Club Etiquette in SL

You've all heard me mention a few times that I DJ at some clubs on Second Life. Even some of our fellow Mean Girls have been (or still are) DJ's at a few spots on SL. Along with DJ's, many clubs also offer Hosts and Dancers (exotic and non-exotic) to help broaden your overall experience.

Let's take each role one by one to further explain what they do.

Dancers

As I said, some clubs have exotic dancers while others do not. Exotic dancers are self-explanatory. They provide exquisite eye-candy for patrons and remove items of clothing (often with lusciously written text to follow) in response to how many and often they receive tips.

Okay so then what is the purpose of non-exotic dancers? More often than not they still dress very sexy to get your attention, but their clothes do come off (unless they choose to). They still serve a purpose of greeting new guests as they arrive, mingling... and in general providing a fun atmosphere for everyone.

Seems like an easy job being a dancer, right? Not necessarily. Male dancers, on average, earn less than female dancers. Also, if a dancer doesn't respond to patrons or are generally not enthusiastic he or she could miss out on tips.

Hosts

If you prefer to do a little more than shakin' your groove thang, then you may want to be a Host at a club. Dancers often assist the Host in greeting arriving patrons and making them feel welcome, though hosts have many other responsibilities as well. Hosts also...

- Keep guests informed of the current contest/party event
- Remind patrons who the DJ and Dancers are during the event
- Tell guests about certain vendors in the mall areas
- Keep track of contest boards and/or votes in IMs during the event
- Overall keep a watchful eye on the floor and any patrons who may become troublesome over the course of the event
- Hand out prize money at the end of an event (if the contest board doesn't do so already).

In reality, a Host is the 'Mother Hen' of the floor. It's not an easy job by any means... but can be very rewarding to those who master this fine art.

DJ's

Unless you plan to have a radio playing 24/7 at your club, you're gonna need DJ's. Being a DJ is a bit more than just playing a bunch of songs for 2 hours.

There's a few simple rules for DJing:

1) Respect the club's musical preferences
2) If a guest asks for a request (and it doesn't break Rule #1) you try to get it for him or her as quickly as possible.
3) If you cannot find the requested song, ask the guest if he or she has an alternative choice.
4) You have the right to say no to a request if it is either offensive or breaks Rule #1.
5) Be enthusiastic on the microphone! If you're having fun, then it'll inspire everyone else to have fun.
6) Assist the Host in giving out information about the club and event in-between songs.

Now some clubs are bit more lenient than others as far as music, requests, and using a mic, but these rules give you a general idea.

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Now I didn't just type all this out to remind club employees about things they already know. I've typed all this out so that guests can understand how much hard work truly goes into providing the perfect club atmosphere.

Respect is a two-way thing...

If your DJ gets your request on the very next song without question. If your host greets you within seconds of entering the front door. If your dancer swerves, sways, and generally makes all the right moves. If they all work together in harmony to give you a thoroughly enjoyable experience...

PLEASE show them the same respect and TIP! Don't be a Schmuck.

Meat 'N Greet: Druss Mandala

Rosie Shark:

It's a great privilege to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you and we here at the mgg2sl have been eagerly anticipating grabbing a few minutes of your valuable time.

Druss Mandala:

Oh that's alright, I wasn't doing anything special. And I enjoyed answering your fun and informative questions. The opportunity to shop for beefcake body oil was also too exciting to pass up.

Rosie Shark:

Mmmmm, yes I do love a man in body oil.

Druss Mandala:

You know, I'm free for a bit after the interview if you want to go somewhere sunny and oil up together.

Rosie Shark: **edited for sordid indecency**

*Favorite Color:

Generally orange, although pink does have its uses.

*SL Rezzday:

Sometime back in the murky past when the system skirt and the blinging shoe buckle were the stuff of science fiction. More specifically the 12th of June, 2003.

*Favorite animal and why?

I have a great fondness for marsupials, especially the pig footed bandicoot and the hairy nosed wombat. Cats are nice too because if you ruffle their fur up the wrong way and squint a bit they could be largish marsupials.

*What factors did you take into consideration when creating your av?

I can't remember taking any factors into account at the start, and I was quite pleased with my generic skin, lovely glossy system hair and attractively teal chainmail shirt. It's gradually evolved over time though and the main factor would be my arse. I can't get enough of my arse.

