Thoughts on LL's recent "How to Update Your Avatar's Body" series showcasing brand name mesh bodies.

[Claireschen Hesten]

A lot of the time people new to SL wanting a mesh body want one that's easy to dress and find content for. Not sure about Gianni but Maitreya is the most widely used female body. while it does make sense to do videos for that reason, it may be the person doing the videos uses them as their primary bodies.
The Maitreya video does mention within the first minute and a half other mesh bodies will be featured in future videos so LL will be indirectly endorsing other brands to give people an informed choice on what's out there.
 

[Qie Niangao]

Maitreya may be very common, but a number of clothing creators abandoned Gianni in the past year or so. It used to be in the top two or three at least, and maybe still is, but it's certainly far from ubiquitous. I'd supposed Signature's reason to introduce yet another male body model, after Geralt never really took off, was an attempt to salvage market share as Gianni fades. I don't know that this video is an attempt to prop up the brand, but I don't know it's not, either.

[diamond Marchant]

I would call this an "unforced error". Linden Lab does not need to make  videos about creator products because those can be made by the creators themselves or vbloggers, as they see the need. Recently I switched to LeLutka and easily found videos that explained what I needed to know.

Second Life University should cover things unrelated to specific creators. Sample titles might be "Land Costs How Much?", "What Did You Call Me?",  and "Why Do I Get Catapulted Every 256 Meters?"

[Coffee Pancake]

10 minutes ago, diamond Marchant said:

Recently I switched to LeLutka and easily found videos that explained what I needed to know.

With the advantage that you were already familiar with SL systems.

[Chic Aeon]

2 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

In fairness, I would imagine that that is why this choice was made. I'd prefer not to think that this involved an exchange of money.

But it will also have the effect of helping ensure that they remain the most common bodies.

I think a lot of that popularity was a TIMING thing.  In the beginning there were mesh bodies but they had issues -- issues too big for me to opt into the mesh body arena. I didn't get a body until Maitreya came out. I wasn't alone.   The bodies following  after that pretty much had issues of their own  -- for awhile at least. Then came the period when there were some very nice bodies but with no real clothing options. 

 

And them some super heavy bodies that took forever to load and a lot of "niche" bodies. 

 

Now there are so many brands I doubt anyone will overtake these leaders. Most of us have huge wardrobes we don't want to give up.  I agree that LL picked to top two bodies BECAUSE they were the most popular and have the most clothing out there. 

 

 And to @Love Zhaoying  There wasn't any smiling in Sansar -- sometimes with the typists, but not the avatars anyway. 

[ChinRey]

11 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

Strange. Can't help but wonder what money passed between which hands to make this happen.

I can't imagine there was any money involved, that's just not LL's style. It may have been thoughtless of them to promote specific brands this way but nothing beyond that.

Edited July 4, 2022 by ChinRey

[ChinRey]

9 hours ago, shireena1 said:

Cool! I had considered a mesh body as a lot of the newer mesh clothing fit it (obviously). Note to complete noobs 2750 L equals about 11 U.S dollars.

You can pick up a Ruth 2/Roth mesh body for a single L$. They are not only cheaper than any commercial bodies but also considerably less render heavy. They are more RL realisic too although that may not be what many people in SL are looking for.

There may not be much clothes specifically for them but when it comes to Ruth 2, the rigging is close enough to Maitreya's much of the clothes will fit either body, at least with a little bit of alpha cuts.

Edited July 3, 2022 by ChinRey

[Blaise Glendevon]

It's been the most used body since it was launched. For the resources to be the most useful, it makes perfect sense for these to be the bodies used. Certainly, they wouldn't use Legacy - with it's sketchy history and off-server HUD. 

[Blaise Glendevon]

17 minutes ago, ChinRey said:

You can pick up a Ruth 2/Roth mesh body for a single L$. They are not only cheaper than any commercial bodies but also considerably less render heavy. They are more RL realisic too although that may not be what many people in SL are looking for.

They're ugly as sin. Not at all comparable to the paid bodies. You might as well stick with system.

[Jennifer Boyle]

10 hours ago, Henri Beauchamp said:

Why the Hell is LL advertising for a specific body mesh brand ?  Especially one that is so heavy on (actual) rendering cost... I mean there are many other (less known/popular) mesh bodies around that look just as good and are not so heavily taxing on performances.

The answer should be obvious: for the same reason that I and over 90 per cent of the women I encounter wear Maitreya bodies. This body is very well-supported by makers of clothing, skins, shapes, and all kinds of accessories. Most things that are made for any female body are made for Maitreya. LL's objective in making these videos is to make things easier, more enjoyable, and less frustrating for naive residents. Not only are the things one needs to go with it plentiful, but, since it is used by so many, it is easy to get help using it from other residents. The HUD is fairly easy to learn and use, too.  In LL's place I would have done the same, and not used as an example some obscure body with some technical advantage and little creator support.

