From the November 7, 2007 version of the "About Land" Covenant text in Caledon:

Visitor’s introduction:

Caledon is a 19th century Steampunk Victorian nation-state!

A small, windswept isle at a temperate latitude with wild creatures, country estate life, and sights and sounds that were common well over 100 years ago.

- 19th century period clothing, politeness, and activities are smiled upon, but "just being yourself" is more than good enough.

- Though most sims are rated Mature, common decency and classy behaviour are expected and required in public areas.

- We have a very *real* society here. Everything from humble shopkeepers, inventors, clothiers, writers, explorers, titled gentry, doctors, tavern keepers… you name it! As fascinating as everyone else is, the biggest discovery might be who you become.

- Caledon has been blessed by its residents: deservedly famous artisans, the incredible shopping, the landmark Caledon Trolley. All of this added up to some of the most desirable addresses on the grid - not for being posh, but loveliness and warmth. We regularly host incredible seasonal and cultural events – consider yourself invited!

- New to the grid? Pop by our nation’s capital (Victoria City) to find many free items there offered up by generous clothiers, inventors and just plain nice people. You’ll fit right in, and please consider yourself a guest of honour. Interested in citizenship? Drop Desmond Shang a notecard (Inventory button, Create menu, Notecard) – drop it to my profile in Search People and I’ll add you to our group – you will be able to hear our community notices and conversations.

Have a great time!

LANDED CITIZEN INFORMATION:
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING SECTION FIRST!!!!

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Regarding Residency here:

1) Caledon sims (regions) are private island sims. Many sims use telehubs and share a common theme.

2) No refunds. Read this entire document carefully!

3) Sims may vary in tier rates, due to the 15 Nov 2006 price change for servers. Also, some sims may be urban or rural environments – make sure to look up the specific sim theme in this document for additional details.

4) Recently, in a ‘town hall’ meeting our service provider mentioned a sixty day notice should sim tier increase – such things usually aren’t mentioned unless a tier increase is a possibility. I hope everyone understands that if Caledon’s tier fees change, or we need to upgrade in order to stay competitive, land fees have to change comparatively in affected regions. Any such changes would not be done casually.

5) Communication and notices will be done primarily via group notice in the Independent State of Caledon Group. If you choose not to be a member of that group, there will be a ‘recent notices’ notecard giver on the first floor of the Guvnah’s Mansion in Caledon VictoriaCity, (southeast corner of the sim).

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Document date: Proceeds from 1 Sept 07; supercedes all prior covenants.

Recent changes 18 Oct 07:
- mentioned possibility of service provider tier charge changes
- mentioned common practise communication and notices method
- updated covenant to include further sim names, descriptions and rates
- updated history section.

OVERARCHING NATIONAL THEME:

a) Caledon has a 19th century Victorian theme. Structures are to be Victorian, or perhaps a thatch roof house, old Tudor, castle, Celtic cottage, or maybe a hobbity hole or treehouse. That sort of thing. Inside your home or shop decorate as you like. Try not to let modern stuff be glaringly obvious from the outside. An occasional small Japanese gazebo or that sort of not-exactly-theme kind of thing is okay. Magic, steampunk, and fantasy items are encouraged!

b) Dress code: none! Other than basic decency, of course.

c) Caledon has weather and seasons! You may see fall leaves on the ground, snow, spring flowers, &c. You may even see overcast skies.

d) Caledon has seasonal events! By all means, participate! We bend the rules a bit for holidays – if you want to have a Halloween Haunted Maze or a Holiday Bake Sale by all means do so. Just leave a sign out so the neighbours know what it is during construction; it’s easy to mistake carnival booths for a mini-mall while you are still building.

GRID-RELATED AFFLICTIONS NOT ALLOWED IN CALEDON:

No ‘yard sales’, ‘walking signboard avatars’, outdoor malls, huge signs ESPECIALLY land-for-sale signs, casinos, gambling for $L, camping chairs &c., scamming, Ponzi schemes, fraud &c., clubs (small pubs ok), racial slurs or hate speech, or combining sexual activities of any kind with underage avatars. No selling of items that are freely obtainable elsewhere (we consider that to fall under scamming).

AVATAR RIGHTS:

We (the sim owner and the estate managers of Caledon sims) attempt to recognise the inherent worth and dignity of everyone, and view all as equal. Therefore we establish the following principles:

I) Anonymity.
- Never shall an avatar be required to reveal ‘first life’ information about themselves.

