The ORIGINAL Latex Lounge Fetish Dance with LIVE DJ Walter Balazic - Tonight at 5pm Pacific!

Come join in for some great music and a great group of people who've been in the BDSM and Fetish business for over 14 years in Opensim! Free LATEX gift every week!!

Now on OSGrid!
Starts at 5pm PST!!
HG: hg.osgrid.org:battersea

REGGAE REGGAE COME AND CHILL AT BUDS TODAY

◥▧▧▧ ♥ DJ Chocolate ♥ ▧▧▧◤
◥▧▧▧▧ TODAY 11AM Grid Time ▧▧▧▧◤
█◄♫►█ ⇨ ᴡʜᴏ : DJ Chocolate
█◄♫►█ ⇨ sᴛʏʟᴇ : Reggae Cover Songs
█◄♫►█ ⇨ ᴡʜᴇɴ : 08/16/26 -- start is 11am Grid Time
█◄♫►█ ⇨ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ: grid.virtual-worlds.zone:8002:Buds
█◄♫►█ ⇨ GRAB YOUR FRIENDS and come :))))

I am honored to share the news that Fred Beckhusen’s “Phaze” collection will be coming to the Weathered Woods Second Life Marketplace store.

Phaze was the Second Life region of Fred Beckhusen and Debbie Edwards, and the creations associated with Phaze represent their creativity, work, and history in Second Life. Full credit for these creations and their legacy belongs to Fred Beckhusen and Debbie Edwards.

Weathered Woods is honored to provide a new home where selected pieces from this remarkable archive can once again be made available to the Second Life community.

This will be a carefully curated collection. Fred will decide which creations from his archives he wishes to release, and those pieces will be added to Weathered Woods over time. Each Marketplace listing will preserve the appropriate creator attribution and acknowledge the history behind the work.

For me, having Fred’s work represented alongside my own creations at Weathered Woods is an extraordinary honor. I look forward to helping preserve this little piece of Second Life history and making Fred and Debbie’s creations available for others to discover and enjoy again.

Coming to Weathered Woods
From the Archives of Phaze
The creations and legacy of Fred Beckhusen & Debbie Edwards

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/23062

Please Note! Platform Availability Notice


The Phaze Archive will be curated separately for Second Life and OpenSim. Items, versions, permissions, and availability may differ between platforms.

Each platform will feature content specifically selected and approved for release there. An item available on one platform should not be assumed to be available on the other.

All original creator credits and applicable licensing will be preserved.

From the Archives of Phaze
Fred Beckhusen & Debbie Edwards
Presented through Weathered Woods

Khiron Ametza, 2pm ALT (10pm UK) live from Brasil, at The Opening Party and Special Tribute to David Bowie.
The Palace over Labyrinth
An unusual and opulent venue in the sky over Labyrinth, great space!
Join her for 1 hour of Live Music, as she sings for us at this special event!

hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Labyrinth/622/943/995

Khiron Ametza Live,
Sunday, August 16th, 2026,
2pm @ Labyrinth

The Opening Party and Special Tribute to David Bowie.
The Palace over Labyrinth
An unusual and opulent venue in the sky over Labyrinth, great space!

hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Labyrinth/654/1213/28

come on down and have fun with Ian and the band, and enjoy this special magical occasion!
at 1pm SLT (9pm UK)
All are welcome to come and join in the festivity's and help Celebrate!

hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Labyrinth/622/943/995

Beach Party at GBG Beach Club!
Today at 11 AM Grid Time — Beach Party at GBG Beach Club!
Get ready for a high‑energy dance experience with DJ Nick GreekLife on the decks, delivering a special mix of house rhythms and iconic 80s vibes.
Our amazing host Esti will keep the mood bright, fun, and full of summer energy.
Dress theme: All welcome — beachwear, swimwear, or whatever makes you feel free.
Join us for sunshine, music, dancing, and pure beach happiness!
limo hg.gbg-world.com:80:Aestria

Clan Escotia & Clan's band are performing for this special occasion, one of the most talented live singers, come on down for a hour of magic!
at 12pm SLT (8pm UK)
All are welcome to come and join in the festivity's and help Celebrate!

hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Labyrinth/622/943/995

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ The good old days ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂ ▁

▶▷▶ at Zephra Club
Sunday/Sonntag 16.August.2026
◕ starts 12:00 OS grid time – startet ab 21:00 Uhr EU

in the mix: 80´s,90´s,2000´s and Italo
NO AI Music ! Keine KI Musik!

