April 14th 2007 (Town Hall)

Below is the transcript for the Town Hall event held on Saturday, April 14th 2007 at 3pm SLT.

Speeches

After calling the meeting to order, several short opening speeches were made.

IoW Mayor (Apollo Aridian)

I first came to the Dragon Isles in late August 2006, after my lovely Aradia surprised me by transforming into a Hydra Wyrmling in our garden. Since then, we've both been hooked on the creative atmosphere here, and the majesty of the avatars. While I haven't been here as long as some, I've still been fortunate to see a lot of growth and positive change in the Isles, in both the depth of the avatars and the strength of the community here. Attendance at release events has been growing steadily, with approximately 500 hopefuls at the last release, and 340 added to the Council of Wyrms alone since December.

The Isles continue to grow as a community too. Lethe is largely rented out and demand for dragon apartments is high enough that the new sim, Lyre, will be another residential area upon its completion. We now have well over 1000 Wyrms, almost 950 Wyrmlings and over 450 Hatchlings according to the group stats, and nearly 500 members of the Isle of Wyrms Citizens group. Through the raids and new Dragon Clans we are becoming more widely known to the larger SL populace. Everybody who enjoys the Isles, anyone who contributes in some way, all of you who are active in the community should be proud of what you are helping to create. The Isles can grow and be even grander in the coming year and all of you will help to shape it.

I would like to personally thank all the IoW Volunteers, Guides and Mentors for the outstanding job they do, guiding and assisting newcomers and making their integration into the community a smooth and fun process. You guys are amazing. :) I would also like to thank all the Guardians, Elders and our Great Hedgewyrm for making all of this possible to begin with. Remember, Guardians are people too, and dedicate so much of their time and energy to our home. 2007 promises to be a fun and exciting year for the Isle of Wyrms. In closing, I'd like to thank all of you, the Citizens, for breathing life into this world. We have some fun community projects in the works, which we'd like to talk a little about before moving onto the Q&A session.

Great Hedgewyrm (Daryth Kennedy)

Greeting everyone. ^.^ I'm not a hedgewyrm of many words, I don't quite have a beautiful speech like Apollo's prepared, which is why he makes such a wonderful mayor ^.^

I would like to quickly thank everyone for attending our first Town Hall meeting, the community here on the Isle of Wyrms continues to grow and get better and bigger each day because of the contributions of each and every community member ^.^

I would simply like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the inspiration everyone has contributed to build our community, and would like to welcome anyone who is new and would like to become a bigger part of the community, please always feel that you can approach anyone on the isles with your ideas and suggestions ^.^

Great Wyrm Elder (Onix Harbinger)

Hello everyone, Thank you all for attending our very first Town Hall meeting. ^.^

It's been quite a time these past many months watching everything grow from it's infancy. I can tell you it's been a great adventure for me, and I've enjoyed watching it grow and seeing all the contributions everyone has made into making this a successful venture and thriving community. ^.^

A little over a year and a quarter ago I stumbled into my first sighting of one of Daryth's dragons. I was immediately hooked. After some searching and waiting I finally managed to obtain one myself and meet the genius creator behind them. I am very fortunate to have been the right dragon at the right time just as she needed me her ideas and visions began to take off at seeming warp speed. ^.^

I helped found the Guardians, and what would eventually become the citizen staff, and later helped established the Isle of Wyrms Citizens. I would like to give personal high praise to the other great minds, Talarus, Helena, Daza, Kalira.... more than I can name in a timely speech... but trust me you are all loved and admired by me and Daryth for all of your hard work and dedication. We look forward to seeing everyone's efforts in the future with wide-eyed fascination as this great thing continues to take shape before us.

I want to thank you, our community, and our customers without whom we would be very bored and lonely. ^.^ You all inspire us to persevere and continue to strive towards making new things and finding new ways to make this island a fun and enjoyable place to be. ^.^

Before I get to rambling on too much, I would like to round my speech up with a mention of things to come. We are undergoing some reorganization. Our civilian/citizen staff is growing in responsibilities, while the Guardians step back to handle technical and peacekeeping matters. We will soon be instituting a new High Council group which will be lead by Apollo, Our Mayor, which will help organize and run our community. More information on the reorganization and all the changes will be posted as time goes on.

In closing, I want everyone here to know that I am and will always be approachable for questions and comments. My door is open to you all. If I happen to be off-duty or busy at the time, just drop me an IM asking for a meeting and we can arrange some time to talk. Thank you very much.

Announcements (Kalira Stromer)

Greetings everyone :) For those who don't know me I am Kalira. My main duties on the isle are.... well... allot of stuff I have no need to list :) Though a couple things I would like to cover.

