Ossian1488303077

January 18, 2013

First off, M Linden was a very easy act to follow. And Phillip's return was a non-event. But I thought Rodvik started off well. It was pretty amazing to actually be able to communicate with a Linden.

One day some clown bought $2000 US worth of lindens with my credit card, and customer service didn't seem to be doing a thing about it. I waited for weeks. I called and sent emails. It was impossible to find out if they were taking any action or whether they'd forgotten me. I mean, I would talk to someone on the phone, but they would have NO IDEA what the status of my issue was. So I asked Rodvik (via twitter) about it, and IMMEDIATELY they canceled the charge.

It was an enormous relief, but now that Rodvik has gone silent, and his interest has passed from Second Life to making games, I'm afraid that if I had an issue like that again, I would simply be screwed.

When I talk to friends or family about Second Life, I know that it's very difficult for them to understand it, so it must be very difficult to find someone who is qualified to be a CEO and at the same time has a clear idea of what Second Life is. I hope that whoever follows Rodvik "gets" Second Life - that they understand what it is, and have an idea of what it could be.

August 28, 2012

My guess is that the Board told him to quit talking to users.

August 23, 2012

leon Bowler wrote:

... I doubt whether any of you reach anywhere near my level, when one of you have an idea that is your own rather than something you heard then I will chat with you, but not one reply here is worth answering

You were naive enough to start the thread, so if you're going to call anyone a fool, you might start with the man in your mirror.

Clearly you aren't able to answer any of the questions that were put to you here -- aside from your flounce, which I quoted above. You are on our level until you prove otherwise, and you've done nothing in that regard.

August 17, 2012

The first thing that strikes me is that you could substitute the term "aether" for "cold plasma" -- aether is the traditional term for "the stuff that empty space is filled with." It would be a better term, because plasma is an actual something that someone could go out and collect in a jar of some sort.

We experience red shift in ordinary life, for example, in the way a klaxon drops in pitch when a car passes us. If you're correct, wouldn't the klaxon always have the same frequency? And if you allow that drop in frequency, how do you explain why it doesn't apply to starlight?

Would we detect the cold-plasma shift if someone bounced a laser beam off a mirror on the moon? I'm not a scientist, but I think the beam would accumulate twice the amount of shift expected, since it would happen on the way up AND on the way back -- in other words, it would be twice what one would expect from ordinary red-shift.

Also, you say that light is a wave, not particles, but there are rather simple experiments that demonstrate that it behaves like both. How do you explain that?

Finally, just because it tickles me and I never get a chance to repeat it: Karl Pilkington had idea that the big bang only *seemed* big because everything else was so quiet at the time.

August 2, 2012

When I first created my account, I accumulated about two dozen shapes and a dozen skin sets, but once I found a combination that I liked, I stuck with it.

I do tweak my shape every so often, and I frequently try new skins, but so far I've only changed skins about once a year.

However...

I recently took the plunge into mesh clothes, and picked up the pack of standard shapes. They were not what I imagined, and after reading the notecard saw that there are only about ten values that were used to create the different sizes.

My own shape turned out to be close to a medium (actually a little bigger), so I made a copy with medium values. Then I made a small as well. So now I have my regular shape, a medium version, and a small version.

You can't really tell the difference between them, and it's only when I actually change from one size to another that I see the differences myself.

June 26, 2012

I've recently begun trying mesh clothes, and some are quite nice, although I have to wear a different shape or they don't fit.

However, mesh hair doesn't convince me. It doesn't move. It looks good in pictures, but I can't give up the movement of flexi hair.

June 26, 2012

As far as the article cited (the one in NWN), you have to keep in mind that Hamlet has been forcasting doom and gloom for SL pretty much forever. His position, which he repeatedly states, is that SL is on the verge of disappearing and that its only hope lies in adopting the buzzword of the day.

In other words, his doomcasting is just a habit. It's isn't new, and it's not usually noteworthy.

