WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Jolie

2006-06-28T19:17:17Z

YippyFox:

'''Jolie''', is a [[furry]] in her early twenties whose self-proclaimed species is "Cute". She currently lives in [[Arkansas]] with her boyfriend. Although new to the [[furry]] scene, Jolie has made a name for herself on [[Second Life]], as well as quite an image. With her adorable little [[furry]] avatar, she burst into the [[Second Life]] modeling world, getting hired by humans and furries alike. In addition to her modeling career, Jolie is now pursuing her dreams of being a dancer and a DJ in popular SL clubs. Outside of SL, Jolie hopes to get more involved in the RL [[furry]] scene, her goals being to start going to conventions and getting a fursuit of her character.

{{User Second Life Name|Jolie Grant}}

== External links ==

* [http://jolie.silentshadows.net Jolie Grant: SL Furry Model]
* [http://joliegrant.livejournal.com Jolie's LiveJournal]

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Person stubs]]
[[Category: Characters]]
[[Category:Second Life characters]]
[[Category:Arkansas]]
[[Category:Hybrid characters]]
[[Category:Hybrid species]]

Jolie

2006-06-28T19:16:40Z

YippyFox:

'''Jolie''', is a [[furry]] in her early twenties whose self-proclaimed species is "Cute". She currently lives in [[Arkansas]] with her boyfriend. Although new to the [[furry]] scene, Jolie has made a name for herself on [[Second Life]], as well as quite an image. With her adorable little [[furry]] avatar, she burst into the [[Second Life]] modeling world, getting hired by humans and furries alike. In addition to her modeling career, Jolie is now pursuing her dreams of being a dancer and a DJ in popular SL clubs. Outside of SL, Jolie hopes to get more involved in the RL [[furry]] scene, her goals being to start going to conventions and getting a fursuit of her character.

{{User Second Life Name|Jolie Grant}}

== External links ==

* [http://jolie.silentshadows.net Jolie Grant: SL Furry Model]
* [http://joliegrant.livejournal.com Jolie's LiveJournal]

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Personal stubs]]
[[Category: Characters]]
[[Category:Second Life characters]]
[[Category:Arkansas]]
[[Category:Hybrid characters]]
[[Category:Hybrid species]]

Second Life

2006-06-28T18:49:54Z

YippyFox: /* External links */

[[Image:SecondLife.png|right|Second Life]]
'''Second Life''' is an online [[Wikipedia:Virtual world|virtual world]] consisting of hundreds of interconnected large-scale areas populated by interactive [[Wikipedia:avatar|avatars]], whose players may choose to take any form they can create or purchase. The major form of short-distance transportation is flight, while transportation between areas is typically performed through teleportation; both abilities are innate. The "main grid" is restricted to those 18 or over, as some regions contain strong violence or sexual content. A teen version for those 13 to 17 is also available.

Second Life has over 230,000 registered users as of June 2006; logged-in users range from 3,000 to 8,000 at any one time. The system is funded through a combination of account subscriptions and "tier" (a form of [[Wikipedia:Land value tax|land value tax]]). Users have the option to own or rent land parcels in a variety of sizes - as in [[real life]], some owners may zone their land to restrict certain activities, such as commercial development. Business in the game's virtual currency (exchangeable for real-world funds) is encouraged by the ''[[Wikipedia:Linden Lab|Linden Research]]'', and a variety of content vendors have sprung up to meet demand.

The [[furry fandom]] has a major presence in Second Life, with multiple areas devoted to providing accommodation, entertainment and creative services specifically for members of the furry community. Themes range from the pedestrian to the bizarre, although trees are common in furry haunts. Each user can create their own objects from the inbuilt primitives, but the majority of users rely in part on objects created and sold by others. These include body parts for avatars, accessories, vehicles (which may be purely aesthetic or provide extra functionality), toys, [[pose ball]]s for avatar animation, and scripts to provide extra features (like "push" and "shield" defensive/offensive capabilities).

*'''Address''': http://www.secondlife.com

== Outline ==
[[Image:SecondLifeCarrot.png|right|thumb|150px|Second Life lets you create your own objects]]
Second Life was started in 2003 as a project by "Linden Research, Inc." doing business as "Linden Lab".
Second Life's primary attraction has always been the level of customization; from the ground under your feet to the clouds in the sky. This was quite literal since the game's developers intended for the user to be able to create the world to their desire, as is quoted in the Second Life overview on its site:

:''"Second Life is a virtual world - a 3D online persistent space totally created and evolved by its users. Within this vast and rapidly expanding place, you can do, create or become just about anything you can imagine. Built-in content creation tools let you make almost anything you can imagine, in real time and in collaboration with others."''

Second Life is considered by some to be a variant of the ''Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game'', or ''[[Wikipedia:MMORPG|MMORPG]]'' for short. The true answer to the question "is it such a game?" is "yes and no" - Second Life is technically not a [[role-playing|role-playing game]] by itself. Rather, it is a platform that allows games and worlds to be built within its framework. It is better classified as a richly graphical multiple user chat kingdom ([[MUCK]]) rather than an MMORPG. Some go so far as to just call it a [[Wikipedia:Metaverse|metaverse]], which isn't that far of a stretch. Membership requires a credit card or [[Wikipedia:Short message service|SMS]]-capable cellphone, both for security reasons and because each region has its own content rating, from PG to Mature (which can be very mature at times).

Second Life has become one of the popular forms of online entertainment for members of the furry fandom; at last count there were over 500 furries registered as Second Life users, and the true number is probably several times that by now. This arose out of the fact that the avatars, humanoid objects representing the user, are very customizable and the game's disposition for allowing users to create anything has made the concept of a virtual "[[fursuit]]" possible. These consist of a variety body parts which are attached to the user's avatar. These parts include [[tail]]s, [[wing]]s, legs, and so on - some have even made complete sets that resemble mythical beasts such as [[dragon]]s, complete with scripted flame effects. Such avatar addons can be sold by their creators, who retain the ability to control distribution of their objects as part of their copyright, enforced by inbuilt copy restrictions. Some choose to give works away for free, for apparently [[Wikipedia:altruism|altruistic]] or promotional purposes.

The high interactivity is also a plus for online social networks - as a result, various [[furry]] communities began to pop up in the game and are now a sizable force in the virtual world. In the October 2005 issue of ''[[Wikipedia:Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games]]'', "Furries" (used as a proper noun) were noted as a major userbase in Second Life in an article about the use of MMOs for self-actualization.<ref>Liu, Johnny. "Waking Dreams." ''[[Wikipedia:Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games]]'', October 2005; pp. 58-59</ref>

Although signing up for a new account requires a credit card or an SMS-capable cell phone, current members have the option of changing their billing information in the members area so their membership fees can be deducted through [[Wikipedia:PayPal|PayPal]].''

== Age policy ==
[[Image:Censor NC17.png|right]]
As with most social environments on the Net, there is no way to tell inside the game how old someone really is. The game's Terms of Service state quite clearly you must be over the age of 18 to enter the "main grid" of Second Life. If anyone is found to be under 18 in the main grid, they will be banned from the game and all money and inventory will be forfeit. It is generally assumed that almost all players in the main grid are over the age of 18.

Second Life rates the individual sections of the game as Mature, or PG, with other possible ratings. These ratings help moderate the behaviour of people that populate the various sections of the game, as they won't tolerate someone breaking the PG rating by performing a Mature-rated act in a PG-rated zone. The rating system is not in place to keep children out of areas in SL; it is there because many adults don't want to be exposed to [[:Image:SecondLifePenisVendor.jpg|adult material]] during their time in the game or to take a break from it for a time by visiting a PG sim. [[Luskwood]] is a prime example of a furry PG sim, safe from displays of naked [[hermaphrodite]]s with a huge [[phallus]] and even bigger [[breasts]] parading around as one might see in a mature furry sim like [[FurNation Worlds]] (technically they are not supposed to be visable from a casual flyover).

=== Teen Grid ===
[[image:Censor 14.png|right]]
Late in 2005, Second Life created a separate version of its game designed with teens in mind, strictly separating those 18 years of age or greater from those 17 and under. Server-side tracking differentiates teen users from adult users, sending teens to the Teen Grid instead of the main grid. The Teen Grid has different rating policies than the main version; being made for teenagers, none of the regions are rated Mature and nothing may exceed the general PG13 to PG17 rating spans.

* '''Website:''' http://teen.secondlife.com/

== Environment and Economy ==

=== Costs and land ownership ===

Second Life is now free to sign up if you have never attempted to sign up and play before. Otherwise, a basic account will be a once-off fee of US$9.95, which may be paid with a credit card, or a positive [[Wikipedia:PayPal|PayPal]] balance.

Premium accounts come at a rate of US$9.95 each month, with options to pay quarterly or annually -- $22.50, and $72, respectively. The premium accounts come with the privilege of owning 512 square meters of land (approximately 1/256 of 1 simulator, or "not much"). The ability to acquire additional amounts of land bring an additional charge, called ''land tier''.

