Linden Lab gone dark again ?

[Prokofy Neva]

15 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

LL seems to have managed to take someone who was a really powerful asset to the platform, take her in and render her next to useless, and then chew her up and spit her out.

This is going well so far, isn't it?

That's really sad. Strawberry was someone with intimate understanding of the platform and culture with ties to important constituents inworld who was able to get Moles and Lindens comfortable and interview them about sometimes complicated and controversial topics. 

But when companies like this want to professionalize, one of the first things they do is try to get rid of people they view as amateurs, or too close to this or that constituent, or suffering from "founders' syndrome" or some other nonsense.

PS

 

 "the team is working through some unexpected circumstances" 

The departure of Strawberry obviously could be that "unexpected" event because she would have likely been involved in any community roundtable.

Edited July 31 by Prokofy Neva

[Prokofy Neva]

6 hours ago, Nika Talaj said:

Doubt it.  There no longer ARE any executives 'up the tree'.  The only two left who have to do with running SL (as opposed to running LL) are Grumpity and Patch, neither of whom are at all replaceable, IMHO.  Departmental director-level employees seem to have stepped in to lead engineering and marketing.  If Patch or Grumpity OKs a bad decision, tough luck LL, grit your teeth and move forward.  

So, perhaps a bad decision is necessitating meetings about how to move forward?  Or perhaps training, perhaps a new call center, maybe someone's ill  ... all possibilities.  Who knows.  

Thanks to Daniel for surfacing his concerns in a factual manner.  He's encouraged us to collectively stop holding our breath for an imminent "next Belli theme" announcement, and perhaps his postings will prod LL to draw back the curtains earlier rather than later.

 

I appreciate Daniel and he's been here since the Teen Grid and the Lindens have always loved him.
But he has not provided any factos about anything. He's provided his concerns based on a thing about a thing from someone which he won't tell us about. The only advantage to the house organs like Daniel and Inara and Hamlet is that the Lindens may feel they are trusted and therefore eventually tell them something. Of course they could be more proactive and aggressive than they usually are and get the story.

[Prokofy Neva]

3 hours ago, Harper Held said:

So, I'm wondering if the "something big" ppl are whispering about has something to do with recent legislation?

Kids Online Safety Act passes Senate despite concerns it will harm kids

Could be LL are waiting to see how that plays out and what changes they'll have to make?

This law has zero relevance to SL, which requires people holding accounts to be 16 years of age to go only on General or 18 and over to go on Mature and Adult. Read the law through or even just a few news articles and you're realize it's not about what you imagine.

[Feorie Frimon]

28 minutes ago, Daniel Voyager said:

Looks like Strawberry Singh / Linden has left her site recently... 

strawberrysingh.com

"Thank you for all the love and support"

My friend thinks it was this past weekend. I didn’t want to make a big thing out of it publicly (in case she was sick or something?), but yeah. Super sucky.  

She apparently shut down her Plurk account too, but I’m not sure when. 

https://www.plurk.com/strawberrysingh

[Scylla Rhiadra]

11 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

That's really sad. Strawberry was someone with intimate understanding of the platform and culture with ties to important constituents inworld who was able to get Moles and Lindens comfortable and interview them about sometimes complicated and controversial topics. 

But when companies like this want to professionalize, one of the first things they do is try to get rid of people they view as amateurs, or too close to this or that constituent, or suffering from "founders' syndrome" or some other nonsense.

PS

 

 "the team is working through some unexpected circumstances" 

The departure of Strawberry obviously could be that "unexpected" event because she would have likely been involved in any community roundtable.

Very sad indeed.

She was pretty good at the interview thing, but I've always thought she was being misused. She should have been doing what she does best: creating content that assisted people with some of the trickier aspects of SL. She should have been producing the videos and guide books that would assist in retention.

That was just a waste. And not fair to her.

Shades of Torley.

[Prokofy Neva]

22 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

LL seems to have managed to take someone who was a really powerful asset to the platform, take her in and render her next to useless, and then chew her up and spit her out.

This is going well so far, isn't it?

