Phil Deakins

Oh well. You can have your opinion, but when you produce evidence that "most people couldn't give a damn" whether or not the High Street survives, you'll have some credibility but, until then, it's just your opinion, which I am absolutely certain is totally wrong. You have to show that most people don't give a damn, and you've shown nothing yet. I'm not the one who needs to show evidence. You made the statement, so you're the one. Show it. Remember, it must apply to "most people".

sidetrack/ I'm not too dissimilar, Theresa. I shun making calls on my mobile (cell phone), which I only have for emergencies - in case my car breaks down when I'm out in it. So it's a very cheap phone with a pay-as-you-go account. /sidetrack

I can't be any fairer than that, can I? There are opposing opinions, and that's the way it is. I suspect that we will all survive

It's not that, Skell. It's that what is promoted on private blogs does not give the appearance of being official Linden Lab endorsements. Imo, Xiola's offical blog post does give that appearance. If I were in the clothing market, I'd feel like being up in arfms about the favouritism.

You mean, "he just doesn't want to listen and agree with me" ? From my viewpoint, it's the other way round as far as you are concerned You won't read this because you've blocked me but I just thought I'd point out that not everyone has identical opinions and, as Blush said, everyone is entitled to voice theirs. But, frankly, it's unbelievable that you don't agree with me ?

They are different, Skell. As you pointed out, they aren't included in the Pic Of The Day posts. They are on private blogs.

I'm done with this now. It's taking far too much of my time today. I'll finish by saying that, imo, it's wrong that the official LL blog is used to promote specific products and stores, when the same facility is not available to all. That's all I started the thread to say. If Xiola's blog post wasn't for the purpose of promotions, then I cannot come up with any reason to post it at all - except perhaps as a 'look at me' thing, and we have forums for that. The fact that Blueberry and premium accounts came into it, either coincidentally or by design, came later.

There are a number of ways that Linden can show that they're involved in SL. But I think it's wrong for them to give appartent endorsements to specific stores in the official Linden Lab Blog. If Xiola had made the same post here in the forum, then I wouldn't have any issue with it. She uses the forum, so it would be easy to do. Heck she has Pic Of The Day thread, doesn't she? It's the fact that it's in the Offical Linden Lab Blog that makes it appear that Linden Lab endorses the contents.

As I said, I'm not a shopper, so there's a lot I don't know. And, in the first post I did ask if they were businesses. So Xiola was promoting a number of products. It just makes it worse, really. I completely understand, and agree with, Lindens posting what they want on their own blogs, other people's blogs, this forum, etc., but when it's posted on the official Linden lab blog, it looks like an official Linden Lab endorement. And that's wrong, imo.

What you say absolutely correct. BUT it's not what Xiola did. What she did, she did in the offical Linden Lab blog. That makes it very different.

There would be nothing wrong with that if she'd done in her own blog. But she did it in the official LL blog, and that puts a different light on it.

I'm not a shopper, so there's a lot I don't know. But Uber and Blueberry are the ONLY places mentioned where she got the stuff. Just the 2 of them and those are what I mentioned. I even asked if they are businesses. I assumed that other data is merely models of stuff - like the names given to hair styles. Of course it's an uneven playing field if such favouritism/highlighting/promotion isn't available to all businesses. That goes without saying.

You are mistaken. There are only 2 stores mentioned - the two I posted. There are no more in the blog. The only other thing mentioned is the sim where the pic was taken.

The thing about Xiola's blog entry is why. Why post it at all? Is she starting another thing like Pic Of The Day? She hasn't said that that's what it's about. To all intents and purposes, it's just Xiola using the official LL blog to say 'look at me', and 'here is where you can buy the clothes if you like what I'm wearing'.

I don't think that Callum assumed that at all. But it would be better if all businesses could pay for such advertising, like they can for ads on the login screen, and other places. That would be an even playing field, and there could be no complaints.

@Akasha Sternberg Style cards, as you call them, are fine, and, imo, there's nothing wrong with Xiola putting them in her blog. But that's not what she did. She put them in the Linden Lab official blog, so that it appears that Linden Lab is recommending those stores. Whether intentional or not, that's tantamount to advertising certain businesses to the detriment of the rest, and that's what's wrong imo.

Any SL businesses. The 2 she promoted were totally unknown to me. I'd never heard of them,, and I found great fault with it immediately.

LOL. I like that

Whether or not LL is favouring Blueberry with free premium accounts or simply by accepting payment for them from Blueberry instead of the new premiums, the reason I started the thread isn't changed - Xiola Linden promoting 2 specifc SL businesses in LL's blog. I find huge fault with that.

Fair enough. The Blueberry group message does thank LL for making the 10 premium account giveaway possible. It may be that LL agreed to accept to fee from Blueberry instead of the new premium member, but the impression it gives is not that.

I definitely don't agree with that. I don't really think it's necessary for me to explain why.

Do you know that Party B is paying for the premium accounts? If they are, it's fine.

That would be an enormous task, but yes.

Even subsidising them (making them available at a cheaper rate) would be astonishing and saddening. If LL openly offered such things, alright. Excellent. But it does sound like a back door sort of deal - to me, anyway - especially as Xiola Linden is now promoting those businesses on the LL blog.

Apparently, it's an SL clothes business.