BBB3B | News about Bonniebots | Linden Homes Stats | Meet the Ambassadors | Events & Announcements | New Locations
01/28/2023
BBB3B
The first of our passports was issued in January 2020 to our founder, Boo Rojyo. So the BBB is three years old this month. Last year we celebrated BBB2B at the Bellisseria Fairgrounds, but this year the occasion is passing off more quietly.
We're not allowing it to pass unnoticed however. If you visit BBB HQ you will find a special event stamp terminal on the garden terrace to the rear where you can obtain an elegant commemorative BBB3B stamp for your passport.
And, as they say on the shopping channels, there's more! You can collect different celebratory stamps at each of the Continental Embassies. All the SLURLs you need are in today's New Locations section (below). They'll also be – of course – on your StaFi HUD. So why not see who can be first to collect them all? Let us know in the comments as soon as you've done so. Your date-stamped comment will be proof of your achievement.
We at the BBB and CPCB are volunteers. Nobody here makes a Linden penny from our work. We do what we do just to make Second Life® more entertaining and to encourage people to explore this wonderful metaverse of ours. Our stamps are to be found all over the grid. We're happy that our passports are now available to everyone in SL so even more people can join in the fun of touring SL and collecting the stamps to prove it.
Happy birthday to us! We thank you for all your enthusiastic support over the past three years of bureaucratic hijinks. Here's to the next year, and beyond.
NEWS ABOUT BONNIEBOTS
Last week we reported that the BBB is working with the team behind the Bonniebots to use their systems to track our stamp terminals in-world. That way – even if it slips the mind of a landowner to tell us about a moved or deleted terminal – we can keep the Gazette Online Travel Guide (GOTG) and our in-world StaFi (stamp finder) HUD up to date.
As last week's issue went to press – sooner than we expected – the new system went live. Our stamp team has now toured the locations it flagged up and updated our publications.
We would like to thank the Bonniebots team for their prompt assistance. A link to the stamp terminal status page is now in the sidebar to The Gazette. Our stamp team will monitor it regularly for any changes.
Please check out the Bonniebots' website. You may be surprised what you can learn from the up-to-the-minute, publicly-available data they've collated there.
We are aware the SL Forums have been full of animated discussions about the Bonniebots. Some Residents have expressed concerns and the Lindens have taken an interest. New World Notes reported on Wednesday that Patch Linden – following his own comment on the forums – met with the Bonniebots team to discuss the service and Residents' privacy concerns.
At that meeting, the Bonniebots team agreed to alter their system to provide certain opt-outs. Until those are in place, they have suspended the avatar search function and removed merchant names from the MarketPlace sales rankings.
LINDEN HOMES STATISTICS
People often ask statistical questions about Bellisseria...such as… “How many regions do we have?”, “How many Bellisseria homeowners are there?”, “How much of Bellisseria is unoccupied?”, etc. Now with the aid of the Bonniebots (see previous article) some of this information is finally available.
Lets start with the big picture. As of 5:30 am on January 24th, there were a total of 38,178 Bellisseria homes and 41,724 of the pre-Bellisseria old-style Linden Homes. Of those, 30,616 Bellisseria and 15,103 pre-Bellisseria homes were occupied. That means that 7,562 Bellisseria homes were unoccupied, giving a vacancy rate of almost 20%.
We can't be really specific about Houseboats, Trads and Campers because these three styles are often mixed together on the same subcontinent. Bonniebots report their findings by regions (some of which are mixed) and in summary by subcontinent.
We can determine however that Houseboats, Stilts and Victorians are among the most popular, with a low vacancy rate. As Trads infrequently appear on the Land Page, we can safely assume they are also popular. Trads are mostly on the Old Belli, Squishy Pickle and Pickle subcontinents, which all have extremely low vacancy rates.
The Chalets and Fantasy Homes had the highest vacancy rates (52% and 55% respectively) and Sakurasseria was close behind with 49% vacancy. You could probably have gathered that from the Land Page, because there are always Chalets, Fantasy and Sakura homes available. However you might be surprised to learn that, while Newbrooks are usually available, only 25% of them are unoccupied).
Our source for this article is this Bonniebots page. Please be aware that this is dynamically updated on a daily basis so numbers will change from day to day. Here is a screenshot of the summary report at the time of writing.
Article & Photograph by Teresa Firelight
MEET THE AMBASSADORS: YUKIKO YESHTO
We are continuing our series Meet the Ambassadors, in which we interview each of them so you can get a feel for who they are and what they do. This week we meet Yukiko Yeshto.
Yukiko was the ambassador to Sansara at the time of this interview. She has had some demanding RL stuff come up that makes it necessary for her to step down at the end of her first one-year term. She has done an outstanding job and this interview covers her term of office.
What SL Continent are you an Ambassador for? And where can people find your embassy?
I am Ambassador for Sansara and the embassy can be found in the Hennepin region.
Please share your favourite thing about this continent.
Sansara is the oldest Mainland continent. It has quite a few historical locations to discover, many active communities and beautiful spots to visit. You can hang out there or live in (and be a part of) them. Sansara also offers a huge winter area named 'the Snowlands'.
Do you have suggestions for places to visit in your Continent?
