Linden Lab has announced the winners of this year's Hippo Awards (otherwise known as the Linden Lab Innovation Awards), which focus on the open-source community that surrounds their virtual environment, Second Life.

This is the second set of Hippo Awards (the inaugural edition taking place last year in 2007), and while you might not recognize all of the names, each of the winners has contributed positively to Second Life, albeit sometimes in subtle or indirect ways.

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Continue reading Linden Lab announces winners of 2008 Hippo Awards

Linden Lab announces winners of 2008 Hippo Awards originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Zirn Left Unguarded, the Jenjik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerly Dead" -- Robert Sheckley

Trinity Coulter (formerly) the Second Life fifth anniversary (SL5/SL5A/SL5B, pick one) organizing committee's main organizer has left (or been kicked out of) her role, only a scant week or so after replacing SignpostMarv Martin in that capacity. Group logs indicate she was ejected from the group by Dusty Linden. Coulter said that 'it was determined' that it would be in the best interest of SL5 for Coulter to 'step aside', when asked.

According to SL5's Art director, Shosana Epsilon, Linden Lab's new position is a blanket ban where a child and an adult are pictured together in the same image, nor images of children near beds. So, no images of family outings, or implications that children sleep -- the image above would be right out, we presume, even though neither figure is a child avatar. Linden Lab staff previously stated that the Lab was afraid of legal restrictions that could partially or wholly shut down the Second Life service.

Continue reading SL's fifth anniversary epic [updated]

SL's fifth anniversary epic [updated] originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Remember "Calling all cultures to the Second Life 5th Birthday Celebration"? Remember "Celebrating the cultural diversity of Second Life"? How about "This is a Resident-created, Linden Lab-sponsored event, which means that Linden Lab has donated the land and various basic resources, but the rest comes from you, the community. And there is room for many people to get involved"?

Well, not any more. Linden Lab feels their hand (and presumably the attached eye) has been forced. Linden Lab is taking "a more active role in the event."

This means at least one of the groups of communities that has been the mainstay of the previous four anniversary events is being refused participation this year.

Continue reading Calling all cultures? Not any more

Calling all cultures? Not any more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.