Dresden Gallery

14 06 2007

I only just had time to have a look at the Dresden Gallery, I wish I’d come here earlier on. This looked like a good comparison for a typical British Victorian art gallery. Not certain that it is based on a real gallery but I presume it is.

There are lots of rooms inside a very grand building with courtyard. The art is very detailed and you can right-click on paintings for more information. I sat down in one room to look at the art.Sitting down in Dresden Gallery

It’s easy to imagine the any UK gallery laid out like this.

Another room of the Dresden Gallery

Just found their website, with this information:

Visit one of the world’s most famous museums, the Old Masters Picture Gallery of the Dresden State Art Collections. There you can view great masterpieces of key importance for the history of art, such as Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna” or Giorgione’s “Sleeping Venus”.

All the rooms of the museum have been reconstructed true to scale on the “Dresden Gallery” island in Second Life ® and all 750 masterpieces in the permanent exhibition are on display.





Vincent van Gogh and Starry Night

14 06 2007

Top of the search results for museum was Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night Island. There was no-one there and for some reason I had a green smoke coming out of my avatar.Starry Night.

I got talking to one of the owners:

[6:29] You: hello
[6:29] Milan Brynner: hi
[6:29] You: You own this place?
[6:29] Milan Brynner: with others, yes
[6:29] You: I work for a UK museum and I am spending some time looking round Second Life for research
[6:30] Milan Brynner: to see if there’s opportunities?
[6:30] Milan Brynner: or just to get a general picture
[6:30] You: At this stage it’s certainly only to get a general picture
[6:31] Milan Brynner smiles
[6:31] You: We sometimes get asked if we have thought about ‘doing anything’ with Second Life
[6:31] Milan Brynner: I think there’s a great new challenge to museums in 3D environments
[6:31] Milan Brynner: lots of possibilities to present art in a new way
[6:31] Milan Brynner: add experience
[6:31] You: what do you mean by new way?
[6:31] Milan Brynner: well, for instance how we do it here
[6:32] Milan Brynner: put the colorfull works of Van Gogh in a night view
[6:32] Milan Brynner: instead of on a white wall
[6:32] Milan Brynner: not to mention the 3D paintings
[6:32] You: I haven’t seen the 3d paintings yet
[6:32] You: I need to have a look round
[6:33] Milan Brynner: so, all in all I think it’s very exciting to work with art here
[6:33] Milan Brynner: a new approach
[6:33] Milan Brynner: even getting the intrest of a new audience
[6:33] Milan Brynner: ppl who don’t like museums RL
[6:33] Milan Brynner: but certainly enjoy the art as it is presented here
[6:34] You: One of my biggest concerns is that the audience will be quite narrow in Second Life
[6:34] Milan Brynner: SL is only the beginning
[6:34] Milan Brynner: we’re about to make the transition from 2D to 3D onoine environments
[6:34] You: Yes, I suppose so
[6:34] Milan Brynner: *online
[6:35] Milan Brynner: Gardner Research predicted that by 2011, 80% of the internpopulation will in fact be active in a3D world
[6:35] You: Sorry, I feel rude just wandering off and looking round while I talk to you!

I think it might have been rude to walk away while talking as Milan Brynner stopped talking to me at this point. It could have been because I was still eating popcorn from the Star Trek museum.

There was also a shop where you could buy sunflowers and Van Gogh t-shirts (for your avatar).
Starry Night shop

Upstairs in the Flowers Expo -
Flowers expo in Vincent's Starry Night





VodPod added to blog

14 06 2007

Got distracted again and added the video link on the right side of the blog. This is populated with Second Life videos from Google Video and YouTube.





Got distracted and added banner

14 06 2007

I created the banner for the blog in Photoshop. It’s a picture of JonSun on William Brown Street.





Eating popcorn and watching a film

14 06 2007

Eating popcorn
You can pick up objects and ‘use’ them. In the image above I’m in the cinema room of the Star Trek museum and I have picked up popcorn and I’m eating it. I can’t work out how to control the camera so that you can see me doing this. It’s a very small amount of fun to eat the popcorn.

