I find myself inside a gothic building at the HQ of SL Goth, a website and inworld magazine dedicated to all things gothic in Second Life. The magazine describes itself as :
slGoth Magazine is an independent showcase of gothic Second Life residents, places, philosophy, fashion, entertainment and events. The articles are written by resident avatars and cover a variety of topics in the gothic community. It is published monthly in-world and is a wearable HUD which supplies landmarks and gifts from sponsors.
I’m joined by Editior in Chief of SL Goth, Marsha Warwillow. The magazine was launched in June 2009 further editions appeared in July and August of that year. The fourth edition appeared in May 2010, with further editions appearing in June and July of that year and then Marsha took a break from Second Life.
The magazine reappeared along with Marsha in August 2014 with a HP Lovecraft special edition and since then there have been editions in September, October, November and December 2014 as well as January 2015.
I ask Marsha about the return of the magazine, she pauses and then replies :
“Well, some people enjoy building and making things in Second Life. Some people DJ, dance, hang out, take pictures, etc. My thrill is making magazines, and I love goth culture, so it seemed a fun way to explore goth/dark SL and learn new things and just basically document it as I went along.
But it became collaborative, and I do not write at all really any more, it’s based on submissions and people who volunteer to contribute now.”
How many people are involved, I ask Marsha, “It varies from month to month, I call it “an open invitation” and send out a theme note, people respond who are interested and have time and are inspired.” she replies.
Sl Goth has a website and inworld publication, I ask Marsha about the challenges of the inworld version compared to the website, she pauses and then tells me :
“Hmm… with the in-world magazine, making edits is a bit harder after it is published, and adding to it. It IS possible to do just a lot more work compared to simply editing the text on a webpage. Also the magazine contains gifts from Sponsors. There’s a bit of a process with that, and it’s not always easy, but worth it.”
The magazine, I note contains stories as well as in depth interviews, Marsha is happy to talk about that :
“That’s all the people who contribute, they are brilliant and talented. Some of them are real life writers, and some just do it for fun. I love that it is a mix that reflects the community here and SL in particular such a variety of people with different experiences, perspectives, and the way they express themselves.
I do not write very much as I do not think of myself as especially creative with words. I do like to do an interview each month (it doesn’t always happen), and sometimes on rare occasion I write a little something I put in the back section “Goth Coffee””
SL Goth recently ran an event entitled The Timekiller Festival, I ask Marsha whose idea that was and what was the inspiration for it, she replies :
“That was my idea. I felt after the frenetic holidays, January was kind of a slow month, with not a lot happening. So just decided to have something fun for the goth community to do. As for the time theme, I have always loved New Year, the idea of self-reflection, of the past and future.
The creators who participated said they enjoyed it being a small event where they did not feel a lot of pressure, also the space is cozy and everyone had a fair view of booths. Visitors said they liked the free gifts many of the vendors had, as well as we had video concerts, DJ’s, and live storytelling on some of the days. I think there were a lot of new people who enjoyed it as a small introduction to gothic SL.”
I ask Marsha about the SL Goth scene in Second Life, Marsha admits she certainly not an expert on all aspects of the scene, but she does have some knowledge :
“I think it comes and goes, just like RL. We actually have an active community, I would say the core group is The Elder Goth Macabre with over 900 members. That’s really the central communication hub for at least my small section of the gothic world. I do not claim to know all about all the goths in SL in fact I would say I only know a fraction of it, since many groups do their own thing.
The clubs are also a main hang out, and there are about… hmm 5-6 active clubs. That I’m familiar with, at least. I list the clubs in the back of slGoth Magazine that play goth, industrial and ebm music. Since that to me is what a RL goth club plays. My favorites would be La Danse Macabre, the owner there is very progressive about ideas on how to bring community together. All of the clubs in the club list are good places and each have their plusses. I think if you’re really into old school goth you would like a new one Gothique13, or Club Gothika. If you prefer electronic/industrial, Club Industry, Rivetz… and there are some others.”
I then ask Marsha the all important question, when is the next edition of SL Goth due out? Marsha smiles and then replies,
“The 1st! Hopefully 🙂 Sometimes I’m a little late. But I think it will be on time.”
I decide that it’s time to take a break from our interview at this stage, which surprises Marsha as she tells me that she didn’t realise she was being interviewed. I can’t tell if she is being mischievous or not. However I will get to know Marsha a bit better in the second part of this interview.
SLURL To SL Goth : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snow%20Crash/44/42/21
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