I am sometimes criticized for my open disagreement with how Linden Lab runs Second Life. It’s not for lack of a host of reasons. Kiss - Keep it simple stupid is a motto I have used for many years and Linden Lab would be smart to plaster it next to their beloved “Love Machine”.
For the past 5 years Linden Lab has been begging the masses to build communities and projects on the mainland but they fail in giving any type of controls to the owners of these simulators. Owners cannot add a covenant like they can with estate land. Owners can put land into group land but then they must convince the renters to get a basic account threw Linden Lab at $9.95 per month and give the land owner their 512m of land via a contribution to the group. In the end the land owner has to dish out approximately an extra $100.00 per month for the privilege of having group land. Seems a bit half ass and backwards to me. After all Linden Lab receives no less than a heafty $1600.00 on average for every mainland simulator at their auction. In addition they also receive an additional $195.00 per month for each simulator. Now add to that an additional 30 Lindens per sub divided parcel for that parcel to be included in their somewhat broken search engine. In the end anyone wishing to start any kind of a mainland project has to be able to sustain that project for at least a year before they see any type of profit from their initial investment.
Ok even if one thinks that all sounds doable add to that mix Linden Lab and their decision to keep the land market flooded that makes the job just a tad bit harder. In recent weeks they put any hopes I had of starting a residential community on the mainland to rest once and for all. The dreaded Bay City was opened with a whopping 20 residential sims, which they are selling at auction on their web site, advertising both on their web site and in world and are offering free texture packs to boot.
Just how bad do they want ppl to start projects and communities on the mainland? Seems to me they don’t want ppl to do that at all. They are showing threw force that they are the new content providers and they are running the entire show not just supporting it. In the end I for one have hard feelings twords Linden Lab as I cannot sell my mainland simulator even at cost these days. But they are receiving upwards of $1000.00 for a 1024m plot of land in their Bay City. To keep things in perspective there are 64 plots on a simulator at that rate they are set to make a whopping $64,000US per simulator and people like me are set to lose our initial investments of on average $1600.00 plus any tier fees we have to pay while our land goes unsold.
If Linden Lab was serious about wanting ppl to run communities and projects on the mainland they would give us the Estate tools we so desperately need to make any sim wide project work. Instead they do not give those tools to ppl on the mainland.
Keep in mind Bay City is attached to the mainland and Linden Lab has the Estate Tools up and running in Bay City. Bay City is after all run by Linden Lab.
Unfair? Disadvantage? Yes and Yes. When Linden Lab wonders why people are not investing their time and energy on mainland projects and communities they need to realize it’s a simple matter of a Kiss; Keep it simple stupid.. Either that or they will be met with ppl saying “Kiss my ass.” Which if you haven’t guessed by now, is exactly what I am saying.
Catherine
Auctions: Closed Auctions
Item Price Closed
Bay City parcel 3T - Handa (236,106) 1024m L$215,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3X - Handa (235,79) 1024m L$160,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3DD - Handa (237,55) 1024m L$156,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3FF - Handa (235,32) 1024m L$150,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3KK - Handa (236,10) 960m L$235,310 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3BB - Handa (87,48) 1024m L$236,780 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3B - Tanelorn (92,244) 1024m L$121,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3HH - Handa (88,15) 1024m L$325,340 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3KK - Tanelorn (233,9) 960m L$110,000 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3FF - Tanelorn (236,32) 1024m L$109,000 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3DD - Tanelorn (236,56) 1024m L$101,790 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3X - Tanelorn (237,80) 1024m L$108,100 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3T - Tanelorn (236,106) 1024m L$106,640 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3O - Tanelorn (218,158) 896m L$105,030 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3P - Tanelorn (224,153) 1024m L$132,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3E - Tanelorn (221,230) 1152m L$121,080 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3F - Tanelorn (242,230) 1152m L$125,010 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3S - Tanelorn (168,114) 224m L$101,984 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3N - Tanelorn (157,157) 1280m L$170,000 May-30-08
Bay City parcel 3K - Tanelorn (154,179) 960m L$102,510 May-30-08
Ecliptic (128,128) Mature 65536m US$952.00 May-30-08
Upadhyaya (128,128) Mature 65536m US$952.00 May-30-08
Renrose (128,128) Mature 65536m US$952.00 May-30-08
Alleni (144,67) PG 3632m L$22,140 May-30-08
Meddledown (47, 40) Mature 7168m US$151.00 May-30-08
Kreisel (128,128) Mature 65536m US$957.00 May-30-08
Snicket (231,143) PG 512m L$3,010 May-30-08
Walcha Plain (16,167) Mature 1536m L$7,170 May-30-08
Philereme (22,34) Mature 2992m L$12,800 May-30-08
Pennyroyal (128,128) Mature 65536m US$957.00 May-30-08
Erazor (135,175) Mature 512m L$3,810 May-30-08
Marcell (240,113) PG 2048m L$10,010 May-30-08
Oswald (128,128) Mature 65536m US$921.00 May-30-08
Miliaco (8,113) Mature 1024m L$6,010 May-30-08
Dirac (128,128) Mature 65536m US$951.00 May-30-08
Cecropia (220,39) PG 3072m L$100,010 May-30-08
Cecropia (240,110) PG 1024m L$25,010 May-30-08
Laka (6, 23) Mature 416m L$5,510 May-30-08
Grojnowski (128,128) Mature 65536m US$951.00 May-30-08
Minotaur (80,239) Mature 1024m L$4,680 May-30-08
Ilgop (32, 220) Mature 4608m US$71.00 May-30-08
Clare (128,128) Mature 65536m US$957.00 May-30-08
Namhae (18,152) Mature 1040m L$6,010 May-30-08
Oathkeeper (75,106) Mature 512m L$3,210 May-30-08
Oathkeeper (73,78) Mature 512m L$8,010 May-30-08
Pesok (128,128) Mature 65536m US$957.00 May-30-08
Bluenose (120,120) Mature 512m L$5,010 May-30-08
Bluenose (120,144) Mature 512m L$4,020 May-30-08
Everfrost (215, 33) Mature 15360m US$251.00 May-30-08
Jallis (128,128) Mature 64656m US$901.00 May-30-08
Bay City parcel X - Moosehead (72,82) 1008m L$164,010 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3JJ - Handa (157,15) 1280m L$270,270 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3CC - Handa (160,44) 848m L$88,890 May-29-08
Bay City parcel U - Moosehead (54,99) 1024m L$144,100 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3W - Handa (116,92) 960m L$114,100 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3J - Tanelorn (159,205) 1024m L$88,510 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3D - Tanelorn (158,240) 1024m L$86,010 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3C - Tanelorn (128,239) 1024m L$88,190 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3R - Handa (93,117) 960m L$140,040 May-29-08
Bay City parcel L - Moosehead (12,160) 736m L$170,110 May-29-08
Bay City parcel Q - Moosehead (35,119) 1024m L$121,660 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3V - Handa (73,99) 960m L$126,110 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3I - Tanelorn (104,204) 656m L$84,110 May-29-08
Bay City parcel T - Moosehead (11,97) 1024m L$95,010 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3H - Tanelorn (89,221) 640m L$91,010 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3A - Tanelorn (30,238) 1344m L$136,430 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3Z - Handa (139,67) 960m L$78,850 May-29-08
Bay City parcel AA - Moosehead (89,66) 1008m L$150,010 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3II - Handa (118,17) 1024m L$268,490 May-29-08
Bay City parcel 3G - Tanelorn (31,218) 1344m L$130,010 May-29-08
Glaisher (128,128) Mature 60928m US$911.00 May-29-08
Demorgan (128,128) Mature 60816m US$900.00 May-29-08
Shiromani (128,128) PG 65536m US$971.00 May-29-08
Bellobas (128,128) PG 65536m US$966.00 May-29-08
Matamata (175,199) Mature 512m L$3,010 May-29-08
Helsing (232, 84) Mature 8064m US$141.00 May-29-08
Cliffoed (128,128) PG 61168m US$911.00 May-29-08
Darkover (240,231) Mature 1024m L$5,410 May-29-08
Lucasian (128,128) PG 60432m US$1001.00 May-29-08
Tortosa (201, 11) Mature 1760m L$10,030 May-29-08
Rimutaka Park (138,64) Mature 1024m L$9,240 May-29-08
Shiot (46,89) Mature 512m L$4,510 May-29-08
Clewis (128,128) PG 65536m US$2001.00 May-29-08
Ribbonbearer (71,46) Mature 896m L$5,760 May-29-08
Tholtfinger (194, 34) Mature 8064m US$152.00 May-29-08
Barrow (128,128) PG 65536m US$3051.00 May-29-08
Foundation (184,240) Mature 512m L$3,040 May-29-08
Passendale (222,15) PG 1024m L$5,770 May-29-08
Weisshorn (14,246) Mature 512m L$2,590 May-29-08
Driscoll (176,47) PG 1024m L$5,210 May-29-08
Jeonbuk (248,16) Mature 512m L$2,770 May-29-08
Noxious (122, 120) PG 6144m US$401.00 May-29-08
Milaniovic (176,207) Mature 1024m L$6,010 May-29-08
