 |
Carl Metropolitan |
You can always ask for help in the COUG group |
| 15:19 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Do you have group tags on? |
| 15:19 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Also, since this is a homestead sim, limited to 20 people, we can't be as full of people as NCI is. We would "break". |
| 15:19 |
Larkylouz |
Tali is there a way to offer membership (by offering an invite) to all newbs who touch down here? |
| 15:19 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Also, anyone with the title "tutor", "professor" or "dean" floating above their head! |
| 15:19 |
Larkylouz |
Membership to COUG? |
| 15:19 |
Carl Metropolitan |
And if you need to take people out of Oxbridge for help, that's cool. Whatever gets the job done. |
| 15:20 |
Tali Rosca |
An auto-invite would require running a bot. That was, in fact, the primary job of the Guardian in the sandbox. |
| 15:20 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Yeah, I was wondering where that little dodo went |
| 15:20 |
Tali Rosca |
It requires running a server, though, which turn requires money. |
| 15:20 |
Glorf Bulmer |
If I might add something.... one of the most common questions I'm asked by new people here is "What do I do next?" I think it'd be good if some of our classes explored the many possible answers to that question. |
| 15:20 |
Carl Metropolitan |
RL money :) |
| 15:20 |
Tali Rosca |
And we judged that money was better spent elsewhere. |
| 15:20 |
Larkylouz |
As Carl says, different folks learn in different ways. Oxbridge was a breath of fresh air for me, after getting hit on constantly at NCI, but obviously, some people come to SL TO get hit on. |
| 15:21 |
Carl Metropolitan |
And we can send them to Zindra! |
| 15:21 |
Larkylouz |
LOL |
| 15:21 |
Jill (jilliantrabew) |
lol |
| 15:21 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
how about a class for new people where they can explore other places in sl? |
| 15:21 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Glorf's got a point. I get that question a lot too. I just tell people "use the Search function to find something you like, because it exists in SL. Trust me." |
| 15:21 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Too lenient. |
| 15:21 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
to see more differencent places |
| 15:21 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
What Elf said, it needs to be more indepth. |
| 15:21 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
We have one, Mr. Horgh |
| 15:21 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Maybe more field trips, different locations each time. |
| 15:21 |
Glorf Bulmer |
You say that, but I've seriously thought we might have a Zindran college branch for those who seriously want to explore adult content! |
| 15:21 |
Carl Metropolitan |
"Where do I get sex" is a common new user question. So we should be prepared to answer it in a helpful, non-judgemental manner, while making it clear Oxbridge is not the place you go for that! |
| 15:21 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
yes, most searches are not effective |
| 15:22 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
yes field trips..thats waht i meant |
| 15:22 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
There is also a board outside with a wide variety of links to places that are not Oxbridge |
| 15:22 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
yes i know :) |
| 15:22 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Yeah but most people I talk to ignore those. They ignore the wall at the end of the tutorial run too. |
| 15:22 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
what a bout a tp device tp send people to their next destination. It could have a brief description on it. |
| 15:22 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
And our preferences to places might not mix that well with those of the newcomers. |
| 15:22 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
yes i have noticed the same Charlotte |
| 15:22 |
Glorf Bulmer |
We used to have scheduled tours - Aevalle Galicia did them, I think? |
| 15:22 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Speaking of which, I have wanted to slow down those runners for a long time, they run through ,read nothing and ask everything afterward or just log off. |
| 15:23 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
More TP platorms = more scripts, more land impact. |
| 15:23 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Aevalle used to teach a field trip class. The Photo Salon does them now. |
| 15:23 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I've been thinking about some sort of gateway between buildings that asks a question before you can proceed. |
| 15:23 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I used to play a lot of trivia games when I was newer in SL and had more time. In one I won a gift card to a SL escort as the grand prize. So the next time a newbie asked me "where do I go to get sex?" I gave him the gift card :) |
| 15:23 |
Tali Rosca |
We have LI to spare still, though, so that is not a blocker. |
| 15:23 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Otherwise people just run and run and run blindly. |
| 15:23 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
lol Carl |
| 15:23 |
Larkylouz |
I have a notecard with a large list of G-rated interesting places to go. I developed it for the kids who come here, but I also give it to people who ask "what next" |