good tunes, good vibes, meet nice, open-minded people
Gute Musik, gute Stimmung,
Triff nette, aufgeschlossene Menschen
Lineup: live in the mix with DJ TOMI BALBOA & DJ CRAZY ONASIS
Adults Only! Nur Erwachsene !
Taxi: hg.osgrid.org:80:FLORES SeaVibes
░░▒▓◙█◙█◙ CC-CLUB ◙█◙█◙▓▒░░

Added my Onboarding Widget today to the DragonCommand Platform. This should help cut down on Support Tickets for Grid Owners from folks who might find it difficult Creating an Account and/or Avatar:
ONBOARDING WIDGET — THE FLOW
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
State 1: Just registered (Hatchling)
→ Right-side popup appears
→ Step 1 ✅ Account Created & Verified
→ Step 2 → Create Your Avatar (CTA button)
→ Step 3 🔒 Log In via Firestorm (locked)

State 2: Avatar created (Fledgling)
→ Step 1 ✅
→ Step 2 ✅
→ Step 3 → Download Firestorm + Login URI
→ Widget shows one more time then gone

State 3: Has logged in before
→ NO WIDGET — they know what they're doing
That's it. Once they complete all steps and they have their Avatar and they are in-world, the widget disappears forever! (It is dismiss-able in the meantime if they get irritated with it. It just appears at each log-in until the user creates their Avatar. Can be disabled for System Admins who do not intend to create avatars.

An Vanaheims Küste ist ein Schiff auf Grund gelaufen. Wir haben mal schnell noch etwas von der Ladung gerettet. Muss wohl ein Kunsttransport gewesen sein. Aber kommt und seht selber....

A ship has run aground off the coast of Vanaheim. We managed to quickly salvage some of the cargo. It must have been an art shipment. But come and see for yourselves...

Miss Munk will be spinning her wheels of steel at 1 pm grid time, at The Piazza!
Bring your headphones and get on down here and listen to nonstop beat matching and full spectrum sound!



Plug the link into your map and we'll see you there.

http://bridgemere.outworldz.net:8002:Paradise Lagoon

Come join multi genre DJ Ting, Ting has 50 years of experience, he plays tunes we all like to hear.
Put on your dancing shoes and come on down to Alternate Metaverse !
We are looking forward to seeing you all here :)
Party Stage
Alternate Metaverse is the new landing point, come and make new friends
hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Alternate%20Metaverse/54...

Hello!

I just updated my cuffs. It is a whole revamping of the script, to fix some bugs and menus.
Get a copy at my SIM:
hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/The%20Silvertree%20Cove%20-%20BDSM/...
Look for Amanda's Cuff Set 2608

Highlights:
- Original mesh
- Original poses and animations
- Chain particles
- Legacy and PBR textures
- RL/Online Timer self bondage
- Owner / Key holder saved in LinkSetData (survives intra-grid TP and resets)
- Public mode / Steal key mode
- Movement slowdown when legs are restricted
- RLV Lock
- RLV restrictions
- LockMeister and Lockguard compatible
- Run Away option for hard reset

DragonCommand Opensimulator Grid Command Platform work-in-progress.
Screenshots updated in the Github here: https://github.com/mteedev/dragoncommand-platform/discussi...
More to come as more progress is made.
Next steps will be integrated Marketplace, Integrated Land Rental Management Panel, Leaflet Map on the frontend as well as Admin Management, Event Management. We also have in-world Classified Ads linked to the site, we just need to build the frontend page tha twill display them! Completed User Inventory Management Dashboard earlier today, works flawlessly.

Reminder of the Grids 3rd Bithday Party from 4 -8 pm grid.escape2reality.org:8002:Escape2Reality WelcomeGrid Time We hope you will come join us in celebration we have some awesome tunes lined up .. DJ Mystic Moonshine 4-6 and DJ Purrfectt Katt 6-8 ~S~/''''@/grid.escape2reality.org:8002:Escape2Reality Welcome / c'ya there

One of Opensimulator's Longest continually running Dance Parties! 16 years and counting!! LIVE DJ and Dancing!! Music from the 60's to current day!
Tonight at 8pm Pacific!
Now on OSGrid!

