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Site Outage Today

At approximately 9:30am MT our Web host’s entire communications network (Internet, cell and phone) was taken off-line by a massive fiber cut that affected much of much of Taos. This is the largest communication outage Brownrice has seen in six years. Brownrice Internet utilizes triple-redundant internet connections to ensure reliabilty in the event that an upstream provider fails. However, these connections share one local fiber optic cable — which was cut this morning. To ensure that this type of outage does not happen again we have already begun the process of creating an additional physical connection to the Internet which will keep us online should something like this happen again.

Written by: Creech

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Heroes Happen Here

Three ways to be a hero.
One event to launch them.

The Second Life Event April 26th will celebrate the launch of:

Windows Server 2008

Visual Studio 2008

SQL Server 2008

Register in Second Life to ensure you have a seat or visit the Face Book Event Page.

The virtual event will bring together IT Pros and Developers to get an in-depth, up-close look at the new products and will give attendees an opportunity to meet with their peers as well as Microsoft employees.

The event is designed to give attendees a high level technical overview covering features and solutions of all three new products in a classroom environment.

This is an opportunity to:

  • See the applications in action.
  • Attend break-out sessions and meet with product experts.
  • Have Q&A sessions with the speakers and your peers.

Join in for this day long celebration!

Check out the schedule of the day’s events, find links to downloads for Live Meeting, and more information here.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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Purpose, Benefit, and Successes in Second Life for your organization

Anika Pastorelli gave a presentation at our weekly meeting last Friday about the need to help the Nonprofit Commons (NPC) better articulate the rationale and benefits of nonprofits participating in NPC. Measuring impact, both qualitative and quantitative is a crucial part of our development efforts, so please take a moment to add your input to help support NPC:

1) Add your nonprofit experience on The Case for Non Profits in SL wiki page.

2) Take a brief survey about your NP’s impact in Second Life.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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Griefers: How to File Abuse Reports

Having been “griefed” now myself, I learned only after the fact how to file an Abuse Report. I wish I had known beforehand how to do this, as you can capture more about the perpetrator if you know in advance how to do it. Also, if you have a plan, you don’t stress about what to do in that situation, you do not lose time or information, and you may be able to ensure the griefing is as short-lived as possible.

Here are a few recommendations that I’d like to share, so others can benefit and be prepared (if ever needed) to respond and file complete abuse reports in real time (with photos).

IN ADVANCE:

– Record your chat logs so you can copy and paste information afterwards into the abuse report. Go to Edit, then Preferences. Click “Communication” tab and check the “Log Chat” and “Log IM”. Click Apply and OK.

– Have a “safe place” to escape to. This should be your “Home” location, which you can immediately get to by pressing CTRL SHIFT H. Otherwise, just be prepared with LMs to which the griefers can’t follow you. When I was griefed, a friend teleported me elsewhere on the island, but the greifer followed us and the griefing continued, so a “safe place” (like another island) is preferable.

– Know in advance about who has the power to ban griefers in your area. For example, there are the Dreamland Angels who can help ban residents in areas like NPC1. Since NPC2 is not part of Dreamland, make sure that Megan and Susan know immediately of any abuse (whether for NPC1 or 2). Therefore setting up a community protocol for responding to griefers is recommended.

DURING THE ABUSE:

Notify area residents immediately via the common channel (e.g., Non Profit Commons group channel). Everyone can read what’s happening and respond appropriately.

Immediately file an Abuse Report (Do not wait), even if the situation is stressful. Go to Help and “Report Abuse”. The minute you click on this, the abuse report registers an instant photo of the griefing taking place (so worth doing asap). Make sure you check the box that says “Include Snapshot”.