*what's the most embarrassing thing you've done for a girl/guy/furry?

I once fellated a furry in front of a crowd of guys, while these three girls beat me with scripted dogs. But I wasn't a bit embarrassed.

*What's the last book you read?

I'd like to say Ulysses or something equally erudite and challenging but it was actually just some crappy novel. Oh, interspersed with a bit of Beauty's Punishment late at night.

*What's a movie you could watch over and over?

Watching films over and over gets a bit boring, but I could happily watch the Big Lebowski from time to time. Or maybe Cannibal Holocaust.

*You could never date someone who _____________ (fill in the blank)

Someone who didn't play SL for an absurd amount of hours everyday because then we'd have to think of other topics of conversation.

*If you could trade slives with one other avatar for a day, who would it be?

I'd trade slives with someone who can script, then I'd make every single script I could think of and send it back to myself and save a ton of money in the long run.

*Who would you most like to collaborate with in sl?

Oh, I'd love to collaborate with mgg2sl on a collaborative project, perhaps a modern interpretative dance piece with like a prog rock sound track maybe.

*Favorite thing to do in SL?

Make deckchairs.

SLunchtime Poll Results - Last Week (Content Theft)

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The Price of Pride?

One of the greatest pleasures I get from SL is spending obscene amounts of lindens on complete and total crap. It's true! I don't earn any money in SL, but the way I see it is that my £20 goes a lot further in here, than it does out there *shudders*. However one thing I've always found interesting is the vast difference in the value people place on the items they've lovingly created to sell. Prices vary hugely, where you're roughly paying Leezu Baxter a grand for an outfit. All very nice and wonderful but consider Bare Rose. High quality, enough options to cloth a small army and with some pretty innovative shit going down. All for around 140L$.

It's the same with skins, when the skin thief picketing kicked off I duly trotted along to have a look (I'm a nosy bitch). The thing that struck me was that the majority of the stolen skins on sale at most of these places were RaC. Now before y'all start thinking this is me slagging off RaC for being ridiculously overpriced, it's not. I've forked out me 4k to own some of Mallory's skins and the ones that I like are gorgeous. But I can't help feeling that paying that much money for six different lipsticks is a bit, well, crap. It's no surprise that people aim for her skins to rip over other skins, they don't see a difference in quality or popularity like most of the fashion community. What they see is cash, and 4k a skin set is a pretty sum of money. It's also no surprise that people buy these 'ripped' skins if they feel they're being unfairly charged for the real thing. Even with all the theft that abounds it doesn't seem to effect the creators. You only need to take a peek at the prices paid for the classifieds. If Mallory Cowen gave me the money she pays for her weekly classified for one week, it'd pay for my sim for three months. Minnu is the same, up until recently she was paying much the same for her ads. Now however the only classified you'll find for her store is for 50L$ and belongs to Aradia Dielli.

It really makes you wonder why these prices are so high? I mean people must be paying them but why? You're not necessarily paying for quality, and taste is a personal thing. Is it that we're buying into the hype? Is there some personal kudos to be had in swanning around in an outfit that cost much much more than other peoples? Who decides that the skin from Minnu is better than the one from Celestial Studios and why are you paying 200L$ more for only one skin from the former? Who says that the 500L$ jeans from Redgrave are more deserving of you money than the 145L$ ones from Armidi? Oh, and what the fuck is the point of these classifieds anyway?

I'm not expecting to change anything with this post, shit it'd be nice if people dropped some of their prices of course, but it's very unlikely to happen. Which is a shame really. If RaC skins were available in single skin packs for 1000L$ I'd probably have spent a lot more than 4k there. If Leezu Baxter dropped one of the numbers in her four digit sets I would have actually bought something from her store.

But my linden contribution is a small drop in the ocean, but I'm pretty certain I'm not the only one who feels this way. Who knows, maybe there's a small fortune these high end creators are missing out because they are alienating people with their prices and maybe one day they might just realise this.

Meat 'N Greet: Raver Bellow

*Favorite Color:

I would have to say my favorite color would be Black

*SL Rezzday:

10-22-2005

*Favorite animal and why?

I like dogs, I like to teach and train them.

*What factors did you take into consideration when creating your av?