[Alazarin Mondrian]

10 hours ago, Carolyn Zapedzki said:

I personally don't agree with them promoting a specific brand,  they should promote all or none.

^^^ This ^^^ And seeing how it would almost impossible to have a shout out for all the brands, surely it would have made better sense to discuss mesh bodies in a generic sense rather than brand-specific. There's enough commonality between all the mesh bodies that a more generic approach would work.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Those who are suggesting Maitreya rather than this or that other brand are of course correct, to a point.

But surely the real answer was not to use a specific body at all, but to speak in generic terms about the commonalities that these feature. Most have alpha slices, for instance, and controls for materials. They have far more in common than not.

Why is LL doing Maitreya's work for it? Let them produce their own bumpf for noobs.

I dislike monopolies, even in SL. And LL is reinforcing this one.

[Blaise Glendevon]

10 minutes ago, Alazarin Mondrian said:

^^^ This ^^^ And seeing how it would almost impossible to have a shout out for all the brands, surely it would have made better sense to discuss mesh bodies in a generic sense rather than brand-specific. There's enough commonality between all the mesh bodies that a more generic approach would work.

To spend the time making resources, enough people have to find them useful. More people are going to find a general overview with the most common bodies useful than an assortment of niche bodies. 

[Ceka Cianci]

I don't know about the male body.. But I could see some good reasons to go with Maitreya over the others..

They've been around longer than most, have stayed consistent with big change updates, have probably the most content made for them, probably the most purchased body as well..

There really hasn't been a body that has kept on track over the amount of time since mesh bodies started coming out, like Maitreya has..

If that was a legacy body in that video, it would probably be a lot louder in here, especially from those that had the TMP body..

Belleeza was slow with the big updates.. A lot of the other bodies are younger bodies..

If they had to choose one, why wouldn't they go with the one that has stayed most reliant and most consistent over time, for their project?

 

I'm just guessing that might be what they looked at.. It might have just been names in a hat..

I just know if it was my project, I'd be looking at those kinds of things..

ETA: Also forgot to add in the list..It's still priced low compared to many of the bodies out today too.. Like 1200 lindens

see how much those other ones cost hitting the market in the last few years..

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Ceka Cianci

[Theresa Tennyson]

42 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Those who are suggesting Maitreya rather than this or that other brand are of course correct, to a point.

But surely the real answer was not to use a specific body at all, but to speak in generic terms about the commonalities that these feature. Most have alpha slices, for instance, and controls for materials. They have far more in common than not.

Why is LL doing Maitreya's work for it? Let them produce their own bumpf for noobs.

I dislike monopolies, even in SL. And LL is reinforcing this one.

Look at the image of the video.

It says, "Maitreya Mesh Body."

It doesn't say, "How to upgrade your avatar."

A newbie looking for women's clothing will discover, literally in the first minutes, that there's something in Second Life called a Maitreya Lara, and it seems to be important. This video explains what that thing -- that they've probably heard of already -- is.

Yes, the newbie could just do a general search, but there's no guarantee that they'd find good current information and they wouldn't have the necessary tools to judge the information that they see.

Many colleges have information on their official websites on how to go about joining a fraternity/sorority. Are they saying that everyone should? Not necessarily. However, they realize that people just starting out at a college will be aware that fraternities and sororities exist, and it may be more prudent for the college to provide some information like this then have new students wandering past a house where a guy is standing on the porch yelling, "Hey girlie! Thizziz a sorority - the girls are inside. C'mon in and have some beerz..."

[Scylla Rhiadra]

8 minutes ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Many colleges have information on their official websites on how to go about joining a fraternity/sorority. Are they saying that everyone should? Not necessarily. However, they realize that people just starting out at a college will be aware that fraternities and sororities exist, and it may be more prudent for the college to provide some information like this then have new students wandering past a house where a guy is standing on the porch yelling, "Hey girlie! Thizziz a sorority - the girls are inside. C'mon in and have some beerz..."

No responsible college or university is going to note the existence of, and explain in detail, only one fraternity or sorority.

I was, for most of my first few months in SL, over-brimming with half truths and misunderstandings about a variety of aspects of the platform. It took a while for many of these to be dispelled. I could definitely have used a general guide to many of these things.

But in focusing exclusively on Maitreya and Signature, LL is effectively contributing to the confusion. I will lay money that many noobs walk away from these videos thinking that these bodies are not merely important or popular: they are de facto prerequisites for the platform.

ETA: And, to repeat, why is SL essentially bolstering monopolies here? Diversity of experience and identity is a vital part of SL. Focus upon a single, and very generically "modellish" body type that is already essentially a near-monopoly just squeezes out diversity all the more. 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Theresa Tennyson]

3 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

No responsible college or university is going to note the existence of, and explain in detail, only one fraternity or sorority.

