Planning to buy land for educational purposes

Hello, I am a research assistant working with a University professor and we are interested in purchasing a private island for educational development. Before we make a purchasing decision, I have several questions that I'd like to ask. I am hoping someone here may have the answers.

It seems to me that the islands are randomly generated when we order one based on 1 of the 4 basic designs on the ordering page.

If they are not randomly generated, can we see them before we buy? We'd very much like the opportunity to review our options before we purchase one.

Would it be possible to request starting terraform layouts, meaning, can they/do they offer a custom starting layout?

Is there a difference/does it matter where we are located? (How easy will it be to expand later should we choose to?)

We are in need of a website for the island and we are also wondering if by purchasing land, SL offers any kind of website to advertise our land?

Also, does the "Maturity" option in estate management actually restrict mature content or does it just list an overall rating for the island?

Thank you for your assistance.

I am sure a lot of people here can give you very good answers, but I sure would be trying to talk to LL directly about your questions.

Have a look here on the website for more details

http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education

Just the ones I happen to know from the top of my head:

Estates are placed isolated by default, and Linden Labs (at least currently) attempts to keep estates seperated from estates owned by others. This means there should generally always be room for expansion, and your estate won't be connected to others without your consent. Other sim owners also can not agressively purchase all the sims around you to "lock you in".


The "maturity" option is more like an option, which tells people who wish to visit your land whether mature content (in a rather broad definition) should be expected or not. It also means that people using your land should follow this definition, and that people who find offensive mature content on your land while it says it's "PG", may send a cmplaint, either to your or to Linden Labs, which should result in the swift removal of such content, but might at times result in more harsh action taken.

Many Mature areas might actually qualify as PG areas, but the owner just selected "mature" to either be on the safe side, or to attract more traffic somehow. (it might also attract less traffic though, since the default while searching is set to PG)

As far as I know Linden Lab doesn't offer other starting layouts. If you don't feel like doing the terraforming manually or creating your own .RAW file for uploadinf you find people in-world that sell .RAW files and you can even browse some on shopping sites SL Exchange and OnRez. You will also find other users who sell terraforming services to create a custom layout for you.

If you're not really sure what your plans are just buy the empty (water) layout and use the simple terraforming tools to select blocks at a time and raise them to a level to work at and then get creative.

I found, by accident, that there are examples of each of the 4 or so off-the-shelf islands that you can visit in-world. They are empty - you just walk round them to see what they are like.
Unfortunately I can't remember what they were called.

They've renamed them, making them a bit harder to find.

If you pull up the map, search for "Linden Estate Services." The four island options are four of the adjoining sims, now called "Ruth's Retreat," "Hippo Hills Island," "Loch Linden," and "Prima Point."

Those are the options for an estate out of the box, but uploading a RAW file can be done in less than a minute, and changing the ground tetures (grass, sand, concrete, etc) is equally easy. Once you own it, you can totally remake it to suit your needs.

I have been involved in several groups getting a foothold into SL. I would strongly suggest that you rent some space first, learn sl, understand your needs and how that translates into services in SL. Ive seen too many people come in, buy an island, hire some "great" builder only to be left with things that dont work for them in the long run and a giant bill that they have already paid.

Until you have been in SL for awhile, you really have no idea of your needs and how not to get ripped off by folks who may even mean well. We often rent space to folks who are in the beginning stages of establishing a presence in SL and will help them get on their feet and figure out how all this works.

This runs counter to the SL mindset of buy an isolated island and go crazy building, but i think learning SL first will make your eventual build in SL a MUCH more useable and viable vehicle for your organization.

Feel free to contact me if you need help...thanks! jojo

* It seems to me that the islands are randomly generated when we order one based on 1 of the 4 basic designs on the ordering page. If they are not randomly generated, can we see them before we buy? We'd very much like the opportunity to review our options before we purchase one.

No, they only offer 4 basic .raw files to start with, plus the option of starting with an all-water sim (land set to zero meters). All "type one islands" are precisely the same, and start with no trees. Just terrain and terrain textures.

* Would it be possible to request starting terraform layouts, meaning, can they/do they offer a custom starting layout?

No. You would have to modify it yourself, or hire a terraformer/builder to do it for you. I recommend looking in the Solution Provider's Directory as a good starting point for seeking experienced contractors. http://secondlife.com/solution_providers/listings.php

* Is there a difference/does it matter where we are located? (How easy will it be to expand later should we choose to?)

The default when you buy an "education" sim is that LL places it in a grid with the other Education sims, and there is one unused sim in every direction between you and those sims. That means if you want to add a second or third sim later, you really have to ask LL to move your old sim to a position beside the new one, somewhere else on the grid. There is a fee for moving a sim to a new grid location. If you are fairly certain you will need expansion room, tell LL that when you order the sim.

* We are in need of a website for the island and we are also wondering if by purchasing land, SL offers any kind of website to advertise our land?

Not directly. There is an "Education" section on the Second Life Grid site : http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education and they do have an on-the-web listing there of the educational institutions that are in SL. But they do not host "school websites".

* Also, does the "Maturity" option in estate management actually restrict mature content or does it just list an overall rating for the island?

The rating only restricts what is allowed, without being subject to an abuse report. Technically, on a "PG" rated sim, you could get abuse reported for displaying fine arts slides of a renaissance painting or sculptures that included nudes. Or for teaching a sex education class... So most Education sims set the rating to Mature.