Vue Regional Planning Authority Meeting 1

1
Vue Regional Planning AuthorityMeeting 1 23rd
April 2007
2
Agenda

• 1. Objectives
• 2. Membership and Democracy
• 3. Membership of Vue Regional Planning Authority
• 4. Vue Terraformers and Builders Group
• 5. News and Progress
• 6. Budget and Financial Arrangements
• 7. Requests for Plots on Vue Island
• 8. Plans for Vue Island
• 9.Next Steps
• 10. Date of Next Meeting

3
Objectives

• To act as a coordinating group for the
  development of the shared Virtual University of
  Edinburgh Second Life Vue island and surrounding
  areas.
• To promote the facilities to the wider University
  group interested in virtual worlds for education,
  research, knowledge transfer and collaboration.

4
News Progress

• 12-Mar-2007 - Vue group established and decision
  to acquire an University of Edinburgh island in
  Second Life.
• 18-Mar-2007 - Vue Mailing List - University of
  Edinburgh staff, students and visitors may join
  in the initial mail group. For now, send a
  request to be added to the list to Austin Tate.
• 26-Mar-2007 - Top level University domain name
  vue.ed.ac.uk assigned to group.
• 29-Mar-2007 - A Vue Wiki is to be created as a
  pilot project under the University of Edinburgh
  Central Wiki Service which uses the Confluence
  Wiki Software. Initially, it will be run for the
  group by Anne-Marie Scott and James Stewart.
• 11-Apr-2007 - Second Life island with name "Vue"
  now available with Fiona Littleton of Education
  making the arrangements.
• 20-Apr-2007 - Initial meeting of the "Vue
  Maintenance Group" to begin development of the
  Second Life Vue island.
• 23-Apr-2007 - Initial meeting of the "Vue
  Regional Planning Authority" to discuss initial
  uses of the Second Life Vue island.

5
Membership, Structure, etc

• Initial membership is largely self selected to
  begin the development process. It comprises a
  single representative (along with potential
  alternates) of the schools or offices most likely
  to be active in initial shared developments.
  Other members are those most likely to be able to
  assist in the early phases of the development of
  the Vue island.
• Initial Membership of Vue Regional Planning
  Authority is
• Sian Bayne (alternate Fiona Littleton)
  (E-Learning, Higher and Community Education)
• Aghlab Al-Attili (Edinburgh Stanford Link and
  Entrepreneurship MSc)
• Ian Graham (Management School)
• Hamish Macleod (Centre for Teaching, Learning
  Assessment, Education)
• David Richardson (Informatics Commercialisation)
• James Stewart (Research Centre for Social
  Sciences)
• Austin Tate (Informatics and AIAI)
• Morag Watson (Information Services)
• The plan is that in early 2008 a more democratic
  and representative arrangement for membership of
  the Vue Regional Planning Authority will be put
  in place.

6
Managing the Vue Island

• One island "Owner" formally owns the island and
  handles billing from Linden Labs and any
  permissions needing charging, and "Estate
  Managers" can transact a number of management
  items related to use of the estate.
• Owner Fiona Littleton -
  avatar Frank Lassard
• Estate Manager Hamish Macload - avatar
  Kimberley Pascal
• Austin Tate
  - avatar Ai Austin
• A "Vue Maintenance" group has been formed to
  perform shared area terraforming and building to
  involve those people actually doing the initial
  shared island construction and zoning.
• Initial Vue Maintanance Group membership is
• Aghlab Al-Attili - avatar ESLink Voom
• Fiona Littleton - avatar Frank Lassard
• David Richardson - avatar Davie Munro
• Austin Tate - avatar Ai Austin
• It is proposed that Second Life groups be the
  primary way to manage areas of the island. Plots
  would be allocated to groups so they can control
  building through that. Group name already created
  which we can use to organise things are
• Edinburgh - Hamish Macleod - avatar
  Kimberley Pascal
• Edinburgers - Austin Tate - avatar Ai
  Austin
• Vuer - Austin Tate -
  avatar Ai Austin
• Vue Maintenance - Austin Tate - avatar Ai
  Austin

7
Budget Finance

• The initial purchase of the island (US1695 with
  50 educational discount) and maintenance fees
  (currently 295 per month with 50 educational
  discount) for 12 months (to 10th May 2008) has
  been funded by Information Services (budget
  holder Nora Mogey). The island is "owned" in
  Second Life by Fiona Littleton - avatar Frank
  Lassard.
• Annual maintenance billing after the initial
  payment is to be handled via avatar Frank
  Lassard, who can request a purchase order instead
  of a credit card payment by e-mailing
  concierge_at_lindenlab.com one month in advance.
• The agreement with Nora Mogey is for Information
  services to fund maintenance of the island for 3
  years initially to 10th May 2010. The maintenance
  arrangements will be reconsidered annually (by
  the VRPA) and rolled forward for further years
  with the agreement of Nora Mogey. If funding is
  terminated for any reason, the VRPA will seek an
  appropriate continuation strategy for anyone
  still actively interested in the facility.
• A further budget of 200 is available from
  Information Services.

8
Plans for Vue Island Plans

• Initial terraforming, allocation to a named
  avatar (who can the reallocate to appropriate
  groups, etc) and set up of temporary plots for
  experimentation to be first priority.
• Initial Group Plot Developers Meeting in June to
  exchange experience, discuss constraints, avatar
  capacity, primitives use, build guidance, etc.
• Review arrangements in September 2007.
• Use Vue Wiki to share experience and plans.
• Vue Usage Guidelines for Plots to be developed
  E.g., island always open, PG, no use of no entry
  areas, may block specific avatars causing grief,
  5 minute object return for "all residents",
  limited terraform, covenant states constraints,
  no sell or pass on to others.

9
Vue Island Topography
10
Vue Island Constraints

• Class 5 Server in use
• Island area 65,536 sq.m
• Possibly 32,768 sq.m could be built upon
• 15,000 primitives limit
• 40 concurrent avatars limit by default
• On class 5 server so 70 is okay, 100 has been
  used.

11
Vue Island Requests

• Alumni Development 4096
• Library 2048
• Information Services 2048
• Disability Office 2048
• Education 4096
• Management School 4096
• Arts Social Science 2048
• Divinity 1024
• Informatics 2048
• Edinburgh-Stanford Link 2048
• AIAI 4096
• Cognitive Studies 2048
• Media Showcase 2048
• Arts Vue 2048
• Mountain Vue (amphitheatre) 4096
• First Vue 512 X 8
• -----------
• 44032

12
Regional Development

• The 8 adjacent island squares are only available
  to uses permitted by the owner of Vue.
• Currently, island are likely to be purchased by
• Edinburgh-Stanford Link - within 2007
• Others TBD
• An outline plan of development would allow for
• Informatics related areas to go to the NW
• Education related areas to go to the SW and S
• Development and Alumni areas to go to the E
• Information Services, Support Groups, Library and
  Central University Offices to go to the SE

13
Next Steps

• Initial terraform
• Make initial allocation of plots to individuals
• Experiment with numbers of concurrent people able
  to be supported on the island
• Arrange meeting in June 2007 for plot developers
  to exchange experience
• Encourage use of Vue Wiki