* US$195.00/month: 65,536 square meters - Entire Region
* US$125.00/month: 32,768 square meters - 1/2 Region
* US$75.00/month: 16,384 square meters - 1/4 Region
* US$40.00/month: 8,192 square meters - 1/8 Region
* US$25.00/month: 4,096 square meters - 1/16 Region
* US$15.00/month: 2,048 square meters - 1/32 Region
* US$8.00/month: 1,024 square meters - 1/64 Region
* US$5.00/month: 512 square meters - 1/128 Region

These are the official Linden rates - it is possible to find island owners (see below) who will sell or rent land for lower rates, usually with some restrictions as to its use. It is also possible to get low-cost rented accommodation with no specific land ownership, and to own land without a premium account through a "group" to which the land is deeded. Many users own no land or accommodation at all - it is not required for object ownership, although object creation can be another matter.

Land, once purchased, may be traded between users at market rates. Large contiguous plots of land (or even relatively small plots of land in a busy place) can often sell at a hefty premium. Linden's tier remains the same whatever the selling price.

=== Referrals ===

Each user who joins Second Life gets an unique referral link. Giving this link to people who have yet to sign up, and getting them to do so used to credit the user with a certain amount of Linden Dollars -- the in-world currency. Since late January 2006, only premium account signups will result in a bonus, of L$2500, staggered over a three month period, where you get L$500 on the spot, another L$500 after one month, another L$500 after two months, and the final L$1000 after three months, to prevent gaming of the premium account referral bonus.

=== Currency ===

Users can buy or sell their Linden Dollars (L$) from within the game using the Lindex money market run by Linden Research. There are also third-party exchange services.

Exchanges can be performed with any number of Linden Dollars. The Lindex calculator will give you an idea of what you'll be receiving as a result of your sale. The amount that you receive as a result of your sale gets placed into your account, where you may have it applied to anything you owe for your account if you are a premium user, or may have it sent to you via PayPal for a US$1 charge. For larger amounts, you may also have a check mailed to you for a fee - US$5 if you're inside the United States, or US$15 for locations outside of the United States.

There are some furs who extract do this with the earnings from their businesses (custom avatar creation, generic avatar vending, etc.), turning it into profit that allows them to do whatever they want to pay for, up to, and including starting their own islands. Historically-speaking, the L$ is a relatively volatile currency prone to bouts of inflation. It can therefore be a good idea to remove any significant sums from the game, unless they are to be spent quickly in-game.

== Islands and other locations ==
[[island (Second Life)|Islands]] are user-owned simulators within Second Life. You can buy your own island but the price to play is pretty steep: $1250 for start up costs and a server (you don't own the server itself though and due to multiple CPU servers, you are effectively buying space on a single CPU for your island), as well as $195 a month tier. Islands, as opposed to the mainland, get a dedicated processor to run on. Mainland sims (regions) may have to share resources with up to 3 other neighboring regions. An additional benefit is that purchasing an island allows you to contact the Linden Concierge directly with questions, bypassing the standard technical support lines and forums.

Prior to the creation of islands, every simulator belonged to a large land mass. Regions of these simulators sometimes ended up dedicated to specific groups, including the furry fandom.

There are currently a number of furry-owned or themed islands and regions in Second Life:

;[[Luskwood]]
[[Image:Luskwoodlobby.jpg|thumb|200px|The Lobby at Luskwood, the primary hangout for many]]
* Luskwood consists of two sims/regions, '''Lusk''' and '''Perry''', with some elements spilling into '''Clara'''; PG-rated, though not heavy on rules, Luskwood (started in mid-2003) is the oldest Furry-themed area in SL. Though not an island in practice (it resides on the SL mainland) these regions are wholly owned by the Luskwood group, and can be considered its own furry-themed area. It is home to [[Luskwood Creatures]] the first Furry avatar makers on SL. Luskwood builds many varieties of furry avatars, and is considered a sister-sim to, and administered by some of the same folks who run Taco.
:{{see also|Luskwood}}
; [[Taco]]
* Currently owned and run by [[Arito Cotton]] of Luskwood fame.
* This sim currently has a ''Mature'' rating label, though it is asked that you keep the blatantly mature items far, far away from ground level.
* This sim has a slightly cartoony feel to it, and is the home of [[Dwellget]], a department store that heavily parodies the USA based retail store chain, [[Wikipedia:Target|Target]].

; [[FurNation Worlds]]
[[Image:FurNationWorldsLuxor.png|right|thumb|200px|The Luxor on FurNation Prime]]
* FurNation Worlds is a group of seven simulators ('''Prime''', '''Alpha''', '''Vista''', '''Aqua''', '''Reia''', '''Omega''', and '''Kitsune''') run by the crew at [[FurNation]].
* Each of their simulators seems to serve a particular purpose.
** Alpha appears to be the residential area;
** Vista and Omega appear to be sandbox areas;
** Prime is the welcome area and hub for everything in the area.
**There was a seventh (private) sim attached to the south of FNW, '''Asteria Prime''', which is not related in any way to it.
*On April 5, 2006, '''Asteria Prime''' moved to the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate, followed by former FN sim '''Tria''' on April 7, becoming "Masquerade Valley" on the process.
*On May, 2006, '''Kitsune''' (formerly '''Kitsune valley''', from the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate) moved in, along with '''Aqua''', which took '''Tria''''s spot.
:{{see also|FurNation Worlds}}

; [[The Forest]]
[[Image:SecondLifeForestDeluxeApartments.png|right|thumb|200px|Treehouse apartments in The Forest]]
* The Forest was the first Furry oriented island in Second Life.
* This sim had an abundance of trees, but towards the end of [[Spade Richlieu]]'s management, trees were a bit too bare in many spots to really own up to its name.
* This sim suffered from severe lag issues in the beginning, as it was a prime hangout to many furs, which led to the island being full at peak times. This distinction was taken later on by the FurNation Worlds.
* [[Sibe]] was banned from this simulator for reasons unknown; this made big news within the furry circles of Second Life, and it wasn't long before many wanted to know why. This ban has long since been repealed, probably during Anshe's acquisition.
* In its first months, The Forest it earned at least one dwell award (money previously given to people who rake in the most dwell - or ''butt hours'' - each month by Linden Research). The entire island earned one of the awards for January 2005, which offset the first month's island fee by about half in this case.
* The Forest eventually came under [[Anshe Chung]]'s ownership. She soon added '''Tiger Creek''' to the south of The Forest as a residential area for furs to purchase or rent land. In March 2006 a second residential island was added, '''Bunny Bay'''. Revenues from Tiger Creek and Bunny Bay go towards paying for The Forest's tier.
* The Forest, Tiger Creek and Bunny Bay are part of what many call '''AnsheLand''' (mostly out of dislike for its owner - its proper name is actually '''Dreamland'''), a chunk of 55 linked islands located west-north-west of the North Continent of the main Grid.
* As of late May 2006, The Forest has suffered a crisis of administration. Disagreements between Anshe and the Forest Guides led to the replacement of the latter with a set of Dreamland administrators. Meanwhile, the Guides removed all their content, including the vast majority of the trees.
* At the start of June 2006, the Guides moved to a new sim in the north of the Fox Valley region, [[Serenity Woods]].
:{{see also|The Forest}}

; [[Fox Valley]]
* Sometimes know as '''The Valleys''', this sim is furry residential world run by [[RedFox Costello]] as an alternative to The Forest and Tiger Creek.
* The single island is located in the island cloud, southwest of Anshe Chung's ''Dreamland'', northwest of Furnation Worlds.
* Fox Valley was founded in November 2005, making it the youngest of the furry islands. Since then it has grown, with additional islands named '''Wolf Valley''' and '''Tiger Valley''' (run by [[Kithylin Perth]]), '''FlyinTails Airfield''' (run by [[Effsey Nelson]]), '''Rabbit Valley''' (run by the [[Kenzo Clan]],) [[Dragon Valley]], [[Masquerade Valley]] (formerly '''Furnation Tria''') [[Ryu Valley]] and [[Isteria Prime]]. Two former sims moved out in May 2006, '''Kitsune Valley''' and '''Fae Valley''' (run by [[Alynna Vixen]]), with '''[[Serenity Woods]]''' moving in at the start of June 2006.
:{{see also|Fox Valley}}

; [[Abbotts Aerodrome]]
[[Image:Sl abbotts aerodrome cubey terra.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Abbotts Aerodrome]]
* Abbotts Aerodrome bills itself as "the most famous airport in Second Life". Occasionally referred to as Abbotts Furrodrome, Abbotts is among the most fur-friendly airports in Second Life. The Aerodrome features free demo flights, a skydiving center, A.I. flights, and shops owned by some of the leading aircraft designers in Second Life. Founded by Apotheus Silverman and Cubey Terra in 2004, Abbotts Aerodrome is a center for aircraft development and skydiving.

