Joined on 09-01-2000
TechSoup Member
Mustapha Ogg over at 2L. And clueless.But it looks sorta like fun
Tried again but the site simply will not accept non US mobile numbers, and it would be irresponsible in the extreme for anyone to enter credit-card details on a site purporting to offer a service free of charge.
I would certainly appreciate if someone (who is a member) could please contact the Second Life Help Desk (if there is one) to see what other authentication options are available.
Cheers, Don
Joined on 05-08-2006
TechSoup Member
Hi Don
Linden Labs is the company that runs Second LIfe. They are a legitimate, trustworthy company, but if you don't want to give them a credit card number, you could try their toll free # in Australia and see what other options, if any, they have for verifying your identity.
(0011) 800 722 00010 (Australia)
The reason they require a CC or cell phone is to tie each user to a verifiable identity -- in other words, to reduce spamming, griefing, and the like as much as possible. Preventing annonymous log-ins actually keeps the online community there safer for you.
Hope to see you in SL.
Tom Maroney (Frank Foley is my SL name)
Tom thanks for the response. Identity authentication on 99% of webs requiring authentication (such as TechSoup, Yahoogroups, MSN etc. etc.), is a matter of Email address entry and verification. Reputable sites have NO requirement for users to enter Credit Card details - noting this company also requires potential users to enter a date-of-birth, home address AND the credit card security code, meaning anyone registering is giving this company full personal purchasing authorities - Linden Labs, a disgruntled employee, or even a hacker who spoofs the web and-or keylogs people registering could charge whatever they like to a users credit-card without the users knowledge. For Linden Labs to require this information simply for "identification" is an extraordinarily dangerous practice in today's age of widespread credit-card fraud.
A sincere thanks for providing the international help-desk number (it's not an Australian number BTW) - unfortunately the more I learn about this service the more I think potential users should be cautious. I'll sit back for a while and see which way the wind blows.
Not promoting pessimism... just caution when it comes to entering personal financial details on some unknown company's web site... especially when users have no plans of entering into a financial transaction!!
Cheers, Don
Joined on 10-31-2005
TechSoup Member
How can I resist?
I'm: HandyLand Fairymeadow
Joined on 12-09-2003
TechSoup Member
We (SDForum) just hosted a mixed reality event - in Second Life and at the Computer History Museum. It went really well; I can give you some insight.
It can get expensive - you should rent an island with an "in-world-theater" or SDForum can host it at Innovation Island. We bought the island with the hope of hosting other events for SDF and other non-profits. There are a lot of moving parts.
Joined on 01-18-2005
TechSoup Member
This may be a bit late, but as a member of Second Life, I can also recommend a better virtual world for holding meetings, etc:
There.com
There.com uses the same virtual technology being used by the army for situational training. The big advantage that There.com has over SL: VOIP voice chat 'in world'. And while it may be more limited as far as scripting and 'free building', it is VASTLY superior when it comes to social interaction.
There.com, too is FREE and requires no credit card for a Free basic lifetime account. A premium membership (with voice, music, etc) is $9.95 lifetime. Try it out.....you'll be back.
Kevin B.
There.com name: dakotaman
SL name: Dakotaman Tapioca
This is a thread about how TechSoup is building a virtual presence and community in SecondLife. So, There.com is not a relevant resource. In addition, your post reads as an advertisement. Please stay on topic and do not post promotional items. Thanks for respecting our
community standards
Susan (as listmom)
Joined on 05-12-2006
TechSoup Member
Davee Commerce
Hey Davee, thanks! Make sure you join the TechSoup group there! I was just in a very cool mixed-reality event in SL today, for Harvard. I spoke to many nonprofit members who knew who TechSoup was. This is going to be great! See you in SL!
Marnie Webb, our Vice President of Knowledge Services, here at TechSoup, CompuMentor and NetSquared, sent me this:
From SuperPatron
There is a library being built in the Second Life online system. You can read a little bit about how it's developing in the Second Life Library blog, which has accounts of meetings about teen services, some nice photos of meeting rooms, and an account of a presentation coming up at Internet Librarian: In April 2006, the Alliance Library System put out a call for librarians interested in participating in a project to set up a library presence in the virtual reality world of Second Life. By the end of the month more than two dozen librarians from around the world were meeting at a brand new virtual library to staff the reference desk, and discussing collection development, online programming, and library services.
Has anyone out there visited the Second Life Library yet?
OK, so I found out that the library hasn't yet been built, but they are on their way. They have an island and they have invited TechSoup to set up our office there! We are very excited to be working with the alliance, as TechSOup has a long history with libraries. Our work with libraries goes back to before WebJunction.org launched. We were in partnership with WebJunction and much of the WJ uses TechSoup article content.
Our work with WJ and the Gates Foundation has continued, and we have extended our product donation service to
serve libraries as well as nonprofits.
Joined on 03-21-2001
Los Angeles
"If any of you are using Second Life, please reply to this thread with your SL user name."
Well I'm replying even tho' I'm not interested. Or BECAUSE I'm not interested.
I'm feeling lost here; I've never participated in such online fantasy worlds, and I cannot yet see why I should start. Normally I'd just pass this by without comment, but I've visited the website and, after some minutes of exploration, I think that SL does not appeal to me. So I'm wondering why this fantasy world is catching the nonprofit attention. Most of the touted activities and features are not interesting. For example I'm not interested in meeting fictitious people in fantasy nightclubs. I'm not about to make a habit out of online gaming. I'm not interested in paying $10/month to rent "land" for business opportunities. And if I felt I had the time to sink into any of those things, I do not yet see why I should.
Glitteractica Cookie started this topic saying, "We want to hold an online event in the Second Life environment." What about this environment attracts your online events? Are events open to SL nonmembers?
Jesse I think it's great that you raise these points - As technology activists within the non-profit sector IMO it's incumbent on us to assess all the implications of any new technology; pros and cons. Especially one that by design promotes a new (to some) model of society! To do otherwise is to fail to serve our clients as well as we might.
Having experienced/experimented with various virtual reality solutions over the past decade I tend to share your reservations, however do not by default negate any potential benefits of second-life - However benefits do need to be explained and justified in the context of an NPO environment and in acknowledgement that risks and pitfalls also exist (something inherent in any new technological solution).
One of my immediate concerns are reports of large numbers of people being financially "scammed" within the second-life environment (
link) - maybe this just reflects broader society in some parts of the world and users would be aware of such pitfalls... however to the novice, the innocent, or just the rest of us... this could prove a very expensive experience.
Cheers, Don
Joined on 05-08-2006
TechSoup Member
Jesse,
Basic accounts are free, and for nonprofit meetings and such, that is all you would need. The benefits to a 3-d viritual interactive space such as this are only just being explored by the nonprofit community but tools available within this 3-d environment make it useful for teaching and communicating, and these tools are only in their infancy.
One example of such a use is the emergency response training simulators that have been built, which allow Community Emergency Response Teams to practice responses to emergency situations. Another more educational example is the build sponsored by UC-Davis that demonstrates what it is like to be schizophrenic. Many people with Asperger's Syndrome have also found the virtual environment a great place to interact, get information, and connect with others who also have AS.
You can use these resources without paying any money or putting down a credit card (if you have a cell phone), and they both have real-life applications.
As the tools and software are further developed, the nonprofit and educational applications are endless, While some people in Second Life, like some on the web, use it for gaming, fantasy or entertainment purposes, many people within SL do not. Their uses for it are not fantastical at all but very real. If you are interested in seeing what this new technology platform can do, I would recommend that you check it out. And feel free to contact me within Second LIfe as "Frank Foley." I will happy to show you some of the places I mentioned.