Berry’s Movie Poster Challenge – PAWS

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Salome

“We’re gonna need a bigger mouse trap.” ~ Anon.

I am not much of a joiner. It’s not that I think I’m too cool for the crowd — I’m just bad at it. I’m either too sarcastic or too lazy or just not into the things others seem to be into. I’m also not a share type. And most challenges/memes that float around the SL blogs seem to center on the “share about yourself” variety…which…ewwws me out. So, when Strawberry Singh started her Memes / Challenges a while back, I thought the concept was clever, but never really felt the urge to participate in any of them.

Back when the grid used to go down once a week for maintenance, those handful of us that blogged realized it was a perfect day to invite discussion and give readers something to do. These “Grid Down” days where when we asked readers to weigh in and rabble rabble rabble (although the rabble rabble rabble back then was gentle compared to the plurk wars of today). They were always the most popular entries because people, by and large, love to give their own opinions.

Any good blog or outlet will employ the use of this sparingly. Berry does it on a weekly basis in a fairly structured schedule so readers know what to expect. I think that’s clever for her response numbers as well as a good way of keeping her quality content away from the gimmick. I get weary of the way many lazy bloggers end entries with “tell me what you think” after a brief paragraph of introduced controversy while keeping their own opinions half-shielded.

All that said, I couldn’t resist participating in this week’s Berry blog challenge which involved taking inspiration from a movie poster. To me, the ultimate iconic movie poster is JAWS and, since I’ve been loving my Sugar Glider avatar from Wilds of Organica (Arcade Gatcha item, I know, I hate them, too) this was a no-brainer.

Berry’s Movie Poster Blog Challenge

Posted in Second Life, SL - Fun, Teh Funny, Virtual Living | 3 Comments

Free Advice For Event Coordinators

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Salome

Dear Event Coordinators,

You and I do not like each other. It’s not personal. You are simply advocating and maintaining a practice that I find creatively lazy as well as unnecessary and damaging to the SL community and its commerce. That aside, some of my friends are event coordinators and I’ve even had one or two of them in my virtual house. My feelings on location based events aside, there is an issue that needs to be on the radar of your management agenda: content theft.

If you have been paying attention, you will have noticed that several high-profile cases have damaged the cause and reputations of many recent events. There is no way to police the grid. There is no 100% fair way to deal with any of this. But you can no longer pretend that “this is a case for Linden Lab” will cover it. Happily there is a two-part plan that you can put in place to both strengthen the integrity of your event and protect yourself against unnecessary drama.

Step One: Clause in Sign-Up Agreement

Your first step is to include a clause in your event sign-up agreement that is more than the standard useless “no copyright violation allowed.” You need something that conveys authority and provides insight into consequences. Something like:

[EVENT] will not tolerate incidents of copyright infringement. We understand that inspiration is drawn from many sources and that Second Life brings together individuals from different nationalities. As such, copyright can be confusing, even for those who pay close attention. Our best advice is to avoid any product that reproduces or is “inspired by” an item protected by copyright. Avoid use of any logos or reference to copyrighted materials in your event offerings. Should one of your items be brought to our attention for copyright concerns, we will err on the side of caution and remove the items. This is not done to punish or pass judgement, but to remove even the possibility of impropriety. In the case of returned materials no guilt is assumed and no insult intended. By agreeing to partake in this event you understand the handling of this issue is at the sole discretion of event management and that any potential removal is merely a precaution and not an accusation or judgement of guilt. You agree not to take any action against the event, event sponsors, or event management based on such removals. Following removals, reimbursement of donations and rental fees will be considered on an individual basis, but are not guaranteed.

I am not a lawyer. If you are worried about legal ramifications, I’d have a real lawyer glance at this, but odds are if they’re unethical enough to be stealing they’re not going to have the resources to do anything about being called on it, especially when there’s nothing to gain.

Step One Two: Established Protocols

Your next step is to have established event protocols for dealing with items reportedly dealing with copyright infringement.

1. Set minimum criteria for addressing copyright infringement. For example, if a person reports a possible infringement and provides links to supporting documentation, and/or five or more people report on a single store or item, action will be taken. Without links to supporting documentation or multiple reported incidents, merely keep the issue under review.

