AT LAST! MAINLAND PASSPORTS
The Bellissarian Bureau of Bureaucracy was founded as a quirky idea to build community on the then-new Linden Homes continent. From the beginning other SL'ers asked if they could have passports too, but we just didn't have the staff. Now however we are delighted to announce a solution!
As from today, there are terminals at or near our embassies where local residents can obtain that continent's passport. It's issued automatically and completely free of charge by a new group, the Continental Passport Control Board (CPCB) using tried and tested BBB technology.
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Each passport bears the applicant's Rez Day, a unique identification number and the date of issue. A setup menu allows the passport holder to add the name and photo of their choice and to change them as often as they wish.
If you don't live on the Continents where we have embassies (e.g. you have your own private island or rent a place on a private estate) you have the option of obtaining a generic Second Life® passport.
Your editor's (a Bellisseria/Satori dual citizen) new passport / click to enlarge
CPCB passport holders can collect stamps at all the locations in the Online Travel Guide. All of these locations are curated to include places of interest built by SL residents or our beloved Moles.
To new readers unfamiliar with our passports, anyone can apply for a stamp terminal anywhere in SL. We design a unique stamp for you unless you wish to design your own. We provide the stamps and terminals free of charge (but not to drive traffic to commercial locations). The idea is to encourage exploration, knowledge of SL geography – and fun!
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The mainland passports are a new service provided free of charge to all comers. They are supported in-world by a small CPCB team via a new user group open to all. The group will provide technical support. Information about locations and events is available here every week from the Gazette and 24/7 in the Online Travel Guide.
What does this mean for Bellisserians? They no longer have to disappoint friends who want to join in the fun! They can direct them to the relevant embassy (SLURLs are in the sidebar and the Official Locations section of the Online Travel Guide) to get their own passport. They can also encourage them to contact the Hon. Ambassador to their continent, whose job it is to bring Mainlanders and Bellisserians together for cool events and activities.
They will continue to receive weekly updates in-world and to have access in BBBug group chat to support from the BBB team.
What does this mean for people with BBB Stamp Terminals on their land? More potential new visitors and friends!
What does this mean for the BBB Gazette? Check out our new masthead at the top of the page! As the main channel of communication with mainland passport holders, we get a new name – we're now simply The Gazette – which is what most people call us anyway!
We get to serve all SL residents and we're happy about that. We look forward to welcoming new readers. Our editor, Dave, has also joined the CPCB staff as an administrator, so feel free to contact him through the group, the email link in the sidebar or the mailbox at The Gazette's office.
Passport Dispenser Terminals in production | click to enlarge
What does this mean for SL in general? We hope the new passports will further promote SL tourism and encourage more SL'ers to get to know our wonderful virtual world (and each other) better.
Welcome mainlanders! Have fun with your new passports!!
A DAY IN THE LIFE: ROBERT RHODAN
There is nothing much more relaxing than drinking my morning tea on the garden bench of my Belli home; looking at the Sakura trees move in the breeze, and watching my beloved red fox Fix roam the garden. Always under the eye of Hypatia the owl, whom an old friend was kind enough to give a new home with me.
Next I look into my inbox to see if my BBB boss Sun has asked me to create new passport stamps for interesting locations. I enjoy making these, though I am always tempted to create unconventional designs, as pictured here.
I have been happy to learn I have some artistic freedom – kudos to Sun for her tolerance.
As I love to hike through beautiful landscape regions, I spend quite some time checking out such places. This is one thing I love about SL; the amazing creativity of many land owners. I am also deeply grateful that SL allows us to be what we wish to be. We can hike and climb mountainous terrain even if elderly or infirm in RL. We can create an avatar of a lost loved one, and give her/him a second life again. That possibility was one reason for me to return to SL many years after I canceled my old account in mourning (so don't take my displayed rez date too seriously).
Being retired and living alone in RL, I often use my ample spare time to compose neo-classical and new age music. Our boss of bosses, Boo, when kindly introducing me to the BBB staff wrote "he has a hankering to produce a Bellisserian Anthem." Yes, I do and I will!
The exceptional day of happiness in my renewed Second Life was when my beloved Petal said "yes" to my SL marriage proposal. She is the warm sunshine rays in my mornings when I start my SL day, and the enchanting "Clair de Lune" in the evening before I log off.
Please be lenient with me, my fellow Bellisserians. As the new kid on the block I am learning and listening at the moment. In my new role I shall always be trying to put a smile on your face in the morning, to last for the rest of the day!
Article and photos by Robert Rhodan, the newest member of our bureaucracy.
NEW LOCATIONS
We have two new LDPW locations this week ,neither of which your editor had seen before. He enjoyed visiting them to take photographs for the Gazette and the Online Travel Guide. We're sure you'll enjoy visiting them too.
The first is the Sand Castle at Valenza in Nautilus. You've seen a sandcastle before, you say? Not on the scale of this one you haven't! Our dear Moles went to town on this one and it's amusing to imagine them all at work with their buckets and spades.
The second is the Second Life Railroad (SLRR) station at Neumoegen on Heterocera. It's a whimsical, hippy-ish build, unlike any RL station we've every seen. We love the SLRR and your editor had fun exploring. He brought out a train from his inventory at the Rez Zone there and managed to drive it all the way to our Embassy, which has its own station.
The other new stamp is for an event at the Bellisseria Fairgrounds which takes place today and tomorrow. So if you want to grab that one, you'll need to be quick! The event is the 2nd anniversary of the Bellisseria Entertainers & Events group. They've been bringing music to Bellisseria for two years and they're bringing more to the fairgrounds to celebrate. It should be fun! As always, if you click on the images below you'll get an enlarged version so you can see all the details.