Markham Weatherwax

You are not going to get them to change the TOS. If they had to do that for every event, for every eventuality, the TOS would keep growing and growing until there would be no way to read it and retain anything. If a group's owners are gone and there are no other listed owners in it who can take control, that group is dead. Start your own version of it and invite all active users of the defunct group, then leave the old group. If no one is running it, no one can change things, or only in a limited way, there is no reason to stay in it. Start your own. Make a fresh start for everybody.

Aethelwine wrote: I don't find the banline hud that useful. Everytime I do a sim crossing it vanishes and then re-appears and maybe one in 10 sims it breaks because I have had a slightly bad crossing.. maybe in to a parcel with scripts disabled and then bang I have flown\sailed\ridden in to a banline and am stuck and looking for somewhere to rezz. I find it more reliable to use the minimap with parcels turned on and then just use pattern recognition to see where the linden made safe routes are through sims. It works for me, but I think it is because I tend to walk and fly everywhere or use a wearable vehicle, going slowly because I am making note of what is around. I assume that if you are going fast it would be harder for the HUD to keep up and adjust. I walk, use a bike, the HoverPod, and things like that, so I tend to take it slow. It works best when you go to a region and let it update and then make mental note of the where the ban lines are and avoid them. But I understand what you are saying as one of the key selling points is that it is useful when using a vehicle. Most folks would take that as meaning using a vehicle at normal speed, which is probably too fast for the HUD, and certainly not for going quickly between regions. To give it credit, though... it does seem to be accurate when I am strolling around. --||-

Dillon Levenque wrote: I think I refrained from posting to this thread back when it was first started, but since it's been (mildly) necroed I will now. It's quite possible, easy even, to use security orbs that only prevent avatars from being in places you don't want them to be. I had one such, when my house was still in place—at the moment I've got an Airstream trailer parked on the lot so I have a place to log in to while I figure out where I'm going from here—that I used to prevent avatars from using the available animations in my bed. I didn't care about people being on my land or just walking through the parcel or the house, whether I was there or not there. It just so happened that my login LM was my bedroom (upstairs and with closed blinds) and I did not want to log in and find avatars having it off in my bed. Some people don't mind about that kind of thing, I do. Sue me. Because my parcel is Linden roadside, and even more because it's relatively close to a sim border, I changed my orb (mostly due to things pointed out to me in this Forum). My original orb had a minimum radius of 10 meters, and had a quite short and not user adjustable timer; I believe it was 10 seconds which is barely enough time to read the message telling you you're intruding. I did not worry too much about that when I set it up. Reading comments here, I got the idea that if someone was coming down the road from the east at a really high rate of speed, it was possible the sim crossing heave-ho could kick them up in the air and far enough offroad to go through my bedroom and be snared by the orb. Unlikely, but possible. ... I've seen posts in the past (and in this thread) from Pussycat Catnap who has much the same sort of arrangement with her security orbs. I think she has hers set to make her entire house off-limits and I don't really mind if someone's in my house, but the person who pays for the parcel makes the rules. In any case, she knows how to set her orbs so they are NOT a barrier to normal travel. The problem with orbs is probably that some people who use them don't know enough about how they work to: I think you are correct in that most people who buy Security Orbs don't know how to use them and won't take the time to learn. They want to rez it, set the easiest settings, and then let it go. They don't realize how it affects others because it never affects them. Now, to keep people out of your bed (grin), you of course need lockable doors. The way to fix the TP issue is really rather simple. You clear the landing point of your property, go to your bedroom (if that is where you want to arrive at) and set it to your Home location. Then go to the outside area you want everyone else to arrive at and then set that to as landing point. You will then arrive in your bedroom when you click home and they will TP in your yard from then on. I own property along a Linden roadway too. I specifically chose it because I wanted people to find my place as they wander or drive down the road. I find it absolutely ludacris that people buy property along a public thoroughfare and then throw up bans lines. They should have bought somewhere else, not on a roadway. We are never going to agree with each other about Security Orbs. I don't like them, but I do see the need for them in a very specific way. I think people who use them should put up no tresspassing signs and then set their orbs to deal with "intruders" after a minute or two, giving the usually innocent party time to read the sign and depart. I also think land owners should put up fences or walls, clearly defining the boundries to their land, so people will know where to go to get off the property, and would stop them from walking into it at all. Ah well. It's life in the grid. Land owners do make the rules. To each his or her own.

I understand not having that because it would destroy the view. *grins* What would be helpful is if the mini-map showed which properties had ban lines, or at least have the main map in zoom show redded out areas that had them. That would be SO useful. I don't think :LL will ever give it to us, so thank goodness for the Ban Line HUD.