– Pick the Category of Abuse
– Select the Resident (Important). It lets you input the name and shows you a list of possible names, which you then pick. (Note only one resident abuser or griefer name per report, so do multiple reports if multiple griefers).
– Make sure the Location of Abuse is correct (e.g., if you escaped Home it will automatically enter the LM of your present location, so make sure it’s the location of the actual abuse).
– Enter Summary
– Enter Details. Make sure you include relevant IM/text as well as describe any audio (voice chat) you heard or visuals.

Make sure everyone who was greifed files a report for each griefer and greifing. The more reports the better.

Contact those in charge of the area being griefed to initiate banning and protection from continued greifing.

AFTER THE ABUSE: Make sure community residents are aware of the greifing, the perpetrator(s) and follow up, in terms of banning, etc. Check that abuse report log status to see what was done to follow up on the part of Second Life.

Anika Pastorelli

Written by: GCN

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Glitter Speaks Before Congress on Nonprofits in Second Life

TechSoup’s own Susan Tenby, Senor Manager–Online Community Development , aka Glitteractica Cookie, gave a prepared testimony before the the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet today about the potential of Second Life for nonprofits. Her testimony was part of today’s hearing: "Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium".

Subcommittee chairperson, Congressman Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) moderated the hearing in-person while his avatar presented simultaneously in in Second Life. Some invited avatars were able to watch the closed hearings in a virtual version of the committee hearing room.

This hearing looked at the evolution, culture and future of virtual worlds. Its purpose was to "obtain testimony on the nature and growth of online virtual worlds; the types of applications and services, both commercial and non-commercial, supported and offered in such worlds; and any policy issues raised by virtual worlds that may need to be addressed or monitored." Susan spoke from her experience as founder of TechSoup’s Nonprofit Commons, a virtual community of practice for nonprofits in Second Life. She addressed the importance and significance of nonprofits using Second Life and the benefits of using this medium to help organizations achieve their mission. Other presenters included Philip Rosedale, co-founder of Linden Labs (the company which created Second Life) and Dr. Larry Johnson Chief Executive Officer of the New Media Consortium.

You can check out the video of the proceedings, Susan Tenby’s submitted Congressional testimony (pdf), as well as the text archive of the hearing.
Special thanks to Rik Riel for his Second Life hearing picture.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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Life Happens

fireworks

Memorable things often happen without planning. Like on March 24 Ludwig van Beethoven died at the age of 56 in Vienna, Austria. Oh yeah, that was in 1827. Something else momentous happened this past Monday, March 24 … and it was LIFE! It was life at NonProfit Commons Aloft. We had a party.

I’m not sure if someone organized it or if the energy just demanded it. Everyone was so excited. I arrived late and the party was really rock’in with AVs flying all over, chatting it up and just having a great time. Anika was positively bubbling over and Kurt was doing an imitation of Top Gun buzzing the tower. In Kenzo even made an appearance and from her attire it was obvious she was not working (hehe). I only wish I knew everyone and could mention their names. Manifest Destiny was there. There was also a handsome cowboy (smiles).

So what brought all of us together? Well, after a dismal week of news out of Tibet, Iraq and uncertainty with the upcoming U.S. elections we were all ready for something silly. What?

FIREWORKS! And it was glorious. Sadly, Kurt Vonnegut and Phillip Dick weren’t there. But for all you live AVs run-n-round Second Life it’s rumored that a second act will follow. Be there.

See video here: YouTube Video 1
and here: YouTube Video 2
(sorry, better quality vids later)

Written by: gale.beckwith

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International Justice Center Opens this Thursday with Address by ICC Prosecutor

justicecommons_004
Global Kids, the foremost nonprofit in virtual world education, is set to launch the International Justice Center within Second Life on March 20 at 3PM EST. The inaugural event will feature a presentation and discussion by Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). During the launch, the ICC Prosecutor will appear in avatar form to give a brief statement, answer questions from the audience, and introduce the Center. This will be broadcast live by SLCN.TV.

Later that same day, the International Justice Center will host a simulcast of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan as he receives the first MacArthur Award for International Justice and gives a keynote address on international justice. Global Kids will stream a number of other live videos into the Center (click here to teleport).

