Well friends, today is the big day for me, and to be honest, it feels quite surreal. I knew this was going to be a hard day emotionally, after 7+ years in a place, one tends to make a lot of good friends, and the prospect of not seeing those friends on a daily basis any longer, has me feeling a bit blue. Enough to re-consider my departure plans? No, sorry, even though I'm feeling "blue" I cannot in good conscious stay in a Virtual World where people, especially those who say they want to protect my IP rights, are STEALING my hard work.
To my friends, I understand the sadness you are feeling, believe me, I'm feeling it too. There are some things that I must do though, and even though it's causing us both stress and sadness, it must be done. You know me, I'm a principled man, one that cannot just sit and watch anyone do wrong to others, or myself. With that said though, I want you all to know, that the past 7+ years have been the best years for me. Without Second Life I doubt I would be alive today, you were here for me when no one else was, and I only hope I was there for you when needed. I love each of you, and pray that everything you do in the future will be a huge success for you. Thank You, each of you, Thank You.
Sorry Linden Lab, today I give up the fight, and in so doing, will waste no more words on your Ethics, or lack thereof. I'm sorry Philip Rosedale chose to destroy the best thing he ever created, I'm sorry Linden Lab wasn't able to understand that the best asset they had were their customers. I'm sorry Second Life can no longer be a safe haven for so many people that need it.
I of course, as I've said before, am remaining active in Virtual Worlds, specifically, InWorldz. You can find me there, under the same name. If you don't find me online, you can always email me. So, with everything else being said, I suppose there's only one thing left to say.
Goodbye.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Linden Lab Continues Lies and Bullshit Campaign
Well, I probably wouldn't normally respond to Linden Lab anymore, but when M Linden sends out a mass email full of the usual LIES and BULLSHIT, how can I not respond.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear before I respond to this lying asshole, I love Second Life. Second Life is a wonderful Virtual World that has been DESTROYED by Linden Lab. Oh certainly you can't see the destruction on the Surface, but look under the glitz and glamor and you see the ugly truth.
M Linden wants us to believe that Linden Lab has OUR interest in mind when he gives the OK to STEAL everything everyone has created in Second Life. Listen, I don't give a rats ass as to WHY they want to use my creations, I would have just gone on living in Second Life unabated if Linden Lab said, "we just want you to know we might use pictures with your content showing in promotional materials", but that's NOT what they said. Instead, M Linden gave the explicit OK to STEAL from each and every content creator. M Linden now writes to say just how well the company is doing, and how they appreciate the content creators. Well, here let's just let the letter speak for itself:
A Message from M Linden
Greetings,
Yesterday was a challenging but historic and important day for Linden Lab. We undertook a strategic restructuring to strengthen our business and enable us to move faster and with more focus on the things that matter. While it will have important ramifications down the line for Second Life, rest assured that there are no fundamental changes planned to our experience or platform, and that both the company and the inworld economy remain in a very strong position.
M Linden is wanting to be sure everyone knows that Second Life is safe, mainly because there has been a great mass migration away from the Second Life Grid. Let me explain to everyone exactly why M Linden is wrong here and what he's NOT telling you (lying by omission).
M Linden doesn't want anyone to realize that the current mass migration from Second Life is being led by their Oldest Customers and Content Creators. What does this mean? Simply put, the world of Second Life will soon be devoid of many places that Residents have relied upon for Hair, Skins, Clothing, Textures, Structures, Sculpties and more. M Linden doesn't mention this because he knows full well that if you, a normal everyday Resident, realized that Content Creators are leaving Second Life, you too would start thinking of abandoning the Second Life Grid as well.
M Linden wants you to believe that the INWORLD economy is "in a very strong position", but think about this, with the Content Creators leaving, just how long will that be true? But here's what Linden Lab will wind up doing, and mark my words on this one, Linden Lab will dip into their Backups, even after the Content Creators leave, and take the Content they have Stolen and begin to operate their own inworld Stores, selling STOLEN merchandise, in a feeble attempt to keep the Second Life Grid strong and significant.
Our decision to restructure the company was based on our feeling that we were moving too slowly on important strategic initiatives, so we have decided to consolidate software development in the US and combine our product and technology organizations into one. We have also streamlined customer support so that it can scale economically as we add users. These decisions resulted in significant job eliminations and this tends to be what press and bloggers focus on because of the human dimension. It is indeed difficult for us to see our colleagues leaving.
M Linden says that Linden Lab believed they were moving too slow on "important strategic initiatives", yet, they were able to STEAL everything from the Content Creators overnight; another lie, or just an oversight?
So, once again Linden Lab says they are restructuring Customer Support. Each time Linden Lab says this, I must remind them that they have NO Customer Support to restructure. Perhaps Linden Lab's first objective should be to offer Customer Support, real Customer Support, to ALL Residents.
M Linden finally explains why he's firing all the OLD STAFF. Why? well, we still aren't sure, he just says he's sad to see them go, even though he's the one that's firing them. Have you heard the latest joke? Do you know when M Linden is lying? Any time he communicates!"
I am writing to you directly because I want you to know that Second Life – and Linden Lab itself – is in very good shape. As a company, Linden Lab remains financially very stable. Our balance sheet is strong and we are well-capitalized. We will close this year with record revenue and hopefully record users, and – with your help – record user-to-user transactions and record landmass. In May, we recorded more than 1 million logged-in Residents, 37 million user hours, US$52.8 million in user-to-user transactions and 31,800 enabled regions. Second Life is sound.
Once more, here M Linden is doing his best to assure everyone that Second Life is sound. I agree in as much as the Virtual World of Second Life is sound; it's the Developers that are a mess, a lying, stealing, stinking mess.
As a platform for the world's most robust virtual economy, Second Life remains as vibrant and healthy as ever. By bringing new people to Second Life, and by increasing the ways in which people can interact with the world and with the people, places, and things within it, we are paving the way for more growth. We remain committed to supporting and improving the SL Marketplace, to pushing forward on IP protection, and to growing the number of Residents that participate in the inworld economy.
M Linden keeps on telling you how wonderful Second Life is, and will remain. I think M Linden protests too much. But seriously, if Linden Lab would just keep their hands off Second Life, it would be a wonderful Virtual World, the problem is, every time M Linden and staff does something, they act out of pure greed. Linden Lab hasn't looked out for the better of the Second Life Residents for over 4 years now, and it's only going to get worse; especially now that Content Creators are leaving en masse
It is during times like this that partnerships are tested and I – as CEO – want you to know that we value our partnership with you and that Second Life and Linden Lab are solid. This kind of transition is difficult for any company, but it need not be difficult for our customers. Our restructuring leaves Linden Lab in a stronger position; Second Life remains the creative and inspiring platform it always has been.
M Linden values your partnership, so much so that M Linden wants to be sure your Creative Content, your hard work, are backed up forever and always can be used in Second Life. Of course, M Linden fails to mention that in order to make that happen, M Linden had to STEAL all that Content, but again, did you really expect M Linden would tell you the WHOLE TRUTH?
Best regards,
M Linden
Well, once again, there you have it. Once you take a close look at what M Linden is saying, it's fairly easy to see he's doing nothing new here. Lying, Stealing, it seems to come natural to M Linden. It's a shame that Linden Lab got lost along the way, but I, and many others, have given Linden Lab enough time to straighten out the path they are on, and how does Linden Lab award us? They Steal our hard work, they lie to us directly, they continue to be driven by greed; is it any wonder that we are leaving Second Life en masse?
I do hope that there will be a time in my life when I meet M Linden in person, so I can tell him to his face, directly, that he's nothing more then a Thief and a Liar. Just to be sure M Linden knows this, I'll be emailing him my remarks here, I would hate for him to think that I was a coward like he was. I've fought to keep Second Life going, I've fought to see that Second Life was the wonder we all knew it could be, I've fought, I've yelled, I've screamed and all the while, M Linden couldn't see past the Dollar Signs. This is your greatest mistake M Linden, by not recognizing that it's the RESIDENTS of the world of Second Life that make the world of Second Life, not the other way around.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear before I respond to this lying asshole, I love Second Life. Second Life is a wonderful Virtual World that has been DESTROYED by Linden Lab. Oh certainly you can't see the destruction on the Surface, but look under the glitz and glamor and you see the ugly truth.
M Linden wants us to believe that Linden Lab has OUR interest in mind when he gives the OK to STEAL everything everyone has created in Second Life. Listen, I don't give a rats ass as to WHY they want to use my creations, I would have just gone on living in Second Life unabated if Linden Lab said, "we just want you to know we might use pictures with your content showing in promotional materials", but that's NOT what they said. Instead, M Linden gave the explicit OK to STEAL from each and every content creator. M Linden now writes to say just how well the company is doing, and how they appreciate the content creators. Well, here let's just let the letter speak for itself:
A Message from M Linden
Greetings,
Yesterday was a challenging but historic and important day for Linden Lab. We undertook a strategic restructuring to strengthen our business and enable us to move faster and with more focus on the things that matter. While it will have important ramifications down the line for Second Life, rest assured that there are no fundamental changes planned to our experience or platform, and that both the company and the inworld economy remain in a very strong position.
M Linden is wanting to be sure everyone knows that Second Life is safe, mainly because there has been a great mass migration away from the Second Life Grid. Let me explain to everyone exactly why M Linden is wrong here and what he's NOT telling you (lying by omission).
M Linden doesn't want anyone to realize that the current mass migration from Second Life is being led by their Oldest Customers and Content Creators. What does this mean? Simply put, the world of Second Life will soon be devoid of many places that Residents have relied upon for Hair, Skins, Clothing, Textures, Structures, Sculpties and more. M Linden doesn't mention this because he knows full well that if you, a normal everyday Resident, realized that Content Creators are leaving Second Life, you too would start thinking of abandoning the Second Life Grid as well.
M Linden wants you to believe that the INWORLD economy is "in a very strong position", but think about this, with the Content Creators leaving, just how long will that be true? But here's what Linden Lab will wind up doing, and mark my words on this one, Linden Lab will dip into their Backups, even after the Content Creators leave, and take the Content they have Stolen and begin to operate their own inworld Stores, selling STOLEN merchandise, in a feeble attempt to keep the Second Life Grid strong and significant.
Our decision to restructure the company was based on our feeling that we were moving too slowly on important strategic initiatives, so we have decided to consolidate software development in the US and combine our product and technology organizations into one. We have also streamlined customer support so that it can scale economically as we add users. These decisions resulted in significant job eliminations and this tends to be what press and bloggers focus on because of the human dimension. It is indeed difficult for us to see our colleagues leaving.
M Linden says that Linden Lab believed they were moving too slow on "important strategic initiatives", yet, they were able to STEAL everything from the Content Creators overnight; another lie, or just an oversight?
So, once again Linden Lab says they are restructuring Customer Support. Each time Linden Lab says this, I must remind them that they have NO Customer Support to restructure. Perhaps Linden Lab's first objective should be to offer Customer Support, real Customer Support, to ALL Residents.
M Linden finally explains why he's firing all the OLD STAFF. Why? well, we still aren't sure, he just says he's sad to see them go, even though he's the one that's firing them. Have you heard the latest joke? Do you know when M Linden is lying? Any time he communicates!"
I am writing to you directly because I want you to know that Second Life – and Linden Lab itself – is in very good shape. As a company, Linden Lab remains financially very stable. Our balance sheet is strong and we are well-capitalized. We will close this year with record revenue and hopefully record users, and – with your help – record user-to-user transactions and record landmass. In May, we recorded more than 1 million logged-in Residents, 37 million user hours, US$52.8 million in user-to-user transactions and 31,800 enabled regions. Second Life is sound.
Once more, here M Linden is doing his best to assure everyone that Second Life is sound. I agree in as much as the Virtual World of Second Life is sound; it's the Developers that are a mess, a lying, stealing, stinking mess.
As a platform for the world's most robust virtual economy, Second Life remains as vibrant and healthy as ever. By bringing new people to Second Life, and by increasing the ways in which people can interact with the world and with the people, places, and things within it, we are paving the way for more growth. We remain committed to supporting and improving the SL Marketplace, to pushing forward on IP protection, and to growing the number of Residents that participate in the inworld economy.
