Just a couple of questions

1. Why are like 90% of the events held at Stage 4 in Dore? I mean, sure, it's a nice stage, clean seats, good view and all, but is there a reason almost everything is there?

2. Groups. Can someone tell me more about the different groups in SL? Some, like Americana, I know have a lot to do with the various sim land-owner communities, but where do I find out about the others?

1) a lot of events are at stage 4 cause it's right by the place everyone starts in the world for the first time so it's easy for new people to find it. also the stage is split between a couple sims if you look at the border lines so that means more people can fit into the event area than if it was limited to how many people can fit in one sim.

2) um.....maybe look up the group under "Find" and IM one of the officers? right now it's not easy to get info on groups and who's in them and what they do.

Stage 4 used to be on the intersection of FOUR sims, so we could really pack in a crowd; it's not nearly so good, anymore, but the location is still pretty convenient.
A lot of the groups are formed for the titles they give you or the private IM channel, but they are very handy for group builds, too.

Good point on the groups. It might be a good idea to make a "Groups Recruiting" notecard available to hand out in the welcome area, or at newcomer events. This could explain what the various established groups are involved in and could point folks to a friendly group representative.

It would also be nice to collect a sort of "history" on some of these groups. Where they came from, what their lineage is, etc.

Groups on the main fall into the following categories:

Theme communities.
Specific activities or projects.
Neighborhood associations.
People who are friends or business partners, and want to say so.
and lots are simply people who want to spread around a goofy or clever title.

Anyway, I'm a rep for the Kazenojin. We are a theme community dedicated to the art of flight, both by building great flying craft and by scripting movement. Many of our members are notorious scripters here in SL, and we also have some very good builders. We also are known for a tendency to make things explode.

Our most significant accomplishment to date has been the Air Station. It is torn down now, but for a long time it was the single most impressive and gargantuan build in the world. Progress is under way on a smaller more refined version of the air docks.

I could name a few names who might possibly be good contacts for a few of the other theme communities.

Alek Wu and Merriman Brightwillow: Darkwood, the medieval theme community.

ramon Kothari, CrowCatcher Valen, or Garth Fairlight: Americana.

Gwydeon Nomad: SLittle Tokyo - the theme community dedicated to anime and Japanese culture.