HG: hg.osgrid.org:80:speakeasy

Icky Thump Live from the UK at 1pm PDT/Grid Time
Bringing his music to us all
With his guitar and Foot base, and his smokey voice ,
Bringing us some Acoustic Blues Tunes
Come join him,
Everybody is welcome
hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Alternate%20Metaverse/36...

12 GRID ONWARDS: LOVELY BEACH CLUB DOUBLE HEADER;
CLASSIC SOUL/MOTOWN WITH DJ ROSA ALEXSEEV + ZEN MIX LATE NIGHTER (UK/EURO TIME)

Rosa spins it on the beach
Soul n Motown- set's a peach
Then Zen will follow with a mix
Lots of lovely juicy picks
So put your kinis on and come
To Lovely Beach Club- shake those bums

IM Bobbi Fox for Uber, or take Club Line tram from Welcome
hop://hg.osgrid.org:80/Lovely/971/271/23

added XMPP to the grid, so you can chat with your friends with a client like Gajim or Conversations. just log into chat.holoneon.com with your first.last and holoneon password. there are two auto-groups that sync, all users and friends in your FL. I will work on bridging the chat with os im.

DreamGrid owners will love this Mesh viewer and Uploader, with no timeouts, or vertex limits.
And no hassles either. Just browse, select the mesh and click go. In a few sconds it's in, textured and ready to use.

There is a previewer to check what it will look like. It brings in all PBR materials in a GLTF and textures in a DAE.

Click this Gyazo link to see it in use.

https://gyazo.com/3d780c344f248fc8ca274cb5d3610ce2

🌟 LINKUP GRID IS OPENING VERY SOON! 🌟

🚀 Something exciting is coming to the OpenSim world!
LinkUp Grid is getting ready to open its doors, bringing friends, fun, creativity, events and a place to Link Up with people from across the Opensim. 💙🌍

✨ We’re getting everything ready…
🎉 New places to explore
🎶 Events & entertainment
🏡 A friendly community
🤝 New friends & connections
🌈 And plenty more to come!

👀 WATCH THIS SPACE!

The countdown to LinkUp Grid has begun!

Coming Very Soon… 🚀💫
#LinkUpGrid #OpenSim #OpenSimulator #Hypergrid #ComingSoon

Coming to you at 6am - 8am PDT/SLT/OST/Grid Time (2pm to 4pm UK), 2 hours of fun, laughter and banter, kicking off your Saturday with a bang!, come one, come all, all are welcome to come and join in party and have fun!
hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Alternate%20Metaverse/35...

Wir haben wieder umgebaut!
Es gibt jetzt einen neuen Bereich rund um das Thema Hochzeit, der alles bietet, was das Herz begehrt.
Dazu gehören Bereiche für religiöse und weltliche Zeremonien sowie Tanzflächen!
Außerdem erwartet Sie eine große Auswahl an Dekorationen, Gardienen und Mobiliar
und natürlich Mode für Braut und Bräutigam!
Zudem gibt es einen eigenen Bereich für Valentinstags-Dekoration.
hop://chubelz.de:8002/Chubelz%20Wedding/219/121/26
We’ve renovated again!
There is now a new wedding shopping area. It features everything your heart desires.
Areas for religious and secular ceremonies, as well as dance floors!
Plus a wide selection of decorations, drapes, and furniture
and, of course, fashion for the bride and groom!
There is also a section dedicated to Valentine’s Day decorations.
hop://chubelz.de:8002/Chubelz%20Wedding/219/121/26

Coming to you at 6am - 8am PDT/SLT/OST/Grid Time (2pm to 4pm UK), 2 hours of fun, laughter and banter, kicking off your Saturday with a bang!, come one, come all, all are welcome to come and join in party and have fun!
hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Alternate%20Metaverse/35...

Bonnie Clearry (DJ KAYELE) the Sunrise Show at Party Stage on Alternate Metaverse : 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM
DJ Bonnie(Kayele) - When Bonnie’s on the decks, expect energy, emotion, and a sound that’s unmistakably hers. Spinning her unmistakable blend of electro, trance, and EDM, Bonnie brings raw passion to every track she drops.

Party Stage
Alternate Metaverse is the new landing point, come and make new friends
hop://alternatemetaverse.com:8002/Alternate%20Metaverse/31...

