Christmas is coming, the goose is getting… well, decidedly worried. It’s at this time of year that you need to ask yourself that important question: What are you going to get all your loved ones to show them how much you care at this special time of year. Well, we here at Rez, as part of our commitment to you, have put together a list of helpful suggestions. All of the below are available to purchase at the listed locations, and because they are transferable, will be able to be passed on to your friend, when you’re curled up by the tree.

For that Special Swashbuckler:
They may think that they’re Captain Jack Sparrow, but unfortunately, but just like Jack at the beginning of the Pirate’s Trilogy, they lack a ship. Make their life complete, with one of the most gorgeous, painstakingly built and complete Pirate Ships I’ve seen in SL. Plenty of room for counting your booty, but make sure they have plenty of land, as something this big and constructed in this detail isn’t exactly low on prims.
Murdock’s Maritimes Pirate Ship (6000$L)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Inari/151/225/28

For the Shoe Addict:
Constructed using flawless textures, and the very latest in carefully constructed sculpty prims, these shoes are guaranteed to raise the heart rate of any footwear aficionado.
Photorealistic shoes by Tesla (from 359$L a pair)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dreamworld%20South/228/224/22

For the Inked Up Punk:
If your friend is well into their tattoos, it’s no doubt that they will already have every celtic band and tribal pattern known to man. So, widen their collection with these fine tats, ranging from some classics, like their sailor style work, to pop culture inspired designs, like their perfect Elvis and Sex Pistols themed inkpacks.
13 Needles Tattoos (from 50$L)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Earp/196/235/501

For the Bedroom Rockstar:
Help make every word they type hit out like the like a slamming lyric, with this Elvis Microphone typing overider! Every time they type on their keyboard, everyone will gasp as your friend dramtically grabs the mic, strikes a pose like the King, and has the crowd that gathers waiting to see what thought they are gonna rock them with!
Elvis Mic Typing Overider by Remnant (250$L)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Varado/111/181/31

If Your Partner is being All Work and No Play:
Is your partner spending too much time working on putting together their SL Empire, and not enough on conquering you? Are they chasing the almighty Linden Dollar, when they should be chasing your tail? Well, here’s your answer. Simply give them this professional office desk, and whenever you want them to put aside the spreadsheets and interface with you, click the desk, hop on a poseball, and indulge in dipping the pen in the company ink.
Computer Sex Desk by Pluxor Hax (499$L)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Edgecumbe/236/53/42

To that Special Someone:
What better gift to give, than a simple heart key on a chain, that let’s your lover know that they have access to you in a way that no-one else does, and your heart is their home forever.
Key to My Heart Necklace by Xessories (250$L)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Urbane/185/102/22

For the Person Who Has Everything:
The eternal difficult question: What to get someone who seems to have everything they need? Try something extravagant and luxurious, but something that they would not think of getting for themselves and is hard to get,. Personally, I think this beautifully built Christmas Carousel seems to tick all those boxes, and will not only look fabulous in the garden of even the most expensive mansion, but will be the talking point and amusement for all those Christmas parties they have. It doesn’t come cheap, but then if it did, your friend would probably have it already.
Limited Edition Christmas Carousel by Jinxing Creations (6000$L)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/WindHaven%20Isle/130/37/22

For a Grinch:
So your friend hates Christmas, huh? Spend the whole time talking about how commercial it’s gotten, muttering “Humbug”, and chucking cold water over carol singers? Well, that doesn’t mean you still can’t get them a present. This little bundle includes a chalk outline of Father Christmas, sprayed with blood, a discarded Santa hat, and a burning sleigh, for them to place outside their home as a message to any other jolly obese flying OAP’s, to show what’s in store for them if they try to impose their festive jollity on the Mistletoe Challenged!
Santa’s Slain (Chalk outline, hat and crashed sligh) by Numinous (61$L all together)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kress/181/83/149


REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE OUT LOOKING FOR PRESENTS, ALWAYS CHECK THE ITEM IS TRANSFERABLE, OR YOU WILL END UP WITH AN INVENTORY FULL OF ITEMS PERFECT FOR YOUR FRIENDS, BUT IMPOSSIBLE TO BE PASSED ON, WHICH CAN BE REALLY, REALLY ANNOYING. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU!

Second Life is a world designed to be shaped by the ideas and imaginations of the many and varied people who call it their second home. However, in order to express your ideas or create and build the designs that you have rattling around in your head, most residents find that they need money, meaning that to an extent, you could be fooled into thinking that the world of SL is only really available to those fortunate enough to be able to afford to finance their own ideas coming to fruition, meaning the wealthy are the only ones able to afford providing content.

Fortunately, there are organisations in existence such as the Foundation for Rich Content (FFRC), a non for profit group set up by sl residents with the goal of “foster diversity and richness in content and events in Second Life”, acting as a kind of arts council within our virtual community, to aid the those who have ideas that would be beneficial, inspiring or entertaining to the residents of SL as a whole, but don’t have the funding to properly get their ideas off the ground. Founded by RyeDin Meiji, the group is largely run by committee, chaired by Persephone Phoenix, with others offering their services to the group, such as Gabe Lippmann working as Treasurer and Jamys Vuckovic as their archivist. To find out a little more about the fine work that they are carrying out, I met up with Persephone, to find out a little more about this collective and what they have been up to:


Voodoo: What was the inspiration behind the founding of the FFRC?
Persephone Phoenix: I am not able to speak for Rye, but the impetus began in the SL forums back in 2005 when Linden Labs cut funding for events. It was a hotly debated topic and I was one of the people voicing concern for events that might die off if they did not find a way to cover costs. Back then, mind you, funding was pretty small, but it might cover some of the costs of tier or prizes for contests, etc; a modest host fee. Anyway, in the midst of all the wet t-shirt contests and other content (content we suspected could be self-sustaining) there were community events, arts and culture events, and sporting events that a few people were rallying around. So there, on the SL Forums, the idea was tossed around about a funding foundation that was resident run that could help support content that enriches the lives of sl residents. And voila, the FFRC was born.

