| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Welcome to Q&A with the Deans |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That's us. |
| 15:05 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Okay, past 3pm so let's begin. Welcome to the weekly Oxbridge Dean's Q&A. |
| 15:05 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Well, some of us. |
| 15:06 |
Carl Metropolitan |
First up, does anyone have anything to report? |
| 15:06 |
Phrynne |
I have a few small things |
| 15:07 |
Phrynne |
Spring has come to Oxbridge -- the snowmen have migrated, and we have spring flowers and blossoming trees on campus |
| 15:07 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
(sneezes happily) |
| 15:08 |
Phrynne |
I have been putting some new freebies into the Railroad Station -- if you took part in the Advent Calendar you may recognize them. I hope to have more other ones soon. |
| 15:08 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We are participating in the rose hunt this year, too. Samm will be hiding a rose here at both of the hunt times. |
| 15:08 |
Phrynne |
And we have a new tutor, Rowan900, added to the staff. |
| 15:08 |
Phrynne |
When is the Rose Hunt this year? |
| 15:09 |
Phrynne |
And that's all from Commons |
| 15:10 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Carl? |
| 15:10 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I think it is in about three weeks |
| 15:10 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I don't know for sure. |
| 15:11 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
As background, every year Caledon has a hunt for special, one of a kind, roses. |
| 15:11 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Some make and hide, while others seek. |
| 15:12 |
Carl Metropolitan |
The last few years, Samm Florian has been the organizer |
| 15:13 |
Phrynne |
and she hides them *diabolically* well |
| 15:13 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
On my side of affairs I had a spontaneous sponsor signup one late evening. Vinnie, who used to hold music events above Oxbridge village, stopped by, paid, and still needs to get me a picture. |
| 15:14 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Oh. That's very good. |
| 15:14 |
Phrynne |
I'm glad Vinnie is still around |
| 15:15 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
We're also testing a new HUD that shows the avatars on Oxbridge to Larky and Phrynne when the are on other sims. |
| 15:16 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I got an IM from Tasha (think it was about 1am -- Hey I know you are busy, but have a fellow done here who wants to be a sponsor). I wasn't so busy not to be right down there. |
| 15:17 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Samm and I have switched our Wed/Thurs teaching days (building and mesh) |
| 15:18 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Sandie is going to take a 3-week break, but Brian, at least for this next week, will sub for her. |
| 15:18 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Red is still on a two-week break this next week, and then back. |
| 15:20 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
The HUD also had some scripting considerations similar to the CAT watchtower script, so that was an exercise useful in a couple of ways (intersim communication between objects .... Reliably and with recovery from SL weaknesses). |
| 15:20 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I finished reading Aevalle's PhD dissertation last week. I've asked her to present some highlights about what she learned about Oxbridge from her research (we were one of the two SL learning facilities studied) to the staff and volunteers. She thinks she can do that in a few weeks. |
| 15:21 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
That sounds great. |
| 15:22 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I'd also be interest in anything worth learning from the other facility. |
| 15:22 |
Phrynne |
I'm looking forward to hearing what she learned |
| 15:23 |
Carl Metropolitan |
One thing I got from reading it was that a lot of people who she surveyed wanted to be able to take notecards about specific stuff for later reference. Perhaps we might consider making the signs clickable and giving out notecards with summaries of the information on the signs. |
| 15:23 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That would also help people who can't read the signs well due to slow loading. |
| 15:23 |
Thunderstone (jeffrey0thunderstone) |
*nods |
| 15:24 |
Phrynne |
That's not a bad idea -- it was very helpful for me over at Ivory Tower of Prims when I was learning building. |
| 15:24 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Nods, or have links to web pages with the material. |
| 15:25 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Questions from the floor? (or announcements, problem reports, etc) |
| 15:26 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Both are good |
| 15:26 |
Gronk Seriman |
Notecards may be hard to do. Distilling the sign graphics to a text-only medium will lose a lot of good info. |
| 15:27 |
Carl Metropolitan |
We could have a web page with the image from the poster and the text as text beneath it. |
| 15:27 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I know. |
| 15:27 |
Carl Metropolitan |
It is a concern, Gronk. |
| 15:27 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
That would be fairly straight forward to produce. |
| 15:28 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
I was thinking of a web page too. If they click on a sign, they can get a URL to a copy of the page that they can bookmark or save. |
| 15:28 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
Or, you could have the signs dispense images/textures of themselves |
| 15:28 |
[Second Life |
You have been added to the group.] |
| 15:28 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
Or they could dispense copies of themselves that people could rez anywhere, like a sandbox |
| 15:29 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