To not look like everyone else. That was my main goal. To many square shoulder guys running around second life.

*What's the most embarrassing thing you've done for a girl/guy/furry?

Well, I lost a bet playing greedy one time so I had to run laps around a public race sim naked.

*What's the last book you read?

The Nine- By Jeffrey Toobin

*What's a movie you could watch over and over?

Anything with Adam Sandler in it. The guy just cracks me up.

*You could never date someone who _____________ (fill in the blank)

Very tough question. Lots of variables in this. But my biggest thing would be I could never date someone who cheated in their past relationships. For obvious reasons.

*If you could trade slives with one other avatar for a day, who would it be?

I would have to say Phillip Linden. Then I could finally TAKE OVER THE WORLD

*Who would you most like to collaborate with in sl?

Well I like to do things on my own. That is how I have always been. But if I had to pick someone it would be Francis Chung.

*Favorite thing to do in SL?

Build, Build, Build. I love building new things and trying new things out in Second Life. That and having them blow up on me when they don't work. Just a great place to express your self. Oh, and BANNING people!

SLunchtime Poll Results - Last Week (Blog Preference)

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Happy Valentines!

Yeah I couldn't be left out of the MG V-Day goodness, now could I?

Besides what all the other ladies have said, keep in mind that love comes in many forms. This includes friendship and loving yourself. Don't forget to pamper yourself and others who love you, no matter how deep those feelings may be. :-)



** PS: This is the Mean Girls' 200th post!!! OMG!!! **

She Said (She Said) - Valentine's Day

Hate Valentine's Day as much as I do?

I know you do! It's a trumped up holiday. In fact I recently ran a poll on my personal blog. 39% of women polled were looking forward to it, while the other 61% were ready to make it stop!

"But, hey, aren't you with the most fantastic guy in all of SL Jelly?" Um... well... Yes, yes I am, but that doesn't mean that I haven't always hated Vday.

You're missing the point... love isn't a one-day a year event, sponsored by Hallmark, Hershey's Kisses, and the American Florists Association! If you can't show someone you love them the other 364, then what's the point?

And why should everyone who doesn't feel like being all lovey-dovey have to deal with your big mushy red hearts, kissy fishy faces, "I love you" shoutage from highest hilltops, and gaggy sweet-talk for an entire day - in February, no less! Are you trying to increase America's suicide rate?

Steak & Blow-job day. It's a day for him to buy flowers that'll die in 3 days and dinner...and you spend the evening on your knees giving head. "Nay," I say. Nay to this year being spent in the same "assume position".

Here's a JellyBean quick guide to surviving Feb. 14 without shooting *everyone* in your path with your badass glocks.

-Wear black, and lots of it. In fact there are so many anti-Valentine's day shirts, some are even 1L, go buy one of those.

-If someone else in the same sim has received flowers, chocolate, singing telegrams, and other forms of dating expressions, glare at them. Snarling and grunting optional.

-Same goes for anyone wearing excessive amounts of red. Especially if they are wearing heart-shaped items like pins, head bobbers, bling, etc.

-Later in the day, pretend to eat the chocolate, run the flowers through a food processor, and for realsies beat the crap out of and/or shoot the singing telegram people. (Most people will thank you for this, anyway).

-For the rest of the day, pout over the fact that you really want chocolate now.

-Return to your home and destroy at least one item given to you by an ex from your inventory (ya know you kept something). Delete it, purge your trash bin. Feel guilty. IM the ex. Make up story about having a hot date.

-Log out. Watch TV. Turn off TV after noticing every channel is airing a clone of "While You Were Sleeping," "Titanic," or, worse yet, a "Friends" Valentine's Day.

-Realize how lame not having a hot date is. Log back in. Go to the nearest "free-sex" area.

-Boink a random someone - male or female - with way too much facial hair... or Ruth'd for that matter.

-Delete their card if you were actually stupid enough to trade with them. Remember (and regret) this incident for the next 364 days. Complain about never having a good V-Day.

-Wait until some bizarre calendar date Hallmark has labeled "Sweetest Day." Rinse, lather, repeat to get in practice for next V-Day.

As for Cupid... I mean really, a naked baby with wings shooting arrows at people? More creative things have been created by bad acid!