2. Respond to those reporting consistently. Have copy/paste response ready for event management to provide to avoid inciting frustrations.

Thank you for letting us know about this potential concern. We have a policy of reviewing each reported issue to discern validity that can take several hours to coordinate between event staff. This issue will not be ignored, but please be aware that many Second Life content creators use similar tools and may even purchase full-permissions items from the same vendors. Similarity in and of itself is not necessarily a sign that anything is out of place. Obviously, if something is questionable we will address it with the seller, but event staff and participants are often in different countries and time zones. Reviewing this will take time. Please be patient, enjoy the event and thank you for taking the time to help us maintain the integrity of [EVENT].

3. Set minimum criteria for establishing removal. Overwhelming community uproar, obvious cases of similarity with real-world copyright, etc should be enough to qualify. In the case of SL creators vs other SL creators you can defer to Linden Lab protocol since both parties are aware and have recourse, or you can made a judgement call on removal. Remember removal is not an implication of guilt, merely a decision that even the threat of scandal on this topic is enough to damage the event and therefore will not be tolerated. If one or more of the offending parties are event sponsors, further action may be needed.

4. Have a review and removal protocol in place.

A. Upon receiving a credible complaint, vendors and items can be set to 100% transparent. This will remove them from view without doing any damage so owners can be notified and event coordinators can review the situation. Address owners, even those blatantly offending, with polite calm and always keep focus on doing what is best for the event. Avoid language or behavior that implicates guilt; this is not just to cover your ass, but to also demonstrate humility. There is little chance of proving anyone 100% in the wrong, being aware of that and maintaining the narrative that you are working together for a greater cause will avoid fanning persecution complexes. “I understand this imposes a hardship upon you and it may be disappointing not to be able to share this work with the event community, but we’d like to ask that you remove these items and replace them with other merchandise at this time. Thank you for helping us to keep focus on the positive aspects of what we’re accomplishing at [EVENT].”

B. After a fair review period, if the issue raises enough concern, the items should be returned. It’s only fair that owners should be offered the opportunity to replace items with something else, but repeated violations under a single store name should be met with asking the owners to remove themselves voluntarily for the good of the event.

5. Have your event staff keep their opinions to themselves. If you’re going to have a “no discussion of copyright infringement” policy then keep it. Highlight the fact that there are protocols in place and things are being addressed in as fair a way as possible. Avoid supporting or accusing anyone. Be as respectful of dissent as possible and change the topic with authority and purpose. Be aware that maintaining a double standard on this can turn community support against you. It’s also unethical. You’re never going to be able to please everyone, but playing the martyr card also isn’t going to help.

I understand it’s a hassle and not fun to deal with copyright infringement, but as community and blogger awareness of this issue grows, it’s not going to be something that is quietly ignored anymore. Having protocols in place assures that you and your staff will not be ambushed by this topic and that your event will not be overshadowed by negative publicity. It may even have the positive effect of inspiring designers toward more creative and less derivative works as well as discouraging lazy copycats from participating when they see there’s no profit in it.

Cheers,

Salome Strangelove

Posted in Second Life, SL - Building, SL - Social Dysfunction | 3 Comments

Rhapsody in Straylight

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Salome

“It will never rain roses; when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.” ~ Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)

Kriss Lehmann is one of those original creators in Second Life that is easy to take for granted simply because his creations surround us constantly. You would be hard pressed to find any landscaped SIM that doesn’t include at least some Botanical creations. I know they are a staple of every build I undertake. Low land impact, amazing low-lag scripted items, the best quality on the grid. What’s not to like?

Botanical Trees - Sugar Maples, Linden Trees, Mediterranean Cypress

Botanical Trees – Sugar Maples, Linden Trees, Mediterranean Cypress

Grace and I have an ongoing bickerfest about which one of us found Botanical first, we’ve both been customers from pretty much the start. I own nearly (if not everything) that Botanical has ever produced. Several times over in many cases.

