Possessions

Possessions. I've been thinking a lot about "things" this last week. I am not someone who defines herself by the things she can touch. For me it is more about knowledge and experience -- what I can do, times I can remember. Still losing 2,500 items all in one heartbeat was pretty devastating. Happily, there have been so many wonderful things happening this week that it is difficult to hold on to that feeling of depression. The Universe works in mysterious ways; there is no doubt about it.

How it all happened is still a process I cannot comprehend, but in the spirit of helping I wanted to document a few things and put forth a little advice for those of you that care enough about your possessions to keep them as safe as possible. I estimate I lost about $1,000 US dollars worth of goods last week. Luckily my backup folder reappeared mysteriously so maybe only $800 now. Some designers sent me replacements (no, I didn't ask) and other items trickled into very unexpected places.

Inventory Protection 101:

Much of this isn't news. Most of us know to keep backups when we can -- at least of our favorite things. So Step One is making a folder called "backups" otherwise known as the first line of defense should the database zombies get out of their cages again and play havoc with our stuff. (See the Bayou is rubbing off on me already!).  You can simply dump everything in one folder or make subfolders for household, clothes, hair etc.. Your choice.

Step Two is to create a box or two for the things you really don't want to loose. This only works for copy items of course. BE SURE to create a brand new box for each collection. I thought I was so clever a couple of years ago (yes, this has happened before) and rezzed a book I had made. I filled it with backups and congratulated myself of thinking ahead while not wasting a prim on an ugly box I would hide. In The Lab's wisdom, they replaced the FILLED book with a previous EMPTY copy of the book. I have no idea when this happened, but after the meltdown in April 2009 I went to unpack my "protected" items to find they were all gone.

Step Three is more of a philosophical choice. Only buy no copy items that you can rez. This is impractical in effect, but the idea is there. While I have personally seen no copy items disappear right before my eyes from my own property, the likelihood is much less. If you have something you dearly love that is irreplaceable keep it close and rezzed. The next safest place is stored in a  rezzed keepsake box (see Step Two).

In case of inventory emergency watch for:

Items return in very unexpected places. I had many reappear in my TRASH folder and only caught them be accident (or at least some - who knows?). If you are in the aftermath of a loss, empty your trash often to keep it small but ONLY after you have looked through the contents. I found my whole retail folder in there right after I noticed my House and Garden one was gone.

Single items come back in trash and objects folders and sometimes lost and found. The also show up in very bizarre places like pantyhose in animations. Keep a vigilant eye on your inventory folders and watch for any returns.

If you keep any coalesced (soft linked) items, rez them in the sandbox to happily find things that have gone missing.

Note that during times of database stress objects can become unstable -- even items that you didn't lose. Watch for scripts that no longer work, textures that are doing very odd things. This can happen on products you sell and also those rezzed in world depending on the severity of the asset server's tummy ache.

Viewer and inventory count thoughts:

I am all for a sleek and slim inventory and toss daily as well as going through everything periodically for a good purge. I still believe in keeping only what I think I will use in the future. That being said, keeping backups is still high on my list. Original boxes from the designer are best. So if I have five copies of a item, I may just leave them from now on. The more places things reside, the safer they are.

For those of you in Viewer 2 (apparently only 20% for the official viewer but Viewer 2 third parties count here too) consider logging in with an older viewer to make the old fashioned type of outfits.  These will count against your inventory items of course, but will offer protection of your favorites. I lost my "belts" folder along the way but found most of my best loved belts in outfits.

Adversity teaches us. Sometimes it is painful along the way, but knowledge is most often worth the price.

Moving forward.

Style Notes: 

Hair: Amacci Hair Shyla ~ Hazelnut
Skin: [:T:] Zoe / sunkissed :: 02 Purity
Clothing: ::GB::DenimShirt White; HellBop - Walter (NLA)
Shoes: *FIR & MNA* Wellies SH Unisex


Poses by: Cheeky Pea Pottery Bench