You make it sound like she has been let go from the Lab, yet her closing her personal site isn't evidence of that. I could be that merely as they "professionalize" they are telling staff to get rid of personal social media accounts and becoming stricter (that's why they got rid of the liability of the blogger network).

Strawberry's account is still in the People list -- both her Linden and Singh accounts. If she was marched to the parking lot with a cardboard box of her things, her Linden account would be gone from the list.

 

[Daniel Voyager]

15 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

That's really sad. Strawberry was someone with intimate understanding of the platform and culture with ties to important constituents inworld who was able to get Moles and Lindens comfortable and interview them about sometimes complicated and controversial topics. 

But when companies like this want to professionalize, one of the first things they do is try to get rid of people they view as amateurs, or too close to this or that constituent, or suffering from "founders' syndrome" or some other nonsense.

PS

 

 "the team is working through some unexpected circumstances" 

The departure of Strawberry obviously could be that "unexpected" event because she would have likely been involved in any community roundtable.

This could be the main reason and if Strawberry has actually departed it would be really sad. 

[Feorie Frimon]

9 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

I thought you quit Second Life, Feorie, and rather dramatically on social media, with take down of your site, lands, etc. Why are you back?

The article has been out on my website (that I have publicly been working on for weeks) since 6/17. 

If you are genuinely interested in talking to me about what happened, I’d be happy to tell you or introduce you to the group of people that walked with me through each interaction with the Linden Lab team. 

I'm not interested in fighting or arguing with you though. 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

3 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

You make it sound like she has been let go from the Lab, yet her closing her personal site isn't evidence of that. I could be that merely as they "professionalize" they are telling staff to get rid of personal social media accounts and becoming stricter (that's why they got rid of the liability of the blogger network).

Strawberry's account is still in the People list -- both her Linden and Singh accounts. If she was marched to the parking lot with a cardboard box of her things, her Linden account would be gone from the list.

 

I very much hope you're correct.

And if that's the case, I also hope they let her do her thing properly.

[Feorie Frimon]

6 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Very sad indeed.

She was pretty good at the interview thing, but I've always thought she was being misused. She should have been doing what she does best: creating content that assisted people with some of the trickier aspects of SL. She should have been producing the videos and guide books that would assist in retention.

That was just a waste. And not fair to her.

Shades of Torley.

100% this. I hope it’s not what it looks like and this was something she wanted. 
 

But maybe she wanted to do something else?
 

We’ll never know. 

[Feorie Frimon]

6 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

You make it sound like she has been let go from the Lab, yet her closing her personal site isn't evidence of that. I could be that merely as they "professionalize" they are telling staff to get rid of personal social media accounts and becoming stricter (that's why they got rid of the liability of the blogger network).

Strawberry's account is still in the People list -- both her Linden and Singh accounts. If she was marched to the parking lot with a cardboard box of her things, her Linden account would be gone from the list.

 

She was also seen at a Land Group meeting inworld recently too. So maybe?

I hope so.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

2 minutes ago, Feorie Frimon said:

She was also seen at a Land Group meeting inworld recently too. So maybe?

I hope so.

This is an excellent point.

[Prokofy Neva]

11 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Very sad indeed.

She was pretty good at the interview thing, but I've always thought she was being misused. She should have been doing what she does best: creating content that assisted people with some of the trickier aspects of SL. She should have been producing the videos and guide books that would assist in retention.

That was just a waste. And not fair to her.

Shades of Torley.

Only some types of people learn from videos -- millennials, and following. 

That's not the main demographic of SL.

There are other people now doing such videos even from the user population, or with Lab enhancement/possible compensation and they have a following. 

Videos and guidebooks will not help with retention. The only way people can retain is when they have something to do and people to do it with and can make friends, find activities they like, find partners for business or romance, etc. And we've all been over it a million times, why this doesn't happen for most people -- the picking of favourites over and over again who may be loyal constituencies but don't bring in more customers (Bay City? Boystown? really guys?); the clunky interface that they won't simplify; the unwillingness to commercial the new user experience so those most able and willing to deal with newbies have incentive; etc. etc.