| 15:23 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
There also should be a landmark giver somewhere for places in other languages, in case we're not around to help. |
| 15:24 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
I think a method of slowing people down, or an element of interactivity to encourage students to engage with the tutorial instead of run past it is a great idea! |
| 15:24 |
Tali Rosca |
I am generally of the opinion that if people do not want to read the help, there is no practical way to force them. |
| 15:24 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
It really is one of the best introductions to SL that exists, and so few pay attention to it, frustratingly enough |
| 15:24 |
Carl Metropolitan |
This is something that whoever is the new Dean of Information can organize how we address. Perhaps a good job for whoever is the Assistant Dean of Information. |
| 15:24 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
You can bring horse to Oxbridge but.... |
| 15:24 |
Tali Rosca |
But I'd certainly second more interactivity. That is hard to do intelligently, though, and requires a lot of maintenance. |
| 15:25 |
Glorf Bulmer |
As far as the languages stuff is concerned - this is one of the workload things that worries me! I know Ravelli did a lot of the work in maintaining those. |
| 15:25 |
Carl Metropolitan |
And a lot of people's learning style does not match the tutorial. That's why we have COUG help and tutors. |
| 15:25 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
If newcomers disappears the second I greet them, there is not a lot I can do. |
| 15:25 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
But you can't get him/her drunk, Elf? |
| 15:25 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I think the interactions in the tutorial as is also need to be swapped out... something different, at least. That fireplace one at the end never worked right for me anyway. |
| 15:25 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Don't let it worry you Elfbiter. If they don't want help, they are not are target audience :) |
| 15:26 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Maybe different places to fly to, or something different than "repeating everything you say" |
| 15:26 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Perhaps parts of the tutorial could be made more interactive too. |
| 15:26 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Ultimately, we are a resource... we are here to be used, not to make people use us. |
| 15:26 |
Tali Rosca |
Mr Snow, you could turn that around and say that if it does not grab people enough for them to read it, then it really *isn't* the best introduction to SL. |
| 15:27 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
You could. I wouldn't, though. :P |
| 15:27 |
Tali Rosca |
But as both Elfbiter and Glorf said, we cannot force people to learn. |
| 15:27 |
Jill (jilliantrabew) |
how about if you create a group of different bots, each with a theme, and new people friend the bot, then the bot takes them around SL to places that fit the theme? |
| 15:27 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Maybe something different than the arrows. |
| 15:27 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
People see the arrows and just run blindly. |
| 15:28 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
I have been mistaken for a bot enough... |
| 15:28 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
And some types may simply want to move before they slow down to learn. |
| 15:28 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
What? You're not a bot, Elfbiter!? :O |
| 15:28 |
Tali Rosca |
Anyway, we are perhaps getting a little too deep into specific details for this forum. |
| 15:28 |
Red Quixote |
traffic lights? |
| 15:28 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Maybe an "exploration tunnel" for those who want to learn, and the runners can be left to their own devices |
| 15:28 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
:-) |
| 15:28 |
Larkylouz |
I would vote in favor of being very careful about extensive use of bots. One of the things I love about Oxbridge is th ehumanity and humaneness I find here. |
| 15:28 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Or a hud that you get on touchdown that when put on reads "READ THE BILLBOARDS" in big letters :P |
| 15:28 |
Phrynne |
I would second what Larky just said. |
| 15:28 |
|
Glorf Bulmer did once have an idea for an SL obstacle course for new people.... |
| 15:29 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Yeah, bots are... nah. |
| 15:29 |
Jill (jilliantrabew) |
you could make the bot boring and annoying so people would love to have a real conversation |
| 15:29 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I've been asked if I was a real person a couple times too. :) |
| 15:29 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
I wonder if some are running through the tutorial because they are moving before the textures of the signs load? Maybe a fast-loading sign at the beginning can help a bit. |
| 15:29 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I wish we could have steam tunnels here :) That would be cool. |
| 15:29 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
I went to Girls Town for help as a Noob.So much depends on the personality of each individual. ANd what they feel they need to learn. |
| 15:29 |
