Catznip Viewer Arrives

The Catznip Viewer is a new addition on the third party viewer (TPV) list. It offers Restrained Love in a viewer modeled closely on the Linden viewer. For new residents of Second Life and those of us who have become accustomed to the Linden Viewer over the more than 2 years of its existence, this is good news.

It offers an alternative to the Firestorm Viewer and Marine's venerable Restrained Love Viewer, along with others who have offered RLV for varying periods of time.

I've been using Catznip for about 4 months now, yes it was available before being placed on the TPV list and it works great. It became one of the recommended viewers for girls joining the Toy Slaves Brothel (RLV required) approximately 8 weeks ago and has functioned very well.

There is more to the viewer than just RLV, here's what the developers Kitty Barnett & Trinity Dejavu say about their viewer. 

"Catznip aims to refine and reinvent your window into Second Life. Our focus is stability, usability, privacy and plenty of new original home grown features.

As a project, Catznip is not and will never be a bucket list of features cherry picked from the other projects, nor a laundry list of pre-release Linden code. It’s about taking a fresh look at things and attempting to do them better.We are very open to feature ideas or requests, but please present them in the form of a use case and not simply “Add X from Viewer Y” !"

If you have followed the development of RLVa, you'll recognize Kitty as a developer of the Restrained Love used in many of the Third Party Viewers.

To read more about Catznip or to download this excellent viewer visit their website 

Catznip Viewer

Here's a short video about installing it. It's easy, no files to transfer over, just download, install and jump into Second Life. It comes with RLVa turned off. All of the viewers excepting Marine's (where it's always on) arrive with Restrained Love turned off. 

To activate it in the viewer go to Preferences (Ctrl+P), when the Preferences window opens choose the side tab labelled Catznip and place a checkmark in the box for RestrainedLove API suppoert (requires restart). The viewer will need to indeed be restarted for RLVa to take effect, so log out and then back in and you'll be in RLVa.

Watch the video in YouTube to take advantage of fullscreen and HD

Hope to see you soon in Second Life

Is It BDSM or Abuse?

The other night I was approached by a very confused and frightened girl. She had recently met a Master on an online site and made the decision to give up everything to go live with him in Real Life. Her friends had become alarmed at some of the things she was telling them about this new acquaintance and the girl had begun to wonder if she was making a mistake. I learned later on in the conversation that some of the friends were actually involved in the D/s community which gave their concerns even more weight in her eyes.

She took her concerns to her new Master and he seemed less than sympathetic, instead making it seem like she wasn't committed enough for him. And her questions about some of the things he had proposed doing to her unworthy of his comment. Some of the things she described were alarming, but, who can tell whether they were the posturings of a newbie Master or someone seriously unhinged.

Following some recent events, I had looked into the BDSM vs. Abuse question myself and was able to give her some suggestions on reading material. One of the things was the table I've reproduced below, it was on a website with one of those annoying jiggly "you've just won an ipad, click here" ads that make me want to leave right away before someone gets my info and spams me into next Tuesday. Here's the address, there is more info there...the table is just too good not to pass on. 

http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/christy/347/dsnabuse.htm

Another site that I've found thought provoking and helpful can be found here. Kinkylittlegirl, the author, indicates that the site has morphed from being just about BDSM into one that looks at all types of abuse. The sections on BDSM are full of links to informed and on point commentary on the subject, tables like the one below are not uncommon. Visit her site and read her interesting articles and give the links a close look...

kinkylittlegirl - Abuse

One of her recent posts might give you pause, When is abuse not abuse?

You'll find lots of places to get advice and fetish friendly help on the net. Have a critical eye, but, Read, Read, Read...If you like print, one of the most helpful books out there about all things BDSM and an excellent starting point is Jay Wiseman's SM101, it's available from many booksellers, his publisher's siteGreenery Press even as an e-book from Amazon. His isn't the only book, but, it opens with some great advice about D/s relationships and emphasizes communication and consent then continues on with some practical advice.

Help with this issue is available in a number of Discussion Groups inside of Fetlife. You will need to sign up for Fetlife to participate, but, it's free and an excellent source of all things fetish FetLife. 

Finally, What has this got to do with Second Life? People visit the BDSM community in Second Life hoping to find something that either enhances their real life or to explore something they feel they are missing or something they are anxious to try. Granted some of the people we meet are strictly here for roleplay, but, if they take their role seriously, we hope that they have some real life experience or at the very least pledge to do no harm.

We cannot take a cavalier approach to what we do. The avatar opposite has a real live person at the other end. At the very least you might ruin their experience and at the worst you could cause some real psychological harm to an already fragile psyche.

If you are a submissive in Second Life and you see these things happening to you, protest, ask the abuser to stop. It's your responsibility to yourself. Don't argue with them, they aren't worth the trouble and upset. Unfortunate as it is, in a way you're lucky...you can log off, get out of there and avoid that person in future. Don't feel that you have to put up with abuse, it's not your fault, no matter how much the abuser may want you to think it is.