II) Freedom from Discrimination.
- No discrimination will be based upon an avatar’s (or operator’s) ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, either real or apparent. If your avatar is furry, mechanical or otherwise, you have the same rights and privileges as everyone else.
- Reasonable limits apply, regarding the use of an avatar’s form to cause technical problems, harassment or grief within the State of Caledon.

III) Freedom of Speech.
- An avatar may express ideas and opinions without fear of retribution.
- Please note that slander, libel, hate speech (racial, ethnic or gender slurs), scamming, fraud, harassment &c. are not considered free speech and thus not protected.
- Protests are protected speech. The time, place and manner of a protest may be limited in a reasonable, nondiscriminatory manner so as to protect other avatar’s rights.
- Methodic, active attempts to lure residents or visitors away from the State of Caledon while on our shores is considered High Treason: a betrayal of the trust that allows you to remain. Heavily promoting a foreign region is an issue; a modestly offered landmark to an offshore store in your home or shop is not.

IV) Liberty.
- Caledon recognises personal responsibility for personal actions, regardless of declared status or interpersonal relation. All are considered free to the State of Caledon, bearing both the right and responsibility of Liberty.

V) Domestic Association.
- Interpersonal associations such as avatar partnerings are not the business of the State of Caledon, and no discrimination or restrictions shall be placed on such.

VI) Freedom from Blacklist.
- The State of Caledon will not use lists distributed by other parties or agencies to take action against avatars, especially global or automatic ‘ban lists’.
- An avatar banned elsewhere will never find themselves banned here simply because they were ‘on a list’. We may, however, take reasonable precaution to protect ourselves should we hear reports of individual griefers of great harm and high notoriety.

VII) Freedom of Association.
- The State of Caledon will not act against groups categorically due to the actions of a minority of its members, unless the group’s stated raison d’etre is to cause harm.

VI) Freedom from Asset Seizure by Offshore Groups or Individuals.
- Neither land, nor property, nor business of an avatar will be subject to seizure based upon charges brought before the State of Caledon by other parties.

IX) Freedom from Unwarranted Search.
- No property will be searched by agents of the State of Caledon without prior, reasonable cause to believe that something not allowed is present. Improper search would constitute methodic inspection of structures or areas for the purpose of discovering contraband.

X) Rights of the Accused.
- Regarding actions to be, or that have been taken against an avatar by the State of Caledon, the avatar has a right to know why within a reasonable period of time. No punishment will be cruel or unusual, such as: a lifetime ban for casual littering. If anyone wishes to dispute a ban or restriction, they may do so by contacting a State of Caledon representative.

- Please note that we are not constitutional rights experts, this may be an imperfect document, and we may not make perfect decisions every time. But we promise to try to do things right in good faith.

REGARDING LAND PARCELS:

a) Don't build right on the property line. It might be okay with your current neighbour, and such agreements/easements are fine. But if that person moves away, your structure right up against the other property usually devalues that property, and should be moved back.

b) Don't have a home in construction for months. It is an eyesore.

c) Don’t build over the public roads.

d) Stick to the general foliage and vegetation trends. Don't leave land utterly bare, or smack a stand of palm trees in the middle of an old growth temperate forest.

e) Build normally. No floating houses without say, some kind of magical or steampunk technology keeping it aloft. No upside down trees or random prim weirdness, &c.

f) Terraform if you like, but don't cut out an 'island' for yourself or make some weird 100m tall death-spire &c. Caledon is not a waffle-grid of tiny islands, because of this rule. I’ve left full terraform control available, entrusting that it will not be abused.

g) Don’t block original waterways. I wasn’t very clear on this in earlier versions of the covenant, but let me be clear now: 4m of waterway and 4m of depth is a reasonable minimum. In a natural way - canals that are 4.0m wide everywere… ick, don’t do that. I’m still a bit easygoing on this rule – if you are on a 1024m lot sandwiched against a waterway, take this rule as a suggestion not an absolute.

h) Don’t ruin Caledon’s landform by flattening terrain smack out to the sim edge on a coast.

i) Above 512m altitude, the 19th century theme is relaxed. Just keep the skies below 512 meters altitude clear or in-theme. You could have a 19th century steampunk airship at 100m altitude for instance.

