SWC June 2008 Newsletter

Second life is a virtual "world" populated by people worldwide who are represented by avatars that one creates oneself. The best place to read about Second Life is on its own website, www.secondlife.com. However, if you did a search by Google, you would find many articles elsewhere. Many people are there just for the fun of it, of creating a cute character (avatar) to represent oneself (everyone on SL is 23, cute, with a perfect figure, lol). Some folks go the fantasy route, add a tail or scales or an extra few legs, purple fur or bunny ears, but mostly folks are represented in human form. Many large corporations, such as IBM and H&R Block, are represented there, and many medical facilities/research labs also have an "inworld" presence and actually hire people to work at their "inworld" offices. CNN also has a presence there.

People do everything there that they do in real life. They work, play, go to church, have spouses and families. They work on projects, bring ideas to fruition, build, create anything, visit fun, fantastical places and stroll in amazing jungles and gardens that one can only dream of. People who are wheelchair-bound or bed-bound, typing with a stylus in their teeth in real life, can go dancing, or fly over plains, meadows and oceans to their heart's content. Beauty in Second Life is limited only by one's own imagination.

There are some seedy aspects, sure, but as with real life, it's a choice whether to involve oneself with those, which of course, being me, I do not. I have involved myself with the deaf/disabled community there.

If you go to http://www.metaversemessenger.com, you will see on the front page of this Second Life newspaper, an article, about Cape Able. This is the island that I am involved with. It starts on page 1 and ends on page 23. It is very explanatory about what we do there. My Second Life name is Treasure Ballinger, and you will find me quoted often in that article, which recently came to print in this paper, due to our new island's recent grand opening.

By the time this newsletter comes out, it's possible that a new edition of Metaverse Messenger will be showing on the link provided. In that case, go to the archives and find the edition for May 27, 2008 to read the story about Cape Able. The paper opens in pdf. format.

The owners of the island are a real-life married couple in Sacramento, California. Their Second Life names are Musashi Yeshto and Lucy Shannon, so as you read, you will know who I am talking about. The island is not a cheap proposition to own; it cost a sizeable sum for them to purchase and a rather heavy monthly maintenance fee to maintain. They are hearing, and not disabled, but own a driving school in Sacramento that is the only school in California that specializes in teaching Deaf/deaf to drive. This involves some pretty creative use of ASL, you can imagine, and other assistive measures. They have brought their commitment and dedication to Deaf/deaf and disabled "inworld" to Second Life, and we have many resources available on our island for the deaf and disabled residents of Second Life who choose to avail themselves.

An impressive Social Services Agency, among other things, exists on Cape Able, with many "clickable" resources. One click and you can find 2,000 ASL signs, also links to many websites, agencies, all in YOUR area of the real-life world. Just click the flags and pick your spot. There are instructions for hearing people on how to communicate with someone who is not oral and who is typing in ASL syntax. There are captioned videos from "Read On" and many other helps. There is an amphitheater for presentations and lectures, with animated seating that lets you raise your hand to ask a question of the speaker. Although Second Life offers voice communication as an option, we don't encourage it on Cape Able. There, the playing field is leveled by the use of "type chat" for all communications.

Attached to the main Cape Able island, is a beach/recreational island, called "Cape Able 2." There we relax, float, swim, and just chill out with our deaf and disabled friends. It's an escape, yes, but also a link, with helps for your real-world situation.

Although Second Life is a virtual world, the help for the deaf and disabled there, on Cape Able, is real, and quite transferable to real life.

Cape Able, where ability belongs to all.