[Viewer 2.3 Beta Available Today With Display Names and More]

Nasha, it may simply be because the names you are viewing are using non-standard characters. I, as many people I know, use kanji characters in group titles. I believe you need to install character sets on your system to support this, and it is not a fault of the viewer.

There could be another issue I do not know about but I do know after I got a new computer, I had to install new character sets on my computer to allow for these missing characters that show as ??? otherwise.

Check Windows Update for optional updates and you should find a full list of character sets for other languages. installing these should solve the issue.

Someone correct me if I am wrong here. but this is how I corrected the problem when I first saw it.

[Viewer 2.3 Beta Available Today With Display Names and More]

First, this is a BETA! beta means it is not a final release, it's a test version so you can not expect it to work 100%. It is a beta of the viewer, so not all servers have been updated to facilitate the display name usage and therefor you will not be able to test display names in all sims. People should stop crying about display names not working in all sims. When it is finally released it will work in all sims, as they will do a rolling update to all sims to change the server code that will support the display name feature.

Second, I know the majority of people in SL will simply take what they see as truth without digging any further and thus will be easily fooled by display names. I believe that if Linden Labs is not allowing people to use the Linden name in a display name, then they obviously know there is a risk of impersonation and SHOULD NOT implement display names in a manner that allows users to impersonate each other.

I still have to read up on the whole "Unique Name" thing, but it sounds like users WILL NOT be able to choose a display name that is identical to a real User Name, as all user names are Unique Names and will not be allowed as display names. So the most that someone can do is fake your unique name with similar characters. using vowels with accent marks, or unicode characters that resemble letters. This will of course cause confusion. People will be doing this a lot with the Linden name as well. there is a special character "i" that uses an accent mark for the dot of the "i" and will surely be abused. but I am betting LL has already looked for all possible spoof names and banned them as well. Which leads me once again into believing that LL knows there will be tons of impersonating and thus, should never implement this feature.

People who really want a new name, should create a new account and migrate their belongings. There are utilities for downloading and uploading items you have full permissions to, and those you do not, well that is the price you pay for choosing a horrible name in the first place, or for wanting to escape drama you have created. There are only a few reasons people would want to change their name, and none are valid enough for LL to create so much chaos for the rest of the users of SL.

You hear all of these reasons for why a person, who has a crappy name, would want to use a display name, but, give me a good reason why someone with a good name would want a display name? I think the only reasonable excuse I have heard so far was for a couple who wanted to have the same last name, because they wanted to be "virtually married". I, for one, find virtual marriages to be a bit pointless in the first place so I can not see it as a true justification for imposing on everyone else's security and peace of mind. If you truely want to have the same last name, create new accounts with the same last name, you can use your existing first name and choose a new last name you both can share. *shrug*

Again just my two cents. but I strongly disagree with LL implementing something that subjects all users to a negative effect that they are going to shield themselves from.

[Second Life Economy Stable in Q2 2010]

I agree Treat!

It's always interesting to see all of the crazy posts from people, that range from those who care and support Linden Lab, to those who hate Linden Lab and are constantly putting them down.

I have been in SL for exactly 6 years and 8 months. I came in shortly after beta I believe, and many of my friends were actually from Beta. In those days there were a handful of sims and the world was a much smaller and more simple place. Linden employees actually roamed the land and participated in events and parties. This was before there were such luxuries as prim hair and custom skins. Soon SL grew, and boy did it ever. But it was not all Kool-aid, Sunshine and Double Rainbows that stretched all the way across the sky.

The first true influx of griefers came in the form of a group of forum posters from the Something Awful forums who came flooding in and created grid wide chaos. This was a lot for LL employees to deal with. And it was only the tip of the iceberg. LL soon realized they would have to retreat from the grid and manage the world from afar. But they continued to keep order as best they could, while improving the world for all of us to enjoy.

At one point, my office was next door to Linden Lab, and I had the opportunity to visit with them in person, get to know them, even go out with them for drinks a few times. They are of course, people just like you and me. We are not talking about a bunch of guys and girls in slacks and dress shirts crunching numbers looking for the best way to make another dollar out of SL and profit off of your creations. We are talking about a group of creative people who are looking for new ways to improve the world we all spend time in. They even have a game room with a couple arcade games, and consoles. Usually you would find someone playing Guitar Hero. Oh sure there are some management who do the math, that's a necessity in business. But the majority of the LL employees are people like us, and like your friends, working a really cool job and trying to enjoy it.

Because I have been around so long, I tend to think that many people who post extreme negative messages towards LL in such places as this, have probably been suspended from SL for one reason or another. I mean I have been doing business in SL for all of these years, and the changes they have made have not hurt me. Possibly created some frustration here and there but I have always been able to work around it. And why not? It's not like I have another SL to go to!

Then you have people who try to say LL is doing a terrible job and we should all go to another grid and show LL just how mad we are at them! (>:E Grrr! my angry face!) I have to say, without LL, there would not be other grids. If LL had not released the source code, others would not be running alternate grids, and I really wonder just how well these alternate grids would fair if they had the entire population of SL to deal with on their own grid. Odds are it would not be better than LL is doing, and probably a lot worse, since LL has more experience.

I have had my fair share of complaints about things LL did wrong. Everything from working with a third party on their source code to help develop the ability to backup content we create, which led to someone in the third party running off and creating the copybot. (OMG! the frustration!) To the current situation with third party viewers, which are not all working properly, so I have to deal with customer support issues related to third party viewers. If you truly want options you see in third party viewers, in the official viewer, post it to JIRA and have everyone vote it up. You want to have a say in the direction SL takes. Post and Vote. Running off to another client or another grid is just sticking your head in the sand, then you complain about LL because you have a mouth full of sand.

But the one thing everyone seems to forget is that Linden Lab created this virtual world in which we all spend so much time, and obviously enjoy, or we would not even be in it. Those who create content and sell it, sure they are running a "business" but they are also gaining a creative outlet that did not exist before. This is something I am truly grateful for. I feel blessed to be able to sit at my desk, and create almost anything, and then be able to share that with others. It's an artist dream. Most artist do sell their work, as a way of surviving to be able to create again. It's the creative process that draws most true artists to SL, not the money. The money is only there to fund the process of creation.

I say we give Linden Lab the praise they deserve for keeping Second Life running and dealing with the issues the best they can, and for trying to improve the system, even if that means a few bumps along the way.

Oh and to those who keep saying that LL is trying to cover the drop in value of the linden dollars that was created by the reorganization process they went through, with a story about XStreet merge being the reason, you obviously did not read the entire post.

"our research indicates this change was due to our merge of Residents’ inworld and XStreet SL L$ balances and temporary market  uncertainty immediately after the announcements of our restructuring and  changes in senior management."

They did contribute the bump in the economy to both reasons.

I am apparently one of the Old Timers that you seem to think are all leaving SL. I have no reason to leave. I  quite enjoy SL and will be around until A) it shuts down for good or B)  someone comes along and actually does make something superior. Blue Mars is trying but they have years to go. LL is still working on improving  the environment (realtime lighting and shadows please!), and the ability  to import true 3D models or meshes is in beta. So I still have a lot to look forward to here. I hope you will all stick around and enjoy it with me.

Have a wonderful day!
~Ayame Musashi