Seosan (208,216) Mature 512m L$2,510 May-29-08
Hallgerda (48,88) Mature 512m L$8,500 May-29-08
Great Pubnico (148,165) Mature 256m L$2,510 May-29-08
Homerlone (21,199) Mature 512m L$3,530 May-29-08
Kirkness (212,50) Mature 752m L$3,260 May-29-08
Madhupak (112,56) PG 2048m L$9,020 May-28-08
Froumo (143,115) Mature 512m L$4,010 May-28-08
Loon (15,72) PG 512m L$3,210 May-28-08
Asan (209,155) Mature 512m L$3,310 May-28-08
Saint Clair (240,152) PG 512m L$2,590 May-28-08
Sedge (248,16) Mature 512m L$3,010 May-28-08
Seogwipo (240,192) PG 1024m L$6,410 May-28-08
Shamrock (204,102) Mature 1184m L$8,270 May-28-08
Shatgogae (216,21) Mature 1024m L$5,010 May-28-08
Shetlon (207,215) PG 512m L$4,510 May-28-08
Shetlon (220,184) PG 864m L$15,010 May-28-08
Shikotsu (239,152) Mature 512m L$3,020 May-28-08
Clinker (20, 157) Mature 4096m L$28,010 May-28-08
Sarafina (247, 150) Mature 1024m L$5,010 May-28-08
Netherbeck (80, 82) Mature 4576m US$80.00 May-28-08
Quargar (95, 120) Mature 7040m US$202.00 May-28-08
Plumpton (128,128) Mature 63712m US$2227.00 May-28-08
Compotista (128,128) Mature 65536m US$2226.00 May-28-08
Routley (128,128) Mature 62160m US$991.00 May-28-08
Venn (128,128) Mature 60768m US$937.00 May-28-08
Wajo Hill (235,86) Mature 512m L$7,170 May-28-08
Bay City parce 4b - Molesworth (37,241) 768m L$146,740 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4nn - Molesworth (26,25) 896m L$402,230 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3Q - Handa (37,138) 1056m L$125,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3M - Handa (55,159) 864m L$110,030 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4ll - Molesworth (24,39) 896m L$180,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3L - Handa (14,163) 1200m L$125,770 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4ii - Molesworth (25,56) 992m L$110,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3U - Handa (8,92) 784m L$110,510 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4dd - Molesworth (25,73) 1024m L$102,410 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3Y - Handa (27,76) 672m L$95,120 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3AA - Handa (26,58) 992m L$110,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4y - Molesworth (24,93) 992m L$99,210 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4t - Molesworth (27,108) 1024m L$135,610 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4o - Molesworth (45,156) 1024m L$236,890 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3EE - Handa (27,43) 1024m L$121,120 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4n - Molesworth (12,157) 1024m L$135,060 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3GG - Handa (29,22) 1024m L$125,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 3LL - Handa (27,4) 768m L$155,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4q - Molesworth (119,151) 1024m L$150,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4r - Molesworth (150,155) 1024m L$125,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4m - Molesworth (164,181) 768m L$95,010 May-28-08
Bay City parcel 4l - Molesworth (178,195) 768m L$120,210 May-28-08
Coverdale (144,23) Mature 2048m L$12,010 May-27-08
Namhae (48,31) Mature 512m L$3,110 May-27-08
Fumb (208,199) Mature 512m L$4,110 May-27-08
Chilispoon (104,16) Mature 1024m L$45,620 May-27-08
Tangun (208,231) Mature 1024m L$4,930 May-27-08
Gorderonis (23,144) PG 2048m L$16,010 May-27-08
Sonamu (208,8) Mature 512m L$3,210 May-27-08
Moliman (120,240) Mature 512m L$7,510 May-27-08
Kananga (104,144) Mature 512m L$3,210 May-27-08
Elvarg (48,168) PG 512m L$4,220 May-27-08
Iwo Jima (240,8) Mature 512m L$4,110 May-27-08
Caso Milo (184,143) Mature 512m L$3,020 May-27-08
Schism (103,47) Mature 512m L$7,510 May-27-08
Namcha (173,214) Mature 512m L$11,300 May-27-08
Chalanties (240,80) PG 4096m L$25,010 May-27-08
Imolarto (176,15) Mature 1024m L$6,510 May-27-08
Manitoba (55,184) PG 672m L$3,010 May-27-08
Hubbard (24,176) Mature 1536m L$9,010 May-27-08
Sinaburoe (240,231) Mature 1024m L$6,510 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4k - Molesworth (194,212) 768m L$133,020 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4c - Molesworth (39,221) 768m L$132,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3M - Tanelorn (54,160) 864m L$95,520 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3L - Tanelorn (17,162) 1200m L$115,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3Q - Tanelorn (36,136) 1056m L$125,520 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4w - Molesworth (145,127) 448m L$80,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4a - Molesworth (11,235) 1152m L$130,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3U - Tanelorn (12,96) 784m L$85,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4v - Molesworth (116,121) 1024m L$110,720 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3Y - Tanelorn (28,78) 672m L$75,680 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4u - Molesworth (87,120) 1024m L$250,000 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3AA - Tanelorn (28,60) 992m L$103,970 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3EE - Tanelorn (28,41) 1024m L$111,420 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4aa - Molesworth (113,95) 448m L$95,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4z - Molesworth (88,88) 1024m L$200,030 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3GG - Tanelorn (30,23) 1024m L$125,010 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 4ee - Molesworth (80,62) 432m L$122,520 May-27-08
Bay City parcel 3LL - Tanelorn (36,6) 768m L$92,010 May-27-08
Anatoly (128,128) Mature 65536m US$1012.00 May-27-08
Atiyah (128,128) Mature 65536m US$1021.00 May-27-08
Lowndean (128,128) Mature 65536m US$2001.00 May-27-08
Alabaster (128,128) Mature 65536m US$2190.00 May-27-08
Crinkle (128,128) Mature 60992m US$922.00 May-27-08
Japarid (128,128) Mature 61152m US$1012.00 May-27-08
Leonhard (128,128) Mature 63428m US$964.00 May-27-08
Sutras (128,128) Mature 65536m US$997.00 May-27-08
Poincare (128,128) Mature 65424m US$1201.00 May-27-08
Mikhailovna (128,128) Mature 65536m US$1000.00 May-27-08
Kirkness (95,54) Mature 1088m L$10,110 May-26-08
Kirkness (146,47) Mature 1024m L$7,510 May-26-08
Jeonbuk (201,9) Mature 512m L$3,900 May-26-08
Hyun (229,233) Mature 512m L$3,150 May-26-08
Hyun (208,240) Mature 1024m L$5,160 May-26-08
Bristow (55,176) PG 512m L$2,360 May-26-08
Tigerclaw (31,12) Mature 512m L$3,310 May-26-08
Te Wharau (176,248) Mature 512m L$3,410 May-26-08
Ello (45,158) Mature 480m L$2,430 May-26-08
Grizedale (122,250) Mature 464m L$3,370 May-26-08
Sospiri (111,119) Mature 1024m L$6,010 May-26-08
Flathead (71,112) Mature 512m L$5,010 May-26-08
Tintafel (152,239) Mature 512m L$5,010 May-26-08
Timescape (150,135) Mature 512m L$2,360 May-26-08
Timescape (174,131) Mature 1024m L$5,010 May-26-08
Timescape (208,136) Mature 512m L$2,710 May-26-08
Great Pubnico (176,168) Mature 544m L$3,010 May-26-08
Camlann Tarl (168,15) Mature 512m L$4,120 May-26-08
Seogwipo (54,239) PG 512m L$3,810 May-26-08
Seogwipo (40,200) PG 1056m L$8,040 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4h - Molesworth (234,246) 912m L$280,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4s - Molesworth (239,149) 1200m L$205,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4oo - Morton (25,10) 800m L$87,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4x - Molesworth (237,109) 960m L$132,020 May-26-08
Barwise (128,128) Mature 65536m US$1000.00 May-26-08
Nemmers (128,128) Mature 60816m US$900.00 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4cc - Molesworth (238,85) 1024m L$175,010 May-26-08
Olexandrovich (128,128) Mature 61408m US$888.00 May-26-08
Benthem (128,128) Mature 61104m US$901.00 May-26-08
Saharon (128,128) Mature 65536m US$999.00 May-26-08
Suri (128,128) Mature 65536m US$999.00 May-26-08
Nevanlinna (128,128) Mature 65536m US$999.00 May-26-08
Rosser (128,128) Mature 65536m US$976.00 May-26-08
Schock (128,128) Mature 65536m US$1001.00 May-26-08
Rafail (128,128) Mature 65536m US$951.00 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4hh - Molesworth (237,58) 1024m L$152,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4nn - Morton (25,25) 992m L$132,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4ll - Morton (25,43) 896m L$112,910 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4kk - Molesworth (234,35) 1024m L$250,110 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4ii - Morton (25,55) 992m L$105,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4dd - Morton (24,77) 1024m L$101,530 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4g - Molesworth (149,248) 608m L$132,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4y - Morton (24,93) 992m L$121,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4f - Molesworth (133,231) 560m L$90,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4t - Morton (23,111) 1024m L$185,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4e - Molesworth (98,226) 1024m L$150,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4n - Morton (13,153) 1024m L$155,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4d - Molesworth (99,245) 1024m L$300,010 May-26-08
Bay City parcel 4o - Morton (42,155) 1024m L$242,510 May-26-08
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Have the jerks taken over Second Life?
