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Petronilla Whitfield

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Everything posted by Petronilla Whitfield

  1. I agree too. Where I live in RL there is a lot of open, semi-wooded land. Some people fence and/or post "no trespassing" signs, others don't. People walk over/play on/walk dogs on the land without signs or fences. I don't think that walking on someone's unfenced land, land without a "no trespassing" sign, is at all the same as walking into somebody's house. It is so easy to block a parcel in SL to visitors. Anyone who wants to post a virtual "no trespassing" sign can just close a parcel to the public. I don't walk into SL homes, but I wouldn't think twice about exploring an unblocked parcel.
  2. After reading a couple of these threads, it seems to me that it might be possible to consider new users are belonging to one of two groups--those who really want to learn from other people and who need a social connection to a group, and those (like me) who prefer to learn alone--who would log off and never return if forced to have a buddy or mentor or go to a populated region to learn the ropes. Perhaps new users could be allowed to choose their portal to enter SL. They could select either (1) go to a hang-out with folks who can help you learn your way around, or (2) go to a private location to learn from tutorials at your own pace. For this to work, LL would have to do the hard part, namely, having an up-to-date, vetted, and monitered list of places that have mentors who are reliable, friendly, and available, as well as a place with video tutorials. I like Jo's idea of having that second system in an off-site web page. It would cost money to set up and maintain these portals. But as others have said, SL has a considerable learning curve. If retention of new users is important to LL, then they should probably be prepared to invest in it.
  3. I have read every answer in this thread and would like to make one comment that I think hasn’t been made yet. While I believe that for many people—even most—social engagement is what makes SL attractive, there are also people like me who gravitate towards a virtual world because they are shy/antisocial. I did not go into SL to meet people. I never had or wanted to be taken under somebody’s wing. I would have quit if forced to “buddy up” with a stranger. I am in-world frequently—several times a week—and rarely speak to anyone, except to make the occasional comment in a large group chat. I have no interest in “adult” activities in SL. Yet I get a lot out of SL, and have done so for the past five years. I build, I run a shop, I own property that I like to redecorate, I participate in charity events, go dancing, listen to live music, shop, walk my dog, explore. I enjoy the experience more because I find it so peaceful and relaxing not to have to make conversation with people. So sure—make group contacts and connecting with in-world helpers easier for new accounts, but please don’t force them on everyone. You’d drive off the leave-me-alone-while-I-build (or do whatever) types. You may not hear from us much in the Forums, but we are in SL.
  4. In the United States, commercial establishments can refuse service to anyone they choose, for any reason or no reason, unless they discriminate using a category protected by law against discrimination. For example, if I had a store in a state that prohibits discrimination on the basis or race, religion, and national origin, it would be against the law for me to refuse service to people because they were Irish, or because they were Catholic. But it would not be illegal for me to refuse service to anyone not wearing shoes or a shirt. (“No shirt, no shoes, no service” signs are, in fact, pretty common.) Unless the state or federal government prohibited discrimination based on eye or hair color, I would have the right to refuse service to blue-eyed blonds. And so on. In most states stores would be permitted to refuse service to, say, lawyers, to tall people, to anyone between the ages of 20 and 30, to people using cell phones, to people wearing polka-dots. If someone proved that a store was actually discriminating against a protected category by doing something like saying that they refuse service to curly-haired people, but actually refusing service only for curly-haired people who appeared to be African American, then the store would be in trouble. But willy-nilly discrimination against any people for any reason other than the few prohibited categories is quite legal. Beyond the restrictions against certain specific kinds of discrimination already in the TOS, I would not want LL to interfere with the ability of the person who pays the rent/tier for a parcel to control who may or may not enter it, no matter what is on the parcel—a store, a house, or empty space.
  5. I'm not a tech expert by any means, so I can't explain what happened to you. However, there have been a few occasions over the years when the music playing in one location continued to play for me after TPed to another location, after I turned off music in preferences, and even (briefly) after I shut down second life. I don't know why the music stream sometimes persists. But when it happened to me, there was nothing suspicious about it, no reason to suspect that anyone intentionally caused the music to continue. Also, there are times when I've gotten ruthed, or had other deformities occur. Again, there was nothing suspicious about it. So it is quite possible that it was a coincidence that the sound continued to play and you experienced a deformity after watching a disturbing video.
  6. I used the alpha masks provided in the demos--it never occured to me to do otherwise. Even so, more than half the demo items showed bits of me poking through the garment, while I was standing perfectly still.
