During my look into the subcultures In-World, I had the chance to sit down and talk to a member of the Furry community. Read our People section to hear what Bixyl Shuftan had to say on a personal note.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
An Interview with Bixyl Shuftan
During my look into the subcultures In-World, I had the chance to sit down and talk to a member of the Furry community. Read our People section to hear what Bixyl Shuftan had to say on a personal note.
Eye on the blog
Well good news and bad news - typical of LL as we have seen!To start with the good news (to an extent):
Second Life Grid Status Reports
Are you following the Second Life Grid Status Reports? If your business, your event, or your time with friends may be impacted by the Grid Status, we want you to have all the information we can get you, as quickly and easily as possible.
We’ve been posting Status Updates mixed in with a variety of posts on other topics. We realize that many of you don’t want to have to hunt through the blog for needed Status information, so in an effort make it easier for you, we’re following the tech industry standard and moving that information to a Status page.
Starting today, we’ll be collecting all the Second Life Grid Status Reports onto that one page. Now, you can check for an update without having to scan through all the other blog posts.
You can also subscribe to updates on your mobile phone using Twitter, or with an RSS reader.
Yep, get your Second Life Grid Status Reports, wherever you go.
Now this sounds like a great idea, but lets look a little deeper;
For a start it means a cleaner blog for the Lindens to show off to corporate business no more long posts with angry Residents comments filling up the page.
Then, of course, it takes away the ability to comment on the issue posted:
Yesterday I DID get an inworld message saying there was a problem with some accounts associated with one of the inventory databases; great, actual warning inworld! problem was an hour later, after a bad crash, I could not log back in so off I toddled to the blog to see what was happening - nope not there - ok, off to the grid status page : [05.51 AM RESOLVED] Logins should be restored for all affected accounts. It may take some time for things to return to normal as the system catches up and everyone starts logging back in, but they are back online. -Chiyo
Resolved??? um no..........
This was then at 06.25 hmmmmmmm...............
So what can I do? Answer NOTHING, there is no way to communicate that no the issue is not resolved and to be perfectly honest I couldn't be bothered to go through support and get a load of pre-printed pages telling me my firewall was blocking SL (this is what happened last time) so I just gave up for the day!
So in conclusion having up to date easy to find grid status - great idea, one place to find out whats happening, unfortunately most people find out more from Resident comments on grid status than from the actual posts saying [RESOLVED] they usually aren't.
The comments have been removed also effectively striking the Residents dumb, there is no recourse and no feedback here so what APPEARS to be better communication and easier to find info is actually the opposite.
Dana
UPDATE:
"As for the harsh things some of you are expressing, I’m sorry you’re frustrated. We are indeed trying to get comments enabled on the Status page."
A single click of a button turns on comments Katt - I am disappointed
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Eye on the Blog
Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 2:50 PM by: Jeska Linden
Second Life Showcase, Popular Places and the Future of Traffic
"Looking for cool places to visit within Second Life? We are too! We’re pleased to announce that the Second Life Showcase is coming to the 1.21 viewer release, which is planned for Release Candidate in 2-3 weeks and in final form in 6-7 weeks.
For a sneak peek at this new feature, please visit Second Life Showcase on our website. The Showcase is an editorially-managed guide that highlights a variety of inworld venues and intriguing locations to new and existing Residents. For more info, read our Second Life Showcase FAQ; it includes information on how to suggest a venue for feature placement. We are currently developing an easier way to nominate inworld experiences for the Showcase from within the viewer, so keep an eye on this blog for more news!"
"Brief History of Traffic
Popular Places was initially created as a list of the 20 parcels with the most traffic on the previous day. The data that drives Popular Places has been based on raw traffic numbers, which do not differentiate between bots, campers and active Residents, and as some have pointed out, this has resulted in the tab not being an accurate reflection of true popularity among Residents."
"It is clear that the current Traffic system is not an effective means of determining the success or popularity of a parcel, nor does it provide useful information about Residents visiting those parcels."