It’s safe to say I had a creator-crush on Kriss for years in that ooey-gooey yummy way only a shopping addict / landscaping junkie can understand. For those of us that love to landscape, Kriss has been supplying the best heroin for literally years now. One of my earliest SL “treasures” was his original Sad Little Tree that I put out, without fail, every Christmas in whatever SL digs I was calling home.

Original Botanical Sad Little Tree & Its Mesh Brother

Original Botanical Sad Little Tree & Its Mesh Brother

This abruptly changed a few years ago when suddenly all Botanical creations seemed to be in a mode of hostility. Everything went from Mod/Copy to No Mod (which in landscaping is a nightmare). It was during this phase that Kriss released his amazing Sugar Maples and Linden Trees (the ones you see all over SL everywhere). These trees being no mod was a major annoyance for me as a builder. To complicate matters, SL ate my Sad Little Tree and when I asked for another one I was given a curt “no” by the customer service agent in charge at the time. Additional requests were ignored. In a matter of months, a brand I felt fiercely loyal to suddenly became one I bought from only because I had to. They had the best products, but I was no longer excited to see what came out next. I no longer visited the SIM just to skip around and see if I missed anything. I no longer suggested to newbs I met that they go explore the SIM.

Those feelings continued for quite some time. While I always appreciated the work that went into Botanical creations, I felt no kinship to them any longer. Then, while I was working on The Garden build, Botanical sent out an odd group message. Kriss had discovered that someone was copybotting his creations and that a previous customer (one that was in his previous sales records and therefore knew they were buying fakes) had opted to purchase from the cheaper fake creator than his own shop. He asked in a manner that felt sincere why anyone would do so.

Mesh Waterlilies and Cattails from Botanical

Mesh Waterlilies and Cattails from Botanical

In SL we see a lot of the “poor me,” mentality from designers out for a quick fix of pity and sympathy and ego boosting. We rarely, if ever, see a designer say “help me understand this and tell me if I’m doing something to enable this situation.” On the at-the-time blog post, all the comments were the predictable type of fluff. “Oh, poor Kriss” and “that evil customer” were all over. I initially resolved not to get involved. I was in the middle of a creative project and I didn’t want to waste energy on someone else’s problems. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided to write. Because, while I hadn’t ever ripped any of Kriss’ content (and never would), I had thought about it. And, frankly, I understood the customer who had opted to buy from a cheaper black market source, even if I didn’t condone it. I was exactly the type of person the question should have been addressing and if I didn’t bother to respond, then I’d have no one to blame but myself if the situation didn’t improve.

Not wanting to get in the middle of the blog cheerfest, I dropped Kriss a private note. In it, I explained my own history and relationship to his brand and how it had been chipped away at over the years due to his business decisions. I explained how, to me, No-Mod is basically a designer’s way of saying that they don’t trust customers or care about consumer enjoyment or experience. I explained about how I was flatly denied and ignored in my request attempts to replace a treasured item. I explained that I had gone from an ardent supporter to an indifferent, even begrudging customer.

I expected to get back some passive-aggressive laundry list of excuses if I got back anything at all. Instead, when I next logged in, I had received a thorough, thoughtful note, detailing the reasoning behind the business choices that had affected my feelings as a customer. I got back my Sad Little Tree. And, most shockingly, I was thanked for my honesty and critical feedback.

Botanical Tuscany Cart

Botanical Tuscany Cart

On an evening not long after, I invited Kriss to take a peak at the build for The Garden and to see how I was using his creations (and so many of them) in the build. We had a delightful “only in SL” meeting where we discussed many topics, about his products and the creations of my friends — about general SL practices and many things between.

In the early days of SL, meetings like this were far more common to me. Running into a designer in a store or meeting a random individual while shopping, spending a night or two of furiously symbiotic conversation; parting on friendly terms and encountering rarely, but fondly afterward. At some point, I stopped wanting this from my SL. Too many tedious hours of listening to egomaniacs blather on about themselves, and, in the days when I was “SL famous” too many hours of being creeped out by people trying to ingratiate themselves into my time. It was odd, like reliving a bit of a nostalgia, but odd in all the best ways. In an SL that is ever more about skank clubs and drama wars, it was nice to be reminded that random encounters of friendliness and intellectual exchange are still on the menu — even if you have to remember to ask the chef for the specials to get them.

