Have I been Naughty or Nice?

Well, looking around sl, I guess Christmas time is here again (except is some strange areas where Winterfest is here...). The snow is thick and falling everywhere, with appreciably less lag than I remember from last year - can you remember watching the snowflakes fall sooo slowly you could dodge between them... errr... if you could move!

I've visited lots of great winter builds, Goony Island being one of my favorites, if for no other reason than the presence of Egnog the Troll! The Him & I & Us Commune has turned it's main square into a winter wonderland, Aspen of course looks lovely, the Scout Camp has frozen over, in fact, the whole place is fantastic!

I've also visited several Santa's Grottos, and to be honest, I'm not quite sure where they were, as I had the message that Santa was there, tped in, saw the great man, looked round and headed off! I will be trying to visit as many Santas as possible over the next week - Santas need our support, and the places taking the trouble and effort to set things like this up deserve to have people visit.

The reaction when I tell people I am visiting as many Santas as possible has been mixed, though the usual question is "Why?". Well, I enjoy Christmas, and when I was growing up, I was more likely to be one of Santa's Helpers than one of the children lucky enough to visit him. Now, I can be the one doing the visiting, and enjoying the magic, even though the beard may be false, standing in line, waiting to be called up for my turn - it all feels so warm and comforting.

Most of the Santas have presents to give, which is nice though I have all that I really need or will use. There always comes a point where I am asked what I would like for Christmas, and the answer has to be, for Christmas, nothing really, but for the coming year I would like to meet new friends, and deepen the friendships I have in sl. I can think of nothing that could possibly be a greater gift than my friends here.

I will continue to visit more Santas (I also try to play them a carol on my flute, in sims that allow that), and I will enjoy every experience. As to the title question, have I been naughty or nice? Well, I think that's for the people around me to decide, not me!

Happy Christmas!

Egnog the Christmas Troll

Goony Island this christmas has a special treat for visitors in the shape of a troll. Egnog the Christmas Troll sits upon a large crystal ice burg awaiting good little girls and boys who would solve his riddles for a present. The Riddles range from easy to hard, and some you require you to search the island for the answer.

A boy called Linus captured on Film Egnog the Troll in his video adventure of the SLC Learning Tree and Goony Island.



Great Video Linus!! XD


Photo by Marianne McCanne

Music and other things - a gentle ramble

Hello everyone

As many of you will know, one of my great pleasures in world is playing my flute. This is something I am utterly incapable of out there in the outside world, and I have always been envious of those who could pick up a musical instrument and play anytime they liked (yes, I know it takes a lot of work and practice to reach that stage, it's just that even with the practice I was as tuneful as a bucket of rocks rolling downhill!).

I certainly don't class myself as a musician, not like those wonderful live performers who so enrich our communities, but I was looking yesterday at the work I put in to bring just one tune into our world. First, I have to source the sheet music for the tune, checking that it is not too complex for the restrictions scripting puts on us - Wagner's Ring Cycle would have to be done in small chunks! Then, if the score goes outside the range of my flute, I have to transpose key (and boy, have I made some errors doing that!). The score has to be transcribed (each note changed from the musical notation to a code the script will recognise) by hand - sitting on the couch while doing this is my favorite, though I can not listen to music at the same time because the tunes get mixed up!

Once the score is ready, I copy it into the world in a notecard, thankfully no uploading fees! Then it I copy it into my flute's HUD, and it is ready for testing! This is when the real disasters show up, though I am getting better at it, and at tracking down my mis-encoded notes. Sometimes, if there are just too many notes in a tune, I get a "exceeds length, truncating at.." message, and the whole thing has to be junked. But usually, I reach a stage where I am reasonably happy with the results.

This is where the hard work really begins to pay off for me. I love just stopping somewhere and starting to play, watching other people stop and listen, until there is a small group clustered round. I guess this is the nearest to playing a real instrument I will ever get, and the feeling is wonderful! Even when there is no-one around I play, creating a mood around me by careful choice of what I am playing.

