WorldsAway Newsletters
Official newsletters from the WorldsAway team can be found here.
1996
August
The Dreamscape Team Newsletter - Vol. 1, Issue 2-- August 1996
The Dreamscape Team Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 2-- August 1996 In this issue: New Name for our New Newsletter Whats Up with the Server? Art Department Works Overtime Member survey: Guaranteed e-mail! The Wish Box Dream Jobs * New Name for our New Newsletter! Many thanks for your responses to our premiere issue of this newsletter. In addition to your comments and suggestions for later editions, we received over thirty entries to the Newsletter Naming Contest. A few of the many creative entries we received: The Speech Balloon..............The Oracle......................Sacred Sends The Temple Tabloid..............Morpheus Messenger..............Dreamscape Visions Head_Lines......................DreamNews.......................NewsDream (these last two were submitted by different people, one right after the other! Great minds think alike...) Choosing from all of these entries was tough, but eventually one singular entry won out. The winner of the Newsletter Naming Contest, and the new name for this publication, is: ***The Resource Update*** The winning name was submitted by Huck. Huck will receive a Pencil head, a fabulous virtual certificate, and the undying admiration of the Dreamscape Team. Congratulations, Huck, and thanks to all contest participants. * What's Up with the Server? During the first week of August we made some changes to the main server that supports the Dreamscape in an attempt to provide you with a faster and more stable service. In response to the increased usage of the Dreamscape, we switched to a faster server and a new version of Solaris, the Sun Operating System (OS) that we use to run the world. The new server is indeed faster, as you may have noticed as you walk through Kymer, but an increase in server speed often results in new timing bugs. Throw in a new OS and there is a very good chance for problems. In addition to these internal problems, the week after our server switch was punctuated by a few crashes due to problems on CompuServes side of our connection, and a power outage that hit the entire West Coast of the US and made international headlines. Not the best way to debut our new setup. While we could not have predicted the external circumstances that caused many of this weeks crashes, we have to expect internal problems to arise when we are using a cutting-edge operating system and new hardware. Sun is constantly fixing bugs in its code, and this always seems to translate into new bugs in our application code. Stability is only achieved through constant testing and solving the problems as they appear. Our engineers have spent a sleepless week doing just that: creating solutions to the problems that kept our new server from running as it should. On Wednesday the fourteenth, the server was switched yet again, this time to a more stable version of the system. The day after, another bug in Solaris caused a server crash, forcing the much-anticipated Ode-to-Your-Head poetry contest to be rescheduled. This problem was resolved, and we will continue to search for and correct these bugs as we find them. In the meantime, we thank you for your continuing patience during this time of transition. We continue to work toward to a crash-free future in which we will all be able to enjoy the fruits of our new system! * Art Department Works Overtime This dispatch arrived at the Resource Update Newsdesk from the dark, toy-filled cave we call Art: So what has the Art Department been up to? Well, the word plenty comes to mind, but that may be grossly understated. Weve been involved in a million things over the last 6-10 months. To help deal with our tremendous load of projects, weve hired two new employees to our staff. We in the art department continue to try and find ways to improve on the art itself and make it more visually appealing. We have many new heads and accessories on the way that we think will surely become classics, and we are constantly working to add more. Accessories are something that we are working on producing and improving. We have a lot of accessories ready now that will be implemented into the world soon. Another project we are currently working on is finishing Meditation Park. That, right now, is the main focus of the department. I believe that when the new park artwork debuts, it will be a hit right away, not just because its new, but because the style and variety of the art will be very pleasing to the eye. Also, our lead animator is working on a couple of new avatars; when they make their debut, we think theyll literally knock your socks off! That is just a little bit of what were trying to accomplish here. See you in the Dreamscape! * Dreaming of *You* In addition to the many suggestions we receive from you, there are many issues on which we'd like your feedback. Every month, the Dreamscape Team asks you a question in "Dreaming of You. The following month we post information on the answers received. Last month we asked if you would be interested in subscribing to a mailing list and automatically receiving this newsletter every month. Here is one response we received in our dream@worldsaway.com mailbox, this one from JeanJean: It would be great to receive this newsletter by e-mail. I dont regularly check the forum library so receiving it would be helpful. Well, JeanJean, we hear you! We are working on setting up a mailing list to which we will e-mail this newsletter every month. W will include more information and instructions for getting your name on the list in next months Update. This month's question: When our server crashes, we try to make sure that a member of the WorldsAway Community Forum staff is in the forum, giving members updates in the Help Desk and posting update messages as new information becomes available. Are there other ways that we can keep you posted during a server crash? Send your suggestions to: dream@worldsaway.com. * The Wish Box Each time you dream of or wish for something in the WorldsAway Dreamscape, we'd like to hear about it. The Dreamscape and WorldsAway staff are committed to continuous improvement and we need your feedback to make that possible. Please help us serve you better by sending us your suggestions of how we can better support