; [[Rainbow Tiger]]
* Originally a dance club owned by [[Spike Nico]] and an adjoining mall owned by [[Shadow Garden]] in the '''Cleary''' region, Rainbow Tiger has expanded onto a full island. Rainbow Tiger currently has: [[Club Rainbow Tiger]], a large dance club with live DJ's spinning tunes regularly as well as a large 3 story mall, swimming pool, events center, casino, and an exercise room. It is also the primary retail location for OrcaHorse, owned by [[Fore Odets]]. Rainbow Tiger has been awarded Developer's Incentive awards twice by Linden Lab since its creation. A second island named [[Rainbow Stallion]] was added at the end of March 2006, and is being developed as a residential area. Both sims are rated 'mature', and are open to all species.
:{{see also|Rainbow Tiger}}

; [[Tartarus Island]]
* The new home of [[The Fur Dungeon]], a club that once existed on the mainland. Underwater dungeon areas and an array of domes (including, presently, a mall and movie dome) complement the club itself. Created by [[Musuko Massiel]].

; [[The Wild (Second Life)|The Wild]]
* Furry [[Wikipedia:Myst|Myst]] themed island owned by [[Shaun Wallaby]].

; [[Cub Conclave]]
[[Image:CubConclaveFlagpole.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Cub Conclave's flags fly proud]]
* An island for [[babyfur]]s. Features a castle, a mini mall, a marina, a bathhouse, a spaceship and [[Club Softpaws]] among other things. Founded and owned by [[Raven Welesa]]
:{{see also|Cub Conclave}}

; [[Prometheus]]
* Mature-rated furry-themed island sim run by [[Sabvriel Padar]]. Mostly residential, with several houses nestled amid beautiful landscaping and apartments for rent up in the sky. Also hosts a small shop for vendors, and [[Club Synergy]].

; [[Coonspiracy]]
* Southwest corner of Noonkkot sim, a hangout for raccoons, gators, swamp foxes, and the like.

; [[Meeting Island]]
* Mature-rated furry-themed island sim run by [[Pounce Teasle]]. [[Raccoon Hill]] (Former sim [[Fae Valley]] from the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate) was added in May, 2006. '''Meeting Island''' is best known for the furry [[escort]] establishment, [[The Seven Tails Brothel]].

Collecting donations for Island upkeep fees is a popular activity on islands, furry or otherwise.

== "Second Life Furry" logo ==
[[Image:Slfur.png|right|100px]]
In (early 2006?), a "furry admin" meeting for all furry and/or furry-friendly sims' administrators or owners was held to discuss several unifying strategies regarding the fandom population in world ([[Inferniel Solvang]] was the lead fur for this particular enconter.) Of the many proposals, one was the creation of a common, official symbol or logo for identifying purposes for sim or fur.

The final design, a SL logo inspired image, came to be thanks to the design of SL [[furry artist]], [[Yiffy Yaffle]]. The logo can be viewed on most of the older furry sims, with propagation to newer ones going at a slow, but steady rate.

== Video ==
[[Image:SecondLifeFundayPawPetShow.png|right|thumb|200px|Furs watching the Funday PawPet Show in Second Life]]
As of version 1.6.0, Second Life now hooks [[Wikipedia:Quicktime|Quicktime]], if it is installed on the user's system, to provide an interface that allows one to watch movies within the client itself. A '''very''' fast connection is suggested in this case, as you will be streaming world data ''and'' a video at the same time. If Quicktime is not installed, the user will be reminded that Quicktime is needed to watch video within the client when they enter a parcel with video.

A number of furs use the video feature to watch the [[Funday PawPet Show]] on their land.

Some users have taken advantage of this new feature to bring forward a new business: Movie Rentals. One may rent adult movies from a couple of the businesses in Second Life, for the express purpose of being able to watch pornography on their land for a couple of hours.

== Preview Grid ==
As Linden Lab draws closer to a potential release, be it a sub-version upgrade, or a full point-release jump, they release preview versions of the client, to allow all interested parties to test the new client and its features. This is extremely important to builders, scripters, and texturers, as knowing how the new software will handle their works is very important.

The Preview client is run on a separate grid from the current client, which means there are less people to interact with. Most of the people available test their wares, making sure they won't have to do a full rebuild or rescript for the next version, as well as reporting bugs.

== Technical advice ==

Due to the amount of data that is sent between the client (you) and the servers, Second Life requires broadband internet of 1Mbps or better, at least 512MB of computer RAM, and a CPU faster than 800MHz, though the bare minimum will not be as pleasant an experience. Linden Lab suggests that you invest in hardware that will exceed the minimum specs. There are also specific graphics card requirements due to the game making use of a certain OpenGL standard. The system requirements for interested people is listed at the Second Life website partially, and more exact requirements can be found inside its technical support area.

Although it is not impossible to use a dial-up connection with Second Life, nearly every option of the game requires serious cutting back; close to the bare minimum. This makes the experience flatter and less pleasant, with lag so heavy that movement is difficult and awkward with occasional stop-frame style "clipping" animation. Walking forward one step, for example, might occasionally result in sliding forward more then a yard or two before being snapped back to your intended position in a rather sudden jerk, or scenery change. Sometimes, said movement could make you sink through the ground or pass through other objects (like a wall) before the snap-back occurs. Then you find you need another of the regular 17-20[[Wikipedia:Megabyte|MB]] to 20MB updates to play. There aren't many dialup users on Second Life.

Second Life has been dealing with issues over ATi's video card drivers for quite a while. It has become practice on the forums to suggest to ATi users to pick up the [http://www.omegadrivers.net/ Omega Drivers], a set of user-modified drivers recognized by ATi (according to their author) as "''the best-modded drivers in the Internet''". These Omega Drivers enable features that Second Life can use which aren't easily enabled in the default drivers.

== Fansites ==

Linden Lab's policies reguarding Second Life fansites is loose, provided the following stipulations are met.

* There is no attempt to pass off a fan site as Second Life or Linden Lab itself

* The following legal text is present on all Second Life related pages: "Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. No infringement is intended." this must include the ® circles though can be any size the website creators see fit.

== References ==
<references />

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Second Life|Second Life]] on Wikipedia
* [[:Category:Second Lifers|Second Lifers on WikiFur]]
* [http://secondlife.com/movies/secondtake.wmv Second Life Promotional Video] -- This file is directly available on the Second Life Home page. The video is linked to an image titled "watch the video" that will alternate with the free trial promotional image link. There is also a [http://www.apple.com/games/trailers/secondlife/ Quicktime version] of the video.

== External links ==
[[Image:Censor_MA_button.png|right]]
* ''[http://nothingkat.com/confession/secondlife.htm If Furries Ruled The World....]'' — An article at [[Nothingkat.com]] which voices a dislike of Second Life from an [[Anti-furries|Anti-Fur]] point of view (contains graphic nudity)
* [http://www.livejournal.com/community/secondlife_furs/ Second Life Furry Community] at [[LiveJournal]]
* ''[http://www.alphavilleherald.com/archives/000505.html The Second Life Herald: Miravoir Meets The Furries]'' — Article about furries on Second Life
* ''[http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2005/04/furry_like_me.html New World Notes: Furry Like Me]'' — Another article about furries on Second Life
* ''[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm?chan=tc&chan=technology_technology+index+page_today's+top+stories My Virtual Life]'' — Buisness Week reporter examines Second Life in detail
* ''[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982009.htm Virtual Land, Real Money]'' — An interview with [[Anshe Chung]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LlMZjCBJhE Beatfox and his firey foxy tail] - an video example of flexiprims in furry avatars
* [http://jolie.silentshadows.net Jolie Grant: SL Furry Model] a website showcasing the modeling talents of [[Jolie]], a furry who made it into the human modeling world with her adorable avatar.
----
''A piece of this article has been copied directly from the Second Life website and no challenge is being issued in regards to the material of the quote taken in any way, shape, or form.''

[[Category:Multiplayer worlds]][[Category:Second Life|*]]
{{featured article}}

Second Life

2006-06-28T18:48:52Z

YippyFox: /* External links */

[[Image:SecondLife.png|right|Second Life]]
'''Second Life''' is an online [[Wikipedia:Virtual world|virtual world]] consisting of hundreds of interconnected large-scale areas populated by interactive [[Wikipedia:avatar|avatars]], whose players may choose to take any form they can create or purchase. The major form of short-distance transportation is flight, while transportation between areas is typically performed through teleportation; both abilities are innate. The "main grid" is restricted to those 18 or over, as some regions contain strong violence or sexual content. A teen version for those 13 to 17 is also available.

Second Life has over 230,000 registered users as of June 2006; logged-in users range from 3,000 to 8,000 at any one time. The system is funded through a combination of account subscriptions and "tier" (a form of [[Wikipedia:Land value tax|land value tax]]). Users have the option to own or rent land parcels in a variety of sizes - as in [[real life]], some owners may zone their land to restrict certain activities, such as commercial development. Business in the game's virtual currency (exchangeable for real-world funds) is encouraged by the ''[[Wikipedia:Linden Lab|Linden Research]]'', and a variety of content vendors have sprung up to meet demand.

The [[furry fandom]] has a major presence in Second Life, with multiple areas devoted to providing accommodation, entertainment and creative services specifically for members of the furry community. Themes range from the pedestrian to the bizarre, although trees are common in furry haunts. Each user can create their own objects from the inbuilt primitives, but the majority of users rely in part on objects created and sold by others. These include body parts for avatars, accessories, vehicles (which may be purely aesthetic or provide extra functionality), toys, [[pose ball]]s for avatar animation, and scripts to provide extra features (like "push" and "shield" defensive/offensive capabilities).