Community Roles: IoW Guides and Mentors

First off is the other positions in the citizens group other then just Guest and Citizen, something you can strive for if you feel you wish to make more of a contribution to the Isle. This is the role of Guide. Some of our most noted citizens who have stepped up as helpers and community leaders are chosen as Guides to be able to help the community further. I can honestly say it isn't easy to reach this but it is well worth it if you work hard toward it :)

Some of those who have contributed to the isle as a Guide will make Mentor. The Mentors help with special projects and help us guardians in many tasks. The Mentors have proven themselves and their dedication to the isle and its community :)

Another role anyone can obtain is to become a Volunteer. We have a special role for this in the citizens group. Volunteers only need a desire to help out :)

So that is a brief over view of the other citizen group positions. If you ever want to discuss them with me I'm always willing to. :) Also if you need something, and you can't find any guardians around you can always seek the assistance of the Guides and Mentors. They are there to help you in any way they can :) And if they can't help you they know how to get hold of someone who can.

IoW Newspaper

The Isle newspaper is in the works! We have it starting to come together and do hope to have it ready to send out June 1st :) We need written contributions from any citizen who wants to offer assistance in this :) For more info you can either see me [Ed: Kalira Stromer] or Aradia (Editor) or Shannan (Manager) to answer your questions.

IoW Festival

The IoW Festival will happen on June 1st - 3rd This is going to be a massive event and we will be helping to raise money for Daryth's favourite Charity, St. Tiggywinkles. :) The festival will have an overall carnival feel and more... We will have fire works and live concerts and even a HUGE game of Hatchie Egg Roll. We will also have a scavenger hunt and an IoW Formal ball. :)

Some other things of interest are the Clan Demos if some of you are interested in joining some of the Isle RP Clans :) We will have clan demos at the festival for the Isle RP clans. This will give you the opportunity to see them in action and get info about them and also gives you the opportunity to join. :)

So keep your calendar marked for June 1st - 3rd. We will have some posters posted for it and some note cards passed around... Come and bring all your friends. And think about it as haven fun for a great cause. :D

IoW Drum and Story Circles

Lastly I would like to remind everyone of the Friday night events. Drum circles and Story circles alternating every week. Come and be a part of the community and get to know people and build friendships. :)

Question and Answer (Summary in Header, Full Text in Body)

An extensive Q&A session followed on from the speeches and announcements, where everyone present could ask questions. The Mayor took questions in IM and opened up the floor to anyone asking an interesting question that couldn't be answered through the usual Help Forum/Guide/Mentor/Guardian channels.

Each question and answer is posted in a brief form in the titles below, but often the body of the answer, and sometimes the question, will yield much more detail, so please do read the full entry for anything that catches your eye.

Q: Any updates on the Forest and Mech Dragons?

Asked by Savio Spinotti.

A: Forest is likely in May, Mech follows Forest

Daryth Kennedy: A good question ^.^ now that the steam dragon exists, I can say for certain the forest dragon will be before the Mech dragon, and most likely the next species released. However, there will be no new adult dragons in the month of April, if it does come out, May is probably the month for the Forest Dragon.

Daryth Kennedy: There is a really good chance that we will see a new AV yet this month, it just wont be an adult dragon ^.^ The Storm Draconian (Anthro storm dragon) is in the works, and I'm optimistically hoping to have egg out before the end of April ^.^

Q: Will there be a sim soon for a sandbox to fly in and games in the future?

Asked by FireFly Burns.

A: New OS Sims Within the Next Month, Cross-Sim games a Possibility

[Ed: OS as in the Openspaces initiative]

Onix Harbinger: I'll answer. Yes there is currently a large Sandbox in Limbo, but we are also continually expanding. We will soon have OS sims and new neighbors linking up with us, and over time we will grow even more. ^.^

Daryth Kennedy: Within the next month we'll be adding four new OS sims, expanding the isles eastwards & attaching to the chain of mature Elven sims :) cross-sim games that encompass the whole isle are a definite possibility ^.^ Kalira Stromer: My Clan will use all the sims on the Isle for events.

Q: Are Wyverns included in the main releases, when are Wyverlings available?

Asked by Skylarian. Original phrasing: "Are the Wyvern Adults included in the Solstice hatch and is there a timetable for the Wyverling size to be available?"

A: No, main releases are Dragons only. No ETA on Wyverlings, possibly "soon"

Daryth Kennedy: The Dragon Solstice and Equinox Hatchings have become a treasured & memorable event for dragons, and we've decided to keep this solely a dragon experience. Wyvern eggs for current species will actually come out whenever a new Wyvern species is born. The next planned wyvern species are currently Solar and Lunar, and they'll hatch sometime in the coming seasons, before the years end. When they do, 10 of each of the Arctic and Desert will also hatch :)

Daryth Kennedy: the Wyverlings seems to have escaped off to our newest sim to the wide open land to play, and haven't been seen for a while ... we assume they'll come back when they're hungry (Read: It's been a really busy season, I really hope to have them done soon but only time will tell)

Q: What happened to Daryth's other creations that used to be for sale?