There is a much more informed and interesting article on Cloud Party here:

http://gwynethllewelyn.net/2012/06/25/not-yet-a-party-but-soon/

June 22, 2012

They definitely need to scrap that Tao and get a new one.

It's a slap in the face to talk about transparency when that transparency doesn't include us, the customers. Why should we care if Linden A tells Linden B everything? How would anything be different for us if they didn't?

What I see in that Tao of Linden is that customer service and communication with customers were missing from the very start - the founders didn't think to even scribble the word "customers" on the list.

Phillip Linden has the right to be nostalgic, sure. But if he wants to be relevant, he needs better material.

May 8, 2012

Masami Kuramoto wrote:

Ossian wrote:

I notice that there's no avatar photo for Masami. Why is that? It's easy to SAY that making shapes is easy. But there is a big distance between saying and doing. So show us, Masami. Show us the wonderful shape you made for yourself.

Better still, push those sliders around and amaze us. If you can make a better face than the one in my profile picture (which, incidentally, I bought), I'll admit you're right.

But I'm quite sure from the way you talk, that you can't.

You must be new here, Ossian Resident.

Indeed, I don't push sliders in the appearance editor. I used to model human bodies from scratch, in Blender, and I happen to be quite good at that. Those who have been around longer than you may be able to tell you about it, because I did occasionally post examples here and elsewhere. So excuse me if I refrain from proving my skills yet again just to make an impression on a newbie.

You don't use the appearance editor to make shapes. That explains why you think it's nothing.

Thanks for making my point.

For people like you, the word "easy" means "someone else does it."

The fact that you do something else entirely doesn't have any relevance.

May 7, 2012

That's like saying that since da Vinci didn't invent paint or canvas, or even the idea of painting, all of his work is derivative.

Anyone can move paint around on a canvas and call the result a painting. Anyone can move sliders around and say that they made a shape.

Just because the process itself is mechanical, doesn't guarantee that the result will look good or even be usable.

In real life, anyone can put flowers in a vase. None of us invented flowers or vases, and most of haven't made a vase. And yet, the results are drastically different between a person with a good eye and a sense of design. Training can help, too.

I notice that there's no avatar photo for Masami. Why is that? It's easy to SAY that making shapes is easy. But there is a big distance between saying and doing. So show us, Masami. Show us the wonderful shape you made for yourself.

Better still, push those sliders around and amaze us. If you can make a better face than the one in my profile picture (which, incidentally, I bought), I'll admit you're right.

But I'm quite sure from the way you talk, that you can't.

May 4, 2012

I've spent many hours over several years trying to make my own shapes, but I've never been able to make something as good as the shapes I've bought.

I judge a shape by the face, and there are many more sliders for the head and face than for the entire rest of the body. It's hard to make some thing remarkable, or even nice. At least for me, and as I've said, it's not for dint of trying.

April 20, 2012

Theresa Tennyson wrote:

I've been meaning to post something like this for a while and this is a good place as any.

HOW SECOND LIFE NAMES ACTUALLY WORK:

All SL accounts have names in the same format. They are in two halves -

The "First Name" is a text field that can have around 30 letters, upper and lower case, with no spaces.

The "Last Name" is a NUMBER. This number is looked up in a database when your last name is displayed as a word. Basically, it's closer to a ZIP code than a name. 1 corresponds to Linden, 42 to Powers, 4823 to Mayo, etc. My last name is one of the last official ones and the number is 10910. All "single name" accounts have 10327 in this field, which is normally suppressed but returns "Resident" when a script specifically requests "LAST NAME".

Because of this it's a major process to have a custom last name as it needs to be added to the central database - it would be the equivalent itof incorporating a new town and having the Post Office give you a new ZIP code.

Meanwhile, I have seven alt accounts with single names. None of them has a number in their username and if you'll look at their display names you'li see their completely legible, properly capitalized first and last names which I chose for them myself. I doubt I'd have made those accounts if I had to pick last names from a list.