*'''Address''': http://www.secondlife.com

== Outline ==
[[Image:SecondLifeCarrot.png|right|thumb|150px|Second Life lets you create your own objects]]
Second Life was started in 2003 as a project by "Linden Research, Inc." doing business as "Linden Lab".
Second Life's primary attraction has always been the level of customization; from the ground under your feet to the clouds in the sky. This was quite literal since the game's developers intended for the user to be able to create the world to their desire, as is quoted in the Second Life overview on its site:

:''"Second Life is a virtual world - a 3D online persistent space totally created and evolved by its users. Within this vast and rapidly expanding place, you can do, create or become just about anything you can imagine. Built-in content creation tools let you make almost anything you can imagine, in real time and in collaboration with others."''

Second Life is considered by some to be a variant of the ''Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game'', or ''[[Wikipedia:MMORPG|MMORPG]]'' for short. The true answer to the question "is it such a game?" is "yes and no" - Second Life is technically not a [[role-playing|role-playing game]] by itself. Rather, it is a platform that allows games and worlds to be built within its framework. It is better classified as a richly graphical multiple user chat kingdom ([[MUCK]]) rather than an MMORPG. Some go so far as to just call it a [[Wikipedia:Metaverse|metaverse]], which isn't that far of a stretch. Membership requires a credit card or [[Wikipedia:Short message service|SMS]]-capable cellphone, both for security reasons and because each region has its own content rating, from PG to Mature (which can be very mature at times).

Second Life has become one of the popular forms of online entertainment for members of the furry fandom; at last count there were over 500 furries registered as Second Life users, and the true number is probably several times that by now. This arose out of the fact that the avatars, humanoid objects representing the user, are very customizable and the game's disposition for allowing users to create anything has made the concept of a virtual "[[fursuit]]" possible. These consist of a variety body parts which are attached to the user's avatar. These parts include [[tail]]s, [[wing]]s, legs, and so on - some have even made complete sets that resemble mythical beasts such as [[dragon]]s, complete with scripted flame effects. Such avatar addons can be sold by their creators, who retain the ability to control distribution of their objects as part of their copyright, enforced by inbuilt copy restrictions. Some choose to give works away for free, for apparently [[Wikipedia:altruism|altruistic]] or promotional purposes.

The high interactivity is also a plus for online social networks - as a result, various [[furry]] communities began to pop up in the game and are now a sizable force in the virtual world. In the October 2005 issue of ''[[Wikipedia:Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games]]'', "Furries" (used as a proper noun) were noted as a major userbase in Second Life in an article about the use of MMOs for self-actualization.<ref>Liu, Johnny. "Waking Dreams." ''[[Wikipedia:Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games]]'', October 2005; pp. 58-59</ref>

Although signing up for a new account requires a credit card or an SMS-capable cell phone, current members have the option of changing their billing information in the members area so their membership fees can be deducted through [[Wikipedia:PayPal|PayPal]].''

== Age policy ==
[[Image:Censor NC17.png|right]]
As with most social environments on the Net, there is no way to tell inside the game how old someone really is. The game's Terms of Service state quite clearly you must be over the age of 18 to enter the "main grid" of Second Life. If anyone is found to be under 18 in the main grid, they will be banned from the game and all money and inventory will be forfeit. It is generally assumed that almost all players in the main grid are over the age of 18.

Second Life rates the individual sections of the game as Mature, or PG, with other possible ratings. These ratings help moderate the behaviour of people that populate the various sections of the game, as they won't tolerate someone breaking the PG rating by performing a Mature-rated act in a PG-rated zone. The rating system is not in place to keep children out of areas in SL; it is there because many adults don't want to be exposed to [[:Image:SecondLifePenisVendor.jpg|adult material]] during their time in the game or to take a break from it for a time by visiting a PG sim. [[Luskwood]] is a prime example of a furry PG sim, safe from displays of naked [[hermaphrodite]]s with a huge [[phallus]] and even bigger [[breasts]] parading around as one might see in a mature furry sim like [[FurNation Worlds]] (technically they are not supposed to be visable from a casual flyover).

=== Teen Grid ===
[[image:Censor 14.png|right]]
Late in 2005, Second Life created a separate version of its game designed with teens in mind, strictly separating those 18 years of age or greater from those 17 and under. Server-side tracking differentiates teen users from adult users, sending teens to the Teen Grid instead of the main grid. The Teen Grid has different rating policies than the main version; being made for teenagers, none of the regions are rated Mature and nothing may exceed the general PG13 to PG17 rating spans.

* '''Website:''' http://teen.secondlife.com/

== Environment and Economy ==

=== Costs and land ownership ===

Second Life is now free to sign up if you have never attempted to sign up and play before. Otherwise, a basic account will be a once-off fee of US$9.95, which may be paid with a credit card, or a positive [[Wikipedia:PayPal|PayPal]] balance.

Premium accounts come at a rate of US$9.95 each month, with options to pay quarterly or annually -- $22.50, and $72, respectively. The premium accounts come with the privilege of owning 512 square meters of land (approximately 1/256 of 1 simulator, or "not much"). The ability to acquire additional amounts of land bring an additional charge, called ''land tier''.

* US$195.00/month: 65,536 square meters - Entire Region
* US$125.00/month: 32,768 square meters - 1/2 Region
* US$75.00/month: 16,384 square meters - 1/4 Region
* US$40.00/month: 8,192 square meters - 1/8 Region
* US$25.00/month: 4,096 square meters - 1/16 Region
* US$15.00/month: 2,048 square meters - 1/32 Region
* US$8.00/month: 1,024 square meters - 1/64 Region
* US$5.00/month: 512 square meters - 1/128 Region

These are the official Linden rates - it is possible to find island owners (see below) who will sell or rent land for lower rates, usually with some restrictions as to its use. It is also possible to get low-cost rented accommodation with no specific land ownership, and to own land without a premium account through a "group" to which the land is deeded. Many users own no land or accommodation at all - it is not required for object ownership, although object creation can be another matter.

Land, once purchased, may be traded between users at market rates. Large contiguous plots of land (or even relatively small plots of land in a busy place) can often sell at a hefty premium. Linden's tier remains the same whatever the selling price.

=== Referrals ===

Each user who joins Second Life gets an unique referral link. Giving this link to people who have yet to sign up, and getting them to do so used to credit the user with a certain amount of Linden Dollars -- the in-world currency. Since late January 2006, only premium account signups will result in a bonus, of L$2500, staggered over a three month period, where you get L$500 on the spot, another L$500 after one month, another L$500 after two months, and the final L$1000 after three months, to prevent gaming of the premium account referral bonus.

=== Currency ===

Users can buy or sell their Linden Dollars (L$) from within the game using the Lindex money market run by Linden Research. There are also third-party exchange services.

Exchanges can be performed with any number of Linden Dollars. The Lindex calculator will give you an idea of what you'll be receiving as a result of your sale. The amount that you receive as a result of your sale gets placed into your account, where you may have it applied to anything you owe for your account if you are a premium user, or may have it sent to you via PayPal for a US$1 charge. For larger amounts, you may also have a check mailed to you for a fee - US$5 if you're inside the United States, or US$15 for locations outside of the United States.

There are some furs who extract do this with the earnings from their businesses (custom avatar creation, generic avatar vending, etc.), turning it into profit that allows them to do whatever they want to pay for, up to, and including starting their own islands. Historically-speaking, the L$ is a relatively volatile currency prone to bouts of inflation. It can therefore be a good idea to remove any significant sums from the game, unless they are to be spent quickly in-game.

== Islands and other locations ==
[[island (Second Life)|Islands]] are user-owned simulators within Second Life. You can buy your own island but the price to play is pretty steep: $1250 for start up costs and a server (you don't own the server itself though and due to multiple CPU servers, you are effectively buying space on a single CPU for your island), as well as $195 a month tier. Islands, as opposed to the mainland, get a dedicated processor to run on. Mainland sims (regions) may have to share resources with up to 3 other neighboring regions. An additional benefit is that purchasing an island allows you to contact the Linden Concierge directly with questions, bypassing the standard technical support lines and forums.

Prior to the creation of islands, every simulator belonged to a large land mass. Regions of these simulators sometimes ended up dedicated to specific groups, including the furry fandom.

There are currently a number of furry-owned or themed islands and regions in Second Life:

;[[Luskwood]]
[[Image:Luskwoodlobby.jpg|thumb|200px|The Lobby at Luskwood, the primary hangout for many]]
* Luskwood consists of two sims/regions, '''Lusk''' and '''Perry''', with some elements spilling into '''Clara'''; PG-rated, though not heavy on rules, Luskwood (started in mid-2003) is the oldest Furry-themed area in SL. Though not an island in practice (it resides on the SL mainland) these regions are wholly owned by the Luskwood group, and can be considered its own furry-themed area. It is home to [[Luskwood Creatures]] the first Furry avatar makers on SL. Luskwood builds many varieties of furry avatars, and is considered a sister-sim to, and administered by some of the same folks who run Taco.
:{{see also|Luskwood}}
; [[Taco]]
* Currently owned and run by [[Arito Cotton]] of Luskwood fame.
* This sim currently has a ''Mature'' rating label, though it is asked that you keep the blatantly mature items far, far away from ground level.
* This sim has a slightly cartoony feel to it, and is the home of [[Dwellget]], a department store that heavily parodies the USA based retail store chain, [[Wikipedia:Target|Target]].

