What I Know About Tails

What I Know About Tails by GraceSWF Wrigglesworth

This blog post is definitely an opinion piece. Everybody is unique (that is what keeps life interesting!) and I recall how difficult things were for me when I first started in Second Life. Over my five years in Second Life (SL) I've learned a lot, but also found that my skill set is such that there are activities and skills I am pretty sure I’ll never develop or grow into. For example,

• I am not a builder (builders make things for the virtual SL world – think of them as designers),
• have a very small memory bank (you may need to remind me), and
• open water swimming frustrates this mermaid (I’m dyslexic and find I can swim in circles easily but following someone or heading somewhere)

I handle these dis-abilities by coping with various strategies. The point is that you can learn a lot about yourself in your SL time. It’s fun and invigorating for me. So my opinions and approaches often come with a bias towards doing things in ways that work for me. I do not claim to be the expert – am just trying to help. I thought that perhaps you would have interest in hearing my basic level understanding of how mermaid/man tails work and some of the options available. You can get along well without being a geek or expert computer programmer! Here are my thoughts on mermaid/merman tails in Second Life.

1. What we think of as a “tail” is actually an outfit that you put on the avatar you have. You can keep your same shape and face, put on the mer clothing, wear an AO and magic – you are a mermaid/man!

2. Becoming a mermaid/merman is reversible! If you’d like to change back into human form or some other species – just take off the mermaid attire and put on clothes from another inventory folder.

3. Appreciate Diversity! As you meet and become friends with other merfolk – you will see the great variety of tails available now. Just visit an inworld mer mall or go to https://marketplace.secondlife.com and search under key word “mermaid” and you will be amazed at the diversity available. Yes, most of the drop dead gorgeous tails you may see in world cost money (lindens are the SL currency) but there are a LOT of free tails out there now.

4. Discover the world of free tails: Many of the designers have put out free tails to encourage people to try out the mermaid option, and to encourage you to visit their store of course. Consider going to Safe Water Foundations resource center – look at the ad boards and go visit a few of the designers’ stores. Safe Waters Headquarters’ location also has a few free tails in the gift pools. Look around and you are almost always going to find a free tail. Once you get the tail – you can wear any part of it.

5. Mix and match tails: It is so much fun to wear different parts of mer tails together or to add some human attire to your mer tail. Shirts, belts, jewelry, and weapons can all be added. You end up with a truly unique look! I started SL without much money and still try to be very frugal with my lindens. I have over the years put together multiple outfits that I feel fit my personality. Hair can give you that unique look too. As I type this, there is a radio ad running that has this people proclaiming “MIX AND MATCH! MIX AND MATCH!!”  It is exciting when you discover all the possibilities using this mix and match approach. It takes some time, but if you are conservative with your linden spending, this can be a great option!

6. Learn how to edit your attire – you want things to fit and look like they belong together on your avatar. Many of the vendors have free stands (it is so hard to edit a mermaid as she bounces in the water!) and stand on it when you are editing. I edit either by right clicking on myself and choosing “edit appearance” in the circle that pops up OR by right clicking on the item that needs to be fitted, choosing edit and then play around with moving it or stretching it (assuming the item is modifiable). Always keep a back up of an item before you edit however – nothing sadder than editing a favorite tail you purchased, really messing up the balance and flow and then finding out you didn't make a back-up. Most designers will ask you to purchase another one – so don’t count on them replacing something you have destroyed.

7. Explore all the free stuff. Mermaids and merman can mix and match with all creature’s attire. Read more here.

8. Some tails come with an Animation Override (AO) and some come without. You need to wear an AO if you want to swim like a mermaid. I think everyone experiences the disaster of first putting on a mer tail and then walking like a human with this odd tail fin flopping about . It can be very frustrating and it isn't obvious how to resolve the issue when it happens. What you need to do is find an AO and wear it.