Phrynne |
I think some are just stuck at 'run' |
| 15:29 |
Larkylouz |
we cloud instigate a Caledon Marathon that has a course throughout the nation. Surely we could find some Steampunk running shoes for a completion prize. . . |
| 15:29 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
either a low-rez texture, or a prim-letter sign |
| 15:29 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Never heard of girls town... |
| 15:29 |
Tali Rosca |
I don't think the tutorial path is the thing which most needs an overhaul, though. |
| 15:30 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Does something need an overhaul? |
| 15:30 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
I think that those that will learn do, those that don't want to won't. |
| 15:30 |
Tali Rosca |
That is the first question, really. |
| 15:30 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
It is a girls only place.not everything in SL is about Technology.. |
| 15:30 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I was also thinking earlier... I found some nice robes at Bare Rose that would make -great- uniforms. "Seek out the orange robes for tutors, the green robes for deans" or something similiar. But Caledon doesn't -need- uniforms. |
| 15:31 |
Glorf Bulmer |
SL is a changing environment... we can't stay static while everything changes around us. |
| 15:31 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Or, we can, but we'd become irrelevant. |
| 15:31 |
Larkylouz |
Certainly, the tags now being 'on' by default, should help a bit. |
| 15:31 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We have not stayed static. The tutorials have been constantly updated. |
| 15:32 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Classwise, I would say that it is time to rethink. A number of classes are running at low attendance while some are good. |
| 15:32 |
Carl Metropolitan |
The buildings have been updated. The classes have been updated. |
| 15:32 |
Red Quixote |
classes also changed to suit changes in SL |
| 15:32 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Tali, considering people do move on. i think that the basics are being covered |
| 15:32 |
Tali Rosca |
And the sandbox is practically unused. That is a symptom of *something*. |
| 15:32 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
For example, does having the same classes weekly oversaturate? |
| 15:33 |
Glorf Bulmer |
I'm not advocating any radical transformations! But we need to be sure we're keeping up. |
| 15:33 |
Red Quixote |
I see someone in the sandbox, nearly every time I pass thru it |
| 15:33 |
lovejoy2199 |
We have a sandbox??? |
| 15:33 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
The sandbox is also in a difficult spot. I would have never known it was there until I found the teleport up on my own. |
| 15:33 |
Red Quixote |
it is used a lot |
| 15:33 |
Carl Metropolitan |
The sandbox is kind of out of the way and not easily reached. |
| 15:33 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
There are new topics, such as materials at a more advanced level. |
| 15:33 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Some people are glad that class schedule is semi-predictable. |
| 15:33 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We need to probably promote it moe. |
| 15:34 |
Glorf Bulmer |
We could, for example, maintain the core essential "beginners" classes, and have a shifting pattern of special events around them. |
| 15:34 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Wordsmith, do you know if it would be possible to change the class attendance recording tool to grab the age of the attendees, so we could get some demographic info on who comes to them? |
| 15:34 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Nods to Glorf's comment. |
| 15:34 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Call them workshops, symposia, office hours, whatever.... |
| 15:35 |
Carl Metropolitan |
It would help us to know who the various types of existing classes are serving. |
| 15:35 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
It would (or to do another tool). Right now it just grabs total attendance. But the basic controlling structure is there. |
| 15:36 |
Tali Rosca |
I think we should be less afraid of "advanced" topics. I think it is holding a lot of Caledonian talent back that they *have* to make a class from square one before they can talk about their trade. |
| 15:36 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
I do know that some people revisit the Avatar Safety class in irregularly intervals. |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
If we are looking at changing classes, it would be good to know who each level of classes are attracting. |
| 15:36 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Do we have a lot of people who can do those advanced things though? |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We can find them. |
| 15:36 |
Tali Rosca |
Yes. We have a lot of creators. |
| 15:36 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
It isn't fear. It's finding those who both have the time, the interest, and the desire and ability to teach. |
| 15:36 |
Red Quixote |
define 'advanced' |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Also, keep in mind we are not limited to Caledon or even the steamlands. |
| 15:36 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I know someone who is a script-god, I might be able to pull his tail in here... |