M Linden keeps on telling you how wonderful Second Life is, and will remain. I think M Linden protests too much. But seriously, if Linden Lab would just keep their hands off Second Life, it would be a wonderful Virtual World, the problem is, every time M Linden and staff does something, they act out of pure greed. Linden Lab hasn't looked out for the better of the Second Life Residents for over 4 years now, and it's only going to get worse; especially now that Content Creators are leaving en masse
It is during times like this that partnerships are tested and I – as CEO – want you to know that we value our partnership with you and that Second Life and Linden Lab are solid. This kind of transition is difficult for any company, but it need not be difficult for our customers. Our restructuring leaves Linden Lab in a stronger position; Second Life remains the creative and inspiring platform it always has been.
M Linden values your partnership, so much so that M Linden wants to be sure your Creative Content, your hard work, are backed up forever and always can be used in Second Life. Of course, M Linden fails to mention that in order to make that happen, M Linden had to STEAL all that Content, but again, did you really expect M Linden would tell you the WHOLE TRUTH?
Best regards,
M Linden
Well, once again, there you have it. Once you take a close look at what M Linden is saying, it's fairly easy to see he's doing nothing new here. Lying, Stealing, it seems to come natural to M Linden. It's a shame that Linden Lab got lost along the way, but I, and many others, have given Linden Lab enough time to straighten out the path they are on, and how does Linden Lab award us? They Steal our hard work, they lie to us directly, they continue to be driven by greed; is it any wonder that we are leaving Second Life en masse?
I do hope that there will be a time in my life when I meet M Linden in person, so I can tell him to his face, directly, that he's nothing more then a Thief and a Liar. Just to be sure M Linden knows this, I'll be emailing him my remarks here, I would hate for him to think that I was a coward like he was. I've fought to keep Second Life going, I've fought to see that Second Life was the wonder we all knew it could be, I've fought, I've yelled, I've screamed and all the while, M Linden couldn't see past the Dollar Signs. This is your greatest mistake M Linden, by not recognizing that it's the RESIDENTS of the world of Second Life that make the world of Second Life, not the other way around.
Friday, June 4, 2010
2 Weeks and Counting
It's been an interesting 7+ years and as my ride starts winding down, I'm melancholy, happy, sad, angry and relieved.
When I look back on my 7+ years in Second Life, I'm happy with who I am, who I've become, and the legacy I will leave. Not only will people remember their New Resident Q&A Events, where they could get all their questions answered, honestly, but there are a lot of people in Second Life today, who are paying it forward. One thing I asked everyone that I helped, especially when they were New Residents, was that they remember what I did for them, and when they were in such a position with others, they do for others, as I did them.
How can I not mention the greatest asset of Second Life, the people. Over the past 7+ years, I've discovered new best friends, old friends thought lost, lost friends to the ravages of time, and discovered that some friends were only my friend because of what I was doing for them. I wouldn't change anything I went through in Second Life, as I learned valuable lessons in my life, learned some very important life lessons, and will leave Second Life a richer person for the friends I've met and made here.
Linden Lab started out with the right "Frame of Mind", and many of you will say as they grew into a large Corporation, Linden Lab had to become what they are today. Today, Linden Lab thinks only about how they can make MORE money. Today, Linden Lab thinks only about how THEY can use people to get what they want, like some friends I know. The sad part about the story of Linden Lab is that they didn't have to grow into this Corporate Monster that many make excuses for. Linden Lab could have been a Corporate Entity that made money but also cared what their Customers thought. Linden Lab chose to change for the worse, too afraid to be different, too afraid to listen to their Customers, too afraid to be a part of the minority. Linden Lab, and the Employee's, made their choices as to how they would treat their Customers, as to the Lies they would tell, as to the hard work they would Steal. I know it's an antiquated way of thinking, but there was a time when a Corporation was kept from being a total douche by the employee's that worked there. A Corporation can only go so far as the employee's allow it, which speaks volumes about the people who bought into the lie of Linden Lab and kept the ship trained on the path of Corporate Greed. Linden Lab employee's have asked me to lie when answering questions as a Mentor. Linden Lab employee's have Suspended my account. in violation of their own Rules, merely because they didn't like what I was saying. Linden Lab employee's have done favors for myself and others, merely because we were, at the time, thought of as preferred customers; while "features" were not granted, our lives were made easier, and we were given an advantage over other Residents. This is the type of employee that Linden Lab has, one's who say it's too inconvenient to do the right thing, so they go along with the wrong.
Second Life is a wonderful world, one that I was proud to be associated with. Second Life was a world that, despite the Developers, was a world made good by the Residents. Second Life was able to help people, educate people, make people's lives easier, allow people from all over the world to experience each other in a way a simple chat cannot. Were there people who used Second Life for their own immoral purposes, who used Second Life just to make a quick buck, who used Second Life to hand out their own brand of frustration and mean? Yes, and they, along with the Developers, did everything they could to tear down Second Life, and while their actions received more press, it was the actions of the small group of people, who after hearing their friend hadn't ate in over a week, sent food and money so that could be rectified, that will live on in the annals of the Second Life Community, long after Second Life dies.
The only reason I am leaving Second Life, is because of Linden Lab. It's ironic that because of an individual at Linden Lab invited me to beta test Second Life that I was here at all and it's the actions of a CEO who wants to own it all, that have shown me that Second Life is no longer the world that is safe for Content Creators as it once was. Please don't insult me today and tell me that Linden Lab is only claiming ownership of my Content to use in a small subset of circumstances. The fact is, I don't care WHY they chose to Steal my Content, it's the fact that they chose to STEAL my Content. Why is it we allow a Corporate Entity to Steal from us, and yet, if a person did the same thing, we'd be screaming for Justice? My justice has been announced, I will not stay in Second Life, where those that run the world have chosen to STEAL.
Goodbye my friends, I hope you all the best, I pray we continue to be friends, and that you will join me over at InWorldz, where I will now call my new Virtual Home.
When I look back on my 7+ years in Second Life, I'm happy with who I am, who I've become, and the legacy I will leave. Not only will people remember their New Resident Q&A Events, where they could get all their questions answered, honestly, but there are a lot of people in Second Life today, who are paying it forward. One thing I asked everyone that I helped, especially when they were New Residents, was that they remember what I did for them, and when they were in such a position with others, they do for others, as I did them.
How can I not mention the greatest asset of Second Life, the people. Over the past 7+ years, I've discovered new best friends, old friends thought lost, lost friends to the ravages of time, and discovered that some friends were only my friend because of what I was doing for them. I wouldn't change anything I went through in Second Life, as I learned valuable lessons in my life, learned some very important life lessons, and will leave Second Life a richer person for the friends I've met and made here.
Linden Lab started out with the right "Frame of Mind", and many of you will say as they grew into a large Corporation, Linden Lab had to become what they are today. Today, Linden Lab thinks only about how they can make MORE money. Today, Linden Lab thinks only about how THEY can use people to get what they want, like some friends I know. The sad part about the story of Linden Lab is that they didn't have to grow into this Corporate Monster that many make excuses for. Linden Lab could have been a Corporate Entity that made money but also cared what their Customers thought. Linden Lab chose to change for the worse, too afraid to be different, too afraid to listen to their Customers, too afraid to be a part of the minority. Linden Lab, and the Employee's, made their choices as to how they would treat their Customers, as to the Lies they would tell, as to the hard work they would Steal. I know it's an antiquated way of thinking, but there was a time when a Corporation was kept from being a total douche by the employee's that worked there. A Corporation can only go so far as the employee's allow it, which speaks volumes about the people who bought into the lie of Linden Lab and kept the ship trained on the path of Corporate Greed. Linden Lab employee's have asked me to lie when answering questions as a Mentor. Linden Lab employee's have Suspended my account. in violation of their own Rules, merely because they didn't like what I was saying. Linden Lab employee's have done favors for myself and others, merely because we were, at the time, thought of as preferred customers; while "features" were not granted, our lives were made easier, and we were given an advantage over other Residents. This is the type of employee that Linden Lab has, one's who say it's too inconvenient to do the right thing, so they go along with the wrong.
Second Life is a wonderful world, one that I was proud to be associated with. Second Life was a world that, despite the Developers, was a world made good by the Residents. Second Life was able to help people, educate people, make people's lives easier, allow people from all over the world to experience each other in a way a simple chat cannot. Were there people who used Second Life for their own immoral purposes, who used Second Life just to make a quick buck, who used Second Life to hand out their own brand of frustration and mean? Yes, and they, along with the Developers, did everything they could to tear down Second Life, and while their actions received more press, it was the actions of the small group of people, who after hearing their friend hadn't ate in over a week, sent food and money so that could be rectified, that will live on in the annals of the Second Life Community, long after Second Life dies.
The only reason I am leaving Second Life, is because of Linden Lab. It's ironic that because of an individual at Linden Lab invited me to beta test Second Life that I was here at all and it's the actions of a CEO who wants to own it all, that have shown me that Second Life is no longer the world that is safe for Content Creators as it once was. Please don't insult me today and tell me that Linden Lab is only claiming ownership of my Content to use in a small subset of circumstances. The fact is, I don't care WHY they chose to Steal my Content, it's the fact that they chose to STEAL my Content. Why is it we allow a Corporate Entity to Steal from us, and yet, if a person did the same thing, we'd be screaming for Justice? My justice has been announced, I will not stay in Second Life, where those that run the world have chosen to STEAL.
Goodbye my friends, I hope you all the best, I pray we continue to be friends, and that you will join me over at InWorldz, where I will now call my new Virtual Home.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
It's Over
Friends, it's with a heavy heart that today I announce I'm done fighting Linden Lab. Today, I have decided that I will leave Second Life after 30 more days.
This is not a Countdown to anything, not me telling Linden Lab to change or I go, no, I'm going, I just have to say Goodbye to my friends, and 30 days gives me time to do just that.
I started this first hoping that the people in charge at Linden Lab would see the idiocy of their actions, but alas, that hasn't happened, nor have Linden Lab been any wiser in how they continue to deal with their Customers.
Linden Lab has chosen to claim all Content in Inventory in Second Life, to be there's. Oh sure, they will say, "We'd never use it like this or that", but that's not Linden Lab. We all know that it's these small things that Linden Lab later blows up to Big things, and screws their Customer Base with.
So, Mark, Philip, Blue, the rest of you, you win. You have made Second Life so undesirable to me, that I'm leaving. You win, you proved that you can take a wonderful product, that so many people love, and make it a Piece of Shit; you have my Congratulations, you must be so proud.
To all my friends, I will be moving my home to InWorldz. Please feel free to take the time to come and visit and see what InWorldz is like. Perhaps you will find out there's a place to go where the Owners don't treat you like crap.
This is not a Countdown to anything, not me telling Linden Lab to change or I go, no, I'm going, I just have to say Goodbye to my friends, and 30 days gives me time to do just that.
I started this first hoping that the people in charge at Linden Lab would see the idiocy of their actions, but alas, that hasn't happened, nor have Linden Lab been any wiser in how they continue to deal with their Customers.
Linden Lab has chosen to claim all Content in Inventory in Second Life, to be there's. Oh sure, they will say, "We'd never use it like this or that", but that's not Linden Lab. We all know that it's these small things that Linden Lab later blows up to Big things, and screws their Customer Base with.
So, Mark, Philip, Blue, the rest of you, you win. You have made Second Life so undesirable to me, that I'm leaving. You win, you proved that you can take a wonderful product, that so many people love, and make it a Piece of Shit; you have my Congratulations, you must be so proud.
To all my friends, I will be moving my home to InWorldz. Please feel free to take the time to come and visit and see what InWorldz is like. Perhaps you will find out there's a place to go where the Owners don't treat you like crap.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Linden Lab Forgets the Obvious....Go Figure
Today our Friends at Linden Lab are patting themselves on the Back for a job well done by bringing us all Shared Media (and forcing everyone into the new viewer if they want to use it).
