Category: News

To market, to market…

Posted on by Inara Pey

The public beta of the Second Life Marketplace appears to be up and running. I had some concerns when the beta was confusingly announced. Are they valid? Here’s a brief tour and initial reactions. More will likely come when I’ve had a chance to digest more, unless others get there first.

  • It is SL website bland, with the theme introduced with the “new look” website out in force. It’s not actually bad – just bland
  • Pretty straightforward for the shopper:
    • The search bar is at the top of the page (once you have logged in), and is hard to miss (there is an “include mature content” check box beneath it, which I assume will need to be enabled on a log-in by log-in basis)
    • Shoppers can also take pot luck and click on the large “category” picture that updates periodically (so you can get a direct listing of clothing, furnishings, etc., according to the image displayed) – which I assume links to paid item listings, although I’ve not investigated this
    • Or there is the Featured Items listing that scrolls along beneath the larger “category” picture
  • A My Marketplace option at the top of the page provides access to an individuals account and – most importantly for creators, access to one’s “store” (what were “listings” in XSL).

As I sell through XSL, this store option was of primary interest for me. Clicking on it took me to a rather long-winded ToS page I that must be accepted before one can access one’s store the first time. Some terms here may well cause ripples among those taking the time to read them, such as clause 5.4, vis: License. When you submit Content, you remain the original copyright holder. However in doing so you also grant
Linden Lab a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, sublicensable right to exercise the copyright, publicity, and database rights  you have in the Content. These rights allow us to promote, sell, and distribute your Content. While this is intended to indicate that merchants are giving permission to linden Lab to actually host their goods in order to be sold, the License does imply a lot more than that, particularly given the inclusion of the words worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable right to…., which given the angst around things like the TPVP and new SL general ToS may well cause gnashing of teeth as people take it to mean LL are claiming the right to sell what they like where they like (when in fact I would humbly suggest that the wording is intended to cover them should they opt to hive-off the Marketplace to one or more third parties to run on their behalf at some point).

There are other niggles within the ToS, which is the usual one-sided affair one tends to otherwise expect. However, I’m not going to get bogged down in minutiae here.

Once past the ToS page, one is confronted by something of a blank page, with a menu bar towards the top (beneath the banner) and a series of additional links down the left side of the page that mimic the top menu bar headings and include sublinks to the categories within each menu heading. Between them, these comprise:

  • Inventory: add new items to your store; manage the items in your store, perform bulk uploads, manage something called “coupons” (coming soon!) and generate reports
  • Orders: cancel a sale, redeliver an item and view transaction history – all of which intermittently and inconsistently kept flashing a “Coming soon!” pop-up at me when the Mouse hovered over them
  • Reports: also appears to be “Coming soon!”
  • Store Set-up: with Manage Assistants (“Coming soon!” ), Edit Store Information, Vacation Mode (Coming…you guessed it…), and View My Store
  • Help Resources: with links to the Merchant’s wiki, etc.

Looking a little more closely at some of these:

Edit Store Information allows you to enter limited info about yourself and your store. The boxes are free text, so it’s up to you what you use them for (within ToS guidelines). There are also boxes for you to include a link to a website and to an in-world store SURL.

View My Store displays your listed goods in an XSL-style format (images, name, price), with some degree of configuration in terms of the number of items displayed on a page. & limited sort options. Bland to look at, but actually smarter than XSL’s View My Listings format. As with XSL, clicking on an item takes you to its sale page, which includes an OnRez-style Revise Your Item button at the top right.

Item for Sale page - Merchant's View

Manage Inventory takes you to a clean (i.e. no images), paginated list of your goods, giving the name, number available, price, and options to Preview, Unlist and Edit. From here, Preview takes you to a Preview of a listing, similar to the image above, while Edit, rather unsurprisingly takes you to an editing screen where you can amend items….

The Edit page itself is vastly cleaned-up and easier to use than the old XSL – but is not without niggles. It would be nice, for example, that if a store SURL is entered in the Store Information page, it is by default carried over to all listings associated with the merchant. After all, the majority of people, I would guess, will have a URL to their flagship store – and having to re-enter the SURL over and over again seems to make a mockery of including it in the Info page (which is likely to be little-read. Of course, there will be some who’d like to send people to their different stores in-world – but by including a default, LL would save the majority additional copy/paste work.

I’d also like to see any website URL from the Store Info page carried over to individual listings, particularly as we’re limited to 2,000 character descriptions, so it would be nice to point to a web page where more info can be given.

A nice touch with the edit screen and the item display page is the inclusion of a FEATURES list, which appears on the finished listing as a tabbed item. This allows you to list specific features of the product for easy reference. Just a shame it is limited to 5 features, which really isn’t enough in this time of feature-rich products.

There are niggles, however: permissions set in XSL don’t appear to be carried over  – all my listings came out as being set NO COPY, NO MOD, NO TRANSFER – so I had no option but to edit every single item and reset the permissions. Also, the price of feature listings are now recorded on a page of their own, rather than in the listing options themselves. This means one is has to inconveniently open up a separate page and check the prices rather than simply reviewing and selecting when creating a new listing.

