I like to mix walls and open spaces in virtual reality. At the Kansas Library we have a large collection of information and resources outside the building set up in a garden-like setting. It works well. My first attempt at this a year ago created more of a garage sale look… something to avoid.

A the same time I think a building is workable if it is easily accessed by new virtual community members, bright enough inside to see things and with enough space to maneuver one’s avatar comfortably without major camera distortion…. and that’s a lot to ask within some virtual structures.

Walls can serve as wonderful backings enhancing displays and providing a sense of boundary in a world that often seems borderless and confusing to new residents.

The “great outdoors” offers an opportunity to set up larger displays and add natural effects such as tornadoes (we have one thundering through the Kansas Library territory a couple times a year), snow, falling autumnal leaves… the possibilities are endless. Resources can be set within flowers and other objects such as animals, stone tablets, etc. One of my favorite resource givers outside are singular stone walls with posters on them sitting among trees and flowers… sort of like a “Stations of the Cross” them but with statistics and links to information on Kansas within them rather than prayers.

Second Life has helped to remove some of the walls in my mind as to what is possible in serving my community. I still like the walls within that virtual world though. They prop up ideas, ideologies and have even inspired a few Kansans in Second Life to contact me and say, “Wow! You guys have a lot of cool stuff!”

Bill Sowers / Rocky Vallejo in SL