Key phrases in this post that show that maybe they are listening: some have pointed out, opening up the discussion, brainstorming sessions, We look forward to your ideas!
WOW!
They have actually started to listen, and yes I am amazed. Have they finally got fed up of all the bad PR and are working on generating some good for a change?
This is certainly a step in the right direction finally bringing the traffic stats under scrutiny.
They have as yet no idea what they will replace it with and to be honest do we really need it at all? The showcase mentioned will only show a few places and will obviously reflect the opinion of those editing it, rather than the community, so its not really an alternative.
There is a spark of hope that if traffic is removed it will mean the end of 'bots' used to cheat the traffic stats - as mentioned before I can't honestly see LL doing this as it will reduce their user stats probably by as much as half, if not more, immediately; they need those stats to keep people believing the figures businesses see!
Well we shall see what we shall see, but at least its a step in the right direction Kudos to whoever finally began to listen, long may it continue!
Dana
Monday, April 28, 2008
SPAM/SCAM ALERT
A link is being spammed out inworld, usually in group IMs linking to this site - and NO it is not Secondlife.com - and no i won't give the link out here.The site offers Lindens for filling out surveys but the chances of this being for real are very low and the content is not exactly nice. I would not recommend anyone going here and hope that this message gets passed on.
I hope the LL trademark lawyers are ready in this case!
source: Massively
Grand Opening of Jakeson Quality Music Essentails Store
Come celebrate with us, the Grand Opening, of our New and Improved Jakeson Quality Music Essentails Store.Find full details in EVENTS
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Interview with Somber Atlass
I recently got a chance to sit down and chat with a member of the Wiccan/Pagan community. Read more in our People section
Here's a question for yah!
Why are there so many pirate ships in Second Life? Why are they so hugely popular? You can't really live in them (way to small), you can't really move around in them (way to small), you can't really rez them properly unless you have a large piece of land/water (way to primmy), they cost thousands of L$ (way to expensive) ...
I guess everyone wanted to be a pirate at some point during their playful youth. Didn't we all play 'pirate' when we were kids? With eye patches and plastic swords? I certainly did! Well, I also wanted to be a pimp when I was a kid, and SL would be the perfect place to try that. But I don't. The past is the past, and the present is the present. Do we still want to be pirates on primmy ships right now? Or do we want to socialize, contribute to the wonderful world of pixel porn, or run a decent business?
You know, the whole thing with pirates has become somewhat of a hype, after the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Maybe that's it. Maybe that has triggered the pirate hype in SL. All I can think of, is that. Who doesn't want to have a glass eye, wooden leg, a hook for a hand and an abusive parrot on a shoulder? You have my blessing, good people, go ahead and be playful! And don't forget to go to mouselook when you go down to the lower decks!
Ship Ahoy !!!
Styles of Edo wins at Merovingi Fashion Awards
Our good friend Edo tone last night received the award for 'Best Male Fashion Label' for his designs 'Styles of Edo' at a star studded award ceremony filmed by SLCN. 
The Merovingi Group is proudly sponsoring the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders during this year's Fashion Awards and have set a goal to raise$15,000 dollars for the selected organizations, which have made exemplary strides to improve access to the information and means to seek medical care and treatment for millions of people worldwide.Edo wishes to thank all our readers who took the time to go and vote for him and showed so much support throughout the awards.
He generously donated his winnings to the cause and looks forward to another year building on his success.
We congratulate Edo on his award and believe it to be well deserved: click here to learn more about 'Styles of Edo'.
update:
I have been criticized for not posting all winners: not being there myself I did search for the winners but was unsuccessful both on SLCN and the official MFA website (but then i was early posting this today) these are now there and the winners were:
Best New Fashion Label - KA Designs
Best Furry Fashion Label - Neko Gear
Best Gothic Fashion Label - Silent Sparrow
Best Female Fashion Label - SLAB Designs
Congratulations to all!
