September 22, 2007
As U.S. military casualties continue to mount in Iraq we note that those who gave their all in another unpopular war are to be honored in Second Life.As reported by 3pointD, Washington, D.C.'s famed Vietnam Memorial Wall is under construction in SL:
...Timed to open in November to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its original dedication, Meme Science are building a replica of the Vietnam War Memorial, commonly known as The Wall, in Second Life. The Wall lists all 58, 253 US service personnel killed or missing in the Vietnam war.
The Second Life version of the Vietnam Wall is being funded by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and will be unveiled to the public in early November.
The island will feature all 3 components of the memorial: The Wall; the Three Soldiers statue and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. Information and name search facilities are planned, along with the option to leave virtual items... at The Wall.
The purpose is to provide a contemplative space for remembering the U.S. servicemen and women who died in Vietnam. It will be tied into a website that will offer name search facilities, research resources and more... the aim of the island is not political, it is simply to honour those who had given their lives and provide an education resource for those wishing to find out more...
Comments
It was even more pointless than Vietnam, and it killed millions of men, women and children.
I don't want to be a dick, but i'm not sure that's the best wording.
"those who lost their lives" would probably be better. No-one wanted to be in Vietnam after 1968.
And, more importantly, the jerks can hide behind anonymity.
Even if they don't, I can say, having visited the real Memorial, that it can't hope to be even a very good substitute.
Kris "neoSpider" Jordan
Game Programmer
What benefit does anyone get out of this? Nothing.
Who actually gives a rat shit about a low-res digital model of a wall? Nobody.
Fact:
it's pretty simple to set up a Second Life area so it _cannot be_ easily vandalized.
That is, you _can_ avoid penises flying around your area - you just have to set a couple of land options the right way.
It looks like most people here is talking about what they learnt about Second Life on mainstream media. Let me reveal you a secret: mainstream media are not a good information source if you're interested in new media or creativity / communication tools.