Asked by GantMan Arrow. Original phrasing: "Okay, my question: I recall a time when Daryth sold flying pet dragons and other creations of hers here in the cathedral, I'm wondering if those will become available again in the near future?"

A: Flying pets are on SLX and SLB, updated versions in the works

[Ed: SLX is SL eXchange, SLB is SL Boutique]

Daryth Kennedy: The flying pets can still be found on SLX and SLB, although they have disappeared from the cathedral during renovations. There is an updated version in the works with flexi wings that flap and better flight scripts for more than one pet, so they don't crash into each other :)

Daryth Kennedy: as always updates will be free, things do often develop very slowly around here but luckily the end result has always been good ^.^ It is a land of dragons after all, no need to rush ;)

Q: Are the "Avatar Council" Groups being phased out? Why wasn't the Town Hall announced on them?

Asked by Khristen Lassard. Original phrasing: "I've been noticing a lot more other groups around and was wondering 1. Are the old Council groups being phased out gradually? and 2... What really are the Council groups meant for, if group IMs or notices, or even votes, are largely not used to any great extent?"

Khristen also went on to state "Can the powers that be, please... make some effort ot at least use the Council communication facilities... like maybe votes, since I know Notices won't work with such a large group, to make meetings like this known? [...] I almost missed this meeting because I am not here that often enough to have seen that rather large plaquard announcement."

A: The groups will continue to evolve, and IoW Citizens is the community channel

Onix Harbinger: We will continue to keep the Council of Wyrms, Wyrmlings, and Wyrm Hatchlings. They will continue to evolve with the new developments. We are currently undergoing some reorganization and will soon have a new High Council, which will contain the island community leaders and representatives from the Guild Hall (more on that another time). We are maintaining the various council groups though with the intent of providing future services, possible discounts, and other features to our customers.

Ed Note: The Council of Wyrms, Wyrmlings, and Wyrm Hatchlings help to organise/catalogue the owners of those type of avatars, and generally the only group notices that will be sent on those groups will be about updates to the avatar or possibly new related products. This is because of the simple fact that many people come to the Isles and purchase an avatar and really have no further interest in the community.

The Isle of Wyrms Citizens group was created specifically for those dragon owners who wish to self-identify as being actively interested in the community. This is the group where community events are most likely to be announced. We understand that the Linden Lab imposed ceiling of 25 groups can be limiting, and invite you to peruse the Official IoW Website or the Official IoW Forums to keep track of announcements if you cannot free up group space to join the Isle of Wyrms Citizens group.

Q: Wyoon Nico Compliments the Builders of the Crystal Cave under Club Dragon Inferno

Original statement from Wyoon Nico: " I would like the say My compliments go out to the person or persons responsible for the creation of the crystal cave of sorts under the dance club just left of here. It's nice. I totally missed it for the longest time. Wonderful creation."

A: It is a wonderful build, check it out sometime

Daryth Kennedy: its designed to be a relaxing spot for anyone to enjoy, Helena made the crystalls, they're brilliant ^.^ they slowly change colors based on the position of the sun, so the room is never exactly the same shade one moment to the next :)

Ryu Darragh: "I have a question. Will Helena be selling Crystals ? I have a weakness for shinies ^.^"

Daryth Kennedy: yes :D she'll have a vendor in the new market ^.^
Helena Lycia: I have 5 different varieties of crystals ready
Helena Lycia: They will be for sale in the market, once it's open (and I've created a new vendor)

Q: Are there New Openings in the Guild Hall?

Asked by David Itamae. Original phrasing: "Wanted to ask are there going to be anymore openings for storytellers and other artisans in the Guild Hall as there seem to be some with a real talent that should be noted."

A: Yes, the Guild Hall is very new, more to come on this Group

Daryth Kennedy: The Guild Hall is a new group but hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of it in action soon ^.^ There are four general guild roles: artisan, lorekeeper, storyteller/bard and guru, each one representing the various talents in the community, and each one represented by a Guildmaster seat on the new High Council. As the guilds become active, guildmasters and community leaders will be in charge of awarding Guild positions like Storytellers and lorekeepers :)

Savio Spinotti: What does the guru role entail?
Apollo Aridian: Guru is a technical role... anyone good with scripting and such.

Q: Are HUD Updates in the Works?

Asked by Dragyn Goodliffe. Original phrasing: "Do you have any idea when/if updates to the older-style egg-HUD dragons might be available? Been wanting to use the newer HUD for a long time :)"

A: Yes, being worked on. Upgrades will be free to avatar owners as per usual policy

Helena Lycia: We are working on the next generate of AVs and HUDs, and upgrades will be made available to existing dragons, wyrmlings & hatchies. Some of the new functionality appeared in the wyverns but it will be put into the other breeds in the near future. You won't have to buy a new dragon, there will be an upgrade path.