In a few days the Medici University College of Avatar Architecture & Virtual Urban Planning opens.
Welcome!
Welcome 2MU! Whether this is the first you’ve heard of MU, or whether you’ve participated in the past, Welcome to Medici University!
Be Kind
That was pretty much what I wanted to say: Welcome!
If there’s anything else to add, it’s
Be kind, be patient, share, help, do together
In RL & VR both, it’s easy to get caught up in our own needs and interests. There are so many around us who have wonderful things to share. There are so many around us who could use a helping hand. Or a smile.
We’re all different. We have different needs. We can be sensitive. My music, or art, or personality might be too much for you. At least sometimes. I hope everyone who comes to MU CAA-VUP will feel at home and feel free to try things and express themselves. But also to try to be kind and considerate.
What if it was less about me and more about others? Would I wind up with a lesser experience in the end? Or more?
Architecture & Urban Planning
I do hope that we’ll see some exciting ideas about Architecture for Avatars @MU CAA-VUP.
I do hope that we’ll really explore what Virtual Urban Planning means. Or could mean. Or how the use and structuring of space can create community and places of community.
Sometimes it’s a legendary architect building roads and monumental buildings. Sometimes it’s a humble avatar putting a hot tub by the side of the road and inviting others to spend a little time visiting. Sometimes it’s Neeva dropping so many prims on your head.
There is no wrong way to participate at CAA-VUP. Some peeps work might look like Architecture or Urban Planning. Others might look more like hanging out, or being a rooftop DJ. It is all beautiful. MU needs it all. MU needs You!
The Rules v0.1
IDK really what the rules will be. Do keep copies of anything you create @CAA-VUP just in case it gets unexpectedly returned!
In our Spring ’15 term each avatar was allotted a modest patch of land and a chunk of prims, with the promise that they could keep that land and that prim allocation for the whole semester.
This term I’m intending to let peeps have more land and more prims, but with less permanence. CAA-VUP is a lab. Anything you rez there will probably get returned sooner or later.
While we have land & prims we’ll just let things go for a while and see how it goes. If we run out of land, we’ll probably clear some space off. If we run out of prims, we’ll return prims, starting with whoever is using the most. We might also just reset the whole place from time to time to facilitate new projects.
If you have any thoughts or requests about this or anything else, LMK!
So the rules ATM are:
- Be Kind
- Make Stuff
- Hanging out is making community so don’t feel guilty or lesser for hanging out and not making stuff
- Try New Things!
- Feel free to use all the space & prims you like
- Don’t be sore if stuff gets returned
- Be Kind
Peeps, Group, Sky & Links
MU CAA-VUP will mostly be whoever shows up. Whoever spends time there. Titles aren’t really important, but if you’d like one, you can have one! Just LMK what you’d like to do. And be sure you pick a cool title!
Here’s a few peeps you might reach out to for anything you need @MU CAA-VUP:
- Elizabeth Taylor Swift, Dean, CAA-VUP
- RMarie Beedit, University Chaplain
- Trilby Minotaur, Editor, MU Creativity magazine
- Newton, Mr., Barista, Cafe Sophistry
The Group:
The rez group for MU CAA-VUP will once again be the VB Friends group. Join the group & wear the tag to rez.
Letting peeps terraform is always a tricky proposition in SL. But I’d like to try to make that available to all CAA-VUP / VB Friends students, at least to start. Try anything you like, but also be considerate of others.
The Sky:
@MU @LEA23 we didn’t allow skyboxes, flying, or point-to-point teleporting. We wanted to try to create a physical, on-the-ground, community that was walkable. Streets that fostered interaction. I think this was successful to a degree. But we also learned that walking distances, especially visually chaotic distances, isn’t easy for everyone. So we will start by allowing Flying & P2P Teleporting @CAA-VUP. I would appreciate it if you didn’t make skyboxes – I’d really like to foster a community on the ground where we can share and interact.
Here’s a few links that might be useful:
- MU Talk – the place to talk, interact, share links to your stuff, etc. If you aren’t already on it, just give me a shout and I’ll add you!
- MU Creativity – University Magazine
- College of Avatar Architecture & Virtual Urban Planning – College Website
- Medici University – University Website
- Cafe Sophistry – creative explorations
See You Saturday!
Who will be the 1st to rez a prim @CAA-VUP? OMG!
Have a great semester everyone!
See you on campus!
Love,
— Izzy
Isabella Medici
Provost, Medici University