Also, the film won’t start.





Engaging in conversation on Orientation Island

14 06 2007

Engaging in conversation on Orientation IslandThere were five or six other people on the first island, Orientation Island. I think I’d have usually just ignored them but in the interests of EP day I engaged them in a fascinating conversation. You can copy the transcript from the history, eg:

[3:11] You: hello
[3:11] Yasu Riederer: my fast secand life
[3:11] You: same here
[3:11] Ic3dH34rt Flanagan: same
[3:11] You: I’m experimenting with it for work
[3:12] Ic3dH34rt Flanagan: i’m cuorious for chatting
[3:12] Yasu Riederer: ?
[3:12] Yasu Riederer: sory
[3:13] You: I work for a museum and lots of people keep asking us when we are going to use Second Life! I’m very sceptical, so I thought I should find out more about it.
[3:13] Yasu Riederer: sory
[3:14] Ic3dH34rt Flanagan: museum cool but i don’t know if this is a good program or not
[3:14] You: It hasn’t been easy to start up and register, it’s took a bit of time to get going
[3:14] You: It gets a lot of hype
[3:15] Bona Barthelmess: what is the purpose of second life?
[3:15] Ic3dH34rt Flanagan: it’s difficult to register and to understand what u can do
[3:15] Ic3dH34rt Flanagan: the purpose i think is to meet people ad a chat
[3:16] You: My worry is that it is just a glorified chatroom, but claims are made for it being a lot more
[3:18] Ic3dH34rt Flanagan: yes i think but there is only the orientation island maybe there are other island in which u can talk with other people for example to work etc..
[3:18] Visit Help Island, Click for Landmark: Bona, a landmark window just opened on your screen. Click the ‘Teleport’ button to travel to Help Island where volunteers are waiting to assist you. Please note you will be unable to return to this Orientation Island.
[3:18] You: I have just got a message telling me to Visit Help Island so I am going to try that. See you later

I presume the times are Second Life time.





Change your own appearance

14 06 2007

Your first option is to change your avatar’s appearance. You can change tons of stuff – clothes, eyes, haircolour, body size, height, weight, etc.

I figured this was probably somewhere I could waste a lot of time so I just gave myself a big head.

Changing head on Second Life





10.58

14 06 2007

I’d been very happy with WordPress so far this morning. The account was setup in less than a minute and posting to it is easy. But now I’m getting a bug with the popups for uploading images and adding links. I’ve tried it in firefox and wordpress and I’m getting different but similarly disruptive errors.





Community Standards

14 06 2007

Before you can log in for the first time you have to agree to the Community Standards. I didn’t read them but I’ll paste them here for reference.

Second Life: Community Standards
================================

Welcome to Second Life. We hope you will have a richly rewarding experience, filled with creativity, self expression and fun. The goals of the Community Standards are simple: treat each other with respect and without harassment, adhere to local standards as indicated by simulator ratings, and refrain from any hate activity which slurs a real-world individual or real-world community.

Behavioral Guidelines – The “Big Six”
=====================================
Within Second Life, we want to support Residents in shaping their specific experiences and making their own choices. The Community Standards sets out six behaviors, the “Big Six”, that will result in suspension or, with repeated violations, expulsion from the Second Life Community. All Second Life Community Standards apply to all areas of Second Life, the Second Life Forums, and the Second Life Website.

Intolerance
———–
Combating intolerance is a cornerstone of Second Life’s Community Standards. Actions that marginalize, belittle, or defame individuals or groups inhibit the satisfying exchange of ideas and diminish the Second Life community as whole. The use of derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual preference is never allowed in Second Life.

Harassment
———-
Given the myriad capabilities of Second Life, harassment can take many forms. Communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, constitutes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, or is otherwise likely to cause annoyance or alarm is Harassment.

