wanderings.

I have been on grid a long time and have done a lot of things on it. I've been sharing my knowledge, so you can get the most out of your SL experience! All my posts will be linked here for easy reference!

SL Experiences #1: Drivers of SL Weekly Drives Content Creation #1: Making BoM Objects Content Creation #2: Free Asset Libraries SL Tips #1: Writing Helpful Marketplace Reviews

CW: Kinky stuff inside. Also, ended up being longer than I expected. Sorry!

There wasn't too much interest on this, but I do want to give a very general overview of SL ponyplay for those who may not know about it. If any of this info piques your interest, I recommend visiting a ponyplay stable inworld such as Tall Tails, Frilly Filly Farm, Bridled by Force, Broad Oak Stables, or Ponies from Space and seeing some of it in action!

If you have any questions after reading all of this, feel free to ask in the comments on the Primfeed post and i'll answer to the best of my ability! Questions asked here may be missed.

Disclaimer: All stables do things their own way. The majority of my ponyplay experience has been at Tall Tails, so my view is through that lens. I will do my best to generalize things as much as possible. This will not be an exhaustive write-up. Also, Ponyplay exists in real-life as well, and is quite different to the SL version in a lot of ways. That's a topic for a different venue.

What is ponyplay? Ponyplay, in Secondlife, is a D/s (dominance and submission, a part of the BDSM umbrella) activity that combines aspects of roleplay, avatar customization, and actual inworld movement of one's avatar to create a dynamic (working relationship) between a pony and a trainer, and sometimes to put on shows, or participate in competitions. Ponyplay is kinky, but it is typically not explicitly sexual. You are not likely to see avatars engaged in intercourse at a pony-stable. In fact, many ponies wear chastity belts to signal their unavailability for that sort of activity.

What is a pony? A pony is a person, typically human (though furry and hybrid avatars are rising in popularity in the scene), who is put in a set of bondage restraints called "tack" that are inspired by real equestrian tack. Typically, this includes a bit-gag, a body harness and/or latex catsuit, hoof-boots, an arm-binder or hoof-gloves, and a tail, either inserted as a butt plug, or attached to the lower back. The pony performs various activities under the guidance of a trainer. They take the submissive role, typically, and are often made to be partially or entirely helpless through the use of RLV restraints. Ponies can work under a single trainer privately, or live at a ponyplay stable, being trained by whichever trainers are available on a given day.

What is a trainer? A trainer is typically in the dominant role of the dynamic. It is a trainer's job to teach the pony various ponyplay activities, to train them to improve their performance in those activities, and to care for ponies who may be rendered helpless through RLV. Trainers can be quite lenient, or very strict. It all depends on the attitudes and consent of the people involved. A trainer can take care of just one pony privately, or work at a ponyplay stable, training multiple ponies in a less formal dynamic.

What do ponies and trainers actually do? Ponyplay is a type of petplay, similar to puppyplay or kitten-play. In it, you see humans behaving like horses, typically in a quite playful and whimsical way.

Unlike other types of petplay, ponies are typically gagged, and must use body language and nonverbal communication to communicate. In SL, this is often done via gestures that combine chat output, audio clips, and animations to convey the message. If a pony is curtsying to you, typically you will actually see their avatar act that out, for example. Basic pony communication: 1 hoof-stomp = Yes 2 hoof-stomps = No Curtsy = Hello, Goodbye, Thank You, I'm Sorry, or I'm Finished! (context dependent) There are many more gestures a pony can perform, but those are the most used, and agreed-upon gestures.

Ponies can also perform activities casually, or competitively. These activities break the fourth-wall in that they require actual skill and practice from the person behind the avatar. Ponies are trained to become masters of avatar-movement through 3D space in a wide variety of ways. Here's a brief overview of the common ones.

Steeple: Obstacle courses for your avatar! Involves careful maneuvering and jumping through the 3D space of SL, often at running speed, while avoiding hitting the obstacles themselves and trying to get the fastest time possible. It's like kinky speedrunning!