That last one shouldn't be hard at all |
| 15:29 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
If they click on the sign, it can open the webpage for them. |
| 15:29 |
Gronk Seriman |
That would be close to giving away the store. |
| 15:29 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Yes. I like the web idea. SL has a built in we browser |
| 15:29 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I don't mind. The store is intended to be given away :) |
| 15:29 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Seriously, if someone wanted to clone Oxbridge, they would. |
| 15:29 |
Carl Metropolitan |
There's not much we could do to stop them. |
| 15:30 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
You can give people information, but there's often a substantial step to digesting it and being able to present it and answer questions with any nuance. |
| 15:30 |
Thunderstone (jeffrey0thunderstone) |
A ReZable sign would be awkward to use on the fly. |
| 15:30 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
ANd sometimes crossing the language barrier... |
| 15:31 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
hi sandie |
| 15:31 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Welcome, Sandie. |
| 15:31 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Hi Sandie |
| 15:31 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
That is actually related to a big battle going on in RL education nowadays. If you learn something from an "unauthorized" source, you still learned it, right? So should you be able to get credit toward a degree for learning it, or do you have to pay to be taught it again? |
| 15:31 |
Sandie Harbour |
r5gthello |
| 15:31 |
Sandie Harbour |
hello |
| 15:31 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Fortunately, we don't have to care about that :) |
| 15:31 |
|
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) nods |
| 15:31 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
Here, education is for its own sake |
| 15:32 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
Hey, I just had an idea. Maybe Oxbridge could give out "degrees" for demonstrating some of the things taught by the tutorial. |
| 15:32 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Yes. I don't care about credentials. I do care about knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitude. |
| 15:33 |
|
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) is reminded of library issues with accessibility to databases |
| 15:33 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I know that at one point Linden Lab tried to do a program where people could become certified in SL-related skills. They were at the final draft stage when the first people from any in-world learning places like Oxbridge heard of it. |
| 15:33 |
Phrynne |
And a problem with us giving out 'degrees' is that there are institutions inworld that are branches of RL universities that do give degrees, and it's better not to be confusing about that. |
| 15:34 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Many people confuse Oxbridge with Oxford and Cambridge as it is.... |
| 15:35 |
|
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) nods |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I agree. We get confused with a RL university because of the metaphor we chose, and because of our general professionalism. |
| 15:36 |
Carl Metropolitan |
That would just make the issue worse. |
| 15:36 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Giving out degrees, even apart from what Carl mentioned does open the door to where things were learned and whether Oxbridge is an educational facility or a credentialing organization. |
| 15:36 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
There could be degrees with outlandish names that no reasonable person would confuse with a "real" degree, like Wizard of Primness, Meshmagister Superior, or Lady Bachelorette of Online Survivalism. |
| 15:36 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
You are right, it is probably too much of a mess to get into. |
| 15:36 |
|
Phrynne is not fond of the 'graduation gown' in the fireplace during the tutorial, as it is. |
| 15:37 |
|
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) received one of those gowns but never wore it. |
| 15:37 |
Thunderstone (jeffrey0thunderstone) |
Have you seen the outragious RL degrees? |
| 15:37 |
|
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) has Doctorate of Metaphysics from the Miscatonic University on his wall :-) |
| 15:37 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
Well I don't think Miskatonic is accredited, so it's basically the same as if COU issued it. |
| 15:38 |
Sandie Harbour |
I earned an RN (Registered Nerd) |
| 15:38 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Miskatonic did manage to get a .edu address somehow :) |
| 15:38 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
anyone with a degree in Underwater Basketweaving? |
| 15:39 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
:-) |
| 15:39 |
Sandie Harbour |
maybe patches or certificates of completion |
| 15:39 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Anyway best to teach and let application be the test. |
| 15:39 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Well, there's the uniform. |
| 15:40 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
A financial question please. Where are we on the Patron program? How is the tier payments looking? |
| 15:41 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I need to do some collections work on it Andrea |
| 15:41 |
Carl Metropolitan |
And I need to get a new Patron to replace someone we lost |
| 15:41 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Carl paid another quarter of tier in early January, counted from 26 Jan. |
| 15:41 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
nods :-) |
| 15:41 |
Carl Metropolitan |
But we have over 300,000 L$ right now I believe. |
| 15:42 |
Sandie Harbour |
raises hand |
| 15:43 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Currently at 329k $L |