Assault
——-
Most areas in Second Life are identified as Safe. Assault in Second Life means: shooting, pushing, or shoving another Resident in a Safe Area (see Global Standards below); creating or using scripted objects which singularly or persistently target another Resident in a manner which prevents their enjoyment of Second Life.

Disclosure
———-
Residents are entitled to a reasonable level of privacy with regard to their Second Lives. Sharing personal information about a fellow Resident –including gender, religion, age, marital status, race, sexual preference, and real-world location beyond what is provided by the Resident in the First Life page of their Resident profile is a violation of that Resident’s privacy. Remotely monitoring conversations, posting conversation logs, or sharing conversation logs without consent are all prohibited in Second Life and on the Second Life Forums.

Indecency
———
Second Life is an adult community, but Mature material is not necessarily appropriate in all areas (see Global Standards below). Content, communication, or behavior which involves intense strong language or expletives, nudity or sexual content, the depiction of sex or strong violence, or anything else broadly offensive must be contained within private land in areas rated Mature (M). Names of Residents, objects, places and groups are broadly viewable in Second Life directories and on the Second Life website, and must adhere to PG guidelines.

Disturbing the Peace
——————–
Every Resident has a right to live their Second Life. Disrupting scheduled events, repeated transmission of undesired advertising content, the use of repetitive sounds, following or self-spawning items, or other objects that intentionally slow server performance or inhibit another Resident’s ability to enjoy Second Life are examples of Disturbing the Peace.

Policies and Policing
=====================

Global Standards, Local Ratings
——————————-
All areas of Second Life, including the www.secondlife.com website and the Second Life Forums, adhere to the same Community Standards. Locations within Second Life are noted as Safe or Unsafe and rated Mature (M) or non-Mature (PG), and behavior must conform to the local ratings. Any unrated area of Second Life or the Second Life website should be considered non-Mature (PG).

Warning, Suspension, Banishment
——————————-
Second Life is a complex society, and it can take some time for new Residents to gain a full understanding of local customs and mores. Generally, violations of the Community Standards will first result in a Warning, followed by Suspension and eventual Banishment from Second Life. In-World Representatives, called Liaisons, may occasionally address disciplinary problems with a temporary removal from Second Life.

Global Attacks
————
Objects, scripts, or actions which broadly interfere with or disrupts the Second Life community, the Second Life servers or other systems related to Second Life will not be tolerated in any form. We will hold you responsible for any actions you take, or that are taken by objects or scripts that belong to you. Sandboxes are available for testing objects and scripts that have components that may be unmanageable or whose behavior you may not be able to predict. If you chose to use a script that substantially disrupts the operation of Second Life, disciplinary actions will result in a minimum two-week suspension, the possible loss of in-world inventory, and a review of your account for probable expulsion from Second Life.

Alternate Accounts
——————
While Residents may choose to play Second Life with more than one account, specifically or consistently using an alternate account to harass other Residents or violate the Community Standards is not acceptable. Alternate accounts are generally treated as separate from a Resident’s principal account, but misuse of alternate accounts can and will result in disciplinary action on the principal account.

Buyer Beware
————
Linden Lab does not exercise editorial control over the content of Second Life, and will make no specific efforts to review the textures, objects, sounds or other content created within Second Life. Additionally, Linden Lab does not certify or endorse the operation of in-world games, vending machines, or retail locations; refunds must be requested from the owners of these objects.

Reporting Abuse
—————
Residents should report violations of the Community Standards using the Abuse Reporter tool located under the Help menu in the in-world tool bar. Every Abuse Report is individually investigated, and the identity of the reporter is kept strictly confidential. If you need immediate assistance, in-world Liaisons may be available to help. Look for Residents with the last name Linden.





Startup screen

14 06 2007

The login screen gives you some basic live figures on the number of users. You get:

  • the total number of registered users – 7.2m
  • the number who have logged in in the last 60 days – 1.7m
  • and the number online now 23, 762