Overview

Q: Does the Sister Cities and Friends program really work?
A: Yes. 86% of members report immediate increases within the first week of being added to the sign boards. Increases include new registrants arriving from SL Help Island sims and experienced residents arriving from other member sims.

Q: How do I become a member of Sister Cities and Friends in SL?
A: Read the membership information page. Then IM one of our resident management team.

Q: What does "Sister Cities and Friends" mean?
A: A "city" is a themed, realistic recreation of a real-world urban location, including structures, plazas, terraforming, landscaping, and roads. A "friend" is a themed recreation of special interest such as a luxury ocean liner. All locations have quality themed builds, weekly activity schedules, friendly staff, and growing community bases.

Linden Lab

Q: What is the relationship of Sister Cities and Friends in SL to Linden Lab?
A: Sister Cities and Friends and Linden Lab have overlapping interests regarding growth and sustainability of community. New registrants need friendly, safe, positive arrival points in Second Life. These are provided by Second Life Community Gateways, a program managed by Linden Lab, and Sister Cities and Friends in SL, a program managed by Residents. New residents are more likely to return to SL if they experience friendly greetings and orientations from veteran residents. “Newbies” will then come back to explore further the rest of the Second Life Grid, knowing they always have a safe “home base”.

Becoming a Member

Q: Is there a financial cost to become a member of Sister Cities and Friends?
A: There is no charge to be a member of Sister Cities and Friends Online but eligibility requirements must be maintained.

Q: Can anyone become a member of Sister Cities and Friends?
A: To be eligible a sim owner must:
     a) Be established with a themed sim build
     b) Maintain a weekly activity schedule and growing community base
     c) Provide new residents a friendly, safe, positive "first experience" of SL
     d) Sign a Memo of Understanding
     e) Provide sim promotional materials
     f) Allow placing a networked teleport sign board in a public location on the sim
     g) Meet from time to time with an operations team member.

Q: I am a very experienced sim owner - what benefit would I get from Sister Cities and Friends?
A: Owners benefit by providing broader exposure for their designers, artists, venues and events, especially for new residents.

Q: I am a very new sim owner - what benefit would I get from Sister Cities and Friends?
A: The operations team offers counsel to owners in operating efficient, sustainable sims. This counsel is optional and at no charge, and is offered for as long as an owner is receptive and finds it helpful.

Q: I have a fantasy / abstract / imagination themed build. Can I become a member?
A: Yes. Any theme is eligible if you have quality builds, weekly activity schedules, friendly staff, and a growing community base.

Q: Can sims with similar themes but different owners both be members?
A: Yes.

Q: What if I want to leave the Sister Cities and Friends program?
A: You may leave at any time by notifying one of our management team. We will remove your promotional materials from the network.

Teleport Sign Boards

Q: Why does SCF use teleport sign boards?
A: The teleport sign boards literally network the best themed social networking sims in Second Life™. They give new and experienced residents an easy-to-use, easy-to-find fast transport system from SL Help Islands to SCF Members; and from one member to another.

Q: Do I have to have a networked teleport sign board on my sim?
A: Yes. In addition, the sign must be owned by the SCF management team (Sitearm Madonna) because it is part of an overall network, and it must be set to your sim management group. The team will leave your sim management group after the sign is placed.

Q: What if I don't like putting the networked teleport sign board at my sim central arrival point?
A: Recommended location is where newcomers, arriving, will see something cool in your sim that makes them immediately want to stay. Also where they can easily see and find the sign again.

Q: Why don't the signs give out gifts, notecards, navigation hud's and the like?
A: SCF signs are designed to attract and teleport residents to your sim as quickly as possible without any delay. The instant a guest arrives at your sim, they should then be able to see your activity schedule, gift givers, staff, and other useful orientation items.

Q: What if I don't like the way the teleport sign board looks?
A: Sister Cities and Friends Online reserves the right to control sign board layout. We have prim limits we have to observe to be on the SL Help Islands and we have to try to "fit in" to a multitude of member styles. The board is set to Share with Group so that you can texture the backboard prims, if desired, to fit with your sim style. The member images are server controlled and can't be changed.

Q: What if I don't like the position of my image on the teleport sign board?
A: Sister Cities and Friends Online reserves the right to control sign board layout including number of members visible at one time and sequence. Members are displayed in alphabetical order in groups of 12 which cycle every 72 seconds. Each member image is shown on a preview panel that cycles every 6 seconds.

Sister Cities and Friends adjusts teleport sign boards regularly based on the counsel of Linden Lab and testers on the SL Help Islands. Data to date show a net increase in visitors for all members of SCF, in addition to visitors from their other sources of attraction. There are multiple factors that impact traffic and you can read about some of them here.

Other

Q: What if I want to help Sister Cities and Friends Online?
A: We are always looking for new members who understand the benefits and agreements and want to be members. Let them know about us and about your experience. When referring other sims use the "TWF Guideline", which is:
   "T" = Themed Build (quality build, recognizable theme);
   "W" = Weekly Events (one or more scheduled events a week);
   "F" = Friendly Staff (staff or members, readily findable).

Q: How else could I help?
A: We would like to include all languages in Sister Cities and Friends. If you have a Home Language other than English and would like to help us bring in other countries, let us know.

Q: What if I have ideas to improve Sister Cities and Friends Online?
A: The management team meets regularly to discuss new members and ideas. Let them know your idea. If you're willing to put your actions behind your ideas we may even recruit you.

Q: What if I want to talk to other members?
A: Members are listed in the Sister Cities Online Group so that you can identify and IM them. There are also quarterly Mayor's Meetings scheduled for entertainment, updates, and networking.

Q: What if I don't want to but I want to tell others about these cities?
A: Show them the Members Page which gives pictures and direct teleport links:
     http://www.sistercitiessl.com/members.htm

Q: What if I want to add a link to Sister Cities and Friends Online from my web site or blog?
A: Here is a sample image and code you can use "as is", or adjust to suit:

Sister Cities and Friends Online!

Dublin Online - Trinity Area

Groningen Online - Centrum Plaza

San Diego Online - California Plaza

 Berlin Online - Alexanderplatz