I’d forgotten the simple pleasure of going for a drive in Second Life until this afternoon when a friend and I set off on a spontanous adventure – to see if it were possible to drive, (in an amphibious car) from Gaeta V to the Blake’s Sea. I must admit, it seemed to me a bit of an ambitious challenge, but, what the heck, I was free, so I was more than happy to be driven for a change.
Most of the journey went really well, far better than I’d expected, I have to admit, with few bad sim crossings to speak of, and relatively few situations where we were stymied by ill-places banlines -far better to invest in a simple security orb that allows at least 20 seconds to clear the property, especially in areas adjacent to roads and waterways. We also encountered few areas where entitled morons had built right out into the waterway, thus selfishly preventing forward progress. Why hasn’t Linden Labs clamped down on this small-minded behaviour? The roads of Gaeta V remain as they were in 2008 when the continent first appeared, and though Route 7 is a circuit of the continent, it’s not road all the way, and much of it is a canal. That it maybe at one time early in the development of the continent have been the intention to build a road all the way around can be garnered by the existence, just off the coast at Skonber, of a section of submarine road tunnel, unfinished, and abandoned. A huge shame, as many of us really do enjoy going for a drive, even though some region (sim) crossings are indeed as awful as they ever were. It’s been a constant source of bewilderment that some really great vehicles are available, and the physics engine more than adequate, that there are not more vehicles on the roads of Second Life. But for the issue of terrible region crossings I think there would be more traffic on the roads, and that this is the single issue that holds things back. Even more pertinent though it is for the sailing community, as sailing is by far, the most popular vehicular activity in Second Life. Though it took some time, we made it, and I was very impressed by my friend’s skill at driving, though sometimes I did wonder where on earth we were going at some points in the journey. It was time to log out for my friend soon after we arrived at our destination, so I decided to attempt to fly back in my freebie Ka 26 helicopter, (obtained on the Marketplace, ‘Michie Marine’, maker of some really fine freebies, check them out). I successfully negotiated my fly over Blake’s Sea, (which should offer no obstacles) and also through the maze of private residential parcels that I had to negotiate in order to arrive back on the continent of Corsica, where my plan was to follow the coast round until I could cross the straits between Corsica and Gaeta V, aiming to return to our starting point on Frostar Pier. I successfully arrived on Corsica only to be abrubtly unseated from my helicopter on attmempting to cross a parcel where the owner didn’t allow object entry. I don’t know who the epsilon semi-moron was who decided that their security was so paramount that they didn’t want anyone overflying ‘their’ land, (the more I think about it, the more moronic and absurd the whole notion of ‘owning’ land becomes, and that’s in Real Life, and even more more moronic in Second Life where everyone knows that only the creators of virtual life itself owns the land and controls the metaverse – Linden Labs). So, please landowners, think about others. Very few of us want to invade your privacy, and certainly one’s house or abode should be off-limits, so why not secure just the house, and maybe set an orb for the rest that allows 20 or 30 seconds to elapse before booting a lost soul? Better still, allow freedom to wander, except in your home, and maybe even make your garden nice, put a tip jar, and you never know, if you make it especially nice, you may even get a small contribuiton towards your tier. And if you have tenure of a coastal parcel, why not set up small jetty with temporary rezz rights so people can launch their boats there? Many of us would be very thankful for something like that, and if you it to a five minute limit you won’t be landed with everyone else’s random items. Linden Labs, whilst we all appreciate that coastal parcels are at a premium, perhaps enforce a code that states that banlines are prohibited, especially close to waterways, (and roads) and that security systems that allow time to navigate past the parcel are to be preferred, or even obligatory if any security is to be implemented at all
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Like many a Hypergrid traveller, one of the attractions is shopping. Whist we are spoilt for choice in the Opensim Metaverse in terms of good quality stuff at low, low prices, (i.e. 'free') it's nice to be able to 'spread a little Linden love' as the horrible phrase goes in that evil underworld. I don't mind paying a reasonable price for some content, (though it seems that trees are my biggest indulgence) so I signed up for Gloebits, as that is the enabled currency on Speculoos. Well, there is a little more to it than that... Every time you log , or arrive at a Gloebits enabled region you get a spam greeting encouraging you to sing up to Gloebits. Personally I find that kind of thing both intrusive and annoying - I'm aware that Gloebits exist, and I don't need constant reminders that they exist, any more than I need to be reminded that cash exists in RL. Heck, not even within the confines of the evil Linden empire itself are you constantly pestered to get Linden Dollars. So, in order to do something about the harrassment every time I logged in, or returned from an HG journey, I signed up and bought $G2,150 - or £10 worth. That's not a lot, but it is a rather large amount to just leave lying dormant just in order to be free of constant nagging. Oh,no, we don't get off that lightly. Once you've signed up to Gloebits, it's true you no longer get pestered to sign up, you just get pestered to buy more Gloebits!