Dana
Amazing Grace
Have you wondered why people come to second life? I have wondered often, when I meet an avatar, what is this person doing here?? Why did they come? Game playing? Curiosity?? I think that is the most common answer. It was my reason. Then , by accident I met an avatar who told me a story that really touched my heart , and perhaps will touch your heart too and cause you to think and to wonder more, why we are all here in this place together? What stories do we share??Read more of this amazing story in the PEOPLE section
By Gemma Cleanslate
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Book Fair 2008 is officially open
The book fair got underway last night despite SL grid problems with Selina Greene managing to log in just in time to launch and Kelvinblue Oh just a little late to entertain those gathered.The book fair gives you an opportunity to meet authors, writers and publishers, wander around the stalls to find out just what is available in SL.
Events will be going on all weekend and for a full list of whats happening click HERE. Stalls will remain for about 2 weeks after the fair to give everyone the chance to find out about the literary side of Second Life.
Soggy Lindens
The Dreams sim was ready for fun yesterday at 1 when the Lindens began showing up at the last day of the Health Fair for their annual dunking. Nothing was working correctly! We could not rez our balls to throw! Half the place was grey in color, including the Lindens themselves!. And then Sl shut down the logins . Conspiracy was suspected!!! Crashes! The works!!Find out what happened in EVENTS
By Gemma Cleanslate
Highlife drops prices
Amsterdam Alonzo has announced a price drop on all rentals:1/4 sim =
*NEW* Void Sim = 27.500
1/2 sim =
whole sim =
Limited extra space available upon request. Price 2 linden per sqm.
Edit terrain of your rented land, Deed to group upon request.
Just like owning your own land!
Commercial/Residential
Click here or Contact Carlosj Xeno or Amsterdam Alonzo for more information
Friday, April 25, 2008
Eye on the Blog
Return of the Old Land Storecynlinden:
"Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry… the new Land Store is just not ready to ship.
Rather than inflict you guys with a tool that isn’t ready yet, we have decided to bring the old store back up with the new prices. All the old challenges remain (doesn’t work in IE, wait time for delivery) but you will be able to place orders as you have in the past.
You will still be unable to order Openspaces via the old store, and the delays there will continue to be long as we deal with backorders. New island orders will go up as quickly as possible, and we will keep you updated on the progress of not only those orders but of the new store as well.
Thanks much."
"Rather than inflict you guys with a tool that isn’t ready yet" are they talking about the entire grid?
Well I think at least they are giving people an option, although there is no hint of a timeframe on either regular sims or the new popular void sims.
A lot of concern over time estimates given and then not met - its a bad mistake to say you will deliver on a certain date and then not do so, most would probably accept it if you say it may take a month, then when they get it sooner its a bonus.
One resident hit the whole sorry story on the head with this comment:
Ryanna Enfield Says:
"The best thing you can do is withdraw any investment you have in SL. Money talks. Buy an Island when LL has proven they can provide a stable environment for you to enjoy that Island. The problem is that there is a whole new generation of SL users to take your place and fund SL. Unfortunately there really isn’t any decent competition at the moment to show LL that it might be wise to try to retain long-term customers (investment) as well as generate new customers. Afterall, SL’s old-school residents will someday be a competitors new residents. The unstable environment we will never grow accustomed to, will simply give us a valid excuse to try other alternatives. I’ve tried more games in the past four or five months than I have in my entire life. All running perfectly smooth on my computer. Unfortunately, I think a massive revenue loss is the only kind of message LL will ever understand, and by then it will be too late."
It is easy to say but I don't expect many will follow until there is a usable alternative then you will see an SL migration in their millions!
source: http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/04/24/return-of-the-old-land-store/
A Day in New York City Block
What HAS Bixyl been up to now????A pegasus, a guy in a dark suit being chased by a neko catgirl armed with a baseball bat, a walking tree; a treant and a dark lizard-like monster this can only happen in SL's NEW YORK
read the full story in EXPLORE
Events, events, events,
Wow its going to be a busy weekend!
