Virtual World There.com to Close

In an announcement on March 2, 2010, There.com’s CEO Mike Wilson announced the virtual world would be shutting down on March 9. Wilson cited the troubled real-life economy as the reason for the decision.

 “There.com's customers were hardest hit by the recession, and, so was There. While our membership numbers and the number of people in the world have continued to grow, there has been a marked decrease in revenue ...  at the end of the day, we can't cure the recession, and at some point we have to stop writing checks to keep the world open. There's nothing more we would like to avoid this, but There is a business, and a business that can't support itself doesn't work. Before the recession hit, we were incredibly confident and all indicators were "directionally correct" and we had every reason to believe growth would continue. But, as many of you know personally, the downturn has been prolonged and severe, and ultimately pervasive.”

There was launched in October 2003, not l ong after Second Life. It was founded by Will Harvey, whom was noted for writing the first commercial sheet music processor for home computers “Music Construction Set,” and work on several computer games. The Instant Messenger IMVU was also founded by Harvey. Jeffrey Ventrella was There’s co-founder, noted for his programs on artificial life, whom later worked as a developer at Linden Lab.

In it’s early days, There did well, possibly because of the prestige of it’s founder and starting out with more funding than Second Life. But it soon ran low on finances, and Second Life gained the media spotlight. It ran into trouble starting in 2004, and in 2005 the company split in two, Makena Technologies which continued to operate the virtual world, and Forterra Systems, which concentrated on “private and secure” virtual worlds for government and corporate clients.

There distinguished itself from Second Life as a more family-friendly place with “controls on adult content and griefers,” which attracted some users too edgy of it’s more noted competitor. It also aimed at teenagers, whom were too young for Second Life’s main grid. The language on it’s info page included, “Feeling awesome today? You can look awesome. Feeling like you want to make some heads snap around? You can look knock-down gorgeous and totally buff.”

There also advertised itself as more corporate friendly, having places such as Club Scion and Coca-Cola Skate Park. In 2006, There partnered with MTV. Other brands with a presence in There include Cosmogirl, The Humane Society, Paramount Studios, and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Like Second Life, residents of there moved about in avatars, and could communicate in text and private Instant Messaging, or voice for those with Premium accounts. Unlike Second Life, avatars could only be modified from a basic human form: hair, skin, and eye colors, head and body shapes, etc. Avatar graphics were a little simpler than those on Second Life as well. People could get around on foot, or on vehicles such as buggys , and hoverboards. There was an emphasis on sports, such as the paintball games in the video on There’s introduction page on it’s website. There were also virtual pets, although limited to two breeds of dogs.

There also had it’s own virtual economy, with it’s currency called “Therebucks,” which could be bought and sold from and to the company, with one US dollar equal to 1,800 T. There were also virtual banks, which unlike Second Life remained legal on There. People with Premium memberships could build and sell items, such as buildings and vehicles, as well as being able to own and rent homes. There had it’s own newsletter at http://www.therefuntimes.com/

Unlike Second Life, There was never available to Mac users.

In Second Life, Torley Linden named his personal sim “Here” as a tribute to There. The surname “Thereian” is also available to Second Life residents.

In the statement, Wilson stated there would  be refunds on “All purchases of Therebucks and member program updates” between February 1 and the moment the closing was announced, “We will attempt to continue a Therebucks buyback for developers.” There also appeared to be a subtle jab at Second Life, “many things ... made There special, accessible, and attractive to people from all over the United States and the world -- not just the privileged with high-end machines and broadband connections.”

There have been a number of comments by former users. One “on again off again” user felt there were several reasons for it’s decline, including that suggestions for new activities were often ignored, and the corporate endorsements to make up for a stagnant membership might have brought in cash but also ruined the “ambience” of There, and some changes “helped kill off some of it’s most popular activities and communities ... One of the last lingering, saddest memories I had before quitting There was to see the once thriving hoverboard park a ghost town.” More common were expressions of sadness over the loss of the virtual world.

Of final thoughts, those from CNet writer Daniel Terdiman are as good as any, “For me, though I hadn't gone into There for quite some time, I always enjoyed the idea that I could go back in, jump in my wonderful hoverboat and go for a nice long ride. I recall the early days of There when there were regular hoverboat flotillas and when you could easily find people riding around on flying dragons. To all the fans of There who will now be without a digital home, there is perhaps only one suitable salutation: 'wave. “

Bixyl Shuftan

“We Gotta Say Goodbye, For the Summer” - Bahama Beach Club Closes

 
By Bixyl Shuftan


At 6 PM Saturday August 22nd, the Bahama Beach Club at the Goldrush sim held it’s final event. Club owner Rory Langdon was the DJ that night, playing classic rock for a “Back to the ‘60s” beack party, with some guests and staff in their swimming trunks and bikinis. Instead of in the club, the party was held on the beach sands.

Rory Langdon, or Joe Ward in real life, has been playing music for over 30 years, with experience as both a DJ and club manager. Experience he brought with him to Second Life, both DJing and club managing here. In March 2009, he decided to start up a club of his own, buying up some land that already had a nightclub there, “Club 9:30.” As it turned out, there really was a Club 9:30 in real life. So he kept the building for a while, setting up a small beach club next to it, poles holding up a thatched roof, with a danceball overhead with a particle streamer sending down a light show at times, with a picture of a blue parrot behind the DJ stand, which became known as “Flip the bird.”

With his partner Marai McMahon helping to manage things, Rory had planned to run both clubs with events in both every week. But problems in real life cut down on his time in the metaverse, and the prim content limit limited what he could do with both clubs. So they decided to take down the nightclub building, building a a bigger beach club. They also put a little more detail in the beach. adding rocks, a waterfall, palm trees and hammocks, a secret cuddle spot, and more. Some people dropped over between parties just to see the beach scenery and relax. The new bigger club was renamed the Bahama Beach Club, though sometimes simply called the “BBC” as a pun on the famous media company.