Anne Clark - Eine Stimme wie eine Klinge aus Samt – Radio Xenolandia Live

Eine ausführliche Bandvorstellung von Anne Clark findet ihr auf Xenopolias



Wann? Heute 14:00 Uhr
Wo hören? Hier lang - https://laut.fm/xenolandia
Direkt auf Xenopolias
Oder auf allen Regionen vom Xenolandia Grid.
Streaming-URL für VLC Player https://stream.laut.fm/xenolandia


Für neue Hörer - beim Sender einschalten wird ein kurzer Werbeblock (max.1min) getriggert.
Also nicht ausschalten/ einschalten wenn euch ein Titel nicht gefällt, sondern kurz leise machen.
Die restliche Sendung ist dann werbefrei!
-
For new listeners – tuning in to the station triggers a short ad break (max. 1 min).
So don’t switch the radio off and on again if you don’t like a track; just turn the volume down briefly.
The rest of the programme will then be ad-free!
Hypergrid : xenolandia.de:8002:Xenotown
Grid : xenolandia.de:8002
Page: https://Xenopolias.de

🔥 SATURDAY IS THE NEW HOME OF WHISPERING PINES JUKEBOX 🔥

Whispering Pines has moved from Thursday to Saturday, and we are going to make those Saturdays count.

This week we start slowly, easing into the afternoon with some smooth grooves and laid back blues, then little by little we turn up the heat and make our way into the real blues, raw, dirty, guitar driven, and full of soul.

And once those guitars begin to growl, there is only one thing left to do.

Get your dancing shoes with leather soles ready, because those blues were never meant for sitting still.

DJ Yana Dakota brings you classic rock, blues grooves, dirty blues, screaming guitars, wicked riffs, and plenty of attitude.

🎸 Every Saturday, 12PM to 2PM Gridtime
🔥 Whispering Pines Jukebox, Marluz
🎶 DJ Yana Dakota

We start smooth, we finish dirty.

Turn it up, hit the floor, and let those leather soles slide. 🤘
Real Rock, Raw Blues, Dirty Blues, Dirty Guitar Riffs, Pure Attitude. 🤘
hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22
Everyone is Welcome! ☮️

***

🔥 SAMSTAG IST DAS NEUE ZUHAUSE DER WHISPERING PINES JUKEBOX 🔥

Whispering Pines ist vom Donnerstag auf den Samstag umgezogen, und wir werden dafür sorgen, dass sich diese Samstage lohnen.

Diese Woche beginnen wir ganz langsam, mit sanften Grooves und entspanntem Blues, und nach und nach drehen wir die Hitze auf und arbeiten uns zum echten Blues vor, rau, dreckig, gitarrengetrieben und voller Seele.

Und sobald diese Gitarren anfangen zu knurren, gibt es nur noch eines zu tun.

Holt eure Tanzschuhe mit Ledersohlen heraus, denn dieser Blues ist definitiv nicht dafür gemacht, stillzusitzen.

DJ Yana Dakota bringt euch Classic Rock, Blues Grooves, Dirty Blues, kreischende Gitarren, wilde Riffs und jede Menge Attitüde.

🎸 Jeden Samstag, 12PM bis 2PM Gridtime
🔥 Whispering Pines Jukebox, Marluz
🎶 DJ Yana Dakota

Wir beginnen sanft, wir enden dreckig.

Dreht die Musik auf, stürmt die Tanzfläche und lasst die Ledersohlen gleiten. 🤘
Echter Rock, rauer Blues, Dirty Blues, dreckige Gitarrenriffs, pure Attitüde. 🤘
hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22

***

🔥 IL SABATO È LA NUOVA CASA DELLA WHISPERING PINES JUKEBOX 🔥

Whispering Pines si è spostata dal giovedì al sabato, e faremo in modo che questi sabati siano davvero speciali.

Questa settimana iniziamo lentamente, entrando nel pomeriggio con groove morbidi e blues rilassato, poi poco alla volta alziamo il calore e ci facciamo strada verso il vero blues, ruvido, sporco, guidato dalle chitarre e pieno di anima.

E quando quelle chitarre iniziano a ringhiare, resta solo una cosa da fare.

Preparate le vostre scarpe da ballo con suola in pelle, perché questo blues non è mai stato fatto per stare seduti.

DJ Yana Dakota vi porta classic rock, blues grooves, dirty blues, chitarre urlanti, riff selvaggi e tanta attitudine.

🎸 Ogni sabato, dalle 12PM alle 2PM Gridtime
🔥 Whispering Pines Jukebox, Marluz
🎶 DJ Yana Dakota

Iniziamo morbidi, finiamo sporchi.