BDSM	ABUSE
A BDSM relationship starts with a friendship, love and concern. You care for each other's happiness. All involved will feel good and will be happy, no one is sorry.	In an abusive relationship someone is always sorry, someone is always hurt. The only happiness is that of the abuser - the abuser cares about their own happiness, and the victim is most concerned with keeping the abuser happy to avoid more / worse abuse.
BDSM is Consensual	The abuser isn't concerned with having permission they just do whatever they desire.
Submission is a gift that is given to the Dominant. The submissive chooses to obey, to give up control and keep choosing from moment to moment; day to day. The choice can be taken back at any time.	When the submission is taken / forced it becomes abuse. It is no longer submission and the individual becomes a victim. In an abusive situation there is no choice, you obey to keep peace and in the hope not to get hurt worst.
The Dominant creates a desire to serve out of love - they don't want the submissive to fear them. They are respectful, polite, caring, giving and kind.	An abuser forces the submission though fear and degrading an individual so they can feel strong and important. Demanding the submission one becomes a victim not a sub.
You are partners working as a team caring very much about the other's happiness and well being	The abuser isn't concerned about how the other feels or their well being.
BDSM is controlled - Negotiations are done to assure all involved are comfortable with what will be happening and there are no fears.	Abuse is out of control no one knows what will happen. There is no shared plan the abuser makes the decisions without any negotiations.
Limits are set to assure that it doesn't go any futher than is safe.	No limits are set to take into consideration what the victim wants or values.
The Dominant is very careful to make sure the sub feels safe and happy, and keeps them feeling that way. The Dominant takes the responsibility to assure the happiness and safety of a sub.	An abuser is neither.
Safe words/colors are chosen to stop the scene or let the individual know it is getting close to being too much.	No safety net at all, the abuser is feeding on fear to control the victim - they don't care if it pushes too far. The abuser is the only one that chooses when it is enough; the victim has no choice.
Precautions are taken so there are no injury physically or mentally.	In an Abusive situation the victim is left hurt either physically or mentally.
Most individuals involved in BDSM will be careful enter a scene without alcohol/drugs or emotional upset impairing their judgment.	An abuser isn't concerned if judgement is impaired by drugs or alcohol or emotional upset.
The submissive is responsible for her own happiness in life, but during a scene, the responsibility is the Dominant's. The Dominant teaches the sub to be strong.
If humiliation is involved in a BDSM relationship it is done out of pride - they are proud to show the sub off in public, proud they are their slut. The sub won't feel bad about the words and/or actions they will make the sub blush but they are excited and pleased.	In an abusive relationship the humiliation is done in a degrading manner to make someone feel worthless so the Abuser can be the number One in the relationship - they will insult the looks, the way things are performed or do something in public not for pleasure but to show they are in control. The words or actions hurt.

I hope this gets you thinking.

See you in Second Life, a place for completely safe and consensual relationships. If only abuse in Real Life was so easy to stop.

Marine Kelley's Restrained Love Viewer

I recently did a post on setting up RLV in Firestorm. Now, for Marine Kelley's original version.

One of the most respected viewers in Second Life is Marine Kelley's RLV. Once used almost exclusively by the D/s community, residents have found lots of ways to use it.
Want to know more about RLV? See my post here...
What is Restrained Love?

Marine's follows the Linden viewer platform. This version includes the very latest user interface changes.
I've included the links to the pages used below the video.
Go ahead, don't be shy, give it a try.
Click the video and watch in full screen and 720p HD for the best experience

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory
http://www.erestraint.com/realrestraint/
See you soon in Second Life!

Age Verification Changes in Second Life

What an incredible breath of fresh air. Gone is the age verification system that had people from all over the world sending passport, driver's license and SSN information for verification...yea!

To replace it a new age verification process, and this may sound familiar, you enter your date of birth, check a box verifying that it is true, then submit.

Yes, just that simple.

Go to your Dashboard, you'll find it under the Me menu, then Account and on that drop-down(mine always seems to be open to Account) choose Age Verification. There you'll find the boxes to enter your date of birth. If you have already given this information to Linden at some point, the boxes will be already filled in, mine were, then, put a checkmark in the box verifying that the information is true and submit.

Submitting this information is the first step, now go to your Preferences in the viewer (Ctrl+P) or (Me menu, Preferences, General) and change your preferences to allow you to view all content (General, Moderate and Adult).

So, there you are. If you've avoided checking out the incredible part of Second Life that is Adult because you were concerned about giving your private information...that bar has been lifted.

Come in and see what we have to offer. 

I think you'll like it.

See you in Second life! 

Erotic Stories and Second Life

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Wear, Add, Replace

There are a surprising number of new residents who go into Appearance mode in order to change clothing. Each time I see someone do this, I just want to shout out how much more easily they could do it from their inventory. If someone has a comment about why they are using the Appearance editor, I'd love to hear it. The best I've been able to come up with on my own is that the Linden "outfits" are stored under that tab and if those outfits are all that you've got when you start, it seems logical to change there. Any suggestions?