; [[FurNation Worlds]]
[[Image:FurNationWorldsLuxor.png|right|thumb|200px|The Luxor on FurNation Prime]]
* FurNation Worlds is a group of seven simulators ('''Prime''', '''Alpha''', '''Vista''', '''Aqua''', '''Reia''', '''Omega''', and '''Kitsune''') run by the crew at [[FurNation]].
* Each of their simulators seems to serve a particular purpose.
** Alpha appears to be the residential area;
** Vista and Omega appear to be sandbox areas;
** Prime is the welcome area and hub for everything in the area.
**There was a seventh (private) sim attached to the south of FNW, '''Asteria Prime''', which is not related in any way to it.
*On April 5, 2006, '''Asteria Prime''' moved to the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate, followed by former FN sim '''Tria''' on April 7, becoming "Masquerade Valley" on the process.
*On May, 2006, '''Kitsune''' (formerly '''Kitsune valley''', from the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate) moved in, along with '''Aqua''', which took '''Tria''''s spot.
:{{see also|FurNation Worlds}}

; [[The Forest]]
[[Image:SecondLifeForestDeluxeApartments.png|right|thumb|200px|Treehouse apartments in The Forest]]
* The Forest was the first Furry oriented island in Second Life.
* This sim had an abundance of trees, but towards the end of [[Spade Richlieu]]'s management, trees were a bit too bare in many spots to really own up to its name.
* This sim suffered from severe lag issues in the beginning, as it was a prime hangout to many furs, which led to the island being full at peak times. This distinction was taken later on by the FurNation Worlds.
* [[Sibe]] was banned from this simulator for reasons unknown; this made big news within the furry circles of Second Life, and it wasn't long before many wanted to know why. This ban has long since been repealed, probably during Anshe's acquisition.
* In its first months, The Forest it earned at least one dwell award (money previously given to people who rake in the most dwell - or ''butt hours'' - each month by Linden Research). The entire island earned one of the awards for January 2005, which offset the first month's island fee by about half in this case.
* The Forest eventually came under [[Anshe Chung]]'s ownership. She soon added '''Tiger Creek''' to the south of The Forest as a residential area for furs to purchase or rent land. In March 2006 a second residential island was added, '''Bunny Bay'''. Revenues from Tiger Creek and Bunny Bay go towards paying for The Forest's tier.
* The Forest, Tiger Creek and Bunny Bay are part of what many call '''AnsheLand''' (mostly out of dislike for its owner - its proper name is actually '''Dreamland'''), a chunk of 55 linked islands located west-north-west of the North Continent of the main Grid.
* As of late May 2006, The Forest has suffered a crisis of administration. Disagreements between Anshe and the Forest Guides led to the replacement of the latter with a set of Dreamland administrators. Meanwhile, the Guides removed all their content, including the vast majority of the trees.
* At the start of June 2006, the Guides moved to a new sim in the north of the Fox Valley region, [[Serenity Woods]].
:{{see also|The Forest}}

; [[Fox Valley]]
* Sometimes know as '''The Valleys''', this sim is furry residential world run by [[RedFox Costello]] as an alternative to The Forest and Tiger Creek.
* The single island is located in the island cloud, southwest of Anshe Chung's ''Dreamland'', northwest of Furnation Worlds.
* Fox Valley was founded in November 2005, making it the youngest of the furry islands. Since then it has grown, with additional islands named '''Wolf Valley''' and '''Tiger Valley''' (run by [[Kithylin Perth]]), '''FlyinTails Airfield''' (run by [[Effsey Nelson]]), '''Rabbit Valley''' (run by the [[Kenzo Clan]],) [[Dragon Valley]], [[Masquerade Valley]] (formerly '''Furnation Tria''') [[Ryu Valley]] and [[Isteria Prime]]. Two former sims moved out in May 2006, '''Kitsune Valley''' and '''Fae Valley''' (run by [[Alynna Vixen]]), with '''[[Serenity Woods]]''' moving in at the start of June 2006.
:{{see also|Fox Valley}}

; [[Abbotts Aerodrome]]
[[Image:Sl abbotts aerodrome cubey terra.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Abbotts Aerodrome]]
* Abbotts Aerodrome bills itself as "the most famous airport in Second Life". Occasionally referred to as Abbotts Furrodrome, Abbotts is among the most fur-friendly airports in Second Life. The Aerodrome features free demo flights, a skydiving center, A.I. flights, and shops owned by some of the leading aircraft designers in Second Life. Founded by Apotheus Silverman and Cubey Terra in 2004, Abbotts Aerodrome is a center for aircraft development and skydiving.

; [[Rainbow Tiger]]
* Originally a dance club owned by [[Spike Nico]] and an adjoining mall owned by [[Shadow Garden]] in the '''Cleary''' region, Rainbow Tiger has expanded onto a full island. Rainbow Tiger currently has: [[Club Rainbow Tiger]], a large dance club with live DJ's spinning tunes regularly as well as a large 3 story mall, swimming pool, events center, casino, and an exercise room. It is also the primary retail location for OrcaHorse, owned by [[Fore Odets]]. Rainbow Tiger has been awarded Developer's Incentive awards twice by Linden Lab since its creation. A second island named [[Rainbow Stallion]] was added at the end of March 2006, and is being developed as a residential area. Both sims are rated 'mature', and are open to all species.
:{{see also|Rainbow Tiger}}

; [[Tartarus Island]]
* The new home of [[The Fur Dungeon]], a club that once existed on the mainland. Underwater dungeon areas and an array of domes (including, presently, a mall and movie dome) complement the club itself. Created by [[Musuko Massiel]].

; [[The Wild (Second Life)|The Wild]]
* Furry [[Wikipedia:Myst|Myst]] themed island owned by [[Shaun Wallaby]].

; [[Cub Conclave]]
[[Image:CubConclaveFlagpole.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Cub Conclave's flags fly proud]]
* An island for [[babyfur]]s. Features a castle, a mini mall, a marina, a bathhouse, a spaceship and [[Club Softpaws]] among other things. Founded and owned by [[Raven Welesa]]
:{{see also|Cub Conclave}}

; [[Prometheus]]
* Mature-rated furry-themed island sim run by [[Sabvriel Padar]]. Mostly residential, with several houses nestled amid beautiful landscaping and apartments for rent up in the sky. Also hosts a small shop for vendors, and [[Club Synergy]].

; [[Coonspiracy]]
* Southwest corner of Noonkkot sim, a hangout for raccoons, gators, swamp foxes, and the like.

; [[Meeting Island]]
* Mature-rated furry-themed island sim run by [[Pounce Teasle]]. [[Raccoon Hill]] (Former sim [[Fae Valley]] from the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate) was added in May, 2006. '''Meeting Island''' is best known for the furry [[escort]] establishment, [[The Seven Tails Brothel]].

Collecting donations for Island upkeep fees is a popular activity on islands, furry or otherwise.

== "Second Life Furry" logo ==
[[Image:Slfur.png|right|100px]]
In (early 2006?), a "furry admin" meeting for all furry and/or furry-friendly sims' administrators or owners was held to discuss several unifying strategies regarding the fandom population in world ([[Inferniel Solvang]] was the lead fur for this particular enconter.) Of the many proposals, one was the creation of a common, official symbol or logo for identifying purposes for sim or fur.

The final design, a SL logo inspired image, came to be thanks to the design of SL [[furry artist]], [[Yiffy Yaffle]]. The logo can be viewed on most of the older furry sims, with propagation to newer ones going at a slow, but steady rate.

== Video ==
[[Image:SecondLifeFundayPawPetShow.png|right|thumb|200px|Furs watching the Funday PawPet Show in Second Life]]
As of version 1.6.0, Second Life now hooks [[Wikipedia:Quicktime|Quicktime]], if it is installed on the user's system, to provide an interface that allows one to watch movies within the client itself. A '''very''' fast connection is suggested in this case, as you will be streaming world data ''and'' a video at the same time. If Quicktime is not installed, the user will be reminded that Quicktime is needed to watch video within the client when they enter a parcel with video.

A number of furs use the video feature to watch the [[Funday PawPet Show]] on their land.

Some users have taken advantage of this new feature to bring forward a new business: Movie Rentals. One may rent adult movies from a couple of the businesses in Second Life, for the express purpose of being able to watch pornography on their land for a couple of hours.

== Preview Grid ==
As Linden Lab draws closer to a potential release, be it a sub-version upgrade, or a full point-release jump, they release preview versions of the client, to allow all interested parties to test the new client and its features. This is extremely important to builders, scripters, and texturers, as knowing how the new software will handle their works is very important.

The Preview client is run on a separate grid from the current client, which means there are less people to interact with. Most of the people available test their wares, making sure they won't have to do a full rebuild or rescript for the next version, as well as reporting bugs.

