Cartoon of the day

By Bixyl Shuftan

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Dear M(ark)

Regarding the openspaces mess you have got yourself into.
James and I were discussing this issue and disagreeing since James looks at things purely from a business owners perspective whereas I tend to look at how your decisions have affected the people. There was no argument purely a theoretical discussion and to be honest he had certain points but none which excuse the way you have treated your customers.
So you underestimated the demand for openspaces, you underestimated the usage and you continued to sell the product even after problems started to materialise and after the realisation that something had to be done.
The problem then was how to deal with it and no matter what solution you manage to come up with the Residents would be the ones to pay for it.
The point is not that you had to fix the problem but the way you, as a company, think you can treat your loyal customers. If, after the realisation that there was a huge problem that would have to fixed, you had come to us 1, you would have had all the feedback you got after your terrible announcement and 2, you would have kept the faith and trust that you have now lost to a huge degree, instead of which you have ended up making most people think of 'bait and switch'
If you had admitted you had messed up and apologised many would not have dumped their islands and Secondlife, the way you have condescended and patronised your customers is the reason Secondlife is dying and people are looking for alternatives.
Most can swallow price rises, and to a degree expect it from any service, but because of the appalling way this has been handled you have lost something very precious - TRUST.
Losing trust may not mean a lot to a company in the short term but in the long time you have damaged your reputation which was already in decline, as far as Residents were concerned, due to lack of communication and the impression that Residents do not matter to Linden Lab.
You have said you want discussion and are working on better communication yet even on this you do not take it seriously, I have been following the FORUM discussion - 4 replies in 88 pages is not a discussion and none from you yourself. Yet you expect people to take the forum seriously as a way to communicate - is this yet another smokescreen? Just a way to allow us to let off steam? It certainly isn't for discussion because that implies two way communication.
Please stop insulting your customers we are not 'passionate' but smart enough to see through your pretty words we do not need to be talked to like children we need honesty and transparency.
Making people feel like they are second rate is not a smart move - you should take your 'cap in hand' and apologise although its probably too late for many.
You have messed up and if I were in your position I would fire my PR advisers and start working very hard on trying to earn the trust back you have lost, if that is even possible now.
Many may have been smoke screened by the apparent changes and on the whole the end package you have decided on is not much different from the original except maybe slightly fairer to educators and sailing communities (if the script allowance doesn't kill those off too) but in time most will see through the smokescreen and feel even more duped.
I urge you to act now before any more damage is done to Linden Labs reputation.
You owe your residents an apology and in your last letter that is what most people were looking for once they realised not a lot had changed.
Dana Vanmoer

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Virtual breast cancer conference in Italy

At a time when the grid was awaiting developments on the 'Openspace' mess M Linden took the time out to appear at a virtual breast cancer conference held simultaneously from Modena into the Secondlife Virtual Cancer Institute.
M Linden addressed the conference. He spoke enthusiastically about the important work this group is doing and about the increasing use that is being made of Second Life by health care providers and educators.
The Policlinic of the University of Modena is hosting the real life three-day "Meet the Professor" advanced course on breast cancer which will be streamed into Second Life.
SL residents can follow the conference in real time at the Virtual Cancer Institute on the ISN Visions sim, Thursday and Friday from Midnight to 10.30 am SLT.
Gabriel Hortobagyi, Chairman of the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at the M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, TX and Pier Franco Conte, Director of the Department of Oncology and Haematology at the University of Modena, Italy, are the joint directors of the Advanced Course on Breast Cancer being held this week in Modena. As DrHortobagyi Bravin and PierfrancoConte Blinker they came in world and answered questions put to them by avatar physicians, the press, and other interested people at an open Q&A session at the Virtual Cancer Institute.
The professors, who answered questions live from Modena, were enthusiastic about the potential of holding conferences in Second Life and for people to 'attend' from different countries without having to travel. Italian physicians are able to get Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for attending the course in Modena. Although virtual attendance does not, yet, qualify for CME credits, they foresee that this is a real possibility in the future once the practical issues are overcome.
The conference still has two days to run. The full program can be downloaded at: http://isnvirtualworlds.com/VirtualCancerInstitute/download/program.pdf
Source:
Many Thanks to Poppy Zabelin
Read her Blog post on this HERE

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M(ark) Lindens letter to residents:

In A Letter to Second Life Residents M Linden outlines the new plans for Openspaces and some at least can breath a little easier.
Places like the sailing communities that use the openspaces the way they were originally intended.
But on the whole adding the new homesteads is not much of a change you will still have to pay more for your home but this charge will be stepped - going to $95 in January and then to $125 by July and scripts and avatars will also be limited on these sims - so although you will be paying more for your current openspace you will be getting less for your money.

