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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