While I agree that Shared Media is a good thing to have, once again Linden Lab has overlooked one obvious use of this new feature; no longer do you have to go to any Adult Parcel to watch your favorite episode of "Debbie Does Dallas".
It took Linden Lab a good year to work out the Adult Continent and just who would have to use it, and yet, in one release of a new Viewer, all that was destroyed. It's a shame that our Friends at Linden Lab worked so hard on the Adult Continent and then chose to put in a Viewer that all but defeats the purpose of the Adult Continent.
The real shame is that Linden Lab once again missed the Obvious. Just like with the OpenSpace SIMs, Linden Lab didn't think things through and found people using OpenSpace SIMs not like Linden Lab had thought they should be and here again in Second Life. It looks as though Linden Lab didn't learn from that mistake.
It's too bad that Linden Lab doesn't think about how these Features might be used, otherwise they would have been able to see that certain deviants would no longer have to be ensconced on the Adult Continent to view his/her favorite PORN.
I suppose after Linden Lab figures out that what I'm saying is True, they will turn around and blame the Customers, just like in the OpenSpace SIMs fiasco. Well, I have given Linden Lab fair warning as to how some WILL use this new Shared Media, any bets on if Linden Lab does anything about this?
While I agree that Shared Media is a good thing to have, once again Linden Lab has overlooked one obvious use of this new feature; no longer do you have to go to any Adult Parcel to watch your favorite episode of "Debbie Does Dallas".
It took Linden Lab a good year to work out the Adult Continent and just who would have to use it, and yet, in one release of a new Viewer, all that was destroyed. It's a shame that our Friends at Linden Lab worked so hard on the Adult Continent and then chose to put in a Viewer that all but defeats the purpose of the Adult Continent.
The real shame is that Linden Lab once again missed the Obvious. Just like with the OpenSpace SIMs, Linden Lab didn't think things through and found people using OpenSpace SIMs not like Linden Lab had thought they should be and here again in Second Life. It looks as though Linden Lab didn't learn from that mistake.
It's too bad that Linden Lab doesn't think about how these Features might be used, otherwise they would have been able to see that certain deviants would no longer have to be ensconced on the Adult Continent to view his/her favorite PORN.
I suppose after Linden Lab figures out that what I'm saying is True, they will turn around and blame the Customers, just like in the OpenSpace SIMs fiasco. Well, I have given Linden Lab fair warning as to how some WILL use this new Shared Media, any bets on if Linden Lab does anything about this?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Let us divert our attention to recognize greatness
Friends, today I'm not writing about Linden Lab, Second Life, or any of that. Today, I write about something that is amazing.
There are times in all of our lives when we are witness to something truly remarkable, truly real, truly right and truly TRUE. I am happy that I can shed a little more light on this event, and I ask each of you to help the person in this Story.
So, here's the tale of someone who refused to quit, refused to be quiet, refused to go away, refused to be beaten, all because she knew she was right and she knew if she didn't go forward the Industry in which she works would come under attack from the lowest slime out there.
Friends, please follow this LINK and read about how ONE PERSON made a difference, and then, do what I did, drop her a few dollars and help.
There are times in all of our lives when we are witness to something truly remarkable, truly real, truly right and truly TRUE. I am happy that I can shed a little more light on this event, and I ask each of you to help the person in this Story.
So, here's the tale of someone who refused to quit, refused to be quiet, refused to go away, refused to be beaten, all because she knew she was right and she knew if she didn't go forward the Industry in which she works would come under attack from the lowest slime out there.
Friends, please follow this LINK and read about how ONE PERSON made a difference, and then, do what I did, drop her a few dollars and help.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Linden Lab or Bonnie & Clyde?
Tell me friends, who would you rather meet in a Dark Alley, Linden Lab or Bonnie & Clyde? Personally I would go with Bonnie & Clyde, with them you know exactly what they want and exactly how they plan on getting it.
In case you aren't sure where I'm going, you need to read THIS. After reading that you might still be a little confused. You even might thing that this is something that is good for the Community and the Little Guy. You might even go as far as saying, "Linden Lab is doing right by this!"
Well, I would normally agree with you, but I was stupid and dug deeper into the details of this blog post. You see, I thought to myself, "I might give this a try, see if it actually go me anymore business", and so I started looking deeper into the possibility and finally found what I was looking for, the Price! Now, before we discuss this further, you should probably sit down. If you are sitting down, you should still brace yourself.
So, the Prices are this, for the least expensive ad if will cost you $1,500USD and for the most expensive ad it will cost you $4,500USD. I know, you are probably thinking that's a misprint but no, those are the real prices.
Here is a prime example of Linden Lab being out of touch with the Second Life Community. 99% of the Merchants in Second Life could NEVER afford this. Instead of Linden Lab looking like the good guys on this, they instead look like your ordinary everyday CROOK. I've talked at length about how Linden Lab doesn't understand it's own Residents and this proves my point. Linden Lab had a great opportunity with this to gain some good publicity with their own Customers if they would have made this a more reasonable price for the average Resident in Second Life. Instead, of course, we see that Linden Lab is once again trying to get every last penny from us and not giving a damn about us in the process. I must say that Linden Lab continues being consistent; consistently bad.
At least we have another Puzzle Piece of the Management Team. Not only are they Liars and Cheats, but they are gluttonous Liars and Cheats. I wonder Blue, how's that new Management Team looking now?
I think the following should be the MOTD: *** Warning - Residents should Lock their Wallets and Check Book in their Real Life Safe before entering Second Life ***
I wonder how much they'd charge me for that?
In case you aren't sure where I'm going, you need to read THIS. After reading that you might still be a little confused. You even might thing that this is something that is good for the Community and the Little Guy. You might even go as far as saying, "Linden Lab is doing right by this!"
Well, I would normally agree with you, but I was stupid and dug deeper into the details of this blog post. You see, I thought to myself, "I might give this a try, see if it actually go me anymore business", and so I started looking deeper into the possibility and finally found what I was looking for, the Price! Now, before we discuss this further, you should probably sit down. If you are sitting down, you should still brace yourself.
So, the Prices are this, for the least expensive ad if will cost you $1,500USD and for the most expensive ad it will cost you $4,500USD. I know, you are probably thinking that's a misprint but no, those are the real prices.
Here is a prime example of Linden Lab being out of touch with the Second Life Community. 99% of the Merchants in Second Life could NEVER afford this. Instead of Linden Lab looking like the good guys on this, they instead look like your ordinary everyday CROOK. I've talked at length about how Linden Lab doesn't understand it's own Residents and this proves my point. Linden Lab had a great opportunity with this to gain some good publicity with their own Customers if they would have made this a more reasonable price for the average Resident in Second Life. Instead, of course, we see that Linden Lab is once again trying to get every last penny from us and not giving a damn about us in the process. I must say that Linden Lab continues being consistent; consistently bad.
At least we have another Puzzle Piece of the Management Team. Not only are they Liars and Cheats, but they are gluttonous Liars and Cheats. I wonder Blue, how's that new Management Team looking now?
I think the following should be the MOTD: *** Warning - Residents should Lock their Wallets and Check Book in their Real Life Safe before entering Second Life ***
I wonder how much they'd charge me for that?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Well, I hate to say this....but....NOT YET
A few weeks ago I said I was going to stop posting this silly blog with reports of ineptitude of our "friends" at Linden Lab; but I too have failed to keep my promise (good for the goose?)
Anyway, STILL the "friends" at Linden Lab haven't found a way to keep Second Life running without ONE issue in a 7 day period. I guess I'm just asking way too much of a company that I'm paying nearly $300USD every month. Perhaps I should LOWER my expectations of Linden Lab, that way they wouldn't constantly FAIL!
Better yet, let's see if ANYONE at Linden Lab has any GUTS to explain just why they can't keep things going for 7 days without issue. I don't like the idea of lowering my expectations, as I really feel that some of that thinking is probably what has made the "friends" at Linden Lab as ineffective as they have been for so long. When we, the CONSUMER, do business, we should expect a certainly level of Quality. When we don't get that level of Quality, we should ask those at the Businesses that FAIL to meet our expectations, why?
Here's something for everyone to think about. Most of us in Second Life are Adults and I will guess that a LARGE number of those Adults also have children (Yes, I'm assuming because I haven't run any survey's off the SL Residents, but why should I, since Linden Lab doesn't!) So, for those of you with Children, if Second Life was your Child's life, and your Child failed at the same task, over and over, not because they couldn't perform it, but they just didn't want to, then what would you do? I think most Parents would say they would explain to the Child that they need to do this to be an upstanding part of the Community and so on. Maybe that's it, perhaps our "friends" don't understand what they constant crap shoot is supposed to do?
Well, let me tell you M, Blue, Jack, Kona, and the rest of you who so love to hate me, I'm not the bad guy in this equation; you are. You see, you take my money, and money of Thousands others, and completely FAIL to provide a Stable Virtual World, even though that's exactly the business you are in, to provide a STABLE VIRTUAL WORLD. You really should do better at running Second Life, because your Peers in the Business are laughing at you, at Second Life, and wondering why they don't have Blind Faith Customers like you do! What's it like friends, to be cajoled by your own PEERS? I know you see every eye-roll and smirk when you go to your Conventions with your Peers, how does it feel? I'm not wanting to dredge up painful memories, but sometimes it takes being Completely Embarrassed before someone steps up to the plate and says, "Enough is enough, we MUST do better!"
So, here's my promise to each one of you, your Comments, to my blog, will go without Editing by me and will be posted in their entirety. I will of course respond to each Comment when I feel that anyone is taking the easy road. I used to teach Teens, and when one of them gave an answer they felt I was looking for, I called "Bull Shit". I will do the same if you give me the usual PR nonsense, so really, think about your answers, think of why you are even at Linden Lab for God's sake! If you can't do the job, give it over to someone that can. So what, you aren't the best in Networking, it's not going to kill you!
Lastly, for those who want to push the "Gee it's a complex system and prone to fail", please go back and read my editorial Comment when that very same argument was made and flattened as quickly as the point was risen. So, which "friend" at Linden Lab will choose to take up the challenge and stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? M, Kona, Blue, Jack....anyone else?
Anyway, STILL the "friends" at Linden Lab haven't found a way to keep Second Life running without ONE issue in a 7 day period. I guess I'm just asking way too much of a company that I'm paying nearly $300USD every month. Perhaps I should LOWER my expectations of Linden Lab, that way they wouldn't constantly FAIL!
Better yet, let's see if ANYONE at Linden Lab has any GUTS to explain just why they can't keep things going for 7 days without issue. I don't like the idea of lowering my expectations, as I really feel that some of that thinking is probably what has made the "friends" at Linden Lab as ineffective as they have been for so long. When we, the CONSUMER, do business, we should expect a certainly level of Quality. When we don't get that level of Quality, we should ask those at the Businesses that FAIL to meet our expectations, why?
Here's something for everyone to think about. Most of us in Second Life are Adults and I will guess that a LARGE number of those Adults also have children (Yes, I'm assuming because I haven't run any survey's off the SL Residents, but why should I, since Linden Lab doesn't!) So, for those of you with Children, if Second Life was your Child's life, and your Child failed at the same task, over and over, not because they couldn't perform it, but they just didn't want to, then what would you do? I think most Parents would say they would explain to the Child that they need to do this to be an upstanding part of the Community and so on. Maybe that's it, perhaps our "friends" don't understand what they constant crap shoot is supposed to do?
Well, let me tell you M, Blue, Jack, Kona, and the rest of you who so love to hate me, I'm not the bad guy in this equation; you are. You see, you take my money, and money of Thousands others, and completely FAIL to provide a Stable Virtual World, even though that's exactly the business you are in, to provide a STABLE VIRTUAL WORLD. You really should do better at running Second Life, because your Peers in the Business are laughing at you, at Second Life, and wondering why they don't have Blind Faith Customers like you do! What's it like friends, to be cajoled by your own PEERS? I know you see every eye-roll and smirk when you go to your Conventions with your Peers, how does it feel? I'm not wanting to dredge up painful memories, but sometimes it takes being Completely Embarrassed before someone steps up to the plate and says, "Enough is enough, we MUST do better!"