I zipped around the grid to get immediate reactions:
IntLibber BnT: "I am deeply offended to see M Linden speaking at a breast cancer convention on the same day he released this rapacious policy, when so many residents of SL started their businesses in SL because they or a family member was homebound due to having to cope with cancer striking their lives. Linden Lab policy has steadily been destroying the businesses that these people depend upon for their livings. This is the worst sort of predation upon the most fragile members of our society.I launched my own business in SL to help pay for my fathers cancer treatments, as I was homebound to care for him and my disabled mother. His cancer may be returning to strike his colon. If LL continues these policies, his blood is on their hands.
While the real world has elected new leadership with Hope For Change, the best we can do in SL is hope for spare change after LL robs us of everything we earn and drives our residents away from our businesses."

Other residents on the D'Alliez estate are confused and looking for answers which of course will take some explaining - renters are, of course, harder to sort out especially on an estate as large as Alliez Mysterios'
Alliez Mysterio: I still have to go over it again but it seem like LL is trying. They have given options but overall not much has changed for renters the price will still go up and they will be more limited in what they can do on the openspaces they have and if you rent them out you will be homesteaded.

I also Spoke to Charlene Trudeau of Skybeam Estates and asked for her reaction:
Charlene Trudeau: The slower increase is good for people needing to adjust to the new pricing. It will still force some large scale changes in structure on the new Homestead product, however, especially for those who rented them out to more than one tenant per region. For my own estates, I am glad that my moves to adjust to the initial changes have not be negated, they are still prudent decisions for a long term outlook. Short term, more of my OS regions might have been retained for a time by their occupants, but this gets the painful adjustments over with sooner
dana Vanmoer: so it is still going to be a painful experience, what could LL have done to negate this and is there anything you would have liked to have seen?
Charlene Trudeau: I would have liked the plan that is in place now to have been thought out thoroughly from the beginning. And the only thing I would have liked to see in addition to the current is a willingness to also waive *move* fees in situations where a region is left floating remote from areas that were part of the contiguous estate before. Other than that, the new changes solve most of my major concerns. The pain comes far more from watching residents who have built so much have to tear down because they can't afford the increases.
I was heartsick as I helped everyone tear apart their lives. I've moved on into a 'looking towards tomorrow' mindset now. In fact, I've named my two newest regions based on that theme :)

At first glance the post looks positive and in the short term it is a change for the better BUT overall nothing has changed except the timescale for most openspace owners.

The best place to find out whether you are affected and what you will have to pay is in the SUPPORT PORTAL where a detailed explanation and table are shown BUT again although it say scripts will be limited on homesteads it does not say how much.
Hopefully we can expect more technical details in the near future.
More responses can be seen in the FORUM created for this purpose.
Dana Vanmoer

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And It's ... Obama

What a night! After almost two years, the US Presidential election is finally over. Just after 8 PM SL time, Obama was declared the winner.

Be sure to check the Events section tomorrow for a larger story about what happened here in Second Life, and a brief commentary.

Bixyl Shuftan

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Happy Rezday Boss

Most may not realise it but James started writing sl-newspaper just 4 days after his rezday back in November 2006 today we had a great party just for James 2 years is a huge milestone in SL.
Happy Rez Day Boss

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Sarah Lashes out and is suspended

Last Tuesday when Linden Lab announced the price hike to the openspace sims feelings ran extremely high - from renters who would never be able to own their own sim or island to big estate owners and land barons.
One of Linden labs biggest supporters has always been Sarah Nerd even when LL dropped the prices and caused most land owners to re-evaluate Sarah still supported them and adapted her business plans accordingly. The price decrease left most estate owners gasping back then and struggling to make ends meet - after all their business had been devalued overnight.
With this new increase in tier payments for ALL - not just new islands - everyone who bought into the Linden lie are angry and disillusioned.
I must admit to being shocked when I heard Sarah had been suspended for voicing her anger, not because she said 'F*** you Linden Lab' but because Linden Lab had the gall to suspend her for doing so. Talk about wanting to make an example - well LL if you want to do that there is nothing like attacking a staunch supporter!
In her blog on Your 2nd Place Sarah tells us how she felt and reading it is a moving experience:
"I was ashamed of myself. Not because I said f***, but because it was the realization that the game I love, had no love for me."
This one sentence sums up how many are feeling about Linden Lab and Secondlife right now more so than anything else I have heard said about the whole mess.
At the time of her suspension Sarah said:
"I was worried because the next 3 days I'll be working on a contract with a major university on a presentation for next week to help show the benefits of investing in SL for educational purposes."
I must admit I would not be promoting SL to anyone if I were in Sarah's shoes, but I guess she is a model resident which makes Linden Labs treatment of her even worse.
"In RL I talk about how wonderful Second Life is to anyone who listens. Even when I am angry at them, I still love the game and the people. I couldn't believe that moments after they made an announcement that I knew probably meant the end of my estate business I was suspended for voicing my anger with a group of my peers. Did they expect everyone to be quiet and take it? Is it because I used the word f***? I wasn't the only one who did but I was singled out for it. The answer to me saying "F*** You LL" was to take away my ability to do the work that allows me to pay them thousands of dollars in tier??"
The temporary ban was lifted after an appeal to live help who believed Sarah had been treated harshly - What an understatement!
By Dana Vanmoer
Quotes used with permission

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