I understand completely. I dislike ban lines,but do understand them. I can put up with ban lines, but security orbs drive me nuts You can see ban lines but with orbs you can easily find yourself in the middle of a property before you get warned off with little time to respond. More than once I've hit one and have scrambled to get off the property only to hit another property that has a security orb too, and then another. Sometimes it's hard to ascertain exactly where you are - especially when flying. I explore a lot because I like to and also because I am going to write an in-world newsletter and am making new maps of SL with points of interest. I used the Ban Line Hud V4. It works well and it helps me out a lot. There are lots of public roadways and waterways through and around mainland areas, they just don't go through each and every region. I always thought there should be at the bare minimum a public access road, path, or waterway in each and every region. There cannot be public space between each and every property because that would remove the ability to join or separate properties. It's too late to fix every region now with public access areas anyway. One of the problems with ban lines is that the owner of the property never sees them, so it doesn't bother them. I think a nice solution would be to have the ban lines replaced by a generated fence for land and a buoy line system for waterways that everyone sees, including the property owner/group. That would certainly make a land owner think twice about setting that feature. If you did that most of them would then get security orbs, so not a good solution either. Perhaps there is no solution other than to have land owners manage their properties and ban only those who abuse the privilage.

There are lots of tutorials on the web. Just search Google. In-world, there are places with help and advice. Orientation Stations can be found here and there (or used to be). One is located at the castle in Dore. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dore/30/100/26. It is for people who need to learn and practice the basics again. Or, you can take her to the public help islands, or orientation island public. She needs to practice on the basics. Once she has those, the rest comes much more easily.

chrismignon McDonnell beat me to it. When you have an item in your inventory that you are not sure of, try bringing up the properties on it first. Sometimes you find who made it and can check up their profile. You can also try a name search in Google. Usually that works. The last resort is to rez it. Always go to a sandbox, rez it, and if you can't find it or it disappears check Build/Linksets in your viewer menu. Usually you can find it unless it had a delete script in it. FYI

It's actually not a bad idea. I've seen similar things over the years. It needs to be worked on and fleshed out a bit more, though. I think option #1 is better for the start and then parts of option #2 would kick in after a specified period. Experienced members would be mentors. Roommates could be an option for a larger dwelling. Start people off in a smaller, better desiged studio house or apartment just for themselves. Like I said, nice idea, needs to be worked out completely. Just some added thoughts here; I don't care for the building shown for a lot of reasons. Glass houses are annoying (to me) as are houses with too many large windows (e.g. Linden Homes). They provide too much movement and design activity within an avatars field of vision. Unless you are providing drapes or a tinting solution, not a great idea for any amount of privacy or for an uncluttered view. So, anyway. Good luck with your idea! Hope it works out and benefits new users and old alike.

Celestiall Nightfire wrote: The level of freedom to decide one's own SL, is exactly what the group owners are doing. If someone owns a group, they can boot and bann for any reason they wish. Your solution might not be what others choose. There are options: 1) Join a group that has rules you find objectionable, and either quit, or get booted. 2) Hide your groups on your profile, so there's no issue. 3) Start your own RP group, and run it how you like. (Usually those running a RP are also paying for land, builds, and RP stuff, and if putting out money, they can run their group how they like) 4) Capitulate, and drop a group due to pressure. Kudos on this reponse. You've pretty much covered it. Now, Jofunne Avon: The subject line of your post gave you your answer: Control. If you want to control as much as you can of your own Second Life, you have take control and do it all yourself. Own the land, own the group, create the devices, build the buildings, etc., etc., etc.. Then you can make the rules and control as much as you can in SL. You will never actually have total control because you do not own Second Life. Linden Labs does. They tell you what you can and cannot do here, where you can do things and where you can't, and do so in a fairly inconsistant way. *grins* They have the control. If we don't like it, we have the option to leave. Many have. So, relax. Take a breath. Think about it and then decide if the group you are in is worth being in and if you can stomach the rules of it. If not, leave it. Do all the things that Celestiall Nightfire suggested.

Yes, he inspired me and influenced me a lot, and gave me laughs during some very hard times and sad days. I just went to check out the very detailed build, Ankh Morepork twinned with Pijame today. It was nice to see an SL build dedicated to Terry's Discworld on SL still. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20and%20Space/116/108/301 I could not do anything there because I am too sad today. I'll go back tomorrow and explore it in detail. *sigh* Anyway. Rough day for us all.

