Deja Letov

Considering they don't read this forum I doubt you'll get a response. But if you did...it would probably be no because they can't really monitor that effectively and manage it.

Darrius Gothly wrote: Even though I am one of the louder voices trumpeting concerns over products being delivered via DD for free, I also must explain something that may help alleviate SOME worries. It's gonna be a bit technical, so please bear with me. I promise I'll do my best to write it out in human language. When a product is delivered from a Magic Box, there is a complicated multi-step process that must be executed correctly at every step. If any step goes off kilter then the Marketplace will take a fail-safe last step ... mark the delivery as failed and refund the customer. Realistically this is the only responsible thing to do .. IF you don't properly program the process so that you can make a better educated recovery. In the case of the Marketplace Dev Teams (current and their predecessors), they have opted not to program in any intelligence so they just fall back to the simplest recovery step .. full refund. The steps that must happen are (roughly) as follows: 1. Customer purchases a product. The Marketplace looks it up, finds that it is delivered by a Magic Box and builds a command packet that will instruct the appropriate Magic Box to send the product to the customer. 2. Marketplace sends the packet to the Magic Box and then waits for a response from the Magic Box. 3. The Magic Box gets the command packet, pulls a copy of the product out of its inventory and delivers it to the Customer. Once it completes the delivery process, it builds a reply packet and sends it back to the Marketplace. 4. The Marketplace gets the reply packet, marks the product as "Delivered" in the Order and moves on to its next task. Now here's the issue: The communications BACK from the Magic Box to the Marketplace seems to be failing. There are actually a couple of programs that comprise that one communication step .. and which particular one is failing is unknowable from "the outside". From inside, the Marketplace should be able to determine the failure. Considering that the same code has been in place for several years and that it used to work much better, it's a good bet the Dev Team could fix it or at least make a better determination about how to recover. For whatever reason though, that isn't happening. But now we move to how DD works .. and why there is less chance of the same type of failure happening with DD. When a customer makes a purchase of a product that is delivered via DD, there is no form of two-way conversation as happens in steps 3 and 4 with Magic Boxes. Instead it's just a (pretty much straightforward) database copy operation. Thus there is no fragile back-and-forth link that might break. If the communication doesn't break in the same way, there is precious little chance the product will be delivered yet marked as having failed. EXCEPT ... (always gotta be one of these, huh?) When a customer makes a multiple product purchase and one of the products that is to be delivered via Magic Box fails (in either step 3 or 4) then the whole order goes bonkers. As of right now I have a product that was delivered via DD, but the entire order is still marked as "Being Delivered" ... from two days ago. I did get "paid" (it was a freebie) but it's entirely possible that a slightly different sequence of product delivery and failure might result in a delivery without following through on the payment. Based on what I've seen of the Dev Team's ability to program multi-threaded apps, I'm not willing to bet any hard currency on them getting it "right" in every edge condition. So .. the plain language summary: The basic methods used to deliver products from DD versus those used to deliver from a Magic Box are enough different that the chances of a "Free Product" delivered via DD are much much smaller. The chance still exists, but in my honest opinion, it is very much smaller. That's kind of what I was figuring...just a straight database copy so not much chance of failure. I would think also...if there were a bunch of them, we as merchants who are using DD would "feel" it in our sales. Thanks for the explanation on the MB too, good info!

Marcus Hancroft wrote: Howdy again, Miss Pam You realize of course, that this is a scary problem. I'm 100% Direct Delivery now and in the 8 days so far in October, I've enjoyed really good sales days! I don't have any "Delivery Failed" notices listed on my Orders or Transactions reports, but I'm wondering if when Direct Delivery fails, it fails silently. I hope that's not the case, but, hells bells, with the marketplace going like it has been, who knows (besides Linden Lab, and they aren't talkin)? I remember last November this happened with a buddy of mine. He bought a sculpt pack off the Marketplace, received it and then later received a refund. I'd be willing to bet that the order showed as "Failed" on that merchant's transaction report. So, I think this has been going on longer than any of us realize. I'm wondering the same thing. I've been on DD since it came out and my sales on MP are increasing every month with no failed deliveries. My HOPE is that since I keep seeing an increase and no transactions listing as failed or pending or whatever, that everything is working properly but I'm also now wondering if failed deliveries are failing silently. I wouldn't assume they are, if I were programming, i'd keep the functionality the same in that respect...but we are talking about the commerce team here aren't we. So who knows. I like the idea of putting in one of those rez scripts but I don't box my items, so not sure how that would work...i certainly wouldn't want to go through and put it in every actual item I make. Sorry this is happening to you guys on MB...really stinks they are letting this happen. I hope you get it worked out. I know some don't think it's much money but when it's your income you count on, every dollar matters.