Prior to my back and forth conversation with Kriss, he had already begun to revert his products to Mod permissions when possible, and he has since continued that trend and updated his Sugar Maples and Linden trees accordingly. Moreover, nearly every product he’s released since continues to include modify perms. He’s re-assumed oversight of his own customer service.

I do not for a moment assume I had a significant place in those decisions, but being able to voice my concerns as a consumer and not be met with adolescent hysterics was a nice change that allowed me to feel as if my consumer voice was considered in the mix. I am back to feeling a kinship with a brand that had once been and now continues to be a significant part of my SL. It was a nice reminder that not everyone is ego first. As I told Kriss that night, “Damn you for renewing my faith in humanity.”

Botanical Wooden Arbor With Ivy

Botanical Wooden Arbor With Ivy

The original, quality creators of SL are too few and too far between. But, even more rare, are the quality individuals behind the brands that make our virtual playground worth frolicking in. I like to remind myself about Botanical and Kriss when I find myself frustrated by the constant influx of stolen content on the grid and the drama-driven combination of outrage and apathy that does nothing to legitimately address it.

And whenever I get too annoyed, I simply rez my Sad Little Tree and its new mesh brother and I can pretend for a short time that all hope is not lost.

Yet.

Posted in Second Life, SL - Home & Landscaping | 4 Comments

Chapter Four

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Salome

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” ~ Marcellus, Hamlet. (via Billy Shakes)

So I went to get the new skirt from Milk Motion. The one I liked in a blog post wasn’t at the Mainstore, of course (silly me), so I had to find which of the events it was at.

I keep hearing how all these events are good for our original content creators in SL. How the organizers work so hard. How the plethora of unknown creators that flank the quality SL name brands aren’t detracting at all from SL fashion or our support of the quality stores that work hard to establish their brands.

So I went to Chapter Four.

From Ionic @ Chapter Fo

From Ionic @ Chapter Fo

These were created by lakua Arriaga for her store “Ionic.” The host and event organizer of Chapter Four. From her profile:

★Drumer & vocalist of [Engrama] live band!★

★Owner of *ionic*store★ houses, furniture, deco, instruments, stages…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ionicstore/

★Owner of The Chapter Four event★

http://thechapterfour.wix.com/event

★Singer of FadeOut live duo★

From Wikipedia:

Goo

It’s no big deal, though. I’m sure they had permission for those. And the Nirvana t-shirts. And all the other stuff. I’m sure no other SL fashion bloggers could be expected to realize these seemed to be from outside sources. Why blog about that when we can make friends with designers and get free stuff?

Candy Sweet Pin Up T-Shirt from Happy Pencil @ Chapter Four

Candy Sweet Pin Up T-Shirt from Happy Pencil @ Chapter Four

From Happy Pencil. Also at Chapter Four. Created by xCamillex. Not at all related to this two year old RL shirt or illustration. Maybe the illustration is out of copyright. Who knows. But let’s promote this unknown designer’s original work. And all the others like her. Because pasting an image onto a t-shirt is something we don’t have enough of and it should be featured.

I now return you to your rant-free informed blogging about this lovely event, the lovely organizer, and all the cool stores involved!

Posted in Fashion SL, iheartslFeed, Second Life, SL - Shopping, SL - Social Dysfunction | 3 Comments

You Fill Me With Ennui

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Salome

“One receives as reward for much ennui, despondency, boredom –such as a solitude without friends, books, duties, passions must bring with it –those quarter-hours of profoundest contemplation within oneself and nature. He who completely entrenches himself against boredom also entrenches himself against himself: he will never get to drink the strongest refreshing draught from his own innermost fountain.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

When I was a young girl I was a voracious reader and often encountered words in print before I heard them spoken. “Ennui” was one of those words and to this day I have to stop myself from thinking en-you-aye as the way to pronounce it. So when Sabrina and I first found Lassitude & Ennui eight years ago she teased me about shopping at NUI. Thankfully there was no voice then.