It's not an activity that brings in Linden, certainly not enough to cover the effort of bringing new tune in, and that is not why I do it. And I was looking round the world, at all the things we do and make, the beautiful locations that are built, the DJs who play the music we party to, the creators of the really useful gadgets or clothing we wear.... Except for a few, the effort that has to be put into what they are doing is always going to exceed the Linden that can be earned. So why do we do it? All I can imagine is that it's our individual love and appreciation of this marvelous world we have, that we want and are enthusiastic about contributing whatever skills we have to make the world a better place for all the people there.

That's what I hope is the case anyhow - what do you think?

Tepic

Robots Robots Robots

When I was a young boy in real life I had a fascination with robots of all kinds. I had many a robot wind up toy, and of course I loved droids from the star wars movie. I liked the Cylons from the original Battle Star Galactica almost more than the heroes of the series. So, when I was shown "The Museum of Robots" I was very excited to share it with you. I quickly wished myself into my android (a type of robot) form and went about exploring.

The Museum is dedicated to all manner of robots, including vintage robots like "Robby the Robot" and "Tabor the Great" as well as more modern versions like the "T-101 Terminator" and "Cylon Centurion". There are also a few vintage movie clips available of old black and white movies where robots were the main plot device. Outside is a gallery devoted to entries in Robot build contests. Most are very well made, some comical and some serious.

Up on the third floor of the main museum building is the obligatory shop where some of the robot designs from the contests are available for purchase. Of note, the coolest one in my opinion, a robotic steam punk hand, is a freebie.

There is more to see at the Museum of Robots, including an exhibit dedicated to a man who makes robot shapes out of every day items such as teapots, refrigerators, and other household items. I did not have the time to fully explore, so go there and let me know what I missed out on!!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kubrick/200/151/24

The Spacexcape Project

Well, after Sokmunky suggested I visit the Spacexcape Project, how could I miss taking a look?

I've been in sl for quite a while now, and have seen some very nice builds, some imaginative
ones, some stunning ones, some beautiful ones, (and a few I wish I hadn't visited!). This one is quite extraordinary, in thoughtfulness, design and intriguing beauty.

You start in a gallery area, with glowing warp holes to take you to the main entrance (there is also a vehicle of some sort, but it didn't come when called, this is a known problem, which is why there are alternative ways in). Do look round, there is some nice artwork here, as well as some clues as to what you might see inside.

Taking a warp jump or any other way, you find yourself in an entrance chamber, where you have a decision to make on how to proceed. I'll not say exactly what your choices are, but you may get an idea from the pictures in the blog! I enjoyed it so much I went back and tried several more times, and there was a minor glitch on a couple of occasions where I dropped through the next room - this must be a common occurrence, as there is a very handy warp hole to take you back again!

Eventually, you arrive at a room with four tunnels leading off to different areas. You can choose between "Identity", "Space", "Technology" and " "Communication". I visited all of them, and they are well worth spending considerable time exploring. I have included various pictures to give you a taste of the different areas.

My exploration involved several visits, some by myself, some with a friend, and on the whole, I would recommend visiting with a couple of good friends or with your partner. Having someone to try different activities with is definitely the way to go!

At the end of one of my visits, I met a very nice person called Spacexcape Bridges, one of the designers. We had a pleasant conversation, during which she told me that the Project will be closing at Christmas, I would urge everyone to take the opportunity to visit before this happens, as it is truly a wonderful build. There may be the chance to have a guided tour at some time, I will be exploring this, and letting people know.

Good exploring,

Tepic

Horse Field Trips

Hello,

if youre interested in the field trips for riding yourself, i have from most a notecard with SURLS for the way. Just contact me inworld.
So far i have done:Avarien Sims (Grendel's Children), no notecard, but worth to visit, Bliss Garden Center, IOW Sims

Sven

Horse Field Trip to the IOW Sims

Hi all!