| 15:43 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Sandie? |
| 15:44 |
Sandie Harbour |
is that what the "Mint" account for? |
| 15:44 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
With payroll sent out through 30 Jan. |
| 15:45 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Yes. Mint is the financial account. |
| 15:46 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Which donations go to and from which tier, professor stipends, and occasional sim expenses are paid from. |
| 15:47 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
(Deans are not paid for "deaning", btw) |
| 15:47 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
O.O |
| 15:48 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Does that need to be revisited? |
| 15:48 |
Carl Metropolitan |
No. I don't think so. |
| 15:48 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
I don't either. |
| 15:49 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
Given the many hats the deans are wearing right now. and the work load |
| 15:49 |
Sandie Harbour |
I do not need stipends |
| 15:49 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
That different from paying expenses, such as purchases to set up a fundraising event or to keep Oxbridge landscaped and with low prim furniture. |
| 15:50 |
Phrynne |
I would rather not be paid for helping out -- because then it would be difficult to tell newcomers that yes, you can have a good SL life here without a job. |
| 15:51 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
RL has many volunteer professional boards. It avoids matters of self interest to keep Oxbridge the same. |
| 15:51 |
Phrynne |
*paying job |
| 15:52 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I have personally made it a policy to take no money from Oxbridge. Even when I was doing Trivia, the money I got for the event was all spent on prizes (plus 200L$ of my own each game). |
| 15:54 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
The stipend for professors is 250 $L per class taught. It covers upload and ongoing development expenses, but nobody is going to get wealthy from teaching itself. |
| 15:54 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Oh, could I ask anyone here who knows anyone who used to be a dean at Oxbridge to contact me. I want them to know that the "Dean Emeritus" tag is available for them should they want one. |
| 15:54 |
乇๓เ (emilykathrinedubois) |
Curious, is this to prevent circulating In-World Lindens, and to work/ support to have an actual fluctuation, benefiting L$? |
| 15:56 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I don't understand? |
| 15:56 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Could you reprhase that? |
| 15:57 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
I don't think there is anything related to inworld econom |
| 15:57 |
Phrynne |
I rather doubt that the small stipends here affect SL economy at all |
| 15:57 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
I don't think anyone hoards lindens, it pretty much moves around |
| 15:58 |
乇๓เ (emilykathrinedubois) |
I take it you address my phrase. Must be my lack of English. Pardon me. It seems to me that In-World circulating Lindens are not beneficial to the accurate state of the Linden. Where as outside money gives fluctuation, thus better economy. Unsure if I made it worse now. It was something on my mind for a while. Correct Phrynne, there would be fluctuation needed from outside, sources. |
| 15:59 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Linden Lab it handling the balance of inworld economy. We have nothing to do with that. |
| 15:59 |
Carl Metropolitan |
They normally do a very good job of it. |
| 15:59 |
乇๓เ (emilykathrinedubois) |
Supporting that is not a bad thing. |
| 15:59 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Oxbridge operates without any support by LL. The donations we receive go to paying our share of the sim's tier and the stipends. The tier is set externally. The stipends are set by consideration of funds incoming and assuring stability. |
| 16:00 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Emily, I just dropped on you four slides I made about how the L$ economy works. |
| 16:00 |
Carl Metropolitan |
I hope that will help somewhat. |
| 16:01 |
乇๓เ (emilykathrinedubois) |
Thank you for that, I am truly interested. Also to where Oxbridge would be supporting. But I will read into it. Before more statements or questions. :) |
| 16:01 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Oxbridge operates entirely in the L$ economy. |
| 16:02 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Oxbridge benefits from considerable community support, without which we would not continue to exist. We work to be congruent with that trust placed in us. |
| 16:02 |
Carl Metropolitan |
None of our donations or payments are made in US dollars. |
| 16:03 |
Carl Metropolitan |
If there are no more questions, it is four pm now, and we should adjourn for the evening. |
| 16:03 |
Wordsmith Jarvinen |
Any other quick questions? |
| 16:03 |
Andrea Jones (andreajonesms) |
night Mr skysmith sleep well |
| 16:03 |
乇๓เ (emilykathrinedubois) |
Yes this is greatly admirable. In my mind was just the question about In-World occupation and earning L$, which would be brought back to Oxbridge, and so forth. Less fluctuation. But I shall deepen more into the matter. Thank you for answering. |
| 16:03 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
:-) |
| 16:03 |
Hannah Bluemood Utherwurldly (hannah.bluemood) |
ty |
| 16:04 |
Carl Metropolitan |
Emily, have you been through the Hall of Money & Commerce at Oxbridge? |
| 16:04 |
Thunderstone (jeffrey0thunderstone) |
Thank you. |
| 16:04 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Bedtime and so.... |
| 16:04 |
乇๓เ (emilykathrinedubois) |
I have visited a few Halls, but do not recall this particular name. |
| 16:04 |
Phrynne |
Thank you for coming, everyone |
| 16:04 |
Thunderstone (jeffrey0thunderstone) |
Sleep tight Elf. |
| 16:04 |
Elfbiter Skysmith (elfbiter) |
Be seeing you |