A Look Back at the SL11B

Monday, July 7, 2014

A Look Back at the SL11B

By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life's Eleventh Birthday was the third that was organized without the assistance of Linden Lab. As DrFran Babcock pointed out in her article, it was smaller than the previous two. With the SL9B, the decision by Linden Lab not to sponsor the event drove residents into action. The SL10B was a milestone event, the Grid had reached a decade old. Eleven just doesn't have the same ring to it as ten, plus residents had spent their energy with two big events in a row. There would be no display showing the history of Second Life over the years, no store of historical "freebies" such as the starter furry avatar, or an exhibit that got as much attention as the "Behemoth."

There was also that The Birthday was not the most important concern to many residents. Just a few days before was when Ebbe Linden announced the Lab was working on a next generation virtual world. The collective "What the Frack" moment, plus the panic by some, stole much of the limelight away from the event.

Still, this was Second Life's event of the year, only the Relay Weekend and Burn 2 coming close to in size in terms of attendance and land size. And it deserved the coverage it got. And with the opening on June 22 at Noon, the flags went up shortly afterward and the celebration was in business.

The Phoenix Wave Team build (Not Team Firestorm, which has a similar logo), a mentor group aimed at helping new residents.

"The Future of Nuclear Power as Seen From the Past" by Catboy Qunhua

People were *much* more optimistic about nuclear power in the past, imagining nuclear powered airplanes, even cars. Nuclear-powered spaceships are still considered to be part of the future of spaceflight.