I offered a horse trip to the IOW Sims (http://daryth.com/draconica/index.php/Main_Page) and announced it in the Kulture Kids, SLC and Goonies Groups. Around 12 Kids followed the call and we started to ride at 9:15 AM SLT.
We started in Limbo then rode through 8 Sims:Tir na Lir, Tir Infernis,Tir na Seilidhe,Tir Zephyrus,Tir na Nog,Hatchie Heaven,Cathedral. It seems this day we had a lot of luck, nearly no lag, even the Sim crossings were no problem at all.
We visited some Temples and saw some nice Houses and in Hatchie Heaven was a nice Pirate Place, where you can swim, fishing, relax. At the Limbo Sandbox we saw some funny buildings for a Helloween Contest.
At least we went to Cathedral and met some Dragons and got a nice ride with a Dragon.
Pais wrote his own report, you can read it here and there is also a small video:
http://paiskidd.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/exploring-the-isle-of-wyrms/

Sven

SLC Blog UPDATED

In an attempt to make the SLC Blog more useful and interesting for its members we have updated it with new graphics and buttons. Gone has the lists from the side, instead there is now one post that you can post places you have been to and loved and wish to share with the rest of the Child Avatar Community.

We Also have many new articles from members of the SLC writing about their experiences. If you to would like to contribute tot he blog, please contact Loki Eliot.

Also the Kid Avatar Advice List has been updated also and is perhaps less agressive than before :-p

Finally we have a list of office (club) hours which are held every day at the SLC Learning Tree at Whippersnapper for new members to come ask any questions, or for old members to come chill and discuss new ideas. Times are available in the side bar.

Thank you everyone in the SLC community. :-)

PLACES TO GO

We have done away with the list and are now allowing YOU the option to post any kool places that are fun and safe for Child Avatars to explore and enjoy :)

Please use the comments option to Post a description and paste a SLURL.

Sven Homewood - Everyone knows me hehe

Hi,

Many know me and i will intodruce myself a bit. I am since 03/16/2007 in SL and was first month adult. I adopted a SL Kid and we had a lot of fun. After a time we split up in good and went our own ways. I changed into a Dragon (sometimes you can still see the Dragon) and then into a Kid. I'm doing a lot of things, build and script. I do offer horse field trips and will write about it a little bit.

Greetings

Viva la Revolution!

Well, what an interesting day yesterday was!

I logged on, to be greeted with several messages about the price increases in tier fees for Openspace SIMs, and headed over to one of the protest locations to see what was going on.

When I arrived, I met Loki and Myrtil, along with several other kid AVs and a HUGE number of other people, all talking and discussing the increases.

So what is it all about, and how does it affect us, your average (who, us lot? heheh) kid AV?

Well...... from my research, seems Openspace SIMs were originally designed for open spaces, water, forest and such, and had a limit of 1875 prims. To be honest, they were not that attractive, quite highly priced, took ages to deliver, and apart from scenery, not much use for anything. Then the price dropped dramatically, the number of prims increased to 3750, and they were delivered almost immediately. It was also possible to buy them (you had to own a full SIM), then pass ownership to someone else!

Overnight, they became very popular, and the areas we had to explore expanded wonderfully! Often they have been used as residential SIMs, with lots of space and not many prims.

Places like Goony Island, which was in danger of vanishing, found a new and affordable place on an Openspace SIM, keeping a wonderful place for anyone to explore. Many of our friends now live on Openspace SIMs, where, for a modest rental, they have space to live and play. New sailing, flying and frankly wonderful builds were made available for us to use, because residents could afford to have a SIM that they could leave mostly as open area.

Unfortunately, it seems some people decided they could be used for heavy use, such as clubs, and, an Openspace SIM being used heavily affects the performance of the other Openspace SIMs using the same processor.

This has lead to complaints by residents, and Linden Labs have decided that the solution is to raise tier prices by 67% from January (on existing and new Openspace SIMs), and to increase the initial set-up fee by a similar percentage.

To be honest, I can't see how that will actually help, and from what I have read on the blogs, neither can a lot of people. What it effectively means for us as kid AVs is that, with people no longer able to afford the tier, many of the places we have learnt to love and explore over the past few months will vanish. My feeling is that without these places, with sl a poorer environment for new people, we will see less staying and contributing to our communities.

This is a sad situation, and I hope that Linden Labs will reconsider, or we will all end up the poorer for it.