I think you'll find the "Johnny563273"'s of today are the "john1978 Lastnames" of yesteryear, and they probably won't stick around that long.

Assuming what you say is true, it's *less* complicated than zip codes, because in zip codes the digits have specific meanings (first digit is group of states, next two is a region in that group, and last two are specific parts of that region). So there is less play -- each region has only 100 zip codes in it.

But if last names simply correspond to integers, even if they were limited to five digits (which would be unlikely), the number of available slots is in the tens of thousands.

April 19, 2012

Madelaine McMasters wrote:

Charolotte Caxton wrote:

So yes, the explanations that it would be too difficult or impossible to do are obviously not correct as it is plainly being done.

The explanations that it would be too difficult or impossible to do may have been misremembered/misunderstood. Here's a quote from Rodvik's response...

"But back to the matter at hand. As I promised if we couldn’t figure out a way that was a win/win for folks who want complete freedom vs. a list of last names, we wouldn’t do it. We couldn’t, so we wont."

Rodvik said a win/win solution couldn't be found. I did not read this as a technical statement so much as a business decision. Yes, both single and last name systems are still in operation. That is different than Linden Labs stating, as I quoted

here

, that the last name system created a lot of sign-up friction. While it is often technically possible to do unwise things, that doesn't mean you should.

I find the widespread supposition that forumites are representative of the larger SL population to be a bit a bit presumptive. We might be, but LL suggests otherwise, both directly (that previous quote) and indirectly (by their actions).

All that said, I'm not recommending we stop questioning LL's wisdom (I do it constantly), just that we remember they see more than we do.

You're right about what Rodvik said, but in the past, before display names and single-name signup, LL was often asked if they could create a means by which users could change their names. And to be clear, no one meant "change on the fly". The context was always "I have a stupid name and a huge inventory, so I'd like to change my name (permanently)." As part of those requests, users also expressed their willness to *pay* for the change.

LL's response was that it was for technical reasons not possible or too difficult.

April 18, 2012

Charolotte Caxton wrote:

Ossian wrote:

I recently made a account to try the new-user experience. It took me an

entire day

to come up with a simple, useable name that I liked.

There are a few things to consider about this name situation:

1. There isn't any need for all of us to feel the same way about display names. It's appropriate and right for some people to despise them, others to love them, and the rest of us to fall somewhere between those two extremes.

2. From LL's point of view, having people choose ugly usernames is a good thing, because it gets them through the signup faster. When you are looking for a name that's worth having, it takes longer, and slows down the sign up process.

3. LL doesn't have any reason to change the current situation. They see more signups, more people staying. They feel that they fixed something that wasn't working.

4. That said, it would be smart of them to give the

option

of having a last name. If they did, I think everyone would be happy.

5. If they won't offer that option, they should at least explain their claim that allowing it's one of the most challenging programming tasks on earth. If they could do that, it would diffuse some of the frustration over this issue.

Regarding your number 5 statement, there is no need to explain what a challenge it is, it is already in place and people are still signing up with last names.

A quick search of the name Hurricane will show that as recent as April 7 2012, new accounts are signing up with last names.

Someone before when I pointed this out said that the ability to buy custom names has always been around, which is true, but that costs 500 US Dollars to do so, these names are not custom names, if they are, it is a sour deal as they are all having to share the last name of Hurricane.

They could perhaps belong to a private company that allows signups, like educational portals used to do, but even if, the fact that they are able to sign up a with last name proves that signing up with last names is not impossible or impossible to implement. It is already in place and never went away.

Yes, there is a need to explain. Linden Lab has always claimed that allowing people to change names was too difficult for them.

Recently, when Rodvik was exploring the possibility of bringing back last names, he said that he was told "it can't be done."

This is, of course, contradicted by cases where LL changed people's names, and by the examples that you give. But that doesn't change the fact that they claimed that they wouldn't do it because it was so massively difficult.

April 18, 2012

I recently made a account to try the new-user experience. It took me an entire day to come up with a simple, useable name that I liked.