| 15:37 |
Carl Metropolitan |
There is nothing wrong with bringing in outside people. |
| 15:37 |
Tali Rosca |
I can easily chat about fairly advanced Blender-related topics (and have done so out at the benches), but I do not feel qualified to *teach* a full class on Blender, for example. |
| 15:37 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
At the same time, we want to be sure that the classes are done for the benefit of the students, not allowing them to be used as a subtle marketing technique. |
| 15:38 |
Glorf Bulmer |
The more the merrier, I think... especially when it comes to specialized areas of expertise. |
| 15:38 |
Red Quixote |
teaching a 'full' class on blender,. would take over a year |
| 15:38 |
Tali Rosca |
Imagine a session where two creators were just started on a discussion about some aspect of their craft; not introducing it from square one, but simply talking about what they know well. |
| 15:38 |
Tali Rosca |
That could be quite interesting to listen in on. |
| 15:38 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Well, one could do a participatory "workshop" on Blender. |
| 15:39 |
Glorf Bulmer |
We could do some simple incentivization, too - the odd open competition, that sort of thing. |
| 15:39 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I like that idea |
| 15:39 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
And yes, one area where we could use help would be finding people to bring in for seminars. One-shot classes. |
| 15:39 |
Carl Metropolitan |
"The Oxbridge Lectures" series. |
| 15:40 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
When I first came here I heard about the famous Caledon build contests...havn't heard about them since. |
| 15:40 |
Red Quixote |
what happened to the build contest?.. I know it was Sauce's baby,.. but couldn't that have been done a bit more? |
| 15:40 |
Phrynne |
It happened once. |
| 15:40 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I think it was a question of was there enough time to spend doing it. |
| 15:40 |
Tali Rosca |
That ties in with what I was about to say: |
| 15:40 |
Larkylouz |
I have been known to offer to give people pointers on developing and writing a class. And there are far more teachers here who are formally trained and more experienced than I. |
| 15:40 |
Tali Rosca |
These ideas will rely heavily on participation. |
| 15:40 |
Tali Rosca |
The deans simply cannot come up with, say, interesting people for every week. |
| 15:41 |
Glorf Bulmer |
It's one area where we could work with the larger social environment of Caledon - the creators and socialites who make this place what it is. |
| 15:41 |
Virginia (understandingcomplexity) |
I attended the University of Western Australia Awards Ceremony today. 1,000,000 lindens in awards were given. Learning to be able to participate in that contest is a goal for me. |
| 15:41 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I like the Caledon History lectures we had from time to time. |
| 15:42 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Wow! |
| 15:42 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
I thought that the Gazette was a great opportunity for developing greater solidarity and building the community of Oxbridge. Will anyone be continuing that, or anything similar? |
| 15:42 |
Tali Rosca |
The Gazette is Steadman's work, and he is still doing that. |
| 15:42 |
Red Quixote |
Kondor flew the coop |
| 15:43 |
Red Quixote |
he's still with the gazette?.. good to hear |
| 15:43 |
Tali Rosca |
With him not being faculty, we decided not to brand the two things together. |
| 15:43 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
That isn't clear actually. |
| 15:43 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
He is? We talked about it this week and he wasn't under that impression |
| 15:43 |
Red Quixote |
guru |
| 15:43 |
Tali Rosca |
Ok, I may be jumping the gun here. |
| 15:43 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
I shouldn't speak for him, though |
| 15:43 |
Glorf Bulmer |
We might be able to lure him back. |
| 15:44 |
|
Glorf Bulmer has buns. |
| 15:44 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
I think you could. :) |
| 15:44 |
Carl Metropolitan |
The Gazette will be seperate from Oxbridge |
| 15:44 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I'm not adverse to giving him the existing database, but what was started is on the Oxbridge website. |
| 15:44 |
Tali Rosca |
There are parts of the Gazette which would make sense as a sort of "Oxbridge FAQ", and there are parts which are more geared towards the Caledon community. |
| 15:44 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Some of what was created for the Gazette will probably stay on Oxbridge's site (such as some of the tutorials) |
| 15:44 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
That's true. I believe he was attempting to bridge those two communities |
| 15:44 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
However, the basis is there for continuing on with an Oxbridge publication. |
| 15:45 |
Tali Rosca |
I must say, I am leaning towards his ideas of that bridge, but it *is* a bit of a question just how it should be weighted against Oxbridge's mission. |
| 15:45 |
|
Glorf Bulmer notes that "Caledon" constitutes a sort of answer to the "what do I do next?" question. |
| 15:45 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
^ |
| 15:45 |
Glorf Bulmer |
In that it's a social group, a creative and roleplay community.... |