== Technical advice ==

Due to the amount of data that is sent between the client (you) and the servers, Second Life requires broadband internet of 1Mbps or better, at least 512MB of computer RAM, and a CPU faster than 800MHz, though the bare minimum will not be as pleasant an experience. Linden Lab suggests that you invest in hardware that will exceed the minimum specs. There are also specific graphics card requirements due to the game making use of a certain OpenGL standard. The system requirements for interested people is listed at the Second Life website partially, and more exact requirements can be found inside its technical support area.

Although it is not impossible to use a dial-up connection with Second Life, nearly every option of the game requires serious cutting back; close to the bare minimum. This makes the experience flatter and less pleasant, with lag so heavy that movement is difficult and awkward with occasional stop-frame style "clipping" animation. Walking forward one step, for example, might occasionally result in sliding forward more then a yard or two before being snapped back to your intended position in a rather sudden jerk, or scenery change. Sometimes, said movement could make you sink through the ground or pass through other objects (like a wall) before the snap-back occurs. Then you find you need another of the regular 17-20[[Wikipedia:Megabyte|MB]] to 20MB updates to play. There aren't many dialup users on Second Life.

Second Life has been dealing with issues over ATi's video card drivers for quite a while. It has become practice on the forums to suggest to ATi users to pick up the [http://www.omegadrivers.net/ Omega Drivers], a set of user-modified drivers recognized by ATi (according to their author) as "''the best-modded drivers in the Internet''". These Omega Drivers enable features that Second Life can use which aren't easily enabled in the default drivers.

== Fansites ==

Linden Lab's policies reguarding Second Life fansites is loose, provided the following stipulations are met.

* There is no attempt to pass off a fan site as Second Life or Linden Lab itself

* The following legal text is present on all Second Life related pages: "Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. No infringement is intended." this must include the ® circles though can be any size the website creators see fit.

== References ==
<references />

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Second Life|Second Life]] on Wikipedia
* [[:Category:Second Lifers|Second Lifers on WikiFur]]
* [http://secondlife.com/movies/secondtake.wmv Second Life Promotional Video] -- This file is directly available on the Second Life Home page. The video is linked to an image titled "watch the video" that will alternate with the free trial promotional image link. There is also a [http://www.apple.com/games/trailers/secondlife/ Quicktime version] of the video.

== External links ==
[[Image:Censor_MA_button.png|right]]
* ''[http://nothingkat.com/confession/secondlife.htm If Furries Ruled The World....]'' — An article at [[Nothingkat.com]] which voices a dislike of Second Life from an [[Anti-furries|Anti-Fur]] point of view (contains graphic nudity)
* [http://www.livejournal.com/community/secondlife_furs/ Second Life Furry Community] at [[LiveJournal]]
* ''[http://www.alphavilleherald.com/archives/000505.html The Second Life Herald: Miravoir Meets The Furries]'' — Article about furries on Second Life
* ''[http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2005/04/furry_like_me.html New World Notes: Furry Like Me]'' — Another article about furries on Second Life
* ''[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm?chan=tc&chan=technology_technology+index+page_today's+top+stories My Virtual Life]'' — Buisness Week reporter examines Second Life in detail
* ''[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982009.htm Virtual Land, Real Money]'' — An interview with [[Anshe Chung]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LlMZjCBJhE Beatfox and his firey foxy tail] - an video example of flexiprims in furry avatars
* [http://jolie.silentshadows.net Jolie Grant: SL Furry Model] a website showcasing the modeling talents of [[Jolie Grant]], a furry who made it into the human modeling world with her adorable avatar.
----
''A piece of this article has been copied directly from the Second Life website and no challenge is being issued in regards to the material of the quote taken in any way, shape, or form.''

[[Category:Multiplayer worlds]][[Category:Second Life|*]]
{{featured article}}

Michi Lumin

2006-06-28T18:45:36Z

YippyFox:

'''Michi Lumin''' is one of four founders of [[Luskwood]] and [[Luskwood Creatures]], along with [[Arito Cotton]], [[Liam Roark]] and [[Eltee Statosky]].

[[Category:Second Life characters]]

Second Life

2006-06-28T18:36:59Z

YippyFox: /* External links */

[[Image:SecondLife.png|right|Second Life]]
'''Second Life''' is an online [[Wikipedia:Virtual world|virtual world]] consisting of hundreds of interconnected large-scale areas populated by interactive [[Wikipedia:avatar|avatars]], whose players may choose to take any form they can create or purchase. The major form of short-distance transportation is flight, while transportation between areas is typically performed through teleportation; both abilities are innate. The "main grid" is restricted to those 18 or over, as some regions contain strong violence or sexual content. A teen version for those 13 to 17 is also available.

Second Life has over 230,000 registered users as of June 2006; logged-in users range from 3,000 to 8,000 at any one time. The system is funded through a combination of account subscriptions and "tier" (a form of [[Wikipedia:Land value tax|land value tax]]). Users have the option to own or rent land parcels in a variety of sizes - as in [[real life]], some owners may zone their land to restrict certain activities, such as commercial development. Business in the game's virtual currency (exchangeable for real-world funds) is encouraged by the ''[[Wikipedia:Linden Lab|Linden Research]]'', and a variety of content vendors have sprung up to meet demand.

The [[furry fandom]] has a major presence in Second Life, with multiple areas devoted to providing accommodation, entertainment and creative services specifically for members of the furry community. Themes range from the pedestrian to the bizarre, although trees are common in furry haunts. Each user can create their own objects from the inbuilt primitives, but the majority of users rely in part on objects created and sold by others. These include body parts for avatars, accessories, vehicles (which may be purely aesthetic or provide extra functionality), toys, [[pose ball]]s for avatar animation, and scripts to provide extra features (like "push" and "shield" defensive/offensive capabilities).

*'''Address''': http://www.secondlife.com

== Outline ==
[[Image:SecondLifeCarrot.png|right|thumb|150px|Second Life lets you create your own objects]]
Second Life was started in 2003 as a project by "Linden Research, Inc." doing business as "Linden Lab".
Second Life's primary attraction has always been the level of customization; from the ground under your feet to the clouds in the sky. This was quite literal since the game's developers intended for the user to be able to create the world to their desire, as is quoted in the Second Life overview on its site:

:''"Second Life is a virtual world - a 3D online persistent space totally created and evolved by its users. Within this vast and rapidly expanding place, you can do, create or become just about anything you can imagine. Built-in content creation tools let you make almost anything you can imagine, in real time and in collaboration with others."''

Second Life is considered by some to be a variant of the ''Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game'', or ''[[Wikipedia:MMORPG|MMORPG]]'' for short. The true answer to the question "is it such a game?" is "yes and no" - Second Life is technically not a [[role-playing|role-playing game]] by itself. Rather, it is a platform that allows games and worlds to be built within its framework. It is better classified as a richly graphical multiple user chat kingdom ([[MUCK]]) rather than an MMORPG. Some go so far as to just call it a [[Wikipedia:Metaverse|metaverse]], which isn't that far of a stretch. Membership requires a credit card or [[Wikipedia:Short message service|SMS]]-capable cellphone, both for security reasons and because each region has its own content rating, from PG to Mature (which can be very mature at times).

Second Life has become one of the popular forms of online entertainment for members of the furry fandom; at last count there were over 500 furries registered as Second Life users, and the true number is probably several times that by now. This arose out of the fact that the avatars, humanoid objects representing the user, are very customizable and the game's disposition for allowing users to create anything has made the concept of a virtual "[[fursuit]]" possible. These consist of a variety body parts which are attached to the user's avatar. These parts include [[tail]]s, [[wing]]s, legs, and so on - some have even made complete sets that resemble mythical beasts such as [[dragon]]s, complete with scripted flame effects. Such avatar addons can be sold by their creators, who retain the ability to control distribution of their objects as part of their copyright, enforced by inbuilt copy restrictions. Some choose to give works away for free, for apparently [[Wikipedia:altruism|altruistic]] or promotional purposes.

The high interactivity is also a plus for online social networks - as a result, various [[furry]] communities began to pop up in the game and are now a sizable force in the virtual world. In the October 2005 issue of ''[[Wikipedia:Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games]]'', "Furries" (used as a proper noun) were noted as a major userbase in Second Life in an article about the use of MMOs for self-actualization.<ref>Liu, Johnny. "Waking Dreams." ''[[Wikipedia:Computer Games Magazine|Computer Games]]'', October 2005; pp. 58-59</ref>

Although signing up for a new account requires a credit card or an SMS-capable cell phone, current members have the option of changing their billing information in the members area so their membership fees can be deducted through [[Wikipedia:PayPal|PayPal]].''

== Age policy ==
[[Image:Censor NC17.png|right]]
As with most social environments on the Net, there is no way to tell inside the game how old someone really is. The game's Terms of Service state quite clearly you must be over the age of 18 to enter the "main grid" of Second Life. If anyone is found to be under 18 in the main grid, they will be banned from the game and all money and inventory will be forfeit. It is generally assumed that almost all players in the main grid are over the age of 18.