It’s shocking to realize I have been buying from Jackal Ennui for eight years. When I first started wearing accessories from Lassitude & Ennui my avatar looked a little something like this:

Salome 1.0 With Ennui

Salome 1.0 With Ennui

That is pretty much Salome 1.0, including:
Paris Passport Skin, Starley Thereian (date lost)
Flower Child Hair, Lash Xevious (date lost)
Mule With Pom Pom (Rose / Rose), Jackal Ennui (April 17th, 2006)
Juliet Camisole, Janie Marlowe (January 09, 2006)
Cuffed Capris, Starley Thereian (December 13, 2005)
Salome Choker, Jackal Ennui (date lost)

I cannot stress to you enough that this outfit represented the height of casual fashion in its time. Bare Midriff Disease was rampant. You can mock the shoes, but they were darling and I do not have a current pair of fluffy mules that are worth wearing (marabou in SL is thin on the ground). That choker was a private commission for my *cough* birthday. It’s still one of my favorite things. It should be noted there isn’t a single sculpt on it — there are over 100 itty bitty tormented prims, however. I can’t imagine how much work she put into it, but I remember she charged me far less than I thought I should pay and she even argued with me over taking that.

These days, when I shop at Lassitude & Ennui, my avatar looks a bit more like this:

Lassitude & Ennui Dresses

Lassitude & Ennui Dresses

From left to right, these dresses are: the Patience Dress, the Gothic Doll Corset Dress, the Naiad Sundress. I suspect all of these are textured from rigged mesh templates, but if that’s wrong I’ll correct. Unlike most recolors, they feature the lush texturing Jackal is known for. That’s right, kids, Jackal was one of the first creators to teach the grid to squee and her textures were a big factor in her quality creations.

Naiad Dress & Knotted Pearls

Naiad Dress & Knotted Pearls

My favorite is the Naiad Sundress which I picked up at Fantasy Fair off a little rack in the back. Subtle and feminine with a sophisticated yet slinky shape, it appeals to me on a girly girl level. In addition to the highlights and shading there is also a very important element that is often missing from recolors and that is the trim. It’s not a jump-out-at-you fact, but realistic trim, piping, and hems are frequently the difference between high quality work and throw-away copycat trash. In this case, a breezy floral print is nicely accented with satin ribbon edging with just a hint of shine. Jackal has always been a wiz at pearls and this long, knotted rope boasts her usual luster.

Editor’s Note: I still have folders of Ennui jewelry from early grid days. I keep it for blackmail.

Lassitude & Ennui Gothic Doll Corset Dress Detail

Lassitude & Ennui Gothic Doll Corset Dress Detail

The Gothic Doll Corset Dress was the featured item from L&E at Fantasy Fair and I got…a few of them. Yes, I have a Gothic Lolita problem. I’m working on it.

We are starting to see a trend in Summer with dresses and other clothing items that feature a sheer overdrape. This is a style that I love in my real life wardrobe, so I am thrilled to have it in mesh SL. I know that white and black are the hardest colors to work with in SL, and so it is not really a big ding for me that the decorative elements on the dress texture sometimes come off as flat. It is unfortunate that the richness of the colored fabric stands out so abruptly from the filigree designs and trim. If you zoom in, you can see that every attempt was made to give it texture, and that effort pays off much better on the laces of the corset where you can see the sheen of the satin strings. And yes, those are laces strung through grommets, not just textures. Yummy.

The jacket is sold separately and sits a tiny bit high on the throat for my avatar, but the dress can also be worn without it. I’d definitely try a demo on the jacket.

Ennui, Truth & Pitanga

Ennui, Truth & Pitanga

The Patience Dress is currently being offered at Zodiac (which I’m still banned from). I really love the watercolor lovliness of it, even if I don’t need another sleeveless maxi dress. Yes, yes, I got it anyway, but I didn’t need it. And why? Because unlike most of the sleeveless maxi’s I’ve got, this mesh isn’t the template that is practically falling off the breasts. So if you’re gonna grab a new maxi, this is the one. I had to go down to an XXS from my normal XS in order to get a proper fit so you may want to swap about with demos to make sure. It’s definately intended for busty avatars, it seems to me. Again, here, I adore the sheer overskirt with satin trim at the hem. Although I choose to photograph this one in teal, the white is my favorite. I just don’t photograph whites well.