j) No ban lines. Singular exception: You may ban individuals from your land on a name by name basis. No active ‘security orbs’ or whatnot below 512m altitude (above is ok).

k) No Subleasing to other avatars unless you have a licence granted by the Guvnah Desmond Shang, which will then be placed by him at the parcel you occupy. Presently, over 16,384m of Caledon land must be held and other restrictions apply, to prevent Caledon from being swamped with tenants and thus lagged horribly. This sublease requirement may likely ease (or be suspended) in the future, depending upon the overall quality and stability of Caledon. My guess is that the land requirement may ease to 8192m land held + restrictions, or less land, if things go well. Note that you *can* share a home with a spouse, friends, or even sponsor a civic location for a well-established, known group (library, church, news organization &c) without any licence. You may sublease shop space to other avatars’ goods for sale also without a licence, within reason. At some point it effectively becomes subletting the parcel to another avatar or avatars.

l) Please use common sense. If we end up having to rely on the text here word by word, there are probably ten loopholes big enough to bankrupt all the sims on ‘technicalities.’ If I forgot to write something down like "don't leave junk all over someone's land" – use common sense anyway. Just because something icky isn't spelled out doesn't make it ok.

REGARDING LAND IN GENERAL:

a) “Buying” or “renting”?

- The term ‘buy’ is misleading simply because all sim owners have a ‘reclaim parcel’ ability. But I do try to make the Caledon experience as close to ownership as I possibly can. So far, for more than 1.5 years, hundreds of tenants and across well over one million square meters of land, I have yet to reclaim any parcel from anyone, save for nonpayment.

- There is a one-time fee up front, often associated with the ‘buy land’ feature.

- "Buying" the property is not enough, you have to 'pay tier' to a parcel meter using $L.

- The ‘address prim’ with the lot number in Caledon lamp posts is the parcel meter in most cases. Please contact me (Desmond Shang) so the parcel meter may be unlocked and the parcel deeded to a group of yours. You may keep it in your name if you like. Failing to notify me promptly will result in losing the property without refund.

b) A Word on Market Speculation.

- Don’t use the State of Caledon for land speculation. I have a long track record of keeping parcel prices ridiculously low to foster an accessible community. Not to pass out free money. I’ll definitely notice if anyone starts to take advantage. Please don’t, so I won’t have to remedy the situation. For decent, honest folk simply trying to move around or leave, I am happy to help connect them with interested parties waiting to get Caledon land. That’s a ‘win-win’ for everyone.

c) Regarding Sim Transfers/Dissolution:

- As mentioned above, the State of Caledon does not offer refunds of any kind. While you may transfer land rights for $L to other people, and I am willing to assist in said transfers, I make no guarantee that anyone (including myself!) will be able to recover value from land in the State of Caledon. Should entire sims ever have to go, I’ll do my best to relocate remaining residents to existing sims with comparable properties.
The bottom line is that if Caledon fails I won’t be able to refund anything anyway. Even ten sims at a mere $L 4 per meter adds up to about ten thousand dollars of land, and Caledon is well past ten sims. If anyone ever says they will back up land value in a disaster, do the math, and then determine if they really would (or could) when there is insufficient income to maintain monthly, multi-thousand dollar tier charges.
I limit the parcel meters to a 12 week horizon, and normally maintain 12 weeks’ worth of tier payments at zero % occupancy in advance, to ensure that I limit everyone’s liability and we all have time to react to adverse market conditions. It’s the best I can do, in this brave new world where online worlds come and go for reasons I’ll never be privy to. Honesty and honour dictates that I do not make financial promises that I may not be able to keep.

LAND FEES:

a) Land ‘up front’ fees: These vary, but generally can be anywhere from $L 4 to $L 8 per square meter; a one time charge varying based on supply and demand. Double prim land is more expensive (double) in proportion – essentially the same price per prim.

b) Land ‘tier’ fees: These are fees paid over time to maintain the land. No premium membership or land tier is required for property in Caledon.

- There are two different fee structures in Caledon: those for sims purchased before 15 Nov 2006 and those purchased after. This directly reflects the changes in monthly rates per region by our service provider, and was not the desired choice of anyone in Caledon.