It’s taking more and more for me to even log into SL these days. Anything and everything seems to of gone downhill and fast. I find that I am getting mad nearly on a daily basis now. Sometimes it’s an underage player who obviously refuses to read anything. Sometimes it’s crashing over and over again. Sometimes it’s just teens in chat or adults trying to act like teens; it’s the usual sex talk. Hell it doesn’t seem to matter what group it is or even if the group has a purpose. Maybe I am just worn out. Maybe I am tired of trying to just live my decent SL. Maybe I am tired of trying to shut out everything that is ugly day after day; sometimes hour after hour. SL has become little more than a septic tank filled with bile. The good nice places are fewer and fewer as the land bots swoop in and destroy any meaningful attempt of a project, build or nice community.
LL themselves are little help these days over charging for land in groups, competing against it’s own residents who pay their salaries, giving bs none answers to phone calls, Philip when MIA, the new guy M Linden is an AD guy who gives a shit about an AD guy. He is here to make money, what’s to know? He will screw us too. Oh joy. 40% losses on land values nearly over night. No meaningful way to create any kind of stabilization on the main grid unless of course Linden Lab is making a profit at it and putting countless paying customers out of business. I think those running Linden Lab are idiots they can’t even understand why anyone would be mad that group land costs more than non group land. Get fricken real. They suggest you get ppl to get a $9.95 subscription and donate land to your group. They know it costs more the first month. But after that you might break even. Your going to get screwed the land market is crashing. Don’t believe otherwise. Buy a cheaper parcel and stay there.
There is no 5 year plan coming out of Linden Lab they probably believe they will be here. But Project Wonderland will take all of their “real business” corporate customers. They are already so far beyond Linden Lab it’s not even funny. Compare the two they make Linden Lab look like a porn infested wally world; you know the one; where all you find are skanks walking around talking to the carnies and all the rides are broken. Keep in mind you don’t have a right to be mad or say so on their blog just because you paid top dollar for your tickets.
Maybe it’s that when there is the slightest hint that any Linden employee help; that person is met with it is a verbal onslaught of insult and belittlement. It has become common place to openly insult and belittle the Lindens themselves. Those in charge of the grid are now the butt of most jokes. I used to stick up for those poor souls who spoke out and asked decent questions; but I just don’t anymore, I have grown tired of protecting the little guy against all the badies in SL. I am simply outnumbered by the thousands it seems at times. For all these reasons and many more. RL is a hell of a lot more calm, fun, and enjoyable these days. Not that my real life is a dream world but even as bad as it is sometimes; SL seems nearly a punishment instead of a nice place to create. Sadly SL is turning into nothing worth seeing and I have lost my will to even fight for anything decent in SL.
LL themselves are little help these days over charging for land in groups, competing against it’s own residents who pay their salaries, giving bs none answers to phone calls, Philip when MIA, the new guy M Linden is an AD guy who gives a shit about an AD guy. He is here to make money, what’s to know? He will screw us too. Oh joy. 40% losses on land values nearly over night. No meaningful way to create any kind of stabilization on the main grid unless of course Linden Lab is making a profit at it and putting countless paying customers out of business. I think those running Linden Lab are idiots they can’t even understand why anyone would be mad that group land costs more than non group land. Get fricken real. They suggest you get ppl to get a $9.95 subscription and donate land to your group. They know it costs more the first month. But after that you might break even. Your going to get screwed the land market is crashing. Don’t believe otherwise. Buy a cheaper parcel and stay there.
There is no 5 year plan coming out of Linden Lab they probably believe they will be here. But Project Wonderland will take all of their “real business” corporate customers. They are already so far beyond Linden Lab it’s not even funny. Compare the two they make Linden Lab look like a porn infested wally world; you know the one; where all you find are skanks walking around talking to the carnies and all the rides are broken. Keep in mind you don’t have a right to be mad or say so on their blog just because you paid top dollar for your tickets.
Maybe it’s that when there is the slightest hint that any Linden employee help; that person is met with it is a verbal onslaught of insult and belittlement. It has become common place to openly insult and belittle the Lindens themselves. Those in charge of the grid are now the butt of most jokes. I used to stick up for those poor souls who spoke out and asked decent questions; but I just don’t anymore, I have grown tired of protecting the little guy against all the badies in SL. I am simply outnumbered by the thousands it seems at times. For all these reasons and many more. RL is a hell of a lot more calm, fun, and enjoyable these days. Not that my real life is a dream world but even as bad as it is sometimes; SL seems nearly a punishment instead of a nice place to create. Sadly SL is turning into nothing worth seeing and I have lost my will to even fight for anything decent in SL.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Welp we did not make it threw this weekend either.
More problems over the weekend with Linden Lab servers and Second Life. All this just this weekend. Oh there are big problems brewing and the ppl are revolting in group chat. FAILED.
Asset server problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 11th, 2008 at 07:41 pm PDT
[7:39 pm pacific] We are continuing to have problems with our asset server cluster. Please avoid any kind of financial transactions or attempting to rez no-copy objects.
Thank you for your continued patience and support in this matter.
[RESOLVED] Asset server problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm PDT
[12:39 am - RESOLVED] Our asset problem has been rectified now. In-world activities should no longer be affected.
[12:02 am - UPDATE] Logins are now being restored and you will now be able to return to Second Life. Please be patient if this takes a little time as there may be a number of residents trying all at once. It looks like the asset issues is slowly resolving but we’re monitoring this at present and will advise shortly. Thanks.
[11:41 am - UPDATE] Logins to Second Life are being restricted while we investigate.
[11:33 am] We are receiving reports of our asset storage cluster failing. Symptoms you might see include failure to rez, open notecards or photos, access your inventory.
Please refrain from trying to rez or work on builds at this point in time.
We’re investigating and will get back to you with information as soon as possible.
[RESOLVED] Second Life Traffic Issues
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 12:31 pm PDT
[6:10 p.m. Pacific] The Second Life traffic issues have been resolved. Thank you for your continued patience
We have received many reports that traffic calculations are showing incorrectly in some private regions and land parcels. At the present time, we are working to update traffic so that it displays properly. Updates will be posted here as more info becomes avaialble. Thank you for your patience.