So, here's my promise to each one of you, your Comments, to my blog, will go without Editing by me and will be posted in their entirety. I will of course respond to each Comment when I feel that anyone is taking the easy road. I used to teach Teens, and when one of them gave an answer they felt I was looking for, I called "Bull Shit". I will do the same if you give me the usual PR nonsense, so really, think about your answers, think of why you are even at Linden Lab for God's sake! If you can't do the job, give it over to someone that can. So what, you aren't the best in Networking, it's not going to kill you!
Lastly, for those who want to push the "Gee it's a complex system and prone to fail", please go back and read my editorial Comment when that very same argument was made and flattened as quickly as the point was risen. So, which "friend" at Linden Lab will choose to take up the challenge and stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? M, Kona, Blue, Jack....anyone else?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Ok, back to reality...LL Competitive Practices
Wake Up everyone, I know you have fainted from my last posting, and quite frankly, I'm still pretty darn happy with the new Viewer and SHARED MEDIA; actually if someone out there has the talent to do Web-Development but can't think of ideas on how to use this SHARED MEDIA, contact me in-world, I got a LOAD of ideas for people.
Now, with that being said, I need to bring us all back to Reality, because while one good thing happened from Linden Lab, it doesn't excuse them for the other areas of their Business, and today I think it's time we talk about the Competitive Business Practices from Linden Lab.
Many of you probably don't remember this, but way way way back when our friend Philip was still sitting at the Helm of Linden Lab, he made it a point to let everyone know that Linden Lab WOULD NEVER directly compete against the Customer Base. Of course, we all know that this "policy" was shot down a while ago with Linden Lab acquisitions such as Web-Sites that dealt in the buying and selling of Lindens, Web-Sites that dealt with the buying and selling of Items and Services, and the most recently, Linden Lab has intruded on the Land Lease/Rental market.
My review of these "Premium Homes" that are there for the taking by all Premium Members is really not very nice. The houses look like nothing more then cardboard cut-outs from the 1950's. Not only do they look incredibly dull, but they are packed in so tight you would think Linden Lab couldn't afford a new Server here and there. Overall, the Premium Home experience will be a detriment to keeping New Residents in Second Life. They already have issues with the basic understanding of our World, and now they are going to be given the absolute worse experience in Virtual Home Ownership. I guess we can mark this idea down as, "a bad idea all the way around".
Not withstanding the creepiness of the Premium Homes, Linden Lab has set themselves to be in Direct Competition with one of the Strongest Customer Bases they have; Island Owners. I can't help but to agree with so many of the voices that are crying "FOUL" for this endeavor. Linden Lab not only is in Direct Compeition, but they also chose to CHEAT in order to be in Direct Competition. If you got and inspect these Premium Home areas you will notice that the Homes themselves are constructed of 117 PRIMS. Now normally a 512sq m area only serves up 117 PRIMS, except here in Linden Land, where the 117 PRIMS used for the houses, don't count against the Parcel Prim Count. Instead, the Premium Homes allow for another 117 PRIMS for Decor. So, in order for Linden Lab to compete with their own Customers, they have decided to "stack the deck" in their favor. This is probably a good idea considering how mediocre these homes are. Why it took Jack Linden and the Public Works Department 117 PRIMS for these homes is anyone's guess. I know almost all the really good builders in Second Life, and they could have created immensly more creative homes with 117 PRIMS, then what Linden Lab came up with. Not only that, but why does Linden Lab feel that they need to CHEAT and give themselves DOUBLE PRIMS on their Servers; which btw, they continue to say that this will only cause more lag and is the reason they don't do it for everyone, so what they are saying now is, that they are providing shabbily built cut-outs that will be dreadfully laggy.
What upsets me here, is not that Linden Lab chose to compete with their own Customer Base, but they decided to CHEAT to give themselves an "advantage". I think all Island Owners, no matter if you are in a Homestead or a Full Island, should immediately request that Linden Lab re-configure their Islands with DOUBLE the amount of PRIMS, since we know it can be done, and apparently the lag isn't really that big of a deal.
So, Jack, Blue, M, tell us will you, when we all of us Island Owners be upgraded to the same PRIM Count utilized on your own Islands? You keep saying that your "Regime" is better then the "Old Regime"; least the "Old Regime" didn't try to CHEAT when they competed against their Customers. So, is this the "New Regime" way of doing things, CHEAT if you can't compete?
Of course, I know you all will continue to remain silent, what a surprise, but your silence only goes to affirm my position; otherwise you wouldn't HIDE behind your desks all day, doing nothing.
Now, with that being said, I need to bring us all back to Reality, because while one good thing happened from Linden Lab, it doesn't excuse them for the other areas of their Business, and today I think it's time we talk about the Competitive Business Practices from Linden Lab.
Many of you probably don't remember this, but way way way back when our friend Philip was still sitting at the Helm of Linden Lab, he made it a point to let everyone know that Linden Lab WOULD NEVER directly compete against the Customer Base. Of course, we all know that this "policy" was shot down a while ago with Linden Lab acquisitions such as Web-Sites that dealt in the buying and selling of Lindens, Web-Sites that dealt with the buying and selling of Items and Services, and the most recently, Linden Lab has intruded on the Land Lease/Rental market.
My review of these "Premium Homes" that are there for the taking by all Premium Members is really not very nice. The houses look like nothing more then cardboard cut-outs from the 1950's. Not only do they look incredibly dull, but they are packed in so tight you would think Linden Lab couldn't afford a new Server here and there. Overall, the Premium Home experience will be a detriment to keeping New Residents in Second Life. They already have issues with the basic understanding of our World, and now they are going to be given the absolute worse experience in Virtual Home Ownership. I guess we can mark this idea down as, "a bad idea all the way around".
Not withstanding the creepiness of the Premium Homes, Linden Lab has set themselves to be in Direct Competition with one of the Strongest Customer Bases they have; Island Owners. I can't help but to agree with so many of the voices that are crying "FOUL" for this endeavor. Linden Lab not only is in Direct Compeition, but they also chose to CHEAT in order to be in Direct Competition. If you got and inspect these Premium Home areas you will notice that the Homes themselves are constructed of 117 PRIMS. Now normally a 512sq m area only serves up 117 PRIMS, except here in Linden Land, where the 117 PRIMS used for the houses, don't count against the Parcel Prim Count. Instead, the Premium Homes allow for another 117 PRIMS for Decor. So, in order for Linden Lab to compete with their own Customers, they have decided to "stack the deck" in their favor. This is probably a good idea considering how mediocre these homes are. Why it took Jack Linden and the Public Works Department 117 PRIMS for these homes is anyone's guess. I know almost all the really good builders in Second Life, and they could have created immensly more creative homes with 117 PRIMS, then what Linden Lab came up with. Not only that, but why does Linden Lab feel that they need to CHEAT and give themselves DOUBLE PRIMS on their Servers; which btw, they continue to say that this will only cause more lag and is the reason they don't do it for everyone, so what they are saying now is, that they are providing shabbily built cut-outs that will be dreadfully laggy.
What upsets me here, is not that Linden Lab chose to compete with their own Customer Base, but they decided to CHEAT to give themselves an "advantage". I think all Island Owners, no matter if you are in a Homestead or a Full Island, should immediately request that Linden Lab re-configure their Islands with DOUBLE the amount of PRIMS, since we know it can be done, and apparently the lag isn't really that big of a deal.
So, Jack, Blue, M, tell us will you, when we all of us Island Owners be upgraded to the same PRIM Count utilized on your own Islands? You keep saying that your "Regime" is better then the "Old Regime"; least the "Old Regime" didn't try to CHEAT when they competed against their Customers. So, is this the "New Regime" way of doing things, CHEAT if you can't compete?
Of course, I know you all will continue to remain silent, what a surprise, but your silence only goes to affirm my position; otherwise you wouldn't HIDE behind your desks all day, doing nothing.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Hell Freezes Over....Film at 11
Well, I know everyone thought this day would NEVER come, but I've always said, if Linden Lab ever did anything right, I would applaud them for it.
Today, that has happened. While I may not have had the time to delve deeply into this new Beta Viewer, I have been able to look thru it, explore it's different tabs, and items, and I must say, "Fucking Well Done!"
While I don't think this Viewer will help the New Resident as much as those as Linden Lab think it will, I do think it's a HUGE improvement for those of us who are quite familiar with the old Viewer.
I LOVE the fact that I can now make the Text GROW LARGE (Nice of LL to realize some of us are getting older and are eyesight isn't as good as it use to be). Having the right side menu tabs takes a bit to get used to, but, again, I like it better then what it used to be.
So, here's to the UI Team, you aren't Lazy or Incompetent, and for that, I applaud you and your work. Just one thing, please don't be surprised when this Viewer does more to confuse the New Residents then to help them. Remember, I've said this for years, it's not the UI, it's the whole New User experience. When Linden Lab removed Orientation Island, New Residents had more issues, because they were forced to learn the basics. Yes, sometimes you need to make your Customers go through something in order to make their experience better.
I was going to take this last bit to ride the other departments there at Linden Lab, but you know what, this new Viewer has impressed me enough, that I won't take shots at other departments, once again, Good Fucking Job UI Staff!
Today, that has happened. While I may not have had the time to delve deeply into this new Beta Viewer, I have been able to look thru it, explore it's different tabs, and items, and I must say, "Fucking Well Done!"
While I don't think this Viewer will help the New Resident as much as those as Linden Lab think it will, I do think it's a HUGE improvement for those of us who are quite familiar with the old Viewer.
I LOVE the fact that I can now make the Text GROW LARGE (Nice of LL to realize some of us are getting older and are eyesight isn't as good as it use to be). Having the right side menu tabs takes a bit to get used to, but, again, I like it better then what it used to be.
So, here's to the UI Team, you aren't Lazy or Incompetent, and for that, I applaud you and your work. Just one thing, please don't be surprised when this Viewer does more to confuse the New Residents then to help them. Remember, I've said this for years, it's not the UI, it's the whole New User experience. When Linden Lab removed Orientation Island, New Residents had more issues, because they were forced to learn the basics. Yes, sometimes you need to make your Customers go through something in order to make their experience better.
I was going to take this last bit to ride the other departments there at Linden Lab, but you know what, this new Viewer has impressed me enough, that I won't take shots at other departments, once again, Good Fucking Job UI Staff!
Linden Lab doesn't play favorites!
Hey everyone, well here's a twist. Linden Lab isn't playing favorites when it comes to their new Customer Base, Avatar's United, as seen here:
Avatars United
I guess I was wrong when I said Linden Lab played favorites all those times. Way to go guys, keep up the wonderfully incompetent work!
Avatars United
[Posted Feb 23, 2010; 7:30pm] Some users may experience some errors when attempting to log in to their account on Avatars United. We are aware of the issues and are working to resolve the issue. If you are unable to log in, we recommend you wait a short period and try again. We will update this post when we have more information.
Glad to know that Linden Lab is planning on pissing off their new Customer Base as much as they've pissed off their Old One.I guess I was wrong when I said Linden Lab played favorites all those times. Way to go guys, keep up the wonderfully incompetent work!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Linden Lab goes along a way to prove my POINT!
Over the past few entries I've been talking about how Linden Lab has either hired Lazy or Incompetent Employees. This past week, Linden Lab has gone out of its way to actually prove my point. Just follow the LINK and have a read, come back when you are done though, we should talk about this!
This all started with the rollout of Server 1.36 code. The initial release was causing VENDORS (you know those things that are really really rare and hard to test with) to behave in a very bad way. Vendors? Really? I would love to see the numbers of just how many VENDORS there are in Second Life, most likely it's an astronomical result. So, and I'm just asking a simple question here, why did this happen? Did ANYONE do any kind of testing with this new Server Code? Seriously, how can you miss something like this in testing? You would think that during a Test, someone at Linden Lab would have the top 10 Vendor Systems running just to be sure they were operating correctly after a Server Upgrade; well, at least that makes sense for those of us who have lived and worked in IT most of our Adult Lives.