Take a look at EVENTS, MACE and DESIGN sections to find out just how busy; there is the SL book fair 2008 this Friday, Saturday and Sunday - then also the Arthole Gallery Grand Opening you can read about that with Nazz in MACE, don't forget Phat Cat's re-opening and the award ceremony for the Merovingi Fashion Awards and a whole week of events at Rezz rock and Rezzolutions. Also find out what great shows are lined up for you in Zurich this weekend in the MACE section.
BBA Hotshots will also be running a YARD SALE in aid of RFL from the 24th - 27th with 1000's of items on sale and all proceeds going to this great charity. Keep up with all the RFL events in their sectionPlan your weekend with our help - keep an eye on the sections for more events this weekend!
Take a look at EVENTS, MACE and DESIGN sections to find out just how busy; there is the SL book fair 2008 this Friday, Saturday and Sunday - then also the Arthole Gallery Grand Opening you can read about that with Nazz in MACE, don't forget Phat Cat's re-opening and the award ceremony for the Merovingi Fashion Awards and a whole week of events at Rezz rock and Rezzolutions. Also find out what great shows are lined up for you in Zurich this weekend in the MACE section.
BBA Hotshots will also be running a YARD SALE in aid of RFL from the 24th - 27th with 1000's of items on sale and all proceeds going to this great charity. Keep up with all the RFL events in their section
Arthole Gallery Grand Opening
I usually check my e-mail first thing in the morning before heading off for real life work and was pleasantly surprised a few weeks back to have received one from Nebulosus Severine. She had been gracious in responding to a survey I did on the Arts in Second Life earlier this year and it was great to see her name pop up. It was an announcement that she'd been working on a new project, a collaborative gallery, "Arthole", with her friend and fellow artist Arahan Claveau and that it would be opening soon.Read Nazz Lanes interview in M.A.C.E.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Introducing TK Interactive Gaming
Have you ever found yourself looking for something to do while in-world? Whether you want a place to meet new people or somewhere to being that special someone, look no further than the TK Island sim.Look in EXPLORE for full details
We sponsor SL book fair 2008
It's on again! The SL Book Fair 2008 will be held on 25th April - 27th April on Book and Publishing Islands.Last year saw over 1400 visitors attending the Fair in the course of three days. There were over 40 exhibitors and nearly 20 events and the response to the event was overwhelming.
This year will be even bigger and better as it will take place across two sims. Don't miss out! Once the exhibit stalls are taken, they are gone. If you are into books in any way this is your Fair!
For a list of events and times PLUS SLurl links go to EVENTS
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Phillip Linden announces the new CEO:
Direct from the SecondLife blog:Announcing our New CEO!
I said a month ago that I was looking for a new CEO to lead Linden Lab, and we’ve found one! His name is Mark Kingdon, and his Second Life name is “M Linden”.
As you might imagine in a new leader of Linden Lab, there are lots of great things I could say about him, but let me just pick a few and then encourage you to meet him in-world. He is a person with the rare and unusual combination of business leadership, creativity, and passion for Second Life that we were looking for. In terms of history, he has a background in art, economics, and business. He has been in successful and highly regarded leadership roles at two companies that are bigger than Linden Lab: PricewaterhouseCoopers and Organic. He is a well-loved people leader who is fearless and can weather challenges and change.
He is going to start on May 15th. Like I said when we started looking, I am not going anywhere, and will be working with Mark to help lead Linden and Second Life onward. I am really looking forward to working with him, as he has so many skills and capabilities that will help us and that I can also learn from - here are a few: He will have an intense focus on improving the in-world experience and stability and reliability of Second Life. He has extensive hands-on experience with user experience design, which will be critical in making Second Life an easier and better experience for more people. Finally, he has a ton of experience leading companies and products with global reach, which is now essential given that the great majority of Second Life usage is international and Linden Lab will continue to grow as an international company with offices in many locations.