There is a JIRA on this issue at https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/MISC-1776, and you can follow the forum discussion at http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=289652&page=1&pp=15 - have a look at what is being said and discussed.

In friendship

Tepic

Surf's up DUDE!!

Hello again everyone, or should I say “aloha!” or maybe “Surf’s up, Dude!!” I just had a great time at Bishara Island

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Majini%20Island/140/244/23

where the waves are always big and the fun is too. Aang Minotaur dropped by the Vortex today and asked if anyone wanted to go surfing. He teleported our group to the islands where we spent some time learning to ride the surfboards and catch the waves. It is relatively simple, the boards are standard vehicles but the effects on the water are very well scripted. One only has to paddle out to the wave and wait for it. When it arrives it is easy to start surfing. Like anything else, though, fancy tricks require practice.

The surf boards can be purchased in the shops nearby and they even cater to child sizes with half sized boards perfect for youth. Aang says that the boards available in the many shops only differ mostly in art design, shape, and look. Boards range in prices from L$450 to L$550 but there are loaner boards floating around on the beach for anyone to ride on a first come first serve basis.

The island also rents apartments for those that are interested in having an SL home on a tropical island.

So.. until next time, I’m going to be working on my tan and my surfing skills, trying to catch the eye of my favorite beach bunny with my antics.

New Blogger for Second Life Children

Hello everyone, this is Wlfric Gausman, a new blogger for Second Life Children. I would like to start out by telling you a little about myself. I am a regular at the Whippersnapper sim and own land right next to our own SLC Learning Tree and I am a DJ at the Vortex Club not far from there. I am a twelve year old SL child and I love to script, build, sculpt, DJ, and play with toys both big and small, but my favorite thing to do is just hang out and pal around with my good friends.

My blogging will be mostly about exploration as that is one of the funnest things to do in Second Life. I will blog about places that would be of interest or fun places to play for children of any age.
I will start off with one of the very first places I went to upon leaving the Help Island over a year ago.

The International Spaceflight Museum - Spaceport Alpha - ISM


As you can see, these first three pictures were taken with a much earlier viewer (and a much earlier me as well). Yes, I started my second day in Second Life as a child. I figured since we could be anything we wanted to be, I wanted to be a boy again. Little did I know that I was not the only person in Second Life with that idea.




The rockets are just a very small part of this exhibit. Above them on the platform is a representation of our solar system with the planets in proper scale from the sun and with the times of their journey around it above them. Above that is a model of the international space station.



There are many more exhibits to see, including a planetarium, a rocket ride in a Gemini Rocket (no relation to a Gemini Enfield, thank goodness), a model of the hubble telescope and the international space station.






This sim is honestly one of the reasons I became hooked on second life. In the picture on the right is the video screen with the live NASA TV stream that is constantly playing video from latest space launches to explaining the technology to what exactly the astronauts are doing on the particular mission. It is very educational and interesting.

The last picture is the sim as it looks now, with the windlight viewer, on highest settings of a very high powered video card.



There is so much here to see you'll just have to go yourself and explore this wonderful sim

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/137/128/451

Enjoy!!

Evolution and my AV

Dear Friends,

Tepic here again! The other day, meeting a new person, I was asked, "Are you a Neko?". Well, it's a fair enough question, as I do have ears and a tail (of which I am inordinately proud and which are very much of my sl character now). In the end, I had to check up on the Wikipedia (hoping the info was right! hehehe), and guess, beacuse I see my tail and ears as fox rather than cat, I am probably a Kitsune.

This was not that straight forward, as I have never specifically chosen to be Kitsune, it's something which has evolved with me over a long time. When I first came to sl, logging in for the very first time (boy, was I nervous and uncertain!), I was presented with a set of possible starting AVs, none of which really appealed to me. The clean cut hunk, the college boy, the nightclubber, none felt right, and as for the lady AVs, I could never play a lady convincingly. However, there was one last AV, what looked to my eyes as a fox (oh OK, I learnt later that it was some kind of ringtailed ocelot or something like that!), and I instantly felt I could be a fox in this wonderful new world.

