New Resident Assist Program goes into action

Long-term Rogues will remember we have run this program successfully in the past. This incarnation is largely under the care of Cait (Knowledge Tomorrow) and myself, at least until we find someone who can commit the time to it.

Idle Rogue houses new residents (up to four at a time). We provide free furnished accommodation for a maximum of five weeks, during which time new residents (less than thirty days old) are encouraged to learn basic skills and meet and interact with more experienced users. The simple apartments are designed to reinforce acquired skills and interaction. The events and continual traffic on the sim provides a great opportunity to meet and mingle.

New users are also offered opportunities to advance in an area of interest, including content creation and employment opportunities. There is already a builder platform, and classes/workshops in many skills will commence over the next few weeks.

The idea for the program grew out of my own SL experience. As a noob, I rezzed in the former Pond Estates, a now defunct sim which was operated by an Australian ISP. For all it's flaws (and there were some), The Pond gave many Rogues space and opportunity to grow and establish ties to Second Life.

Anyone who reads or watches mainstream media will be familiar with stories of Second Life being "dead" because it is empty. While we all know that is not true, many new users simply do no know where to find other people, and leave, thinking they've stumbled into a relic. It was my intention to address this simply by actively looking for new users and engaging them in conversation. Where some mutual interests exist, the noob is invited to take up a "lease". After five weeks, assistance with renting, buying, or relocating is offered, and the new resident is "released into the wild".

The program, though expensive in terms of prim resources,time and emotional energy, has been so very worth it. We are looking forward to our new tenants, and Cait has already filled three of the four apartments. If you meet a new resident and think they would take to the Rogue lifestyle, please IM Knowledge Tomorrow or chryblnd Scribe to see what we have available.

Current Lineup

DST returns!

Long-term Rogues will be as happy as I am to hear that prog/hard rock giants Deep Sky Traveler will return to Idle Rogue this Saturday and 6pm and monthly thereafter. Just like the old days \o/

Deep Sky Traveler are a trio of musicians who perform their original music ONLY in Second Life. Vocalist Bowie Bravin, Guitarist FacelessAPe Mefusula and multi-instrumentalist DeepSky Timeless create mind-blowing music in their online collaborations, and present it in a fully-immersive rock concert event. You have not seen anything of this calibre if you have not seen DST. Welcome back, gentlemen :-)

What it looks like

For those who are only mildly curious, or who haven't had time to come by yet, some pictures of the new Idle Rogue. Above is the live music venue (which will always be an outdoor venue, in a nod to my love for Australia's many outdoor music festivals). This is a big stage, big enough to hold anything we might dream up, which is always important at Idle Rogue. The stage has two "green rooms" which are provided for the comfort of performers and the Guerilla Burlesque dancers.

In addition, we have built an indoor club/theatre, the as yet unnamed home of Guerilla Burlesque, whoi will be hosting at least one dance revue each week. These will not be strictly burlesque performances, although those will be welcome. We are looking to celebrate dance acts and performance art in as many forms as we can find.

The primary focus of Idle Rogue remains entertainment, particularly live entertainment, and Idle Rogue will always have an "alternative" modus operandi. There are some subtle shifts, however: we will focus mainly on the midnight-dawn timeslot; we will not limit ourselves to live music; and we will continue to encourage all forms of content creation where we can.

Other plans include: classes and workshops, new resident assistance, a monthly magazine, games, competitions and other "community" pursuits. If you are interested in any of these things, please IM chryblnd Scribe and join either the Idle Rogue group or subscription list.

You can view more photographs from the sim on our flickr page.

Idle Rogue - the region!

It is with great delight that we announce our new location, Idle Rogue on Idle Rogue. Due to the extraordinary support and generosity Knowledge Tomorrow has always shown Idle Rogue, we will now share our space with The Joy of Steampunk museum, all under the regional name of Idle Rogue.

While moving the sim has been hectic - the offer came up, was accepted, and put into operation just over a week ago - the place is abuzz with committed and enthusiastic Rogues. There is generally someone on the sim, and there are an abundance of ideas that we are attempting to develop.

We are in a space where Idle Rogue can very realistically live up to the original vision. Idle Rogue was always to be a place where ppl could create and explore the possibilities of their Second Life. There is a strong emphasis on music and entertainment, which is my influence, since those are my loves ... but Idle Rogue is much more. It is a community, with a group of people at it's core who care about each other and extend their welcome to any who wish to join us. We like music, we like pretty things, we like to laugh and we like to chat. Most Idle Rogues are born entertainers of some kind, and it shows in the way we spend our time. There is no clique at Idle Rogue, though I would be lost without my "inner sanctum", who support, guide and nourish everything we do.

From September 2010 to February 2011, Idle Rogue's traffic was over 8000 avatars. It is my hope and my belief that every one of those avatars felt welcomed and enjoyed their visit with us.

In the days to come I will post photos for those who have not yet been by to explore the new sim, but I do hope you will use the links and make your own time to drop by and consider what might be available to you. I will also post an entry with some of the ideas that are being floated, and I emphasise that we welcome yours, too. We are at the beginning of a new era, now is the time to see what might be possible.

By way of closing, I would like to thank Slappy Doobie, Ellie Criss, and the people of Viva La Glam, who were extremely generous to us in our time there. Viva La Glam is a wonderfully built sim (currently featured in the Editors Picks of Second Life's Destination Guide)and we are sure they, too, have a vibrant future you should be part of.