| 15:46 |
Glorf Bulmer |
It's, at least, a good example of how those work. |
| 15:46 |
Jaz Beverly |
I like resources that lead me in unexpected directions... a new resident looking for an answer to an FAQ might be delighted to discover the Caledon community content. |
| 15:46 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Speaking of that, the Quest. While I haven't done it, I get the sense things change rapidly enough that things become obsolete. That might need to be patched. Unless I'm overthinking it. |
| 15:46 |
Phrynne |
It does need patching. |
| 15:46 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
Regions falling off the grid, etc. |
| 15:46 |
Phrynne |
And regions falling out of the Quest. |
| 15:46 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
So it needs to be regulated to the more solid regions. |
| 15:46 |
Tali Rosca |
Questi is generally on it, so it *should* be functional. |
| 15:46 |
Tali Rosca |
I'll not make any promises on his behalf, though. |
| 15:47 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Marion has been updating it |
| 15:47 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Is there a specific broken link that we know of? |
| 15:47 |
Tali Rosca |
But it definitely does change a lot. |
| 15:47 |
Charlotte Drake (xymbers.slade) |
I haven't done the quest so if there is, I wouldn't know it. |
| 15:47 |
Phrynne |
There are not broken links, per se, but there are regions that were included that no longer are, such as Pensans. |
| 15:48 |
Phrynne |
The waymarker was there after the changeover, but was removed. |
| 15:48 |
|
Glorf Bulmer spent blinkin' ages fruitlessly in Tanglewood a couple of weeks back! |
| 15:48 |
Glorf Bulmer |
That might just be me being useless though. |
| 15:49 |
Phrynne |
The Tanglewood marker was moved across the region from where it used to be. |
| 15:49 |
Phrynne |
I have done the Quest three times; I can do it again and make notes if that would be useful. |
| 15:50 |
Tali Rosca |
Anyway, as you can hear, there has been a fair bit of thoughts thrown around, which is one reason we have not said a *whole* lot until today. |
| 15:50 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Maybe some "official quest guides" would be handy! |
| 15:51 |
Meora (menchor) |
there should be a "look under water" clue |
| 15:51 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
If you deans have more to say, we should all quiet down for a bit and lsiten! |
| 15:51 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
*listen |
| 15:51 |
Tali Rosca |
I think we have touched upon most thoughts, in a fairly rapid-fire way. |
| 15:52 |
Gronk Seriman |
I was always a proponent for a "Group Quest". A publicized to meet to do the group together. |
| 15:52 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I am planning to hold some greater faculty meetings at different times to gleans thoughts and ideas. |
| 15:52 |
Tali Rosca |
And we are, in fact, soon out of the hour. |
| 15:52 |
Tali Rosca |
So we should perhaps think about closing down with some specific questions, if there are any? |
| 15:53 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
There has been a lot of talk of new things and classes. How is the cou finacially? |
| 15:54 |
Tali Rosca |
Fairly solid. I believe Wordsmith has some more exact numbers. |
| 15:54 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
We are holding, in part thanks to your very generous help, Miss Andrea. |
| 15:54 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
WIll fund raisin be a needed event? |
| 15:54 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
We have about 175k with maybe about 6k I need to pay out later today. |
| 15:54 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We are looking at that right now. |
| 15:55 |
Tali Rosca |
We are bouncing some ideas for a slightly different style of funding, which I have quite a bit of hope for. |
| 15:55 |
Tali Rosca |
Because I believe it fits well with the Caledon community. |
| 15:55 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
I have faith in you all. |
| 15:56 |
Carl Metropolitan |
One thing we are almost certainly planning to do is to solicit a group of "Oxbridge Patrons" who each pledge to donated 2500L$ a month. We need 10 such people to cover tier plus a bit extra. So keep your eyes out for announcements of that program. |
| 15:56 |
Larkylouz |
I was quite floored when I heard that it cost someone $10USD to sponsor a class, I believe? Could you speak to that? One does not have to be wealthy to contribute $10USD a month |
| 15:56 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
We are easily able to pay another quarter and keep running with reserve. It is only if we did nothing that we would come to an early end. We do not plan to sit passively. |
| 15:56 |
Tali Rosca |
I would love to see stained-glass portraits of the patrons in our windows. |
| 15:56 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We are still working out the details of the Oxbridge Patrons Program. |
| 15:56 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
:D |
| 15:57 |
Larkylouz |
I loved when there was a picture of Annie Rosen looking like Reba up. LOL |
| 15:57 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Unfortunately Martini created all the stained glass here and she's going to be immensely busy in RL for the foreseeable future. |
