What an opportunity! Eye4You opened in 2006 and was sustained through July 2009. The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County has decided to cease funding of Eye4You. The teen and adult volunteer community were phenomenal in the success of the island. I want to thank everyone for their commitment to Eye4You. It was an adventure and a pleasure to explore your vision of what a virtual library may be able to offer. (Saryn Eye4You)
This is an ongoing tribute to Eye4You Island, which is officially closing July 12, 2009. There is a party planned for noon SLT, Saturday, July 11.
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People are flocking to virtual worlds for a multitude of reasons-to make friends, hang out, and earn a living, play games, and conduct business. I recently profiled a Second Life young adult who had "bridged" over to the world of Second Life Main Grid.
The presence of virtual worlds is not new. The first virtual worlds were text-based games created in the late 1970s. In the early 2000s, virtual places like Second Life, Habbo Hotel, and World of Warcraft appeared and the number of World 0 users increased from a few thousands to tens of millions. This trend to log onto a virtual space to make friends, hang out, take classes or earn a living will continue to expand in numbers over the next decades. Second Life is one of those World 0 environments that will continue to attract people.
One part of Second Life that is a mystery to many is the Teen Second Life, a version of Second Life reserved for teenagers. It is a place where teens get to have a virtual space within Second Life. It was officially opened to the public in 2005 for people aged 13-17 to play Second Life. On January 1, 2006, Teen Second Life's operating hours were increased to 24 hours a day, whereas it was previously open only from noon to 10pm Pacific Time.
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This is the first of three articles in our series about Teen Second Life. It lays the groundwork for the other two by describing a section of Second Life that may on the surface look very similar to the main grid but can be a rather 'Stranger in a Strange Land' experience for the adults who venture there.
Teen Second Life is a separate "grid" (or world) from the original "Main Grid", populated by teens between the ages of 13 and 17. Once they turn 18, teens are transported to the Main Grid along with their identities, inventories and land.
The Teen Grid began as a closed Beta project in 2005 when a few Main Grid residents were transferred over as beta testers and world founders to help build the world before it was opened to the public. Several rules were set for the Teen Grid, the most notable being that cross-communication between the Teen Grid and Main Grid was not allowed. When the Teen Grid was first opened to the public, it was only available during Linden office hours, reminiscent of Second Life's beta period. On January 1, 2006, the teen grid finally opened 24/7, to all of its residents.
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Teens