9. The AO can be in any mermaid outfit folder in your inventory. If you don’t have an AO in your inventory, then you need to find one. I suggest finding a free one and later do some research to purchase a more advanced AO. There is a price range for AO’s. Generally the free ones are basic but give you a taste of swimming in the SL waters. As you advance in your abilities you may want to purchase a commercial AO. If you purchase a good AO, the strategy is to wear it with any tail outfit you've put together. They don’t have to be in the same folder. There are a range of prices for AO’s – it really depends on your preferences or style in the way you want to move about.  I chose my AO by watching other merfolk, and when I saw one swimming the way I’d like to – I asked them what AO they were wearing and where they got it. Most will pass you a landmark to the store or you can do an SL search to find the retailer they recommend. You will find that most merfolk are quite helpful and used to getting this request.

10. Options! There are a lot of items which may come with the mer tail or that you can purchase and integrate into your favorite outfit. I've purchased some mer tails just to get the belt that comes with it for instance. There also are some high tech options you can find – not my area of expertise but I've added the ability for people to touch my tail and get text responses automatically and I’m currently learning how to use a “swim aid” which allows a merman/maid to swim at the surface of the waters or different depths.

You may want to explore Selby Evan’s blog, Virtual Outworlding, to get a lot more very accurate and current information on exploring the virtual world! I also suggest you explore another blog aimed at mermaids specifically: Cynthia Mermaid. Reading past blogs is really fun for people passionate about mermaids – from real life to digital mermaids!

Please come back to our Digital Mermaid blog for more information and ideas. Our goal is to get something out several times each month. If you have some ideas or questions that we could address here, please email gracewrigglesworth@gmail.com. May your digital mermaid experiences be awe inspiring!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder and CEO

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

SL Communication

SL Communication by GraceSWF Wrigglesworth

Let me remind you of our context – the audience and environment intended for this blog post. You are a fairly new user or brand new user to Second Life (secondlife.com – shorthand is often just SL) and have “taken the plunge” to try out being a SL mermaid or merman. If you haven’t “taken the plunge” yet, please go back and read the past blog posts – they should be very helpful. There is also general help (not aimed at mermaids specifically but for all SL users) on the web. Because there is so much to learn about getting around in SL, these general sites can be very helpful. Check out Virtual Outworlding Blog and Second Life Support – both are easy to navigate and have great content. If you’ve already had a lot of experience in SL but are discovering or renewing your underwater part of it – you may find some of this post to be oversimplified or even redundant. Please scan the contents of this posting to find the content that is helpful to you.

Communication is such a delicate and complex task in any environment, and I wanted to share my perspectives on how to communicate and avoid some of the barriers that prevent effective communication. I’m sharing my opinions and suggestions; there is a much deeper description of communication in SL at Communication Overview.

If you take anything out of this posting, there are two things that I really want you to know and remember. First, it is quite normal to have SL chat has gaps, lag or silent times. That is, when in an Instant Message (IM), many people carry on multiple conversations or may need to step away from the computer for a time (afk = away from keyboard). It happens, so there can be good rewards for being patient and watching for the return message within the IM conversation. Its an acquired skill, but I know that I often talk this way and return back to an IM window, even if the gap has been fifteen minutes or more. Especially if someone is trying to help you, realize that there may be short “gaps “ in the conversation but it still very much alive and continuing. Yes, sometimes the person forgot about the conversation and fallen asleep, so you’ll need to decide yourself how long you are willing to wait for someone to continue there part of a communication. My rule is roughly 15 minutes, and if they haven’t responded, I type in the IM that I had to go and hope we could talk another time.  That’s my general rule, if I know the person well, I have a sense for how often they typically do this “gap” type of communication. If you are looking for instant results and keep typing rapidly while waiting for them to respond, you may be viewed as an impatient newb and limit how helpful the other person will continue to be. So my number one rule in SL is to expect some gaps in SL conversations and deal with it.

The second thing I’d like you to take away from this post is to never jump to conclusions. If you are offended by something said to you, ask some questions to find out what the person meant. If they are trying to be rude and disruptive – there are ways to report such problems to the SL administrators (complete an abuse report). Click here for more information. But many times I have found that there are either cultural differences, or the message has been misunderstood. What you are hearing and reacting is not related to the message they were trying to send to you. Maybe they stated things unclearly. Clarify, clarify, clarify! Ask for more information by asking questions like “why do you say that?” or “I am not sure I understand you, can you explain (specific topic) to me more?” You may also be talking with someone from another country that doesn’t quite understand your language.

