Post #15

Do you even find yourself on Second Life with no one around you? Have you ever gone to a party only to see that no one came or the meeting point was given incorrectly? Or do you just find your current location boring and wish to leave? Then just start island hopping till you find what your looking for. Island hopping is when you go to your island search option and pick a random island to visit every thirty minutes. This is one of those rare cases where no one is trying to trick you into doing something you wouldn't like, since all you are doing is teleporting from one island to another. The only catch to island hopping is that your meant to pick a place at random and have no real direction to go. But the point of island hopping is to kill time and explore Second life in the hopes of finding a random gem.
While jumping from place to place, I found myself in the most random locations and talking with the oddest people. Most the time I would appear on a deserted island and walk around to see nothing, but from time to time I would find someone to make light dialog with. Or the simple design of an island would just keep me looking around, or it would be so dull that I would just jump right there and then to another spot. More then not, there were times when I would not find a single active avatar to converse with. Still this did not change the fact that in a matter of three hours I visited six islands and met some new people.

Post #14

We have been assigned the task of writing a newspaper about Second Life in a positive manner. We have decided that our paper will be an informative list of things to know about Second Life. We, as a group, have also decided that we will not take this paper with too much weight for the sake of anyone who is to read it in the future. Meaning that we wish for the reader to have an easy time and not be overwhelmed by the new information that we are providing to them. If this is seen as too informal then i must say that we are not trying to be formal because our readers are not formal but academic. Which means that as long as the paper has meaning and purpose, it can be a bit informal.
My contribution will be three report articles and the layout of the paper itself. while i am not working on the grammar aspect i will also look out for anything that is simply noticeable. my articles will be mostly on the human aspect of the game and all the socializing that goes into Second Life. It will cover travel, talking to others, and the whole international aspect of Second Life. Travel will be about Island Hopping and its random joys that can only be found by going from one random location to another. In the conversation aspect i will discus tolerance in the world and how to respect others. And in the international section i plan on showing how many different people are online.
as for the layout of the paper i will start with the title of World Time Fun, and work my way down with a basic schematic of text, photos all pulled together by color. so everything will go down in columns till about half a page where the article will halt and start another column. a picture will be to its side if not some random advertisement for Second Life. To gain realism i will try to create a magazine feel more then not, because of the lack of formality in the information itself.

Post #13

Today in class we talked about how to write an article and its many formats, or at least tried to convey this. Lucky for me, I worked on a newspaper back in high school and i was a journalism major till i found the course work pointless. The book covers everything in light detail but points out that everything they say can't help you if the teacher picks a different format. But most of it just follows the MLA format and most of the time its hard to mess up the format on an article.
Now the layout of an article is important because it will be what draws in the readers. The size of the article is important because if its too long, no one will read. Then pictures are important because it shows emphasis. There is also the issue of color in your article because too much will put readers off while too little will not even catch the eye, and given colors will also show the readers what type of state of mind the write has.

Post #12

I remember traveling for ten minutes across the barren plain of the World of Warcraft. Unfortunately, this did not occur during the duration of class let alone in the world of Second Life. But even though it was just a boring walkabout on my way to a quest, it was way more entertaining then the lagging Second Life. Thou in no way is this a slander of Second Life, but rather a personal dislike of pointless virtual walking. Now keep in mind that both games are pointless in the long run and both have their reasons to exist.
Then comes the issue of picking a virtual field trip as my favorite or most memorable. This is an issue because there was nothing worth remembering and most of the time was spent trying to move only to reappear in random spots. Our trip to the psych ward and the republican island were lacking any scholastic reasoning even though they were perfect for the assignment. The same can be said of the gym, and traveling from island to island. I can only say that as someone who plays enough Video Games to be called a gamer, that Second Life is one of the most boring network system because there is no holding point. And as a twenty year old that know better ways of virtualing socializing, such as Facebook, Topic Forms, Xbox live, PSN, IM, TXT, Twitter, blogging, and MMO's, Second Life does not match par with the speed or enjoyment of any of those.
I'm not trying to put down the accomplishment nor is this belittling the social power of Second Life. There are just things that seem to hold it back from being greater. And even though the creators try to say that Second life is not a game, if it involves playing then its a game. And when you escape threw an avatar then you are role playing, which brings us back to a game.