  7. So, this weekend I decided to test some mesh clothes. I was dubious because, at present, rigged mesh clothing aligns with some avatar sliders but not with others so that some dimensions of the clothing are fixed by the designer. I had already looked into the free mesh jeans provided by one (talented) designer, and was disappointed to find that the sizes were (to my eyes): waif, skinny, and enormous. I was afraid that all mesh clothes would be too big or too small. But I read about the “standard sizes” and wanted to test them for myself. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the “large” standard size was pretty close to my avatar in most of the specified dimensions. I went into appearance and changed my sliders to exactly match the large, and was pleased to see that my avatar looked pretty much the same. And while I hate to admit it, to the degree it looked different, it looked more natural. So far, so good. And my thanks to the folks who surveyed all those avatars to develop these sizes. I tried on a whole bunch of demos. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that more than half of the items marked “large” by designers claiming to follow standard sizing did not fit. Mind you, the stuff that did fit—all made by two or three designers—looked pretty darn amazing. I called a friend over to my monitor to see my new dress—she didn’t know about mesh, or that I was trying a new creation type, but had seem my avatar in SL many times over the years—and her first comment was “Wow! That looks so real!” I love the movement in skirts. I love not having to adjust belts, sleeves, etc. I spent a couple of thousand lindens on mesh clothes before the weekend was over and am very pleased with them. But in more than half of the clothes marked “large” by designers claiming to use the standard sizing, my breasts poked through the front of sweaters, or showed below the bust line of gowns, or my stomach, tush, or thighs showed through pants and skirts. Sure, I didn’t waste money because the demos were free or almost free. The designers whose stuff fit got all my lindens and those whose stuff didn’t fit got none. But I might easily have given up after the first few things didn’t fit, and then no designer would have made any sales. I do not create mesh, but speculated that the fit had something to do with my avi’s height—a mere 5.3 on the sliders. My guess—and it’s only a guess—is that the clothes that didn’t fit were tested by their designers only on tallish avatars and didn’t scale down well, while the clothes that did fit were tested on mid-range avatars so as to have less distortion scaling up and scaling down. Whatever the cause, mesh clothes marketed as conforming to a standard size that *don’t* fit avatars whose sliders exactly match the specified dimensions will surely undermine consumer confidence in these standards. Something for mesh clothing designers to think about…
  8. Years ago a mall opened next to my home on first, small Mainland parcel. The mall had a random money giver. It was set to include part of my parcel too. As I was often the only avi around, I got free money while rearranging my garden, playing with my dog, sorting my inventory... The mall didn't last long.
  9. Yes, I remember a couple of incidents of people getting in trouble for using the name "Linden." I think perhaps the issue may be here, in the "Second Life Brand Center" (one of the additional terms and policies incorporated into the TOS): "No Suggestion of Endorsement. Never use any Linden Lab trademark in a manner that implies a false relationship with or sponsorship, endorsement, or employment by Linden Lab." By having an avatar speak using the name of a specific Linden employee, one might be seen as suggesting that the person operating the avatar works for Linden Lab. The word "Linden" is listed as one of the trademarks. The text appeared in a different color than ordinary local chat, so if this episode were to be AR'd, the reviewer might choose to interpret the situation as not really being an attempt to have someone appear to impersonate an employee. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if such an AR were taken seriously. In regard to the claim that this use of a Linden name represented a legally protected criticism or satire, I'm not sure that would hold. It was intended as a joke, sure, but that may or may not qualify as a protected use. An AR of this episode might be ignored. But I wouldn't want to bet my account on it.
  10. When you wrote "I go by the adage..." following a phrase about old-fashioned manners, were you implying that those who practice old-fashioned manners wait for the person who started an interaction to finish it? If so, I'm not saying you're wrong, but only that I've never heard anyone express that idea before. I was unaware that any etiquette existed regarding who should end an interaction between equals. I was taught that a superior (say, one's employer) should be allowed to indicate when an interaction was over, regardless of who initiated it. I had no idea that anyone would think I was unmannerly for ending an interaction with an equal that I had not initiated. (I'm American, BTW, raised by British parents, and am around the mid-century mark.) (Edited for spelling.)
  11. Live Chat is useless. I was a premium member for my first four years. Then I had a problem with parcel listing fees. You'd be amazed (or not) that the Live Chat folks have no idea what a parcel listing fee is. I submitted a ticket, as instructed, and months later the ticket was finally answered. The answer was that they don't keep records for parcel listing fees for that long, so that they have no record of what caused the problem: I should have contacted someone right away. While waiting for that ticket to be answered, I had other reasons to contact Live Chat. No episode resulted in a solution. Mostly they were dismissive, occasionally rude. I sold my mainland holdings. When my yearly premium renewal came up, I did not renew. I've been on an Estate for just over a year now. Much as I love Second Life, I just can't see myself ever again making any payment to LL that involves my access to "premium" support. I find it much less stressful to be without that access.
  12. I would have to answer 'no.' I was premium from when I joined in the summer of 2007 until the summer of 2011. I made the decision not to renew my annual membership in January and February of 2011 when I realized that trying to resolve issues with a support staff whose members--in my experience--were uninformed about Second Life, unwilling to bring my issues to the attention of anyone who could actually help, and in some cases, eager to deny that any issue existed, caused me so much aggravation that it was decreasing my enjoyment of Second Life. I decided that I would be better off with (almost) no access to support than I was having access to a "service" that exasperated me. Around that time, Linden Lab claimed that the support services were being revamped and improved. Some people said that they thought that support was improving, but that was not my experience. I felt that it was getting wprse. I hated the thought of giving up my Mainland parcels, so I came here to ask about the experiences of people who had moved from Mainland to estates. On the basis to the answers, I took the plunge, put my Mainland holdings up for sale, and moved to a long-established estate. I've lived on the estate for nearly nine months and love it. I am a happy basic member and cannot imagine going back to premium.