| 15:57 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I think it is currently more sponsoring Oxbridge for a period (and having an ad in front and presented in the lecture hall in rotation) than actually sponsoring a particular class. |
| 15:57 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
LOL I spent that on my centaur. I'm in |
| 15:58 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That's something else the new Dean of Development (whoever he or she will be) shall be looking at. |
| 15:58 |
|
Glorf Bulmer would only spend the money on shoes otherwise.... |
| 15:58 |
Larkylouz |
Pardon my putrid math ability. How does 2500L$ compare to RL$$? |
| 15:58 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
right glorf |
| 15:58 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Apx 10USD |
| 15:58 |
Tali Rosca |
We could have a stained-glass shoe in your stead. |
| 15:58 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We need to generate apx 100USD per month for tier and a bit of cushion. |
| 15:58 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
About $10 USD per 2560 $L |
| 15:59 |
Tali Rosca |
The time is just about up. |
| 15:59 |
Carl Metropolitan |
And 2500L$ is a nice round figure. |
| 15:59 |
Larkylouz |
I'm in. |
| 15:59 |
Tali Rosca |
So I will round out this session by saying, as you can hear: Oxbridge is here and continuing. We may be soliciting work and ideas for invigorating some of the classes and events, but we still have the core you're used to. |
| 16:00 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
You just don't get to have a 5 dean night for a bit. |
| 16:00 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
You guys are doing such a service to LL, it's a shame they don't supplement Oxbridge.. |
| 16:00 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
well they did want our stuff |
| 16:01 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Yeah. But then again, we don't have to put out for them on demand :) |
| 16:01 |
Tali Rosca |
And while Martini and Ravelli were prominent faces who will be sorely missed, Oxbridge is a shared effort by a lot of people who are still here, and still doing a great job. |
| 16:01 |
Larkylouz |
Just take care of yourselves. I don't want any more of my firends and coworkers to disappear anytime soon. |
| 16:01 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Go fighting dodos! |
| 16:01 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Some of us a stubborn. |
| 16:01 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Are dodos truly the official Oxbridge mascot? |
| 16:01 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Only those with headwear :-) |
| 16:01 |
Larkylouz |
Who is going to organize Dodo pep rallies? |
| 16:01 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
And don't plan on leaving until we have to swim from a sunken sim. |
| 16:02 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Well, the Hare is on our seal, but the Hare is the mascot of all of Caledon |
| 16:02 |
Tali Rosca |
Thanks for today, and thanks for the feedback and ideas. |
| 16:02 |
Larkylouz |
Thanks everyone! |
| 16:02 |
Carl Metropolitan |
And the Dodo is unique to us. |
| 16:02 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Thank you all for coming and your suggestions! |
| 16:02 |
Gronk Seriman |
Thank you, Deans! |
| 16:02 |
Glorf Bulmer |
Thank you, Deans! |
| 16:02 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
And thanks for being here. It is much easier to motivate ourselves knowing that people (and other entities) care. |
| 16:02 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
BEdtime for me. |
| 16:02 |
Jaz Beverly |
Hip hip hooray for the Deans! |
| 16:03 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
Hey, Red |
| 16:03 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Be seeing you |
| 16:03 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
This is my first ever sit pose I made and imported myself |
| 16:03 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Also, pease welcome our new tutor, Horgh. |
| 16:03 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Congratulations, Mr Snow. |
| 16:03 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
It clearly has some problems, but I was wondering; |
| 16:03 |
Larkylouz |
Welcome Mr. Horgh |
| 16:03 |
Jaz Beverly |
Welcome!!! |
| 16:03 |
Tali Rosca |
He is landing hard at an interesting time. |
| 16:03 |
Red Quixote |
did you reference the co-ordinates from the default sit pose? |
| 16:03 |
Gronk Seriman |
Yay, Mr. Horgh! |
| 16:03 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
huh? |
| 16:03 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
That sounds like exactly the thing I need to do! |
| 16:04 |
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) |
a setting in QAV? |
| 16:04 |
Red Quixote |
it is why your avata is seated 'forward' |
| 16:04 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I'll have the transcripts up shortly. |
| 16:04 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I need to go afk and feed photon (see my First Life tab) |
| 16:04 |
|
Mr. Snow (tehckisnow) nods |
| 16:04 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
what have i missed? :D |
| 16:04 |
Red Quixote |
yes,. it is the hip position |
| 16:04 |
Tali Rosca |
So, ideas planted. Let's see who bites :-) |
| 16:04 |
Larkylouz |
I'll be back later. Take care all |
| 16:04 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Hello biggie glorph |
| 16:04 |
HOЯGH (plejadian) |
have to go as well..bye all *waves |