The history and implications of SL's fifth anniversary
Virtual worlds consultant, pundit and thinker, Gwyneth Llewelyn has taken a long and detailed look at the background behind the Second Life fifth anniversary celebration, its planning and the eleventh-hour reversals that it has suffered and what they all mean in the ongoing, well, tension between Second Life users and Linden Lab, the operator of the virtual world.
"Once it was clear that the decision was final and unappealable, the organisers understood the message perfectly: they were not in charge of SL5B any more."
Llewelyn looks at earlier events, and how they were organized, and how they panned out, as well as the organization for this year's festival -- which began in July 2007, and whose core goals were finalized ten months ago, before being disrupted only three weeks ago. It is a thoughtful and interesting read, as we've come to expect from Llewelyn's work, and even if you disagree with her it is well worth your time.