Alzate il volume, scendete in pista e lasciate scivolare quelle suole di pelle. 🤘
Real Rock, Raw Blues, Dirty Blues, Dirty Guitar Riffs, Pure Attitude. 🤘
[hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22](hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22)


***

🔥 EL SÁBADO ES EL NUEVO HOGAR DE WHISPERING PINES JUKEBOX 🔥

Whispering Pines ha cambiado del jueves al sábado, y vamos a hacer que esos sábados cuenten.

Esta semana empezamos lentamente, entrando en la tarde con algunos grooves suaves y blues relajado, luego poco a poco subimos la intensidad y nos abrimos camino hacia el blues de verdad, crudo, sucio, impulsado por las guitarras y lleno de alma.

Y cuando esas guitarras comiencen a gruñir, solo queda una cosa por hacer.

Prepara tus zapatos de baile con suela de cuero, porque este blues nunca fue hecho para quedarse sentado.

DJ Yana Dakota te trae classic rock, blues grooves, dirty blues, guitarras desgarradoras, riffs salvajes y mucha actitud.

🎸 Todos los sábados, de 12PM a 2PM Gridtime
🔥 Whispering Pines Jukebox, Marluz
🎶 DJ Yana Dakota

Empezamos suaves, terminamos sucios.

Sube el volumen, sal a la pista y deja que esas suelas de cuero se deslicen. 🤘
Real Rock, Raw Blues, Dirty Blues, Dirty Guitar Riffs, Pure Attitude. 🤘
[hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22](hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22)


***

🔥 LE SAMEDI EST LE NOUVEAU RENDEZ VOUS DE WHISPERING PINES JUKEBOX 🔥

Whispering Pines passe du jeudi au samedi, et nous allons faire en sorte que ces samedis comptent.

Cette semaine, nous commençons doucement, en entrant dans l’après midi avec quelques grooves suaves et un blues décontracté, puis petit à petit nous montons la température et nous nous dirigeons vers le vrai blues, brut, sale, porté par les guitares et rempli d’âme.

Et lorsque ces guitares commencent à gronder, il ne reste plus qu’une seule chose à faire.

Préparez vos chaussures de danse à semelles en cuir, car ce blues n’a jamais été fait pour rester assis.

DJ Yana Dakota vous apporte du classic rock, des blues grooves, du dirty blues, des guitares hurlantes, des riffs sauvages et beaucoup d’attitude.

🎸 Tous les samedis, de 12PM à 2PM Gridtime
🔥 Whispering Pines Jukebox, Marluz
🎶 DJ Yana Dakota

Nous commençons en douceur, nous terminons dans le dirty.

Montez le volume, envahissez la piste et laissez glisser vos semelles en cuir. 🤘
Real Rock, Raw Blues, Dirty Blues, Dirty Guitar Riffs, Pure Attitude. 🤘
[hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22](hop://login.twiztidtimez.com:8002/Marluz/177/185/22)

Wochenende!!!! ....und es gibt reichlich neue kleidung für männer und Frauen. Vorbei schauen lohnt sich!

Weekend !!!! .......and there is plenty of new clothing for men and women. It’s worth a visit!

Re-posted on behalf of DJ Azraella.

Why Never Neverworld.

There is something particularly bleak about a community calling itself “The Friendly Grid” while apparently treating abusive behaviour as a problem best solved by telling the person on the receiving end: “You have a mute button.” Welcome to Neverworld Grid, where, judging by my experience, “friendly” may be less a standard of conduct than a decorative slogan attached to the front door.

I was a DJ in a virtual worlds for years lately as a visiting performer at Neverworld. By the point this incident occurred, however, my personal circumstances had changed. I am dying. That is not written for melodrama or sympathy. It matters because it explains what it cost me physically to be there at all. Despite being seriously ill and largely confined to bed, I got out of bed and DJed one final event to say thank you to my audience for supporting me and to draw people in one last time, which also helped to promote Neverworld Grid.

The reward was memorable, although perhaps not in quite the way their promotional department might prefer. During the event, I was verbally attacked and abused by a member of Neverworld Grid.

Behind every avatar is a human being. The fact that an interaction takes place in a virtual world does not make the behaviour, or its effect on another person, imaginary. The following day, despite the physical toll, I got out of bed again and raised a formal complaint with the owner of Neverworld Grid. I expected, at minimum, the complaint to be taken seriously. What I encountered instead was dismissal. No action was taken against the resident. My complaint was pretty much ignored and seen as nothing other than an interpersonal issue despite the fact I was a victim of one of their residents.