There are too many to pick from! I'd always recommend you start by traveling along the protected routes and coasts. The best surprises come when you stumble over a hidden gem. Sansara has many of those.
When you explore, please be careful not to enter private homes by accident. Always check the land description to make sure the place is open to the public.
A few of my personal favorite spots include Moorcroft, Bay City, the Snowlands, Chamonix City, Ipperwash Cliffs National Seashore, Sea of Fables, Bay of Space Pigs, Ice Bay, Mare Secundus, The Point West Waterfront, the L-shaped lake and Micronesia, the ANWR Channel (which connects Sansara with Heterocera), and the Gateway International Airport & Axel Harbor (which connects Sansara with Bellisseria).
How long have you been an ambassador now? And what motivated you to become an ambassador?
I started about a year ago. Before that, I was already working with the BBB for passport stamp collection tours, which enhance my Mainland tours.
I considered the Ambassador position as a great opportunity to combine with my intentions of supporting the SL community spirit by offering exploration tours. I see those as one of countless ways to connect with people by sharing an adventure.
What was the most special event you either held at your Embassy or sponsored for your continent?
I struggle to pick something particular because each event and collaboration has been special in its own way. What all the events have in common and what stands out the most for me is the enthusiasm and creativity that each collaborator and supporter put into offering something fun and unique for the SL community. I love the sparkling joy that each attendant brought to and spread at the events, and the many friendships that have grown over time. It's the shared community spirit that makes every event special.
What is your favorite thing about Bellisseria that you tell residents of your continent?
Again, I struggle to pick favorites, because there is too much to choose from! But I would have a few recommendations as a starting point. For Linden Home owners, especially first-time home owners, I'd recommend the Parade of Homes as a source of inspiration for decorating your house and garden. If you enjoy exploring, join travel groups, visit homes open to the public like cafés, or stop by the themed community centers. Another fun activity is to go on the hunt for the easter eggs hidden by the Moles.
You can learn something about SL history, too (Magellan anyone?), or experience a surprise. For example, have you found out about the talking stone's secret at Molehenge yet? And, of course, you can collect stamps with your BBB or CPCB passport. As an avid traveler, I also enjoy the fact that Bellisseria connects all the Mainland continents.
What do you like to do in your spare time (or when you are not busy with your ambassador duties)?
My spare time activities actually don't differ much from what I usually do. I enjoy exploring, creating, brainstorming event ideas, and connecting with other residents and communities.
Tell us one thing about yourself that most people do not know.
I would have a hilarious answer to that but it has to remain a secret until the end of my SL days, I'm sorry.
Do you have anything else you would like to share?
I'd like to thank each and every one who puts their time and effort into making the SL community thrive and prosper. It doesn't matter how big or small your contribution is, if you are an event organiser or participant, location owner or visitor, or whatever other constellation you could think of. Every little spark of joy counts, and I'm looking forward to make more lovely memories with the community!
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. |
Bearpaw Tour in Mt Campion National Park
The Embassy of Bellisseria to Heterocera invites you to a new nature tour in the Mount Campion National Forest.
On Saturday, 11 Februrary 2023 at 12 noon SLT, a guided tour will follow the paths of the ancient Bearpaw tribe. The tour takes about 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) to complete. It visits several parts of Mount Campion National Forest as it traces the migration of the Bearpaw tribe from the flatlands to the higher elevations. It will tell the story of how and why this tribe migrated and it will take you to a number of breath-takingly beautiful locations in the park. And if you are a BBB or Continental Passport holder, there are two passport dispensers along the route where you can collect some passport stamps.
The tour will be guided by a ranger, giving explanations. Please join us at the meeting point a few minutes in advance of the start time.
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New Parade of Homes change form
... Fay Starlight's Tumbletown Falls
est. 1/2023
Hidden behind the Drunken Mouse Pub, lies a hidden falls where a little chalet stands deep in the forest!
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... Gingir Ghoststar's Linden Newbrooke Modern Home
est. 11/2021
I'll be moving at the beginning of March, so come see before I move again!
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NEW LOCATIONS
The Baseball Exhibit Gallery and Museum is at Sekmet on the Continent of Satori. Having visited both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Field of Dreams Movie Site in RL, we can say this SL version captures the spirit of America's Pastime well.
The rest of the new stamps available this week are all time-limited editions in celebration of the BBB's 3rd Birthday (BBB3B), as explained in our leading article (above). Enjoy collecting them all and, once more, thanks for your support of our recreational bureaucracy during the last three years. We hope you've had as much fun carrying our passports and other bureaucratic products as we have had making them for you.
If you have friends who don't have a passport yet, your visits to our HQ and embassies to collect the stamps will be a perfect opportunity to sort that shameful situation out. If they live in Bellisseria, teleport them to our HQ and help them fill out the application form for the full-on bureaucratic experience. If they live on another mainland continent, teleport them to the relevant embassy and they can get one – fully-automated – there and then. If they're rich and live on a private island (or poor and homeless) tp them to any embassy and they can immediately get the generic SL passport.
The fun of exploring our virtual world and collecting stamps to show the cool places you've been is open to everyone in SL. All your friends can be "victims" of the gentlest, kindest bureaucracy ever!
