SL mourns Virginia Tech

The world was shocked upon hearing news of another shootout at a US school. This time Virginia Tech in Blacksburg was the stage of horror. The horror and grief is real, there's nothing virtual about it. In Second Life however people teamed up to mourn together and memorials were set up.

Some examples (from SLNN)

• Forcythia Wishbringer, head of Elf Circle, with more than 600 members, turned the lights off in her sims starting at 7:22 p.m. for 24 hours in respect for those who died.


• At Info Island, a memorial was erected, where people could take a candle and leave flowers. A sculpture of a man on his knees, and arms raised in the air as if he were asking "why?" was created by Darrien Lightworker.


• A memorial site was set up at Commons in the sim Kula. A long wooden table holds 33 lit candles, one for each of the people who died in the tragedy. Residents gathered for a candlelight vigil at about 8 p.m. SL time.

When we're writing on Web 2.0 and all shout that it's about You and about creating communities it can sound very technical. These memorials are a fine example of how emotionally involved people are and their need to share grief. Second Life isn't a fun-site, it's a life-site where ups and downs are shared and can act als a katalyst.