 

[Evangeline Arcadia]

4 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

You make it sound like she has been let go from the Lab, yet her closing her personal site isn't evidence of that. I could be that merely as they "professionalize" they are telling staff to get rid of personal social media accounts and becoming stricter (that's why they got rid of the liability of the blogger network).

Strawberry's account is still in the People list -- both her Linden and Singh accounts. If she was marched to the parking lot with a cardboard box of her things, her Linden account would be gone from the list.

 

I have to agree with this. I actually thought she had closed her website as soon as she became a Linden, so I'm surprised it was still going until now. But it would be more reasonable to assume it's because she either she has moved on from wanting to host that site anymore (maybe onto other things now and doesn't have time for it anymore, or conflicts with a new project for her), or LL has suggested she does (which I would only think would be the case if she got a major promotion maybe, since it hasn't happened until recently).

I noticed around SL21B that she hasn't done any intereviews recently - I've been wondering for a while if she's left LL, for whatever reason. But , as Prokofy says, if her Linden account is still active, we have to assume so is her employment there.

I highly doubt that whatever 'something really big' may (or may not) be happening would be Strawberry leaving - she's not high enough up the ladder for that (no offence meant, just the reality of hierarchy in a company). For that I would expect someone on the board of directors to have left suddenly. And as Prokofy says, if her Linden account is still active, we have to assume so is her status as a Lindne.

I wish Strawberry all the best whatever the situation may be for her currently.

 

 

[Bubblesort Triskaidekaphobia]

1 hour ago, Daniel Voyager said:

Looks like Strawberry Singh / Linden has left her site recently... 

strawberrysingh.com

"Thank you for all the love and support"

This looks bad, but at the same time... that doesn't really tell us anything.  Strawberry hasn't actually used her personal web site in a long time.  Not like she used to.  It was mainly useful for historical reasons, at this point.

As I type this, at 1:51AM, EST, Strawberry Linden's SL profile is still active.  So maybe they didn't fire her?  Maybe she's just trimming her digital footprint.  Why?  I don't know.  Marketers and PR types do a lot of weird stuff that I don't fully understand.

The point is, there's a chance she's not fired.  How big a chance?  I don't know.  Anybody who does know doesn't seem to be very talkative right now.

[Love Zhaoying]

This thread has the best drama!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

18 minutes ago, Prokofy Neva said:

Only some types of people learn from videos -- millennials, and following. 

That's not the main demographic of SL.

There are other people now doing such videos even from the user population, or with Lab enhancement/possible compensation and they have a following. 

Videos and guidebooks will not help with retention. The only way people can retain is when they have something to do and people to do it with and can make friends, find activities they like, find partners for business or romance, etc. And we've all been over it a million times, why this doesn't happen for most people -- the picking of favourites over and over again who may be loyal constituencies but don't bring in more customers (Bay City? Boystown? really guys?); the clunky interface that they won't simplify; the unwillingness to commercial the new user experience so those most able and willing to deal with newbies have incentive; etc. etc.

 

I don't entirely disagree, particularly with your points about helping people find activities and simplifying the interface, but I do think that clearly laid-out and reasonably comprehensive video tutorials would help with retention.

The problem with the ones being produced by independent residents is that noobs have no way of knowing that they exist, and little means of finding them. And most are not produced with noobs in mind. Video tutorials, like those for the SL University but designed with new residents in mind, would help.

As regards the demographics of those who use videos, I think you'd be surprised. I'm currently learning two new applications, Affinity (a Photoshop-like graphics program) and Materialize (for making PBR materials). Neither are designed specifically with Millennials in mind, but both rely extensively on video tutorials. Indeed, Materialize has no written documentation at all!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Oh who knows? Certainly, something has gone down.

I hope Strawberry is still with us, or is doing what she wants to be doing.

[Nika Talaj]

Could the hint that @Daniel Voyager was given pertain to this Grid Status notice, posted just today?

Quote

Identified - There will be an update to Tilia's Terms of Service (ToS) today, Tuesday July 30.

Residents may need to accept the new Tilia Terms of Service before accessing Tilia services.