[RESOLVED]Partial grid disconnect
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 10:40 am PDT
[10:40 a.m. Pacific] Full grid interconnectivity has been restored. In world transactions are safe again. There may be a couple of minutes of slow logins. If you’ve been having trouble getting in, please be patient and try to ride a login all the way through, rather than disconnecting and retrying.
[10:08 a.m. Pacific] Two of our server facilities have abruptly lost interconnection. We’re investigating as quickly as possible. Meantime, symptoms include login failure for some residents, and some transaction failures in world. Please do not rez or transfer valuable (no-copy) assets until we give an all-clear.
[RESOLVED] Asset storage cluster problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 04:49 am PDT
[RESOLVED 6:15AM PDT] Asset servers are coming back online and logins have been restored. It may take a little time for things to return to normal as the system tries to catch up, but it should be doing so as we speak. -Chiyo
[UPDATE 5:35AM PDT] We presently have someone on site working to diagnose the problem. We currently have logins restricted to employees only. We will have more information as it becomes available. -Chiyo
We are receiving reports of our asset storage cluster failing. Symptoms you might see include failure to rez, open notecards or photos, access your inventory.
Please refrain from trying to rez or work on builds at this point in time.
Our Ops team is investigating, and we will keep you updated with all new information that becomes available as soon as we have it.
New Release Candidate Viewer: 1.20 RC6 is available
Asset server problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 11th, 2008 at 07:41 pm PDT
[7:39 pm pacific] We are continuing to have problems with our asset server cluster. Please avoid any kind of financial transactions or attempting to rez no-copy objects.
Thank you for your continued patience and support in this matter.
[RESOLVED] Asset server problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm PDT
[12:39 am - RESOLVED] Our asset problem has been rectified now. In-world activities should no longer be affected.
[12:02 am - UPDATE] Logins are now being restored and you will now be able to return to Second Life. Please be patient if this takes a little time as there may be a number of residents trying all at once. It looks like the asset issues is slowly resolving but we’re monitoring this at present and will advise shortly. Thanks.
[11:41 am - UPDATE] Logins to Second Life are being restricted while we investigate.
[11:33 am] We are receiving reports of our asset storage cluster failing. Symptoms you might see include failure to rez, open notecards or photos, access your inventory.
Please refrain from trying to rez or work on builds at this point in time.
We’re investigating and will get back to you with information as soon as possible.
[RESOLVED] Second Life Traffic Issues
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 12:31 pm PDT
[6:10 p.m. Pacific] The Second Life traffic issues have been resolved. Thank you for your continued patience
We have received many reports that traffic calculations are showing incorrectly in some private regions and land parcels. At the present time, we are working to update traffic so that it displays properly. Updates will be posted here as more info becomes avaialble. Thank you for your patience.
[RESOLVED]Partial grid disconnect
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 10:40 am PDT
[10:40 a.m. Pacific] Full grid interconnectivity has been restored. In world transactions are safe again. There may be a couple of minutes of slow logins. If you’ve been having trouble getting in, please be patient and try to ride a login all the way through, rather than disconnecting and retrying.
[10:08 a.m. Pacific] Two of our server facilities have abruptly lost interconnection. We’re investigating as quickly as possible. Meantime, symptoms include login failure for some residents, and some transaction failures in world. Please do not rez or transfer valuable (no-copy) assets until we give an all-clear.
[RESOLVED] Asset storage cluster problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 04:49 am PDT
[RESOLVED 6:15AM PDT] Asset servers are coming back online and logins have been restored. It may take a little time for things to return to normal as the system tries to catch up, but it should be doing so as we speak. -Chiyo
[UPDATE 5:35AM PDT] We presently have someone on site working to diagnose the problem. We currently have logins restricted to employees only. We will have more information as it becomes available. -Chiyo
We are receiving reports of our asset storage cluster failing. Symptoms you might see include failure to rez, open notecards or photos, access your inventory.
Please refrain from trying to rez or work on builds at this point in time.
Our Ops team is investigating, and we will keep you updated with all new information that becomes available as soon as we have it.
New Release Candidate Viewer: 1.20 RC6 is available
Friday, May 9, 2008
Are we crashing again?
Yes. Partial grid disconnect
[10:08 a.m. Pacific] Two of our server facilities have abruptly lost interconnection. We’re investigating as quickly as possible. Meantime, symptoms include login failure for some residents, and some transaction failures in world. Please do not rez or transfer valuable (no-copy) assets until we give an all-clear.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 10:10 am
A few min. ago I noted 49k online. Failing to log in after several attempts I now see 44K online within 5 min. I do believe the grid has crashed and burned again. It must be Friday!
[10:08 a.m. Pacific] Two of our server facilities have abruptly lost interconnection. We’re investigating as quickly as possible. Meantime, symptoms include login failure for some residents, and some transaction failures in world. Please do not rez or transfer valuable (no-copy) assets until we give an all-clear.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 10:10 am
A few min. ago I noted 49k online. Failing to log in after several attempts I now see 44K online within 5 min. I do believe the grid has crashed and burned again. It must be Friday!
Virtually Free repost of article by Wagner James Au | June 2008 Print Edition
Virtually Free
An online world embraces regulation.
Wagner James Au | June 2008 Print Edition
In February, subscribers to the virtual world of Second Life awoke to a surprise: The garish, skyscraper-sized billboards they had learned to tolerate as part of their three-dimensional landscape were about to be vaporized, the site’s creators announced.
Billed as “Your world, your imagination,” the five-year-old Second Life has been offering subscribers a sprawling realm of user-generated simulated mountains, oceans, and sky where participants can build and interact as “avatars,” alter egos they control and customize. Thanks to the world’s virtual currency system of Linden dollars (which can be exchanged for real U.S. dollars at fluctuating rates) and the ability to buy and sell parcels of land on Second Life’s two main continents, a thriving, free market economy has taken root.
That economy has included a lot of advertising, much of it ostentatious. So Linden Lab, the company that developed and owns Second Life, announced on its blog in February a new rule prohibiting advertising on Second Life’s mainland continents if it impairs a neighbor’s view. The rule was especially directed at advertisements erected “to deliberately and negatively affect another resident’s view so as to sell a parcel for an unreasonable price”—i.e., to pressure that neighbor to sell his virtual land. It was a vague prohibition that would require a high degree of hands-on regulation by the Lindens (as company employees are known to Second Life users, who are in turn called residents). As such, it was the latest in a long series of intrusions on what once was arguably the purest libertarian economy in existence.
Linden Lab’s experiment with laissez faire began at the end of 2003, when the company first started selling virtual property to its users, encouraging them to buy and sell to each other with Linden dollars. Before then, the company had carefully nurtured its small early user base with frequent cash and land handouts, planning activities with the cloying enthusiasm of a metaverse Hillary Clinton.
After the creation of private property rights, Second Life quickly became a place where free minds and free markets predominated. Users could make millions of Linden dollars as real estate barons or fashion designer magnates, or spend time in kinky virtual sex clubs or art communities. As long as they didn’t interfere with other people’s liberties to do likewise, the company really didn’t care what people made of their alternate-universe lives.
The world did retain some occasionally left-leaning regulations, perhaps owing to the fact that Linden Lab is based in San Francisco. (The company’s user rules, for example, included European-style prohibitions against hate speech directed at gays and minorities.) But for the most part, staffers adhered to a principled hands-off policy that would have done Milton Friedman proud.
In 2005, when one landowner first began peppering the world with ugly billboard towers, residents protested. The Lindens generally refused to intervene. “It’s not for us to decide the relative merit of construction in Second Life,” Linden’s community manager, Daniel Huebner, told me back then. In 2006 company founder and CEO Philip Rosedale refused to intercede against Ginko, a virtual “bank” with a high rate of return that many residents accused of being a Ponzi scheme. That same year, some residents protested “age play”: simulated pedophilia with avatars who look like they’re underage, though the actual people behind them are over 18. Company Vice President Robin Harper replied that it would be forbidden only “if this activity were in public areas,” implying that it was still permissible in private.
The reversals started last year. Age play and other vaguely defined “broadly offensive” behaviors were universally forbidden in May 2007. This policy was announced shortly after a German television crew presented evidence to Harper that avatar-based age players were also using Second Life as a conduit to exchange real child porn photos. Age play was creepy but arguably harmless; when real-world molestation entered the picture, the moral equation changed.