Anyway, after "The Lab" rescinded the Upgrade process, they "correct" the mistake and try to install the NEW Server Code. Here's something I get upset over, especially when I was managing Coders, but when you find a MAJOR bug in the code you first released, you should spend a LOT of time to be sure that the FIX you are applying WORKS and then go back to the start of your Testing and test it all over again. This way, you SHOULD be able to find ANY OTHER BUGS that might have been caused by your fix or perhaps you missed one or two in the original testing. I would tell my Staff that if there are any more BUGS in the code, especially after you were to have FIXED it, then there jobs were on the line. Unfortunately though, "The Lab" has different ideas about just how well their Employee's perform their Jobs, because after they re-released the new Server Code, there was ANOTHER MAJOR BUG found! This one has apparently something to do with Content Creation Protection, again, NOT something that would be too difficult to test for.
All too often I have pointed out the obvious here and now "The Lab" has done is best to PROVE the point I was making. I guess at "The Lab" as long as your butt is in the seat, then you will have a job. Too bad, because once again, this just serves to show us all, that the New Boss is the same as the Old Boss.
Looks like we got fooled again..
This all started with the rollout of Server 1.36 code. The initial release was causing VENDORS (you know those things that are really really rare and hard to test with) to behave in a very bad way. Vendors? Really? I would love to see the numbers of just how many VENDORS there are in Second Life, most likely it's an astronomical result. So, and I'm just asking a simple question here, why did this happen? Did ANYONE do any kind of testing with this new Server Code? Seriously, how can you miss something like this in testing? You would think that during a Test, someone at Linden Lab would have the top 10 Vendor Systems running just to be sure they were operating correctly after a Server Upgrade; well, at least that makes sense for those of us who have lived and worked in IT most of our Adult Lives.
Anyway, after "The Lab" rescinded the Upgrade process, they "correct" the mistake and try to install the NEW Server Code. Here's something I get upset over, especially when I was managing Coders, but when you find a MAJOR bug in the code you first released, you should spend a LOT of time to be sure that the FIX you are applying WORKS and then go back to the start of your Testing and test it all over again. This way, you SHOULD be able to find ANY OTHER BUGS that might have been caused by your fix or perhaps you missed one or two in the original testing. I would tell my Staff that if there are any more BUGS in the code, especially after you were to have FIXED it, then there jobs were on the line. Unfortunately though, "The Lab" has different ideas about just how well their Employee's perform their Jobs, because after they re-released the new Server Code, there was ANOTHER MAJOR BUG found! This one has apparently something to do with Content Creation Protection, again, NOT something that would be too difficult to test for.
All too often I have pointed out the obvious here and now "The Lab" has done is best to PROVE the point I was making. I guess at "The Lab" as long as your butt is in the seat, then you will have a job. Too bad, because once again, this just serves to show us all, that the New Boss is the same as the Old Boss.
Looks like we got fooled again..
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Lazy, Incompetent...and now Liars?
Hey everyone, if you haven't heard the lastest Marketing PLOY by Linden Lab, then you just have to hear this. For every NEW Premium Member that signs up in Second Life, Linden Lab will give them 1000L AND a FREE HOME that the new Premium Member can decorate to his/her wishes; isn't it wonderful that Linden Lab proves themselves to be LIARS?
Liars? What, you ask, am I speaking about? Well, a few years ago, the Customers of Linden Lab were promised that Linden Lab would NEVER directly Compete with the Customers of Linden Lab. Just in case you can't see the point to my rant today, let me explain. When Linden Lab decided to give away LAND and HOME to new Premium Member, they are in direct competition with Land Rental/Sales People AND to those people that product Pre-Fab Homes. Not only that, but they are also UNFAIRLY competing with the Land Rental/Sales people by providing a HOME of 117 PRIMS but the Home Owner still gets 117 PRIMS to use on his 512sq meters of land.
I guess I should ask Blue Linden just when my Island will get DOUBLE PRIMS since Linden Lab is giving itself DOUBLE PRIMS on these SIMs. I guess it goes without saying that Linden Lab are also proving themselves to be LIARS by having DOUBLE PRIMS on these SIMs, when they said years ago that a SIM could NEVER support more then 15,000 Prims; Interesting indeed.
So, me being foolish and expecting that maybe someday someone at Linden Lab will SHUT ME UP, I ask now Blue, tell me please, when does my SIM get 30,000 Prims?
Liars? What, you ask, am I speaking about? Well, a few years ago, the Customers of Linden Lab were promised that Linden Lab would NEVER directly Compete with the Customers of Linden Lab. Just in case you can't see the point to my rant today, let me explain. When Linden Lab decided to give away LAND and HOME to new Premium Member, they are in direct competition with Land Rental/Sales People AND to those people that product Pre-Fab Homes. Not only that, but they are also UNFAIRLY competing with the Land Rental/Sales people by providing a HOME of 117 PRIMS but the Home Owner still gets 117 PRIMS to use on his 512sq meters of land.
I guess I should ask Blue Linden just when my Island will get DOUBLE PRIMS since Linden Lab is giving itself DOUBLE PRIMS on these SIMs. I guess it goes without saying that Linden Lab are also proving themselves to be LIARS by having DOUBLE PRIMS on these SIMs, when they said years ago that a SIM could NEVER support more then 15,000 Prims; Interesting indeed.
So, me being foolish and expecting that maybe someday someone at Linden Lab will SHUT ME UP, I ask now Blue, tell me please, when does my SIM get 30,000 Prims?
Friday, January 29, 2010
Fleetwood Mac said it best, "Tell me Lies"
OK everyone, M Linden has finally said something, but as usual, it's the normal Propaganda BullShit that Linden Lab is noted for.
Instead of me commenting on what M Linden says, I would rather you read it for yourself, and just keep playing Fleetwood Mac in the Background, "Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies"....
Sing it for me M
Instead of me commenting on what M Linden says, I would rather you read it for yourself, and just keep playing Fleetwood Mac in the Background, "Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies"....
Sing it for me M
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Let's put some points to a final rest
OK friends, it seems my last Blog has found an audience, and while I'm forever a skeptic, I will allow Peter to say he has no attachment to the "Lab" what so ever. But, I think I should address some interesting points that Peter does raise in his comments, and perhaps even try to see why us "old folk" seem hell bent on getting what we pay for.
First, Peter wants to lay some ground work to his Comment, so let's see what that is:
"I am not particular to what size/complexity the software/hardware system is that runs SL. But I am pretty sure it is HUGE and COMPLEX. Whether it needs to be so complex and whether the complexity is more of a burden these days is open to discussion by people more qualified than I am. But we can safely assume it is huge and it is complex"
While I agree that the System's that run Second Life might be "massive", I won't give any sort of ground because a company's product is "massive" or "complex". Linden Lab chose this to be their Product, and in doing so, have an ETHICAL commitment to provide that Product without issue. This is one of the arguments that many people bring up when first coming to the "defense" of "The Lab". Let's find us a suitable Product where we can draw some distictions from. How about your Cable Router, that seems to be quite a "massive" and "complex" network, and yet, people don't want to hear how an engineer failed to correctly input and test new router code this morning, which caused just 1 hour of minimal service. How about your Television Networks, would you be glad to hear that one of the Television Engineers accidentally put in his copy of "Debbie Does Dallas" and broadcast it just for 38 seconds when your kids were supposedly watching the new episode of 90210? Everyone who deals in "massive" and "complex" systems understands that they need to be careful of what they do, else it will not only cost them their job, but it could also cost their employer's a LOT of money. So, while "The Lab" runs a "massive" and "complex" system, doesn't excuse them for the mistakes we see, no matter how small they might be, on a weekly, and sometimes a daily, basis. Furthermore, "The Lab" while admitting mistakes are made, apparently aren't doing a good job of making certain that all employee's need to test, re-test, re-test and re-test some more, because every little item that goes wrong, adds up after a while; which is by the way, the WHOLE POINT to the last few threads.
Peter goes on to say:
"I am following the grid status blog as well, and the service interruptions are usually minor. Dividends delayed for a day, group payouts delayed for some. A few regions offline. I recall one emergency patch deployed. But now showstoppers."
I agree that no "show-stoppers" have recently come to light, but my point is again, that if you add up every little bit that goes by each week and day, you begin to see a pattern of Failure. It's like what happens when you drop a toad into boiling water, he jumps out. But, put a Toad in room temperature water and slowly raise the water temperature, the Toad stands there as if nothing is going wrong. We, the customers of Second Life, are like the Toad who've been standing in the water so long, that we EXPECT Linden Lab to mess something up and no longer do we hold them to their task. Linden Lab hasn't been getting better over time, it's been getting worse. While there may not be any "show-stoppers" going on, there are still failures that are being repeated weekly, and yet, because we are used to Linden Lab failures, we just sit idly by and accept that they will fail us, happily, like the Toad. Yet, one of the MAIN REASONS we loose New Residents is because of the FAILURES of Linden Lab. The New Residents aren't used to be treated so shamefully, so they take exception to what "The Lab" is doing and leave. One thing we can say for sure, when people try out Second Life, then leave, and they put in some Forum that we, the current Residents of Second Life are foolish for staying in a system that fails as much as Second Life, they are right, even though it might hurt me to say, they are still right.
Now Peter goes on to say that "The Lab" is great about communicating failures, and he's sure other complex systems fail as well, but they just don't say anything about it, actually I should let Peter say it in his own words:
"The point you completely miss here is that the Lab actually COMMUNICATES these issues! If group payouts are delayed for some residents, they could just as well "hush it up". But no, they actively and timely communicate it on the grid status. I am pretty sure systems of similar (or even smaller complexity) have a similar number of small glitches - only you never hear about them."
The problem with this argument is Peter assumes there are daily failures at other complex and massive systems, but we never hear about them. Well, I can't speak to that which I never hear about, but I can say that my Phone works, My Cable Router works, My Cable TV works. When there are interruptions, while they are apologetic, at least my Cable company will give me rebates on the cost when I can't use their service. One thing I can speak to though, other Company's that run massive and complex systems don't keep people employed who routinely fail at their job; is that true at "The Lab"?
Finally though, Peter explains the issue he has with my recent post:
"If we would have a showstopper every week, I could understand your position. But focusing on those minor and noncritical things seems a bit over the top to me"
As I have pointed out before, my issue is that we have these MINOR (and in your words) non-critical things going wrong week after week after week after week after week after week. When do you consider all these little things that go wrong weekly to add up to a Biggie? Apparently Linden Lab cannot keep Second Life going for a simple 7 days without any issues, minor or major. Not only that, but they haven't been able to keep a clean slate for quite some time now. What other conclusion can I come to except that the employee's at Linden Lab are either to lazy or incompetent to do their job for which they were hired? IF these are MINOR and NON-CRITICAL issues, why can't they seem to fix them? Please don't give me the tired argument of it being "massive" and "complex", as I've done a fairly substantial job of removing that as an argument. So, what is it about Linden Lab that they can't keep their own PRODUCT going without one single issue, major or minor, for a simple 7 days? While we are on this subject, why hasn't the Asset Sever issue been fixed yet, it's been three years and still the problem exists?
Peter, I don't know if you are a friend of mine in Second Life or not, but, if you know me in Second Life you would know I have already raised these crucial points with you there. I am no longer going to keep calling Linden Lab out for their poor service, as they seem to have given up on it themselves, otherwise, why after a year, does Linden Lab STILL have an F Grade from the BBB? Since I can see that Linden Lab is unwavering in it's own incompetence, what's the point of me continually asking someone from Linden Lab to comment on it? What's most amazing is how Linden Lab just continues to walk by like nothing is wrong, yet, we, the Customers, can see that the Emperor has lost its clothing.
