ginny-talamasca
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It's official: April 17th will be Remembrance Day in Second Life
[Update: Changed 'officially planned' to 'made recognition'] For those who recall, there was a recommendation put forth from the Second Life community that April 17th be a day of remembrance for Ginny Talamasca, as reported here. I'm as amazed as anyone when I say that Linden Lab has stepped up to the call to action and made recognition of the 17th as a remembrance day -- just not specifically for Ginny. From Robin Linden, VP of Marketing and Community Development:"We think it's a wonderful idea to have an annual day of remembrance in Second Life, to honor everyone we may have lost through the year," Harper wrote. "We're happy to have that day be on April 17. In addition, we'd like to donate (two island sims) for the purpose of holding any memorial type events ... It's our feeling that such a day will enrich Second Life, and the loss of Ginny is a reminder how important it is that we remember all our friends -- hence the move to a broader recognition day."I think this is a wonderful thing, but I do wonder if it was something LL felt pressured into doing, rather than something that ought to have been in planning all along and just received the push from the residents. While there's no word on what this day will be called, or what these proposed sims will contain or look like, this move could help LL's perceived reputation as hands-off, draconian landlords.[Via news.com]
Should the dead live on in avatar form?
Tragedy struck hard in Second Life this year. I can think of at least three influential residents that passed on in real life - Feliciaa Feaver, Jesse Malthus, and Ginny Talamasca. While some have been honored posthumously, and others are petitioning for a Remembrance Day for all fallen residents, there's a trend going on that really disturbs me.When Jesse was tragically taken from us, his mom decided to continue his work in SL. This meant that she would need items from his inventory, requiring her to log into his account. Every time I saw his name pop up as logging in, I remember recoiling in shock. When Ginny died, it was revealed that there were two people behind her popular clothing line. However, the operator of the Ginny avatar, and the person we came to know and love, was the one taken from us. Yet I still see blog entries on her blog and group notices of new products.Once an avatar's typist is gone, the avatar should be removed after a certain period of time. In Jesse's case, I felt pain every time he was logged in from the afterlife, but in Ginny's case, I feel anger that the name/image is allowed to continue on hawking products. That brings me to my question - Should these avatars live on even though their creators haven't?
Ginny Talamasca Day: Cui bono, Second Life?
There's a lot to chew on in this recent post by CNet's Daniel Terdiman. As one of the leading figures in Second Life's huge fashion industry, Ginny Talamasca was a beloved resident. After her recent death, a message was sent to Linden Lab to declare April 17th as 'Ginny Talamasca Day'. LL's response appears to be that it merely controls the architecture and underlying tech of SL, but keeps its hands clear of any of its content, which in this case apparently includes social structures.However, LL did take the time to acknowledge the death of Jesse Malthus, and it could be (and probably will be) argued that Ginny's influence was at least as strong as his. There's a shade of difference in the form of acknowledgment, however -- Jesse's honorarium is the "Best Community Influence" award, not a special day once a year. This will all be fodder for discussion in the upcoming days and weeks, but while Terdiman's post centers on asking whether or not it's LL's responsibility to issue an official proclamation concerning a public event like this, I think it's more reducible than that. The question to ask should be 'who benefits'?[Via news.com]
In memory of Ginny Talamasca
It's amazing how much one can be affected by virtual friendship. I remember first meeting Ginny Talamasca when I was a wee newb. My friends were raving about her store, Dazzle Haute Couture, where she mostly sold formal wear. From that moment on, I was addicted to her clothing. I literally bought 99% of what she made. Given the amount of real money I spent keeping up with her heavy production of attire, I soon needed a Second Life job to support my habit. That's how I got into Machinima.When I first discovered this new method of expressing myself, I went wild with filming. Then I discovered that I could make my avatar lipsync what I was saying. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was going to create a Machinima declaring how great I thought Ginny was as a friend, a designer, and an inspiration to the community. I would invite her friends to say kind words about her and I would animate them. The project never ended up getting very far off the ground, but as a filmmaker is often married to their footage, most of it was saved. Upon hearing of his (she would later be revealed as a man in real life) death, I unearthed some of this footage.Read on for more memories of Ginny ...