To sum it up, Valentine's Day is yearly added stress that takes an additional 3 to 4 years off your life expectancy, as if re'ships, virtual or otherwise weren't tough enough to begin with.

Note: If "Titanic" is on, it can be therapeutic. But only if you only watch the part where Leonardo DiCaprio sinks like a big, wet, adorable, lead anvil to the bottom of the North Atlantic! Same goes for the end of "Romeo + Juliet."

I think that says it all. :)






















Sheer Cupidity

Giving much thought to the words of a well-known close friend and all-around wise pixel, I decided this year that I would embrace Valentine's Day. I had a sort of epiphany about many year's of hating, dreading, or attempting to ignore this day and what it has gotten me in the past. Not much. No matter how much you decree it as just another day, or stupid commercial holiday, blah blah blah... I swear by the end of the day you end up feeling let down or pissed off at some imaginary slight. Doesn't matter if you have reason to have expectations or not... at the end of the day, SOMEONE will have disappointed you. Why? Well because it exists. Recognize that the day is coming and that it won't EVER EVER go away... there's too much money to be made. And though that might sound cynical, really it just takes a teensy flip in attitude to make this black holiday just a lil more pink and red :) That being said, here are some of my tips to help you embrace the day and let out your inner cupid (or at the very least, make the most of a day that has planted itself and won't ever die)...

-Cupid is not to be feared. If you have issues with him and what he represents, try instead to see him as the future prim child you and your soulmate will lovingly bring into the world.. Awww

-At night before you go to bed, ask Cupid to bring you sex, or chocolate

-Pass an object labeled as "Be My Valentine from [insert your name here]" that when rezzed turns out to be a gazillion wiggling pink and green HUGE prims with physics on... to your friends when they are, say, shopping in a crowded sim or playing Tringo

-IM every hawt guy on your friend's list and ask them where you can find a diaper... like pulling out a hair when you've banged up your elbow distracts you from the pain, the mortal embarrassment of this will distract you from your bleeding heart

-WEAR red! I recommend that always anyhow, but just go with it. And by all means, be fashionable about it! Dammit!

-Cheese it up... get poofers and hearts and barfy stuff in general and just plaster wherever you are with them... if they're laughing, chances are they won't be all boofriggenhoo'ing

-Wear hearts. Yup, goofy stockings, prims on your face, specialty vday skins... if you got it wear it. Then you can blame your lack of 'someone special' on the fact that you look like a complete nerd... wait, I'm supposed to be pro-vday, I forget. Plus, you can get some use out of all those freebies you've been scavenging for... don't lie, we're all freebie whores.

-Teach your children while they're young that Romeo & Juliet has been celebrated as the great romantic love story for long enough. It's time to reveal the truth which is that it is a wordy tale about a couple of emo kids with too much time on their hands.

-Open up an IM and send a heart to everyone one your friends list. (Tip: right-click your Calling Cards folder in your inventory and click on Start Conference...) No need to personalize this.

-Get on with teh secks. Expecting spectacular sex on Valentines day is a roadmap for disaster. I have to agree with Jelly here. Get an alt if you have to... get to a "free sex" sim STAT and just dive in. The groups and missing image n00bs are only intimidating for the first few minutes (or so I've heard). Will it be spectacular? No. The real question is... Will it live up to your expectations? MOST LIKELY! Prolly won't wind you up all that much but pointing and laughing is a better use of your time than pouting.

-February 14th a.k.a Valentines Day is a real live day on the official calendar and all. Pretending it's like Feb. 13th or 15th is just... well... kinda delusional. No amount of "it's just another day" or "a thursday that's all" is going to magically make Vday like the 13th floor of a high rise that just doesn't exist.

-Start a holiday tradition. Make a game of sorting all the inappropriate candy hearts from the rest of them. These days you could earn a stalker from hell or the hate of all the kids' parents at school because you allowed little Sally Sue to give out hearts that say "I want you", "Lick Me", or "Be My Soulmate".

-364 days a year you do your best. This one day, focus on making it count. Just in case you slip up during the year, this is a fail safe way to remind those close to you that they matter... Today at the very least if not everyday.