Post #10

Writing a topic sentence is one of the easiest things the author can do. This is until the writer begins to thing to over think the topic sentence and gets writers block. Though you must give it proper though, it's usually best to write what feels natural to the topic and later build the sentence after the entire paper is structured. In this manner you have the ability to build your subject rather then form the subject around your sentence. Students are told to write in such a manner that makes the topic sentence seem important. But the sentence alone wont save a paper from lack of substance. Meaning its better for an author to write the paper first and edit the topic sentence in such a manner that fits the paper.

Post #8

The ability to know how to navigate threw the internet and find information about any given subject is something that we, the children of modern man, do for granted. Now I am a Linguistic major working on an associate’s degree in English just to work as a teacher. So what is there for the student working on an English degree for the sake of working on his Linguistic degree? Simply put why not just look around for those who have a good discussion going and talk to them. Socialize with random avatars, rather then travel a world that you don’t want to really travel. Though this is rather sad; Second Life can help unite those who live across the world with each other.
So I did not really visit an island per say but rather I just wondered around till I found some one. Upon finding anyone, I used my skills in customer service to simply start a conversation. The topics were as random as the people that were playing but there were some individuals with good conversations. Sadly, I didn’t keep track of the names or the people because this was not my intention as the assignment entailed going to something.
But going to Second life alone and walking, flying, and teleporting all count in a given manner. Though the question is posed; what was the point of even writing about talking with people I don’t know. Linguistics is all about talking with foreign people and starting a relationship for the sake of connections. Thus meaning that the ability to make friends from random foreign people is a minimal requirement.

Post #7

Our presentation was on Second life commerce, other wise known as making money in the game called Second Life. Though the actual presentation was very limited on true current values and information due to lack of present day coverage. Any given economy, though able to go threw drastic changes, will attempt to maintain a constant import and export system. Mean that the numbers will change with time but the products and services will attempt to stay the same. Thus even though some of our information was old, it still had current value as long as we inspect the validity of each grain of facts.
Our form of delivery was not the best method simply because even though we prepared for the presentation, we could have done better. We all had a moment where it was clear that we are not professional public speakers, except for Dean Newbarry who likes to brown nose. All jokes aside, the truth is that we did a good job for always being the first group to go, and even though there could have been a better presentation done, that could be said for all groups. In the future i would like to actually create a script for all of us to follow so that everyone doesn't have to wing it.
As a whole i would dare say that we deserve a B for our effort and the amount of work we showed. Though most of us only presented a bit of our actual material, what little we had was well documented. Along with the fact that we were the first to use technology in our presentation, and the fact that there was no real guidelines to how or what exactly we had to present. We earned a B!!!!!!!

Post #6

“Making a Living in Second Life”. Kathleen Craig. 08 February, 2006. 28 February 2010.
http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2006/02/70153
With users now numbering over 130,000, game-maker Linden Lab estimates that nearly $5 million dollars, or about $38 per person, was exchanged between players in January 2006 alone. Working in Second Life is "the same as working in London and sending money home to pay the rent for your spouse," said company CEO Philip Rosedale. People are now earning a living by living their dreams in a virtual setting. Where many people couldn’t earn a dime in the real world, others find that Second Life is their creativities market.
Kathleen Craig is a writer for Wired magazine, and posted this article on the online site. From the rhetoric and the source it can be determined that this was written by someone of very high and technical education. The only down side to this article is the fact that it was written in 2006 when we are now in 2010. The four year difference is very off putting simply because the economy changes by the month. Given that in mind this source is rather creditable but the date must be given notice.

Post #6

“Second Life Linden Dollars - Affiliate Program”. Soulphonik. 25 November, 2009. 19 February, 2010.
http://earnlindendollars.soulphoniks.com/

If you ever go to a commission seminar teaching others how to sell for a living, then you get the idea of whats happening here. Just like in the real world, Second Life has individuals who are looking to expand their lindex count. Our host, Soulphonik, is helping his bank account by helping others make money. He never does say what exactly he will help you with till you agree to his demands but from the information given, he's a salesman. They clearly point out that money will be made but some people will have a greater share. Soulphonik does not hide anything pertaining his motives, but simple does not give you the golden goose till the other party agrees to his terms.

This source is a personal web blog, created by an individual who we can only refer to as Soulphoik. The name alone beings the credibility into question. But as you inspect the rhetoric along with the fact that this individual got a mention from the main topic. Further investigation shows that this entire source is valid as long as you point out that it's popular not professional. The “how to” guide is something a car salesmen would teach to his new employees, meaning that the information is subject to change with time. So this source is passable as nothing more then reference or an example, not a fact.

