The State of Formal Role Play in SL: The Realm of the Forgotten – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting....

You often see avatars in Second Life (SL) with profiles describing their addiction to “Role Play” (RP). While it might be said that the whole idea of SL is a role-play experience for avatars, to RP enthusiasts, there is a vastly different meaning to the term. Stareyes Galaxy went out of her way to seek an authentic, “formal style” role play experience in Second Life. In the days before Internet chat rooms, Usenet groups, and multi-user dungeons,...

Read More

The Case for Male Mesh Avatars – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

Within the last year, mesh avatars have made a big impact on the visual appearance of Second Life (SL). While the female avatars were first equipped with mesh avatar shapes, mesh male avatars have also become available. Retrofitting one’s avatar with mesh is a major undertaking and causes much consternation among the males in SL. I met with a makeover prospect, “Mr. Jay”, and went out to explore what difficulties males can be faced with when...

Read More

Dealing with Quitting Second Life © - Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

There will eventually be the time when any avatar needs to consider quitting Second Life © (SL). There are many reasons to leave, as there are for staying. Stareyes Galaxy quit SL for the time being, but not before she had to write about the experience. I have only a few conjectures to make as to why people leave SL, since when they leave, generally they just vanish without a trace. Before I left, I met some of my closest friends and discussed...

Read More

Knitting in the Spring – A Poem by Stareyes Galaxy

I’m knitting for an angel, A little white cardigan. Adding short sparkly threads she’ll adore. You are sitting beside me Knitting needle’s length apart Your thumb never leaving the remote. Intently watching the screen, Flipping through channels has stopped: An off-road pickup speeds through the woods. Its track a rut in the mud, The image blurred by action; Someone’s gotta yank the steering wheel. I see the little angel, In...

Read More

Parallel Universes Part III: Cloud Party – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a virtual world for the general public, one that would not require a cumbersome viewer but that could be accessed through your normal browser software? Wouldn’t it be great if you could create your own mesh objects and clothing and import all of that free to your inventory, and to be shared? Cloud Party (R. I. P.) was such a utopian platform for virtual world enthusiasts until February, when it...

Read More

Interview with Singer and Pianist Xara Fiasco – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting…

I was invited to see a live show at Lacy’s one fine morning, and was delighted to hear Xara Fiasco’s beautiful songbird-like voice, accompanied by her piano. After she finished her one-hour set, we agreed on an interview. Star: Hello again! Still wired from the show? Xara Fiasco: Hiya, yeah, still pretty pumped! Star: Okay! Obviously you didn't learn the piano on SL. How long have you been playing? Xara Fiasco: I’ve been playing piano...

Read More

What Goes on in Jazz Clubs Stays in Jazz Clubs – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

Sara and Magika Dancing Clubs in Second Life © (SL) are the main platform for avatars’ entertainment. Over the years, unique categories of clubs have evolved, and Jazz Clubs in particular have taken off in a direction that might not be obvious to the uninitiated.  Jazz, as a genre of music, might be dismissed as esoteric and difficult, and some avatars might shun Jazz Clubs for that reason. To those that might want to explore Jazz...

Read More

Parallel Universes Part II: OpenSim – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

Sometimes you hear of veteran Second Lifers (SLers) leave “for bigger things”. Quite often this means OpenSim (OS), or “Open Simulator” grids. OpenSim is a collection of virtual worlds running on Linden Script Language code (LSL) much in a similar way to how SL does. In contrast to SL, OpenSim is an open-source community, which means that the code is shared among developers and contributing to the grid is open to all.  There are variations...

Read More

Doing It Right the Classical Way: Magnus Brody DJs to the Tunes of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Beyond, at Highlands – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

Hearing about a DJ doing classical repertoire might make you go “What? Come again?”  Magnus Brody has a steady DJ gig at the Highlands sim doing just that – playing classical music. Stareyes Galaxy met with him one afternoon, asking the same question, and a few more besides. I had seen Magnus do his classical gig a few times, once with a movie theme. While the audience at these gigs was not abundant, it was all the more enthusiastic. ...

Read More

Lag is a B*tch, and Then You Crash – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

More often than not, in a social situation on Second Life© (SL), either you experience lag, or hear someone complain about it. Even in instant messages on SL, lag sometimes makes words get mangled and out of context, and sometimes what you say disappears completely. What is lag and what causes it? How can you minimize lag? Stareyes Galaxy got on SL to find out. Linden Lab (LL) maintains a web page for the “minimum requirements”...