=== ”Old Tier” Rates ==========
- Grandfathered ‘old tier’ rates apply to the following sims obtained prior to 15 Nov 2006:

Caledon, Caledon II, Caledon Highlands, Port Caledon, Caledon Tamrannoch, Caledon On Sea, Caledon Moors, Caledon Cay, Caledon VictoriaCity, Caledon Mayfair

These rates are:

1024m 234 prims 6.25 USD equiv. in $L per month
2048m 468 prims 12.50 USD equiv. in $L per month
3072m 702 prims 18.75 USD equiv. in $L per month
4096m 936 prims 25.00 USD equiv. in $L per month
5120m 1170 prims 31.25 USD equiv. in $L per month
6144m 1404 prims 37.50 USD equiv. in $L per month
7168m 1638 prims 43.75 USD equiv. in $L per month
8192m 1872 prims 50.00 USD equiv. in $L per month

- Please note that Caledon’s parcel meters work in terms of weeks. So it’s about $L 375 a week for a 6.25 USD/month 1024m lot when the $L is trading at 260/USD, for instance. The $L rate may vary a bit for the purposes of properly maintaining the USD equivalent cost.

=== ”Old Tier” Rates for Duchys ==========
- Grandfathered ‘old tier’ rates for Caledon Duchys (low prim ‘openspace’ sims) that were added to Caledon’s estate prior to 15 Nov 2006:

Caledon Lionsgate, Caledon Carntaigh, Caledon Primverness, Caledon Loch Avie

62040m 1775 prims 75 USD equiv. in $L per month
(more square meters/prims might be offered if infrastructure requirements are low)

=== ”New Tier” Rates ==========
- ‘New tier’ rates apply to the following sims obtained after 15 Nov 2006:

Caledon Tanglewood, Caledon SteamSkyCity, Cdn Kittiwickshire, Caledon Eyre, Caledon Regency, Caledon Stormhold

Please note that lots in these regions are ‘double prim’, thus carrying double the number of prims a standard lot would have:

DOUBLE PRIM 512m 234 prims 7.50 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 1024m 468 prims 15.00 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 2048m 936 prims 30.00 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 3072m 1404 prims 45.00 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 4096m 1872 prims 60.00 USD equiv. in $L per month

(approx. $L 450/wk per 512m double prim, when LindeX at $L 265/USD)

=== ”New Tier” Rates for Duchys==========
- ‘New tier’ rates for Caledon Duchys (low prim ‘openspace’ sims) that were added to Caledon’s estate after 15 Nov 2006:

Maritime and Coastal Duchys: Caledon Sound, Caledon Speirling, Caledon Middlesea, Caledon Murdann, Caledon Cymru, Caledon Greystoke, Nova Civis Caledon, Caledon Kintyre

for a full sim, $L 5250/week (based on 86 USD/mo) thereafter payable via $L with parcel meter
for 1/2 sim, $L 2625/week (based on 43 USD/mo) thereafter payable via $L with parcel meter

-further conditions on maritime Duchys apply, such as leaving enough prims free to allow a vehicle through the sim, not building too near coastlines and so forth. Please come to the Guvnah's Mansion in Caledon Victoria City (southeast corner) to find a notecard containing relevant restrictions.

=== ”New Tier HUBLESS Region” Rates ==========
- ‘New tier’ hubless region rates apply to the following sims obtained after 15 Nov 2006:

Caledon Penzance, Caledon Morgaine, Caledon Brigadoon, Caledon CaerClannagh, Caledon Cape Wrath, Caledon Downs, Caledon Southend, Caledon Windemere, Caledon Rocabrannagh

Please note that lots in these regions are ‘double prim’, thus carrying double the number of prims a standard lot would have:

DOUBLE PRIM 512m 234 prims 7.80 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 1024m 468 prims 15.60 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 2048m 936 prims 31.20 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 3072m 1404 prims 46.80 USD equiv. in $L per month
DOUBLE PRIM 4096m 1872 prims 62.40 USD equiv. in $L per month

(approx. $L 475/wk per 512m double prim, when LindeX at $L 265/USD)

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Note that there may be some ‘forward information’ regarding regions in this document, as some regions noted may not be rolled out for months at least. Until a region is instantiated on the grid, do not count on the information here as plans are flexible. Region type, pricing and features may flex a bit as far as demand goes. Also, regions not mentioned here (such as openspace regions) are not ‘ruled out’ by virtue of their absence from this list. Much depends on the economy of the overall grid.

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- Note that all payments are payable in $L to the parcel meter. NO grace period - if you need grace period, add another week of time to the meter. An expired meter equals forfeiture of the land.

