All very reasonable points, Remy.

 

I would encourage anyone dabbling with OpenSim to check out not only Kitely (free region + 2 hours per month; upload/download region content as OAR files) but also Dreamland Metaverse whose web interface does a lot more besides (save load IAR inventory files, create default preloaded avatars, assign student accounts with name and password via CSV file specifying aformentioned avatar(s) and start locations). There's no setup fee so it's not a major investment/risk and, indeed, I fully intend to come and go as need dictates. It goes without saying that I have no financial connection with the company other than as a largely satisfied customer.

 

My talk next week has the words "construction kit for microbiology" in its title which is tempting fate more than a little but I am pushing the idea that we can identify generic uses and then come up with a workflow to assemble the region with less hassle than has hitherto been the case. That presupposes the notion that we have a library of OARs, content and, from a class-specific perspective, IARs and associated support docs. There are fledgling lists of such resources that I and others are trying to generate and I envisage some cool drag-and-drop web interface (with a social component) being used to configure and assemble these goodies, at least to a first approximation.

 

The reponse I'm expecting next week is "dream on" or similar -- there is too much chicken-and-egg in the argument. On the other hand I do think some strategic thinking is necessary to try and shift us from the hand-crafted to the industrial-scale, albeit that there will always be a need for the hand-crafted too.

 

Best wishes

 

Peter