See You on OSGrid

 Most of you will have heard that the Administrators of OSGrid have announced that the grid will close on December 31 of this year. The official news was published here on the OSGrid website .

Before saying anything else, a shout out to the Admins of OSGrid. Even if you don't agree with the decisions they have made, we all have to recognize the sheer effort they have put in, in terms of hours of work, thought, knowhow, passion, and kindnesses big and small. They have been doing their best in a thankless situation that must have been immensely stressful.

This Sunday, 18 October at 11am Grid time there will be another community meeting on Hurliman Plaza - hopefully this time there will be an overflow region connected to the Chat, and the speakers will use a Translator throughout so that the non English speakers can follow what's going on. Last time the region topped out at an eye-watering 100 within moments of the meeting beginning, so if you're coming, make your avie as low complexity as you can, and be ready to sit on a few laps before you find a seat! 

That means, we have about three months to enjoy OSGrid, re-explore historic places in their original settings, and make sure we know where our friends plan to land, so we don't lose touch.

The Community Meeting room on Hurliman. Get here early if you want a seat all to yourself

OSgrid closing is not the same as Opensim closing - far from it! In fact, most OSgrid residents who are frequently inworld already have a Plan B. That's because they've already dealt with the grid being shut down for weeks at a time, not to mention the asset wipe of Spring 2025. Those wake up calls helped them to research other options.

That might be joining one of the bigger grids, and there are grids for every taste. In no particular order, here are some examples: Craft, Neverworld, Wolf Territories, AMV,  Kitely, AviWorlds,  just to name a few - add your own suggestions in the Comments! Another option is to set up your own grid, or get a region that is attached to one of the bigger grids and you can do that by using a service like the ones offered by Masala Estates, Hosting4opensim, Contabo, Dreamland Metaverse, Oliviera Lands and MANY more. Ask around, and get the opinion of people, ask those who you like and trust, then choose the best option for you.

The rental Map and info on Sub-Version welcome sim

If you are looking for a free option, you just want a free bit of land to have a little house on, the options again are amazing. 

Many grids have information on their welcome area about free land 'rentals'  with terms and conditions and maps so you can quickly see what you're getting into. On a recent safari trip, Pete and Naomi of 2nd Sanctuary Grid told us about their free to rent islands on sim Vanaheim. Glenys Bieler's grid Sub-Version has a free house rental system set up on the Welcome sim. Neverworld offers loads of free rentals within gorgeous builds like the one Safari visited a couple of weeks back. These are just three examples out of dozens of generous hosts offering a place for people to use. Ask around, or go hypergridding and check out new places. 

Both Grid owners and Hosting services are scrambling to make life easier for anyone who is looking for a new permanent home away from OSGrid - Groovyverse, for example, is streamlining its Registration process to make it easier to join, and adding other options in terms of free land opportunities. Don't be shy to ask, you may find your ideal home if you do so!

But wait.

It's on the cards that the dramatic news this week will be modified, and OSgrid might not close after all. This kind of decision is sometimes walked back. Or perhaps the grid will be reborn - this time, more of what it was meant to be - a Test grid for the latest version of the code, without the bloat of thousands of residents who want to build and socialize and aren't really involved with the code side of things at all.

Finding a new home is stress for sure, but if you face it in the right way, it can be a great way to know more people, make friends and strengthen old friendships, and to better understand the metaverse. So whatever ultimately happens to OSGrid, don't dwell in the past. Embrace the change, and the many good things out there in the hyperverse.

See you on Sunday.

HG Address: hg.osgrid.org:80:Hurliman Plaza