I think when you are renting just a flat out piece of land it's usually right around 1.4L per prim. That's about what I pay. However, if you are talking about renting space in things like a mall or high traffic area, a lot of times they charge more. You are paying a premium for their hard work of getting traffic in. I remember a long time ago back when I first started there was this goth mall and I can't remember exactly how much but it was a bit more expensive, but it never failed, whenever I would go there, the place was crammed full of people and I got plenty of sales from it. I miss places like that.

We're doing a haunted asylum on my land but it won't be out til mid october. I found another haunted house with a friend of mine yesterday that was quite fun. I think this month will be a lot of haunted house searches in world.

They would view it...and then think " you know I think I'm gonna do it anyway" lol

I agree and it's probably a combination of reasons why. It could be that the search results are reset, it could be customers get frustrated and go buy in world instead of waiting on a marketplace search to return. Plus everyone knows what a POS the marketplace has turned into...even customers...so a lot of them could be starting to give up on it. I haven't experienced a slump in MP sales personally, even in the last few days they have been pretty normal, but I don't doubt it that some are experiencing this. But this is the exact reason I don't put all my eggs in one basket...to rely on the MP 100% for sales, you're going to be impacted in a much larger way when something bad happens versus someone who uses the MP only as an additional form of selling outside their inworld store.

I just posted about that system yesterday in one of the other review threads. I'd be curious as well to see how many people start using a system like that. I'm not opposed to using it exactly, unfortunately I would consider it gaming the marketplace and an unfair advantage over other merchants who don't pay for legitimate reviews...but then again it's all about profit to most so I'm sure it's acceptable. But I will systems like that are exactly why I don't bother reading reviews anymore...since so many are apparently there only because they are paid to be.

Czari Zenovka wrote: Deja Letov wrote: I totally agree, but I doubt the topic will ever go away because they will never fix it and LL will never correct it. It's funny, I just checked all my listings and with over 300 products listed I have a grand total of 18 reviews TOTAL for all products. AND for awhile there, I was even contacting everyone individually thanking them for their order and reminding them that if they felt so inclined they have an option to always review their order. I see what you mean though...18 reviews over 300 products and then you have some merchants who get TONS of reviews on a single product...total bull. Deja, when you speak of 18 reviews are you referring to the number of people who rated an item but didn't necessarily leave a comment, or are the 18 specifically comments left, not including ratings with no comments? This got me interested and I was in the process of counting mine - then the MP went boom. In the meantime decided to come back and clarify what you are counting so I can do an apples-apples comparison. I did find something rather odd before the MP crashed - I have one product that has a 5-star rating (in that all 5 stars are blue) but says (0) reviews. Okkkkkaaaayyy...how does that happen? I don't think I have any old ones with ratings and no comments. Everything has a star rating moment comment as far as I can see.

Phoebe Avro wrote: If I recall before LL bought out SLX if you bought an item about a week later you would get an email asking you to review your purchases! the email would include links to the items for to make it easy! Would be nice if LL implimented this, the reason I say is I have an item on the MP for about 2 to 3 months and I have sold as of today 100 copies but only have 1 review! Most of my items have no reviews only the older things do anything I have put on the MP since it was renamed the MP has 1 review or none! The whole review system now is not user friendly and people are lazy! I think it would be great to bring that back as long as there was an opt out option in account settings or something. Although, with requiring an actual review and not just a quick click and rate I'm not sure it will really do much to increase it. People still won't take the time out if they have to write something.

I think it should be rated as adult as well. Not necessarily because of the content that is created by users...since ESRB doesn't rate that, but simply for the fact that there are defined grid types of PG, Mature and Adult. If they were all just "grids" with no ratings within SL itself, then I would say, sure Teen fits the bill, because the rest is all user created. But by SL providing Adult specific areas to go and based on their own definition may contain sexual material suited for those over 18 years of age, that right there should limit it to adults. That...or get two ratings with two access levels...one for teens and one for adults...but that will never happen...it will just be one. I just don't see how they will overlook the fact that SL provides their own Adult rated grids...but then not expect an adult rating for the game in general.

