New Improved Passports V3 | New from Parade of Homes | Meet the Ambassadors: Dariah | Events & Announcements | New Locations/Holiday Greetings

12/24/2022

NEW IMPROVED PASSPORTS V3

We have fantastic passport news, which many of you will have been hoping for. We are pleased to announce a huge improvement in our Bellisseria Passport HUDs. We've listened to what you like, and don't like, and addressed your concerns.

You reported frustration at occasionally losing stamps after a crash or a bad TP. It wasn't our fault. It was just one of SL's little gremlins. Remembering always to take off the HUD while travelling reduced the problem, but was not ideal. After a lot of research, we've found a solution.

Another issue was having to add more HUDs as your passport filled up, sometimes ending up with duplicate stamps. We've found a solution to that too.

When you collect stamps with the new V3 hud, they are saved on our database and linked uniquely to your passport. If you crash, have a bad teleport, or suffer any other glitch, you will NOT lose your stamps, Not even if you were wearing the passport at the time. The V3 HUD “talks” to our database and knows exactly which stamps you have collected. It also knows if you already have the stamp, so you won't get any more duplicates.

If you lose your V3 passport and apply for a new one, your stamps will all be there. You need do nothing to recover them. That isn't even true for an RL passport, so is a big improvement!All new Bellisserian passports will – from now on – be version 3.00. If you want to upgrade from version 2.00, there will be (of course, because where would we be without it?) some bureaucracy involved.

Please keep in mind, that we have only one volunteer to take care of making and sending out all personalised passports. So it will take time for you to receive yours. Everyone applying will receive one, but most likely not within the usual five working days. In the meantime, you can still collect stamps on the current Passport. You will be able to transfer them all when your new passport arrives. Please remember to continue detaching your old huds to minimise the risk of losing stamps. It would be frustrating to lose any just before you receive your safe new version!

Please go to our HQ and click on the upgrade board. It's been there for a while, but we didn't make it prominent as we were testing the system. Besides, we didn't want our sole passport-issuing bureaucrat to be swamped! Please fill out the form the board gives you and drop it in the usual mailbox (both indicated on the photograph).

When you receive your V3.00 passport, you can transfer stamps from your old Passport and Visa Extension HUDs yourself. We've created a simple and speedy technique for this. The V3 HUD comes with stamp readers, which will add your stamps to our database – detecting and removing any duplicates in the process. Full instructions are included in the package.

The passport has a new look and feel. It's now a one page HUD, showing your passport and a visa page together. Beneath the visa page are buttons to scroll through your pages of stamps. The button to minimize/hide the hud remains the same.

Heartfelt thanks to our Chief Scripter, North for being such a genius in devising this massive upgrade. Our thanks also to BÓÒ, the BBB CEO, for founding our bureaucracy and bringing passports to SL.

We hope you will share our enthusiasm for this new passport. We think it's a real game changer!

If you're carrying one of the Mainland or Generic SL passports issued by the Continental Passport Control Board, please don't feel left out. We plan to update your passports to V3.00 as soon as we possibly can.

Article and photograph by the BBB Passport Department | additional photo by The Gazette staff photographer

NEW FROM PARADE OF HOMES

There's a new article about Christmas fantasy decor in our sister publication, Parade of Homes Review. Check it out here.

MEET THE AMBASSADORS: DARIAH

This is the second in our series Meet the Ambassadors. Today we meet Dariah Raynier, the ambassador to Heterocera. I was particularly excited to meet Dariah because her work as ambassador has had a strong positive influence on my own Second Life®. She organized a tour of Mount Campion National Forest that sounded fun, so a friend and I went along. We both ended up falling in love with the park and are still enjoying Mt Campion months later.

I had no idea that Heterocera had such amazing places until Dariah showed us. She has organised other tours that show off the beauty of the mainland. This inspired me to purchase my dream parcel alongside the Sea of Fables, and am now a happy mainland owner.

QUESTION: What SL Continent are you an Ambassador for? And where can people find your embassy?

I am ambassador for the continent Heterocera. Our embassy is located here in the Tersa region, which belongs to Hiraya Town. The SLRR station Tersa is by the Embassy so visitors can reach us by public transport or explore the continent by rail from here.

QUESTION: Please share your favorite thing about this continent.

I have worked in transport since 2009, so I always look at every continent from that perspective. What fascinates me most about Heterocera is the density of the railway network. All parts of the continent can be traveled by rail. When I have time, I also like to drive my Land Rover over the roads, whose network is also well developed.