It wouldn't be so bad if these damned intrusions could be turned off, or blocked. But the can't, it would seem. I'm quite capable of deciding for myself whether I need more Gloebits. There's even a handy running total on the top right of my viewer informing me how many Gloebits I currently have. I don't need constant haranguing from Gloebits to buy more of them. I can manage to decide that for myself. Of course, one one has Gloebits to spend, the next problem is actually spending them. So, I HG to a grid where I know Gloebits are used, and is somewhat surprised to see my entire Gloebits total disappear entirely, which happens simultaneously with a sound of a cash register making a sale. Apparently making off with someone's entire Gloebit fortune without explanation isn't exactly going to endear you to people. Especially when you go to the Gloebits website only to discover that the only reference is that your avatar needs to be validated for that grid - only Gloebits, in their infinite wisdom don't put it in language and descriptions that your average grid hopper can fathom, oh no. We have a wonderful term in UK English to describe language that is jargon riddled and unintelligible to mere mortals, Gobbledegook. That's the fairest term I can use to describe what Gloebits say needs to be done, I appreciate that Gloebits are used in other places, and not just Opensim, but surely clarity is what is important here? What would be so wrong in including the few lines needed to explain the process as it affects avatars in Opensim. I know the webiste does provide something of a description that talks about 'product' and 'partner product' but an Opensim grid or region isn't a 'product' in that sense -it's a virtual environment. In simple, commonplace, (if strictly inaccurate) terms, it's a sim. So why not explain it thus? Confusion ended! The writers of the Gloebits website, and those who write many tutorials could do worse than take a look at the website at the link below BEFORE even considering publishing their written efforts: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ Okay, so by now I guess you've got the message that I was less than happy with my experience of Gloebits. I put out a request for help on the 3dBox chat on MeWe, and did get a few people to help me (thanks Amaranthim Talon and others) all to no avail, as they were as stumped as I was. Anyway someone informed me that not all regions on all grids are Gloebit enabled, so I thought I'd try something, and teleported to a region that I knew was Gloebit enabled, and I did get the popup that directs me to the Globits website where I can authorise my avatar on that particular grid. It really is a simple process, but I didn't know what exactly to expect, and though an attempt was made to explain that process, it was so poorly done as to be confusing even to someone whose Englsh language skills are excellent. A simple, Opensim related paragraph that described the process would have been enough to allay a lot of total confusion - something along the lines of, 'You're avatar is registered for Gloebits on your home grid, and now you want to go shopping in another grid that uses Gloebits? First you need to HG to a Gloebits enabled region on a Gloebits enabled grid. Once you've arrived there, you should see a popup asking if you wish to enable your Gloebits account on that region/grid. You'll be able to click a link that will take you to a page on the Gloebits website where you can authorise your avatar to spend your Gloebits on that region/grid. Please bear in mind that not all regions on Gloebit enabled grids are enabled for Gloebits. On these regions you will not see a popup." See, simple, not confusing, (no obscure and unintelligible jargon) and clear. |
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