I thought I wouldn't be able to make it to Yearly Kos. And I'm sure there are many of you out there who are thinking, I'd love to go, but because of the time / money / distance, it just wouldn't work out. I used to think that too, but now I've found the next best thing:
For a relatively small donation, a travel time of 0 minutes, and a decent computer system with broadband access, you too can join us at YKSL -- Yearly Kos Second Life -- and meet other Kossacks, see live panels at Yearly Kos, and even ask them questions! Interested? Read on and I'll tell you all about it:
There was no way I was going to be able to make it to Yearly Kos last year, and I know I was not the only one -- our own Jay Ackroyd was in the same situation. However, this year, he's doing something about it:
I'm thrilled to announce that the YearlyKos Convention will have a virtual presence in 2007. In the virtual world of Second Life, we will be running a concurrent convention, with video of live events streamed into a virtual McCormick Center auditorium. We?ll have breakout rooms that host panels. Some of these panels will also feature video streams from live events, with the capacity for virtual participants to ask questions of the panelists. We?ll also have panels that are purely virtual, featuring people who are at the convention in Chicago and folks who couldn?t make it there. And, of course, we?ll be hosting the Presidential panel. There will be hospitality suites, meetup rooms and an exhibit hall, just as there will be in Chicago.
What motivated me to get involved with this was remembering last year, sitting on the couch, watching panel sessions on CSPAN3 and wishing I could be in Las Vegas. I would have leaped at the chance to attend virtually, because I couldn?t be there in person. Second Life allows us to create an interactive environment where people can come together and experience the conference together. Think of it as a massively parallel MySpace. There?s more information about Second Life at the link above.
Now I know this won't work for everyone, but if you think it could work for you, read on:
What Is Second Life?
From Wikipedia:
Second Life (abbreviated as SL) is an Internet-based virtual world which came to international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007.[4][5] Developed by Linden Research, Inc (commonly referred to as Linden Lab), a downloadable client program enables its users, called "Residents", to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.
One important thing to note about Second Life is that it is free to join in and sign up with a basic account. However, many extras (notably including donating to Yearly Kos and signing up for YKSL) cost money. The currency in Second Life is the Linden, which can be exchanged with US dollars on the LindeX. At the time of writing, one US dollar is worth roughly 267 Lindens.
Starting Out In Second Life
First, see that your computer meets the minimum system requirements -- if you have broadband and you bought it in the past couple of years, then you're probably fine. Second, sign up at their website and download the client; fareast has some instructions as well, particularly regarding the Linux alpha client. I would also recommend entering your billing information early in the process, to ensure that you will be able to purchase enough Lindens in the future. And for some more information about what to expect in general, see also gwyneth.llewelyn's excellent Beginners` Guide to Second Life®, available on the Second Life Wiki.
Getting There Is Half The Fun
So you've signed up and started out -- you chose a basic look for your Avatar and stumbled around with the other new users. Now where is this fabled Yearly Kos Convention Center? Well, it's on Progressive Island, and if the SLUrl link to it doesn't work for you, then here's how I found it. Under the Edit menu, select Search... (or press Ctrl-F) and then select the Places... tab. Search for Yearly Kos. It should find the "Yearly Kos Convention Reg Center". Then click on the Teleport button, and wait for it all to appear. If all goes well, you should be able to see the convention center; come on in, click on the signs, watch the movies, get a free t-shirt, and then when you're ready, sign up!
Trading Limits And Fees
When purchasing Lindens, here are trading limits in place for new users, notably that in the first couple of days after entering in your billing information, you are not supposed to be able to purchase more than USD $10.00 in Lindens a day, or USD $25.00 Lindens total; this measure is in place to help prevent fraud. Also, there is currently a fixed transaction fee of $0.30 per transaction for buying and selling Lindens -- so if you want to buy $25.00 worth of Lindens, you'd have to pay a minimum of $25.30. Therefore, it's probably better to see how many Lindens something costs in the first place, and then just buy that many and see how many USD it comes to, instead of doing it the other way around.
Signing Up For YKSL
Walk up the platform inside the Registration Center, and have a seat. Fill out as many of the optional form questions as you feel comfortable with. And then click on the appropriate star to pay, to support Yearly Kos Second Life. If you do not have enough money in your account, you will be redirected to a website where you can purchase the appropriate amount of currency. As mentioned before, I'd recommend buying at least that requested amount of Lindens instead of trying to buy an equivalent dollar amount, because of the aforementioned transaction fees.
Help!
Stuck, confused, don't know what to do next? We're here for you. Post your questions and feedback in this diary, and meet up with your fellow Kossacks in Second Life. Join us in Newbie Camp on Tuesdays starting at 6 PM PDT, and stay for the Registration Drive meetings afterward, to help get the word out. And then party with us on Thursdays! See you there!