SAVE KIRSTEN'S VIEWER!

Kirsten's Viewer is the most beloved viewer by those of us that film or do photographs on Second Life.
Many of us who've depended on it were sad to hear that because family issues, the maker of Kirsten's is going to have to give it up. And us too.

However, the brilliant Second Life blogger Hamlet Au has come up with a smart solution. If the 8500 users of Kirsten's all donated $6, it would solve the family issue and Kirsten's would live.

PLEASE NOTE: The maker of Kirsten's has NOT suggested this. It was Hamlet Au who did.
But I think it's a really good cause.

What do you in our community think about holding a fundraiser for Kirsten's Viewer? Any suggestions?

And please read Hamlet's piece below to get all the details. Just click READ MORE below.

Kirstens' Viewer Development Could Continue - If Kirstens' 8500 Users Donated $6 Each!

Development on Kirsten's Viewer has currently been suspended, as I reported last week, but I recently learned that the developer of the popular and innovative third partySL viewer is more than willing to continue working on it. Coder Lee Quick (Kirstenlee Cinquetti in SL) had to suspend development only because his partner Dawny Daviau has health issues, and Lee needs to find full-time work to support her. However, Ms. Daviau told me after I asked, Lee could return to viewer development, if they received enough donations to cover their income shortfall:

"Lee only stops with developing to search for work and income," she tells me, "so if suddenly money comes along in donations etc. for 1 year... he would continue working on the viewer." She estimates USD $50,000 a year is sufficient. Though for the amount of high end code work he does for so many people, I personally think he can and should get twice that.

Because here's the thing: Kirstens' Viewer is used by about 8500 people. (That's the number of downloads the latest build got, Dawny tells me.) If each of those Kirstens Viewer users donated an average of $6, that would be more than enough to put Kirstens' Viewer back in business.

Let me stress that I'm the one suggesting this, not Dawny or Lee. "We don't want to beg," she tells me. "And to be honest, I would have no clue where to start and have no insight on how to proceed."

So what's the next step? I suggested to Dawny that they consider submitting Kirstens' Viewer as a Kickstarter entry, something they're looking into. But if you're one of the thousands who've come to admire and rely on the viewer for your SL activity and content creation, keep in mind there's a way to keep it going. For now, maybe go to the Kirsten site here, and register your moral support now, then hopefully follow with real dollar support.