OSgrid residents hope to save the grid’s history before it closes

As OSgrid counts down to its December 31 shutdown, residents and longtime visitors are asking whether its oldest landmarks can be saved somewhere else — and remembering what the grid meant to them.

“I sincerely hope there’ll be a way to save some of the historic sites in OSgrid and keep them alive,” Jupiter Rowland said in a post on OpenSimWorld.

OSgrid, which announced on Monday that it is closing after 19 years, is one of the last grids old enough that its residents built their own content, Rowland said, “instead of just resorting to ripped Second Life stuff.”

Rowland singled out Wright Plaza, the grid’s longtime office and meeting hub.

“Wright Plaza, for example, deserves to live on elsewhere, stocked shops and all,” Rowland said. “It offers the last remnants of Lani, of the ArcadiaShop, of Encantada, three great freebie sims full of original content that have perished.”

Hypergrid address: hg.osgrid.org:80:Wright Plaza

OSgrid is also home to the last two surviving places from the Metropolis grid, Condensation Land and LibDescent, Rowland said. Metropolis closed in 2022.

Longtime resident and virtual artist Koni Lanzius, who has been on OSgrid for 16 years, said she wants the same thing.

“I’m hoping we can find a way to preserve all the history and creations built there over the years,” Lanzius told Hypergrid Business.

I’ve contacted the OSgrid admins about what will happen to the plazas and other important builds, and how they recommend that residents export their content. I haven’t heard back yet, but I’ll update this story when I do.

The town square

For many in the community, OSgrid was where OpenSim began.

“For many of us, OSgrid was the town square of OpenSim — the place where you could always find room, meet friends and test things,” said Milton Teixeira da Silva, owner of Virtual Life Brasil. “Losing it is a loss for every grid, not only for its residents.”

Gudule Lapointe, owner of Speculoos World, remembers when OSgrid was the only place to meet other people.

“In the early days, it was the only place where one could hope to meet others — beyond the confines of our own small, empty virtual worlds,” Lapointe told Hypergrid Business. “They were the community!”

Many of today’s grid owners got their start there, said Lone Wolf owner of Wolf Territories Grid.

“OSgrid has been the open front door to OpenSimulator for many years,” Lone Wolf told Hypergrid Business. “A huge number of today’s creators, grid owners and hosting providers, us included, learned the ropes there.”

Myron Curtis, owner of Virtual Worlds Grid, called OSgrid the “glue” of the virtual world industry.

OSgrid was also where new versions of OpenSim got tested at scale, Lapointe said, running code somewhere between the latest stable release and the development build.

“Where does the test bed for future development go now?” Spax Orion asked in a post on OpenSimWorld.

Serra Royale, head of Mobius Grid, has been hypergridding to OSgrid for more than 13 years.

“Lbsa Plaza is one of my favorite places to go and just hang out when I had time to do so,” Royale told Hypergrid Business. “Even if gone physically, OSgrid won’t be gone from history or our memories.”

Hypergrid address: hg.osgrid.org:80:LBSA Plaza

Geir Nøklebye, developer of the Dayturn viewer, says that he’s had an OSgrid account since 2008.

“I am sure people will make new grids and hypergrid destinations, but it is sad obviously,” Nøklebye told Hypergrid Business.

Fred Beckhusen, developer of the DreamGrid OpenSim installer at Outworldz, has been on OSgrid even longer.

“It’s a huge loss,” Beckhusen told Hypergrid Business. “I started there 17 years ago. And still have my first region from there.”

DJTommy Seetan of 3rd Life Grid thanked OSgrid’s volunteers — and one in particular.

“I want to say thank you to everyone for everything they have done,” Seetan told Hypergrid Business. Seetan also thanked OSgrid’s Fox Bode for helping fix a problem Seetan hadn’t been able to solve.

“When we lose a grid like OSgrid, we lose a piece of OpenSimulator’s history,” said Marianna Monentes, owner of Three Hills Grid.

Second Life’s lifeboat

For some Second Life users, OSgrid was an insurance policy.

“One of the few options for us to retreat to when the private equity company who owns Linden Lab decides Second Life isn’t profitable anymore,” SkylerPancake said in a post on Reddit. “This is a real shame for so many reasons.”

The user who started that Reddit thread, 0xc0ffea, wasn’t so sure OSgrid could have handled it.

“It was never going to be an effective lifeboat,” 0xc0ffea said in a post on Reddit. “Chances are OSgrid would have sunk it ten mins after Second Life closed its doors.”

Others were just sad.

“Guess I won’t be finishing that house I was building over there after all,” Alastors_Lil_Doe said in a post on Reddit.

Not everyone is mourning

Some say the grid had already changed.

“It is really a shame that OSgrid will be closing, but it has not been the same for quite a few years,” Neverworld admin Govega Sachertorte told Hypergrid Business. “OSgrid went from no moderation whatsoever to banning constantly.”

But most of the reactions were supportive of the grid.

“Nothing lasts forever; it was a wonderful adventure,” Hicks said in a post on OpenSimWorld. “I met some great people and will cherish the memories.”

OSgrid will hold a final membership meeting this Sunday, October 18, at 11 a.m. Pacific time at Hurliman Plaza, according to the grid’s announcement.

Hypergrid address: hg.osgrid.org:80:Hurliman Plaza

“Remember we are a community, and OpenSim is bigger than any one grid,” Leonitas Lionheart said in a post on OpenSimWorld.