The Great Exodus and Raft Up
(The greatest photo op in SL Sailing History)
May 10, 2008

[Cross posted as SLSailing.ORG]

As fans of the great SL precursor Snow Crash are aware, The Raft is a huge group of boats and boat people who have lashed up to an aircraft carrier in the metaverse of Snow Crash. Now in Snow Crash the FIRST “Raft” is not a positive thing. However in SL we are going to make up the SECOND Raft, and it will be positive symbol of the good association we have as a community of sailors in OUR virtual reality.

As we take steps to move to the “SL Sailing Association” group (see below for the reasons why) we are going to hold the GREAT SL SAILING RAFT UP this Saturday in Gizo Straight region in the United Sailing Sims of Second Life.

Time and Location: 9AM Saturday May 10 in Gizo Straight region in the USS-SL.

What: A raft up of each class of boat we race in SL. A great photo op. One or more of which will be used for “promotional images” for the group.

The Particulars: After a brief ceremony and invitation to move the “SL Sailing Association” one boat from each racing class will be arranged in two separate raft ups. In the first raft up the boats will be lined up side by side in a line. There will be markers placed with the name of each class of boat. Where possible we would like the original designer of a boat to place his/her boat in the raft-up. Where that isn’t possible we will take volunteers.

In the second raft up we will arrange the same boats in a complete circle.

In a third raft up all attendees will be invited to rezz a boat, any boat, (sim permitting) for an the Uber photo opt. Does anyone know of a huge aircraft carrier out there we can bring in for the shot? Note: this shot might need to be moved to a full sim. We will plan for such a contingency.

By Whose Authority?: MarkTwain White and Nber Medici will coordinate the event but it is not a yacht club event, it is an event for everyone in the sailing community.

You will not need a landmark. Just look for Gizo Straight on your MAP and TP to the mass of green dots.

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In order to conform with Linden Lab’s new, restrictive trademark policy, many groups and web publications will need to change their name. “Second Life Sailing Federation” is one of those groups. We can argue until we are blue in the face about the legality or fairness of this policy change, but the reality is that if LL wishes to enforce this policy they have many ways to enforce it that has nothing to do with legal challenges. Without rehashing a whole lot of debate in a whole lot of places, Linden Lab can shut down any group within SL that it chooses to based on TOS. It is clear that “Second Life Sailing Federation” is one of those groups that falls outside of LL’s new branding policy.

SLSF needs a new name.

The name Second Life Sailing Federation was originally chosen because the name sounded important, and the founders of the group thought it would bring sailors together to share information and discuss common issues. There was never a view that the SL group “SL Sailing Federation” would be an authoritative body that dictated SL sailing policies and restricted activities. We know this for a fact as Mark is a charter officer of the group.

Unfortunately others used the name in a way that suggested that the SLSF was indeed an authoritative group with the power to give its blessings or withhold them from sailing activities. As many know, this lead to argument and discord within the sailing community and it sadly damaged the cooperative spirit that SLSF was initially designed to encourage. In retrospect, the SLSF name may have been part of the problem. The very nature of the term “Federation” suggests a legal relationship between groups. Over time many have interpreted SLSF as a federation of yacht clubs.

After much thought and many discussions, it’s clear that should not be the intent nor the nature of SL Sailing. SL Sailing is a loose knit group of freely associating SL sailing enthusiasts. The existence of yacht clubs is really little more than a way to characterize leadership styles among the overall community. Most all of us are members of nearly all yacht clubs in SL, which is as it should be. The regular members of the community give little consideration to distinctions in the clubs. Which is a healthy attitude. In the brief but tumultuous history of SL Sailing those times that emphasized differences between clubs were times of turmoil, pain, and hard feelings. But those times that celebrated our unity as a group (even in the context of the existence of multiple yacht clubs) have been characterized by positive feelings and rapid growth in the community.

We are a free association of sailors. Let’s let that be our name. So since we have to change the name anyway, let’s change it to be a better reflection of what we are as a group. Let’s become the “SL Sailing Association”.

 The SL Sailing Association group is now available. It’s open enrollment of course.

Cinco de Mayo, 2008
MarkTwain White
Nber Medici