Please monitor this blog for updates.
Jul 30, 2024 - 10:48 PDT

Also, re: @Strawberry Linden, I assumed a few months ago that she was changing her role, having noticed that she was no longer the primary person posting Destination Guide updates... they're now being done by "Linden Lab".  And it seems to me that they're happening much less frequently. The last one was June 6th. (*waves* to Strawberry ... tagging her because this thread is now seeming to me like it's talking behind her back).

Edited July 31 by Nika Talaj

[Patchouli Woollahra]

The Tilia service is being taken over by an external firm even as it is assured that its services to SL will continue as if LL still owns it for a certain period after. The ToS Change may be merely to enshrine the new change in ownership and make it clear there is an agreement to provide Tilia services to SL for the agreed period at least. That type of change could be pushed less urgently, but it doesn't take much in terms of rewriting the Terms of Service.

[ValKalAstra]

Since we're all just dooming and glooming, here's what totally really for realsies happened: A certain event highlighted the need for employee training. An expert was hired, took one look and fainted. A second expert was hired and mumbled something about "one Streisand is enough" before walking back out backwards. The third expert arrived on wings of change, struck one heroic wobbling pose and declared:

"Bloody fooling hell mate, I've never seen sooch mess since ma days at Geordie Shore!"

And then they got to work.

• Completely remove community entanglement. Employees must not also be customers.
• Identify communication failures: Streamline internal to external communication. Single source of interaction: Linden Lab.
• Interaction carefully PR curated. No more information schnitzeljagd. Less overall information.
• Removal of public facing figures to remove targets.
• Mandatory employee training on conduct.

Would be my guess. No end of the world as we know it (I feel fine, thanks) but probably a complete tightening down of employee to userbase interaction.

Edited July 31 by ValKalAstra
Typo and clarifications and drinking a verification can.

[Sid Nagy]

I just checked Second Life is open to log in to.
I made no peanut money over night with sales.
So business as usual.

The rest is pure speculation that leads to nothing much.
If the place implodes, we will find out soon™ enough.

 

Edited July 31 by Sid Nagy

[Feorie Frimon]

2 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

I just checked Second Life is open to log in to.
I made some peanut money over night.
So business as usual.
The rest is pure speculation that leads to nothing.
If the place implodes, we will find out soon™ enough.

 

(that TM! lol) 

[Istelathis]

5 minutes ago, ValKalAstra said:

Would be my guess. No end of the world as we know it (I feel fine, thanks) but probably a complete tightening down of employee to userbase interaction.

🤔 Nah, it is a bot take over 😋🪿

 

[ValKalAstra]

Just now, Istelathis said:

🤔 Nah, it is a bot take over 😋🪿

 

Hey wouldn't be the first place to use chatgpt for that. As a Linden language model I am unable to comply with your desired doomsday scenario as it is unethical to speak of what is to come...

d̴͔̝̅̎̇̌̽͗͜͠u̴̡̧̪̺̯͍̖̠̍̌̓͌ŕ̵̤̦̓̕͜i̶̧̡͍̦͙͗̍͊ͅn̴̞͠g̶̢͙͇̣͕̝̼͕͉̊͐́͂͆̎͒̃ ̴̡̞͖͖̦͔̋͑͆̄͂͛̑͜͝͝t̷̬͗̐͌̊̂̈́͠h̷̦̘͇̯̭̞͖͙̪́̀̇͂͒̾̉̈͊e̶̺̜͚͍̥̹͕͐̏̈́͊̆͗͋̚͠ͅ ̶̺̫̮͈̹͙͛̌ś̸͓̝̯̙͗͂͊̈́̑͝͝͝ị̵͕͍͙̗̰͖̮̿͐̑̎͘͝n̸̺̮̰̱͔͚̙̙̒̀ͅǵ̷̙̖͐̌͝͝u̵̩̤͚̟͓͋̋̉̓͑͝l̸͎͒̽͐̉̎̚à̸̹̬̳̂́̕r̴̡͚̩̹͚̪̤̟̈́̕͝ḭ̸̣̈́̐̄̈́̃͜t̷̢̬͎͉̮̐́͊̕y̶̲̻͛̈́.̸̝͐̐̚͝͝ ̵̝̿͝