But the changes didn’t stop there. Gambling was prohibited in July 2007. Unregulated banks were banned in January 2008. The February prohibition of exploitative billboards was preceded by the debut of a “Linden Department of Public Works” dedicated to “improving the experience for residents living on or visiting the Linden mainland.” The Lindens were restructuring their universe into the communitarian society it had been in early 2003, when early residents regularly received welfare payments and public works projects to make themselves useful.
Did the Lindens reject laissez faire as a failed experiment? Maybe. From the summer of 2007 to early 2008, the number of active users gradually plateaued at a population of about 550,000—large, but nowhere near as large as tightly regulated virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft or Habbo Hotel, which boast millions of users. Complaining about the ugly casinos or sexual perverts they had to share Second Life with, many residents voted with their feet and left. The number of participants willing to buy virtual land from Linden Labs also dwindled. Offered a fully free society, the market plainly rejected it. So the Lindens went with a mixed economy.
But there is an alternative explanation. As all this was going on, the company kept dropping hints that it was about to let enterprising programmers and companies link their own virtual-world servers to the “official” world. If and when that happens, users would be able to host virtual Second Life islands on their own servers but still remain connected to Linden’s mainland. It’s possible, then, that Linden Lab’s new regulations are part of the preparation for an open source era, when Second Life’s most controversial residents will be able to run unregulated banks and have public sex in adjoining nations.
The Lindens might not be ending Second Life’s libertarian era as much as creating a gated community in a far larger metaverse that remains fundamentally free. Then again, gated communities may be libertarian on paper, but considering all the conformist regulations required to get and stay in one, few would say they are libertarian in spirit.
Wagner James Au is the author of The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World (HarperCollins). He blogs at nwn.blogs.com.
* If Bay City is any indication; I would say James is on the money this time.
An online world embraces regulation.
Wagner James Au | June 2008 Print Edition
In February, subscribers to the virtual world of Second Life awoke to a surprise: The garish, skyscraper-sized billboards they had learned to tolerate as part of their three-dimensional landscape were about to be vaporized, the site’s creators announced.
Billed as “Your world, your imagination,” the five-year-old Second Life has been offering subscribers a sprawling realm of user-generated simulated mountains, oceans, and sky where participants can build and interact as “avatars,” alter egos they control and customize. Thanks to the world’s virtual currency system of Linden dollars (which can be exchanged for real U.S. dollars at fluctuating rates) and the ability to buy and sell parcels of land on Second Life’s two main continents, a thriving, free market economy has taken root.
That economy has included a lot of advertising, much of it ostentatious. So Linden Lab, the company that developed and owns Second Life, announced on its blog in February a new rule prohibiting advertising on Second Life’s mainland continents if it impairs a neighbor’s view. The rule was especially directed at advertisements erected “to deliberately and negatively affect another resident’s view so as to sell a parcel for an unreasonable price”—i.e., to pressure that neighbor to sell his virtual land. It was a vague prohibition that would require a high degree of hands-on regulation by the Lindens (as company employees are known to Second Life users, who are in turn called residents). As such, it was the latest in a long series of intrusions on what once was arguably the purest libertarian economy in existence.
Linden Lab’s experiment with laissez faire began at the end of 2003, when the company first started selling virtual property to its users, encouraging them to buy and sell to each other with Linden dollars. Before then, the company had carefully nurtured its small early user base with frequent cash and land handouts, planning activities with the cloying enthusiasm of a metaverse Hillary Clinton.
After the creation of private property rights, Second Life quickly became a place where free minds and free markets predominated. Users could make millions of Linden dollars as real estate barons or fashion designer magnates, or spend time in kinky virtual sex clubs or art communities. As long as they didn’t interfere with other people’s liberties to do likewise, the company really didn’t care what people made of their alternate-universe lives.
The world did retain some occasionally left-leaning regulations, perhaps owing to the fact that Linden Lab is based in San Francisco. (The company’s user rules, for example, included European-style prohibitions against hate speech directed at gays and minorities.) But for the most part, staffers adhered to a principled hands-off policy that would have done Milton Friedman proud.
In 2005, when one landowner first began peppering the world with ugly billboard towers, residents protested. The Lindens generally refused to intervene. “It’s not for us to decide the relative merit of construction in Second Life,” Linden’s community manager, Daniel Huebner, told me back then. In 2006 company founder and CEO Philip Rosedale refused to intercede against Ginko, a virtual “bank” with a high rate of return that many residents accused of being a Ponzi scheme. That same year, some residents protested “age play”: simulated pedophilia with avatars who look like they’re underage, though the actual people behind them are over 18. Company Vice President Robin Harper replied that it would be forbidden only “if this activity were in public areas,” implying that it was still permissible in private.
The reversals started last year. Age play and other vaguely defined “broadly offensive” behaviors were universally forbidden in May 2007. This policy was announced shortly after a German television crew presented evidence to Harper that avatar-based age players were also using Second Life as a conduit to exchange real child porn photos. Age play was creepy but arguably harmless; when real-world molestation entered the picture, the moral equation changed.
But the changes didn’t stop there. Gambling was prohibited in July 2007. Unregulated banks were banned in January 2008. The February prohibition of exploitative billboards was preceded by the debut of a “Linden Department of Public Works” dedicated to “improving the experience for residents living on or visiting the Linden mainland.” The Lindens were restructuring their universe into the communitarian society it had been in early 2003, when early residents regularly received welfare payments and public works projects to make themselves useful.
Did the Lindens reject laissez faire as a failed experiment? Maybe. From the summer of 2007 to early 2008, the number of active users gradually plateaued at a population of about 550,000—large, but nowhere near as large as tightly regulated virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft or Habbo Hotel, which boast millions of users. Complaining about the ugly casinos or sexual perverts they had to share Second Life with, many residents voted with their feet and left. The number of participants willing to buy virtual land from Linden Labs also dwindled. Offered a fully free society, the market plainly rejected it. So the Lindens went with a mixed economy.
But there is an alternative explanation. As all this was going on, the company kept dropping hints that it was about to let enterprising programmers and companies link their own virtual-world servers to the “official” world. If and when that happens, users would be able to host virtual Second Life islands on their own servers but still remain connected to Linden’s mainland. It’s possible, then, that Linden Lab’s new regulations are part of the preparation for an open source era, when Second Life’s most controversial residents will be able to run unregulated banks and have public sex in adjoining nations.
The Lindens might not be ending Second Life’s libertarian era as much as creating a gated community in a far larger metaverse that remains fundamentally free. Then again, gated communities may be libertarian on paper, but considering all the conformist regulations required to get and stay in one, few would say they are libertarian in spirit.
Wagner James Au is the author of The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World (HarperCollins). He blogs at nwn.blogs.com.
* If Bay City is any indication; I would say James is on the money this time.
Second Life (STATUS) UP, DOWN, PROBLEMS
Listing of problems and issues with Second Life
Downtime, teleport, database, event, groups and various service issues.
4/26/08-5/09/08
May 9, 2008, 5:48 am May 9, 2008, 4:55 am We are currently experiencing trouble with the asset server. Logins to Second Life will be blocked until we can clear up the problem. Please see http://status.secondlifegrid.net for updates.
[UPDATE] Asset storage cluster problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 04:49 am PDT
[UPDATE 5:35AM PDT] We presently have someone on site working to diagnose the problem. We currently have logins restricted to employees only. We will have more information as it becomes available. -Chiyo
We are receiving reports of our asset storage cluster failing. Symptoms you might see include failure to rez, open notecards or photos, access your inventory.
Please refrain from trying to rez or work on builds at this point in time.
Our Ops team is investigating, and we will keep you updated with all new information that becomes available as soon as we have it.
5/7/08 [PJIRA] Support Portal Temporarily Unavailable
5/7/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance
5/7/08 Database Issues
5/6/08 Event Posting Unavailable
5/5/08 Database Issues
5/5/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance 05/07/08
5/5/08 Phone Support Down
5/3/08 700+ Regions Currently Unreachable
5/2/08 Logins and other db-related services slow
5/2/08 Some Webservers Not Showing Current Transaction History
5/1/08 Some regions not coming up or have broken region presence.