It's the little things. Don't just make it just about that one and only person you care about. Reach out to those around you and try to surround yourself with people you'd do anything for... like dropping a happy face on them. You might find that this dreaded day is not so bad and that in the end you can smile or laugh creating better memories of the day that always comes. Wrap your arms around it and give it a big, wet, sugary kiss! Trust me, you'll thank me for it :D

Quick and dirty

On the eve of rumpy pumpy day, I made a lil video for y'all showing the dangers of bad pose balls


How to ruin valentines day in Second Life from Kitty Lalonde on Vimeo.

The face of regret

Just a little St. Valentine's Day reminder, ladies. Don't let this happen to you!

I understand. Nobody wants to spend that pink candy hearts, Shakespeare in Love, red wine and sex toys day
crying into their paperback Harlequin. But don't be driven to such acts of desperation!

The dude must - at a minimum - take OFF the shades before boinkage, ok? If he finds your ass so unnatractive he's got to dull the shine with a pair of aviators, it's just not worth it.

That is all. Enjoy your day!

Fashion Taboo

The best way to start this post is with a little story. It was a lovely sunny day and the birds were singing, when a friend of mine decided to map me. Nothing wrong with that, they're a friend who had been given the right to use it when they feel to. So they ended up very close by as I was going about my business, I spotted them (yay mystitool) and waved hello. But they tp'd away at the speed of light. Sound rude? Possibly. The thing was I was in a sim called Broceliande and my business was putting Tie, dressed as a ponygirl, through her paces.

It's not just ponygirls either. I'm fully supportive of the "Your world, your imagination" that gets bandied around from time to time. I also see SL as a (sexually) consequence free landscape to try the many multitude of things that aren't possible in RL (or at least they look more glossy and atttractive in SL). Apparently I'm in the minority though. Amongst the fashion community there're a wealth of morals and tabboos that would make the 1940's look like a scene from Caligula. I'm not convinced however, what with the wealth of alts around I'm not surprised if the kajira whose skin you admired in Le Zoo is actually a fashionista getting her secretive rocks off.

The problem is that SL is, has been and always will be a sex playground, but nowadays it seems that people on the blogging circuits and the socialites are becoming more and more prissy about it. It's as if even mentioning the 'darker underbelly' of Second Life might burst the cocoon of self-importance and remind us that SL is after all just an online game and not some sort of Milanese fashion show extravaganza. Maybe the sex is more hidden now, kept away from all the boardwalks, boulevards and high class shopping districts, and if you don't dwell too long on it you might just forget it even exists. And maybe the the leading fashion designer who never used to wear underwear with her skirts now does, or the top SL business person who used to bestow their presence on the bdsm community no longer does, but their alts probably do.

I write here today as a person who refuses to alt. If I want to spank my pony I will, if I want to crawl around Armidi on all fours carrying a dog bone. I will. However I will not hide things that I happen to find fun because a small part of our society deems it wrong. It is a part of who I am, and always will be, and I am not ashamed of myself.

Anyone want to be my pony?

Meat 'N Greet: Lawless McBride

*Favorite Color:

Black! I always bet on black.

*SL Rezzday:

8/7/2007

*Favorite animal and why?

Wolf. Bravely (or stupidly), I went into a pen with a friend's 3/4 pure Timber wolf and it placed it's paws on my shoulders with it's muzzle inches away from my face. I don't know what I remember the most, it's piercing gaze or the feeling of relief when I realized my bladder was gratefully empty at that moment.

*What factors did you take into consideration when creating your av?

I wanted a taller avatar with darker features in order to reflect who I am in RL I slimmed my torso down until I could rock a BareRose outfit without twenty minutes of modding.

*What's the most embarrassing thing you've done for a girl/guy/furry?

For a birthday party, I dressed up as a pregnant, trailer-trash woman, lap danced for a guy and simulated oral sex with him. If anything was going to embarrass me I suppose that should have....maybe I'm shameless?

*What's the last book you read?

John Grisham - The Innocent Man

*What's a movie you could watch over and over?

The Fifth Element. It's sci-fi greatness, stars Bruce Willis, and Milla Jovovich wearing an ACE bandage outfit....these three things added together are enough to make you forget Chris Tucker is also in it!

*You could never date someone who _____________ (fill in the blank)

Couldn't keep up with me, took their self too serious...and had man hands (under size 50, please ladies).

*If you could trade slives with one other avatar for a day, who would it be?