First, Peter wants to lay some ground work to his Comment, so let's see what that is:
"I am not particular to what size/complexity the software/hardware system is that runs SL. But I am pretty sure it is HUGE and COMPLEX. Whether it needs to be so complex and whether the complexity is more of a burden these days is open to discussion by people more qualified than I am. But we can safely assume it is huge and it is complex"
While I agree that the System's that run Second Life might be "massive", I won't give any sort of ground because a company's product is "massive" or "complex". Linden Lab chose this to be their Product, and in doing so, have an ETHICAL commitment to provide that Product without issue. This is one of the arguments that many people bring up when first coming to the "defense" of "The Lab". Let's find us a suitable Product where we can draw some distictions from. How about your Cable Router, that seems to be quite a "massive" and "complex" network, and yet, people don't want to hear how an engineer failed to correctly input and test new router code this morning, which caused just 1 hour of minimal service. How about your Television Networks, would you be glad to hear that one of the Television Engineers accidentally put in his copy of "Debbie Does Dallas" and broadcast it just for 38 seconds when your kids were supposedly watching the new episode of 90210? Everyone who deals in "massive" and "complex" systems understands that they need to be careful of what they do, else it will not only cost them their job, but it could also cost their employer's a LOT of money. So, while "The Lab" runs a "massive" and "complex" system, doesn't excuse them for the mistakes we see, no matter how small they might be, on a weekly, and sometimes a daily, basis. Furthermore, "The Lab" while admitting mistakes are made, apparently aren't doing a good job of making certain that all employee's need to test, re-test, re-test and re-test some more, because every little item that goes wrong, adds up after a while; which is by the way, the WHOLE POINT to the last few threads.
Peter goes on to say:
"I am following the grid status blog as well, and the service interruptions are usually minor. Dividends delayed for a day, group payouts delayed for some. A few regions offline. I recall one emergency patch deployed. But now showstoppers."
I agree that no "show-stoppers" have recently come to light, but my point is again, that if you add up every little bit that goes by each week and day, you begin to see a pattern of Failure. It's like what happens when you drop a toad into boiling water, he jumps out. But, put a Toad in room temperature water and slowly raise the water temperature, the Toad stands there as if nothing is going wrong. We, the customers of Second Life, are like the Toad who've been standing in the water so long, that we EXPECT Linden Lab to mess something up and no longer do we hold them to their task. Linden Lab hasn't been getting better over time, it's been getting worse. While there may not be any "show-stoppers" going on, there are still failures that are being repeated weekly, and yet, because we are used to Linden Lab failures, we just sit idly by and accept that they will fail us, happily, like the Toad. Yet, one of the MAIN REASONS we loose New Residents is because of the FAILURES of Linden Lab. The New Residents aren't used to be treated so shamefully, so they take exception to what "The Lab" is doing and leave. One thing we can say for sure, when people try out Second Life, then leave, and they put in some Forum that we, the current Residents of Second Life are foolish for staying in a system that fails as much as Second Life, they are right, even though it might hurt me to say, they are still right.
Now Peter goes on to say that "The Lab" is great about communicating failures, and he's sure other complex systems fail as well, but they just don't say anything about it, actually I should let Peter say it in his own words:
"The point you completely miss here is that the Lab actually COMMUNICATES these issues! If group payouts are delayed for some residents, they could just as well "hush it up". But no, they actively and timely communicate it on the grid status. I am pretty sure systems of similar (or even smaller complexity) have a similar number of small glitches - only you never hear about them."
The problem with this argument is Peter assumes there are daily failures at other complex and massive systems, but we never hear about them. Well, I can't speak to that which I never hear about, but I can say that my Phone works, My Cable Router works, My Cable TV works. When there are interruptions, while they are apologetic, at least my Cable company will give me rebates on the cost when I can't use their service. One thing I can speak to though, other Company's that run massive and complex systems don't keep people employed who routinely fail at their job; is that true at "The Lab"?
Finally though, Peter explains the issue he has with my recent post:
"If we would have a showstopper every week, I could understand your position. But focusing on those minor and noncritical things seems a bit over the top to me"
As I have pointed out before, my issue is that we have these MINOR (and in your words) non-critical things going wrong week after week after week after week after week after week. When do you consider all these little things that go wrong weekly to add up to a Biggie? Apparently Linden Lab cannot keep Second Life going for a simple 7 days without any issues, minor or major. Not only that, but they haven't been able to keep a clean slate for quite some time now. What other conclusion can I come to except that the employee's at Linden Lab are either to lazy or incompetent to do their job for which they were hired? IF these are MINOR and NON-CRITICAL issues, why can't they seem to fix them? Please don't give me the tired argument of it being "massive" and "complex", as I've done a fairly substantial job of removing that as an argument. So, what is it about Linden Lab that they can't keep their own PRODUCT going without one single issue, major or minor, for a simple 7 days? While we are on this subject, why hasn't the Asset Sever issue been fixed yet, it's been three years and still the problem exists?
Peter, I don't know if you are a friend of mine in Second Life or not, but, if you know me in Second Life you would know I have already raised these crucial points with you there. I am no longer going to keep calling Linden Lab out for their poor service, as they seem to have given up on it themselves, otherwise, why after a year, does Linden Lab STILL have an F Grade from the BBB? Since I can see that Linden Lab is unwavering in it's own incompetence, what's the point of me continually asking someone from Linden Lab to comment on it? What's most amazing is how Linden Lab just continues to walk by like nothing is wrong, yet, we, the Customers, can see that the Emperor has lost its clothing.
Monday, January 25, 2010
I Give Up....LL Wins
Today friends I awoke and found this bit of disturbing news:
Group Payout Issues
OK, I know, that's silly, why should Linden Lab care that I'm making fun of them. Well, for the most part I agree, but, it's the reason I'm making fun of them that they should care about. I am basically saying that at Linden Lab there is no one competent enough to keep Second Life running for a 7 (SEVEN) days without a single issue. You know, it is there job to see that Second Life is always available for the Paying Customer. So basically I'm saying that Linden Lab hires people that can't do the job for which they've been hired. The disturbing part of that is, it's true.
I fully expected that Linden Lab would easily be able to shut me up and keep Second Life going for a simple 7 (SEVEN) days without issue. I'm wrong apparently, because here we are again, another week gone by and yet another issue. Ask yourself this question, "What would it be like if I were hired to perform a job, and yet, every time I attempted to perform that Job, I messed it up?" As someone who worked 26 years before being forced to the sidelines by a disability, I know if I were in the boat that Linden Lab employee's seem to be in, I would be embarrassed to admit where I worked, let alone take home a paycheck for not being able to do the job I was hired to perform.
So, instead of continuing to point out the obvious, I quit. I'm not going to quit Second Life, as I have always said, Second Life is a wondrous place and for many people the only place they have for Social Interaction. Instead, I quit trying to embarrass a group of people who are either too lazy or just plain incompetent, to do the job they were hired to do.
What is the point of me spouting on each week if after each week we continue to see the same result? Linden Lab doesn't care if their Product, the Product they are SELLING and taking MONEY for, isn't up to anyone's definition of "par". I guess it's true what the BBB (Better Business Bureau) has said about Linden Lab and their ability to operate as a Company, they get anF .
It was almost One Year ago when Linden Lab received this bad news from the BBB, and M Linden, the new CEO, said at that time that it was the OLD GUARD who was at fault for this and Linden Lab would NOT continue to receive a Failing Grade in the very near future. I guess the question for M Linden is, "What is your definition of the VERY NEAR FUTURE?" I suppose M's definition of NEAR FUTURE is the same as the others who have said that certain problems would be fixed SOON; here we sit, almost 3 (THREE) years later and the Asset Server is STILL having issues.
I quit asking Blue Linden to tell me what the New Guard was suppose to do, because today it's clear that the New Guard is no different from the Old Guard. They both have made empty promises and continue to take people's money even though they can't provide a product that will run without issue for just 7 days.
So tell me friends, would you want to work for a company that didn't expect you to actually do anything right? I would ask Blue what he thinks, but his answer is clear, he STILL works for Linden Lab.
Sorry friends, looks like we got fooled again!
Group Payout Issues
[24 January 2010 8:30PM Pacific] There are currently technical issues with Group Payouts which will be delayed. Our teams are working on resolving this issue as soon as possible. Please watch this blog for any further details.
What is so disturbing about this you might ask? It's not the content as much, it's the regularity and constant flow of the content that I find disturbing. Quite honestly, I started this recent thread of Blog Announcements as a joke, something to get under the skin of our friends of Linden Lab. The problem is, it seems that Linden Lab doesn't care about this joke.OK, I know, that's silly, why should Linden Lab care that I'm making fun of them. Well, for the most part I agree, but, it's the reason I'm making fun of them that they should care about. I am basically saying that at Linden Lab there is no one competent enough to keep Second Life running for a 7 (SEVEN) days without a single issue. You know, it is there job to see that Second Life is always available for the Paying Customer. So basically I'm saying that Linden Lab hires people that can't do the job for which they've been hired. The disturbing part of that is, it's true.
I fully expected that Linden Lab would easily be able to shut me up and keep Second Life going for a simple 7 (SEVEN) days without issue. I'm wrong apparently, because here we are again, another week gone by and yet another issue. Ask yourself this question, "What would it be like if I were hired to perform a job, and yet, every time I attempted to perform that Job, I messed it up?" As someone who worked 26 years before being forced to the sidelines by a disability, I know if I were in the boat that Linden Lab employee's seem to be in, I would be embarrassed to admit where I worked, let alone take home a paycheck for not being able to do the job I was hired to perform.
So, instead of continuing to point out the obvious, I quit. I'm not going to quit Second Life, as I have always said, Second Life is a wondrous place and for many people the only place they have for Social Interaction. Instead, I quit trying to embarrass a group of people who are either too lazy or just plain incompetent, to do the job they were hired to do.
What is the point of me spouting on each week if after each week we continue to see the same result? Linden Lab doesn't care if their Product, the Product they are SELLING and taking MONEY for, isn't up to anyone's definition of "par". I guess it's true what the BBB (Better Business Bureau) has said about Linden Lab and their ability to operate as a Company, they get an
It was almost One Year ago when Linden Lab received this bad news from the BBB, and M Linden, the new CEO, said at that time that it was the OLD GUARD who was at fault for this and Linden Lab would NOT continue to receive a Failing Grade in the very near future. I guess the question for M Linden is, "What is your definition of the VERY NEAR FUTURE?" I suppose M's definition of NEAR FUTURE is the same as the others who have said that certain problems would be fixed SOON; here we sit, almost 3 (THREE) years later and the Asset Server is STILL having issues.
I quit asking Blue Linden to tell me what the New Guard was suppose to do, because today it's clear that the New Guard is no different from the Old Guard. They both have made empty promises and continue to take people's money even though they can't provide a product that will run without issue for just 7 days.
So tell me friends, would you want to work for a company that didn't expect you to actually do anything right? I would ask Blue what he thinks, but his answer is clear, he STILL works for Linden Lab.
Sorry friends, looks like we got fooled again!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
De JaVoodoo
Here we are, Tuesday again, another day of fog but not too cold, another day of LL messing up again. Being a Tuesday you should be able to guess just what has gone wrong, again. Like I said before, we really must give credit where credit is due, so here's to our Friends at Linden Lab, at least you keep making the same mistakes!
[Resolved] Stipends may be delayed for some residents.
[Resolved] Stipends may be delayed for some residents.
[Resolved @ 7:13 am PST] Stipend payments are now back on track and should be completed. Thank you for your patience.
Some residents may experience their stipends being paid out slightly later than usual. We are aware of this and working towards a resolution. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your understanding.
Of course, I must ask, So tell me Blue, is THIS the change you were talking about with the New Management Team?Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Responding to your Responding to Feedback
Well Friends, it looks as though perhaps our Famous M Linden finally has figured out a bit about the Community; we want to be heard, we want our feedback taken seriously!
Today, M Linden posted that HE has heard us and is happy we are still speaking our Minds. It's wonderful isn't it when someone at the top responds to everyone about how much he appreciates our Feedback. Not only does he appreciate our Feedback, but he also is inviting EVERYONE (that includes me too) to in-world Office Hours that HE himself will be hosting. Mr. M Linden goes on to inform us about what everyone at Linden Land is doing and when they will communicate to us those items and the results of their hard hard work; isn't it wonderful?