Second Life rates the individual sections of the game as Mature, or PG, with other possible ratings. These ratings help moderate the behaviour of people that populate the various sections of the game, as they won't tolerate someone breaking the PG rating by performing a Mature-rated act in a PG-rated zone. The rating system is not in place to keep children out of areas in SL; it is there because many adults don't want to be exposed to [[:Image:SecondLifePenisVendor.jpg|adult material]] during their time in the game or to take a break from it for a time by visiting a PG sim. [[Luskwood]] is a prime example of a furry PG sim, safe from displays of naked [[hermaphrodite]]s with a huge [[phallus]] and even bigger [[breasts]] parading around as one might see in a mature furry sim like [[FurNation Worlds]] (technically they are not supposed to be visable from a casual flyover).

=== Teen Grid ===
[[image:Censor 14.png|right]]
Late in 2005, Second Life created a separate version of its game designed with teens in mind, strictly separating those 18 years of age or greater from those 17 and under. Server-side tracking differentiates teen users from adult users, sending teens to the Teen Grid instead of the main grid. The Teen Grid has different rating policies than the main version; being made for teenagers, none of the regions are rated Mature and nothing may exceed the general PG13 to PG17 rating spans.

* '''Website:''' http://teen.secondlife.com/

== Environment and Economy ==

=== Costs and land ownership ===

Second Life is now free to sign up if you have never attempted to sign up and play before. Otherwise, a basic account will be a once-off fee of US$9.95, which may be paid with a credit card, or a positive [[Wikipedia:PayPal|PayPal]] balance.

Premium accounts come at a rate of US$9.95 each month, with options to pay quarterly or annually -- $22.50, and $72, respectively. The premium accounts come with the privilege of owning 512 square meters of land (approximately 1/256 of 1 simulator, or "not much"). The ability to acquire additional amounts of land bring an additional charge, called ''land tier''.

* US$195.00/month: 65,536 square meters - Entire Region
* US$125.00/month: 32,768 square meters - 1/2 Region
* US$75.00/month: 16,384 square meters - 1/4 Region
* US$40.00/month: 8,192 square meters - 1/8 Region
* US$25.00/month: 4,096 square meters - 1/16 Region
* US$15.00/month: 2,048 square meters - 1/32 Region
* US$8.00/month: 1,024 square meters - 1/64 Region
* US$5.00/month: 512 square meters - 1/128 Region

These are the official Linden rates - it is possible to find island owners (see below) who will sell or rent land for lower rates, usually with some restrictions as to its use. It is also possible to get low-cost rented accommodation with no specific land ownership, and to own land without a premium account through a "group" to which the land is deeded. Many users own no land or accommodation at all - it is not required for object ownership, although object creation can be another matter.

Land, once purchased, may be traded between users at market rates. Large contiguous plots of land (or even relatively small plots of land in a busy place) can often sell at a hefty premium. Linden's tier remains the same whatever the selling price.

=== Referrals ===

Each user who joins Second Life gets an unique referral link. Giving this link to people who have yet to sign up, and getting them to do so used to credit the user with a certain amount of Linden Dollars -- the in-world currency. Since late January 2006, only premium account signups will result in a bonus, of L$2500, staggered over a three month period, where you get L$500 on the spot, another L$500 after one month, another L$500 after two months, and the final L$1000 after three months, to prevent gaming of the premium account referral bonus.

=== Currency ===

Users can buy or sell their Linden Dollars (L$) from within the game using the Lindex money market run by Linden Research. There are also third-party exchange services.

Exchanges can be performed with any number of Linden Dollars. The Lindex calculator will give you an idea of what you'll be receiving as a result of your sale. The amount that you receive as a result of your sale gets placed into your account, where you may have it applied to anything you owe for your account if you are a premium user, or may have it sent to you via PayPal for a US$1 charge. For larger amounts, you may also have a check mailed to you for a fee - US$5 if you're inside the United States, or US$15 for locations outside of the United States.

There are some furs who extract do this with the earnings from their businesses (custom avatar creation, generic avatar vending, etc.), turning it into profit that allows them to do whatever they want to pay for, up to, and including starting their own islands. Historically-speaking, the L$ is a relatively volatile currency prone to bouts of inflation. It can therefore be a good idea to remove any significant sums from the game, unless they are to be spent quickly in-game.

== Islands and other locations ==
[[island (Second Life)|Islands]] are user-owned simulators within Second Life. You can buy your own island but the price to play is pretty steep: $1250 for start up costs and a server (you don't own the server itself though and due to multiple CPU servers, you are effectively buying space on a single CPU for your island), as well as $195 a month tier. Islands, as opposed to the mainland, get a dedicated processor to run on. Mainland sims (regions) may have to share resources with up to 3 other neighboring regions. An additional benefit is that purchasing an island allows you to contact the Linden Concierge directly with questions, bypassing the standard technical support lines and forums.

Prior to the creation of islands, every simulator belonged to a large land mass. Regions of these simulators sometimes ended up dedicated to specific groups, including the furry fandom.

There are currently a number of furry-owned or themed islands and regions in Second Life:

;[[Luskwood]]
[[Image:Luskwoodlobby.jpg|thumb|200px|The Lobby at Luskwood, the primary hangout for many]]
* Luskwood consists of two sims/regions, '''Lusk''' and '''Perry''', with some elements spilling into '''Clara'''; PG-rated, though not heavy on rules, Luskwood (started in mid-2003) is the oldest Furry-themed area in SL. Though not an island in practice (it resides on the SL mainland) these regions are wholly owned by the Luskwood group, and can be considered its own furry-themed area. It is home to [[Luskwood Creatures]] the first Furry avatar makers on SL. Luskwood builds many varieties of furry avatars, and is considered a sister-sim to, and administered by some of the same folks who run Taco.
:{{see also|Luskwood}}
; [[Taco]]
* Currently owned and run by [[Arito Cotton]] of Luskwood fame.
* This sim currently has a ''Mature'' rating label, though it is asked that you keep the blatantly mature items far, far away from ground level.
* This sim has a slightly cartoony feel to it, and is the home of [[Dwellget]], a department store that heavily parodies the USA based retail store chain, [[Wikipedia:Target|Target]].

; [[FurNation Worlds]]
[[Image:FurNationWorldsLuxor.png|right|thumb|200px|The Luxor on FurNation Prime]]
* FurNation Worlds is a group of seven simulators ('''Prime''', '''Alpha''', '''Vista''', '''Aqua''', '''Reia''', '''Omega''', and '''Kitsune''') run by the crew at [[FurNation]].
* Each of their simulators seems to serve a particular purpose.
** Alpha appears to be the residential area;
** Vista and Omega appear to be sandbox areas;
** Prime is the welcome area and hub for everything in the area.
**There was a seventh (private) sim attached to the south of FNW, '''Asteria Prime''', which is not related in any way to it.
*On April 5, 2006, '''Asteria Prime''' moved to the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate, followed by former FN sim '''Tria''' on April 7, becoming "Masquerade Valley" on the process.
*On May, 2006, '''Kitsune''' (formerly '''Kitsune valley''', from the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate) moved in, along with '''Aqua''', which took '''Tria''''s spot.
:{{see also|FurNation Worlds}}

; [[The Forest]]
[[Image:SecondLifeForestDeluxeApartments.png|right|thumb|200px|Treehouse apartments in The Forest]]
* The Forest was the first Furry oriented island in Second Life.
* This sim had an abundance of trees, but towards the end of [[Spade Richlieu]]'s management, trees were a bit too bare in many spots to really own up to its name.
* This sim suffered from severe lag issues in the beginning, as it was a prime hangout to many furs, which led to the island being full at peak times. This distinction was taken later on by the FurNation Worlds.
* [[Sibe]] was banned from this simulator for reasons unknown; this made big news within the furry circles of Second Life, and it wasn't long before many wanted to know why. This ban has long since been repealed, probably during Anshe's acquisition.
* In its first months, The Forest it earned at least one dwell award (money previously given to people who rake in the most dwell - or ''butt hours'' - each month by Linden Research). The entire island earned one of the awards for January 2005, which offset the first month's island fee by about half in this case.
* The Forest eventually came under [[Anshe Chung]]'s ownership. She soon added '''Tiger Creek''' to the south of The Forest as a residential area for furs to purchase or rent land. In March 2006 a second residential island was added, '''Bunny Bay'''. Revenues from Tiger Creek and Bunny Bay go towards paying for The Forest's tier.
* The Forest, Tiger Creek and Bunny Bay are part of what many call '''AnsheLand''' (mostly out of dislike for its owner - its proper name is actually '''Dreamland'''), a chunk of 55 linked islands located west-north-west of the North Continent of the main Grid.
* As of late May 2006, The Forest has suffered a crisis of administration. Disagreements between Anshe and the Forest Guides led to the replacement of the latter with a set of Dreamland administrators. Meanwhile, the Guides removed all their content, including the vast majority of the trees.
* At the start of June 2006, the Guides moved to a new sim in the north of the Fox Valley region, [[Serenity Woods]].
:{{see also|The Forest}}

; [[Fox Valley]]
* Sometimes know as '''The Valleys''', this sim is furry residential world run by [[RedFox Costello]] as an alternative to The Forest and Tiger Creek.
* The single island is located in the island cloud, southwest of Anshe Chung's ''Dreamland'', northwest of Furnation Worlds.
* Fox Valley was founded in November 2005, making it the youngest of the furry islands. Since then it has grown, with additional islands named '''Wolf Valley''' and '''Tiger Valley''' (run by [[Kithylin Perth]]), '''FlyinTails Airfield''' (run by [[Effsey Nelson]]), '''Rabbit Valley''' (run by the [[Kenzo Clan]],) [[Dragon Valley]], [[Masquerade Valley]] (formerly '''Furnation Tria''') [[Ryu Valley]] and [[Isteria Prime]]. Two former sims moved out in May 2006, '''Kitsune Valley''' and '''Fae Valley''' (run by [[Alynna Vixen]]), with '''[[Serenity Woods]]''' moving in at the start of June 2006.
:{{see also|Fox Valley}}

; [[Abbotts Aerodrome]]
[[Image:Sl abbotts aerodrome cubey terra.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Abbotts Aerodrome]]
* Abbotts Aerodrome bills itself as "the most famous airport in Second Life". Occasionally referred to as Abbotts Furrodrome, Abbotts is among the most fur-friendly airports in Second Life. The Aerodrome features free demo flights, a skydiving center, A.I. flights, and shops owned by some of the leading aircraft designers in Second Life. Founded by Apotheus Silverman and Cubey Terra in 2004, Abbotts Aerodrome is a center for aircraft development and skydiving.