The blog post announcing the videos says, in so many words, that there is a variety of bodies and links to a page full of their locations.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

The blog post announcing the videos says, in so many words, that there is a variety of bodies and links to a page full of their locations.

"But here's the only one we thought it worthwhile to showcase in detail."

ETA: Hey, if there are other videos for other bodies in a matter of a month or two, I'll concede this point.

But I'm not holding my breathe.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Theresa Tennyson]

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

 

But surely the real answer was not to use a specific body at all, but to speak in generic terms about the commonalities that these feature. Most have alpha slices, for instance, and controls for materials. They have far more in common than not.

Slink and Kupra don't have alpha slices. Lelutka uses a radically different UV map.

Some time ago I gave thought to what you'd need to produce a "generic" SL guide describing all the options you're going to run into. It would be like trying to write a "generic" owner's manual for a car if you could find yourself having a near-equal chance of owning every car that was ever made.

"Headlights: Your headlights will turn on at night. Unless you don't have automatic headlights, which means you will need to turn them on yourself. To turn on the headlights, pull out the knob on the dash. Or turn the knob at the end of the turn signal stalk. Or, if you have kerosene headlights, open the lamp and light the wick. Make sure the reservoir is full of kerosene first. Or, if you have acetylene headlights, make sure the acetylene generator on the running board is full of carbide and water. Or, if you have Prest-O-Lite acetylene headlights, you'll need to buy a pre-filled canister of acetylene. Unfortunately, they haven't been made in a hundred years - the factory kept exploding."

Edited July 4, 2022 by Theresa Tennyson

[Bree Giffen]

I'm assuming LL will release more videos on some of the other bodies. At the very least, a video to inform new people about what bodies are available but not necessarily on how to use them.

Why don't body makers simply make their own 'how to update your avatar' video? I wouldn't wait for LL to create one. 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 hour ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Slink and Kupra don't have alpha slices. Lelutka uses a radically different UV map.

I think you've sort of made my point for me. The Maitreya tutorial doesn't begin to address the diversity of systems and body types avaliable.

As someone who recently did have to write a guide to access DoF controls in three very different viewer UIs, I do understand the difficulties involved in trying to be "generic." It can be done, though -- and it's a better solution than simply ignoring alternate approaches.

The irony, of course, is that the introduction of BOM was, I think, supposed to lead to the end of alpha slices. In that sense, Slink and Kupra perhaps represent the best articulations of LL's own initial vision. Favouring Maitreya seems, in that context, a little like a surrender to what was admittedly probably an inevitability.

[Jaylinbridges]

4 hours ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

They're ugly as sin. Not at all comparable to the paid bodies. You might as well stick with system.

 

4 hours ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

You can pick up a Ruth 2/Roth mesh body for a single L$. They are not only cheaper than any commercial bodies but also considerably less render heavy. They are more RL realisic too although that may not be what many people in SL are looking for.

My alt uses a Ruth2 body by Sweets.  Cost with attachments for nails is about 6 $L.  Fully BOM and Bento of course, no Alpha section HUD needed, and most Maitreya sizes fit her.

I don't view her body as "ugly as sin", but each to his own I guess...  Why pay 5K for sweat w/ materials?  Sweaty bodies remind me to shower.

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Jaylinbridges

[Claireschen Hesten]

1 hour ago, Bree Giffen said:

I'm assuming LL will release more videos on some of the other bodies. At the very least, a video to inform new people about what bodies are available but not necessarily on how to use them.

If anyone watches at least the Maitreya video it does say other mesh bodies will be featured in future videos

[Marianne Little]

When they start with instruction videos like this, Linden Lab should always update the videos every time it is a change in the HUDs or rigging. It can be confusing if somebody find very instructive videos made by bloggers, but the videos are a bit old. Those videos that teach about appliers, Omega and Omega relays. Before BoM.

[Marianne Little]

17 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

They should have waited until THEIR mesh body was deployed and make a video describing how that one works.   

I agree. It is, after all, many who do not want to pay until they know if they will really spend time in SL.

And I fully understand it.

LL should show their own product first, but also mention it is more bodies that people can buy if they want. And then show the bodies at the end of the instruction video.

It makes me feel a bit uncertain about it. If the creators donated to SL or paid for the videos, is that bad? Second Life is very much shopping oriented and really a commercial world. It is not a charity program. But it is marketed as free, so new people should not be presented with only alternatives that cost money when they will look better.

Are LL showcase the best selling bodies because they are a good income for Tilia fees, and from marketplace buys?

Making a video for a small brand that generates no income would be very kind, but who said a business is working for free?

I hope they show diversity. Other people than the Caucasian supermodel. And other than human avatars. This can turn away a consumer base that comes to SL and see nobody looking like they want to be.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Marianne Little