I walked proudly into sl wearing my new form, fully dressed and looking forward to exploring and making new friends to be greeted by another new arrival, with the words "Ewwwwwww.... you are a furry! That's sick!". hehhee my first encounter with sl cyber prejudice! Anyway, I was not deterred, and spent the next few months exploring some wonderful new places and making friends I still have now.

I also started to make modifications to my AV, creating my own fox fur textures, changing the prims to look more fox-like. It was a fun and productive time, I didn't feel constrained by the adult role I would have otherwise have taken on - after all, I was a fox!

Although I was enjoying myself, I had not found a community I felt I belonged in, no matter that I visited the Furry sims, they were nice enough, and the people were fine, but it still wasn't really me. It was about then that I heard about the possiblity of being a cub or kid in sl, something I hadn't considered. However, it felt like an interesting experiment, so, with a little searching, I found freebee cub and kid shapes, which I tried out for size. I was also lucky to find Nemo Beach, and a safe area to explore my inner youth.

In those days, you could find me messing about on the beach, either as a fox cub or a human boy, and I had found a community I felt I could be a real part of. More and more, I stayed in human form, and with a few tweeks, made the free boy shape I had found into the me you can see today!

I was happy as I was, though usually described myself as part fox, there was nothing to show that independence of spirit I saw in the fox I had been. I had seen other kid AVs with tails and ears, who described themselves as Neko or Kitsune, neither term I was familiar with, and we have our share of cat/puppy/wolf/otter people. It was like I was missing something to make my AV identity complete.

Then, by chance, I came across a starter kit of ears and tail, that I could colour and change to how I wanted to look. I took the chance, and have been wearing them ever since!

Occasionally, my tail will vanish when I attache some object, but as soon as possible, I put it back - not something that should be a mere de-tail! My AV now feels right for me, not from a constructed image I had way back when I started, but by a process of slow evolution. Sometimes I meet new people who have arrived, and immediatly taken on a kid AV, this may well be right for them, but I do wonder if they have missed something in the evolution process I and some of my friends have gone through.

What do you, reader, think?

Do you remember.....?

Hi everyone! I'm Tepic, and I'm one of the new contributors to the blog. I was not quite sure what to write, possibly something about the stuff I make in sl, why I make it and what it means to me as a kid AV. However, this morning, as I wa making my rl breakfast, I opened a new jar of set honey to spread on my toast. As I looked at the unmarked whiteness of the top crust, a memory from my rl childhood was sparked, of fighting with my siblings about who should have that wonderful top layer! Oh, those fights were bitter and hard, but looking back on the memory, it was with a warm and comfortable feeling.

It occurred to me, in a moment of clarity, that this is one of the reasons I am a kid AV in sl, I can re-awaken all those wonderful memories, that I had forgotten even existed. Last week, I was trying out some swings in sl, and I remembered jumping off at the top of the movement in rl..... Well, how could I resist! At the top of the swing, I stood up, and flew through the air to land in a bush! I couldn't stop laughing, in both sl and rl, because it was exactly the sort of thing that I remember doing, and it was exhilarating!

That is one example of my "Do you remember...", but since coming into sl there have been so many, each touching a remembrance, sometimes sad but mostly happy, always comforting. I was wondering, do other people find the same thing, or is it just me? The kids AV community is so diverse, just looking at the shapes, sizes and other characteristics we have, that there are probably as many reasons for being here and playing the parts we do, but if anyone else has a "Do you remember..." moment, I for one would love to hear about it.

Thank you for reading, and if you want to know more about me, have a look at my profile, drop by and have a chat sometime, and we can remember together!

Oh, I'll probably be chatting about my AV sometime, if I remember!

In Friendship

Tepic Harlequin

SLC Office Hours at the SLC Learning Tree in Whippersnapper

Second Life Children group are pleased to announce SLC Office Hours at the SLC Learning Tree in Whippersnapper.

Maybe you have some questions or concerns, you're a newbie looking for help. you want to hang out and meet other kids, you're looking for a little fun and entertainment, or a curious adult wanting to know more about the kid community, then pop along to one of the sessions listed below.

