How to Manage Your Land - Complete Parcel Management Guide

Theory: Your Parcel's Central Command

Every parcel of land in Alife Virtual has a hidden control panel called the 'About Land' window. This is your central command for everything related to that specific piece of land. Anything you want to change—from the name of your home to who can visit—starts here. Before you can manage land, you must first understand how to access and interpret this vital tool.

To open it, simply stand on the land you own or manage, right-click the ground, and select 'About Land' from the pie menu. The window that appears is organized into several tabs, each controlling a different aspect of your parcel. In this first lesson, we will focus on the most fundamental tab: General.

Step-by-Step Instructions: The General Tab

1. Open the 'About Land' Window:

   Stand on your parcel. Right-click the ground beneath your avatar and select 'About Land'. A new window will pop up. Ensure the 'GENERAL' tab is selected.

2. Name and Description:

   At the top, you'll see fields for Name and Description. This is incredibly important! The Name is what appears at the top of your screen and in world search results. Make it descriptive (e.g., "Cartier's Beach House"). The Description provides more detail for visitors and search. You can include information about your shop, home, or venue here. Fill these in now.

3. Owner Information:

   The Owner: field shows who currently owns the land. If you deed the land to a group (which we'll cover later), this will show the group's name. You cannot change this directly; ownership is changed through selling or deeding.

4. Setting a Landing Point:

   When people teleport to your parcel, where do they arrive? The Landing Point setting controls this. By default, it's the center of the parcel. To create a specific arrival spot (like a welcome mat), click the Set button. Your cursor will change. Now, left-click the exact spot on the ground where you want visitors to land. This is crucial for creating a good first impression.

5. Controlling Teleport Routing:

   Below the Landing Point, you'll see Teleport Routing. This has two main options:

   • Landing Point: This is the standard setting. It forces all teleports to your designated landing spot. Use this to guide visitors.
   • Blocked: This prevents anyone (except the owner) from teleporting directly onto your parcel. They will be redirected to the nearest available parcel. This is useful for high-security areas or private events where you want entry controlled through a specific door or teleporter object.
6. Selling Your Land (Optional):

   The For Sale section is straightforward. If you check Sell land to:, you can set a price in Lindens (L$) and specify if Anyone or a Specific person: can buy it. This is how you transfer ownership for a fee.

Theory: Your Virtual Bouncer

Now that you've labeled your land and set a welcome mat, it's time to hire a bouncer. The Access and Options tabs are the heart of parcel security. They control who can enter your land and what they can do once they're there. Misunderstanding these settings can lead to everything from unwanted visitors to your land being covered in junk ("griefing objects"). This lesson will give you complete control over your parcel's population and their activities.

Advanced Technique: The Access Tab

Click on the 'ACCESS' tab in the 'About Land' window. This is your guest list.

• Public Access: The checkbox at the top, Allow public access, is the master switch. If unchecked, only the owner, group members (if applicable), and people on the 'Allowed' list can enter.
• Group Access: This is one of the most powerful features. You can "deed" your land to a group you own or have rights in.
  1. Click the Set... button next to 'Group:'.
  2. Choose the desired group and click OK.
  3. Check the box Allow group members to.... This gives access to all members of that group. You can then control their specific permissions (like building) through group roles, which offers much more granular control than adding individuals. Best Practice: For any shared land (businesses, family homes), always use group deeding instead of individual access lists.
• Specific Access Lists:
  • Allowed Residents: This is your VIP list. Anyone added here can enter your parcel, even if public access is turned off. Click Add..., use the search to find the person, and add them.
  • Banned Residents: This is the ban list. Anyone on this list is denied entry, period. They will be blocked from walking or teleporting onto your parcel. This is your primary tool for removing disruptive individuals.

Advanced Technique: The Options Tab

Click on the 'OPTIONS' tab. This controls actions, not just presence.