Wait, somethings amiss here, I'm actually saying that M Linden and Linden Lab is doing something right? Well, no, I'm actually being quite sarcastic here, because while M Linden likes to say he's "listening to our Feedback", knowing many will skip over the subtle difference between "Listening" and "DOING SOMETHING WITH" our Feedback.
You see, one thing you have to understand about Linden Lab, they lie. There's no use in calling it anything else, by Omission or Commission, the folks at Linden Lab have lied to use for years. Remember when Robin Linden used to say, "Clear and Transparent Communication" as she spoke about what was happening at Linden Lab, yet refused to DEFINE what that meant exactly to the Community? The same is happening here, M Linden is using Subtle word phrases to raise the HOPE of those that fail to clearly distinguish between what he is saying and what it means. I, like the next person, would love to believe that M Linden is really going to take our Feedback and apply to the decisions made at Linden Lab, but that's not at all what he is saying. M Linden is merely stating that he READ our Feedback, not that will have any place in the decisions going forward. Just like his predecessors before him, M Linden is well versed in the art of Lying by Omission.
When M Linden comes out from behind the deceptive words and spells out exactly what he means, only then can we trust what he says. When M Linden says, "Your Feedback states that you don't want an Adult Continent, so WE won't do it", then you know he is not just HEARING you but also taking what you said to heart and giving you what you want. Remember, it's THEIR WORLD but OUR DREAMS. Somewhere in year Three, Linden Lab forgot about the partnership it tried so desperately to have with the Community. Linden Lab decided that no longer would the Community, the PAYING CUSTOMER, would have a voice in the development of the World we LIVE in.
I challenge M Linden to do more then just HEAR our Feedback, but also apply that Feedback to the future of Second Life. You keep saying how important our Feedback is, yet when you ask for it, you have already made the Policy Change, and what you really want is the people to blow sunshine up your skirt. Just when will our Feedback be taken seriously? Just when will our Feedback be acquired before Policy is decided? Just when will our WORLD be our's again?
It's easy to play word games M, it's harder to slip them past the people time after time, and much harder each time you try. So, stop with the lies, come out and say what you mean, stop hiding behind vague and deceptive wording, start acting like the Professional you commonly claim to be. It's time for show M Linden, it's time to be honest, real, Clear and Transparent, and every other thing you and your predecessors have claimed to be in the past. It's time to prove me wrong, show me, show everyone, that I'm off base, that Blue Linden's faith and trust in you isn't blind, but worth it.
To be honest, I think you are full of S***. I won't lie about that, and I won't hide behind pretty words to describe how I feel. You want me to change how I think of Linden Lab? Give me a reason, a real reason, something concrete, not just words, show me that your Team isn't just a retread of the Old Team. Show me just why people should take what you have to say as truth. Show me I'm wrong, and I'll happily drink your Kool-Aid.
Today, M Linden posted that HE has heard us and is happy we are still speaking our Minds. It's wonderful isn't it when someone at the top responds to everyone about how much he appreciates our Feedback. Not only does he appreciate our Feedback, but he also is inviting EVERYONE (that includes me too) to in-world Office Hours that HE himself will be hosting. Mr. M Linden goes on to inform us about what everyone at Linden Land is doing and when they will communicate to us those items and the results of their hard hard work; isn't it wonderful?
Wait, somethings amiss here, I'm actually saying that M Linden and Linden Lab is doing something right? Well, no, I'm actually being quite sarcastic here, because while M Linden likes to say he's "listening to our Feedback", knowing many will skip over the subtle difference between "Listening" and "DOING SOMETHING WITH" our Feedback.
You see, one thing you have to understand about Linden Lab, they lie. There's no use in calling it anything else, by Omission or Commission, the folks at Linden Lab have lied to use for years. Remember when Robin Linden used to say, "Clear and Transparent Communication" as she spoke about what was happening at Linden Lab, yet refused to DEFINE what that meant exactly to the Community? The same is happening here, M Linden is using Subtle word phrases to raise the HOPE of those that fail to clearly distinguish between what he is saying and what it means. I, like the next person, would love to believe that M Linden is really going to take our Feedback and apply to the decisions made at Linden Lab, but that's not at all what he is saying. M Linden is merely stating that he READ our Feedback, not that will have any place in the decisions going forward. Just like his predecessors before him, M Linden is well versed in the art of Lying by Omission.
When M Linden comes out from behind the deceptive words and spells out exactly what he means, only then can we trust what he says. When M Linden says, "Your Feedback states that you don't want an Adult Continent, so WE won't do it", then you know he is not just HEARING you but also taking what you said to heart and giving you what you want. Remember, it's THEIR WORLD but OUR DREAMS. Somewhere in year Three, Linden Lab forgot about the partnership it tried so desperately to have with the Community. Linden Lab decided that no longer would the Community, the PAYING CUSTOMER, would have a voice in the development of the World we LIVE in.
I challenge M Linden to do more then just HEAR our Feedback, but also apply that Feedback to the future of Second Life. You keep saying how important our Feedback is, yet when you ask for it, you have already made the Policy Change, and what you really want is the people to blow sunshine up your skirt. Just when will our Feedback be taken seriously? Just when will our Feedback be acquired before Policy is decided? Just when will our WORLD be our's again?
It's easy to play word games M, it's harder to slip them past the people time after time, and much harder each time you try. So, stop with the lies, come out and say what you mean, stop hiding behind vague and deceptive wording, start acting like the Professional you commonly claim to be. It's time for show M Linden, it's time to be honest, real, Clear and Transparent, and every other thing you and your predecessors have claimed to be in the past. It's time to prove me wrong, show me, show everyone, that I'm off base, that Blue Linden's faith and trust in you isn't blind, but worth it.
To be honest, I think you are full of S***. I won't lie about that, and I won't hide behind pretty words to describe how I feel. You want me to change how I think of Linden Lab? Give me a reason, a real reason, something concrete, not just words, show me that your Team isn't just a retread of the Old Team. Show me just why people should take what you have to say as truth. Show me I'm wrong, and I'll happily drink your Kool-Aid.
It's really too easy
So, for everyone that thought that perhaps I was sweating the fact that Linden Lab went a whole 4 days without any issues, don't. Even if they hadn't screwed up the Stipends on Tuesday, they would have still not made the full week, as this is now the most current entry:
Login/Registration Temporarily Offline Jan. 14th at 6 a.m.
[Posted Jan 12th 2010 1:20 PM PST] On Thursday, January 14th, starting at 6 a.m. PST, all login and registration will be offline due to maintenance. Logins will not be available during that time. This will not affect our residents currently in-world. Maintenance should take approximately 30 minutes. We apologize for any incovenience.
Well, when you are right, you are right. Now, Mr. Blue, aren't you ashamed of yourself, trying to pull one over on me. The New Guard is the Old Guard, and the Old Guard keeps playing that same sad song.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
And the Beat goes on....And the Beat goes on
I want to apologize to everyone who have said to me in one form or another that Linden Lab will prove me wrong and very soon will go a "week, even two" without any issues in Second Life. I am sorry you placed your bet with Linden Lab, because once again, they've blown it; taken from Tuesday, 12th of January, 2010:
Stipends
Stipends
[07:41 AM PST] There may be a delay for some residents receiving their stipends today. Please check this page for more updates.
What more can I say but, thank you Linden Lab for showing me just how right I have been. Oh, one more thing, so Blue, is THIS the change you told me the New Management Team would bring to the World of Second Life?Thursday, January 7, 2010
Once again Linden Lab fails at Basic Support
Today I was speaking with a friend of mine in Second Life when he became a bit agitated and told me about his recent encounter with Linden Lab Support.
My friend is a "Free Account" player but has an In-World Business and took out one of those 999L "get your business noticed" advertisements on XSTREETSL.COM. Well, a day or two into this advertisement period, my friend and his Business Partner had a falling out and so he went to the XSTREETSL.COM website and followed the instructions to put this advertisement on hold. As usual with any Linden Lab product, the advertisement ran on despite what my friend wanted, and so he basically squandered his 999L. Since my friend had trouble with this issue, he turned to Support to try and get some assistance, but since he is a "Free Account" he isn't entitled to any Support, no matter how much MONEY he might have spent or even generated in Second Life.
I find it simply amazing that Linden Lab thinks it's completely normal that people spend MONEY with them, but aren't given any support. Of course, my friend didn't want me to start a support ticket on his behalf, so I decided to do this instead.
Here's a HINT to everyone thinking about starting an Avatar in Second Life; don't do it. Linden Lab has proven time and again, that they are merely interested in your money. They don't even HIDE the fact that they will take your money and give you no support, matter if fact, they probably would rather you just skip starting an Avatar all together and write them a Personal Check directly for whatever amount of cash you have available.
Linden Lab has again shown just what kind of Business Ethics they have as a Corporate Body. I'm sad to say, no matter what Blue Linden wants me to believe, but the New Boss is the Same as the Old Boss, we've been fooled again.
My friend is a "Free Account" player but has an In-World Business and took out one of those 999L "get your business noticed" advertisements on XSTREETSL.COM. Well, a day or two into this advertisement period, my friend and his Business Partner had a falling out and so he went to the XSTREETSL.COM website and followed the instructions to put this advertisement on hold. As usual with any Linden Lab product, the advertisement ran on despite what my friend wanted, and so he basically squandered his 999L. Since my friend had trouble with this issue, he turned to Support to try and get some assistance, but since he is a "Free Account" he isn't entitled to any Support, no matter how much MONEY he might have spent or even generated in Second Life.
I find it simply amazing that Linden Lab thinks it's completely normal that people spend MONEY with them, but aren't given any support. Of course, my friend didn't want me to start a support ticket on his behalf, so I decided to do this instead.
Here's a HINT to everyone thinking about starting an Avatar in Second Life; don't do it. Linden Lab has proven time and again, that they are merely interested in your money. They don't even HIDE the fact that they will take your money and give you no support, matter if fact, they probably would rather you just skip starting an Avatar all together and write them a Personal Check directly for whatever amount of cash you have available.
Linden Lab has again shown just what kind of Business Ethics they have as a Corporate Body. I'm sad to say, no matter what Blue Linden wants me to believe, but the New Boss is the Same as the Old Boss, we've been fooled again.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A Challenge to the TEAM at Linden Lab
Fairly recently Babbage Linden announced that Linden Lab will be implementing Memory Usage Restrictions for ALL SIMS and Users of Second Life. Babbage said this action was being taken in direct response to the Residents of Second Life demanding that Linden Lab do something about the LAG that plagues the Virtual World.
Babbage Linden claims that the majority of the LAG is actually caused by the Residents of Second Life and NOT by the Coding of Second Life. In other words, once again, just like with OpenSpace, Linden Lab says that the Customer is the problem, not Linden Lab.
Unfortunately for Babbage Linden the Grid Team at Linden Lab have been reporting Grid Issues in their Blogs for quiet some time, I've never seen them say that LOGIN or ASSET SERVER Issues were caused by the Residents. Following this to its Logical Conclusion it must therefore be a problem caused by Linden Lab; something apparently Babbage Linden wants to dispute.
It's only been a year since Linden Lab announced that the Evil Residents of Second Life were to blame for all the problems with OpenSpace SIMs, even though Linden Lab employee's used their OpenSpace SIMs in the exact same way when they created the Nautilus Continent.
Being an observer of what's going on in Second Life and at Linden Lab, it certainly does look to me that Linden Lab has a real issue admitting that they have a problem and they would rather pass all the blame to their Evil Customers. I don't think anyone will dispute the fact that the coding of Second Life is in a state of dis-repair, but do you see anyone from Linden Lab saying, "As the Residents learn to code more cleanly, Linden Lab will also be going through the Second Life Code and cleaning up their own mistakes"?