How about SL musician Digby Smalls? First of all, I sing all day anyways, but with his voice, I could get paid to do it. Second, I could play a guitar that wasn't hooked up to an xbox. Third, groupies....nuff said?

*Who would you most like to collaborate with in sl?

At the end of the war, everyone knows they round up the collaborators and shoot them, so I'm good thanks.

*Favorite thing to do in SL?

Shopping is great, the jeans always fit first try. I like the live music scene, it's very personal and chill. Mostly just flirting and taking the piss with friends and random people - and more recently, blogging!

SLunchtime Poll Results - Last Week (V-Day)

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Glam sl Magazine Launch: An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

It's a rare case that I get invited to an SL event of huge interest to me that I can actually attend without rl or time zones interferring. I was lucky that today's Glam sl Magazine launch was one of those times. I could portray myself as a jet-setting, worldly fashion diva who sees these events as everyday and 'routine', but that'd be a lie. Truth be told, I was thrilled to be included and totally in a state of panic about what attire would be best... "I have nothing to wear!" And when you are requested to limit the number of prims that you wear, does that mean you go bald and wear default shoes? Ewww. Thankfully, vanity won out over conservation, because as it turns out, there was hair and shoes a'plenty.

Arriving early, I wasn't sure what to expect. The invite stated 'Launch Party and Fashion Show' and I guess I was expecting more of a press release for the new mag with events centered around that. We were given a very brief, one paragraph typed introduction to the new magazine.

Welcome everyone to the launch of GLAM sl Magazine, we would like to extend our appreciation in your interest. The team has worked for many weeks to present to Second Life a new form in publication. Under the direction of Minnu, Thora, Onyx, and Beau, this publication is focused on introducing high quality and high end fashion to Second Life. We would like to thank the designers for contributing and making the event possible. We would like to open the floor up to questions. To reduce chat spam, we ask that you please take turns and ask maximum of three questions each.

Immediately, I felt like I'd missed something. Was there homework that I'd not realized was assigned? I hadn't even had the opportunity to flip open the cover of the magazine yet. Unfortunately, though I'm sure there were hours and hours dedicated to the creation and launch of this new publication, it seemed at first that this launch was less about christening the new collaborative effort and more about creating hype for the fashion show that was to come. Questions requiring more details about the purpose of the magazine and what would make it stand out next to other publications were answered with a mysterious 'you'll have to wait and read it to find out' at first, before the team assembled before us warmed more to the idea and began to illustrate some of their passion for the magazine. Striving to mirror rl fashion magazines, Glam sl aims to publish a monthly magazine that will:

• Educate and challenge the fashion groups within SL
• Focus more on style than on the current fashion trends
• Bring great designers together to raise the bar
  
• Illustrate the difference between designers and GREAT designers
• Encourage the efforts of great up and coming designers
• Not try keep up with the fashion trends, but to set them

Following the press conference was the fantastic, absolutely beautifully-executed fashion show featuring Ghost, Artilleri, Muism, Lookr, Maitreya, Serene Sensations, MM skins, Nicky Ree, le Cubic Effect, LeeZu Baxter, Veschi, and the debut of Paper Couture's spring line. And I know it was beauuuuutiful, not because I could rezz and take pictures of it myself (puter sucks as it turns out), but because I can look at other people's Flickr sites... haha. Clearly well-produced and pulled off by true professionals, the fashion show exceeded all my expectations. From the set itself... the stark white of the stairs and mystical sheer backdrop where you could see the silhouettes of the models coming and going... to the timing and grace of the models (despite the lag of 80+ people in the sim). In addition to the the musical ambiance provided by dj duckyfresh Watanabe. Striking... bold... utterly mouth-watering. For me, it was an honor to have been able to be there.


It was after all the glitz and gawking (omg I sat next to Ava Lu!) that I was able to pull the magazine out and take a long look at it. I'm a sucker for a good picture and sleek ads and Glam has those... similar in style to Homme Magazine. Noteworthy articles and interviews piqued my interest and kept me turning the page. Glam sl Magazine has set some lofty goals for themselves. It will be interesting to see how they measure up to their ideals and how diverse the publication will be when it comes to design and fashion in SL.