• Avatar Permissions (Very Important!):
  • Create objects: Allows visitors to rez (create) objects. For a public store, you want this OFF for 'Everyone'. For a sandbox, you want this ON for the appropriate group.
  • Object entry: Allows objects owned by others to cross onto your land. If you uncheck this for 'Everyone', a person driving a car won't be able to drive onto your parcel.
  • Run scripts: Determines whose scripts can run. It's generally safe to leave this on, but for high-security areas, you might restrict it to group-owned objects only.
• Object Management:
  • Auto return other residents' objects (minutes): This is your automatic cleanup tool. Any object not owned by you or your group will be returned to its owner's inventory after the specified number of minutes. For a busy public area, a low number (e.g., 15-30 minutes) is essential to keep the land clear of abandoned items. For a private home, a higher number or zero might be fine.
  • Show place in Search: Uncheck this if you want your parcel to be unlisted and private.

Practical Examples

• Private Home: Uncheck Allow public access. Add your close friends to the 'Allowed Residents' list. Set Auto return to 60 minutes to clean up any accidentally rezzed items.
• Public Store: Check Allow public access. Uncheck Create objects for 'Everyone'. Deed the land to your business group and allow group members to Create objects so they can place vendors and displays.
• Community Sandbox: Check Allow public access. Deed the land to a "Builders" group. In the 'Options' tab, allow Everyone to have Object entry, but only allow Group to Create objects. Set Auto return to 120 minutes to give people time to work.

Theory: Crafting an Immersive Experience

You've secured your land and controlled its use. Now for the fun part: aesthetics and atmosphere. A great virtual space appeals to the senses. The remaining tabs—Environment, Media, and Sound—allow you to become a virtual world cinematographer, sound designer, and DJ, all from the 'About Land' window. These settings are what separate a generic plot of land from a truly memorable destination.

Advanced Application: The Environment Tab

This tab lets you override the region's default settings for sky and water. It's how you can have a parcel that is perpetually midnight next to one that is in broad daylight.

• Sky Settings (Windlight):

  By default, your parcel uses the 'Region Default' sky. To set a custom sky, select Customize my environment.

  • Use Sky Presets: The easiest method. The dropdown menu contains dozens of pre-configured sky environments, from [TOR] Big Sky to [NB] Nite. Experiment with these to find a mood you like. This is a powerful and quick way to dramatically change the feel of your land.
  • Advanced Sky Editing: For ultimate control, you can click Edit... to open the full Environment Editor, where you can tweak every conceivable parameter from sun position and color to cloud density and movement. This is an advanced topic in itself, but feel free to explore!
• Water Settings: Similar to the sky, you can use a preset or click Edit... to customize the water's color, fog, and wave direction. This is perfect for creating mystical lakes, murky swamps, or crystal-clear tropical seas.
• Ground Textures: You can even change the default ground textures for your parcel. Click on the texture swatches to open the texture picker and select new ones.

Advanced Application: The Media Tab

This tab turns your parcel into a media player. You can stream music for a club, display a webpage for a business, or play a video for a theater.

• Music URL: Find an internet radio stream URL (often ending in .mp3 or a specific port number) and paste it into this field. When visitors arrive, they will be prompted to play the music stream. This is essential for clubs, stores, and themed areas.
• Media URL: This is for visual media. Paste a URL to a website (e.g., your store's blog) or a direct link to a video file (like an .mp4).
  • To display this media, you need a prim surface. Rez a prim, edit it, and go to the Texture tab. Change the texture to 'Media'. The URL you set in 'About Land' will now display on that prim.
  • You can control the size, type, and permissions for the media here.

Best Practice: The Sound Tab

This simple tab can greatly improve the quality of life on your parcel. It allows you to restrict avatar-generated sounds (like from gestures or noisy attachments) and collision sounds. For a quiet library or peaceful garden, checking Restrict avatar sounds to this parcel can be a blessing.

Real-World Scenarios

• Nightclub: Set the Environment to a dark sky preset like [AD] Midnight. Set the Media -> Music URL to your DJ's live stream. Restrict avatar sounds in the Sound tab to prevent gesture spam from drowning out the music.
• Art Gallery: Set a clean, bright sky like [TOR] Big Sky. Set the Media -> Media URL to the artist's portfolio website, and display it on a prim near the entrance.
• Haunted Forest: Set the Environment to a foggy, dark preset. Find a spooky ambient sound loop and set it as the Music URL. Block teleports in the General tab to force visitors to walk in from a specific entrance.