Slalom: Similar to steeple, except it typically only involves weaving between bars. If you've seen pole-weaving in a dog or equestrian show in real life, you have a pretty good idea of what this looks like.

Whip Circle: The pony walks or runs around a circle in ways they are instructed to by a trainer. These commands are given non-verbally via numbered whip cracks. Whip circle has many different rule-sets created over the years by different trainers, so the meaning of a given number of whip cracks can change from version to version. Typically, the trainer will tell the pony how to perform the version they're doing before, or as they perform it. Trainers also often try to "trick" more experienced ponies into messing up by issuing unexpected or rapid-fire commands.

Carting: The pony pulls a scripted vehicle around, following whip commands issued by the cart's driver (typically a trainer). Carts can be pulled by as few as one pony, or as many ponies as the cart has straps for. The driver has no functional control over the cart aside from a hand-brake, and can only issue commands to the pony to tell them where to steer the cart. Often, pony-carts are pulled around ponyplay stables, but there is a monthly pony caravan that travels around mainland via cart, where anyone who wants to participate is welcome to join in on their own cart. On mainland, it is good practice for ponies to cover their genitals and nipples, in case of random pedestrians. Sometimes, there are also cart-races or time-trials to participate in.

Polo: Soccer for ponies! Teams of two compete to earn the most goals using a giant ball with physics enabled, on a field that looks a lot like a soccer field. They kick or block the ball by running around and bumping the ball with their avatar's hitbox. There are fairly regular polo tournaments held around the grid.

Silent Dressage: An activity inspired by real life equestrian dressage. Pony and trainer work together on a large field to perform a series of figures, typically for a set of judges. A trainer is given a randomized list of all the figures on the field, and it is their job to instruct the pony where and how to move, non-verbally, by moving their avatar to specific points on the field. It is the pony's job to figure out how to get there and perform the figure, given a set of rules that dictate how and where they can walk. There is a figure 8, a forward and backward line, a circle, and a slalom to complete.

Flower Dressage: Often thought of as the most difficult ponyplay activity. Ponies follow a unique "flower pattern" around a field of 9 linked rings (4 small, 4 large, and a center start/end point) lettered A through H. There are many rules that dictate how the pony can move around the figure to complete their pattern, and it is up to them to correctly complete their pattern while following those rules. Flower patterns can be as short as 1 letter, and as long as the pony is capable of! At some stables, some ponies even perform this activity while their vision within SL is restricted to a very short circle around them, necessitating a memorization of the field layout itself, as well as the rules. Example flower patterns: AxCxE H-DxHxB-AxF A h DC f GBE

Can I vent for a second?

I saw a post on a photo of a stupid AI-generated dinosaur-croissant saying something to the effect of, "AI won. Nothing can ever be impressive again." I've been chewing on that for a while. They're right, in a sense.

You know that dinosaur croissant isn't real, but maybe you can spend some time making something real. You do some trial and error and figure out you can make something that kind of looks like a little croissant-snail, with chocolate chips for eyes. It's lumpy, and imperfect, and the top of the shell got a little toastier than you would have liked, but you're proud of your work. You post it online. But anyone who believed the dinosaur-croissant was real can really only compare the two: your lumpy, bumpy, burnt kind-of-snail that you snapped with your phone at 10pm, to their glossy, perfectly layered and golden brown, majestic obvious-dinosaur with a pixel-perfect depth of field and the gentle glow of the morning sun shining through an interior-design-magazine's kitchen beyond.

That beautiful view you snapped a photo of while on your hike, the art you spent a week working on and years perfecting the style of, your pet with the cute marking that looks a little like a heart from the right angle, the video clip of you nailing a bottle flip into a cup that you spent hours practicing... it can be, and will be, and probably already has been, outshined by something someone made by typing ten words in a box and waiting a few seconds, that they can share with the whole world just as quickly. With AI becoming less and less visually flawed, it will be that much harder to distinguish that manufactured thing from reality, and that much easier to compare the two as though they are of the same cloth.