I’ve found many fights in SL are started because of a misinterpretation. In SL communication is so instantaneous and can travel to multiple people with very little effort (The appropriate idiom is “spread like wildfire”). A disagreement can quickly become complicated and when that happens, it is very hard to get back to the simple good conversation you that started initially. Proceed with caution if you feel your emotions getting involved – that is my second rule of SL communication. Prevention is the way to go – use all your communication skills.

Some other good things to read about if you want to become a good communicator in SL are: 

1. Etiquette: http://www.goodchatting.com/articles/etiquette.phtml

2. IM, Open Chat or phone call: http://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2012/05/kit-communication-in-second-life.html

3. Tips for Cross-Cultural Communication: http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/Cross-Cultural-communication.htm

4. Seek first to understand, then be understood: https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit5.php

5. Miscommunication happens all the time; use damage control: http://sideways8.com/when-miscommunications-happen/

This post has been written about things that apply to all users in virtual worlds – but definitely applies to mermaids. We are rare creatures and for the most part are known for being gentle, well-behaved, and good communicators. Join in the fun and keep our reputation strong. You may want to explore Selby Evan’s blog, Virtual Outworlding to get a lot more very accurate and current information on exploring the virtual world!

Please come back to our Digital Mermaid blog for more information and ideas. Our goal is to get something out several times each month.  If you have some ideas or questions that we could address here, please email gracewrigglesworth@gmail.com. Best wishes on becoming a mermaid in the virtual world!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder and CEO

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc. 

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

Mermaid Entertainment – Discover Dance Troupes

Once you are a mermaid or merman in your virtual world – what sort of things might you do for entertainment?  One idea that has been getting increasingly popular is to participate in a dance troupe show.

This week I've come across several wonderful examples of the “joy of mer” – centered on an international friendship, a dance troupe and an event we’d like you to invite you to come watch.

The Event: Elegant Sereia Third Anniversary Mermaid Show

Think of a major Disney production.  Imagine it with mermaids as the cast, fantastic costumes, special effects, music and lots of water. That is my best description of what the mermaids of Second Life are able to produce. Come and watch one this week! You can come dressed as mermaid or in any sort of avatar if you are still getting started.

Mark your calendar for July 27, 2013 and get out your international clocks. The tricky part is figuring out the local time for the show if you aren't used to international time zones. The show starts at 7:00 am Second Life time (SLT) which is the same as the pacific time zone in the USA. The early time is because this dance troupe is from Japan and the show is starting at 23:00 JST. It’s a compromise – the Japanese merfolk stay up late to perform, and if you are in California, as I am – we get up early to enjoy their art. Figure out your local time zone from there.

Believe me – this event is worth the time investment and the slight inconvenience of getting up early. I suggest you arrive at least a forty-five minutes before the show is scheduled to begin. This will get you a seat, as literally – seating is limited.  There are electronic constraints – a limit of how many avatars can be stacked into the region to watch. It is first come first serve – and you can be blocked from entrance once the sim is full. So on my clock (SLT or PST) I’ll be there no later than 6:15 am to get a seat and prepare myself.

Prepare for the Event

How does one prepare to attend such a show you might ask? It depends on one’s experience in-world.  I suggest there are three areas to prepare. First, the day before, verify that you can go in-world, walk around, and confirm you can hear sim music. Get your sound settings working is a very important part of preparing for a dance troupe event. There is a little music symbol at the top right corner of most of the viewers – click it to hear music. You may have to go into preferences to set up some things and also if having problems, it is a good idea to double check your volume controls. As always, I’m not going terribly deep into the technical side of things. Please refer to Thinkerer’s incredibly helpful web site:  Virtual Outworlding for help with the more technical side of things. I recommend figuring out your sound days before the event if you can – it’s no fun to be at the event and not hear the lovely music that goes along with the moves. And SL is so much more fun when you can enjoy the music and sounds.

Second, get your computer ready to view what you want to see at the venue. Once you are familiar with the software, you can control the camera angles on your computer. (look for camera controls in the menu to bring up a handy little box with obvious arrows for direction control) I can move my screen picture up and at just the right angle to get to see what I want. So no matter where I’m actually seated, I can move the camera around and get the view of my choice.  You can do this if you get there early – as the region become full – things slow down. This is called “lag”. Once it gets laggy, moving your camera becomes very difficult and frustrating. Arrive early - you will be glad you did. Perhaps arriving another fifteen minutes early would be a good idea – now I’m planning to arrive at 6:00 a.m. SLT to get just everything the way I want it. I have low lag tolerance.

