Menolly Riederer

They dont ban IP addresses... they change every time a router is reset. They ban MAC addresses (google it). It would be nice to think LL would ban him/her/it but I doubt it. There is NO point reporting the abuse of these idiots. They are bots. You are far better off muting them and advising others to do the same. Like with all bullies, if they don't met their end game they eventually give up. They send bots to these places BECAUSE they are making money. BECAUSE they are getting attention. I like the idea of clubs sending monthly newsletter/notice about the latest scams but be careful about how often you tell people as they will, as suggested, go, "Wow this venue gets hit all the time, I'm going somewhere else". As much as people would like LL to fix this, they probably won't. Why? Because they would get thousands and thousands of abuse reports a day and to be honest, this probably wont even be opened though having mass reports will flag it higher. (There are far more pressing issues they need to contend with, like creating new content noone has asked for perhaps.) Perhaps the clubs should look at closing their open enrolment groups for a couple of weeks. Make them invite only by staff members. Apart from that I think the only option is to mute, ban and wait it out.

unfortunately this is normal. It did seem at one point that there was going to be communication but I guess when the nature of the beast by the majority was simply "we dont want this" it was an answer that wasnt acceptable so communication ceased. The display names, like other things that are "added" to the program without proper consideration as to whether it is wanted, needed or the serious problems it could create, is going to go ahead in whatever format Linden Labs decides whether or not it is good for the community at large. That is the typical procedure for LL. They ask, we say, we are ignored and so it continues. This is, after all, a game in the eyes of the management. As of yet no announcement date on its implementation has been made but it will happen.

Something that I havent seen mentioned so far. We know that there is a way for people to get the name they want already - a "vanity" name that they pay $500 US dollars for the priviledge of having. So my question is this. Are those names going to be protected like Linden is? I think ALL names should be protected but imagine if you had paid $500 for the sole use of a name and someone else starts using it. I wonder if THAT would be terms for legal action in itself? Interesting quandry.

100% Agree. What we need IS damage control. This WILL be implemented whether we like it or not, just like the voice morphing, just like viewer 2. The ONLY thing we can do is come up with suggestions that we can only hope will be implemented to lessen the impact. So KNOWING that it IS going to happen and whether we like it or not is not going to matter, I for one vote for 1. Making it a premium feature. (btw I am not a premium user) For once give premium users some value for their money 2. Block ALL existing names. If someone wants to use someone elses name then let them put in an initial (ie John J Smith) or numbers. 3. Putting " " (quotes) around the User name to make it stand out as a user name. (Colour coding will help but remember some people are colour blind!) The other thing I would like to see they are making available anyway and that is to be able to turn it off or on. Personally I will have it permanently turned off. Do I think any of that would be implemented. Sadly, no. But, Jack, there are three suggestions for you. All have been expressed by others so you KNOW it is something a number of people in here have requested.

hate to ask but does include yours insight?

Just in my humble opinion, the Name Change feature should be a premium service offer. It would cut down on greifing and people stealing names or trying to impersonate another resident. LL needs to make a better and greater distinction between "Free Basic" accounts and premium accounts and this is one of those times it should be done. .....Great post..... IMHO I think that is a damn good idea Notfragile. This is a feature that personally I am not fond of but since it IS going to be implemented then making this a premium service offer would definitely cut down on griefing. Most people are not going to pay money to create an account to grief someone else. It leaves a money trail that griefers dont want linking back to them. This would be the perfect time to start adding "features" to those who are willing to pay for that privilege. Notfragile says it perfectly - "...LL needs to make a better and greater distinction between "Free Basic" accounts and premium accounts and this is one of those times it should be done."