Read More

Zooby Babies Establish Charity Collection- Stareyes Galaxy reporting…

Earlier in October, a real-life (RL) news story came to light exposing an alleged child-abuse and neglect case in Tulsa, OK, U.S.A.  A RL couple had nearly starved to death their 3-year-old baby spending all their time online.  Apparently this couple had a Zooby Baby in Second Life © (SL) and when Zooby  Babies learned of the incident, the owners, Malyssa Black and Christian Mercer  reacted and set up a charity...

Read More

Parallel Universes Part I: IMVU – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

There are many other virtual multiplayer environments than Second Life ©. Stareyes Galaxy starts on a journey to these in a multipart article series. The first one on her list was “IMVU”. IMVU boasts 100 million accounts and the concurrent logins are at 50 000 level. The company itself is based in the Silicon Valley and they have backing from several well-known venture capital investors. The target demographic for the community is the...

Read More

Lumiya: The Second Life© viewer for Android devices – Stareyes Galaxy reporting ....

Aside from the usual way of connecting to Second Life © (SL) on a personal computer, applications are available for connecting on the grid via mobile devices. SL Enquirer has previously reported on Pocket Metaverse for the iOS; now we will look into the Android OS and the Lumiya application. Stareyes Galaxy got herself the application and went out to test it on SL. There are many times in life when I might want to stay in touch with my SL...

Read More

The Abyss Earth Sciences and Marine Life Observatory – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

Imagine you were intrigued by a documentary in your youth and seeked a career that would allow you to advance a field of science similar to what was presented in that favorite show you saw years ago. Yan Lauria has been able to do just that, having seen the Jean-Jacques Cousteau ocean exploration documentaries in his childhood. He is now working as a project manager at JAMSTEC, “Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology”. He is...

Read More

The Science Circle in Second life (C) – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

There are many clubs in Second Life © (SL), and one of the choicest is the Science Circle. It was established by Chantal (nymf.hathaway) as a forum for discussing top-of-the-line science topics using interactivity of SL as the main feature of the framework. I met Chantal and her second-in-command, Jes (jes.cobalt) at the Science Circle Library, which is a donation from a Russian mathematics professor. ...

Read More

The Story of Miss S.: How She Lost Everything on SL and Won it Back – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting ....

One hears horror stories of people getting the short end of the deal on Second Life™ (SL) many times. You wouldn't think it happens to seasoned SL veterans until you hear of one, especially someone who’s closer to you than just a casual acquaintance. This is the story of “Miss S.” who lost her life savings as well as her firstborn. By prudent record-keeping, she was able to win her assets back, and is now happily reunited with “J,” her baby...

Read More

Beach Etiquette in Second Life (C) - Stareyes Galaxy Reporting

One of the great features of Second Life © (SL) is that no matter what the real life (RL) weather, you can pack a rucksack and go to the beach. At the many beaches of SL, it is possible to relax, swim, do watersports, and socialize with friends or previously unknown avatars. Beaches come in all categories, “G”, “M”, and “A”, and it may be confusing as to what is expected of a beach visitor at locations tagged with one category or the...

Read More

What is Second Life™ All About? – Stareyes Galaxy reporting ...

We all have our reasons for being on Second Life ™ (SL). Some of us are online 24/7, some less frequently, interacting with other avatars, or sitting quietly in a cozy corner listening to music. Stareyes Galaxy chatted with avatars from all around the globe asking the deceptively simple question. “What is SL all about?” One of the first avatars I talked with was from Egypt. “Second Life has a special meaning for us Egyptians,” she said – and...

Read More

Virtual Ability, Inc. – an Interview with Gentle Heron- Stareyes Galaxy Reporting...

Virtual Ability, Inc. is a non-profit organization helping disabled people in Second Life ©. Gentle Heron is the Chairman of the Board of Virtual Ability, running things both on the real Life (RL) and Second Life (SL) side.  As Virtual Ability is about to launch one of their two main annual conferences, Stareyes Galaxy had an opportunity to have a chat with Gentle, about Virtual Ability and the life of people with disabilities on S...

Read More

Real-life 3D printing of Second Life © Designs – Stareyes Galaxy Reporting…

Three-dimensional (3D) printing of small objects at home has become a popular hobby for wannabe designers, and this shows also in the new technology “hype” statistics. Anything from decorative and hard-to-find spare parts to the constituent parts of the printer itself can be manufactured using mesh designs and an export file for the printer in question. Second Life © (SL) is also a viable platform for viewing the designs before printing...

Read More