  13. I don't own meeroos, so I have no personal investment here. I can see one argument for allowing the sellers to take back the animals. Here in first life, it is a common animal-rescue practice to include a clause in the adoption of an animal allowing the rescue organization to reclaim it if they see fit. The purpose is to make sure that the animals aren't being abused or neglected or used to fight, but typically conditions are not spelled out in order to avoid arguments over the interpretation of abuse or neglect. It is also typical to specify that any money paid to the organization for the animal will not be refunded. Of course, meeroos are virtual, so on one hand, applying the terms of adoption used for live animals is just silly. On another hand, a lot of silly things go on in SL to further verisimilitude. As meeroos need to eat (I believe), and need affection, and are able to breed, etc, the purpose of their scripting seems to be to create as far as possible the illusion of being a live animal. The meeroo's contract specifying that ownership may be revoked may be seen as part of that illusion.
  14. That said, I am not anti-mesh. Last week I switched to Firestorm for the sole reason that I will (in the fullness of time) be able to see mesh correctly in it. I'm just not excited about mesh clothing attachments becuase I doubt my avatar will get much chance to use them.
  15. As I see it, the big issue for clothing is the combination of height and heft. I have a short, chubby avatar. If a boot comes in sizes A, B, C, D, my avatar would almost certainly need size A for leg length and size D for calf width. I have never found that choice available. When I can edit prims, I can make clothing work. In the real world, there are enough short, chubby people to make it worthwhile for some clothing manufacturers to cater to them. In SL, so few people choose to be short and chubby that it would not be worthwhile to a content creator to bother to make clothing to fit those few avatars. The market would be too small. Mesh worn as an attachment will not adjust to hight--only mesh worn as a clothing layer, right? Any clothing attachment that cannot be edited by the end user will probably be a problem for avatars with uncommon shapes.
  16. I have voice turned off almost always. I use it only if I'm attending a play or a reading in voice, and then I'm listening, not speaking. Most of the time, I forget that voice is even an option in SL. I have no interest in it.
  17. I don't know if submitting a fifth ticket will do any good, but if that's what you want to do, submit it using the name Governor Linden. That's the procedure when you can't submit a ticket against a specific individual.
  18. I sold off my Mainland holdings soon after I submitted the ticket, based on the inability of phone support and live chat to do anything be tell me to submit a ticket--after considerable time spent on my part on hold and calling back after being disconnected--and the issue was a LL billing issue. I didn't give up my premium account right away because I pay yearly. I decided to wait and see if submitting the ticket led to a resolution. It did not. What it led to is my finally understanding that the support staff are not obliged to provide support, that they do so as a courtesy and only if they feel like helping--at least that is pretty much what the Scout told me. I will be switching to Basic rather than renewing for a fifth year. Honestly, I'm rather sad about the whole situation. I liked being a premium member, doing my bit to pay in to the company that built this wonderful place. But I cannot justify paying when the employees with whom I need to work--the support staff--are unhelpful and, in some cases, rude.
  19. I agree with the OP. While my open ticket was closed a few weeks ago, it was with the "solution" that support hoped the problem had gone away by now. When I reopen the ticket to ask for an explanation (concerning a billing error), I was told that the records were purged because too much time had passed--even though I submitted the ticket when the problem first occurred. When I objected that it seemed unlikely that financial records were really purged that quickly, the support person replied that she had answered my reopened ticket just to be courteous, and that she wasn't going to help me anymore. I've submitted another ticket complaining about it. In the last year or two I've grown used to support people who are unfamiliar with basic SL concepts, but I've been lucky--until recently--in getting support staff who at least went through the motions of pretending that they were trying to offer support.
  20. Is it wrong to *break* in? Probably. But if there are no barriers to break--no ban lines, no locks, no security--then one is simply entering, not breaking in. I think that there are enough security options around for anyone who wants to warn people off to do so easily. Unlocked doors, in my opinion, may be opened--why else leave them unlocked? Just to be clear, I have written into my land description that I don't mind people exploring my property if I'm not around.
  21. Fortunately I have not experienced griefing from anyone who targeted me specifically and repeatedly. I've only been subject to random attacks in sandboxes. The most recent episode, which took place some time ago, was actually quite funny. I was in a sandbox, sitting on a cube and building. I had my VKC dog with me, as I often do. A griefer stood by me and caused a succession of things to emanate from my avatar--flames, marbles, etc. My dog was delighted. He ran around trying to notice and greet each marble, etc., that appeared, and periodically went over to the griefer to wag and greet him. I just laughed and told my dog what a good boy he was. Eventually the griefer went away.
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