Each duty officer may have something lined up for your entertainment, such as a live DJ, a quiz, a theme, stories or a special guest. So come on down and take your face for a joy ride!!

The first session will start on Monday 6th October with Loki Eliot at 2PM

Click to teleport to SLC LEARNING TREE

SLC Office Hours

MONDAY:

Loki Eliot

2pm - 3pm

TUESDAY:

Arianna Pinkerton/Marianne McCann:

6pm - 8pm

WEDNESDAY:

Akiko Qinan:

10am - 11am in German/English

THURSDAY:

Arianna Pinkerton

6pm - 8pm

FRIDAY:

Cricket Nelson:

10am -12pm

SATURDAY:

Gemini Enfield:

10am - 11am

SUNDAY:

Sokmunky Rutabaga:

Features stories using voice

English (a little Italian, French, and Spanish)

10am - 11am

SLC get a mention on the BurninLife.com blog

Thanx to all those that Turned up at the Hay Barn on open day. The massive turn out impressed one journalist who writes ongoing reviews about The Burning Life festival.

He was so Impressed with the way our community comes together he awarded the Hay Barn a Sizzle Award.

Head over to the burninglife.com blog to read his words of praise.

Burning Life 08

All is set for a spiffing time at Burning life for us Kid Avatars. There are Lots going on around the Burning life sims next week. Both Loki, Marrianne and others have built some wonderful places to explore.


Marrianne McCann has an inner child camp located here (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%20(Reaper)/92/176/2 ) Which will be host to half of the Special Milk n Kookies radio show on saturday the 27th when it all opens to the public.


Loki Eliot has built a Hay Barn with hidden dragons. Located here (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%20(Optic)/249/212/25)


Events at the Hay Barn are as follows

Saturday the 27th............ Burning life opens at 9am - Milk and Kookies Show at 12noon - DJ Rai show at 11

Sunday 28th.......... Sokmonkey Story Telling at 3pm

Monday 29th........ A Special Burning Life Goonies Adventure, everyone welcome to hang with the Goonys as they set forth and Explore Burning Life. AT 2PM

Tuesday............ The Gemini Enfield Experience at 12 noon. Special DJ show from Gemini Enfield

Wednesday.......... DJ Loki's Chill out session. 3 hours of chill out music starting at 2pm

Friday............... The Great SLC Pogo Stick Race. Winner wins the SLC grand Prix cup, Free pogo Stick supplied! AT 3pm

Saturday............ Burning Of the Kid, not a real one, a wiker Kid made of wood. Music supplied by DJ Loki & DJ Serverus

Sunday............ Final day, Bert Burns the Barn. Witness the HAy Barn being burnt down which music by DJ Loki and a Fireworks display.

We should be proud

I'm a regular in the SL Forums, and one of the big topics? Us.

Now we've long been debated there. A year or so ago, when they still had the general forum, most comments about us kids were pretty negative. They were particularly bad in the wake of the Report Mainz and Sky News pieces of 2006. That isn't what these discussions are about. No, they're my photo display, the SLC's "Childhood Dreams" walk through storybook, and especially about Kids5B.

One person visited these with his 60 year old father. The latter now has an SL account just because of what he saw from us.

Another person compared Kids5B to visiting Walt Disney World.

Tons of adults have been "transmogrified," and loved every minute of it.

I've had to give out SLURLs several times in the forums and elsehwere to people eager to see what seem to be some of the biggest parts of SL's fifth birthday. SL5B Move - the home of the SLC build, the Kids5B build, my exhibit, and the BSSL's Camp Duck Itch - is one of the most popular sims there. Kids5B will be known as a legandary SL site by those who visited.

Remember, it was only a month ago that we were "respectfully declined." In that time we changed policy, we built showcases worthy of our community, and we put together two simply awesome regions at Kids5B.

We've changed the entire dialogue about child avatars, and changed minds from all over.

Today, we should be proud of all we've done in a very short period of time. Congratulations to us all, and let's keep the momentum rolling!