Lastly, I recommend you dress simply. Oh mermaids and mermen are such vain creatures – we do delight in all the variety of attire, accessories, and magical additions like bubbles. Drop those when you are going to an event where you expect there to be a full house (or a full sim as we call it). You are there to see the show, NOT to be a showcase yourself. Be simple – it’s helpful to everyone including yourself.  I've been known to go bald in just a minimum of clothing (thankfully mer don’t have to wear that much (smile). Bald is a bit extreme. It is sort of the opposite of a real life (RL) special event – you don’t want to go dressed up to these events – it interferes with the technical needs of the show! Be a good citizen and improve the quality of the show for everyone – dress simply for an event like this one.

If you are still new – just go and enjoy. Get there a little early so you can figure out how to sit.  Sit back and enjoy what you can – I bet you will still have fun!

Enjoy the Event

Use this link to arrive at the starting point. From there, use the teleport system to arrive at their sky stage. Find yourself a seat, and enjoy the show! This one is expected to go on for an hour – usually with some breaks where you just relax and perhaps chat with someone near you.  Remember it is international though – so they may not speak your language. Usually at such an event there is one or two tip jars out for the performers and/or the venue. If you have managed to get yourself some lindens (the in-world money) – pay the tip jars a little please. It encourages the entertainers and helps the venues continue to be there for our enjoyment.

The Back Story:  More about Mermaid Dance Troupes

This post’s subject is about participating in mermaid dance troupes and I’ve spent most of our space here describing how you can participate by being a member of the audience. There are also opportunities to join a dance troupe in Second Life if you have the desire. Showing my age, I still think of the dance performances as “mer ballet” – they are doing synchronized swimming events (like at the Olympics!) but with much more variety and special effects utilized. In truth – there are legged dance troupes as well – but our focus is on the mermaid ones. If you have the interest and want to explore, they are out there!

I also happen to have the gadget that allows me to do small spontaneous synchronized swimming with mer friends. Don’t underestimate this fun – if you do it with a group of friends – it is soothing and oh so beautiful. And I’m sure the dance troupe’s would tell you it takes an incredible amount of work to choreograph their productions – and then of course there is the time commitment for practice and rehearsals. If you are into it, it can be an incredible amount of fun.  I sure do enjoy and appreciate the work that goes into these productions.

I’ll try to feature other performance troupes as I can in this blog. For now, let me drop a few names of known choreographers to investigate (in addition to the troupe doing the above performance, Elegante Sereia) – if you want more information:

Note Eel’s Club Mermaid dance troupe provided my foundational understanding of mermaid dance performances. She is also from Japan (RL) and regularly organizes events. Prissy Solvang (prissy206.hammand) has been known to choreograph some wonderful productions. Elleon Bergamasco has a dance troupe called Belly Up – it’s been years since I’ve seen them do something – but you never know!

The merrow of Avilion have been known to produce lovely dance events.  Look up Avilion (A Medieval Fantasy Role-play sim) and their Avilion-Merfolk group for more information.

This Week’s Celebrity Mermaid:  Angelina Becomes a Dancer

Before finishing this missive, let me share just one story of how one mermaid, Angelina Rennahan, was swimming through Second Life and came to discover a friend in Japan, and a passion for dancing in her new friend’s troupe.

Necklace of Friendship

Sitting in Angelina’s lovely in-world home this week, we talked about how she first met Siarl Shan and learned of the Elegante Sereia dance troupe. Angelina was shopping at one of her favorite mer stores, Tir-Na-Nog.  She purchased an outfit and was surprised to be contacted by the designer, Siarl Shan, with an improvement on the necklace that came with the outfit. They became acquainted and the necklace problem was resolved. Angelina got a very special necklace (she calls it her Necklace of Friendship) and Siarl also gifted her new friend with another beautiful tail she had designed. “We became close friends from then on,” Angelina told me.