5/1/08 New Release Candidate Viewer 1.20 RC5 is available
5/1/08 Second Life In-World Service Issues
5/1/08 PHONES- Partial phone support disruption
4/29/08 Teleports and Region Crossings affected in-world
4/28/08 Rolling Restart planned for Wed April 30/Thu May 1
4/26/08 Database, asset server issues.
4/26/08 Group Payouts Delayed
4/26/08 Rolling Restart for 1.21 Server Deploy Wed/Thu/Fri
4/26/08 Inworld Issues and Logins
Downtime, teleport, database, event, groups and various service issues.
4/26/08-5/09/08
May 9, 2008, 5:48 am May 9, 2008, 4:55 am We are currently experiencing trouble with the asset server. Logins to Second Life will be blocked until we can clear up the problem. Please see http://status.secondlifegrid.net for updates.
[UPDATE] Asset storage cluster problems
Posted by Status Desk on May 9th, 2008 at 04:49 am PDT
[UPDATE 5:35AM PDT] We presently have someone on site working to diagnose the problem. We currently have logins restricted to employees only. We will have more information as it becomes available. -Chiyo
We are receiving reports of our asset storage cluster failing. Symptoms you might see include failure to rez, open notecards or photos, access your inventory.
Please refrain from trying to rez or work on builds at this point in time.
Our Ops team is investigating, and we will keep you updated with all new information that becomes available as soon as we have it.
5/7/08 [PJIRA] Support Portal Temporarily Unavailable
5/7/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance
5/7/08 Database Issues
5/6/08 Event Posting Unavailable
5/5/08 Database Issues
5/5/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance 05/07/08
5/5/08 Phone Support Down
5/3/08 700+ Regions Currently Unreachable
5/2/08 Logins and other db-related services slow
5/2/08 Some Webservers Not Showing Current Transaction History
5/1/08 Some regions not coming up or have broken region presence.
5/1/08 New Release Candidate Viewer 1.20 RC5 is available
5/1/08 Second Life In-World Service Issues
5/1/08 PHONES- Partial phone support disruption
4/29/08 Teleports and Region Crossings affected in-world
4/28/08 Rolling Restart planned for Wed April 30/Thu May 1
4/26/08 Database, asset server issues.
4/26/08 Group Payouts Delayed
4/26/08 Rolling Restart for 1.21 Server Deploy Wed/Thu/Fri
4/26/08 Inworld Issues and Logins
Looks like Philip Lindens visit to congess went over like a shit balloon
Banning Second Life: Congressman Aims to Restrict Access to the Virtual World
Illinois Representative Mark Kirk has a bone to pick with Second Life and other social networking sites over what he feels is a lack of protections for minors who use them. He called upon the Federal Trade Commission yesterday to "investigate the growing vulnerability of children to predators on Second Life."
The congressman fired off a press release stating he'd sent a letter to the FTC's chairman asking for a "consumer alert" to be issued about the dangers of Second Life. Kirk claimed there are no age verification procedures built into Second Life registration despite the popular social networking service's claims of preventing children from accessing it.
Second Life Vixen"During the past five years, social networking Web sites like MySpace, Facebook and Second Life exploded in popularity," Congressman Kirk wrote. "As more kids flock to these sites, we've seen a corresponding increase of online sexual predators targeting children."
Kirk added, "Sites like Second Life offer no protections to keep kids from virtual 'rape rooms,' brothels and drug stores. If sites like Second Life won't protect kids from obviously inappropriate content, the Congress will."
Kirk seeks once again the passage of a bill called "Deleting Online Predators Act," which passed the House in 2006 but died in the Senate. The act would require schools and libraries to prevent children from accessing Second Life and other social networking Web sites unless it was for educational purposes and under adult supervision.
Linden Labs, the developers of Second Life, in turn issued a statement defending their creation. This statement, as it appeared in the Chicago Tribune, read in part "Members of the Second Life community, including Linden Lab staff, actively monitor against minors accessing the [adult portion of the] service."
The question here is obviously: how much of a real threat is Second Life, especially when you consider children run huge risks of running into sexual predators in unmoderated chat rooms and such? As Ars Technica points out, Second Life does, in fact, have age verification technology in place.
That being said, Second Life is not exactly the most G-rated of places online. Take this recent real-world lawsuit over the theft Second Life related "adult-themed virtual objects." This move by Kirk does seem to be a bit of a play to the cameras, but perhaps he does have a point that it is easy for kids to get into stuff online which is not age appropriate.
CREDIT - PC World contributor Nino Marchetti
Illinois Representative Mark Kirk has a bone to pick with Second Life and other social networking sites over what he feels is a lack of protections for minors who use them. He called upon the Federal Trade Commission yesterday to "investigate the growing vulnerability of children to predators on Second Life."
The congressman fired off a press release stating he'd sent a letter to the FTC's chairman asking for a "consumer alert" to be issued about the dangers of Second Life. Kirk claimed there are no age verification procedures built into Second Life registration despite the popular social networking service's claims of preventing children from accessing it.
Second Life Vixen"During the past five years, social networking Web sites like MySpace, Facebook and Second Life exploded in popularity," Congressman Kirk wrote. "As more kids flock to these sites, we've seen a corresponding increase of online sexual predators targeting children."
Kirk added, "Sites like Second Life offer no protections to keep kids from virtual 'rape rooms,' brothels and drug stores. If sites like Second Life won't protect kids from obviously inappropriate content, the Congress will."
Kirk seeks once again the passage of a bill called "Deleting Online Predators Act," which passed the House in 2006 but died in the Senate. The act would require schools and libraries to prevent children from accessing Second Life and other social networking Web sites unless it was for educational purposes and under adult supervision.
Linden Labs, the developers of Second Life, in turn issued a statement defending their creation. This statement, as it appeared in the Chicago Tribune, read in part "Members of the Second Life community, including Linden Lab staff, actively monitor against minors accessing the [adult portion of the] service."
The question here is obviously: how much of a real threat is Second Life, especially when you consider children run huge risks of running into sexual predators in unmoderated chat rooms and such? As Ars Technica points out, Second Life does, in fact, have age verification technology in place.
That being said, Second Life is not exactly the most G-rated of places online. Take this recent real-world lawsuit over the theft Second Life related "adult-themed virtual objects." This move by Kirk does seem to be a bit of a play to the cameras, but perhaps he does have a point that it is easy for kids to get into stuff online which is not age appropriate.
CREDIT - PC World contributor Nino Marchetti
Second Life Linden Lab Screws their Customers
Sorry I don't know any nice way of putting what Linden Lab has done this week. Half of me wants to cry the other half wants to vomit out of pure disgust. When you are in business with ppl there is a certain amount of respect you should show and never give them a reason to mistrust you. This week Linden Lab not only angered the community but they became a direct competitor with their paying community.
Spotlight which is to replace the in world "Popular Places" is nothing more than a hand picked popularity contest meant to pit one paying customers against the other. They can add lovely graphics and make it sound good but real life companies will be on the Spotlight list along with residents Linden Lab itself hand picks. That does not wash with me simply because anyone who says anything negative about Linden Lab or Second Life will never be on that list. Anyone who has sucked up to Linden Lab in the past, gotten special contracts with Linden Lab or has been a ra ra fan boy/girl surely and most certainly will. That is a little childish and grade school popularity contest bullshit I want no part of. That kind of shit makes my stomach turn. I thought we were all adults and treated each other with some kind of respect; I was so wrong.
Bay City or as I like to call it "Bay Shitty" is a stab in the heart of every residential community on the grid. There have been smaller projects by Linden Lab before but nothing on the scale of 20 servers. Previous projects were geared towards helping new people get land. This latest move will put larger parcels in a city setting up for sale on their Auction page. Which is in direct competition with residents who try and run communities. Keep in mind a few things. Linden Lab under the guise of helping the community hired a few select ppl to build it at way below a fair wage to create this city. Those of course were several chosen buddies of theirs. I would like to also say those chosen where very vocal in the forums of past days and were very insulting to other paying customers. Which Linden Lab allowed. Disgusting behavior for a company that is suppose to be professional. Communities are still struggling to try and recover from the server price gouge then sudden drop making their land worth 40% less then what they paid for it. These ppl usually sit with half of their lots empty struggling every month to make tier. These ppl cannot put their lots for sale on the Linden Lab Auction site. There is no way for them to compete against Linden Lab. They will most surely lose revenue as a result of this move.