I have to say I am also really happy at how we found Mark. We decided to talk in public about searching for a new CEO because we thought it was the right thing to do, but of course we were concerned that it was unusual for a company to talk about such a change before finding the right person. Generally, recruiting executive people involves lots of work in creating lists of potential candidates and calling out to them.
But I always also hoped that with our public message out there, maybe the right person would actually just come to us. The intersection of people who would hear that news, have the right skills, and also be passionate enough about Second Life to pick up the phone and call me and ask for the job - well that is a very small list. But I thought maybe it would happen and turn out to be the perfect person. It was!
We will schedule a series of inworld meetings in the coming weeks where folks can get a chance to meet and talk to him and me together.
================================
Kingdon comes equipped with an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, as well as more than a half decade's worth of experience running digital-ad agency Organic.Hiring a 'business guy' to head Linden Lab, rather than someone with a background in social networking or gaming, gives credence to the rumours that the company wants to achieve some corporate momentum and eventually go public.
Said Kingdon in a press release, "To me, the CEO role at Linden Lab combines perfectly my passions for art and design, business and technology" the executive added, "Until Second Life, we experienced the digital world passively in two dimensions. By enabling users to create a rich and immersive virtual world, Second Life is transforming the way we connect, collaborate, learn and transact online."
Philosophy Class Revisited
You may recall back in the fall I wrote an article about our philosophy class here in SL. ( archives)Our Professor is presenting the 100 philosophers who have affected our philosophical thinking of today. People from all around the world gather to listen and learn.Read on with Gemma in PEOPLE
Wilder moves
Wilder Public Relations, Inc. was founded by Annette Wilder on December 17, 2007. Annette started with Avenue Models Inc. Once she left Avenue she was still being asked to do Public Relations so it became obvious that she needed to start her own business.This is the Public Relations Firm to beat in Second Life. Committed, proficient, understanding, charming and a very strong networking base, Annette and Bibe have formed an incredible business out of what was Annette's stunning personality and business sense so humbly began. Consider Wilder PR if you want to get your product's name out there. There is no one better.
Annette wanted to let everyone know that they have a swanky new office high up on the clouds :) please don't use the old landmark or you could end up falling a long way! Here is the new SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Royal%20Tropic%20Lagoon/30/241/592
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Through the Mirror (Blood-Soaked 3)
Nightmares turn to something stranger read our Explore section to understand what Dashwood fell into this time.
Greetings from Katt Linden
Yesterday saw the introduction of a new Linden, Katt Linden:Thwack…thwack…is this thing on? Oh, hi. This is Katt, one of the newest Lindens.
I’m the new Communications Manager, and kudos to those of you who noticed the position had been filled.
So what am I here to do?
A big part of my job is to listen. I will also be aggregating your comments here and monitoring the blogosphere, to follow developing trends and opinion. I’ll be working to update our communications tools. And, I’ll be doing my best to help all of us at Linden Lab be more consistent and effective as bloggers and communicators.
Linden Lab knows how important it is that we have clear and consistent communications with Residents. We know that we have work to do, and that’s why I’m here.
I’ll start by managing a facelift on the forums, and then on the blog.
As for me, I’ve been paying attention to Second Life, and reading your blogs, for a couple of years now, and like you, I care deeply about Second Life. And I’m more proud than I can say to be part of Linden Lab, “working to connect us all to an online world that advances the human condition.”
My role here is, however, a work in progress, and so I’m going to start out by saying that I’ll need to ask for your patience.
This is surely going to be evolving, and I welcome your feedback.
We would like to welcome Katt and wish her the best of luck.
Judging by the mixture of comments and flak jackets handed out, her job is not one to be envied, after all you can only please some of the people some of the time and frustration is running high.
Some explaination is needed to clarify what Katt will actually be doing, 'A big part of my job is to listen' this doesn't say she will actually do anything with what she hears. Most are hoping this is not just another PR stunt to keep the tiers coming in a little bit longer while they TRY to fix the platform.
