Yoki Enoch

Without a doubt, LL released Viewer 2 prematurely, and thus gave many who tried it a very bad feeling about it. I tried it 3 different times last year and gave it a serious go, each and every time. For me, the problem with Viewer 2.x is the basic foundation, the basic design to its core. It is simply a very badly designed Viewer, and to make it usable, for me, would be to have is scrapped and redesigned from the ground up. After 3 times, and being completely disgusted with it each time, I won't try it again. I would prefer to leave SL than have to use Viewer 2.x - and that is how strongly I feel about it.

TriloByte Zanzibar wrote: It was my understanding that the new forums were starting fresh for all topics, not just for topics related to viewer 2 criticism. The irony in all of this is that un-learning the 1x quirks (nested pie menus don't occur randomly in nature) and getting acclimated to the 2x interface takes just a few days at most. A year has gone by, and quite a few significant changes and improvements have been made, it might be time to stop holding grudges and move on. It is hardly a grudge. Part of my RL job is to adjust to new and different software. After many years of doing this, I have developed a lot of expertise in this area. Rarely have I have ever come across such a poorly designed software product as Viewer 2.x. People CAN adjust to poorly designed or functioning software, but since I am a "customer" here who has contributed to the success of LL, before I leave, I want the company to know why. Viewer 2.x is a downgrade to the extent of it being called a piece of crap. Pure and simple. Others can adjust to a piece of crap if they want. That is their choice.

Adam Spark wrote: Yoki Enoch wrote: Oh, yes, it is still "most". Why do you think LL has not run a poll on it? It did in the beginning, but the response was almost 90% negative. LL knows that it is a terrible viewer at its very foundation, but since all those costs have been put out on it, it simply plows ahead, not listening to its "customers," or not wanting to listen to its "customers," because LL knows best, and we all know that Ukranian programmers are the best there be. LOL! A poll would be pointless for two reasons: A new viewer can now be expected almost every few weeks. Why put out a Viewer 2.5 poll when Viewer 2.6 is likely less than a month away, and viewer 2.7 will likely be out before the summer? Most negative responders will probably be those who have a little experience with Viewer 2.0, and absolutely none with Viewer 2.5 Viewer 2 is a series of viewers that have progressed quite dramatically in a year. Viewer 2.5 is NOT Viewer 2.0. Well I gave Viewer 2.x, a good try last April/May, and gave up in disgust. I tried it again in July, and gave up again. Then in November I tried it a third time. It was the exact same piece of crap each time. The next time I try it, it will be because I am forced to, and by then, I will probably cancel my account for LL insisting that a piece of crap is an upgrade.

Paladin Pinion wrote: Yoki Enoch wrote: Most people hate Viewer 2 still. I don't know if "most" is the correct term, but I like it. And I agree that many of those who dislike it haven't even tried the latest version. Once you learn where things have moved to, it grows on you. I have trouble with the ancient 1.x interface now. My main wish for V2 is implementation of standard menu items, the ones that exist on every OS. We need File and Edit menus at the very least. I'm not sure why these basic essentials were removed, but I think having those would make it easier for people to locate some of the interface items they believe are "missing" right now. Oh, yes, it is still "most". Why do you think LL has not run a poll on it? It did in the beginning, but the response was almost 90% negative. LL knows that it is a terrible viewer at its very foundation, but since all those costs have been put out on it, it simply plows ahead, not listening to its "customers," or not wanting to listen to its "customers," because LL knows best, and we all know that Ukranian programmers are the best there be. LOL!

Most people hate Viewer 2 still. Give them time to fill up this forum with another wave of creative dissing of the worst thing LL has ever introduced - Viewer 2. I do bet that LL has not the guts to put up another poll about Viewer 2 though... LOL!

You are right on schedule. Congratulations!

They never have listened, nor will they ever listen. But they sure do like bringing up the subject of listening to us, every year or so. This time they even have some user groups all set up so they can listen to us. They will make sure these user groups are stuffed with the fan gals and guys, if they can find enough of them to make a quorum.

It is not too late for Rod to turn the ship around. Critical mass is still a bit of a distance away. However, as CEO, he has to inspire and if need be, manipulate the LL staff to change course. I just hope he has those skills. He has to change the corporate culture of Linden Lab. Maybe Philip can help him out here by showing him how to utilize the Lovemachine. (chuckling insanely as I finished the last sentence.)

Oh yes, there LL is. The great risk takers, and look what it has done - concurrency is steadily declining as it eliminates those it does not want in THEIR world. Good show LL! So why do you think LL wants to get customer feedback now? Maybe a lot of LL employees are scared half to death about losing their jobs since LL continues to move out those it does not want. Revenues remain stagnant, and customers complain about poor service, mismanagment, and gross incompetance. The real fact is, LL doesn't know what it wants, and just shoots blindly in the wind, changing policy and direction continually, demoralizing the customer and the staff.

Nany: You really should apply for a job with Linden Lab. You have a great start since you have the exact same attitude that most Linden Lab employees seem to express by their actions. You would fit like a glove within the corporate culture of "screw them all, who cares." The main reason why people are heaping "scorn" on Linden Lab, which seems to be the vast majority of those responding to this Blog, is because they really do like SL and want to stay and are concerned how things are going with this virtual world. It is in a continuing decline, if you haven't noticed. But I doubt you really get it. Most fan people don't.

As long as the Linden who will announce this new forum is not "excited" about it, we stand a chance of having better forum software to replace Jive. I swear that term "excited" that the Linden bloggers seem to use most of the time in announcing something new is a curse.