Fashion and Other Content;
I have no doubt what so ever that at some point in the future LL will take over these markets as well. Leaving Second Life to be nothing more than There.com. I have no doubt because it already started with Spotlight. What's next? Those who are on Spotlight will be asked to sell their goods in one of Linden Lab's cities where they have renters paying Linden Lab their tier.
Let's also not forget that recently Linden Lab told it's fan sites that they could not use the works "Second Life" or "SL" in reference to their product. Fine by me no one say Second Life again; let's see how long it takes before no one mentions their bullshit company at all.
I guess when Philip said he could really make some money if he started making content; he wasn't kidding. He was just waiting to step down as CEO.
I do run residential communities and I feel like I just got screwed. I no longer trust Linden Lab. I am angry because my monthly tier wasn't enough for them they needed what little I made in rentals as well. I can't even ask for a refund. The money I invested is gone. All I can do now is sell what I have and cut my losses. Or stay and pray everday I make my tier. In my heart I know it's just a matter of time and I am being replaced by the corporate machine. It doesn't matter that I spent the last 5 years developing content and helping new people with every question they asked. It doesn't matter that I was kind or helpful. In the end...all I see is the end.
Spotlight which is to replace the in world "Popular Places" is nothing more than a hand picked popularity contest meant to pit one paying customers against the other. They can add lovely graphics and make it sound good but real life companies will be on the Spotlight list along with residents Linden Lab itself hand picks. That does not wash with me simply because anyone who says anything negative about Linden Lab or Second Life will never be on that list. Anyone who has sucked up to Linden Lab in the past, gotten special contracts with Linden Lab or has been a ra ra fan boy/girl surely and most certainly will. That is a little childish and grade school popularity contest bullshit I want no part of. That kind of shit makes my stomach turn. I thought we were all adults and treated each other with some kind of respect; I was so wrong.
Bay City or as I like to call it "Bay Shitty" is a stab in the heart of every residential community on the grid. There have been smaller projects by Linden Lab before but nothing on the scale of 20 servers. Previous projects were geared towards helping new people get land. This latest move will put larger parcels in a city setting up for sale on their Auction page. Which is in direct competition with residents who try and run communities. Keep in mind a few things. Linden Lab under the guise of helping the community hired a few select ppl to build it at way below a fair wage to create this city. Those of course were several chosen buddies of theirs. I would like to also say those chosen where very vocal in the forums of past days and were very insulting to other paying customers. Which Linden Lab allowed. Disgusting behavior for a company that is suppose to be professional. Communities are still struggling to try and recover from the server price gouge then sudden drop making their land worth 40% less then what they paid for it. These ppl usually sit with half of their lots empty struggling every month to make tier. These ppl cannot put their lots for sale on the Linden Lab Auction site. There is no way for them to compete against Linden Lab. They will most surely lose revenue as a result of this move.
Fashion and Other Content;
I have no doubt what so ever that at some point in the future LL will take over these markets as well. Leaving Second Life to be nothing more than There.com. I have no doubt because it already started with Spotlight. What's next? Those who are on Spotlight will be asked to sell their goods in one of Linden Lab's cities where they have renters paying Linden Lab their tier.
Let's also not forget that recently Linden Lab told it's fan sites that they could not use the works "Second Life" or "SL" in reference to their product. Fine by me no one say Second Life again; let's see how long it takes before no one mentions their bullshit company at all.
I guess when Philip said he could really make some money if he started making content; he wasn't kidding. He was just waiting to step down as CEO.
I do run residential communities and I feel like I just got screwed. I no longer trust Linden Lab. I am angry because my monthly tier wasn't enough for them they needed what little I made in rentals as well. I can't even ask for a refund. The money I invested is gone. All I can do now is sell what I have and cut my losses. Or stay and pray everday I make my tier. In my heart I know it's just a matter of time and I am being replaced by the corporate machine. It doesn't matter that I spent the last 5 years developing content and helping new people with every question they asked. It doesn't matter that I was kind or helpful. In the end...all I see is the end.
Linden Lab Talk To The Hand
I have to admit I am a little bit angry and tense today. I admit that because it will affect this blog post. Why am I angry and tense? Because I attended a LLTraffic group meeting in world last night and I was so angry by the end. I logged off and went to visit real life. We "discussed" well that in it's self is a lie, more like we were told my Jeska Linden how it would be and as far as gathering input. Well that was bullshit threw and threw. Here is how LLTraffic is going down. They are removing popular places. Without any input from the community, they decided that. Not that we will be losing anything but XXX shit anyways. So I was ok with that.
However the replacement is nothing more than the work of their new CEO M Linden's attempt at placing real life ad's in Second Life. Excuse me I pay for this service what right do they have to shove real life their products, goods and services in my face? Spotlight will be chosen from LL. Jeska Linden dangled the old "there might be real jobs for some of you at some unknown time in the future to help us decide what might be Spotlighted" Honestly they have been saying that about jobs for 4 years. Either offer me a God Damn job or shut the hell up. I am sick of hearing it every time I bring up a valid concern to the way LL runs Second Life. Why not they put Lordfly paper and Cory edo on the payroll for their public works project. Not to get too side tracked with that but I was also pissed to hear that Linden Lab was GOMing my Chicago idea in their new City. Yeah thanks for nothing, shall I send my textures now or do you already have them?
BACK ON TOPIC!
I am angry because I have never thought Second Life needed real life products and services shoved in our faces. Hell I thought we had a fantastic product where we could create a new world one that didn't exist yet. A eutopia. Well that was a pipe dream and I woke from that long ago. What I didn't expect was for Linden Lab to shove it down my throat. How do I avoid real life commercialism now? I have avoided going to those corporate owned sims, I have tried to form my own communites and projects. I have done the best I could to accept it. Then why today do I feel like the content creators just got sold down the river, got the shaft, were in fact screwed over.
LLTraffic had nothing to do with Traffic they wanted to introduce ideas about verifying my age, sex, race, income. What are my buying habbits, do I turn left or right when I enter a sim. That is none of their damn business and if I wanted anyone to know that information it would already be in my profile. It's for marketing purposes and don't let them fool you into thinking it's for the greater good. It's good for the corporate bottom line and nothing more.
Jeska Linden declared that bots were ok and she even thought some were fun. Sorry Jeska but you suddenly sound very out of touch. If we all had bots why would we need to log on to do business in Second Life. Bots drain resources and are free accounts, they add nothing to the economy but they take resources from it. Linden Lab thinks this is a good thing. Are they high? Who's on the crack pipe? Wake up; copy bot did nothing for the community and free account bots will do even less. These bots accumulate data. What data? Who's data? For what purpose? Are they so naive that they think these bots will only be used for the good. Right, and other lies.
Provoky Neva is turning her back on Linden Lab and Governor Linden. Other communities have declared them selves independant states of Linden Lab and Second Life. I am doing the same, no more will I attend and participate in any Linden Lab function. No more will I support their ideas and charities. I will take care of my own communities and help them to suceed my energy and spirit will go into what I build and every time there is some problem, bug and downtime I will be screaming the loudest. I am sick and tired of being told what wonderful plans Linden Lab has for Second Life only to find out it was another botched release, something more we never needed that drags ever computer to a wimpering crawl or some fantastic idea that just ends up being a way to figure out what real life product they can sell me.
TALK TO THE HAND LINDEN LABS I NO LONGER BELIEVE IN YOUR YOUR LIES OR YOUR BROKEN PRODUCT SECOND LIFE.
I will take care of my community because you Linden Lab; don't have the man power,or a clue as to their wants and needs.
Perhaps if I had made out with Pathfinder Linden like resident Joshua Nightshade did at the last Second Life Community Convention, SLCC 07, perhaps things would be different. Sorry my body and soul are not for sale Linden Lab.
Catherine Cotton
Martin Magpie
et al.