; [[Rainbow Tiger]]
* Originally a dance club owned by [[Spike Nico]] and an adjoining mall owned by [[Shadow Garden]] in the '''Cleary''' region, Rainbow Tiger has expanded onto a full island. Rainbow Tiger currently has: [[Club Rainbow Tiger]], a large dance club with live DJ's spinning tunes regularly as well as a large 3 story mall, swimming pool, events center, casino, and an exercise room. It is also the primary retail location for OrcaHorse, owned by [[Fore Odets]]. Rainbow Tiger has been awarded Developer's Incentive awards twice by Linden Lab since its creation. A second island named [[Rainbow Stallion]] was added at the end of March 2006, and is being developed as a residential area. Both sims are rated 'mature', and are open to all species.
:{{see also|Rainbow Tiger}}

; [[Tartarus Island]]
* The new home of [[The Fur Dungeon]], a club that once existed on the mainland. Underwater dungeon areas and an array of domes (including, presently, a mall and movie dome) complement the club itself. Created by [[Musuko Massiel]].

; [[The Wild (Second Life)|The Wild]]
* Furry [[Wikipedia:Myst|Myst]] themed island owned by [[Shaun Wallaby]].

; [[Cub Conclave]]
[[Image:CubConclaveFlagpole.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Cub Conclave's flags fly proud]]
* An island for [[babyfur]]s. Features a castle, a mini mall, a marina, a bathhouse, a spaceship and [[Club Softpaws]] among other things. Founded and owned by [[Raven Welesa]]
:{{see also|Cub Conclave}}

; [[Prometheus]]
* Mature-rated furry-themed island sim run by [[Sabvriel Padar]]. Mostly residential, with several houses nestled amid beautiful landscaping and apartments for rent up in the sky. Also hosts a small shop for vendors, and [[Club Synergy]].

; [[Coonspiracy]]
* Southwest corner of Noonkkot sim, a hangout for raccoons, gators, swamp foxes, and the like.

; [[Meeting Island]]
* Mature-rated furry-themed island sim run by [[Pounce Teasle]]. [[Raccoon Hill]] (Former sim [[Fae Valley]] from the Fox Valley's sim conglomerate) was added in May, 2006. '''Meeting Island''' is best known for the furry [[escort]] establishment, [[The Seven Tails Brothel]].

Collecting donations for Island upkeep fees is a popular activity on islands, furry or otherwise.

== "Second Life Furry" logo ==
[[Image:Slfur.png|right|100px]]
In (early 2006?), a "furry admin" meeting for all furry and/or furry-friendly sims' administrators or owners was held to discuss several unifying strategies regarding the fandom population in world ([[Inferniel Solvang]] was the lead fur for this particular enconter.) Of the many proposals, one was the creation of a common, official symbol or logo for identifying purposes for sim or fur.

The final design, a SL logo inspired image, came to be thanks to the design of SL [[furry artist]], [[Yiffy Yaffle]]. The logo can be viewed on most of the older furry sims, with propagation to newer ones going at a slow, but steady rate.

== Video ==
[[Image:SecondLifeFundayPawPetShow.png|right|thumb|200px|Furs watching the Funday PawPet Show in Second Life]]
As of version 1.6.0, Second Life now hooks [[Wikipedia:Quicktime|Quicktime]], if it is installed on the user's system, to provide an interface that allows one to watch movies within the client itself. A '''very''' fast connection is suggested in this case, as you will be streaming world data ''and'' a video at the same time. If Quicktime is not installed, the user will be reminded that Quicktime is needed to watch video within the client when they enter a parcel with video.

A number of furs use the video feature to watch the [[Funday PawPet Show]] on their land.

Some users have taken advantage of this new feature to bring forward a new business: Movie Rentals. One may rent adult movies from a couple of the businesses in Second Life, for the express purpose of being able to watch pornography on their land for a couple of hours.

== Preview Grid ==
As Linden Lab draws closer to a potential release, be it a sub-version upgrade, or a full point-release jump, they release preview versions of the client, to allow all interested parties to test the new client and its features. This is extremely important to builders, scripters, and texturers, as knowing how the new software will handle their works is very important.

The Preview client is run on a separate grid from the current client, which means there are less people to interact with. Most of the people available test their wares, making sure they won't have to do a full rebuild or rescript for the next version, as well as reporting bugs.

== Technical advice ==

Due to the amount of data that is sent between the client (you) and the servers, Second Life requires broadband internet of 1Mbps or better, at least 512MB of computer RAM, and a CPU faster than 800MHz, though the bare minimum will not be as pleasant an experience. Linden Lab suggests that you invest in hardware that will exceed the minimum specs. There are also specific graphics card requirements due to the game making use of a certain OpenGL standard. The system requirements for interested people is listed at the Second Life website partially, and more exact requirements can be found inside its technical support area.

Although it is not impossible to use a dial-up connection with Second Life, nearly every option of the game requires serious cutting back; close to the bare minimum. This makes the experience flatter and less pleasant, with lag so heavy that movement is difficult and awkward with occasional stop-frame style "clipping" animation. Walking forward one step, for example, might occasionally result in sliding forward more then a yard or two before being snapped back to your intended position in a rather sudden jerk, or scenery change. Sometimes, said movement could make you sink through the ground or pass through other objects (like a wall) before the snap-back occurs. Then you find you need another of the regular 17-20[[Wikipedia:Megabyte|MB]] to 20MB updates to play. There aren't many dialup users on Second Life.

Second Life has been dealing with issues over ATi's video card drivers for quite a while. It has become practice on the forums to suggest to ATi users to pick up the [http://www.omegadrivers.net/ Omega Drivers], a set of user-modified drivers recognized by ATi (according to their author) as "''the best-modded drivers in the Internet''". These Omega Drivers enable features that Second Life can use which aren't easily enabled in the default drivers.

== Fansites ==

Linden Lab's policies reguarding Second Life fansites is loose, provided the following stipulations are met.

* There is no attempt to pass off a fan site as Second Life or Linden Lab itself

* The following legal text is present on all Second Life related pages: "Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. No infringement is intended." this must include the ® circles though can be any size the website creators see fit.

== References ==
<references />

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Second Life|Second Life]] on Wikipedia
* [[:Category:Second Lifers|Second Lifers on WikiFur]]
* [http://secondlife.com/movies/secondtake.wmv Second Life Promotional Video] -- This file is directly available on the Second Life Home page. The video is linked to an image titled "watch the video" that will alternate with the free trial promotional image link. There is also a [http://www.apple.com/games/trailers/secondlife/ Quicktime version] of the video.

== External links ==
[[Image:Censor_MA_button.png|right]]
* ''[http://nothingkat.com/confession/secondlife.htm If Furries Ruled The World....]'' — An article at [[Nothingkat.com]] which voices a dislike of Second Life from an [[Anti-furries|Anti-Fur]] point of view (contains graphic nudity)
* [http://www.livejournal.com/community/secondlife_furs/ Second Life Furry Community] at [[LiveJournal]]
* ''[http://www.alphavilleherald.com/archives/000505.html The Second Life Herald: Miravoir Meets The Furries]'' — Article about furries on Second Life
* ''[http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2005/04/furry_like_me.html New World Notes: Furry Like Me]'' — Another article about furries on Second Life
* ''[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm?chan=tc&chan=technology_technology+index+page_today's+top+stories My Virtual Life]'' — Buisness Week reporter examines Second Life in detail
* ''[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982009.htm Virtual Land, Real Money]'' — An interview with [[Anshe Chung]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LlMZjCBJhE Beatfox and his firey foxy tail] - an video example of flexiprims in furry avatars
* [http://jolie.silentshadows.net Jolie Grant: SL Furry Model] a website showcasing the modeling talents of a furry who made it into the human modeling world with her adorable avatar.
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''A piece of this article has been copied directly from the Second Life website and no challenge is being issued in regards to the material of the quote taken in any way, shape, or form.''

[[Category:Multiplayer worlds]][[Category:Second Life|*]]
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