you with the technology we currently have. We've created a read-only mailing list to which you can post your suggestions: dream@worldsaway.com. This mailbox will forward your suggestions to the Dreamscape Production Team and archive a copy for others to read. Though we cannot assure you that all of your suggestions will be implemented, we will strive to take your concerns into consideration for future Dreamscape plans. In order to make your postings to dream@worldsaway.com more effective, please make your subject line as intuitive to the content as possible. For example: Service Improvements Dreamscape (or Kymer, inWorld, etc.); Service Improvements Community Forum (Waking World, Forum); Service Improvements Web (or Web Page Suggestion) Dreamscape Newsletter Discussion or Dreamscape Newsletter Topics You can also send messages to our CompuServe WATEAM account (76710,162). These suggestions will be forwarded to the Dream mailing list, so the most comprehensive listing of your messages will be in the Dream mailings.Messages sent to dream@worldsaway.com will not receive a direct response. * Dream Jobs Come work with us! The FSC Human Resources site has listings of available positions for Fujitsu Software Corporation of San Jose, CA, the owners and operators of WorldsAway services. Visit the site at: www.fsc.fujitsu.com/fsc/fschr/employmt.htm * How to Reach Us Once again, we consider your participation and suggestions vital to the growth of the Dreamscape. The strength of the Dreamscape lies in its community of members, and we need your input to produce a world that best facilitates and enhances that community. The purpose of this newsletter is to serve as another connecting point between us, the Dreamscape team, and you, the members. You can respond to this newsletter or offer your suggestions to us by: --Sending messages to our read-only message archive, dream@worldsaway.com; --Posting messages in the WorldsAway Community Forum (GO AWAYFORUM); --or Sending messages to our WATEAM account (76710,162) We hope you like the ideas and information contained in this newsletter, and that you'll find it a useful place to connect with us. Thanks for your continued contributions to the Dreamscape community, and we'll see you inWorld!
September
The Resource Update - The Official Dreamscape Team Newsletter - Vol. 1, Issue 3-- September 1996
The Resource Update The Official Dreamscape Team Newsletter Vol. 1, Issue 3-- September 1996 In this issue: Meditation Park: Four Seasons in the 'Scape Exclusive Interview with Oracle Uni New World Debuts on CompuServe Member response: More fun now! The Wish Box Dream Jobs Meditation Park explodes into four seasons. Like Persephone returning from the Underworld to bring the Spring, the engineers and artists here at WorldsAway have emerged from their cubes, ready to bring two new seasons to Meditation Park. The expansion will include over 20 new locales, including Fall and Summer locales. In addition, "new art, heads and knickknacks" are promised throughout the Park.These new locales have been in the works for many months, so their appearance inworld is highly anticipated here at FSC. We hope to see you at the grand opening of the new Meditation Park, coming this Fall! Meet Oracle Uni: On Building the Virtual Community This month, the "Meet the Oracles" series continues with the the Sept. 26th appearance of Oracle Uni. Last month's "Meet Oracle Teresias" event at the Starway Stage was attended by over 40 people, and Teresias answered questions ranging from FSC's plans f or the Dreamscape to his own childhood and path to Oracle-dom. While Uni's appearance will probably follow the same format, the content of the event promises to be as individual as each Oracle's role in and vision of the Dreamscape community. Recently, Uni took a few minutes from her amazingly hectic schedule to talk with the Resource Update: The Resource Update: Why did the Oracles decide to do the "Meet the Oracles" series? Oracle Uni:The Dreamscape is a customer driven service. This requires us to listen carefully to customer concerns and place primary consideration on customer needs, in our development and management of the World. It requires us to make ourselves available in a number of ways. We have established various lines of communication with customers, both in-world and out: surveys, WA Team e-mail, forum threads and chats, news flashes, trained Acolytes, in-world meetings, etc. Our customers appreciate such access and our work benefits greatly from it. Recently, Tony Christopher was "kidnapped by extraterrestials" and held a question/answer session in-world. It was very successful and we implemented our "Meet the Oracles" series to follow through on that. We Oracles joke about our magnetic personalities, anyway, because within moments of arriving in a Dreamscape locale, we are surrounded by avatars and ghosts who are anxious to communicate. A more formal "Meet the Oracles" event allows a greater number of customers easy access and gives us Oracles the attention we so crave. RU:What do you want to talk about at the meeting? What do you hope people will ask? Oracle Uni:The Dreamscape is a community and any questions of community interest are likely to be asked. I want to talk about anything that further empowers community members to participate in positive ways in the development of their community. For example, rather than focusing on why I don't get rid of thieves, I would prefer to focus on what community members might do to curtail thievery, protect themselves and each other from becoming victims, and integrate the thief into the community, rather than establishing excluded social classes. I see my job as a resource manager and community advisor, not a dictator responsible for fixing the world. The Dreamscape is not a game. It is a real world. RU: Your new class at Kymer International University, "Engaging in the Virtual Process," covers a lot of ground. You talk about multiculturalism inworld, building virtual communities, and issues of self/identity in the virtual/waking world. Why did you decide to do the class? How was the first session? Do you have any specific goals for the course, or are you more interested in the process? Oracle Uni: The Dreamscape is a pioneering project, both technologically and socially, and as such it is imperative that we live it and develop it consciously. As