To Think

In the given time between a thought and an action, many a time it does not occur to us that what we are doing is either wrong or lacking proper judgment. Its as if we try not to see our own misguidance and to make it worst we blame it on the innocent.

Take me for example! I blame my family for me having to go strait to work from high school graduation, and my late start in college. But its my own fault for not being able to manage my life back then. I blame the world for my shitty job and my inability to find a better one but the truth is that i like my job for all the shit that it is and am complacent because i want to jump into my career!

We spend too much time acting out our repetitive motions that we don't realize our own misery is self inflicted.

Post #5

Second Life Wiki is a simple help option primarily for those who need help with anything related to this game. Sticking to the commerce aspect, this site gives you likes to individuals who share "how to make money" lessons, all the while they explain the legal and term aspect. You are told of the many different ways you can make money and that the currency is called lindeX. In all honesty, any user can be as creative as the average person to make a lindex. From owning a business to simply begging for money, it works like real life.

even though the source is a web wiki, the sponsors seem to have majority control over the materials being posted. thus, we as the researchers can make the assumption that there is some validity to the information given. furthermore, when ever the site cannot give a definitive answer on a given subject they add disclaimers to inform the reader that the validity is questionable at times. All of this in mind this sources is valid under popular standards.

MLA: organized web page
"Make money." Second Life Wiki, . 15 Jan 2010, 11:57 UTC. 17 Feb 2010, 19:20 http://wiki.secondlife.com/w/index.php?title=Make_money&oldid=705322.

Post #3

----Interview with Philip Rosedale----

------Citation------
Fullerton, Ticky, dir. Interview with Philip Rosedale . Four Corners, 2007.

---Summery---
The interview speaks of how virtual economies actually gain relevance in the R.L. simple because of the value that we give it. In the same manner that the world estimates the value of every form of currency, so does it estimate MMO currency. Now depending on the world will depend on the economic trade items and the value of the currency. Just like America imports goods from china, the MMO will do the same. But in short, we must stop looking at the VR or MMO as just a game or escape and realize that they are their own country with imperfections and reality.

---Evaluation---
-Who?-
Who is the publisher of the source or the sponsor of the site? Is it a corporation, a scholarly organization, a professional association, a government agency, or an issue-oriented group? Have you heard of this publisher or sponsor before? Does it seem reputable and responsible? Is it considered academic or popular?

The publisher of this interview are sponsored by Four Corners, whom appear to be a small new organization. From the links and general search I have concluded that this organization is considered small. From the interview themselves and the other information on the site, one can see that this information has some validity. But its not clear if this is academic or pop.

-What?-
What bias or point of view might affect the reliability of the source?

The given publishers do not show any manipulated point of view and the people interview are all from different perspectives. So one can safely say that any bias found has an oppose or something to balance the interviews.

-When?-
When was the source published or created? is its information current?

This source was created in 2007 but has not been updated since. This does not hurt the credibility but requires the individual to hunt for some updated information.

-Where?-
Where have you found your source?

This source came from the English comp. pals link.

-Why?-
Why should you use this source rather than others?

THIS Source was recommended by the instructor.

-How?-
How would its information add to your paper? How would it help answer your research question and provide compelling evidence to persuade your readers.

At the current standard of information, the quality, and its relevance; the source is best used as a to simply describe the topic.

----Interview with Clay Shirky----

------Citation------
Fullerton, Ticky, dir. Interview with Clay Shirky. Four Corners, 2007.

---Summery---
The truth of the matter, the press is your best friend if you have a silver spoon in your mouth. Now get this, Second life is not as populated as its made out to be because the reality is that the demand is not that high. The reason why this game has a minimal pop is because of the social reaction of first time users and the fact that you can only make a meager living. This simply means that there is a minimal income. Now everything after this point just put me to sleep because much of what is said can be described in this following line:

REALITY IS PERSPECTIVE AND NO TWO PEOPLE SEE THE SAME THING!!!! LOOK AT HISTORY AND SEE THAT ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPEN BEFORE AND WILL HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!! WHY AM I SCREAMING?


