I am pleased to welcome Alicia Stone to our community. She has been keeping herself very busy recently by churning out a variety of free or low-priced items for all to use, including texture bundles, furniture, and buildings.
Alicia's goals here include helping to build the community and providing much needed content for visitors. Although we already have quite a few items listed on our marketplace, we always appreciate those who are willing to offer free items to help newcomers quickly get up to speed, so that they don't feel like they are being left to fend for themselves.
Alicia also graciously hosted the April 7th meeting of our
3dWeb Think Tank on her home grid,
http://openmetaverseproject.com.
On SpotON3D, Alicia works out of Stoneworks Island, a quiet region that gives her a place to be creative.
(1) Tell me a little about your background and the type of work you do. Would also like to know about any Web sites you host, etc.
I am a former Web Developer who has been trained in Information Technology/Visual Communications and Electronics Engineering. I have always loved the sciences, both computer and physical, and am currently seeking to do as Benjamin Franklin and "Do good unto my fellow man."
By this I mean that I am actively developing an Open Source Repository where users will be able to find asset data of all sorts.
In addition, I am maintaining as part of that project a 3D Web Grid at
http://openmetaverseproject.com. The grid allows open region registration by users and is entirely funded either out of my own pocket or by donations made by the sites users.
To boil it down to what I do now, I see myself as an Open Source 3D Web Developer. With the recent announcement that Linda (Kellie) will no longer be posting new Free Use assets, it is going to take me working double time to make up the difference to help keep Open Source thriving in the metaverse.
(2) What other online world or worlds are you in, and for how long?
I first started in Second Life about 8 years ago, I put it to the side at the time due to constraints in my real life, but had returned to it 4 years ago to explore how 3D Web could be used for real-world applications.
I tinkered with OSGrid for a while, but found some things dissettling there.
Not satisfied with any Open Source Grid, I had come to the conclusion that I must do my own, which in this case takes the form of the Open Metaverse Project Grid.
(3) How did you get introduced to online worlds in general, how did you see them fitting into your goals, and what about them has made you want to stay?
Oh boy, that goes way back to the BBS days when MUD's [
Multi-User Dungeons, text-based virtual worlds] were popular. I can remember battling things out in those dungeons, and yes this does predate the popularization of the Internet.
But the lesson I learned from it is that a communication tool such as virtual environments (text or 3D) can be used for great good in this world, so I have spent the last 4 years studying LL/OS based technologies extensively.
(4) What do you like most/least about online worlds?
Well most of the time when I am at home, i am dressed in my PJ's - the 3D Web lets me be a clothes horse without having to worry about closet space. Additionally I think that things like living a virtual life can be empowering to the individual who may not be able to live a life in the real-world with all the amenities they enjoy in the 3D Web.
(5) What sort of things do you enjoy doing in them... for example, building/scripting, designing, performing, clubbing, etc?
Honestly most of the time I am too busy with about 5 irons in the fire trying to get work done to allow myself to have too much time for fun. But social interaction, even if it is with professional contacts, is something I look forward to as I don't get many visitors in real life.
(6) How did you learn about SpotON3D?
I actually learned about it from a free ad on Linda's Website. I had heard the name, and granted at the time of SpotON3D's initial inception there was controversy. But I have since learned what I need to know and make my own choices, and my choice is to support the wonderful staff here by trying to get as many of my creations on Synergy [
SpotON3D's online marketplace, http://spotonsynergy.com] as possible, with an economic healthy mix of freebies to premium goods.
(7) What sort of things do you hope to do/accomplish in SpotON3D?
Well, establishing professional contacts is important, but first and foremost I come here to socialize with people. However, I do hope to make a real impact and spur creation and listing of items on Synergy by other users by offering as many full perm building components as I can via Synergy.
(8) Anything else interesting about yourself you want to share?
I have a cat named Bill that I cannot keep out of my iced tea. He enjoys switching on and off light switches if he can reach them.
