Tenth Life

There’s a thought-provoking post about social norms and privacy at Grace McDunnough’s blog, Phasing Grace: Upholding Social Norms

Reflecting upon my early Second Life social experiences and those today I see dramatic changes, especially related to social privacy. For example, part of the subtle but consistent reinforcement from the early community was that the separation between one’s Second Life (SL) and real life (RL) was assumed, and the merger of those two was the decision of each individual to be exposed, discussed, etc. at their discretion and without prompting and if shared, certainly held in the utmost of confidence.

I’ve left a comment with a few of my perceptions as a resident of Caledon, a Quaker and Unitarian Universalist, and a middle-aged avatar (since November 2006, when we had already passed our first million residents).

A new pastime for Caledon? Documentary evidence: vintagephoto: Auto Polo

In a very exciting development, this evening Shapinsay and Hoy joined Wyre in the estate of Orcadia. Needless to say, it will be difficult to go to work tomorrow, and the weekend will be filled with terraforming so that the eager new residents can move in. You cannot yet teleport to the new sims, but if you go to Wyre you can cross the sim border.

If you are engaged in using virtual worlds to create real-life social change, check out Second Life and the Public Good.

We are currently accepting proposals from groups, organizations, or individuals for projects that show how Second Life can enhance, develop, or sustain the public good. The best submissions will be selected based on how well they demonstrate the significance of virtual worlds for making an impact on society or culture.

The Old Bailey Online has not only “The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913,” but also extensive background materials.

A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London’s central criminal court.

There are essays on “Community histories”:

• Black Communities
• Gypsies and Travellers
• Homosexuality
• Irish London
• Jewish Communities
• Huguenot and French London
• Chinese Communities

“London and its hinterlands”:

• 1674-1715
• 1715-1760
• 1760-1815
• 1800-1913
• A Population History
• Material London
• London’s Rural Hinterlands
• Currency, Coinage, Cost of Living
• Transport

As well as “Gender in the proceedings,” “Crime, Justice, and Punishment,” and “The Old Bailey Courthouse.”

(via The Cat’s Meat Shop.)