[UPDATE 3/24/08: For those that we not able to make the event, SLCN.tv has kindly made available their coverage of the event at http://www.slcn.tv/international-justice-center-launch . ]

The complete press release follows…

justicecommons_ICC
Press Release

CONTACT: Barry Joseph
Global Kids
Tel: +1 212-226-0130 ext. 120
Email: barry@globalkids.org

GLOBAL KIDS TO OPEN INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE CENTER IN SECOND LIFE WITH ADDRESS BY THE ICC PROSECUTOR

(March 18, 2008) Global Kids, the foremost nonprofit in virtual world education, is set to launch the International Justice Center within Second Life on March 20 at 3PM EST. The inaugural event will feature a presentation and discussion by Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Later that same day, the center will host a simulcast of an address by Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General.

Since 2005, Global Kids has leveraged the educational potential of virtual worlds to inform and involve people in pressing international and public policy issues. The International Justice Center builds on Global Kids’ groundbreaking work by establishing an online hub supporting the ICC and the global justice concerns it addresses. Developed and administered by Global Kids with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, this innovative online learning center will provide resources for people to learn about the ICC, connect with ICC officials and advocates, and take action in support of human rights and international justice.

During the launch, the ICC Prosecutor will appear in avatar form to give a brief statement, answer questions from the audience, and introduce the Center. This will be broadcast live by SLCN.TV. Later that same day, the International Justice Center will host a simulcast of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan as he receives the first MacArthur Award for International Justice and gives a keynote address on international justice. Global Kids will stream a number of other live videos into the Center, including:

• 3:00-4:00 PM: In-world remarks and Q&A with ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
• 4:30-6:00 PM: Panel discussion by major human rights officials on the topic of “The Emerging International Justice System”
• 9:00-9:40PM: Award ceremony and keynote address by Mr. Kofi Annan

All of these events can be viewed from the International Justice Center in Second Life and on the web at http://justicecenter.net. Participants in the virtual Q&A with the ICC prosecutor must be Second Life members and can teleport directly to the Center at this link.

About Global Kids
Founded in 1989, Global Kids’ mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civil life and the democratic process.

In 2006, Global Kids became the first non-profit to develop a dedicated space for programming in the virtual world of Teen Second Life (TSL). Global Kids brings students from its New York-based programs into the organization’s headquarters to conduct youth leadership programming and stream audio and video of major international events. This innovative program is conducted in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation, UNICEF, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Youth Venture, and the International Criminal Court, among others. More information on this program can be found on the blog http://holymeatballs.org/second_life/ and on Global Kids’ website at www.GlobalKids.org.

About the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is the world’s first international human rights tribunal, designed to investigate and try those accused of committing some of the worst violations of human rights, including genocide, mass rape and war crimes. The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands since 1998, is investigating and trying crimes committed in Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.

About the MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution helping to build a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media. With assets of $6.8 billion, the Foundation makes approximately $260 million in grants annually.

The IJC is a project of Global Kids and is supported by a generous grant from the Digital Media and Learning Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The IJC is an independent initiative and does not purport to represent or imply any formal association with the International Criminal Court. For more information, see http://www.justicecenter.net.

The Second Life Cable Network (SLCN.TV), a media partner of this event, is the premier virtual television network providing live coverage of a range of business, entertainment and sports events.

* * *

Written by: rikomatic

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NPC Community Member Profiles

Khrys Kanto/Her StartupMy name is Khrys Kanto and I assist Zazoom Zimminy with volunteer coordination. Part of this includes introducing new members to the NPC community. To keep things simple, I’ve created a community profile sheet that can be downloaded here.

The profile is for new and existing members. For new members, it will serve as your introduction to the community. Existing members – please feel free to complete if you would like to update your current profile with new information. Completed profiles can be returned to me via the email listed on the form along with both your SL and RL photos.

Written by: khrys