Siarl Shan and her partner, Naotaro Wulluf, had founded the dance troupe, Elegante Sereia three years ago.  In fact, the performance we've invited you to above is part of the celebration of their 3 year anniversary of performances. Angelina became a dancer in the troupe (although not in this featured performance) – and if you are able to attend – you will be watching the magic the entire troupe has worked very hard to create.

I found the story touching and worth sharing with you dear readers.  First, fantastic customer service and attention to detail brought two mermaids (at heart) together across international distances difficult to imagine.  They have explored shared interests, had a lot of fun and now make these magical performances we all enjoy so much.  So, if you get a chance, take a moment to meet friendly Angelina Rennahan and discover what other joys she finds in the mermaid life.  A well established digital mermaid, Angelina owns a residential sim (Stella Mare Mer Sanctuary)  which hosts fun mermaid events. Angelina is definitely a good mermaid to meet in order to network and discover some great places to explore (or live) in Second Life.

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I hope you have found this post helpful in starting a digital mermaid existence in Second Life.  We welcome comments below. Always learning – we are seeking to introduce you to the joy of mer.

Please come back to the Digital Mermaid blog (http://digitalmermaids.blogspot.com) for more information and suggestions. We would especially like to get your ideas on other topics we could share (email them to gracewrigglesworth@gmail.com). The goal is to get you one blog-post a week – on being mermaid in the virtual world!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder and CEO

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

Take The Plunge

CHECK LIST FOR NEW MERS: TAKE THE PLUNGE AT SECOND LIFE IN 8 EASY STEPS

So you've decided to try becoming a digital mermaid/merman in Second Life? This article is written from the perspective that you have already gone to secondlife.com, downloaded the software, signed in as a new member with your own unique mer name, chosen a legged avatar and gone through some of the newcomer orientation resources provided for those legged people. YOU, my soon to be friend, are ready to take the plunge!

With a minimum of description, let me give you a list of the things to do – to give you a good solid start on the process of becoming a mermaid or merman in Second Life. This is not meant to explain all the details of everything (they change often enough that you are better off discovering them in-world yourself). It is meant to give you direction. You will have to talk with other mers and read some of the materials prepared to get the detailed instructions. There is much more to do than this checklist, of course – this is meant as a guide to get you started.

CHECK LIST FOR NEW MERS IN SECOND LIFE

1. JOIN THE SWF GROUP: Use the Second Life program search feature and find the Safe Waters Foundation group and the Safe Waters Foundation headquarters landmark. Hint: For some silly reason, sometimes our group doesn't pop up in search – the complete and correct name to use is !!!Safe Waters Foundation!!! – give that one a try. Once you have found the group information for Safe Waters Foundation (SWF for short), join by clicking on the join button. 

2. TELEPORT TO SWF HEADQUARTERS: You may have already discovered our headquarters in search. If not, get there now. Teleport to the headquarters location. You should land at the welcome desk. Get a copy of the SWF toolkit – it is on the desk and looks like a huge big tool box. You’ll have to open it to get some very helpful note cards and a few freebies. Headquarters is a place to find a lot of help – both in group chat and around the location. Walk around the building, and outside too. Be curious and explore!

3. FIND THE GIFT POOLS: While exploring- watch for the Safe Waters Foundation (SWF) gift pools (hint: outside the building by the amphitheatre). Inside the black pearls are free mermaid/merman tails. You can get the content from each of the pearls by clicking them and choosing to purchase each for zero $L (linden dollars – the currency in SL). Get all the mer tails that are in there. There is also a great self-help Guide for Young Mermaids (and Mermen) in the pools – authored by Leslie Beaumont. Grab her guide and all the other free gifts – they are great and fun to play with – but remember our focus right now is to transform you into a mermaid or merman. 

4. TRANSFORM: To be a mer you need a tail and an animation override (AO). There are free mer AO’s (stand alone, and some tails come with an AO included). If you get one of the free tails that doesn't have an AO with it, just look in inventory and you can wear a mer AO from one of the other free tails. When you are wearing both (AO and tail), look at yourself friend – you are transformed!

5. MOVE AROUND AND LEARN TO BE MER: Take some time now to swim around. Enjoy the beauty and get used to your new form. Are you having fun yet? Now, there is a lot more information to learn – many more options for you to become the mer of your dreams. My suggestion is to explore initially by yourself, and when you run into something that you just can’t figure out or you are ready to start asking more questions – it is time to find another mermaid or merman. 