an Oracle, my primary concern is to help build community and foster interaction among our international online clientele. I do so consciously and carefully, documenting as I go along. My background as an academic crosscultural psychologist, specializing in cognition and consciousness, causes me to focus on particular aspects of this pioneering virtual community building and interactive process. My ethics as a researcher requires me to share what I learn with both the FSC and the Dreamscape community. My course, "Engaging in Virtual Process", is motivated by these concerns. It attempts to build a foundational consensus about the phenomenology of virtual process and to encourage class discussion on pertinent issues raised. I have been amply rewarded for my efforts by the lively interest and contributions to class discussion in the past sessions. Students attended from Germany, Australia, Great Britain, and the USA. Crosscultural comparisons were fascinating and all participants were both teachers and students in this endeavor. I look forward to continuing this sharing of virtual experience. See you all at "Meet Oracle Uni"! September 26th, from 7 to 9 pm, on the StarWay Stage Stand-alone world debuts on CompuServe After many months of planning on expanding the WorldsAway galaxy of worlds, the first stand-alone world created with WorldsAway/Interverse technology is about to be released on CompuServe. Along with other FSC people, some members of the Dreamscape team have been working with the folks at Pride!, CompuServe's gay and lesbian on-line service, to create a new world called Pride! Universe. To members of the Dreamscape, Pride! Universe will look pretty familiar, but its space-age look and theme set it apart. Unlike the Dreamscape, or our planned WebWorld, Pride! Universe will be run and supported by people from Pride!. We will provide some consultation, and have given them ample guidance on how to run a virtual community, but the world is theirs to run as they choose. As we watch this bird fly out of the nest, we wish the Pride! people all the best as they begin to build their community on the virtual frontier. From anywhere in CompuServe, GO:PRIDE for more information. Dreaming of You It looks like our read-only Team mailbox, "dream@worldsaway.com ", has really matured into a working center for your feedback, suggestions, rants, etc. We got some very thought-provoking requests and questions this month. For instance, Stefan Koletzko wrote to suggest a series of new hidden-object games, and asked when we would be opening up some new locales. Well, Stefan, check out the article above about Meditation Park for more information on when our newest locales will be open. Our artists and engineers are constantly working on new locales and artwork for the Dreamscape, so if you have any ideas, don't forget to send them on. We'll let you know when the next projects are due to be unveiled.... That brings us to this month's Resource Update question: You have been great about giving us realistic, well-thought-out suggestions for new additions to the Dreamscape. Many times, these additions are already in the works, or your suggestion sparks a new round of discussions about what we'd like to work on for the future. But just for a moment, imagine that you could add anything at all to the Dreamscape, unfettered by technical or time constraints. What is your fantasy addition to the Dreamscape? Let your imagination run wild, and we'll post the results here next month. As for this month's submissions to Dream: Thanks to all who put in their two cents' worth, and keep the good stuff coming! And to the rest of you: we at the Dreamscape team can't create the best world for you unless we know what you think! Just send mail to dream@worldsaway.com . Thanks. The Wish Box Each time you dream of or wish for something in the WorldsAway Dreamscape, we'd like to hear about it. The Dreamscape and WorldsAway staff are committed to continuous improvement and we need your feedback to make that possible. Please help us serve you better by sending us your suggestions of how we can better support you with the technology we currently have. We've created a read-only mailing list to which you can post your suggestions: dream@worldsaway.com . This mailbox will forward your suggestions to the Dreamscape Production Team and archive a copy for others to read. Though we cannot assure you that all of your suggestions will be implemented, we will strive to take your concerns into consideration for future Dreamscape plans. In order to make your postings to dream@worldsaway.com more effective, please make your subject line as intuitive to the content as possible. For example: Service Improvements Dreamscape (or Kymer, inWorld, etc.); Service Improvements Community Forum (Waking World, Forum); Service Improvements Web (or Web Page Suggestion) Dreamscape Newsletter Discussion or Dreamscape Newsletter Topics You can also send messages to our CompuServe WATEAM account (76710,162). These suggestions will be forwarded to the Dream mailing list, so the most comprehensive listing of your messages will be in the Dream mailings.Messages sent to dream@worldsaway.com will not receive a direct response. Dream Jobs Come work with us! The FSC Human Resources site has listings of available positions for Fujitsu Software Corporation of San Jose, CA, the owners and operators of WorldsAway services. Visit the site at: www.fsc.fujitsu.com/fsc/fschr/employmt.htm How to Reach Us Once again, we consider your participation and suggestions vital to the growth of the Dreamscape. The strength of the Dreamscape lies in its community of members, and we need your input to produce a world that best facilitates and enhances that community. The purpose of this newsletter is to serve as another connecting point between us, the Dreamscape team, and you, the members. You can respond to this newsletter or offer your suggestions to us by: --Clicking here to send messages to our read-only message archive, dream@worldsaway.com ; --Posting messages in the WorldsAway Community Forum (GO AWAYFORUM); --or Sending messages to our WATEAM account (76710,162) We hope you like the ideas and information contained in this newsletter, and that you'll find it a useful place to connect with us. Thanks for your continued contributions to the Dreamscape community, and we'll see you inWorld!