Voodoo: So, how many people are involved in running the Foundation itself?
Persephone Phoenix: Well it is an open group so the membership is pretty big, but on average we probably see between seven and fifteen people at meetings. We keep it an open group and keep our proceedings public (chatlogged publicly) so that we can obtain the highest degree of transparency possible in Second Life. As a group doing not for profit work, distributing public funds, it is important to us to operate in a transparent fashion. But in terms of people donating tier, or donating money or time on some level, we probably have at least 100 supporters.

Voodoo: Yes, on the subject of funds, you supply grants and funding for events and projects. Where does the money for this come from? Is it all individual donations?
Persephone Phoenix: Yes. Largely we get donations from individuals in second life, however we have sometimes gotten funding from organizations and have something in the works with a corporate presence in SL. In the past, we helped to distribute funds from the RL nonprofit City Stages as part of their awareness-building campaign. I am hoping that we'll be able to distribute a press release, soon, about our involvement in allocating a land grant for a corporate presence in SL. The press release is undergoing the approval process.

Voodoo: How do you decide which particular projects are worthy of funding, as obviously there is no shortage of ideas in SL?
Persephone Phoenix: Ah that's a great question. We meet once per month and four of those meetings per year will be meetings at which we evaluate applications for funding. Anyone is welcome to come and listen or offer opinions (though we try to stay on task as much as possible since there is much to be done at those meetings), but only members of the FFRC who have been members for longer than one month may vote. Voting must occur during meetings. People can proffer opinions via the email group if they won't be there, but to vote one must be present in avatar. Our proceedings are all public and can be found easily by googling SL Foundation For Rich Content. We also require that people don't vote on projects in which they have a vested interest, where there might be a conflict of interest.

Voodoo: I was just about to ask, has anyone ever tried to use the FFRC for their own personal gain, rather than the nature for which it is intended?
Persephone Phoenix: I don't think so, honestly. One thing that speaks well of an application is if the applicant has had a successful history of producing rich content.

Voodoo: How would you define "Rich Content"?
Persephone Phoenix: Ah, well this might well be defined a bit differently by each member. I can only answer for myself, but when I think of rich content, I think of something that brings fun into the lives of SL residents. I also think of things that deepen the experience of residents.

Voodoo: Do you have any personal favourites out of the projects that the FFRC has helped take place?
Persephone Phoenix: Oh several. I really loved the “Vaudeville in SL” project, for example, where we helped fund Osprey Thereian's project that actually produced vaudeville style acts for performances in SL and the “Learn to Sail” project, where we funded classes in the Hollywood Sim that taught people how to use sailboats in SL... I love the Crescent Moon Museum and am proud to have had the FFRC be part of its opening, We've funded many events and provided general funding to The Shelter, which helps so many new residents become acclimatized to SL and we also funded a project that is in the works by Phorkyad Acropolis to produce greek theatre in SL.

Voodoo: So finally, I guess I would ask, if someone wishes to get involved, or has an idea for a project, and would like funding, what should they do?
Persephone Phoenix: Awesome question. If someone wishes to get involved, all they need do is stop by our meeting which is at 1pm SL time on the first Saturday of the month. The group is free to join (search groups and sign up for it to get group notices and see proposals, etc.) If someone were to wish to donate (and each donation is a big help) he or she should donate to FFRC Accounting Control. And if a person or group thinks they have a project that adds to the lives of SL residents, they should grab an application (an updated one will be available soon via the googlegroups page and distributed also at our Sami (228,147) location and on SL Forums) and fill it out. A person could also say hello to me and I'd be happy to pass one along. The easiest way to get information on what the FFRC is doing is to join the group inworld or to join the google group.

With companies and even governments being susceptible to massive security breaches with our personal information, should we trust more people with this information?

The new release candidate viewer has now started the beta testing process of age verification. Now is the time to watch the flood gates open and masses of people come flooding forth with angry fists and others waiting to sign on the dotted line.

Age Verification is a massive question on the internet. It opens a whole assortment of problems and many worried parents across the globe are concerned about their ability to protect their children. If I walked into a shop to purchase a bottle of spirits or a packet of cigarettes I may well be asked to verify my age. This, in theory, protects minors from such substances. In worlds where adults and minors mix, the ability to verify someone’s age is greatly compromised.

In a world where credit card details can be bought and sold on the black market, does this open a completely new world of ‘verified identity’ sales? We want to protect our children from the sexual predators on the internet of course we do, but will the new measures in age verification actually help?

Research states that credit card verification is a more economical and effective check for age. Kids can get access to their parents card information to side step this process, but surely passports and social security numbers are as easily attainable?

Asking people to verify their age does not cut out the sexual predator in our world it simply gives them clearance; it does not stop them doing what they want to do. Surely, age verification gives a potential false security. Reading research from the University of New Hampshire, in 95% of cases where an adult on the internet assaulted children, the child knew they were meeting an adult.

• Do we need age verification? Yes we do, we need to protect minors from such content.
• Is there a foolproof way to do this? No.
• Should something be done? Well that very much depends on whether doing something will actually fix problems and not create new ones.