6. FIND A MER FRIEND: The most frequent questions we get is “how do I find other mermaids and mermen?  There are many answers of course, as we are creative creatures. I suggest you send an instant message (IM) to the Safe Waters Foundation (SWF) group chat. You can also find other mer groups and mer sims by exploring the adboards on the walls of headquarters.  Teleport around until your find someone! Please join those other mer groups to find ones that fit your time zone and style.  SWF is currently the largest mer group in Second Life – which is why I suggest you first sending an IM into the SWF group chat to broadcast across many mer at once. Of course, be polite and don’t spam. You will find the majority of merfolk friendly and helpful. 

7. CONTACT A MER MENTOR: Another suggestion is to find a Mer Mentor – a section of headquarters will show you which if any are online. Mer mentors are experienced mer with the heart to help new merfolk. They are volunteers – if you will go to the Mentor desk you can see if they are online and contact them. One popular SWF Mer Mentor, Blithe Binder (blithe.lorefield) describes her approach:

When someone contacts me, the first thing I do is find out if it is a casual inquiry or if they are ready to take the plunge, so to speak. Usually it is the latter, so I get them signed up to the SWF group right away, and tell them that even if I'm not on when they have a question, they can always inquire in the group chat and everyone is so helpful. I also encourage them to attend the meetings. Then if they have time, I take them to find a free tail and AO, so they can get the feel of it. I "converted" three ladies the other night and every one of them loved the feeling, describing it as feeling so free. 

We explore the SWF Headquarters and I encourage them to always feel free to ask questions, and before they know it, they'll be zipping along through the seas reflecting their own personal mer style! - Blithe Binder, SWF Mer Mentor

So don’t be scared or shy, everyone comes to Second Life with a different set of skills and we want you to get the help you need. You can see which mentors are in-world behind our Mentor Desk at headquarters.

8. QUESTION AND KEEP LEARNING: The SL world is always changing, and there are an infinite number of possibilities of things to explore in SL. With regard to being mer, some questions to explore with your new friends would have to include:

a) Getting a better than free AO
b) Where to find freebies
c) Favorite designers and styles of tails
d) Resource sims, web sites and blogs
e) How to dance
f) Organizing your inventory
g) Where to role-play or any of the other activities possible in mer form (including snail racing, mer races, mer Olympics, group swims, explore the Blake Sea, whale and pirate adventures – it’s a long list!)
h) How to use outfits (free or purchased) to mix/match outfits and create your own unique style

I hope you have found this post helpful in starting a digital mermaid existence in Second Life. Some of us are serious mers (always wear a tail) and others find they enjoy using any number of avatars. You can be anything you want in SL. We welcome comments below and hope to improve this document over time. Every trip starts with a first step (or draft *smile*).

Please come back to the Digital Mermaid blog for more information and ideas. We would especially like to get your ideas on other topics we could share (email them to gracewrigglesworth@gmail.com). The goal is to get you one blog-post a week – on being a mermaid in the virtual world!

* There are lots of resources for finding help in Second Life.  You may want to explore much more than the merm option once you get there.  We highly recommend Selby Evan’s blog, Virtual Outworld to get a lot more very accurate and up to date information on using Second Life and other virtual worlds.  Here is his web link.

There is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) in the SWF information kiosks.  They are located near either of the main entryways.  The look like a little stand and have a topic showing on screen.  Use the buttons to click through all the offered information until you find the frequently asked questions screen.  Click the screen to receive a free note card on that topic.  If you don’t find what you want there – please do instant message (IM) or send a note card (NC) to myself (GraceSWF Wrigglesworth) so we can update!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder and CEO

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

Updated Schedule

We are still fine tuning a few of the times, but here is the current planned schedule:
(all times expressed in SLT/PST)