If by chance there is a technical problem, contact me (Desmond Shang) immediately via in-world notecard, or email: desmondshang@gmail.com. Always use the parcel meters to pay – unless you contact me directly I won’t notice you paid land fees via my profile and you’ll lose your payment unless you make SURE to contact me along with it via notecard at least! My IM’s “cap” and the overflow is eaten by the system before I ever see them.

SPECIFIC SIM THEME DETAILS:

Caledon (historic sim)
– none.

Caledon II
– none.

Caledon Highlands:
- Supposed to be generally wilder and pretty.
- On lots bigger than 2048m, structure footprints to be less than 25% of the land area.

Port Caledon:
- 1024m lots are for shops or homes. Not parks or other stuff; it’s a town.
- 1024m lots along the waterfront may be boat slips too, though.
- Not any one person will own more than a few town lots at once.

Caledon Tamrannoch:
- 1024m lots in town are for shops or homes.
- Not any one person should own more than a few town lots at once.

Caledon On Sea:
- 1024m lots around the town center are for shops or homes.
- Not any one person should own more than a few town lots at once.

Caledon Moors:
- Generally this area is for darker, more spooky, gothic builds.

Caledon Cay:
- Generally, this area has a 19th c. New Orleans influence.
- 1024m lots around the town center are for shops or homes.
- Not any one person should own more than a few town lots at once.

Caledon Victoria City:
- This is a PG sim.
- Multistory urban buildings only within the outer ‘ring’ road.
- No ‘empty’ lots within the outer ‘ring’ road – there has to be buildings there.

Caledon Mayfair:
- Generally, this is a posh, lovely residential area with homes and shops.
- 1024m lots are for shops and homes.
- This is a nonindustrial sim: No factories. Inventor’s laboratories okay but not bigger.

Caledon Lionsgate:
- This is the Duchy of Lionsgate, an openspace sim.
- It must remain maritime, largely navigable from north, south, east & west by water.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.

Caledon Carntaigh:
- This is the Duchy of Carntaigh, an openspace sim.
- Have respect of the coastlines to the south, west, east, for adjacent sim residents.
- Please maintain appropriate geography and allow the rail line to go through.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.

Caledon Primverness:
- This is the Duchy of Primverness, an openspace sim.
- Please maintain appropriate geography and allow the rail line to go through.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.

Caledon Loch Avie:
- This is the Duchy of Loch Avie, an openspace sim.
- Please maintain appropriate geography and allow the rail line to go through.
- Please always have a ‘loch’ appropriate to the sim’s name.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.

Caledon Tanglewood:
- This is a 19th century forest sim and builds should be loosely in the theme of such an area.
- Caledon National Rail may go through this sim someday.

caledon SteamSkyCity:
- If you are on the skycity, please, no carving small private islands for yourself on the sea below.
- Do contribute to the skycity structure in some nontrivial manner, although use of the sky above and seas below is fine.

Cdn Kittiwickshire:
- In Kittiwick town, please have structures (residences, shops), not 'parks' in town (especially just to support a skybox).
- In the foresty area, keep builds loosely in theme of the forest.

Caledon Eyre:
- This area is intended to be an extension of Tanglewood forest blending into posh countryside and manoral estates.

Caledon Regency:
- This area is intended to be one of the more posh areas in all of Caledon.
- A country or manor home, and pastures and stables should be de rigueur here.
- Think: Jane Austen country, just a few decades later.

Caledon Stormhold:
- Towering Mountains over forest... magic and mystery is in the air, and not all is as it seems.
- Beware the haunted ruins at the witching hour.

Caledon Sound:
- This is the Duchy of Caledon Sound, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Maritime rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Caledon Speirling:
- These are the Duchys of the East and West Speirling Isles, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Maritime rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Caledon Middlesea:
- This is the Duchy of Middlesea, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Maritime rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Caledon Cymru:
- This is the Duchy of Cymru, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Caledon Greystoke:
- This is the Duchy of Greystoke, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Nova Civis Caledon:
- This is the Duchy of Nova Civis, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Caledon Kintyre:
- This is the Duchy of Kintyre, an openspace sim.
- It may be set to PG or M as the Duke/Duchess desires.
- The Duke/Duchess may set the telehub location.
- Rules such as not building too near populated coasts of other sims, and allowing craft to use the sea apply.
- See the notecard at the Guvnah's Mansion, Caledon VictoriaCity (southeast corner) for full details.