I accented Patience with the Pitanga Mardi Gras necklace and earring set from my friend, Sax Shepherd of Sax Shepherd Designs. Part of his SSD Frills jewelry line, this was an early sculpted offering. It was before he really started focusing on shiny metals and the gold isn’t realistic, but the bold colors of the set really pop against the bare décolletage this style of dress leaves one with. Besides, mardi gras beads are never made with real gold.

Like most every other girl on the grid, I hit the Truth sale and picked up oodles of styles including this Crys pony.

Truth Hair - Dolly

Truth Hair – Dolly

I also picked up this long pigtails style. It’s called Dolly, but it should have been called Hit Girl (or Mindy) because it reminds me of Chloë Grace Moretz wears in Kick-Ass.

As far as hair goes, however, I’m currently in love with Momo from Wasabi Pills:

Wasabi Pills - Momo

Wasabi Pills – Momo

I love the little stray wisps, the gather in the back, and even the big hair hump (okay so it makes me think of an Ancient Aliens episode, but who cares). I wasn’t a big fan of Wasabi Pills early mesh offerings, but they are neck and neck with Truth right now as far as I’m concerned when it comes to mesh quality.

GOS & SLink Shoes

GOS & SLink Shoes

I can’t get started on SL shoes without doubling the size of this post. There are many exciting things happening and I’m trying to hold my tongue and wait to see what comes of a few rumors I’m hearing. But there’s little doubt that SLink and GOS are two brands to beat.

There’s a quiet little sale going on at SLink right now and the two styles from them I’m wearing above are for the older non-enhanced mesh feet. I have both the Two Strap Pumps and the Ilena Sandals in many colors. I don’t consider the shoes themselves to be the best in SL. Several creators in SL offer better shoes than these, but they work in tandem with the feet and that ease of use is worth the trade-off to me. Most SLink shoes of this kind are a B-/C+ in my book with some tradeoffs in the sophistication of shape and texturing. But the feet are still, in my opinion, the best in Second Life and for me A feet and B- shoes are my combo preference. I’m all about the cuteness of the toes.

The opposite situation exists for me with the GOS Marilyn Sandals. While GOS has always offered some of the best shoes in Second Life, the brand has struggled to present feet that competed. His current mesh feet are good, again a solid B-/C+ in my opinion, but they’re not quite there yet for me. I find the toes to be sausage-like and stiff. This has long been my complaint with N-Core and J’s and it’s why I don’t own more offerings from those brands. I have only tried the barefeet in demo, however, so it’s possible they go to the next level with the full release. I’m not willing to spend the L$ on that gamble.

That said, GOS shoes are A+ out of the park hits and if you care more about the shoe than the toes, or if you’re not as much of a picky snit as I am about cute toes, they should be your perfect cuppa.

I’m biting my tongue on GOS‘s recent change in pricing, but this new line is still evolving so I’m going to see what shakes out. Suffice to say, I was hugely disappointed that they didn’t follow their previous price structure on repeat purchases of similar items.

So there you have it. Something old, something new, nothing borrowed and lots of blue.

Where Does She Get Those Wonderful Toys:

Patience Dress – L$180
Naiad Sundress – L$280
Gothic Doll Corset Dress – L$280
Gothic Doll Jacket – L$140
Knotted Pearls Necklace – L$100
Lassitude & Ennui

Mardi Gras Pitanga Jewelry Set – L$99
Sax Shepherd Designs (Frills)
Store | Marketplace

Marilyn Sandals – L$795
GOS

Two Strap Pumps – L$315 (Normally L$450)
Ilena Sandals – L$210 (Normally L$300)
SLink

Dolly Hairstyle
Crys Hairstyle
Truth Hair

Momo Hairstyle
Wasabi Pills

Posted in Fashion Accessories SL, Fashion SL, Hair SL, iheartslFeed, Second Life, Shoes & Feet SL, SL - Shopping | Leave a comment