I'm posting my video about wear vs. add in the hope that it helps.

Wear, replaces what you are currently wearing on that layer or attachment point (in the Kirsten's viewer, she's actually used the word "replace" in the menu, in place of "wear").

Add, adds it over top or to the same attachment point.

The video below explains

Please click on the video and watch it in HD and full screen for the best experience

Hope that helped...especially the shoe form (clothing layer) part.  Don't go out without it.

I've also included Torley's video on the sidebar appearance menu.

If you were confused about this, I hope this helped.

samantha's Journey - Discover Your Inner Submissive

Not Just Any Neko

I blog a little about the Brothel and what we do there. It is after all what I do, who I am, I suppose. If you've followed many of my posts, you will have seen some videos about the process our girls go through to become a Toy.

I have to admit that I'm put to shame by the lovely writing style of one of our recent submissives. She tells a compelling story of her journey, the ups and downs of the life she is exploring and hopes to become a part of.

Just between you and me, I think she'll do very well.

Please read her account here.

Not Just Any Neko

I hope you will continue to follow her journey, I know I will.

GETTING STARTED IN SECOND LIFE

GETTING STARTED IN SECOND LIFE

Probably after the "What do I do now?" question, the next most common is "How do I ..._____?" Linden has done a great job of teaching the very basic things in the intake process. The process is short, thank goodness; when people think of joining our community, they don't want to spend hours learning how. There is, however, still a lot to learn once you finish it. And the Linden training says nothing about Adult.

This post is mostly taken from a note card that I give to new residents when I see them arrive in the club. Just by their arrival, I know that they are adult verified (we are an adult sim, you cannot visit without first being verified by Linden) and that they have their viewer set to advanced. Otherwise, they could not receive the informational notecard or the free clothing, hair, shapes etc. I send.

Here are some web resources to help you learn about SL (Second Life).

Linden Labs (the owners of SL) started a new user interface in the Spring of 2010. You might hear some of the residents complaining about it, but, it is the default viewer and likely the one you received on coming to Second Life. It's a perfectly good viewer; the complaints are mostly about learning something new.

One of the best things about it is it's contextual help. You are probably used to that from the web, but, the browser help in Second Life is much improved over the previous viewer. There is an excellent video about it here.

Torley Linden, who did the video you just watched is probably the most recognized voice in Second Life. He has hundreds of tutorial videos covering how things work. His video tutorials are great!

Look at the Quick Start guide he mentioned in the video. I did a short unofficial video about it.

Next, is the official site for videos. There are many video tutorials on lots of topics. Under the index look for "Beginners" first, but don't stop there. There's lots of  stuff non critical to you for now, but, it will show you the fascination that keeps most of us here in Second Life. There's just sooo much to do!

Not just Torley, but, many residents of Second Life have created videos you can find on You Tube and other sites.

http://secondlife.com/my/whatnext/video-tutorials/index.php?

But you are going to want to get started, so, come to the club where you will find RESOURCES YOU CAN USE RIGHT AWAY AT TOYS. For tutorials and free stuff check out the abandoned XXX Theatre at the top of the stairs near the escort boards in the club. We've converted it to a new resident welcome centre.

You'll find an animation override (it makes the Linden walk smoother, among other things) and a cock (yes gentlemen, you'll need one of those). 

I have some information on this blog too. Dealing with how to sign up, become adult verified and how to set your viewer to "advanced" in order to search for adult themes and sex in Second Life. Please check through the archive posts.

http://trixbraveheart.blogspot.com/

A common question we get  is how to work poseballs and pay residents? Go figure, we're a brothel after all. Here's a short video on that.

Another common question, usually after someone has heard one of us speaking at Toys is, how do I turn on voice? Here's a short video.

Why not take a brief video tour of the backstage part of Toys (our role play/sex areas). What you see around the club in the storefronts is only a representation of the larger areas, villas, beaches, castles and dungeons we offer. As Madame Aprille will be proud to tell you, we have 5 islands (sims), 200 girls, 20 dominants (probably 30 by now) and 3 clubs.

See more about it here.

We have a website too. http://www.toybrothel.com

Besides voice, there is a lot of media in Second Life. You probably have it all set up already. We've included a video.

Most residents personalize their profile with pictures and places visited, groups joined and things they like. It's easy to do.

The getting started tips at the following website were written quite some time ago but are still valid, however, many of the addresses have changed, moved or disappeared. 

Mermaid Diaries

We hope you find these videos helpful. They are really only a start. But, with these basics, you are good to go. there is sooo much more, but, you have time to learn. For now, go and enjoy, there plenty of time for the rest later.

Thank you for visiting Toys Slaves and enjoy your Second Life

http://slurl.com/secondlife/BROTHEL/128/128/23