Why does Linden Lab constantly blame their Customers for a problem that, if you believe what Babbage Linden says, has been going on for years. IF this problem has been going on for years, why did Linden Lab allow it to go on for years? Just like with the OpenSpace SIMs fiasco, where Linden Lab not only overlooked what their Customers were doing, were aware of and did the very same things themselves with OpenSpace SIMs. We have the exact same issue here, that Linden Lab KNEW of the problem, but did NOTHING to correct the problem for the last 7 years.
Linden Lab is following a very dangerous trend here. They (Linden Lab) seem to think that it's easier to blame your Customers for everything, even if you share in the problem, and I dare say, probably are MORE of the problem then the Customers are.
Blue Linden asked me to hold-off these past few months and see what this "new" management team would be like. Well, it certainly seems to this observer that this "new" management team has picked up the ball where the "old" management team left off and have gone down the very same road. Is this the "new way" that I was supposedly waiting for? I've seen this "way" before, and it's as unappetizing as it was the very first time Linden Lab asked us to take part in it.
Linden Lab is often saying that they work as a Team with their Customers. Why Linden Lab even has their Customers reporting bugs through JIRA, certainly not what anyone would call a User-Friendly system. So, if we, the Customers of Second Life, are part of this Team, I would like to know just when Linden Lab will be announcing that their Coding Team will be going back into the Code of Second Life and cleaning it up to help improve on Memory Usage? When will the "Bug Coders" actually be giving 100% of their time to the Asset Server issue which is now THREE YEARS old? When will the Management Team stand up and accept Linden Lab's responsibility in this mess?
When I was a working stiff years ago, I was in charge of Managing a Group of Coders that wrote for a very obscure language which was used for our Remote Locations (23 of them), the other Manager had a team of about 10 or so Coders that wrote COBOL for the IBM Mainframe . I had this saying that I would wind up saying at "Team" meetings when the IBM Manager did everything he could to pass the buck to my Team, I would say, "Teamwork isn't that my Team does your work". That saying of mine seems to be prevalent even today with Linden Lab, as they are asking the Scripters in Second Life to "write better code", why then aren't they asking their own Coders to fix the problems in the Second Life Code, I mean, we are part of a TEAM Effort, aren't we?
Babbage Linden claims that the majority of the LAG is actually caused by the Residents of Second Life and NOT by the Coding of Second Life. In other words, once again, just like with OpenSpace, Linden Lab says that the Customer is the problem, not Linden Lab.
Unfortunately for Babbage Linden the Grid Team at Linden Lab have been reporting Grid Issues in their Blogs for quiet some time, I've never seen them say that LOGIN or ASSET SERVER Issues were caused by the Residents. Following this to its Logical Conclusion it must therefore be a problem caused by Linden Lab; something apparently Babbage Linden wants to dispute.
It's only been a year since Linden Lab announced that the Evil Residents of Second Life were to blame for all the problems with OpenSpace SIMs, even though Linden Lab employee's used their OpenSpace SIMs in the exact same way when they created the Nautilus Continent.
Being an observer of what's going on in Second Life and at Linden Lab, it certainly does look to me that Linden Lab has a real issue admitting that they have a problem and they would rather pass all the blame to their Evil Customers. I don't think anyone will dispute the fact that the coding of Second Life is in a state of dis-repair, but do you see anyone from Linden Lab saying, "As the Residents learn to code more cleanly, Linden Lab will also be going through the Second Life Code and cleaning up their own mistakes"?
Why does Linden Lab constantly blame their Customers for a problem that, if you believe what Babbage Linden says, has been going on for years. IF this problem has been going on for years, why did Linden Lab allow it to go on for years? Just like with the OpenSpace SIMs fiasco, where Linden Lab not only overlooked what their Customers were doing, were aware of and did the very same things themselves with OpenSpace SIMs. We have the exact same issue here, that Linden Lab KNEW of the problem, but did NOTHING to correct the problem for the last 7 years.
Linden Lab is following a very dangerous trend here. They (Linden Lab) seem to think that it's easier to blame your Customers for everything, even if you share in the problem, and I dare say, probably are MORE of the problem then the Customers are.
Blue Linden asked me to hold-off these past few months and see what this "new" management team would be like. Well, it certainly seems to this observer that this "new" management team has picked up the ball where the "old" management team left off and have gone down the very same road. Is this the "new way" that I was supposedly waiting for? I've seen this "way" before, and it's as unappetizing as it was the very first time Linden Lab asked us to take part in it.
Linden Lab is often saying that they work as a Team with their Customers. Why Linden Lab even has their Customers reporting bugs through JIRA, certainly not what anyone would call a User-Friendly system. So, if we, the Customers of Second Life, are part of this Team, I would like to know just when Linden Lab will be announcing that their Coding Team will be going back into the Code of Second Life and cleaning it up to help improve on Memory Usage? When will the "Bug Coders" actually be giving 100% of their time to the Asset Server issue which is now THREE YEARS old? When will the Management Team stand up and accept Linden Lab's responsibility in this mess?
When I was a working stiff years ago, I was in charge of Managing a Group of Coders that wrote for a very obscure language which was used for our Remote Locations (23 of them), the other Manager had a team of about 10 or so Coders that wrote COBOL for the IBM Mainframe . I had this saying that I would wind up saying at "Team" meetings when the IBM Manager did everything he could to pass the buck to my Team, I would say, "Teamwork isn't that my Team does your work". That saying of mine seems to be prevalent even today with Linden Lab, as they are asking the Scripters in Second Life to "write better code", why then aren't they asking their own Coders to fix the problems in the Second Life Code, I mean, we are part of a TEAM Effort, aren't we?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
So Close
Just in case you thought I hadn't noticed, Linden Lab still is unable to keep Second Life running for a mere 7 days without having problems.
Once again today, the seemingly inevitable Login Issue has reared its ugly head and foiled all that hard (minimum definition) work.
[UPDATE] Isolated login and inventory issues
[3:11pm PST] An isolated number of residents who have been experiencing the login and inventory issues will be logged out from inworld and will experience a short delay logging back in. We will keep this delay as minimum as possible. Please refer back to this blog for updates.
[3:02pm PST] We are still experiencing isolated issues with logins and inventory. Please refer back to this blog for updates.
[1:01pm PST] We are currently experiencing isolated login issues. You may see extended login times, difficulty logging in or errors in logins. We are also seeing related isolated inventory issues where a small group of residents will only see their default library of inventory. Please refer back to the blog for updates.
Once again we ask for our friend Blue to tell us, "Is THIS the change the NEW Management Team was taking about?"
Once again today, the seemingly inevitable Login Issue has reared its ugly head and foiled all that hard (minimum definition) work.
[UPDATE] Isolated login and inventory issues
[3:11pm PST] An isolated number of residents who have been experiencing the login and inventory issues will be logged out from inworld and will experience a short delay logging back in. We will keep this delay as minimum as possible. Please refer back to this blog for updates.
[3:02pm PST] We are still experiencing isolated issues with logins and inventory. Please refer back to this blog for updates.
[1:01pm PST] We are currently experiencing isolated login issues. You may see extended login times, difficulty logging in or errors in logins. We are also seeing related isolated inventory issues where a small group of residents will only see their default library of inventory. Please refer back to the blog for updates.
Once again we ask for our friend Blue to tell us, "Is THIS the change the NEW Management Team was taking about?"
Time draws near
Well friends, it seems to this Blogger and Long-Time Resident of Second Life, that the time to leave the fascinating world just might be drawing near.
Recently I have been inundated with IM's from nearly everyone I know concerning the announcement that Linden Lab plans to RESTRICT MEMORY usage on every SIM, even Homesteads and Private Islands.
While I understand that Linden Lab has the right to oversee the Public SIMs, I really don't understand why Linden Lab thinks they should stick their noses into the Private SIMs that others are paying for. Was it the Private SIM owners that setup their Servers in such a way that put 4 SIMs on every server? Was it the Private SIM owners that decided on the amount of total Memory that would be contained on each Server? It seems to this Old Timer that once again Linden Lab is putting the screws to the Customers after they (Linden Lab employees) made bad decisions.
Just like the OpenSpace fiasco, Linden Lab has determined that it should be their Customers that pay for Linden Lab's apparent Non-Informed Decision Making. Instead of doing what's RIGHT or GOOD for the Customer, Linden Lab once again would rather alienate their Customers; it's much easier right?
Well, folks, I've decided that if this new "Policy" goes into effect, it will be the proverbial Straw that breaks the Camels back, and I will be leaving the world of Second Life for good. I have already been checking out how I can move my Inventory to a New World and to what New World do I wish to move. At the time of this Blog Post, I am leaning toward moving to "In Worldz". You can check our InWorldz for yourself and see what they have to offer and what real Customer Service is like. I know it will be a sad day for me when I leave Second Life, as I know there will be some people I never see again; many of them friends. I only hope that those of you that are my friends will stay in touch, even if just by e-mail.
Linden Lab gave us an incredible world back in 2002, and many of us have enjoyed that world beyond what is possible to express in words alone. All of us who have enjoyed the world of Second Life will be bound together by common experiences and the time we spent chatting together. Linden Lab gave us Second Life and now Linden Lab seems determined to destroy it as well. Unfortunately, we aren't able to save Second Life, as I'd hoped; for one to be saved, one needs want to be saved. Linden Lab themselves have worked without rest over the past 4 years to destroy the one thing they gave us all to enjoy and by most accounts knew what they were doing and chose to do so all the same. I've never seen a Company reach heights like Linden Lab reached and then reach the Lows as Linden Lab has reached. Greed is the one ingredient that will sour the whole batch, and unfortunately, the people at Linden Lab were the greediest.
So here's to Linden Lab, you gave us a great world and you ripped out our hearts as you slowly destroyed it.
Is this that Change you were promising me Blue?
Recently I have been inundated with IM's from nearly everyone I know concerning the announcement that Linden Lab plans to RESTRICT MEMORY usage on every SIM, even Homesteads and Private Islands.
While I understand that Linden Lab has the right to oversee the Public SIMs, I really don't understand why Linden Lab thinks they should stick their noses into the Private SIMs that others are paying for. Was it the Private SIM owners that setup their Servers in such a way that put 4 SIMs on every server? Was it the Private SIM owners that decided on the amount of total Memory that would be contained on each Server? It seems to this Old Timer that once again Linden Lab is putting the screws to the Customers after they (Linden Lab employees) made bad decisions.
Just like the OpenSpace fiasco, Linden Lab has determined that it should be their Customers that pay for Linden Lab's apparent Non-Informed Decision Making. Instead of doing what's RIGHT or GOOD for the Customer, Linden Lab once again would rather alienate their Customers; it's much easier right?
Well, folks, I've decided that if this new "Policy" goes into effect, it will be the proverbial Straw that breaks the Camels back, and I will be leaving the world of Second Life for good. I have already been checking out how I can move my Inventory to a New World and to what New World do I wish to move. At the time of this Blog Post, I am leaning toward moving to "In Worldz". You can check our InWorldz for yourself and see what they have to offer and what real Customer Service is like. I know it will be a sad day for me when I leave Second Life, as I know there will be some people I never see again; many of them friends. I only hope that those of you that are my friends will stay in touch, even if just by e-mail.
Linden Lab gave us an incredible world back in 2002, and many of us have enjoyed that world beyond what is possible to express in words alone. All of us who have enjoyed the world of Second Life will be bound together by common experiences and the time we spent chatting together. Linden Lab gave us Second Life and now Linden Lab seems determined to destroy it as well. Unfortunately, we aren't able to save Second Life, as I'd hoped; for one to be saved, one needs want to be saved. Linden Lab themselves have worked without rest over the past 4 years to destroy the one thing they gave us all to enjoy and by most accounts knew what they were doing and chose to do so all the same. I've never seen a Company reach heights like Linden Lab reached and then reach the Lows as Linden Lab has reached. Greed is the one ingredient that will sour the whole batch, and unfortunately, the people at Linden Lab were the greediest.
So here's to Linden Lab, you gave us a great world and you ripped out our hearts as you slowly destroyed it.
Is this that Change you were promising me Blue?
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