Besides himself, Rory had other music-makers performing. Bosco sang at the club for a time. Later on came DJ’s SonicBlu and Boo Gearhead. And throughout the club’s history, there was ScratchMusikatt the “Chaos DJ,” playing for the late at night while he also performed in real life.

The club and it’s grounds took up a quarter sim, but prim limits limited what Rory, Marai, and the staff could do. There was talk about buying up a half sim, or maybe a full sim in the future for things like a staff residence home. Then his old friend and former neighbor Foxyfurman Kumaki who runs the Foxworth sim offered a deal. Rory and Marai now have a section of the sim there for a club, which will be opened sometime in the near future. This time, it will be a nightclub to go along with Foxy’s casino next to the place. The land on Goldrush will be sold.

So, the Bahama Beach Club comes to a close, at least for now. It’s likely it will come back in some form, but the place at Goldrush will be missed.

As the final party came to a close, virtual champagne was passed around, and toasts were made.

“To this place being good to us, memories made here.”

“To memories old and new, to friends who shall never be forgotten.”


*  *  *  *  *

Addition (2015): In the Summer of 2008, I came across and made friends with the people of Woodlin, eventually joining the community in October. But over a period of weeks from January to March 2009, the place fell apart due to drama, the majority of us heading over to Foxworth, owned by Foxyfurman Kunami. But while Woodlin had it's own clubs, Foxworth didn't have one. It's entertainment was an open-air gaming hall with machines of Foxy's construction. Enter Rory Langdon, whom was one of Woodlin's DJs, and was the manager of it's short-lived "Margaritavile." Wanting to stay in the club business, he got some land in a sim separate from Foxworth that already had one, and went to work with help from Foxworth's residents. More of the club's history could be seen in this article of the place, that was published in August 23 2009, the day after its closing party.

  Rory never did open his nightclub. Events in real life intervened, and he was forced to take a hiatus from Second Life. While he was able to make occasional reappearances, he never could stick around for very long. Some months later in March 2010, Foxworth itself had to close down. Marai and a few others were able to relocate to a place they called Glen Meadows, but there was no room for me. But there was another group of friends I had with their own estate: The Sunweavers. ScratchMusikatt did end up meeting a special friend at the BBC, and their friendship continues to this day, as does his DJing.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

STA - A Great Sim Comes to an End

Group Notice From: GlobetrekkerBob Lane

Guys, I am truly sorry to tell you that STA Travel decided to discontinue the SL project today, and will shut the island today as well.  Thank you all for everything, you have been the heart of this place, and I am going to miss having all of you here more than you'd believe.  This was one of the best jobs I've had, and I truly had hoped that we'd be able to continue on everything we accomplished last year.  If you have any questions, IM me, I'll be at the Orientation Island while it's still open.

Bob



Group Notice From: Eruanna Rossini

I just wanted to say my personal thank you to all of you for helping make STA such a warm and inviting place for the new residents and a fun place to hang out. I'll miss hanging out there, as we all will, but I'm sure we'll meet again, somewhere out there, beneath the pale SL sky.
And for those who want to keep helping new people, I'll be more than happy to add you to the Help People Group. Good luck everyone, and see you around!

Eruanna Rossini



I can't exactly remember when I first came across the STA, possibly August  2007 when my first close friend in Second Life sent me a teleport to join her there, and for the first time I saw the sandbox, followed by a run north to a bigger island to sit at a table and chat with her and her friends.

Since then, we continued to meet and hang out over there time to time. Sometimes it was for them to build something in the sandbox. Later on, we would attend the parties that began appearing there, even a couple special events. Often it was just to chat about going's on. It wasn't long before we ran into and became friends with GlobetrekkerBob Lane and Eruanna Rossini who ran the sim. They would always chat with voice while until recently we answered with just the keyboard. As Bob had been a world traveler, some of what he had to say was quite interesting. Then there were the staff, August, Aellyn, Gemini, StormShadow, Maccy, Blarion, Keli, Sparklin, Ivanna, Rashed, and others. Then there were others I met there and became friends with. It was also the place I took a number of my funny pictures for newspaper "cartoons." Blarion himself had the job of being the regular DJ every Monday for dance parties at the dorm.

For newcomers, the STA was often their first real location inside Second Life, a circular track set up in the center STA Orientation Island for them for learn some basic skills, with staff on hand to help them out. I would often join in with the helping out, and eventually Bob made me a part-time staff member as well, just keep on doing what I had been doing while there. While chatting with my friends at the tables around the globe in the center of the sim, say hello, offer help, and answer questions. And with the dorms, newcomers had a place to call home for a while. With the globe's landmarks to counterparts to real-life locations, newcomers and experienced had places to explore.

Problem was, the backers of the sim felt they were not getting their money's worth. Bob was getting hints of trouble for a couple months. Then at 9:00 AM on January 25, 2008 he got the news: the sim was being closed down. He and Anna told all they could who were on at the time what was about to happen, and they gathered one last time. Shortly after Noon, it was over. The sim was gone, nothing more than an image on the map to remind us of what was.

The STA is gone, but already plans are being made to make up for it's loss. "Shade" at the Empathy sim is planning a place of it's own for newcomers "to meet, greet and be informed in the spirit of The STA Community. They were good, let's try and make this better for all new arrivals in SL." Sean Voss, who's Landmark Island had partnered with the STA, will continue making his weekly tours in Second Life.

As for Bob, he's taking a few days off Second Life, then plans on coming back to try something new. Whatever it is, no doubt he'll succeed.

Bixyl Shuftan