I’m sure others will find more and have deeper views on the merchant side of things, but this is enough for now.

On the customer side of things, Search still seems as hit-and-miss as ever….but again, if my listings are anything to go by, people will have a lot of tweaking still to do, so sharper keyword usage may help.

The new shopping cart is liable to cause some angst. No more quick visits to XSL, find your item and click to purchase. Now you have to follow the “web standard” of dropping things into your cart and then going to the checkout…

The shopping cart

This arrangement does have its advantages – especially when buying multiple items – but how many of us do? Be prepared for grumbles. Certainly, having more flexible payment options is a good step forward – but those paying in “real” currency, beware the hidden charges!

Overall, it’s not a bed attempt. Again, I really cannot see why they couldn’t allow so text formatting in the shape of BB code or even HTML formatting  – or why animate gifs have been banned. Neither would do a lot to damage the new layout; indeed, one could argue they’d actually brighten what is otherwise a terribly flat, bland affair when browsing.

There is a lot still to be done, given this is only “Beta” – and I hope LL have learned their lesson with Viewer 2 and won’t suddenly start ramming SLM at all and sundry. Certain things do need fixing & explaining, such as the “find your fav stores inworld” link….which currently takes you to the SL sign-up page *Ahem*. There are also rather a lot of “coming soon” items – some of which I would have thought would be “here already”, given they are needed by merchants (transaction histories, as an example); but providing they come along before SLM is declared “fit for action”, they shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

ADDENDUM

Since starting this piece, I got sidetracked into fixing my own listings….as such I missed the emerging thread on the Beta, wherein several major issues I’d overlooked have been raised.

No more LagNmoor

Posted on by Inara Pey

Maxwell Graf is one of the most talented content creators in SL; not only that, he is a true gentleman. He is also someone I regard as a friend.

Maxwell Graf's amazing store

Anyone who has visited his sims, Rustica and LagNmoor, cannot fail to have been visually stunned by his creations: houses, furnishing, sculpties, – all have been crafted with an amazing eye for detail and a beautiful brush of style. His store at Rustica is simply a work of art.

So in some respects it is unsurprising that Max is the victim of content ripping; anyone making their way towards even moderate success is liable to be targeted – which really isn’t much of a recommendation for Second Life.

But in other respects, that anyone would try to nab Max’s work is surprising – simply because it is so utterly unique and instantly identifiable.

So it came as a bit of a shock to read this report from Max. It speaks pretty much for itself.

This is not the first time that someone has reported their content continuing to be sold after it has supposedly been taken down. However, as it seemed LL were getting their act together at the end of last year, one would have hoped that diligence would be maintained, and physical checks put in to monitor against the “return” of goods after an initial removal.

Max points to the recent layoffs as being potentially a reason for LL being unable to suitably police matters – but to be honest, this is Max being his usual generous self. Now, it could be that there has simply been a slip-up within LL, and items have been missed. However, their reply to Max’s further plea isn’t entirely helpful. All he can do is e-mail the Removals Team until they see fit to reply.

As a result, Max is shutting down his LagNmoor sim today.

Max lists the offending sims and those responsible in his blog. I urge anyone reading this piece to show support for Max and his creations and boycott these sims and any products sold by the individuals concerned.

I’d also urge anyone interested to take the time to visit LagNmoor before it is gone  – and wander through Rustica as well. Both sims are a visual feast.

See and hear Max on You Tube in a video tour of Rustica.

And the mill continues to churn…

Posted on by Inara Pey

Hamlet is covering breaking news – um-  rumours that Mark Kingdon is departing Linden Lab and Philip Rosedale is about to swing back into the limelight as the “new” CEO.

According to Hamlet, the rumours have come from “multiple sources”, although he declines to indicate whether said sources are within or linked-to Linden Lab itself. Hamlet links the rumours to his earlier speculation about the reasons behind Tom Hale’s departure and, by extension, the “failure” of Viewer 2, and Rosedale’s own somewhat contrite SL7B address.

The mill has been further fuelled by news on the official blogrum that Mark Kingdon was a no-show at the SL7B celebrations yesterday, where he was due to give and address. The reasons for his no-show were stated to be related to an emergency.

It’s hard to tell which way to turn on this. While I doubt that the emergency that kept Kingdon had anything to do with any forthcoming departure on the grounds that Rosedale himself and several other leading LL luminaries were on-hand at the stage where Kingdon was due to speak: had the no show been connected to a sudden departure or a decision to remove Kingdon, I would have thought that the “emergency” would have been sufficient to call them away as well or that someone would have been prepared to step into the breach and thus prevent speculation and upset.

However, Hamlet does have the background that allows him to sometimes tap into the beat of things within the bastions of Battery Street (albeit an ability that is in the decline following the recent layoffs), so outright dismissal of the “rumours” cannot at this time be given.

One thing is clear. If this is no more than speculation, then Linden Lab need to nip it in the bud. While some may cling to the adage “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” this kind of rumour could be damaging if not dealt with properly.

Watch this space, as the saying goes.