There are a few things to consider about this name situation:

1. There isn't any need for all of us to feel the same way about display names. It's appropriate and right for some people to despise them, others to love them, and the rest of us to fall somewhere between those two extremes.

2. From LL's point of view, having people choose ugly usernames is a good thing, because it gets them through the signup faster. When you are looking for a name that's worth having, it takes longer, and slows down the sign up process.

3. LL doesn't have any reason to change the current situation. They see more signups, more people staying. They feel that they fixed something that wasn't working.

4. That said, it would be smart of them to give the option of having a last name. If they did, I think everyone would be happy.

5. If they won't offer that option, they should at least explain their claim that allowing it's one of the most challenging programming tasks on earth. If they could do that, it would diffuse some of the frustration over this issue.

March 29, 2012

Sommerland Starostin wrote:

I was very happy with my linden-made last name. BUT some people started crabbing about wanting their own first & last name & this is the crazy "Resident" last name with display name set-up LL came up with. If everyone had left well enough alone there wouldn't be even MORE complaining. Some people just like to complain.

Aw, quit complaining!

(just joking)

Certainly Linden Lab looked for the most complicated solution they could find, but it isn't the fault of the people who asked.

What users wanted was the ability to change their name. Simply that.

But Linden Lab insisted that it was the hardest thing on earth; that Einstein had killed himself trying to figure the problem out.

I don't believe it. I still think that if they wanted to, they could add to even the present mess, the possibility of changing a user's name.

They could charge whatever they liked. They could put whatever conditions on it they needed. People would pay.

If that's as impossible as they've always insisted, I'd like to know why. Can they explain why a name can't be changed?

That gives two simple things they could do today to restore their own credibility and eliminate some of the bad feeling about this topic:

Allow name changes for payment
Explain why name changes are so difficult

March 11, 2012

Thanks for that! There were a lot of things that were different with more context; more nuanced.

I don't usually watch videos or listen to audio files (aside from music) online because they are so long. I can read a transcript in a logarithm of the time, and I appreciate the work it takes to produce them.

March 10, 2012

SLAddict Allen wrote:

He made a lot of sense in this interview. This policy change doesn't give them any more power. They didn't even have to communicate these rules at all, they could have just enforced them. Thumbs up for communicating, and going the extra mile to explain.

The only point that still makes me roll my eyes is about viewer bullying. Oz said that a lot of new people were leaving because they were told to try a new viewer and got frustrated with having to download different viewers. Therefore they felt it best to remove viewer tags. There are issues with that:

1) Does being recommended another viewer really constitute bullying?

2) So because we are trying to help other users by recommending a better experience, we are to blame for that feature dying?

3) How is one supposed to fathom how not having viewer tags will keep people from saying you shouldn't be using Viewer 3?

4) You would also not see these recommendations if, for example, V3 was up to par!

Yet one more example of LL taking the easy road.

What I got from it is that LL was looking to see where new people stopped using SL, and one was the point when older users told them "You need to download a different viewer." It doesn't matter HOW it was said, because just the idea confused and/or bothered the new users enough to make them leave and not come back.

March 10, 2012

There's a summary of Jessica Lyon's interview with Oz Linden here, and I found it to be very interesting and (at least tentatively) reassuring.

Thanks to Oz for taking the time and being so open.

I wanted to point out, because I think most people don't know, that he said that the LSL change, which would break most online presence displays, is on hold and won't be happening any time soon. Am I the only one who didn't know?

Also, he said that viewer usage numbers aren't a secret, but as far as I know this interview is the first time LL has given any indication of what they are. It turns out that the official viewer is third, behind Phoenix and Firestorm, with Singularity coming in fourth.

In any case, I'm grateful for the glimpse into LL and how they're thinking. It's so rare that it happens, and this look inside is pretty extensive.

I hope -- I wish -- that this is something that LL will continue to do: to talk with us and share both good news and bad.

March 5, 2012

I think the simplest, "win/win" solution is to provide a web page at which a person with a single name (or with the last name "Resident" -- however you want to view it) can choose a last name for themself.