However the replacement is nothing more than the work of their new CEO M Linden's attempt at placing real life ad's in Second Life. Excuse me I pay for this service what right do they have to shove real life their products, goods and services in my face? Spotlight will be chosen from LL. Jeska Linden dangled the old "there might be real jobs for some of you at some unknown time in the future to help us decide what might be Spotlighted" Honestly they have been saying that about jobs for 4 years. Either offer me a God Damn job or shut the hell up. I am sick of hearing it every time I bring up a valid concern to the way LL runs Second Life. Why not they put Lordfly paper and Cory edo on the payroll for their public works project. Not to get too side tracked with that but I was also pissed to hear that Linden Lab was GOMing my Chicago idea in their new City. Yeah thanks for nothing, shall I send my textures now or do you already have them?
BACK ON TOPIC!
I am angry because I have never thought Second Life needed real life products and services shoved in our faces. Hell I thought we had a fantastic product where we could create a new world one that didn't exist yet. A eutopia. Well that was a pipe dream and I woke from that long ago. What I didn't expect was for Linden Lab to shove it down my throat. How do I avoid real life commercialism now? I have avoided going to those corporate owned sims, I have tried to form my own communites and projects. I have done the best I could to accept it. Then why today do I feel like the content creators just got sold down the river, got the shaft, were in fact screwed over.
LLTraffic had nothing to do with Traffic they wanted to introduce ideas about verifying my age, sex, race, income. What are my buying habbits, do I turn left or right when I enter a sim. That is none of their damn business and if I wanted anyone to know that information it would already be in my profile. It's for marketing purposes and don't let them fool you into thinking it's for the greater good. It's good for the corporate bottom line and nothing more.
Jeska Linden declared that bots were ok and she even thought some were fun. Sorry Jeska but you suddenly sound very out of touch. If we all had bots why would we need to log on to do business in Second Life. Bots drain resources and are free accounts, they add nothing to the economy but they take resources from it. Linden Lab thinks this is a good thing. Are they high? Who's on the crack pipe? Wake up; copy bot did nothing for the community and free account bots will do even less. These bots accumulate data. What data? Who's data? For what purpose? Are they so naive that they think these bots will only be used for the good. Right, and other lies.
Provoky Neva is turning her back on Linden Lab and Governor Linden. Other communities have declared them selves independant states of Linden Lab and Second Life. I am doing the same, no more will I attend and participate in any Linden Lab function. No more will I support their ideas and charities. I will take care of my own communities and help them to suceed my energy and spirit will go into what I build and every time there is some problem, bug and downtime I will be screaming the loudest. I am sick and tired of being told what wonderful plans Linden Lab has for Second Life only to find out it was another botched release, something more we never needed that drags ever computer to a wimpering crawl or some fantastic idea that just ends up being a way to figure out what real life product they can sell me.
TALK TO THE HAND LINDEN LABS I NO LONGER BELIEVE IN YOUR YOUR LIES OR YOUR BROKEN PRODUCT SECOND LIFE.
I will take care of my community because you Linden Lab; don't have the man power,or a clue as to their wants and needs.
Perhaps if I had made out with Pathfinder Linden like resident Joshua Nightshade did at the last Second Life Community Convention, SLCC 07, perhaps things would be different. Sorry my body and soul are not for sale Linden Lab.
Catherine Cotton
Martin Magpie
et al.
Second Life (STATUS) UP, DOWN, PROBLEMS
Listing of problems and issues with Second Life
Downtime, teleport, database, event, groups and various service issues.
4/26/08-5/07/08
5/7/08 [PJIRA] Support Portal Temporarily Unavailable
5/7/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance
5/7/08 Database Issues
5/6/08 Event Posting Unavailable
5/5/08 Database Issues
5/5/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance 05/07/08
5/5/08 Phone Support Down
5/3/08 700+ Regions Currently Unreachable
5/2/08 Logins and other db-related services slow
5/2/08 Some Webservers Not Showing Current Transaction History
5/1/08 Some regions not coming up or have broken region presence.
5/1/08 New Release Candidate Viewer 1.20 RC5 is available
5/1/08 Second Life In-World Service Issues
5/1/08 PHONES- Partial phone support disruption
4/29/08 Teleports and Region Crossings affected in-world
4/28/08 Rolling Restart planned for Wed April 30/Thu May 1
4/26/08 Database, asset server issues.
4/26/08 Group Payouts Delayed
4/26/08 Rolling Restart for 1.21 Server Deploy Wed/Thu/Fri
4/26/08 Inworld Issues and Logins
Downtime, teleport, database, event, groups and various service issues.
4/26/08-5/07/08
5/7/08 [PJIRA] Support Portal Temporarily Unavailable
5/7/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance
5/7/08 Database Issues
5/6/08 Event Posting Unavailable
5/5/08 Database Issues
5/5/08 Second Life Downtime Maintenance 05/07/08
5/5/08 Phone Support Down
5/3/08 700+ Regions Currently Unreachable
5/2/08 Logins and other db-related services slow
5/2/08 Some Webservers Not Showing Current Transaction History
5/1/08 Some regions not coming up or have broken region presence.
5/1/08 New Release Candidate Viewer 1.20 RC5 is available
5/1/08 Second Life In-World Service Issues
5/1/08 PHONES- Partial phone support disruption
4/29/08 Teleports and Region Crossings affected in-world
4/28/08 Rolling Restart planned for Wed April 30/Thu May 1
4/26/08 Database, asset server issues.
4/26/08 Group Payouts Delayed
4/26/08 Rolling Restart for 1.21 Server Deploy Wed/Thu/Fri
4/26/08 Inworld Issues and Logins
Old Quotes
I'm going to dig up some of my old Quotes and post them here; mainly because it thrills me to see how this shit turned out.
Quote:
"Matt; Marry Me :D . Seriously tho it is refreshing to read that not everyone is of the same mindset and ppl are noticing the rappant commercialism. Not all commercialism is bad, a lot has to do with the delivery from LL.
Once LL decided to flaunt commercialism to the fortune 500 and focus on corporate america within SL, the majoritiy of subscribers became “potential customers” and little else. To believe differently at this point would be nieve. SL is still one hell of a fun 3d building tool, which affords one to get instant feedback. For that reason I strick around and create. The commercialism can no longer be avoided as once promissed by LL. Which could potentially lead to the fun SL everyone has enjoyed thus far.
For LL to believe as they apparently do now, that ppl would not only log in but also pay to log in to be “sold” goods and services. Is not only and end to fun in SL, but a poor business plan. We already have the www, ppl want more. If LL cannot deliver on their promiss to be the next “metaverse” soon those who have cheered them on will revolt. Who could blame them. Ppl don’t like being lied to.
I fully expect LL to take the direction of “There.com” and begin to market user created content themselves. Thus putting those types of businesses within SL out of the loop. More so I expect just like advertizement and uploads there will be a cost associated with your product being endorsed by LL.
Cat Cotton
October 25th, 2006 at 11:08 am
Cat Cotton
“Which could potentially lead to the fun SL everyone has enjoyed thus far.”
Correction:
“Which could potentially lead to the end of fun in SL, everyone has enjoyed thus far.”
End Quote
Quote:
"Matt; Marry Me :D . Seriously tho it is refreshing to read that not everyone is of the same mindset and ppl are noticing the rappant commercialism. Not all commercialism is bad, a lot has to do with the delivery from LL.
Once LL decided to flaunt commercialism to the fortune 500 and focus on corporate america within SL, the majoritiy of subscribers became “potential customers” and little else. To believe differently at this point would be nieve. SL is still one hell of a fun 3d building tool, which affords one to get instant feedback. For that reason I strick around and create. The commercialism can no longer be avoided as once promissed by LL. Which could potentially lead to the fun SL everyone has enjoyed thus far.
For LL to believe as they apparently do now, that ppl would not only log in but also pay to log in to be “sold” goods and services. Is not only and end to fun in SL, but a poor business plan. We already have the www, ppl want more. If LL cannot deliver on their promiss to be the next “metaverse” soon those who have cheered them on will revolt. Who could blame them. Ppl don’t like being lied to.
I fully expect LL to take the direction of “There.com” and begin to market user created content themselves. Thus putting those types of businesses within SL out of the loop. More so I expect just like advertizement and uploads there will be a cost associated with your product being endorsed by LL.
Cat Cotton
October 25th, 2006 at 11:08 am
Cat Cotton
“Which could potentially lead to the fun SL everyone has enjoyed thus far.”
Correction:
“Which could potentially lead to the end of fun in SL, everyone has enjoyed thus far.”
End Quote
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
