Hiro Pendragon

Amen! What would be ways to encourage mass adoption of this? 1. Linden default AVs need to be shorter. Without this, it's a losing battle. Period. 2. The editor for avatars should show what the person's height is as one edits. "Oh, hey, 7' tall? That's a little much. Lemme scale it down a bit..." 3. Widespread ridicule of tall avatars. (Kidding. .... sort of...)

How does a spyware collect an email address if it's just used for SL and basically never touched? Answer: It can't. Recommend you speak to your legal team under the assumption your third party, foreign company does what so many companies do - sell email addresses under the table out the back door to make ends meat.

While I am in favor if integrating all ages into the grid, this is NOT a complete solution. How does Linden Lab intend to block teens from getting adult content from 3rd party, non-SL Marketplace sources? A simple web page could be set up that automatically triggers a script to transfer an item to another user. No, the only way this would be secure would be if teen accounts are explicitly disconnected from receiving objects from other avatars, and could only get objects that are dispensed from estates.

@BW: Linden Lab blindly programming and not focusing on the human elements has been the main problem thus far. You can't just throw programmers at a problem and expect it magically fixed.

Welcome, Kim. I'm pleased Linden Lab selected someone with strong marketing experience to move forward the platform. Realize that the overwhelming majority of buzz about Second Life isn't about immersion, or escapism, or game-playing, it's universities and businesses and trade organizations talking about practical uses of virtual worlds. Treat Second Life as a game, and I think you'll find you will find an immense amount of rejection from the professional third party developer community, educators, and businesses. You've worked on AAA games - you know that Second Life doesn't compete to titles like Call of Duty or Guitar Hero when it comes to high quality work. Second Life as a game platform is a lost cause. Second Life as a social platform with smaller, social games is a proven and doable cause. But realize no one treats Facebook as a game - it's clearly something bigger. I hope your "X-Factor" isn't "it's a game" - you'll lead Second Life down a second hype cycle comparable with 2007 that will burst. Also, there is no central "Second Life community" - there is a whole set of communities. What everyone has in common is the desire to communicate and interact in an immersive, 3-D environment. Really nothing more. I don't care if Linden Lab calls people "Residents" and if Hamlet can't see beyond the game-playing. Linden Lab is BAD at knowing the value of their own product - always have been - and their repeated failure to avoid hype-and-bust cycles is proof. I have hope you'll do better. I think your plan on exploring Second Life is a good one. Most Linden Labbers don't do that enough. Philip famously said at the first SLCC "I don't have enough time to spend in-world". Please be sure to visit the educational and business related places. Sure, a virtual world is a fun place to hang out, but it can be a life-changing, powerful tool for things greater than mere socialization. Good luck! -Ron Blechner Virtual World developer since Jan 2006. SL since Jan 2004 - Hiro Pendragon