Really Oz? Well tell ya what. I don't believe you. Just like I never believed it was necessary to raise monthly tier rates on Open Space sims by 67% simply because less than 2% of OS owners were abusing them through overuse. I do not believe anything that Linden staff say. You have absolutely no credibility in my eyes. None of you do. Besides how do you know what the plans are or aren't of Linden Lab. Are you the CEO? Do you sit on the board? Are you the chair of the board? Are you one of the venture capitalists? I used the term "probably" you would make Viewer 2 mandatory, because this would be the bone-headed thing to do, and this is what Linden Lab does - make bone-headed decisions! That is about the only thing one can depend on for LL to do. How in the world you people decided to actually release Viewer 2 in the first place, is beyond me. But anyone who would release it, would be silly enough to make it mandatory. You are soooo out of touch with SL users and the world of SL, it is not beyond belief.

Jive has driven us mad for over two years now. People have complained about it right, left and centre, but Linden Lab knows best, and has ignored all our complaints. Jive is terrible! It was two years ago and still is. The same goes with Viewer 2, but Linden Lab insists on this being the standard Viewer, and probably the mandatory one in a short time. The only reason I stay in SL is because of the friends and associations I have here. However, Viewer 2, being in my opinion, a terrible downgrade, will drive me from SL permanently when made mandatory. The trouble is, you Linden Lab employees DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS BEST for SL users, even though those like Yoz think they do. Look at the concurrency figures! Whose policies are responsible for this decline? Ours or yours?

Hi Amanda, I am encouraged that finally LL has acknowledged that communication could be better and is attempting to do something about it. I am very disappointed though that you hold the attitude that Facebook is a great vehicle to help in this communication. You realize, of course, that Second Life is a social network just like Facebook is? In fact, SL is a far better as a social network that is Facebook, in my opinion. I really have a hard time understanding where all this push for FB is coming from?

I am glad to be of help.

Colwyn Baily wrote: I've been battling SL Marketplace's automatic tagging system regarding two texture packs I'm listing. The system automatically converts the General rating for the textures to Moderate, telling me that "...the text in the description field forced a change in the maturity level." There is absolutely nothing objectionable in the descriptions, or in the texture packs. I've tried multiple versions, different wordings, had other people read through them... nothing works. Has anyone else had issues with this? If so, is there any way around it? It's a pretty crappy system that tells you that something is amiss, but fails to give you any clue what that might be so you can fix it. If you want to read the descriptions, they are at: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Hollywood-Days-Coordinated-Texture-Pack-Baily-Studio/1898187 https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Hollywood-Nights-Coordinated-Texture-Pack-Baily-Studio/1898226 Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks! I know exactly why they are marked Moderate. You have the following in your description: "512 x 512". If you substitute "by" for the "X", your listing will remain General. So far, I have learned that the following characters will move a listing from General to Moderate: X 5..... oh, you might have to get rid of those 5's too in the 512. One has to be creative to circumvent the Lindens in how they, ahem, set things up.

There are lies, there are damn lies, and then there are statistics, and then there are those missing statistics from the Lab.

Welcome Rod: What can I say, but that I am most impressed by your willingness to learn about SL through doing things like building and scripting. May you continue to find at least some time to come inworld and live like a resident and thus understand us, even if just a little. May I recommend one thing to try though, if you find the time - try becoming a merchant and/or land owner to see what it is like trying to earn Linden$ in SL. Welcome again, and have a great day! Yoki

I do hope this is true: "Rod has a deep appreciation for what makes Second Life special. He’s already been exploring and experimenting inworld to familiarize himself with the pluses and minuses of our product and the successes and challenges faced by our Residents." If it is really true, then perhaps I can unjade myself. What would really be impressive, if from now to mid-January when he takes full charge, that he spends a minimum of 50 hours in SL, owning land and trying to make a go of it by selling or renting it out, and making products and trying to sell them though his inworld store and SLM. But alas, I am still very jaded, and I doubt he will do these things, and we will have another "suit" in charge of LL and SL, kissing venturist capitalist butt, and trying to screw all the residents and never listening to a word they say.

hmmmm.... interesting... thanks for the link... will have to do some more digging on this.

Ticious: I am almost convinced that a good portion of LL employees are their kids who come in on the weekend and muck about. I am half serious here.

Jack, no matter how many bells and whistles are added to Viewer 2, it is still a piece of crap. I hope you realize that since Viewer 2 is the Viewer flogged by LL for all new residents, and yet, retention levels are still terrible and the numbers are ever declining for SL, and yet other virtual worlds are thriving... well, perhaps you should wake up and smell the coffee.

Hi Rene: Yes, I joined IMVU today, and have been poking around. I can verify your claims, and have been chuckling to myself for some time over it. It seems the creative juices in SL flow more so with the residents than with the managing Lindens. LOL! I suppose a Hollywood movie producer would describe IMVU thus: "Where Facebook meets Second Life, but without any land." And I agree, SL is far superior to IMVU, and yet, through its marketing, IMVU is booming to such an extent, that its numbers have outpassed SL by a considerable margin. It is like Microsoft vs. Apple in the 80's - superior marketing is outdoing superior quality. It makes me wonder what SL's new VP of Marketing has been doing for the last 3 months - just lunching on our money? Anyway, I will observe what IMVU's numbers are this coming Sunday afternoon - the traditional peek time of SL concurrency. It should be interesting. Have a good weekend!

hmmmm IMVU ... I did a little research on this place, and took a little trip over there. Now I see why LL has hidden their stats recently. IMVU has surpassed SL in usership, considerably, to say the least.

Poor Nelson. But please note: people complain, and complain vehemently when they care about something, and thus that something means a lot to them. When the complaints stop, you Nelson, and the rest of your co-workers at Linden Lab, will be out of jobs. Considering all the stuff that needs to be fixed regarding SL, having this blog come out about a new LL advertising scheme for its "treasured" residents, is about as insulting as it can get, quite frankly.