We all have ideas for things we think are brilliant, or clever, or worth bringing to life in some way in the moment we come up with them. How many of those ideas held enough water to make it to your thoughts again the next day, the next week? How many get real steps and effort towards coming into being? To being made into something real that can be recited, read, viewed, eaten, played, or used? In the age of AI, any of those ideas can be realized instantly with a few keystrokes. Sure, it can't make physical objects yet, but it can make poetry, and books, and things that pass as art, and things that pass as photos of physical objects. And in today's world, a picture of your finished work is worth more than the time spent making it.

Each of those fleeting ideas need not be seen to completion, because with the touch of a button, they can be artificially manufactured for a hit of instant dopamine and validation before you move to the next. You need not actually be clever. The machine will think for you. You need not practice your skills in baking, or sculpting, or painting. The machine takes the hard work out of the equation, and with it, your chance at learning such skills yourself, to use in your own life, to impress and delight the people around you.

Eventually, I feel as though we will grow tired of the novelty. AI is compared to reality, until reality stops trying to compete. Then, AI can only be compared to other AI creations. When everything is awash with impossible shapes and colors, and seeing a croissant perfectly shaped and posed like a dinosaur is no longer novel, you can't go back from that. You can't unsee that. The novelty will fade, and then where do we go?

Isn't it kind frustrating when you come across a product you like the look of, only to see it has a 1-star rating, with no information at all about why it's so horrible?

You can flag the review, which may get it taken down, but you can also be part of the solution!

Today we're going to talk about writing fair, accurate, and helpful reviews on the marketplace!

First things first, I know it's tempting to run to the marketplace to write a scathing review when you have a bad experience with a product. And, doing so is your right. However, you should also consider reviewing products you like too! Not only does it help boost the creators whose work you love, it also helps fellow consumers find products that are worth buying! Contact Merchants First When There is a Problem So what if you do have an issue with a product? You could go straight to the marketplace, leave a nasty review, and trash the item. Doing so is likely to accomplish a few things. 1. The merchant will be upset with you, and less likely to provide you with product support. 2. The issue likely will not be solved. 3. You will likely be out the money, and a functional product. 4. You could potentially be blacklisted from that shop. Instead, I always recommend first politely reaching out to the merchant inworld to explain the issue. Understand that those who make content for SL are humans too, and mistakes do happen. It is far more likely there was an oversight or an error, than that they were trying to defraud or scam you. Check their profile or pics to see the best way to contact them, and follow their instructions. If none are given, create a new notecard with a very brief summary and your username as the name, and write your message inside. Send the notecard to the merchant after you save it. Regardless of how you contact them, your first communication with them should contain, at the very least, the product name, and a thorough description of the issue you're having. Do not just say "Hello" and wait for a response, because you aren't likely to get one. Why send a notecard? SL has a limit to how many offline IMs you can receive before you log back in. Larger brands may get many such messages every day, leading to some messages getting lost. A notecard helps to bypass this restriction. If you hear nothing back after a week, it's acceptable to follow-up. Just, please be polite when you do so. Creators have whole lives beyond SL, and there may be extenuating circumstances surrounding their lack of response. Say contacting the merchant does not give good results. They were unwilling to fix the problem, never responded after multiple follow-ups, were rude, or otherwise unhelpful. In this case, a review may be warranted.

Now, before you go to absolutely trash them in a review, did you know there are rules regarding how to write marketplace reviews? There are! Let's look at the sorts of things that can get your review flagged and removed.

No Hate Speech or Profanity Do not use hateful language when describing the product, the merchant, or any interactions with the merchant. Just don't include it in your reviews at all. Set your emotions aside a moment so you can explain things calmly and clearly.