16 wrote: Czari Zenovka wrote: Time will tell if SL continues to be the virtual world we enjoy or if it will become more akin to an MMORPG. I sincerely hope not. I mostly think not. these 2 new products continue the linden tradition of making creative tools/environments for people to be creative with. is quite encouraging that I think I agree. Take a look at other developer companies. Most don't just stick to developing one single product. Theyw ould be stupid to do so, especially if one is starting to lose money. Why not expand into another market and make money from it. Personally, I think it's kinda cool. And i'd probably snag it when it comes out on the ipad just for a time waster while I watch water boil.

This happened to me recently when I logged into my husbands account. I needed a guy for a product photo and no good looking male avatar friends were on so I logged him on only to find him a ghost. I tried everything...rebaked, removed the bald base, changed clothes, changed skins, shapes, etc. I had to select the option to go back to the default male avatar and that did the trick. Then I just reapplied the shape, skin and clothes and it worked fine. I've heard people say its connection but I've never had connection issues and my main has never had this happen. I believe it has something to do with old attachments perhaps, but maybe they get refreshed when you reset to default. Who knows.

I totally agree, but I doubt the topic will ever go away because they will never fix it and LL will never correct it. It's funny, I just checked all my listings and with over 300 products listed I have a grand total of 18 reviews TOTAL for all products. AND for awhile there, I was even contacting everyone individually thanking them for their order and reminding them that if they felt so inclined they have an option to always review their order. I see what you mean though...18 reviews over 300 products and then you have some merchants who get TONS of reviews on a single product...total bull.

I was cruising around the marketplace and came across a system that appears to work like an advertising campaign that you pay for to let you list URLs of products you want reviews for along with how much you are willing to pay for those reviews. The system automatically pays people when they leave a review on those products you listed. personally, I think it's a lot of bull*** that they are so tight about category listings, keyword listings, false advertising, etc...when they clearly allow a system to be sold that is designed to game your results. makes no sense.

That's a great idea! Did not even think of using email as the autoresponder.

Dartagan Shepherd wrote: Deja Letov wrote: Actually I just recently started using the Caspervend system because I knew this was coming and i wanted the "redelivery" option available via the terminal. And since it works for Marketplace deliveries too, it has already helped me even while still here. And I'll definitely pop something into my profile! Thanks Sassy! If babies weren't no copy/mod/transfer I'd say put in a feature request to Caspervend to be able to deliver them as well. Alas. Edited to add: And best of luck to you and yours. Ya too bad they weren't copy...then I could just copy one of my others and I wouldn't have to go through this hell again. LOL And thank you!

Thanks everyone. most of this stuff I am planning on doing so I'm glad I'm on the right track. my assistants have already started handling a lot of questions and have me on Facebook and email to reach me fairly quickly so hopefully it will all go smooth. And...it is only maybe 2-3 weeks I will be out I'm sure...surely my SL can survive without me for that long. LOL

Sassy Romano wrote: I have fantastic staff. Both they and customers can do redeliveries, something i've always considered this essential to reduce my own workload. I have set IM's to email and respond that way and use a mobile client for my phone so i'm not really that far away. If you can do this, then maybe you can find 5 or 10 minutes now and then to reply. Don't forget to pop something into your profile that lets people know when you'll be able to respond. I never mind seeing that on a Merchants profile, at least you have an understand and suitable expectation as to when issues may be resolved. Actually I just recently started using the Caspervend system because I knew this was coming and i wanted the "redelivery" option available via the terminal. And since it works for Marketplace deliveries too, it has already helped me even while still here. And I'll definitely pop something into my profile! Thanks Sassy!

just curious how some of you merchants who deal with customers on an almost daily basis handle things when you have to be gone from SL for awhile. I'm trying to get things in order for myself, I will be gone for at least a couple of weeks soon having a baby, and am a little worried. I hired two assistants to help but usually that ends up being them contacting me to redeliver or ask a question, etc and I know during this break, i don't even know if I will be able to keep up with that. Do you just trust someone enough to give them your account info or just tell everyone to suck it up til you get back?