Now that the birthday is underway

Last night a number of us stood around in the Kids5B sims snapping pictures. In the middle of our group was Teagan Linden, wearing a chibi kid avatar. I had seen Teagan in the official SL5B sims a bit before this, and suggested that she visit Kids5B. She was wary. She was not sure how us kids would react to a Linden in our space, given all that has transpired.

I don't blame Teagan for her reluctance. I know that if we were talking about another Linden or two, the reaction might have been quite different.

For myself, I've grown somewhat tired of the controversy. It's hard to keep fighting, day after day, over this issue. As the event is open and -- by and large -- Linden Lab has changed the policy about our builds in their event, I feel there isn't much left to fight.

Yet there are some things that still frustrate me, and will still gnaw at me.

If you read the official line, you would think that there was no issue at all to begin with. This was all a product of being "mininformed," and subject to "rumors." Yet we all seemed plenty informed, Loki and I, when we were summoned and told about this policy. It also seemed plenty clear when Everett Linden gave the infamous "Respectfully Declined" notice on the SL Forums, Massively.com, and other spaces. I also did not feel misinformed when Robin Linden also confirmed this policy.

The same thing happened days later, when a policy about not allowing child and adult avatars in the same frame of an image -- no matter how innocuous the image was -- ended up rescinded and chalked up to rumors. The only "rule" we were told was that images must be "PG," inadvertantly implying that anyone who did face troubles was trying to display mature images of adult and child avatars together.

The one thing this situation ahs taught me is that there is still a world of educating to do. We need to seize the dialogue from the Sky News' of the world, and show people who and what we are. Those of us who can need to be telling our stories, being visible, and otherwise showing what us kids in SL are.

This is something we are accomplishing with Kids5B: everyone who visits there leaves with a whole new understanding about us kids. It is also something we accomplishing in SL5B, as people who would otherwise never go to an event with the word "Kids" in the title are seeing the great works of a handful of us within the SL5B sims, as well as seeing us within that space.

I debated long and hard about my own involvement in SL5B. I wondered if it would be a disservice to SL's inner kids to be there, or if it would be viewed as tacit support for what was some bad policy making on Linden Lab's part.

If the goal had been to keep us out of their event in the first place, then it stands to reason to make sure you are there. This is a chance to educate the average user, who may never have seen one of us kids in SL before. That's what caused me to keep going on SL5B.

I'm not happy with these shifting policies. I would love to see an apology from Linden Lab to those of us who have had to weather these changes -- preferrably from those most behind said policies. I would like some reassurances that we will not face these issues again, and will be treated as an equal part of the Second Life community. I'm not gonna hold my breath, because I don't look all that good in blue.

I am happy with the response to the things we've done, both in SL5B and Kids5B. I'm happy for every avatar who comes away with a greater understanding, and who learns that Second Life does have room for virtual kids who just want to have some fun.

Last night, Teagan Linden got an eyeful of our commuinty. Her comment? "Kids are awesome."

It's way true.

Child Avatars RULE, back in SL5B

OK the news has been out a while now, but i thought i better post it here also. Linden Lab have restarted their Submission Form, only this time allowing Child Avatars to build exhibits and represent our community. Already Me (Loki) Marianne, Geoff and others have had applications approved, all Linden Lab want is for us to be sensible in what we build. It seems strange and wonder why they reacted like they did to start with. We no more want anyone to see us in a bad light than LL do.

Anyway so now after all the drama the Child Avatar community will have a big presence at SL5B. Not only that but there will be Landmarks to the Kid5B event which is growing bigger and bigger.

There are casualties from the protesting and campaigning. Signpostmarv Martin and his team were managing this event to start with, while it was still a resident run celebration. They stood down in protest of the ethics involved and i dont think their hard work and sacrifice should be forgotton!

Anyway, all the Grids eyes are on us now!!

Still more...

Robin Linden has indicated that child avatars are allowed and welcome as attendees - this is simply affecting whether child avatars can be contributors.

More on SL5B

If you have not yet, read Loki's post below, first. Dun worry, I'll wait right here.