Wow, I'm sorry but what started as a blog about "If you want more options" has now denigrated into a slanging match Profoky and I, for one, am getting tired of it. It is not for you, or anyone else, to dictate how someone should run their seconds life or what option they should or shouldnt have because you don't like it. This attack on people in this blog is pathetic and below the belt. If YOU have an axe to grind with other people in here then take it somewhere private. I have come to this blog to learn of people's suggestions and what LL are going to do, not to read the patronising rubbish that is being thrown at people that you don't agree with. We can see your opinion on the minimap and fair enough but to rubbish people who do and label them accordingly is low class and shows low intellect imho. Now let's get back to the topic in hand and stop throwing stones at other people's ideas. That is Q's job *grins*. Remember the idea of options is that people should have choice. You should be able to choose if you want minimap or not. Taking it out because you think it should so is limiting the experience to others.

Hi Q. Thanks for your response to the posts in this blog. It is good to know that you are, in fact, reading all that we are saying. I know you don't want to discuss Display Names, or Voice Morphing for that matter, but imho I think you are missing the point behind why it was brought up in the first place. Regards of how good or bad an idea it is (i'm in the bad camp) it is the fact that things that we have been screaming about for years that need repairing have taken a back seat to yet another NEW feature. We don't want new features at the moment, Q. I think you will find that we want the OLD features returned to us. We do want SL to progress and we're not saying don't give us new features but, please, concentrate on giving us the stuff we really do want and need - a properly workable UI. From the information in the Snowstorm project list I can see that some of these things are, apparently, being worked on. We all hope and pray that you will actually be true to your word and deliver what you are saying and that it is not more lip service. We can only wait and keep our fingers crossed. Unfortunately so many have had their fingers burned for so long that we now have a low pain tolerance and are less and less resistant to being burned. I, for one, do not envy your task ahead. You are literally in a "make or break" situation here. The right moves and you will see people begin to build up some trust and belief in SL again but the wrong move and you WILL lose people. This seriously isn't a case of people saying and not doing. People WILL leave - unfortunately a lot already have. Good Luck Q. I look forward to seeing what the Snowteam produces. Don't keep us waiting too long though. The longer you leave us wondering the worse the speculation will be and the less forgiving people will be if it doesnt meet their expectations.

Torley had a great approach to this not so long ago (dont have the link but I'm sure someone else has it) where he asked, "What changes do you make when you initially log in?" He wanted to know what settings were changed the most etc and the power users answered....in droves. The question was posed simply, without judgement. Torley started by saying, I turn this on and this off and tweak this and do this and people joined it. It was a fantastic way of learning new ways of tweaking the UI. The best thing, Torley would have learnt some of the things that people would prefer to be default instead of what was already there, and everyone felt like they were inputing to the conversation and not being attacked or ignored. Everyone is upset. Residents have long felt like they don't matter. We have for years put items into the Jira that have just been dismissed out of hand. They may have been dismissed for a reason but the reason has never been explained. The fact that so many items have continuously shown up in the Jira should have sent alarm bells "Oh shit, they REALLY want this to happen". Many of us live in SL. We don't just spend an hour every couple of days playing a game, some of us spend all day, every day (I know - it's sad isn't it =0P) creating, helping, learning, being. Please listen to what we have to say. Explain to us why something isn't viable, give us options that can be implemented instead. (We can't give you X because of Y but would Z be helpful instead? And if not can you suggest anything else we could do to give you as close to X as we can?) or (We can't put X there because of Y. Do you think there is somewhere else we could put it instead?) We know that there are some amazing things coming but please, instead of just implementing new additions (display names and voice morphing as an example), spend the time and energy on fixing say the top 10 or 20 items that are on everyone's hit list. I know its a big ask. Everyone that has to clean up previous mistakes, whether they are their own or other people's, have a huge task in front of them - the biggest of which is gaining back the trust of the people the mistakes affected. Give us something that shows that we are being heard Q. Everyone needs to stop being defensive and start being proactive. The Lab needs to learn that if you continue to approach people the way they have in the past they will get the same kind of responses. Remember it's not always what you say, it's how you say it.