Wait! you say. Wasn’t 2023 Etheriel 10? Yeah, I decided to go back a number to capture the year I had Covid. So it is number nine!

We missed last year due to Covid. Now we are back better than before!

The same spiel:

Yes, it will happen again!  A fantastic Afterparty for the Open Simulator Community Conference.  DJ Strannik Z will be spinning sonic textures and solid beats as well as some ethereal sounds.  You will find instructions and links on how to get to the party on this page. This is always a great party, whether you were an attendee who wants to talk about the conference while dancing, or a random new person dropping in for the first time to see what it is all about.  Hope to see you there!

 

Yes, it will happen again!  A fantastic Afterparty for the Open Simulator Community Conference.  DJ Strannik Z will be spinning sonic textures and solid beats as well as some ethereal sounds.  You will find instructions and links on how to get to the party on this page. This is always a great party, whether you were an attendee who wants to talk about the conference while dancing, or a random new person dropping in for the first time to see what it is all about.  Hope to see you there!

12-12-21, 6PM until the last avatar drops.

Its time once again for the Rockin Open Simulator Community Conference After-Party on Tiki Beach!  DJ Strannik Z will spin sonic textures and solid beats, focused on Dream Pop and Shoegaze.

Even if you missed the conference, come on down.  Music starts at 6 and will go late – until the last avatar drops.

Here are instructions on how to virtually get there.

If you arrive in the subway station, just click the poster to teleport to the beach.

It’s become a tradition! wrap up the inspiring Open Simulator Community Conference by dancing like nobody’s watching (or dance your av off).  DJ Strannik Z will spin tunes with solid beats and sonic textures that expand your experience beyond your spinning prims! Even if you missed some or all of the conference, come on down to chat with some of the folks that drive our world.

The usual instructions for how to get there are at this link.  After arriving in the main station, there will be a linked poster, or you can take the Tiki Beach subway stop to get to the party.

For the fifth year in a row, DJ Strannik Z brings you the ultimate afterparty on the beach of Pirate’s Atoll!  This is to follow the Open Simulator Community Conference.

The usual instructions for how to get there are at this link.  After arriving in the main station, there will be a linked poster, or you can take the Tiki Beach subway stop to get to the party.

So, of course, it has to be the best and a total blowout!  DJ Strannik Z will start at 1PM SLT/Grid Time on Friday and play sonic textures and solid beats of a most eclectic nature….until the last avatar drops from exhaustion.  I have gone as long as 7-8 hours at this festival in some previous years.  I’m looking to beat that record this year, so I’ll need all of you gridlings to put on your dancing prims and get ready to rock the house!

Hypergrid URL (put it in your map): 94.130.186.44:6000

UPDATE:

Because of network issues a portal has been set up

TP to http://hypergrid.org:8002:*metropolis*

Walk into the small plain-textured doorway (pictured)

From there you’ll be sent to another portal **count to five and then click on the wall**

From there you will be in the Avatarfest region

If you want to visit this virtual world and have never done so, get some instructions here.

The location is also listed on opensimworld.com here.

Official Website is here.

Here is what it looked like near the end a couple of years ago:

Spiral Mind Dance is Back!

On select Fridays (see the calendar) we bring back sonic textures and solid beats™️

DJ Strannik Z, who hosts the event, now has a page describing his styles and availability.

See this page to learn how to get here.

 

 

Click on any of the ATA teleporters and select “Tiki Beach” to get to the party!

In the beginning, after Virwox OMC failed, there was Podex

OK, first I have to preface this by reposting the article I wrote for InVisionz two years ago, when I was pro-Podex, and not a fan of other currencies:

Some of us Opensim users in the US are celebrating Independence Day on the fourth of July, but we are asking ourselves if we are really free if our money is constricted by forces outside of our control. After all, our forefathers dumped tea in the Boston Harbor for less!

Many of us in hypergrid worlds are fans of Science Fiction Author Neal Stephenson, who coined terms like “Metaverse” now in common use. He also wrote Reamde, a technothriller novel that revolves around a virtual currency in a game, and Cryptonomicon which revolved around data havens and digital gold currencies. For many of us, virtual worlds offer unique opportunities to pursue creativity in ways not constrained by “real life”. It should not be surprising that virtual currencies also seek degrees of freedom not available in RL, especially with International Banking Cartels trying to rule the world of finance.

Second life initially sparked popular imagination about virtual currencies and being able to make a living in a virtual world. Virtual currency was still a grey area in the banking and taxation worlds, creating an impression of a new wild west, complete with gold rush. As with all hype cycles, the reality eventually leveled out, and as regulatory powers caught up with the phenomena, SL closed the opportunities for third party exchangers and other services. Virwox, Podex and other exchangers have effectively been shut out of the SL economy. Governments have also taken an interest. One of the Edward Snowden files revealed that the NSA and GCHQ have had spies in Second Life and World of Warcraft, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Gregg Kaminsky was jailed for failing to report $140,000 earnings from Second Life among other things.

As Opensimulator communities developed, they have not been as currency driven as SL. While this was partly due to technical challenges in the beginning, it is also due to the fact that none of us who are refugees from SL want to see a money-driven hype cycle happen to Opensim. At the same time, there is some need for currencies, and some of us want to see a virtual currency world that is more free from the machinations of RL straitjackets.