First off, we're NOT happy with this. Loki and I are not happy, and the Linden who had to deliver the news is not happy. This decision was made thanks to people like United States Representative Mark Kirk who are on a misguided quest to keep real life kids off an adult only service by penalizing a company already making steps to keep real life kids off the system. Heck, I bet that Kirk's concern has more to do with gathering votes from his conservative base than it does about actually worrying about any child.

There are some elements within LL that are panicking. As a result, many last minute changes are going on with the SL birthday celebration. It's being all made PG (no mature sims or builds), Linden Lab is taking a direct hand in the approval of content (they've been far more standoffish about this in the past), and yes... they're being overly cautious about representations of child avatars.

What does this mean? For one, the planned SLC build and others (including a presentation I had planned of my inworld photography) that are specifically about kids in Second Life are not going to happen. Ironically another build that will include kids will, but because it uses a literary reference to get around the fact. And while we are having the Linden who contacted us do some follow-up on specifics (including, as Loki referenced below, the very basic issue of access), this is the extent of things. Really.

It is about a disallowance of certain forms of builds within the birthday area, on the grounds that their inclusion might give the erroneous appearance of Linden Lab condone said activities, including a misguided assumption that kids = teh sex0r. As we all know, people like Sky News don't need reality to spin a story -- and this is right at the heart of things.

I should also add that the Linden who provided the news is not our enemy. Frankly, I feel sorry for her being stuck in the position of presenting news that she, herself, is opposed to. Her preference is to have us included, and is even willing to do what she can if we want to have something -- provided it can make its way past what would likely be a very severe vetting process.

I am wary of bending too far backwards on any such build, though, given that this could set a precedent. I don't want us to be "separate but equal," pushed into the closet when convenient. Frankly, that serves no one's interests, and will only highlight some of the very issues LL wishes to prevent.

At the same time, how far do we push back? SL is Linden Lab's place, and while it is a place of "your world, your imagination," they nevertheless own this particular sandbox. They're fear is that people like Rep. Kirk and Jason Ferrel are just itching for more grist, and this will destroy LL's chances to grow beyond what it is now.

So what now?

For one, I want to hear your input. Leave comments here or contact us. Let us know how we should proceed. What should our group do? What should those of us put in leadership positions do? What should we expect and ask for from Linden Lab?

Also, I want us as a whole to keep a clear head. Let's get more answers, let's figure out our best course of action, and then let's proceed. Panic will serve no one well (after all, one could argue that it's panic that had led us to where we are right now).

Most of all, let's be there for each other right now. We've beaten the impossible before, and we will do it again -- we will see a time when us kids will prevail.

Mari

Child Avatars Not Welcome at SL5B

Last night I and Marianne McCann met with a the Linden assigned to the organising of Second Lifes 5th Birthday celebration (SL5B). Some of you are old enough to remember our community last year showcased itself with camp duck itch and the Giant SLC Sand Castle.

This year we have unfortunitly been told we will not be allowed to represent or promote our community at SL5B. From what we could understand the reason being that Linden Lab (LL) do not want the world to see our community being sponsored by them in the current climate of hysteria created by a certain US politician. This MAY also mean that Child Avatars will NOT be allowed at the SL5B celebrations.

While shocked and disappointed that LL have decided to exclude us from such a celebration of everything in SL, I ask everyone in the Child Avatar community to stay strong and to not seek retribution. I reluctantly acknowledge that LL want us to lay low until the smoke of Real World Politics blows over or risk the entire world of Second Life being torn down by uneducated Politicians seeking fame and glory.

I say reluctantly because we have tried so hard to be recognised as a respectable important group of imaginative, talented and caring people. Being asked to go underground works against our already tarnished image. Anyone who hears of the drama of SL5B will wonder what we do that causes LL to fear being associated with us.

Ive heard of people deleting their child avatar accounts because they can not cope with the prejudice against them from other residents and even SL Mentors. I am TELLING YOU that we will get through this as long as we stick together. We have a great collection of Sims devoted to our community with great owners who will look after us.

And we WILL continue to have adventures in SL!