---Evaluation---
-Who?-
Who is the publisher of the source or the sponsor of the site? Is it a corporation, a scholarly organization, a professional association, a government agency, or an issue-oriented group? Have you heard of this publisher or sponsor before? Does it seem reputable and responsible? Is it considered academic or popular?

The publisher of this interview are sponsored by Four Corners, whom appear to be a small new organization. From the links and general search I have concluded that this organization is considered small. From the interview themselves and the other information on the site, one can see that this information has some validity. But its not clear if this is academic or pop.

-What?-
What bias or point of view might affect the reliability of the source?

The given publishers do not show any manipulated point of view and the people interview are all from different perspectives. So one can safely say that any bias found has an oppose or something to balance the interviews.

-When?-
When was the source published or created? is its information current?

This source was created in 2007 but has not been updated since. This does not hurt the credibility but requires the individual to hunt for some updated information.

-Where?-
Where have you found your source?

This source came from the English comp. pals link.

-Why?-
Why should you use this source rather than others?

THIS Source was recommended by the instructor.

-How?-
How would its information add to your paper? How would it help answer your research question and provide compelling evidence to persuade your readers.

At the current standard of information, the quality, and its relevance; the source is best used as a to simply describe the topic.

(side note for readers: Yes i just copied and pasted the same evaluation for both summaries but my reasoning behind this lazy move is that both are the same. What i am trying to say is that i would rather be honest then fabricate different ways of saying the same thing.)

Post #2

----Interview with Philip Rosedale---

------Citation------
Fullerton, Ticky, dir. Interview with Philip Rosedale . Four Corners, 2007.

---Summery---
The interview speaks of how virtual economies actually gain relevance in the R.L. simple because of the value that we give it. In the same manner that the world estimates the value of every form of currency, so does it estimate MMO currency. Now depending on the world will depend on the economic trade items and the value of the currency. Just like America imports goods from china, the MMO will do the same. But in short, we must stop looking at the VR or MMO as just a game or escape and realize that they are their own country with imperfections and reality.

---Interview with Clay Shirky---

------Citation------
Fullerton, Ticky, dir. Interview with Clay Shirky. Four Corners, 2007.

---Summery---
The truth of the matter, the press is your best friend if you have a silver spoon in your mouth. Now get this, Second life is not as populated as its made out to be because the reality is that the demand is not that high. The reason why this game has a minimal pop is because of the social reaction of first time users and the fact that you can only make a meager living. This simply means that there is a minimal income. Now everything after this point just put me to sleep because much of what is said can be described in this following line:

REALITY IS PERSPECTIVE AND NO TWO PEOPLE SEE THE SAME THING!!!! LOOK AT HISTORY AND SEE THAT ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPEN BEFORE AND WILL HAPPEN AGAIN!!!!! WHY AM I SCREAMING?

Amber Alert

As we all know, and if you don't then stop reading this and go live in a hole because you already act like it, there is an amber alert going on. Now I really hate when shit like this happens but what I don't understand is why did it happen. Now the details of the alert allude me at the moment because all the news and warnings say are the description of persons and transportation. They dont say if it was done by family or a friend or if it's a stranger. But without mercy I must blame the parents for letting this happen; simply because had they either been more alert around their child none of this could have happen. Or if it came to a fight then fight till your either dead or dying for it's your child life.
Again, I don't have major details on all of this simply because the news is cutting out the motive but 80% of the time this could have been prevented. All I can say is that i hope lethal force is used on the S.O.B. and the child return safely! Sadly statistics and time are not on their said.

Post #1

It takes nothing more then just a few simple lines to summarize the entire movie which i have yet to see. In short, MMO (Multi Massive Online) games are another world created to escape the reality that is the Real Life or RL for short. People who truly wish to abandon the RL can make a living in the MMO world, the same as online merchants. Then there is the Koreans, an entire culture who took escapeism to an epic level when they integrated Star Craft into their culture. In short when you really hate your life, then why not play an MMO game.
Now for the sake of trying to start a fight with the school, there are a lot of better MMO's out there for free rather then second life. Hell i am willing to pay $15.00 a month for a quality game play, plus i know that if anything goes wrong i can actually get it fixed. The point of an MMO is to escape reality with fantasy, not live another life such as that of my own.

----citation-----
Another Perfect World. Submarine.VPRO. June 30, 2009

please don't be mad that the citation is wrong or off.

Hello World

As a good web student one must always start a page with the christening of the HTML world! so i say hello World!!!