Caledon Penzance
- This area is hubless.
- This area is intended to be a cultural center of Caledon.
- ‘Town’ parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the downtown permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). No ‘parks’ in town.
- No one person should ‘own’ the town – a shop or two is fine, ‘extra prim land’ should be drawn from surrounding countryside if available.
- Shops left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected.
- High lag activities or even access may be somewhat limited for a few hours maximum a week due to inworld cultural performances (theatre, machanima, &c).

Caledon Morgaine
- This area is hubless.
- This area is meant to be somewhat wild, including the Sky Mountain and its fragments.

Caledon Brigadoon
- This area is hubless.
- Unused prims may be ‘borrowed’ for a few hours a month, for a special feature of this region in an otherwise wild area.

Caledon CaerClannagh
- This area is hubless.
- This area is meant to be somewhat wild.

Caledon Cape Wrath
- This area is hubless.
- This area is intended to be a small seaside village.
- ‘Town’ parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the downtown permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). No ‘parks’ in town.
- No one person should ‘own’ the town – a shop or two is fine, ‘extra prim land’ should be drawn from surrounding countryside if available.
- Shops left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected.
- International borders to be respected. Caledon maritime authority ends at the border.

Caledon Downs
- This area is hubless.
- This area is meant to be somewhat wild.

Caledon Windemere
- This area is hubless.
- This area is meant to be somewhat wild.

Caledon SouthEnd
- This area is hubless.
- This area is intended to be a small seaside village.
- ‘Town’ parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the downtown permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). No ‘parks’ in town.
- No one person should ‘own’ the town – a shop or two is fine, ‘extra prim land’ should be drawn from surrounding countryside if available.
- Shops left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected.

Caledon Rocabrannagh
- This area is hubless.
- This area is intended to be a wild rocky island with a secret area inside.
- Inside the island, parcels are to have structures (shops or residences) on them, or use the permanent structures if present (those anchored to Commonwealth of Caledon land). Boat slips or other facilities of an aquatic nature are considered acceptable as structures. No ‘parks’ allowed.
- Parcels inside the island left largely empty or unused for months may be subject to eviction without refund. IM’s and notecards will be sent before this occurs, and it’s only for egregious cases where a town parcel is obviously horrifically neglected.

PHILOSOPHY:

Rather than make a bunch of "democratic" rules that will break down at the first difference of opinion, I think honesty serves best. I own the sims, but over the long haul the landholders allow me to keep it. It's important to me both personally and financially that people are happy.

So if a majority of landholders generally want something, I’ll do whatever I can unless there is some dire reason not to. Such as free land for everyone – obvious dire consequences! On the other hand, I am a man of principle. If I see any majority group acting overtly mean to one or two other land owners, sooner or later I'll step in. No "Lord of the Flies" scenario will happen here. Any ‘loophole’ in the rules that might be perceived to allow cruelty or harassment will be slammed shut.

I used to have a statement saying ‘no favouritism’ – but over the course of a year, I found some interesting situations. As you may know, if someone doesn’t pay their parcel meter someone else can come by and ‘take over’ the lot. Most of the time, if this happens I let the new person take over – nonpayment is serious, and without consequences you can imagine if/when anyone would get around to paying.

However, if I know that someone hasn’t been able to buy $L for the past 3 times they have logged in due to asset server problems, have been a perfect tenant and very decent, I may stop their lot from being taken over. Don’t count on this. But it will remain my decision. “Swooping” someone’s lot doesn’t automatically make you the new tenant, though there’s a very good chance it could.

Remember, I am no Solomon. I promise a good faith effort to be fair, but I am human and have my own values, which may be as noble or as flawed as your own. I am no counselor and have no special insights.

I try to see the positive – if someone is breaking a rule for a day or two, cut them some slack. Most things go away anyway, due to the constantly changing nature of the grid. The light of a new day will often put things in perspective too. A few things will spread like wildfire so I do respond right away at the least sign of it – scamming, or say, extreme terraforming.

We are here for fun; sometimes an object isn’t quite in theme but is humourous or whimsical, and I firmly believe we all need a little more whimsy in our lives.

Caledon is already an historic super-premium location on the grid, with astonishingly good press – no one can shatter the shared dream with a fountain or a rubber duckie. Laugh along and enjoy the positive.

