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.

Qwark Allen's "Quantum Entanglement Communications Tower" build.

The "hamster cage" I remember from an event years ago.

The "Kittycats" build.

"The Tree of Life"

"The Bubble," a walk-in, artistic exhibit.

An overhead glance of several exhibits, including a number of water ones.

The SL Coast Guard's exhibit

"Tugby," a game in which tugboats try to push a ball around a watery field, trying to get the goal.

The build of a "Star Wars" roleplay group.

A surfing group set up this interactive build.

One could get a board and surf around on the inside.

"Scwarz Malerei," this artistic monochrome visit kept changing as cubes appeared and disappeared.

Jaycatt and Frogg at a music event Saturday June 28.

This musical duo has been performing live across Second Life for years.

The Cake Stage on the last few hours of the event, Sunday June 29.

DJ Laz Dressler would be the musician for the last official party, which at 11PM SL time had fireworks going off.

It was a great ending to a great event, more fireworks pictures can be seen (here).

Thanks to the exhibitors, performers, and other volunteers, it was one great event. So long, Second Life Eleventh Birthday.

For some other articles, check out:

DrFran Babcock's Take on the SL11B - http://slnewserdesign.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-take-on-sl11b-by-drfran-babcock.html

Dulcies Destinations - http://dulciesdestinations.blogspot.com/2014/06/sl11b-review.html

Daniel Voyager - http://danielvoyager.wordpress.com/2014/07/05/interesting-sl11b-exhibits-part-2/

http://danielvoyager.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/interesting-sl11b-exhibits-part-1/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielvoyager/

Virtual Outworlding - http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2014/06/2014-people-art-sl11b-second-life-first.html

Bixyl Shuftan

SL10B Opening Day

On June 16, 2013, The Second Life Tenth Birthday officially began. Months of planning and weeks of building had gone into the celebration, and finally it was time to begin. The sims had been closed to the exhibitors and performers at Midnight the evening before, and they were reopened to them just in time to get ready for the influx of residents at 12 Noon.

The opening event was a party at the cake stage (the cake itself is hidden in the foliage on the top). The big crowd was divided among the four sims, with nearly 70 packed into one, and the others about as many combined.

 Those attending whooped it up with plenty of gestures and effects.

Avatars of all types showed up

And of various fashions of dress.

CharlesDe Beaumont was the DJ for the event. "I am getting dizzy in this revolving DJ booth," he called out, "make it worthwile and dance all around me....reduces your lag at the same time (laughter)." When some girl he was chatting with crashed, "Someone help her...the poor girl fainted."

At 1PM was the flag raising Ceremony. There were actually a number of separate ceremonies across the Grid. This one took place in Astonish down the street from the Newser exhibit.

After the flag rasing, T-shirts for the staff, performers, and exhibitors were then made available. Different roles had different colors, with olive being for exhibitors. Security had red shirts, which resulted in a few jokes about avatars getting killed over chat.

At 1:15 was a discussion in the Auditorium. Saffia Widdershins hosted a talk from the "masters of mesh" Cain Maven and Froukje Hoorenbeeke. The chat was held in Voice.

At 4PM SL time, Saffia hosted a talk with Flea Bussy and Toady Nakamura from Grendles, whom had built the Turtle Stage for the SL10B, as well as doing the ignoble duty as the events "janitors." Grendles is known for it's bargain avatars, such as the humanoid jellyfish Saffia sported. A number of subjects were discussed, such as inventory. Toady's other recent project, "I built the April Fool's House at Raglan Shire with Clover Dezno." Flea called it, "a wacky fun build."

There were more than just talks at the Auditorium. There were a number of musicians performing at the various stages, such as singer Maxamillian Kleene and DJ Grease Coakes.

Besides the events at the SL10B sims, there were other events that day. The Burn2 group had a SL10B celebration of their own with Debi Latte singing. Among those attending was artist Bryn Oh.

And Relay events went on that day SL10B or no. At Arinultra Beach, members of a few teams danced away. This included Gem Sunkiller, whom a few days before had been in a "Bid Me Chocolate" event.

It was a great start to the SLB, with plenty of exhibits to see, and more events to come. Check the Auditorium Schedule to see (Click Here).

Bixyl Shuftan

SL10B Preparations: Flying over the Sims

By Gemma Cleanslate

So now I am on the sims of the SL10 Birthday Celebration, in my role of Exhibitor Assistant , not just looking, working hard! To help all the builders get settled is a great honor. I did it last year and loved it. It is a thrill to hear the thanks of the builders as we escort them to their plot and pass out their “slice of the cake.” This is their information box that will give them the building rules and badge as a builder.  

 Sunday was hectic to say the least. At Noon the sims opened and the rush was on. Before the builders came to the sim we had to verify them as an accepted applicant, then invite them into the Exhibitors group. It was great to have all the volunteer Exhibitors Assistants that were available. The crowds persisted into the evening hours and I am sure long into the night. Their anticipation just to get in there on their plot was electric.  Some of the builders already have their exhibits in their pockets and begin immediately to put it them out. Never mind we are still standing there doing paper work, LOL. This makes the sims bloom quickly. 

Some exhibitors are still planning. That is ok. There is plenty of time.Thank goodness they were patient. So far so good. Some, who are knowledgeable from past experience waited until the second day. The lines were not so long and moved much faster. 

I have had a chance to fly around now and take a look. It is amazing !! Already the fascinating builds are appearing. I also know from experience that no matter how long I am in those 20 sims I will not ever see every build. It is almost impossible. So I recommend trying very hard for you to set aside lots of time during the weeks of the birthday celebration. You are going to need it,not only to see the builds but also to attend the numerous 24/7 parties that will be on 5 stages. Performers and DJs will be there, June 16 through June 29 but the sims will remain longer for you to try to see it all. I say Try and I mean Try! 

I can’t show you any of the builds yet, but have permission to show you some plot holders. More to come.

http://slcommunitycelebration.com/blog/

Gemma Cleanslate