And then came this: “You have a mute button.”

And there, in five small words, lies the much larger problem. Of course I have a mute button. A mute button is a useful tool for an individual. It is not a substitute for moderation. Those are two entirely different things. A mute button allows the recipient to stop hearing somebody's behaviour. Moderation determines whether that behaviour is acceptable within the community in the first place. Confusing the two produces a wonderfully convenient system for administrators: the offender remains, the complainant makes them disappear from view, and management is spared the disagreeable business of actually managing anything. Problem solved. Well, invisible, which is apparently close enough. Imagine applying this philosophy anywhere else. Someone behaves disgracefully in a cinema and the management responds: 'you can use ear-plugs.' One can only admire the efficiency. No difficult confrontation. No standards requiring enforcement. No possibility of upsetting a patron who may have a life-time ticket. Just mute and carry on.

Neverworld Grid presents itself with the tagline: “The friendly grid.” That is precisely why this incident matters. If you advertise friendliness as part of your identity, then friendliness ceases to be merely a pleasant aspiration. It becomes a claim about the community you operate. And claims should survive contact with reality. A genuinely friendly community is not one in which nobody ever behaves badly. Such a place does not exist outside advertising copy and unusually optimistic children's television. A friendly community is one in which antisocial behaviour is taken seriously when it occurs. It is demonstrated by what administrators do when unfriendliness becomes inconvenient. That is the test. Not the logo. Not the website. Not the slogan. Not smiling avatars standing beneath carefully selected promotional photographs. The test comes when somebody crosses the line and management has to decide whether its proclaimed standards actually mean anything.

In my case, I believe Neverworld Grid failed that test spectacularly. I cannot state why the owner chose not to take action. Only the owner can answer that. But users are entitled to ask uncomfortable questions when enforcement appears absent.

What behaviour actually results in consequences?
Does a resident's financial contribution affect how complaints concerning them are handled?
Are paying residents subject to precisely the same behavioural standards as visitors are?
What happens after a formal complaint?
And perhaps most importantly: What behaviour would actually be serious enough for Neverworld Grid management to intervene rather than telling the recipient, “You have a mute button”? These are questions created by the apparent absence of action. If Neverworld Grid wants people to believe that payment of tier guarantees renters a friendly safe place, there is a very simple way of showing it: Have standards and apply them.

There is another unpleasant implication to the “you have a mute button” response. It transfers responsibility. The person accused of behaving abusively does not apparently need to change their behaviour. Instead, the person experiencing it must change theirs. You must mute. You must avoid. You must adapt. Management remains comfortably above the unpleasantness while the individual affected quietly rearranges their virtual existence around somebody else's deplorable conduct. That isn't moderation. It is outsourcing moderation to the victim. And it creates an obvious incentive for the worst personalities in any community: behave however you please as long as you keep paying. Eventually you can achieve the remarkable distinction of being peacefully surrounded by people who either tolerate you or cannot see or hear you. Community harmony, achieved through selective deafness as decreed by management.

There is another aspect of this which a mute button cannot undo: the physical effect of the encounter has already happened. Verbal abuse is not experienced solely as words arriving through speakers or appearing on a screen. Human beings respond physically to confrontation and distress. The body does not first consult the graphics card to determine whether an attack is sufficiently real to react to it. For a healthy person, that reaction can be deeply unpleasant. For somebody who is dying, already seriously ill and functioning with greatly diminished reserves, the consequences of that stress can carry considerably greater weight and could even be the last stress that body can take. And once that distress has occurred, telling the person “you have a mute button” is not a remedy.

The button cannot take you backwards in time. It cannot prevent the encounter that already happened. It cannot erase the stress already inflicted. And it certainly cannot answer the question of why the behaviour that caused the complaint apparently attracted no consequence. There is a peculiar cruelty in dismissing that distinction which no amount of virtual-world branding can disguise.

I did not expect sainthood. I did not expect somebody to erect a statue of my avatar outside the welcome centre. I expected basic human decency and a complaint to be treated seriously.