Feel free to contact me (Desmond Shang) at any time about anything. I get really busy but I’ll answer everything I see eventually. I never hide my online status in search. If your IM went unanswered it is probably because my offline IM messages ‘capped’ again as usual and I never saw it. Drop me a notecard instead if I’m not online; it’s the most reliable way to contact me.

Warm Regards,

- Desmond Shang

BELOW THIS TEXT: NO RULES – JUST INFORMATION AND HISTORY!

The Beginning:

Caledon’s Independence Day – and opening on the grid – was 26 February 06.

We were just one tiny bit of land in a sea far to the West of the rest of the known world at that time. A few residents formed a village near the Caledon telehub’s present location, but the land was mostly wild.

The owner’s antiques company, West Trade Imports LTD, made more than enough to cover expenses and initially it was thought that perhaps the State of Caledon would always remain this way, small and partially wild. At this time the grid had approximately 2000 concurrent people online during busy times - how many else would care to partake in an anachronistic, 19th century world?

It turned out that a *lot* of people cared. Within a couple weeks, there was a waiting list for Caledon land over 50 avatars long. A number of people on the waiting list gathered together offering $L in advance, and insisted on a second sim. Thus, Caledon II came to exist about a month later. It didn’t even scratch the burgeoning demand.

Explosive Growth:

Caledon Highlands followed, then Port Caledon, Tamrannoch, Caledon on Sea, the Moors and the Cay. Excessively rapid growth was a fear, as the community evolved from a very tiny, intimate village to that of a proud but small micronation.

Caledon’s capital, Victoria City came next, and soon became the focal point of new arrivals in Caledon. With it: the duchys: Lionsgate, Carntaigh, Primverness and Loch Avie – wild places that greatly benefited the small towns and manoral countryside. Caledon Mayfair was the last addition before a huge change in grid service charges came about. After about 3 months, the forest of Tanglewood followed, then the massive Steam SkyCity bringing us to one million square meters. Then seafaring Kittiwickshire, and the civilised Eyre and Regency sims, with Caledon Stormhold finishing out the wooded area to the north and forming the backbone of the northern mountains. Right after that, we gained the maritime duchys of Caledon Sound, Caledon Speirling, Caledon Middlesea and Caledon Murdann - five sims of seafaring.

On the Global Stage:

Early Discoveries.
Back while Caledon was still very small (March 06), the mercantile ship Venture was sent to the Mainland, to sell trinkets and make contact with the natives. This is the ship one may still find in Port Caledon on the wharf.

Foreign Relations:
Naturally, some saber-rattling and the usual gunboat diplomacy characterised Caledon’s relations with other nations on the grid.
The older, Bavarian nation-state of Neualtenburg has long been compared to Caledon. Of course, questions of relative strength and stability naturally arose. This was answered by Caledon in the form of an offer of annexation, lock, stock, and barrel, of all that Old Neualtenburg was.
Very mysteriously, it seemed that that most (but not all!) Neualtenburgers did not care for our generous offer! In Caledon, many warships were constructed and talk of “Empiah!” raised to fever-pitch, but it was not to be. Neualtenburg had its own path to follow apart from Caledon, and through a process best described by their own citizens, divided into two parts. These were Port Neualtenburg, which Neualtenburg’s original founders established on the Mainland, and Confederation of Democratic Sims, which was the confederation which formed from the residents that remained. The historic “Neualtenburg” name is recognized to be belonging to the original founders of Neualtenburg.
The State of Caledon maintains a friendly peace, and sometimes rivalry, with both of them. Unless of course you are suddenly awakened by a call to arms, in which case man your station, remember your training, and prepare for our finest hour!

Age of Exploration:
Knowledge and contact with the Mainland proper was sporadic until January 07, when a number of our intrepid Explorers went to document the wild, uncharted, culturally distant land of scantily clad natives. You can read about their adventures here:

http://www.frontierhorizon.blogspot.com/
http://explorerjusty.livejournal.com/
http://procroyalsoc.blogspot.com/
http://thegalloper.blogspot.com/
http://liarothschild.livejournal.com/
http://natachachernov.blogspot.com/2007/01/glorious-departure-of-caledon.html

Colonial Expansion?
Our shipwrights are preparing for even grander missions in the future, should we continue to receive positive reports. Plans for futher exploration to the mainland, a small garrison and colony on foreign shores are not out of the question.

