I just wanted to post this to hopefully bring awareness to a special event that is happening this weekend. CodeBastard Redgrave (Codie) of Rouge Estates is having an event with several cool designers and DJ’s as you can see above in the poster. If you are wanting to get involved you can contact the very lovely Gidge Uriza.
My personal experience with Rouge, (that is when I do manage to make it out of my skybox) is that its a very friendly place and it is well decorated and the music is always great. I mean I can remember it from my much earlier days of Second Life and it has remained a consistent place and it would be really sad if we as a community just let it go. I mean there are less and less cool places to hang out around the grid and we don’t want to lose another one. So if you have time this weekend please do visit.. listen to some music, donate if you can and shop!
I am going to post what Codie her self said on flickr.. and if you can please repost this so as many people as possible can come and support Rouge. Thank you so much.
It’s been more than 4 years now that I have been running Rouge and it’s estates. It’s been a long, great run. We’ve been luckier than most. Rouge always made it’s tiers essentially from my sales from MechanizedLife products, and donations from most generous patrons.
But the things, they are a changing. I am no longer inworld as much as I was. We do less regular events, but we’re still here. Rouge is still there, by some kind of miracle, like a flagship for memorable parties and gatherings.
It started with a million Lindens, and during the years, tiers ate that reserve completely dry, until we lived pretty much month to month. However, the economy being what it is, I saw a sharp decline in our sales in the last year, but it culminated in the last 2 months, where for the first time since the beginning of this adventure, I had to pay tiers almost entirely out of pocket.
Of course, the economy is what it is. It affected both RL and SL. Thing is, even with all my good will, I cannot afford paying for a private region, which is half of my RL rent, to maintain a giant lady sculpture in a virtual world – as beautiful as she is.
To be honest, there are much more worthy causes. I rather you donate to cancer research, or for a cure to shingles. However, I have a hard time letting Rouge go because of all the memories, but if I have no other choice, I will have to. This said, if we go out the door, we will go with a bang. We won’t go without busting a hole in the grid. We won’t go without a scream, without a fight, and without lots of dry humping.
Rouge has always been your home as well as mine. I always envisioned it as an open society. I always offered the place for free for anyone that wanted to do any kind of event or party. I always refused to charge anything for access, membership, or anything. It never had any business plan. It always aimed to be inclusive to all types of people, no matter who or what you are in real life. I always wanted it to be a safe haven from the chaos of the grid, and from the chaos of life. Something perpetually beautiful and especially something completely out of the ordinary.
I think we delivered. And if you people let us, we will deliver again.
Rouge is also one of the last independent estates in SecondLife that does not belong to a land baron. We are the 99%. We are that red stain on the map that won’t go away. We are the proud underdog.
No matter what happens in the next weeks, I’m eternally grateful. Even if we lose our home, I will always cherish the memories. I will always remember how generous people are. I don’t know what the future has for us, but from the reaction I got, I feel it may be brighter than expected. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings.
Just in the last week, I was ready to give up the keys, as my balance was completely dry and getting closer to tiers. In matters of days, people like you dropped enough in my mailbox to pay for this next month’s tiers. People have gathered and initiated this special event, I ❤ ROUGE, as an attempt to save it. This alone made me realize that it was all worth it. All this work made some people happy. And that is more I could have ever asked for Rouge.
So, no matter what happens, we will rock the casbah. We will drive the asset servers insane. We will make so much noise the neighbors will hear us and call the e-cops. We will shake it up around the clock until we crumble with exhaustion. We will get so shitfaced we won’t even remember our names. We will live it up, one more time, hopefully not the last time…
We are Rouge. We are one. We won’t go without a bang.
Now, let’s do this.
Sincerely,
CodeBastard Redgrave
Rouge Estates
Sylvia Olivier 