It doesn't need to be part of the sign up process. It can be something that people do after, if they know or hear or ask about it.

That way, Rodvik keeps his single-name signup simple, and people who want last names can get them.

March 4, 2012

Coby Foden wrote:

Ossian wrote:

It would be nice if that was a toggle you could set *before* logging in.

Indeed!

Two alternative ways to login:

• Login normally

• Login and appear offline

That would be great!

It would be great also when we have logged in if there was a toggle

:

• Appear online

• Appear offline

I really don't get it why when loggin into virtual world we are at once forced to appear online. :smileyindifferent:

PS.

I don't understand either why there is a need for avatar to be physically online for the invetory deliveries to work reliably. I'm sure that the asset database itself does not require it. Surely it can drop items to avatar whether the avatar is online or not. Maybe the direct delivery function will be able to do the deliveries reliably whatever the avatar's online status is?

I agree with all of that.

March 3, 2012

Coby Foden wrote:

Toysoldier Thor wrote:

Now, it would be a NICE FEATURE (not a mandatory law) that a SL Account holder could opt in to the ability to PRETEND that I am offline when I really am not.

I would love that feature "

Appear as if offline

". If somebody IMs they would get the same reply as if I was really offline. Naturally all other means by which one could see the true online status should then show "Offline".

There are times - building, adjusting clothes, arranging inventory, following group IMs, etc - when one wants to be totally alone, undisturbed by friends' IMs: "Hi, how are you?", "What are you doing?", "Can we chat?", "Can we meet?", etc.

Logging into a virtual world does not always mean that we are at once ready to rock and socialize with our friends. We do need our peace in solitude even in virtual world occasionally.

It would be nice if that was a toggle you could set *before* logging in.

March 1, 2012

Irene Muni wrote:

Perrie Juran wrote:

Regardless, "polarizing" seems to me to be a very strong word to use.

Agree. In fact I do't see "polarizing" about "bring back last names", I only see

a very

large majority requesting last names.

I think the

debate is

on other issues: Display Names, Last Name

chosen or created, Changes of Name ...

Yes. "Polarizing" means that some people are strongly pro- and some are strongly anti-, and that there is agitation and conflict between the camps.

In the case of last names, some people want last names, and other people don't care. I haven't seen a single person who's clamoring to NOT have last names return. That's hardly polarizing.

I also haven't seen any dissention about how last names should be. We all agree that they should be last. They should come after the first name. I don't see any disagreement, let alone polarization, around that.

Rodvik must mean that it's a polarizing issue among the Lindens. I think the fact that he keeps bringing up titles (which is something that no one wants) supports this. It's likely that one or two Lindens are insisting that titles are essential and are effectively blocking the issue. And there might be strong disagreement at LL about how last names will be implemented. I have no doubt that at least one incredibly complicated scheme has been cooked up. Hopefully there is some struggle between that idea and something simpler.

February 29, 2012

Innula Zenovka wrote:

I think there's considerably more force in the objection that, had the policy then been in force, it would probably have been considerably more difficult to get the [mesh deformer] project off the ground in the first place...

Yes, you're right. That makes more sense that what I said.

Innula Zenovka wrote:

And, one way or another, LL does have to have some veto over this sort of thing, to my mind.

True, but they've always had that power.

February 29, 2012

Innula Zenovka wrote:

Ossian wrote:

If you want to know about one feature in particular, you're supposed to ask Oz whether it's allowed.

But that's referring to certain types of new feature a dev might be considering adding to the viewer. Isn't it better for LL to deal with it on a case-by-case basis, particularly since how you intend to do it is often going to be as important as what you intend to do?

I don't think so. You could get a different answer today than yesterday.

Look at the mesh deformer: LL wasn't interested in the problem, and even after users paid Qarl to create the deformer, LL turned up their nose at it. Only when it was slated to appear in TPVs did LL want to incorporate it into the official viewer.

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