No Reviews by Alts, and No Conflicts of Interest If your review is clearly in good-faith, you shouldn't have much issue with this one. Just don't review your own products, and don't talk bad about a competitor's product. Also, don't share chat logs of interactions with the merchant. Sharing chat logs in any way is actually against SL's ToS.

No talking about things beyond the merchant's control Merchants cannot decide not to send you your items (though they can choose to initiate a manual redelivery if you ask). It's an automated process. Resizing mesh items will always increase the land impact of those items. And, if you buy something, full-well knowing it won't work in the way you expect, don't get upset about it. Always read the FULL listing before buying anything. This includes any text on the images, the description, name, and listed item permissions. That said, if any of the information given on the listing is incorrect, that's something you can talk about in a review! You should consider reaching out to the creator first though. See above.

No Advertising in Reviews Your review should not be a direct attempt to steer other users away from the marketplace, or towards a different merchant's products. Speak of items on their own merit. If you must reference others, do so in a very broad, general sense. You can't say: "[Other Item] by [storename] is much better!" You CAN say: "This item is not as detailed as some others i've seen."

Star Rating This one's a little subjective, but as a general rule of thumb, if the product has no issues, is a quality product, and is what it claims to be, I tend to rate 5 stars. I will also rate 5 stars if I was able to solve any issues I had through a good interaction with the merchant. I will mark down a single star for any issue I find with it. A good item with sloppy texturework might get 4 stars and a thorough description of the issue. An okay item I had to fight with, but eventually got working might get 3 stars. Incorrect permissions also net a 3 star from me, because item permissions are important to my decision to buy a product. 2 stars might be an item that technically exists, but doesn't quite function how it says it does. Is generally kind of crap, but still maybe usable somehow, with a lot of effort, or in a specific case. A 1 star review is hard-earned from me, reserved only for the worst of the worst. A product that I cannot use in any way, with a creator who is unwilling to fix any of the issues it has. Products that are completely busted, or entire scams. Regardless of how you decide to rate a product, you should thoroughly describe any issues you found with it, how you fixed them (if you did), and also describe what you liked about it!

Writing 5-Star/Positive Reviews As you scroll through shops, you will likely notice that the vast majority of products are unrated, and those that are rated often have a low average rating. This is because most people tend only to speak out through a review when they have a problem with a product they've bought. It's not very helpful to consumers who come along later looking to buy, especially since the reviews that do exist are often extremely vague and poorly written.

So, I encourage all reading this to think of a few marketplace products in your inventory that are well-loved by you, and go write positive reviews about them after you're done here! Tell us what you love about it! Does it have cute animations? Is it easy to use? Is it rigged well with minimal clipping? Is the cut of it just perfect to wear with thigh high stockings? Does it have a neat hidden use or feature that isn't mentioned in the listing? Please let us know! Then, going forward, please keep the practice up. It helps the rest of us make informed choices about where to spend our money, and it helps encourage the creators you love to keep up the good work through praise, and boosted sales!

When you're working on a build, sometimes you might find some weirdness. Carpet where tile should be, or wood that's a little too orange. Or maybe you're trying to build something out of prims or mesh kits, and don't quite have the skills to make your own textures yet.

Free PBR libraries online are your new best friend! My favorite is ambientCG. Check out this cool tile I just picked up for my bathroom there!

This tile only cost me L$30 in upload fees, and looks professionally done. You can grab it for yourself here.

I've also downloaded nice looking hardwood floors, mossy concrete, and some lovely polished marble. The one I get the most use out of is probably this simple rough wood texture.

When you download textures from this website for use within SL, make sure you get the "1k" zip files so you can upload them without needing to resize them.

You don't need to upload everything in the folder. At present, SL only supports a diffuse, normal, and specular layer. AmbientCG assets often come with color, normal, roughness, and displacement layers. Experiment with what looks best for your build. Typically, I use the color layer as my diffuse texture, the normal for the...well, normal layer, and then either the color or displacement layer for the specular. I like to upload everything as a temp upload and just fiddle until I like the way it looks before fully uploading anything.

