Democratic architecture in a virtual world.

*hugs you*

Kendra, this was one of the most amazing things I saw lately — mainly because of all the limitations, the short time for shooting movies and your being ill! The result is simply unbelievably good!

Thank you so very much for that incredible effort! That one, I believe, is simply priceless.

Yes, there were hints of nostalgia when I saw some of the older images as well. Wow, Neualtenburg is really "getting old"...

Also, I think that it's a good idea to have it on the N'burg website as well

Wow - this is really amazing. What an exciting place So glad people were able to take part in stills as well - that was a lovely inclusive idea.

Thanks. folks. Believe me it was a labour of love. If you guys didn't know how I felt about Neualtenburg, I hope my little film explains it for me

Zugzug, I sent you the URL for the imovie file, I hope I sent the right things --the only thing I would add/or change is any credits for the still photography

I used some by You, Pendari, Garnet, and Torley Torgelson and one by that girl who did the did the fantastic bridge pic on snapzilla (her name escapes me)

also credit yourself for cinematography

and end with a scrolling list of all 22 (!) citizens --if there isn't time, don't worry --the film is complete enough for an entry I think.

Absolutely amazing!! I have watched it 4 times now (the fourth time I showed it to a co-worker). And I'm still getting goosebumps watching it. Thank you so much for pulling this together!! I think the film really captures the heart of our city and I'm very excited about this entry!

Sorry I've been distant... I'm sick myself Even worse, my mac is starting to make some strange noises... I think someone has to look into SL as a platform for sharing misfortune.

When I get Zug's essay I'll put it all together and ship it to the contest.

Wow... the video rocks btw!

It's nearing completion. At my current rate it should be done around 17:00 PDT, which is four hours before the deadline. Sorry for the delay. With a baby to juggle I'm not nearly as productive as I used to be.

The submission is also coming with some big changes to the website.

~Ulrika~

pfft... no need to apologize... we all owe you one for this

Definitely, you two are too much! Illness and fatigue don't seem to affect your tireless efforts, hehe. Well, the video has been done with love over blood and sweat, and that almost literally, so I truly hope that this will "move" the jury...

Whew! That was a lot of work.

The online-version of the submission can be seen here along with Kendra's embedded movie. There have been a lot of changes to the website to support the submission. I'll leave it to you to discover them.

The text version is included below as code, so I don't have to reformat it. I'll email you the text copy shortly Satchmo.

~Ulrika~

Title:		Neualtenburg
Location: 	secondlife://Neualtenburg/160/180/
URL: 		http://www.Neualtenburg.org
Name:		Satchmo's RL Name
Contact:	Satchmo's Address
Email:		Satchmo's Email
Phone:		Satchmo's Phone

Description:

We submit for consideration in the MMORPG Public Space Design
Competition the city of Neualtenburg in the virtual world of 
Second Life.  Neualtenburg is a one-of-a-kind self-governed 
community, whose purpose is to:
  - enable group ownership of high-quality public and private land;
  - create a themed yet expressive community of one-of-kind builds; and
  - implement democratic forms of self government within Second Life.

As a city in Second Life, we have assembled a community of 
artistic, ambitious, talented individuals who explore the limits 
of architecture, culture, law, and politics in Second Life. 
Our community is focused around the following elements: 

  Architecture
    The city is modeled after a medieval Bavarian city with 
    postmodern architectural elements in the private simulator
    (sim) of Neualtenburg. Most of SL is based upon the precepts 
    of modern architecture, where land and buildings are dominated 
    by the rectangle. One of the goals of this project is to create 
    a city which replaces orthogonality with organic and brings 
    together the medieval and modern.  View the city layout 
    here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/services/land/ and see photographs
    here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/photos/.

  Culture
    The city is a nexus for progressive social experimentation in 
    Second Life including modern art (sculpture, scripting, movie 
    making, role playing), political organizations (a Representative 
    Assembly, Factions, constitution, and bill of rights), and 
    education (classes and meetings held for all Second Life 
    residents).  Learn more about on Neualtenburg's community 
    here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/.

  Politics
    The city is based on a democratic republic with city planning 
    and group sales used to support landmarks, art, and expansion. 
    Our virtual city is very different from other themed builds 
    and groups in Second Life, as it is owned collectively and 
    governed democratically.  Read up on Neualtenburg's government 
    here: http://www.Neualtenburg.org/government/.


The goal has been to create an infrastructure that supports a
self-sustaining community that goes beyond the anarchy typically
seen in on-line virtual worlds.  A community which actively 
develops, refines, and lives through its architecure, politics, 
law, education, and culture.


As an addendum provided below is a list of notable firsts achieved 
by the city Neualtenburg within the virutal world of Second Life.

- Neualtenburg is Second Life's first democratic republic.
  Last month the city's third Representative Assembly (RA) was 
  chosen in elections.  
- Neualtenburg is Second Life's first nonprofit land cooperative.  
  By forming a real-world cooperative, several small buyers have been 
  able to band together, purchase, and share a dedicated simulator.  
- Neualtenburg has offered the first well-defined investment bonds
  (true debentures) to raise enough money to purchase the sim.  
  These bonds provide well defined nominals, par values, and coupons, 
  in order to provide a safe and secure investment for both the 
  investor and the city.  
- Neualtenburg has Second Life's first and only constitution.
  We have multiple branches of government allowing individuals with
  different skills to approach problems from different directions.
- Neualtenburg has Second Lifes's first well-defined and binding 
  land deed and covenant system.
- Neualtenburg has Second Life's first true virtual-world legal 
  system with laws that are enforced using the potential of land 
  confiscation (forfeiture of cooperative investment).
- Neualtenburg's community has the largest group forum in Second
  Life with over 250 threads and 3250 posts, more than eight times 
  the size of the next-biggest group forum.


This proposal can be viewed in its entirety at 
http://www.Neualtenburg.org/community/sop2005/.  We also invite
the judges to visit http://www.Neualtenburg.org for additional 
information on the city.  One can find a complete city prospectus 
(overview, philosophy, citizenship, covenant, and government); 
list of services (land availability, finance, vendor system, 
voting system); community resources (list of citizens, photographs, 
forum information); and government resources (members of the 
government, constitution, covenants, deeds, and terms of service).

Thank you for your consideration,
The Neualtenburg Community

Rockin... soon as I get it, I'll package it up pretty and send it on to the judges. Doc, website, and video all look great... make room on the website for our second trophy

Satchmo has sent the proposal!

First prize includes airfare, hotel and registration for participation at the State of Play, New York, New York, Oct 6-8, 2005, among other things. Satchmo stated that he cannot attend the conference in the event that we do win first prize, so providing they allow substitutions, there might be an opportunity for another member of the city to attend in his place. (Although after the results are announced it would give a traveler a matter of a few days to make the arrangements.)

Perhaps preferable to all would be a substitution in cash for at least the hotel and airfare (as I know we have a few folks in NY that could use the registration). We could then add that to the prize money and place it in our coffers, finally paying off our first sim. Let's hope they're flexible with prizes.

Of course, this all assumes that we'll win.

~Ulrika~

I received an email from the contest coordinator stating that the winner of the contest will be announced on Monday the 3rd of October. They also sounded like they might be flexible on the prize, since as a community it would be difficult for us to take advantage of airfare and a hotel for a single person.

Myself, I'd like as much money as possible such that we can put the city in the black and start planning for the second sim, minus, of course, an award for the members of the city that worked on the submission.

~Ulrika~