12 midnight to 2am  Meet and greet Merfolk!
2:00 am:  DJ Wazzas McMilan (Austrailia)
4:00 am:  Designer Showcase*(approx 45 minutes):  Theta Cooperstone (Singapore)
5:00 am:  Designer Showcase*(approx 45 minutes):  Tithis String (Greece)
6:30 am to 8:30 am:  Japanese Dance Event Hosted by Club Mermaid and Shinobics (Japan)
8:30 am to 11:00 am  Meet and Greet the officers of Safe Waters Foundation – the normal time for our regular Saturday gathering is 10 am– in addition to a normal meeting – this will be a chance to meet many of our officers and share your ideas for future growth
11:00 Designer Showcase*:  Zohee Goldshark (approx 45 minutes)
12noon to 2:00 pm  DJ Plastique Munro (UK)
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Underwater Zoltan Mint (USA) will perform!
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Introduction to Merfolk Life - Discussion led by GraceSWF Wrigglesworth
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm DJ Shay Sunnyside
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm DJ Cynthia Maine
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm Live Mermaid Performing:  Starrfish Ohmai
9:00 pm to 10:00 pm Live Merman Performing:  Greg (Canada)
10:00 pm to midnight – Meet and greet.  This is a chance to mix and mingle with all merfolk – lets celebrate a successful open house together!

*A designer showcase is when one designer comes to the SWF amphitheater with some merfolk dressed in their designs.  It is a great chance to get a unique view of their style, and then as time allows there will be also be some question and answer discussion as well.  Come and meet these great designers as they showcase some of the different merfolk looks!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder

International Open House 2013

ANNOUNCING OUR 2013 INTERNATIONAL OPEN HOUSE

Safe Waters Foundation is hosting an all day celebration on June 8, 2013 at SWF Headquarters. Because digital mermaids come from all over the world, and therefore from all time zones – we have arranged to have this one very special day where you can find other mermaids and information in your time zone.

Expressing this in terms of Second Life Time (SLT) it starts on Friday June 7th at midnight (which quickly becomes Saturday June 8!!) until midnight on Saturday, June 8th. We presume you can convert this to your time zone. There will be entertainment constantly – always something happening if things go as scheduled. Hopefully you will spread the word across all the international mermaid lovers and they will take this special opportunity to come in and get an introduction to mermaids/mermen and digital mermaids!

We are still fine tuning a few of the times, but here is the current planned schedule:
(all times expressed in SLT)
12 midnight to 2am (currently open – this may end up being “meet and greet” time!
2:00 am to 4:00 am: DJ Wazzas McMilan (Australia)

5:00 am: Designer Showcase*(approx 45 minutes): Tithis String (Greece)
6:30 am to 8:30 am: Japanese Dance Event Hosted by Club Mermaid and Shinobics
8:30 am: Designer Showcase*: Zohee Goldshark (approx 45 minutes)

10:00 am to 11am Meet and Greet the officers of Safe Waters Foundation – this is the normal time for our regular Saturday gathering – in addition to a normal meeting – this will be a chance to meet many of our officers and share your ideas for future growth

12 noon to 2:00 pm DJ Plastique Munro (UK)
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Underwater Zoltan Mint (USA) will perform!
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Live Mermaid Performing! Come and hear Porter Paquot (USA)
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm DJ Shay Sunnyside
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm DJ Mick Oxygen
8:00 pm to 9:00 pm Live Mermaid Performing: Starrfish Ohmai
9:00 pm to 10:00 pm Live Merman Performing: Greg (Canada)
10:00 pm to midnight – Meet and greet. This is a chance to mix and mingle with all merfolk – let's celebrate a successful open house together!

**A designer showcase is when one designer comes to the SWF amphitheater with some merfolk dressed in their designs. It is a great chance to get a unique view of their style, and then as time allows there will be also be some question and answer discussion as well. Come and meet these great designers as they showcase some of the different merfolk looks!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

Welcome to Digital Mermaids!

The concept is fairly simple. People adore mermaids. We certainly do and plan to make this a place to further enjoy them. Whether you call in your passion, hobby, or even career – there are a lot of opportunities to enjoy mermaids. We are emphasizing one approach to enjoying mermaids – being a mermaid ONLINE!