For me, the best part of getting textures this way is all the options it opens up! I can completely modify these textures using an image editing program however I like before uploading them. So if say, I wanted to color every other tile a specific shade of blue, I could! Or if I wanted to change the tone and saturation level of those hardwood floors, that's an option too (so long as I know how to actually do that using the software I have).

You also have the added benefit of being able to demo the textures before you pay for them. Try them out in your actual build, swap-em out, change the colors and see the updates live inworld. Toss down a flat plane on your house's floor and, without messing up your house's textures, test and see if carpet would look good in there, or play around with new a brick accent wall! Add materials to an old side-table to bring it to the modern era! You'd be surprised how much heavy lifting a wood-textured normal map can do when combined with older textures. The possibilities are truly endless.

This simple tutorial will tell you how to turn any modifiable object into a Bakes on Mesh enabled object. The imagery here is taken on Firestorm, but the process is extremely similar on other viewers.

Rezz the object onto the ground. Right click and "edit" the object. Locate the "texture" tab in the edit window that comes up, and click it. In this tab, locate the "texture" box and click it. In this secondary texture window, locate the bubble next to "Bake" and click it. In the dropdown that comes up, select the BoM section you would like the object to use. Click OK. Your object should turn red. This is what we want!

Pick up the object and attach it to yourself. Make sure you are wearing a system layer that uses the BoM texture you put on the object, and are not wearing any alphas that cover that area. It should work now! Just like any BoM attachment, the textures on your new object should update as you swap layers.

You can use different textures and BoM sections on any face of the object, if you would like. You don't need to just use one for the entire object. As an added bonus, here's a pic of the awful cube-head I made while taking the above screenshot.

Do you like vehicle travel on SL? Do you enjoy exploring the grid like I do, and seeing all the crazy and unique things people have built over the years? I have just the thing!

Every Saturday, the Drivers of SL Group offers a FREE weekly Nav HUD at their Headquarters, which will take you through a multi-leg, multi-vehicle journey across the grid! This week's route required a road vehicle, a small offroad vehicle, small boat, and helicopter, as well as a small amount of foot travel. It took around 2 hours total to complete.

Aside from travel, along the way, the route points out select landmarks, GTFO hubs, gas stations and interesting locations it suggests you check out. Among other fun escapades, this week's route had me drive through an entire-sim-sized slab of pavement, pass a ponygirl cart depot, stop for a round of minigolf (which was super fun, by the way! fully scripted!), and parachute down to another location!

The nav HUD itself is very easy to use. Simply attach it, wait for it to load what it needs to load, and follow the instructions. The HUD updates live to point you in the right direction, tell you how long until your next waypoint, points out interesting locations and hazards such as region corner crossings, and even what exactly you should be doing at each waypoint.

This week, the final waypoint was at a shop that sold vehicles. While there, I encountered someone else on a similar horse to mine, and we finished the route together by racing down their demo track on our horses!

Afterwards, the HUD awarded us with a prize: a rezzer for some halfway decent hoverboards. This was my first time doing one of these routes, so the prize at the end was a nice surprise! It also showed me my stats for the journey, which unfortunately I didn't grab a screenshot of. It tells you how long your journey was, how many regions you entered, how long you spent driving and walking, and loads more info.

If you ever miss a route, you can pick up any of the previous Nav HUDs at their headquarters, so there's always something to do!

If you grab your HUD early on Saturday morning, there's a high likelihood you'll be able to complete the journey with others. I did mine on Sunday, and still encountered a few people who were clearly on the route, though, and someone else started with me. This would also be a very fun roadtrip for a group of friends!

I plan to start using this a little more. I, unfortunately, have not found an alternative to Twitter that I like yet, so i'll be both here and there.

Here, I plan to post more longform content showcasing the ways I still have fun on SL 13 years on (with landmarks, so you can try them too, of course!), as well as share tutorials for how to do various things i've learned to do with and on the platform.