Apparently that must be the 'Super Ultimate Friend of the Owner' premium feature. Neverworld Grid calls itself friendly. People considering investing their time, creativity, communities and money there should understand what “friendly” meant when my complaint was placed in front of its owner. Because communities reveal themselves not through their slogans but through the behaviour they are prepared to tolerate. Anybody can write: “We are the friendly grid.” The interesting question is what happens when somebody isn't friendly. In my experience, the answer was depressingly simple: Nothing. The complaint was effectively binned. Apparently making bad actors into clouds is your only option meanwhile Management avoided doing anything meaningful other than preserve a monthly tier payment. And the slogan will survive. Perhaps that is the most impressive achievement of all. In virtual worlds, apparently even irony can be rendered in 3D.

Neverworld Grid also seems very keen on telling people that it isn't Second Life.

Second Life gets plenty of criticism, some of it deserved. One complaint you hear is that region owners can make their own rules and, if you don't follow them, eject or ban you. That can certainly be irritating. People can make ridiculous rules. People can throw you out for reasons you think are unfair. Give somebody control over a virtual patch of land and occasionally they begin behaving as though Buckingham Palace has asked for the keys back. But there is another side to it. If you enter somebody's region, you know they have rules and that breaking them can have consequences. If you behave badly enough, somebody can actually do something about it. After my experience with Neverworld Grid, I find myself wondering why removing that is supposed to be an improvement. If the alternative to somebody saying “These are the rules here” is somebody behaving abusively and the person being abused getting told “You have a mute button,” which system is actually friendlier?

There has to be some middle ground between petty little dictators throwing people off regions because they don't like the colour of their shoes and a free-for-all where nobody wants to intervene.
Rules can be abused. So can the absence of rules. The difference is that when there are sensible community standards, ordinary people know where they stand. Don't abuse people. Don't deliberately disrupt things. Don't make somebody else's experience miserable. Hardly tyranny. And if somebody does cross those lines, there should be consequences. Neverworld seems to dislike the way people in Second Life exercise control over their own regions. Fine. But what is being offered instead? If the answer is greater freedom, then whose freedom are we talking about? The freedom of somebody to enjoy an event without being abused? Or the freedom of somebody to behave however they like without anybody in authority becoming involved? Because those freedoms collide eventually. Mine did. And apparently I had a mute button.

Then there is the question of tier. People pay to be on grids like this. That makes it reasonable to ask whether somebody who keeps paying can expect considerably more tolerance than somebody who just visits but still contributes to the success of the grid. I cannot prove that this is what happened in my case. But the response I received certainly gives me reason to ask. If somebody pays tier and behaves disgracefully, what happens? Are they warned? Are there consequences? Or does everybody they upset simply get reminded where the mute button is? Because if the practical message becomes: Pay your tier and management will look the other way, then who exactly does that attract? Most decent people don't need immunity from basic standards of behaviour. Creators don't need it. DJs don't need it. People running events don't need it. People who simply want somewhere pleasant to spend a few hours don't need it. The people who benefit most from a place where bad behaviour carries few consequences are, rather obviously, the people most likely to behave badly. That seems an extraordinary foundation for something calling itself “The Friendly Grid.”

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be different from Second Life. But different does not automatically mean better. If Second Life says, in effect, “behave yourself here or somebody may throw you out,” while Neverworld's answer to abuse is “you have a mute button,” I know which approach now looks more like a community and which looks more like an incompetent Management avoidance strategy. Being different is easy. Being better requires rather more than a tagline. If Neverworld Grid believes this account misrepresents its standards, it can explain them.

What happens when someone reports serious verbal abuse? What behaviour actually results in action?
Are paying residents treated exactly the same as everyone else? And why was “You have a mute button” considered an adequate response to my complaint?

Those answers would tell people considerably more about Neverworld Grid than any slogan ever could.
Until then, perhaps the tagline deserves a small amendment:

“Neverworld Grid — The Friendly Grid. You have a mute button.”
or
" Welcome to Neverworld the Friendly Grid where you may have to mute your fellow residents"
or perhaps as almost happened in my case:
" Neverworld the Friendly Grid (we let you away with murder just keep paying you'll see)"

The bottom line has to be this:

If you claim friendliness you automatically accept a duty of care to all users. and paying doesn't excuse unfriendliness. Community standards you claim must be enforced swiftly and across all tiers of membership and extend to visitors. I was told my abuser hadn't broken any TOS. I guess there is no actual TOS beyond the owner's mood. Yes you guessed it my abuser is a friend of the owner.

My final advice to anyone looking for a new home...lift the carpets before you decide.

I won't see a resolution to this issue or see Virtual again but that doesn't mean you can't learn from my experience.

Azraella.