VonGklugelstein Alter wrote: I just saw that a merchant who is selling similar product as me has been getting like 20 reviews a day on a few items. After some research it turns out the merchant is paying for these reviews and therefore also paying people to buy their product in effect increasing the relevancy of their product. What is the story? Has The marketplace become this sleazy that anything goes? Ya it has. The problem is LL has made the MP a complete joke when it comes to searching for anything. I think people who sell mainly on the MP may believe LL is pushing for more in world shopping and trying to kill the MP, where those of us who do business mainly world feel the exact opposite. Everything that happens to me and affects me negatively has felt like LL pushing people to use the MP more and more and do less in world shopping. I think they do it by making it harder and harder for merchants to compete on the MP in a fair fashion. I'm sure it has something to do with their profits, since they take 5%, of course they would rather have MP sales and make money, since they make nothing on in world, assuming you have MP store and in world store. But the relevance search is a total waste of time. It can be gamed with reviews, sales, views, and any other unknown ways to get a higher placement. to think they could have made the relevance search based on...you know...relevance...how rediculous would that have been?

I have never been unfaithful.

Medhue Simoni wrote: Spica Inventor wrote: Graphics is almost entirely a viewer-side thing with the way SL is set up. You just basically said, "My supermarket should get bigger shopping carts so everyone's food would cook faster." That's what they want you to believe for PR and propaganda reasons, but it would be fallacious to believe that most problems with lag outside of relative differences between computer types and hookups is at the user end. There could be essentially no lag to very little lag in SL if LL was willing to invest the money required in servers. ;-) I will have to disagree here. The VAST majority of things that cause lag in SL have to do with the content, and the creators that make them. If every1 could actually see the total cost of downloading and viewing an item, they would see right away how the average SL creation costs way more to render than any comparable item in any other game. This is a fact, not an opinion. Now, when you put multiple or dozens of those costly creations all around you, or even wear them, your pc will struggle to download them, and keep them cached. When every item that your pc views is over 5mb, it will not be long before your cache is packed and has to drop the item from your cache. Then, when you turn and view that same item, your pc must redownload the item. This is what causes the majority of lag. Now, I've been saying this for years now. It is not an attack on other people's creations. This is about understanding the cost of the items that people create. LL can do some things, server side, to help with this problem, as they have pointed out here. That said, when items in SL cost your pc 10 times more to render than any game on the market, there is just no way around the lag, other than telling people to make their items more efficiently. I should also point out that I never see much, if any, lag on my own sim, as most items there are created by me. I agree 100% with you on this Medhue! It's very easy to see that it's not all on SL by simply visiting other sims on your computer. I experience the exact same thing, because I do my best to optimize scripts and textures, I don't experience lag on my own sim ever. There are a few other sims I go to as well that I experience no lag whatsoever on. But then...there are some that kill my machine. I'm running a pretty high preformance machine so I shouldn't be lagging at all but due to people not optimizing their builds it makes it darn near impossible not to have major lag in some places. And like you said, it's not a knock on anyone's creators from the artistic standpoint, if you want to call it that, it's more about the lack of knowledge of how to optimize very the fastest loading.

Teagan Tobias wrote: I have seen this, a box in a box, but not being able to put the second box down and unpack it is strange. Some creators have scripts in the box so when you hold it “wear it” and you click on it, the script puts the items in your inventory and sends them a note that you unpacked it. I personally do not like that, one: to personal and two: the only thing it proves is that there script to send them a note works. There is no proof that the box unpacked properly. (don't care what you say) So, wear it and click on it if you can't set it down. Other than that, I don't know. I think that is all they after though...just to make sure you received it. There unfortunately is a lot of people who buy trans/no copy items then tell the creator they never received the item. At a minimum those scripts tell the creator that you did receive it. And usually if you received it, and can rez the box, 99% of the time the package unpacks properly. In fact, a lot of them you just copy to inventory and there is no real scripted unpackaging...which I prefer, I hate auto unpackers.

This is actually really interesting. The other day I went to my store and the itemin the number 2 position was an item I haven't sold since around march. It's an ice skating rink..so of course it isn't selling right now. But strangely it landed on the first page of my store in the #2 position. And even stranger...I haven't updated this item in months either. So I have no idea how that happened. but then I look at it today and it's completely gone. Down to page 5. I'm doing a print off this morning of the order of all of my items in the store right now, because I am going to be doing a mass update of all of my products to change the slurl. Every item will be affected, so I'm really curious to see what happens!