kendra-bancroft
Latest
Kendra Bancroft/Madeleine Blaustein passes away
It is with some regret that we note the passing of a notable, veteran Second Life user, the vivacious and witty Kendra Bancroft, better known in some circles as popular children's television and video-game English voice actress, Madeleine Blaustein. Maddie joined Second Life in June 2004 and under the name Kendra Bancroft was a long time friend and compatriot of the well-known (if slightly infamous) Ulrika Zugzwang. She participated in Second Life politics, experimental democracy, protests, parties and virtual construction. Maddie also gave unique voice to a variety of well-known cartoon, anime and video-game characters, such as Pokemon's Meowth, and Sartorius from Yi-Gi-Oh GX. She was, however, perhaps most notable for her building, vivacious wit, and her loyalty to her friends. Maddie died in her sleep on 11 December, after a brief (but unspecified) illness at the age of 48. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
The illusion of Second Life government
Tateru Nino's recent post about F.I.R.E., an organization claiming to be Second Life's first political party, reminded me of a blog I wrote in 2005 about Second Life's de facto political parties. It's well worth the read, if only for the humor factor, but the gist of the article was basically that several political parties are starting to informally emerge in the arena of ideas. In today's article I would like to discuss two of the most passionate and vocal de facto parties whose debate rages on even today...The Nation Party - Those who believe that Second Life is a "world," a "nation," or a "country," and should be treated as such which includes the formation of a government.The Platform Party - Those who believe that Second Life is client-server software owned and operated by a private company and should be treated as such. What should be an obvious and quick debate can actually become quite sticky, especially when the definitions of terms like "world" and "government" can vary from formal to casual usage, and when the legitimacy of a term's usage may vary with scope. It becomes even more confusing when the nature of Second Life itself creates an illusion that resembles something profoundly familiar to us for which we have deeply-held, preexisting expectations.