Government.
Caledon is a constitutional Monarchy with figurehead royalty, and has an Aristocratic landed gentry, which is in a way the real government. The State of Caledon continues forward by the will of the people, for if nobody stayed the region would not survive economically.
More specifically though, the sim owner (Desmond Shang, myself) is the Guvnah. Who is willing to listen to troubles before any insurrection starts! Simply drop a notecard to the Guvnah, be ye visitor or resident, landed Aristocracy or no, if there are issues.

The Titled and the Royals.
Once upon a time, Caledon was ruled by Stewards. A much smaller nation then, we all knew each other, and each resident could become the Steward of Caledon in turns.
With our explosive growth, however, times rapidly changed. Many citizens turned down the honour, for fear of presiding over tens of thousands of USD worth of regions, and making a mistake. Also, reign over Caledon was not a duty easily borne – the citizenry and émigrés had many, many needs. Lastly, a Steward had such power that they could raze every single object and avatar in Caledon in just minutes flat. Not a power to be passed lightly to anyone, simply by virtue of brief residency!
Thus the Age of Stewards ended. Those that were Stewards are now titled Royalty, forever remembered for their service. This includes Khashai Steinbeck, First Steward of Caledon, Sir Gerami Fizz, Princesa Yuriko Muromachi, and finally, Vicereine Kamilah Hauptmann. The Vicereine, through fairness, use of her wit, and general friendliness and service to the nation, has retained her Estate Powers from her former title as Last Steward of Caledon. Should anyone be griefing citizen or visitor alike, she may be called upon to defend you.
Caledon has a variety of other titled folk, and these titles are of two natures. Some are historic titles, and others are tied to land and estates in Caledon.
For instance, the Baron of Bauerhoff Gottfried Eusebio, or Baroness de Caledon Amber Palowaksi have historic titles predating the formation of the Duchys in Caledon. Some perhaps do not claim historic titles, but could (should?) and modestly call themselves custodians of the past. The Lady Pym Sartre of historic Caledon Castle is a prime example of such.
The four duchys of Caledon, Lionsgate, Carntaigh, Primverness and Loch Avie carry title with control of the regions, and are officially recognised. Within their boundaries, the controlling Duke or Duchess of each region holds full estate powers.
Knights of Caledon: On rare occasion, someone does something that is so remarkable, and so utterly beyond compensation or remuneration that they are Knighted. So far we have three Knights: Ms Ordinal Malaprop for the mechanism of our landmark Caledon Trolley, an engineering feat that was greater in value of effort than all the Caledon lands combined were worth at the time. Also, Ms Leosanni Somme, for rallying the Nation in the cause of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Because of her efforts, the State of Caledon raised thousands of USD for the very real fight against cancer. Finally, Ms Lapin Paris for serving as Caledon's Relay for Life captain the following year and coordinating the fundraising of over 1.2 million $L through countless events in the fight against cancer.

Estate Managers.
Caledon generally has eight to ten estate managers who keep an eye on things for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. Some, like Kamilah are mentioned above are known to all. Others prefer to be helpful only if the need arises, or nobody else is on. If you are being harassed, need a region restarted, see a huge mess that a visitor made, or otherwise need an Estate Manager send a call out on the Independent State of Caledon group messaging channel or send a *polite* request via IM. If anyone is available they will likely respond.
Please note that Estate Managers are there to help, are trusted friends and are NOT paid in any way. They have little time or interest in your interpersonal dealings. If anything isn’t very clear-cut, an estate manager may defer the entire issue to the Guvnah (me, Desmond Shang) for later. Their time is valuable and they are volunteers. Please do not abuse them.

Factbook and Census Information:

Information varies as we grow and change, but we try to keep up here:
http://slhistory.org/index.php/Independent_State_of_Caledon

Screenshots and Images:

Much of the early days of Caledon can be seen in these pictures, as well as events, and these images will rapidly give you an idea of the enthusiasm that pervades residents and visitors alike:

http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/Default.aspx?Search=caledon

I used to have a list of links listing blogs, news mentions, videos and so forth listed here. It grew waaaay too big. We have something like 100 private blogs out there, mentions in many others, and all sorts of things - the easiest and first step on your journey might simply be:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=caledon+secondlife

...and then hop from blog to blog from there, for a fairly fresh idea of what Caledon's social side is like. For more fun, do a google image search on the the terms caledon and secondlife, instead of the regular websearch. Enjoy!