OSgrid Turns Fifteen

 Fifteen is a great age, and in Opensim it's virtually prehistoric - just four years younger than the old Grande Dame, SL. 

Event Plaza

So congrats off the bat to the entire operation - the geeks past and present who have kept OSGrid up to date, the creators, and the entertainers, the testers and scripters and artists, and even more to all the individual contributors who with sums large and small have paid for it to stay online. Let's see what some have to say for themselves.

Dan Banner:  we're planning the biggest birthday celebration yet, with plenty of music and dancing.

Dan 'Pretty Boy' Banner

Sounds like an unmissable anniversary, with seven straight hours of musical entertainment on Saturday and then another 7 on Sunday. The event looks good, but what is Dan looking forward to most?
Dan Banner: Another great 15 years? 

Fourteen performers to celebrate fifteen years of fun, scripting experiments, friendships, physics projects, art events, free content makers, dance parties, roleplay regions, crashes and hiccups.

LadyJo

It's fair to describe OSGrid as the nursery of grids, in that dozens of those who now have their own independent grids started out on OSGrid. That first opensim experience, being able to attach without charge one's regions to a big grid, has proved to be an essential stepping stone for getting the feel, and weighing up the pros and cons, of setting up on your own. 

Having more than one base in Opensim is always a wise precaution, on those occasions when a grid disappears for a while, or loses all your stuff.

That said, plenty of people have never felt the need to move, or have multiplied the fun with multiple grid presences, but remained committed to OSGrid as a sort of central nebula around which the galaxy of other grids gravitate.

Entertainment is fundamental to the virtual, and it's been a big part of OSGrid almost from the very start. One person who has been instrumental in keeping the tunes flowing here is LadyJo Martin.

ladyjo martin: I've been here 11 years. a refuge of SL. I love osgrid. It is my home! There have been a lot of changes, and that makes osgrid the best in the universe.

 Here's just a tiny sliver of what's in store on OSG15B2, a microcosm of what OSGrid is about. Bibiana Bombinate's wonderful free trees, to the prospect of adventures on land, sea and in outer space, not to mention the 'maze of the mind' of the princeofamor, to Club Quantum, by SherriffDawn Summers, to a touching tribute by whippin tavgo to LaNani Sundara of the Kaniva refugees.

Over on OSG15B1, the (garden) party's started, here you can see highly individual builds by Misty Falls, Prodyck Theas and (in the distance) Caro Fayray. On the theme of gardens, Jim Jackson's garden is also a lot of fun... scaary! There's one of Danger's ships, gorgeous installs by Azi and Victoria, and a remarkable cannonball ride by the fabulous Jeff Hall. All this and so much more - go see for yourself.

But what about everyone's favorite Ubit. What does he think, sitting on the floor in the LBSA, OSGrid's answer to the intellectual salon of the 19th century.

Thirza Ember: Ubit, why do you love osgrid, and what is the most challenging thing about it?

Ubit Umarov: I love osgrid? :)

Ubit Umarov at LBSA

Thirza Ember: LOL OK,  love is a big word I know... what intrigues you about it?
Ubit Umarov: got worse.. intrigues?
Thirza Ember: do you continue to return here because it's so annoying? like me?
Ubit Umarov: I need to keep breaking it, remember?
Thirza Ember: So you do. Doesn't mean we don't love you though. So what is OSgrid for you?
Ubit Umarov: I am an opensim dev and osgrid is one of the test platforms. Also I'm a bit more tech driven than social, so osgrid was the nice option to play with opensim code even before I became a member of the team. It is nice to see ppl also - and crashes with ppl are a lot more fun!  for ppl that likes to play with own regions on a grid, osgrid is the place, at least the largest one. :p

The Grove, by Lucy Afarensis

Lucy Afarensis has had art and landscape regions attached to OSGrid since 2008, and left SL definitively in 2010. What makes the grid exceptional for lovers and makers of art?

The Grove

Lucy Afarensis: OSGrid was the first place that I went that was free of all the restrictions that SL has- expensive real estate, trolls, ban lines, stuff like that. Many of the people who joined osgrid at that time are still here, which tells you something about the quality of life we have - admittedly with some ups an downs. It was a filter that brought many of the smarter artist types from SL which makes it much more comfortable to me.

Foxx's Palace

Foxx Bode has been a resident of OSGrid since 2010 and has a range of spectacular regions  including this azure palace and a whole world of marina themed coastline. I caught up with him relaxing with his dragon, and his signature spliff of improbable dimensions, and asked why he thinks OSGrid is important for him personally.

Foxx Bode: When I came here from SL it immediately started saving me 300+ euro’s a month. I was heavily into building, and the 189.000 prim result of my creative explosion is still online in here, after 12 years. I absolutely love this grid. No gazillion rules, no limits, full control, you learn about all the tech, the database, the ini configuration files and their parameters. I have seen this grid through many glasses. Those of a user, a mentor, a greeter, an  administrator, and now as board member. So I understand how it runs in its operational, tactical and strategic levels.

Foxx Bode

Foxx Bode: And what Dan Banner has achieved on an organizational level, is nothing short of impressive. For something that is operated by unpaid volunteers, Osgrid is extremely fortunate. To me it’s a 2nd home. And I’ve met really great people in here, shared thoughts I would have never thought of, and seen things I could not have imagined. Pixels do not mean anything to me tbh. But some of the memories I’ve made, I cherish. I have seen and learned a lot in the past decade. About virtual worlds and technology, but also people, behavior, and an array of other stuff I find interesting for my own scrutinous reasons. 

Red Dragon Nite Club horse

Visiting Foxx's regions is always a treat, because they are veritable pieces of OSGrid heritage. The famous Red Dragon Nite Club has one of the longest histories on the grid, and includes treasures like this prim sculpture of a horse. Community is key on OSGrid, and I wondered how Foxx sees the intersection between the place and its residents.

Foxx Bode: As Non-profit organization, running 100% on donations, and dedicated volunteers, Osgrids model is unique. We do not sell anything, we do not commercially rent land or servers to users, we don’t charge people for support or to attach their simulators to our grid servers and services.  Osgrid Inc. runs the grid and on the very latest “ cutting edge” Opensim code. It’s tested in various ways in a variety of configurations here first. We organize a range of weekly events for our users and any visitors, and have public sandboxes with different script and physics engines available for testing and building. 

With a large userbase of users from all over the world, of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and educational levels you’d expect anarchy and chaos. Instead we have an utopia in which you can be whatever or whoever you want, and where you can realize your wildest building-desires without any costs or any imposed limits whatsoever.  

Foxx Bode: Osgrid is also a reliable grid. We turn 15 this year, and what some people do not realize, is how special it is that this grid, including their whole virtual existences actually solitary run on goodwill and collaboration. Money only pays for hosting costs. Most people thus donate to keep OSgrid alive because it is worth it. Not because it is demanded somewhere. And Osgrid is a good place to start learning about simulators and servers. Many people start with a region, than build a VAR, and eventually install their own grids. Mind we consider these friends that moved along, not competitors. Many have great worlds to visit, and we encourage you to do so.  

Osgrid's 15th Birthday celebrations begin on July 25 and will end on 30 - 31 July with a weekend of Musical events. 

You can visit the Fair regions here:

 hg.osgrid.org:80:OSG15B1

hg.osgrid.org:80:OSG15B2

hg.osgrid.org:80:OSG15B3

hg.osgrid.org:80:OSG15B4

Music events are held on    hg.osgrid.org:80:Event Plaza