When I think of my ferry routes around Heterocera, I must emphasize that some stretches of its coastline are not quite so easy to navigate. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the connection at one point on the west coast. There is exactly one water region missing between the Tiger and Togata regions. If this gap could be closed, it would make the west coast and the entire continent even more attractive.

QUESTION: Do you have suggestions for places to visit in your Continent?

First, of course, I would like to promote Hiraya Town. I walked through this town one evening in my early days as an ambassador and was pleasantly surprised by the many details, the houses and the winding alleys. Whoever planned and built all this deserves the highest respect. I encourage Bellisserians to visit Hiraya Town and explore the variety of this community.

A second highlight for me is the national park around Mt Campion. Hiraya Town is an example of urban design on Heterocera. Mt Campion Park is the highlight for nature lovers in Second Life®.

QUESTION: How long have you been an ambassador now? And what motivated you to become an ambassador?

I have been an official ambassador since my inauguration on 28 May 2022. We had a very nice ceremony in which many visitors took part. It was a special honour that the Mayor of Hiraya Town, H.E. Mrs. Yuriko Kimura attended our event.

QUESTION: What was the most special event you either held at your Embassy or sponsored for your continent?

So far, I have been able to organize two events: the visit to Mt Campion National Park and the tour to the Great Wall of Heterocera. Both events were highlights for me, because both were very well attended -- we had a lot of fun on the tours and we learned new things. Any kind of event organized by our embassies is always special. I don't want to forget our dance party at my inauguration day. We had a DJ, Mandy Dorfler, and she played very good modern tunes.

QUESTION: What is your favorite thing about Bellisseria that you tell residents of your continent?

Of course, I always introduce myself personally and explain my function. In my conversations I promote Bellisseria as a continent with a wealth of activities. I share that it is certainly special as a tourist destination. I share about the BBB Passport Program, and how the community leaders and landowners can benefit from participation in it. I think that way both sides benefit from working together

QUESTION: What do you like to do in your spare time (or when you are not busy with your ambassador duties)?

I run DR Ferry Services, with 28 routes on all continents. This is 40-49 hours of work per month. I also work as Harbor and Land Manager for the Snug Harbor Estate (Blake Sea). Here I mainly take care of the marketing. And once a year I contribute as a volunteer stage manager to the Linden Music Festival and the Second Life Birthday music events.

I have recently built a new house in Snug Harbor and I am in the process of decorating. If I finish that before Christmas, then I'll rest for a while. Leisure time can also be work!

Question: Tell us one thing about yourself that most people do not know.

Now come the very private things: I collect teddy bears, especially the Lindens' and the Moles' bears. At every Second Life Birthday, I nag the Lindens and Moles to ask for a bear. And they always give me one.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a bear from the late Ebbe Linden. The only thing I remember is a good conversation with him. I told him that all Lindens and Moles have done a good job. This may sound a bit emotional, but it was. I started SL in 2009, after a critical health crisis. SL gave me back some confidence and happiness.

QUESTION: Do you have anything else you would like to share?

I somehow lost my two SL dogs: My Cutie McPie (husky) and Rosie Flowers (Chinese crested). I always walked with both of them in Bellisseria, took them to events or they joined me on my ferries. At some point, they must have run away. So if you see them, please let me know.

Article and photo by Teresa Firelight

EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you have one of our stamp terminals at your place and you're having an event there or would like to make any other announcement, just let us know and we'll be happy to feature it here. Please drop a notecard on the Editor Dave (Lord.Junibalya) in-world or use the Email the Editor link in the sidebar to send us your information, posters or photos.

... Anja von Basten/Yana Nova's 1313 Mockingbird Lane
est. 12/2021 A Christmas feeling

... Ingrid Ingersoll's House
est. 12/2021 Need some Christmas ambience? Come on over!

NEW LOCATIONS / HOLIDAY GREETINGS

It's the holiday season and so, understandably, there are no new locations this week.

Let us take the opportunity here – on behalf of all the volunteers at the Bellisserian Bureau of Bureaucracy and the Continental Passport Control Board, as well as the entire Bellisserian Corps Diplomatique – to wish all readers of The Gazette happy holidays and all the very best of health, happiness and luck in the New Year!

Thank you for your support this year.

The Gazette will return, if the fates allow, on January 7th, 2023. Until then, please enjoy the holidays, take delight in your friends and families and come back to Second Life® refreshed in 2023 for our virtual world's twentieth year.

Posted by Dave at 08:01 AM in Second Life | Permalink | Comments (4)