Rules and important info!
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Please read our page ABOUT The Challenge.
PROCEDURE:
1. A new theme is drawn at the beginning of every month.
The theme is selected randomly from a list – we do not know in advance what the next theme will be, we do not influence the theme and we do not handpick the theme. (If you would like to suggest themes for the master list, please contact Manuel Ormidale.)
2. If you wish to sign up for the upcoming round, please contact Paco Pooley.
Please note: if you don’t let us know know you are going to make something, we cannot include your store on our blog and the notecard we send to our shoppers!
3. Create your item(s)!
All items have to be home and garden items or according building resources, and they must follow the current theme.
Allowed are retail products or building resources (as applies) such as:
- furniture / decoration (including plants)
- buildings / prefabs
- textures
Not allowed in any form are:
clothes / footwear / accessories- body parts (skins, shapes, eyes, hair, etc.)
- appliers (nails, tattoos, furry mods, etc.)
- poses/animations without props
- stolen assets, copyright infringements
4. Each round starts at 0:00 am (midnight) SLT on the last day of the month.
Please note that the last day of the month is the first day of every sales round!
The only exception is December – due to the holidays, we start at midnight SLT on the 29th.
5. Blog deadline is at 12:00 pm (noon) SLT on the day before release.
We have to make sure the blog post is prepared and ready to launch before the next round starts. If you want us to promote your item, please send us your vendor in time. To blog your images properly and make them look good on the blog, we need to know who they’re from, what they’re for and most importantly, the format/resolution they’re in!
Submitting your vendor ads is easy:
– make sure the file is named as follows:
<your store name> – <your item name> – <picture format>
(example: [ht:home] the book tree 4-3,
[ht:home] – the book tree – 1024×768)
– send up to two images to corvus.szpiegel (at) gmail.com with the subject
“The Challenge – <current theme> – <your store name>”
COPYRIGHT:
Make sure you only use your own creations and/or licensed resources!
Everything made in RL is protected by copyright laws. EVERYTHING! This means, even if SecondLife is a virtual environment you cannot simply take a neat texture and use it for your items. This includes, but is not limited to
- posters
- photos
- RL brands (magazines, TV stations, music bands, manufacturers)
There also are furniture designs that are copyright protected as such. Not things like a simple chair, but signature pieces like:
- the Barcelona chair
- the Earl James lounger
LindenLab is VERY clear in their Terms of Service. You are UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES allowed to use designs and art for your SecondLife creations that is copyright protected in RL!
That is why our pinterest inspiration boards are meant FOR INSPIRATION ONLY! Do not make 1:1 copies of RL items shown there. You are among the most creative people of the grid. And you put hard work into your creations. Let your mind flow and just make something beautiful that does not exist in real life.
BUT I NEED A MAGAZINE OR RECORD COVER FOR MY CREATION:
SL imitates RL in many ways. If you want to create a record rack, you obviously need records. Do not take real life record covers for it. Make a picture inworld, invent a band and there you go – and the best part: being creative is fun!
For photos, use your own screenshots, browse your digital photo collection in your archive, mobile phone, etc. There sure is something pretty you can use – and YOU are the creator!
SO I CAN NOT USE ANY REAL LIFE STUFF FOR SL?
This is only half true. There are assets released under public domain or creative commons license. You can also use images, NO ONE has the copyright for, like flags or traffic signs. But spare yourself a lot of drama and headaches and do not use any artworks you didn’t make.
I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE TOS AND COPYRIGHT AT ALL
Well – the decision is yours. As organizers however, we cannot promote your shop if your items infringe any copyrights. And frankly – we do understand that mistakes CAN happen, but if we notice a shop commits copyright infringements more than once, we are very likely to undertake actions in order to protect the whole event!
The Challenge 