You can create a mermaid/merman avatar (or a sea monster if you wish) and explore the underwater world in virtual computer-created worlds. Imagine it – you can be sea creature of your dreams – swim, dance and make friends – in incredibly beautiful and unpolluted waters. Actually in computer worlds, maybe someone will make polluted waters to swim in also – thus far though we’ve not found that creativity expressed – and oh my, forgive us for suggesting it. We are going to start introducing you to the many ways of being an online, virtual mermaid – to coin a term – become digital mermaids! This blog will make it easier to get started and then and hopefully increase the fun as we gain experience This blog is dedicated to the exploration being DIGITAL MERMAIDS.

Terminiology: Merman versus Mermaid
Some clarification is needed right away – we do speak of mermaids as the group, or class/species. Indeed there are male (merman) and female (mermaid) of the species. Mermen exist in all shapes and sizes. The females are called mermaids – so you have the choice of being a merman or a mermaid. When speaking of the entire group – some use mers, merms and we also will also use mermaids here. So when speaking of mermaids we are probably not referring to only the females, but to the entire population. We will not nitpit and use them all interchangeably. So I guess if you want to refer to just one gender of us – you’ll have to be specific. So forgive us as we stumble bravely forward – you will see us referring to mermaids mostly but occasionally mers or merms. Lets just try to go with the flow for now

Virtual Worlds in the Internet?
There are, of course, multiple platforms, on which you can start your digital mermaid experience. One has to start somewhere, and we are starting this blog by focusing on one - the Second Life world.

Starting in Second Life Virtual World
Go to secondlife.com and you can download the free software. It is free to log in and choose an avatar in Second Life. And there is a lot of help there for getting started in Second Life. Use the help resources there. Hopefully we’ll get a guest blogger to write a better introduction into the second life platform soon. But for now – be independent and creative – the second life platform is very user-friendly. This blog is more concerned with helping you find the mermaid world.

Finding the Mermaid World in Second Life

Okay, you've arrived in Second Life with legs, arms and hopefully some clothes. Fortunately for you, the mermaids of Second Life have been working for some time to create a friendly place for you to transform yourself into a mermaid, and then to find others of the species and discover all the fun things to do and gorgeous places to visit. I helped start a group in second life called Safe Waters Foundation. Many have contributed, but at this point you need to know that it has developed to be really the best resource for getting started as a mermaid/merman. First goal for you is to find the Safe Waters Foundation Headquarters.

There are several ways to arrive at headquarters:
1. Try this Second Life URL (SLURL for short): http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mermaids%20of%20Phantasien/120/123/3

To use the SLURL inworld – you copy and paste it into the open chat area and then click on it to go there. If you use it in your regular browser, it will open up the second life program for you and take you there.

2. There is a search feature in Second Life. Find it, open it up and search for “Safe Waters Foundation” and it should open up a link that will get you there. If you search for mermaid – you will find a lot of other entries – more for you to explore later! Searching for the group name will get you there faster.

3. Well, the other ways is to find another mermaid and have them teleport you there. That will be hard to do unless you are really lucky or come to Second Life with friends already. So try the first two options first!

Once you have found Safe Waters Foundation Headquarters – you have found a great unofficial portal into the mermaid world of Second Life! For short, we call it SWF HQ. Here is a short list of things to do while you are at SWF HQ.

1) Find the welcome desk. There is a Welcome toolbox that will be very helpful. It looks like a big wooden toolbox sitting on the desk. Right click and buy it (for zero lindens) and you will have one. Inside are helpful notes and a few small gifts.

2) Join the Safe Waters Foundation group. There is a big blue SWF sign- left click on it and you’ll get help with joining. You can also use the SL search feature again, searching for groups this time and just follow directions. The group has open membership – anyone can join. The advantage to joining – is the group chat feature. Once you are a member, you can open up group chat – and put out a call for help. Someone always answers.

3) Also helpful is to find the mer mentor boards. They are over by one of the building entrances. These boards show you which mentors are online and helps you get in touch with them. These are people who want to help new folk so a great place to start.

4) Another suggestion: Come to a Saturday 10am (SLT) mer gathering. Every Saturday, the largest mer gathering in SL is held weekly. It is moderated, but we share news and get to know each other.

4) Check out all the walls! They are covered with mermaid places, shops and resources. Click on an interesting sign and it will usually give you a notecard that you can open up and read – but sometimes more than that. You will find so much variety to enjoy – your journey as a digital mermaid begins!

Author: GraceSWF Wrigglesworth, SWF Founder

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.