Oxide has been moving quickly, and a lot of the recent work has focused on making the experience feel more connected, easier to use, and ready for deeper testing.
Some of these updates are already part of Oxide Connect. Others are being tested in preview or prepared for integration with Oxide Viewer. Here is where everything currently stands.
A Better Feed Posting Experience
One of our biggest areas of focus has been improving the Oxide feed.
The updated post composer is currently being tested in preview. It gives residents a clearer, more organized way to create a post without putting every option in front of them at once.
The improved composer includes:
A clearer identity and audience section
A 2,000-character post limit with a visible counter
Dedicated Photo and GIF options
Image and GIF previews directly beneath the post
The ability to remove attached media before posting
Regular, Photo, and Shopping post types
Content ratings and content warnings
A larger, clearer Post button
GIF support is now part of this improved posting flow. Residents can attach a GIF without leaving the composer or treating it like an outside link. It gives people another way to react, express themselves, or add personality to a post.
This updated composer is still in preview and has not been fully published yet.
Making Photos Look Better in the Feed
We are also working on how different image shapes appear in posts.
Second Life photography does not always fit into one standard box. Residents share landscape photographs, square images, advertisements, screenshots, and vertical portraits. The feed needs to respect those different formats without awkwardly cropping an avatar or allowing one image to take over the entire screen.
The goal is to support common image shapes while keeping the feed simple and consistent. Portrait images should be able to display taller, landscape images should use the available width, and every post should still be comfortable to scroll through.
This flexible media display is still being refined.
Stronger Feed Privacy and Media Handling
A lot of important work is also happening behind the visible interface.
The Viewer feed connection has been prepared so posts can follow the same privacy and safety rules used by Oxide Connect. This includes checking:
Who the post was shared with
Community membership when applicable
Blocks in either direction
Content ratings
Hidden posts and profiles
Whether the resident should be allowed to see the content
Media posts are also being handled more carefully. A post can include up to four approved media items, and the system checks that each upload belongs to the person creating the post and is ready to use.
The post and its media must be created together successfully. If part of the process fails, the system will not leave behind an incomplete or broken post.
The corrected feed handoff has been completed and verified, but it has not been published yet.
Connecting Oxide Connect and Oxide Viewer
Oxide Connect and Oxide Viewer are not intended to become two disconnected products.
Oxide Connect is the social side of the experience. It gives Second Life residents a place for identity, posts, connections, communities, events, destinations, photography, and discovery.
Oxide Viewer brings parts of that connected experience closer to residents while they are actually in Second Life.
The feed is the first major focus of that connection. The goal is for the Viewer to display the real Oxide feed with the same posts, identities, privacy rules, reactions, and conversations found on Oxide Connect. It should not be a separate feed or a visual imitation of the website.
The first detailed feed handoff package has been completed for Viewer integration. Additional integration work covers the information the Viewer needs for connections, communities, events, messages, notifications, profiles, and resident identity.
The current Viewer direction includes a moveable interface that can float, dock, or shrink when it is not needed. Feed, Events, World, Spotlight, and Messages remain the primary areas of the Viewer experience.
The underlying social features and Viewer-ready routes are being built and verified in stages. They still need to be connected to the Viewer interface, tested, and approved before they can be treated as released Viewer features.
There is no public Viewer release date being announced in this update.
The Catalyst Program and Current Testing
The original Founders program has officially become the Oxide Catalyst Program.
Catalysts are helping us test account creation, Second Life avatar verification, the social experience, reporting and safety tools, and eventually the connection between Oxide Connect and Oxide Viewer.
Oxide verification never requires a Second Life password or access to private Second Life account information. Verification uses a secure, one-time process through the Oxide Identity Terminal in Second Life.
The beta remains invite-only while we work through onboarding issues, collect structured feedback, and make sure the most important parts of the experience are stable.
Current testers are not just being asked whether they like the design. We want to know where something feels confusing, where a step fails, what residents expected to happen, and whether the experience feels natural for someone who actually uses Second Life.
Other Areas We Are Improving
Several other parts of Oxide are also receiving attention.
Notification behavior is being cleaned up so read states, clickable notifications, badges, and older notifications behave more consistently.
World Explorer continues to develop around Oxide’s own destinations, events, and Shopping events. We are also looking at better ways to refresh listings and keep discovery information current.
The Oxide homepage is being redesigned to explain the platform more clearly. It will guide residents through what is happening now, what they can do on Oxide, what makes it different, who is part of the community, and how it connects with the in-world experience.
We are also considering a dedicated News or Recent Articles area. This would give longer Oxide articles and community updates a visible home without mixing every article directly into the main social feed. This is still an idea being evaluated, not a confirmed feature.
We Are Still Asking Important Questions
Not every product decision has been made.
One of the current discussions is how long ordinary feed posts should remain on Oxide. Should posts remain permanently, or should they expire after a certain period unless the resident chooses to save or archive them?
We are gathering tester opinions because this is not only a storage decision. It affects memories, photography, personal history, privacy, and whether the feed feels temporary or permanent.
No post-retention policy has been finalized.
What Comes Next?
Right now, the focus is on polishing the feed, testing GIF and media posting, improving how different image sizes display, completing the Viewer integration handoffs, and addressing the problems our Catalysts find during real use.
Oxide is becoming more than a collection of separate features. The social platform, verified Second Life identity, community discovery, and Viewer experience are beginning to connect into one larger system.
There is still work ahead, but every test, post, GIF, photograph, bug report, and honest opinion helps us make better decisions.
Thank you to everyone currently testing Oxide and helping us build something that feels like it genuinely belongs to the Second Life community.