See more pictures from the show at:

• Gillian's Flickr
• The Diva Rockin's Flickr
• Phoenix Chapman's Flickr
  
• My Flickr (warning these are sub par!!)
  

Group Limits: A Mean Girls' Perspective

Remember when the Group Limit was 10?

A little before my time but it changed not shortly before I joined Second Life. It’s been 25 for a while, but since the Group Limit was raised, there’s been thousands and thousands of new Groups created for everything from establishments (stores, clubs etc) to fan clubs/friends lists for various individuals.

I doubt Linden Labs realized just how much Groups were going to explode when they raised the limit, but now it’s elevated to the point that most people (myself included) have no room left to add any more Groups without sacrificing others.

There’s been a few Notecard petitions going around asking LL to raise the Group limit, two most notably from Kiana Writer and Sirhc Martinek. So far they’ve both gain a few hundred signatures as well as many other folks passing the notecards around. I’ve personally gotten a copy of Kiana’s and it’s actually very well written. Mano Nevadan started the issue on JIRA and it continues to harvest votes from various residents.

But why all the hype?

Well I can speak from personal experience as a DJ on Second Life that MOST venues need at least 2 groups (1 for patrons and 1 for staff) to run efficiently. Sanctuary Rock, by itself, has 7 just to handle all the different aspects of the Sim. Retail stores that do any sort of satellite mall locations often have to join a Vendor Group in order to have certain permissions on the land. On top of that, many have a Group to send out updates on. That knocks out a lot of Group slots right there. I know that there’s the relatively new Subscribe-o-Matic system used by a lot of businesses now, but it can cost as much as L$5990 a month to maintain as opposed to Groups which are still free.

On top of that, most Residential Sims ask that you create (or join) a Group so that more than one person who lives on the land can access/change things on the property. Others often use Groups to keep in touch with friends or promote contests and other special events.

Linden Labs insists that the reason why they haven’t raised Group Limits already is due to the fact that, “...the current infrastructure barely supports the 25 limit (group chat lag, issues with notices, server load)...” Translation: Group Chats and Notices already drive the SL bandwidth almost to capacity even with the 25 group limit. This is why with the introduction of 1.19.0.1 (already out on the Release Candidate Viewer) you’ll have the option to turn off Group Chat (though I think it turns off ALL Chat instead of individual Groups). Will this solve the bandwidth problem? That remains to be seen.

I personally think that even raising the Group Limit to 50 or 100 still won’t be enough. Hundreds of new Groups are started every day, and the L$100 fee doesn’t seem to deter anyone from creating them. There has to be some sort of compromise made so that residents are happy and Linden Labs can cut down on server problems.

Only time will tell...

Meat 'N Greet: Ajay Giano

*Favorite Color:

Black

*SL Rezzday:

- 12/13/2007
- I had an older avatar but i had 10 baby mamas and i had to get away, i hate paying
childsupport for prim babies..

*Favorite animal and why?

Dogs, They are always willing to play and support you when you feel down.

*What factors did you take into consideration when creating your av?

- I didn't want to create a muscle freak and i tried to stay away from the
"broad" shoulders every guy in SL has..

*What's the most embarrassing thing you've done for a girl/guy/furry?

- Nothing special, but i did have an argument with a lesbian woman about penis in SL
which was kinda disturbing.

*What's the last book you read?

It was a photoshop book, i forgot the name.

*What's a movie you could watch over and over?

Halloween (love all of them, never gets boring).

*You could never date someone who...

Ignores me and think they are better then everyone else.
Respect cannot be learned, purchased or acquired - it can only be earned.

*If you could trade slives with one other avatar for a day, who would it be?

Anshe Chung, Duh.

*Who would you most like to collaborate with in sl?

Anyone who is creative and have the desire to improve and do better, gotta have that drive to succeed.

*Favorite thing to do in SL?

- I really enjoy listening to live music in SL, my favorite SL musician is NOMA FALTA! please check her out if you like Rock/blues.
- I also like exploring SL :)

*Whats your music style?

Rock, dance, r&b, some pop, some rap (very few)

* Status?

S-I-N-G-L-E

*Dislikes?

- Dr.Pepper, Lag, seafood, Oprah, Dr.Phil

**Ajay gets extra points for adding his own Q&As at the end! <3>

SLunchtime Poll Results - Last Week (Partners?)

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