InWorldz - Second Life Connection Center

Some residents in Second Life have always wondered what else is out there among virtual worlds. And this year following certain events, such as the Terms of Service controversy, more are looking more than ever. InWorldz has emerged as the leader of the alternatives to Linden Lab. But making the move to another grid can be quite an intimidating experience. People often say it's "like being a noob all over again," not knowing who to contact or where to go.

Fortunately, there is a place and group that can help out residents moving back and forth from Second Life and InWorldz: The InWorldz / Second Life Connection Center.

The Connection Center is run by Zia Larnia and Amore Crux (amore.xofan). Contacting them, they were more than happy to talk about the place and group, and we soon met up to talk.

"This is the Second Life / InWorldz Connection center on the SL side," Zia explained, "We are a privately owned nonprofit in collaboration with InBiz Marketplace of Inworldz. ... We specifically assist SL residents in expanding to (InWorldz)." Zia commented InWorldz was much like Second Life five years ago in that it was "a builder/ creator world." Inside the building, there was some information on the wall, including, "both worlds Terms of Service. ...The notecards for linking avatars from here and there are on the wall by the ATM terminal."

Zia commented that a number of people had already left Second Life for InWorldz for various reasons. Among them, the lack of technical support unless you put down quite a bit of cash to upgrade your status, "It is cheaper to play World of Warcraft then it is to (have a Premium account in) SL and if you are a 'free' account there is no support. There is no acknowledgement of people who have paid HUGE amounts, even as a free resident. I was a 'ghost girl' for months and LL said, Sorry no supportive service for a free account 'not a premium account we can't help you'." So I then told them 'okay then so sorry, my 400 a month on sims is gone out of your pocket then (grin)."

"They are making tons off the free accounts and then say 'pay the 72 a year on top of that for a premium account and then we will acknowledge your contribution?' That is so backwards."

She compared Linden Lab's service to the gaming industry, "The truth is, the video game genre is there to make money and make a profit, on all levels. League of Legends, it is free and free to play, but they do offer special Pay for graphics that people buy. WoW is 15 dollars a month, but you can't beat Blizzard service. I had my account hacked and they were all over it and had me back playing with all my items back in 3 days, and gave me credit for that time."

"And InWorldz is making money too. So far they do not find it necessary to cheat it's players (grin). It opened with many freebies. Avination went the opposite, no freebies. ......I am sure there is a break down of the cost to run a virtual world and then also the profits somewhere even for a place like InWorldz (grin). Second Life is probably high up there and dropping fast right now."

Other issues brought up by InWorldz residents whom have come over from Second Life include "Project Sunshine" which made their virtual experience a gray one as their computers could no longer properly render other avatars, and of course the rights of content creators which were put into question by Linden Lab's Terms of Service controversy.

It wasn't long before more residents dropped by the center, and Zira went to take care of their questions. Chatting with Amore, he felt more Second Life residents would be willing to at least visit InWorldz, but one problem was many weren't aware of other virtual worlds besides Second Life, "(part of it) is all a matter of getting the word out since it's still hell of a lot of people in here that's not even knowing InWorldz exists I believe." Another problem was misconceptions and mistruths going around, such as one made by an avatar company, "I think its a good thing if people know what our center does and the fact is I know there has been a lot of false rumors going around. ... As far as I know InWorldz is a much safer place for creators then Second Life has ever been. In InWorldz they cut you off and kick you out directly if (you are) stealing others stuff. ... Also ... something that's created someplace else is well protected even if it gets in here."

On the question of transferring items from Second Life to InWorldz, Zia explained, "Anything that you are owner and creator of is exportable to your hardrive in the form of an .xml file. Then it is uploadable into the Grid." As for land, it was much cheaper than Second Life, a private sim with a 35,000 prim limit costing 75 US dollars a month.

The Center is among the groups behind a discussion on the InWordz Grid to be held on November 30.

The Second Life location of the InWorldz - Second Life Connection Center is in Appletor (200, 240, 13). In the InWordz Grid, the location is at Pearl (49/94/22).

Bixyl Shuftan.