In reply to one very frustrated Resident Katt said;
'I do hear how frustrated you are. I wish I could promise to wave a magic (Starax!) wand and make it all better right now — but I can assure you that we are, really, working hard on the issues. That’s one reason you see tech posts from the Lindens working on some issues, like Sidewinder’s posts about Havoc, which has had a huge impact on *reducing crashes*. Can we get better at communicating things? Sure, and that’s why I’m here, to try to help.'
Well, we have asked for better communication for a long time let us all give Katt a chance to settle in and hope that this bodes well for future communication, a simple Inworld warning would suffice to satisfy a lot of that frustration and save a lot of people money.
We can but hope..................
Dana
source:http://secondlife.com/
Breezes Thoughts
I was walking around today, feelig quite content with myself, when I heard a mournful sound. I walked around the shadows of the trees, magical Mushrooms and colorful gnomes frowning because I could not find the pitiful mews...............Continued in PEOPLE
Dreams Community Fair
The other day in my article “Builders With Dreams” I mentioned I was exploring a health fair there. I was working on an article when I was sidetracked by the building going on . I do want to tell you about the Dream’s Fair however and urge you to visit this week . There will be events taking place there until April 25 when from 1:00 to 4:00 you will be able to dunk a linden!!! Find out more from Gemma Cleanslate in EVENTS
Monday, April 21, 2008
At the Bellagio
Last night saw me at the Bellagio Since I knew Edo Tone was showing his Tuxedo collection, plus I am always looking for ideas for my own wedding dress.............See more in DESIGN
Home sweet home
Void Sims, demand createdI can't begin to express how wonderful it is to sail around your own little piece of SL, to be able to make it anything you want it to be........
More in Explore
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Another Murder in the Prision
I arrived back to my office this morning to find a stack of assignments that I have been putting off all week because of the wedding, only to find this had been shoved into the pile. Seems another messenger from the prison made it to the news office.
I must apologize for not getting it out sooner as it was covered in red smears marked urgent. Read our People section for the scoop.
I must apologize for not getting it out sooner as it was covered in red smears marked urgent. Read our People section for the scoop.
Falling land prices are always bad news
So, the Lindens took down the prices for islands by 40%. A frustrating move for those who purchased islands recently at "full price" but great news for wannabe land owners who feel that ordering will be cheap from now on.
I congratulate you on your future purchase if you are part of the latter group. The only issue is that falling land prices never are good, in any economy.
The situation of Second Life can not be directly compared with RL economies. The level of development is not the same. But it has something in common with RL: when prices fall down, it indicates that owners are getting poorer and demand is weaker. When prices go up, land owners get richer with the perspective of reselling assets that are worth more.
There is a broader way to look at the situation, too. When a company has the ability to raise prices without meeting a hostile reaction, we call that "pricing power". If Linden Lab had the ability to raise prices for its islands, it would mean that demand would be so strong that they could afford it. Under normal circumstances, pricing power is a great indicator of a healthy market.
It actually sounds like Linden Lab is rather under "pricing pressure". It doesn't matter much whether they think that businesses are shying away from Second Life and looking for competitors. Or that a 40% price drop will create instant demand. Stable or rising prices are better news, as long as they are not on a bubble.
At least, SL generally escape the realities of RL. In RL, people who borrowed to buy a house can face foreclosure if the value of their home is worth less than the amount they owe. In SL, once you have mainland, you have it!
Yet, add the 40% price drop to an unstable grid and concerns over Second Life's long-term perspective... and one starts to think twice about investing.
Introducing Gilberto Gregg's Hyper-Interactive Modern Art Garden
Please come experience Gilberto Gregg's Hyper-Interactive Modern Art Garden in Cyamenti. Enjoy viewing and interacting with nearly 100 paintings. Touch each painting to see how it reacts.Find out more in M.A.C.E.
Takeshi Newman Games
Named after the builder, Takeshi Newman Games offers a number of novelties to keep visitors entertained.Read more in EXPLORE
By Bixyl Shuftan
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Congratulations
Our very own Dashwood Dayafter married Tanis Caudron in a gothic pagan paradise hosted at Deviation Park.We here at SL-Newspaper wish them all the best for a happy future together!