One of my favoreite author's. Terry Pratchett, passed away today at age 66. He wrote more than 70 books and I've read every single one. His death is such a sad loss to the world. I am sure a lot of SLers loved his books too. He will be missed. :(

Bree Giffen wrote: Don't think too much. Just answer! I tried on some new mesh clothes that I just purchased with my alt. Then I logged out. The last thing I did was teleport home and turned off the lights, fireplace, radio, and turned on the outside light. Yeah, I know. *chuckle* I've been doing that for years.

Darrius Gothly wrote: One thing that I think needs mentioning ... .... the experience can be much more pleasuable for you both. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. I neglected to mention that my first land experience that I referenced was years ago, starting in 2007 and I divested myself of everything in late 2009 or early 10. Things have changed a lot since then. I should have mentioned that because it doesn't really reflect on current conditions in SL. At least I hope it doesn't. *chuckle*

If you can't return items and the other property owner can't return them either, the only real solution is to right click, manage, report abuse. That's usually the only solution unless you can find a Linden around.

I like having Premium membership for multiple reasons. I actually like the Linden house system. They are communities where no one can put up stores all around you. When I first joined I bought a piece of nice waterfront property, designed it nicely, and then the stores came in. Next was the nightclub, and then another, and another. I ended up having to sell. Then I moved and got another nice property, then expanded to two, and three, and then... yes... the stores sprouted up, nightclubs, the ban lines, and the huge rotating "for sale" signs. I finally just gave up, sold up, and stopped my premium membership in disgust. Now I've got membership back and have a Linden Home. Sure, the Linden home system is not perfect. The houses are too close together, you cannot simply claim the one you want, and you still run into ban lines - that, despite the ability to lock the houses. But I like having a Linden house, It's a place I can go to be alone or with a friend or two, and I managed to design it nicely enough with prims to spare. Most of my time in SL is spent out and about, not staying at my home looking at it. I did that last time. I won't this time. If I want a store, or another house for whatever reason, I'll buy it and do whatever I want to do there. I will still keep the Linden home as a fall-back. We all need a safe fallback place. Everyone is different. Some people need a lot a land, some don't. Some like to explore, others like to build and stay home. I am not a homebody in SL. Perhaps you are. You figure that out, find out what you want and can to do financially, and then go for it. The thing is, premium membership or not, just enjoy yourself.

*grin* Yes, I am a fool. And yes, and metaphorically banging my head against the desk does help. I am not so much a fool that I will not take good advice, however. Perrie Juran informed about e-mailing "suggestions" and that is what I will use for the other website issues I've encountered. I did find out that on the Jira site "resolved" does not mean fixed, it means logged and reported. I realize that this is not a new issue. The support system has been something that people have been taking issue with and complaining in the forums about for many years. All we can do is continue talking about it in the hopes that someone will finally listen and get a clue. It takes foolish people to do that.

Wow. A suggestion box is not appropriate for filing this type of issue. Sheesh! I did see an immediate reply to my bug report. Apparently my report duplicates someone else's report from July 13, 2014. That older ticket was marked resolved on July 14, 2014. It obviouslty has not ever been addressed. Now that I am thinking about it I remember seeing this problem 3 or more years ago but never reported it. I figured they'd catch it in short order. Obviously not! I think Second Life is in serious danger of falling down the scale like Livejournal and MySpace. They need to get out of that locked admin mindset and start thinking like a user.

I wanted to do a simple thing: I wanted to report a bad link on the main Secondlife website. 20 minutes later I am banging my head onto my desk in complete and utter frustration. The Contact Support page here is not user friendly and has no option for simply reporting a website issue. The Jira site is terrible. It's confusing, looks completely out of date, and is full of inactive projects. The Second Life Website (WEB) project is inactive and tells you to go to the Bug project. You can't see all of the open issues so you can't see if the issue was reported by someone else. Since this is not a Bug you have to fill in all of the required fields that don't matter in this instance. The link I reported was one that newer users would have been trying to access. Going to: Account; Premium Membership; Link to "Take advantage of your building rights on the Mainland " goes to a non-existing document. Things like this would definately frustrate and even worry people trying to get into using SL for the first time. It might put them off. No new user would have reported this issue because it is too frustrating to report it. I am not a new user and it had me banging my head against a desk. :/ Look, the economy is bad, people are worried about money, and so SL is going to see a drop in revenue and in premium memberships no matter what. But if you want to keep your existing membership base and attract new people you need to do everything you can not to frustatate and confuse people on simple things like support. If you make things too hard for new users, you'll soon have no new users. What new users experience IN SL, well, that's a different topic. The support system needs to work first.