Virwox has tried to create a currency that works across the hypergrid (the OMC). It is not necessarily easy to implement, requires extra steps to make purchases, and forces adopters to use a one-size-fits-all currency. With the rise of bitcoin, Virwox suddenly discovered that their currency shop had become a major exchanger for the cryptocurrency, ironically using Lindens as an exchange, even though they could no longer be used in SL. Other grids such as Avination experienced currency disasters (the theft of $126,000 from the grid). There are a few other parties trying to create hypergrid currencies, such as Gloebits. Kitely owns the largest hypergrid marketplace, but its own currency is crippled by the demands of financial regulation if it were to be exchangeable.

Some of us who were early adopters and users of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, saw it as a perfect virtual currency, as it is truly peer to peer, and is not controlled by any meddling organization or government. A grid owner still faces regulatory difficulites if they implement it, as governments then require conformity to regulations that govern financial services.

Two things have happened to make currency freedom a reality. First of all, YRgrid adopted the Microbitcoin as a grid currency. RL Macau is a jurisdiction that offers high stakes gambling. By locating grid servers in Macau, the same freedom allows YRgrid to offer gaming and bitcoin without the excessive regulation faced elsewhere.

Secondly, YRgrid is a Podex exchanged currency, which allows any other Podex currency to be exchanged for YRgrid’s Microbitcoin. YRgrid’s bitcoin is just normal bitcoin, and can be exchanged with any other bitcoin wallet. Podex also offers a degree of protection to grids wanting to offer their own Podex exchanged currency. From the Podex website:

“As a grid owner you are released from any legal or tax responsibility for managing currency. You can just enjoy the pleasure of managing your world with no risk! According to FINCEN Regulations any person, who fails to register as MBC may be liable for 5,000 USD per each violation as well as criminal fine and/or imprisonment up to 5 years.”

Thanks to YRgrid and Podex, Openim users on can let freedom ring on Independence Day!

AN INTERVIEW WITH JACEK AT PODEX.INFO

How has the transition been from being a big Second Life exchanger to operating solely on Open Simulator?

From technical point of view it has not a big challenge as our software needed only a few modification to be adjusted to Open Simulator environment. The bigger difference was in the way we cooperate with grid owners. Cooperation with Linden Lab was – let’s say – not easy, as their decisions were usually unpredictable and not negotiable. The situation in OS is more like in a big family, we can talk about everything and come to conclusion together.

You provide a valuable service by allowing avatars to have multiple currencies in their account across the hypergrid and in being able to transfer funds across the hypergrid. It is now easier than ever to set up a Podex ATM. What other hypergrid features might be coming in the future from Podex?

I am really happy that our new features, although they can seem painful at start, are well seen by our customers. My goal is to make our system as easy as possible for users and I do hope that we are going in a good direction. The next move we are going to do is to simplify cash-out process, especially the between-grid exchange.

YRgrid uses micro-bitcoin as their currency which is not only a Podex currency, but can be sent as regular bitcoin. Did this create any unique challenges for podex, and would you have any advice for new grids seeking to do something similar?

Bitcoin is well established virtual currency and can be easily adopted to new grids, but I am not specialist in IT so it is hard to say how much effort it needs. For us it is just another currency like any other, but the difference is that i can be purchased from many sources. Bitcoin seems to be really good solution as currency for virtual worlds but the thing that is a problem is difficulty in buying it – usually you can not buy it with credit cards and PayPal.

(For a while, Podex offered an anonymous debit card that could be funded with bitcoin or virtual currencies) Is there any chance of bringing back the second-card as an anonymous funded debit card from Opensim currencies? What are the roadblocks you would face?

Our offer of selling prepaid cards for avatars was really profitable, but unfortunately Polish banks stopped issuing them because of new government regulations and it is not possible to get them nowadays.

Fast forward nearly two years later, when the following realities are now apparent.

• The YRgrid sim, which was a good place to convert Podex to Bitcoin is gone.  Even if they somehow manage to come back, the trust is gone.  One of the Casino sims, Golden Palace Gaming, can still convert Podex currencies to Bitcoin, but less is known about them than was known about YRgrid.
• Podex still has extremely high exchange rates
• Gloebit is making a lot of headway in becoming a standard currency in the hypergrid.  They have stated their intent to allow cashouts in Bitcoin, barring a few technical difficulties.
• Transitioning to Gloebit was super easy.

As a result, Pirate’s Atoll has transitioned from Digitz to Gloebits as the local currency.  We still take Bitcoin whenever possible, but given the lack of infrastructure, it will have to be a secondary currency for now.  Gloebit is not as peer to peer or free from potential government interference as we would like, but the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Tipjars are now Gloebits/PayPal/Bitcoin.  I was able to tip another artist on another grid without using PayPal, which is something that was previously not possible for me.  That was a win.

Now if only Kitely Market would also include Gloebits as a payment option, then everything would be good.

This is the 4th incarnation of the dream pop rave on Pirate’s Atoll for an OSCC afterparty!  All of that community love and energy that builds up during the conference has to go somewhere, so come and celebrate it by dancing your av off! Feel free to come on by even if you didn’t make the conference.  The conference official start time is 6:30 PM, but I’ll start a bit earlier than that.  When will it end?  Only when the last av stops dancing!

12-10-2017, 6PM until late.

login.digiworldz.com:8002:pirates atoll  | (more on how to get there)

The link will take you into the arrivals platform in the station.  Use the Atoll Transportation Authority disk to take a local teleport to the Tiki Beach Club