Interview with Selina Greene - SL Book Fair 2008
This year's Second Life Book Fair 2008 will occur on the 25th through 27th of April. The fair will be held on Book and Publishing Islands and the organizers are planning a host of exhibits, events and activities for the residents of Second Life. I spoke with Selina Greene, the head of the book fair's planning committee.
Read Nazz's interview with Selina HERE
Opinions: by Dana
Today LaurapLinden posted 'More on trademarks' this I must say is an improvement on previous posts, but she reiterates to write to them with direct questions, this I must say I have personally done and the answer? Go back and look at the FAQs, so obviously not a good idea. Basically unless you can afford a trademark attorney wait for the cease and desist.I won't go into what is said clarified or otherwise you can just as easily read it here, the one thing that struck me though is the level of unhappiness of most of the SL™ residents not only with the trademark/branding issues but overall.
Grid stability according to Linden Lab® is better with the roll out of Havok4, this is not the impression that most of us get.
Content theft is another major concern and the lack of action by Linden Lab on this issue is galling to say the least when they are working so hard to protect their own interests, but, leaving content creators out in the cold to fight their own battles.
According to their own metrics the economy is growing with more Lindens being spent, a 33% increase since the gambling ban. I would love to know where? Most business owners are distraught with the grid problems preventing businesses from running to a profit - stale transactions, items not delivered, payments not received etc........
Events are on a downslide as clubs and venues reign in, keeping the bare minimum to keep going. Most events are problematic, even the remembrance day was marred by grid downtime and login failures.
Again according to the metrics there are more residents than ever, are they true figures? We can all fly around to most places that look busy and find the BOTS sitting up on a platform or buried in a hole under the ground. These bots are the bain of many residents bumping places up in search falsely and causing lag for anyone in the region, but it makes the total resident number look good for the Lindens so of course they will not stop them and all calls for something to be done about them will fall on deaf ears - Why would they stop something that makes their figures look good?
I hear more and more about other options, residents looking for open source alternatives - why?
Have Linden Lab lost all the confidence of the residents to that extent?
We all know now that Linden Lab is a business and SecondLife is a business, that it was created by the residents for them, that the content creators and people made it what it is does not matter, more and more people feel left out in the cold by a corporate business.
Once upon a time the Lindens worked with the residents to created a wonderful world, now Linden Lab appears to be grabbing at anything it can to keep afloat amongst all the bad RL press and PR decisions.
Today will also see the opening of I-World island. What is I-World?
"Part of our support structure here at Linden Lab is a dedicated customer team called I-World. This team answers support tickets and live chats from residents who are experiencing some difficulties or looking for guidance with in-world issues. Some of you may be aware of us from your contact via the Support page but most of you will probably never have heard about us.
We help to ensure that your in-world experience goes as smoothly as possible by providing answers where we can and getting our technical colleagues to perform their magic where we can’t. We know there are things that sometimes don’t work so well in SL…things that get you down. We’re sorry that they happen, they get us down too and we want to get them resolved as quickly as you do."
I think they will be kept very busy with mobs of angry residents, is it any wonder the Lindens keep away? Every blog post is accompanied by complaints and anger from residents who just want stability, to play and love and learn in an environment that works the way it was intended.
'RESOLVED' - How many times do we see that only to try to purchase something and have it fail? How many times have we been logged out and spent an hour trying to log back in to that important meeting only to find a blog post an hour later saying 'logins are closed'?
How much more does it take for Linden Lab to realise they have lost the confidence and trust of most of the residents? Linden was once seen as a company that cared, that wanted to help residents to create something unique and wonderful a SECONDLIFE, now it seems that goal has been achieved with the help of all the fantastic content creators, scipters and residents, so does that mean Linden Lab can now just act like GODS and do what they like with it?
Seems that way to many.........................
Dana
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