The very short “goodbyes” as the rumour-mills churn

Posted on by Inara Pey

The names of those “let go” following yesterday’s restructuring announcement are beginning to appear. Pastebin has one of the most comprehensive lists. Whether it in complete or not is another matter. Elsewhere there is much speculation that Cyn Linden and Babbage Linden have both gone – but this remains unconfirmed, while Prok Neva points to Blue Linden is among the casualties and also mentions Cyn.

Running an in-world search, it appears that the speculation surrounding Babbage and Cyn is misplaced. I’d actually have been very surprised if Cyn was on the list of the departed, given her very recent promotion. Similarly, given the mighty work that has been done around LSL and Mono, I would also have been surprised had Babbage gone – and would certainly looked at his departure as a negative portent.

Blue, sadly, has gone; and despite what some may say about him, I personally shall miss him. Despite a rocky start to our relationship, he and I went on to have many private conversations on a range of subjects that convinced me that, while the corporate need may have forced his hand at times (and indeed stifled a desire to provide greater support to users), he had a very genuine love for the platform and the people with whom he interacted.

I have to say that, while I wouldn’t wish redundancy on anyone (I’ve been through it twice myself and I know how devastating it can be), I find myself unable to feel much in the way of remorse at the loss of Pink Linden. Her attitude from day one was autocratic, and despite knowing little about SL or the SLX/XStreet SL environment, she was very quick to unbendingly follow the corporate line where a modicum of understanding might have been more welcome – and more appropriate.

If I’m honest, part of my opinion of her was shaped by the whole XSL Content Roadmap situation – particularly her determination to stifle any and all discussion on the subject at her Office Hours meetings, while at the same time using her real life blog to decry the fact that the owners of her apartment block had opted to cut down some fourteen trees around it without consulting the residents. Pot, meet kettle and please note its colour.

I also did wonder at her potential longevity at LL after a) Jack effectively took over matters of commerce; b) the Content Roadmap was shelved.

Beyond the names, the speculation and rumour mill continues apace with tidings of woe and doom for SL, and a general consensus that the platform is heading for a Farmville type future, or that it is about to become Flash-driven. Many are claiming that Viewer 2.0 and the new user experience have been complete failures and have thus precipitated the situation.

Me? I think it is still too early to judge. Let’s face it, the New User Experience hasn’t been around that long, and there are more than enough issues with Viewer 2 to possibly prevent LL pushing it into the spotlight in terms of widespread external advertising. Indeed, it is hard to see any signs of a concerted advertising campaign across the full breadth of the media that one would assume would be needed to raise SL’s real world profile.

As I’ve previously posted, Mark Kingdon and his colleagues are not stupid.  They may not get Second Life, but that doesn’t make them stupid. They are marketers, and they know the value of advertising. At the moment, Viewer 2 and the New Viewer Experience stand in a vacuum  – few, if any, outside of Second Life have ever heard of them. So is it really any wonder than since their “launch” new numbers haven’t dramatically increased?

Unless, of course, Viewer 2 has been put together in a Costneresque view of the world wherein if you build it, they will come. If this is the case, then I’ll gladly revise my view on the levels of stupidity potentially prevalent in a certain boardroom.

No, current figures on user throughput are simply too fresh to squarely point the finger at Viewer 2, etc., and lay blame. Q2 figures might start to revise this, but even then it might be a tad premature.

So… what has happened? As I said in yesterday’s post, leaving aside the hysteria around the “Web-ising” (or possibly not) of SL and the “Facebook joining”, layoffs and retrenchment of this scale (Singapore shut, Withdrawal from Germany (SL’s 2nd largest national market), closing down the Brighton, UK office) do all tend to point to a company scrambling to save money. And I think that Gwyn Llewelyn may have hit the nail on the head a little more squarely then the theories of Viewer 2 failures, identifying one factor of the equation everyone has been overlooking:

The SL Business Enterprise “solution” isn’t working.

SL Enterprise, and what is now SL Workspaces were launched a long time ahead of either Viewer 2 or the New User Experience (last October / November). Their roots go back a lot further than that, however, and have been the cause of much angst for many of us. Throughout 2009, Linden Lab was constantly being badgered by the likes of Justin Bovington of LL’s (former?) business partner Rivers Run Red to develop huge swathes of “business only” Mainland. For a time, even the likes of Amanda Linden displayed what amounted to a hostile attitude towards residents.

Everyone seemed to be far too enamoured with the 2006/2007 situation where big business suddenly “discovered” Second Life, with the likes of Nike, IBM, Toyota, NBC, etc., all rushing in to set-up shop here…before just as quickly vanishing again.

Many theories have been cooked up to explain “what went wrong” – both within and outside of LL – with many within LL thinking they’d potentially missed a golden opportunity, albeit one hovering just outside their reach that could be recaptured if they only get things right.

Among all the theories for the 06/07 “boom/bust” business cycle, I don’t think anyone considered the most basic and simple explanation: Second Life just isn’t really very good for real world businesses.

I’ve long been a critic of the “business is all” ethos that did pervade LL for a time. The idea that what amounts to a recreational pursuit could somehow become the nexus of corporate communications and technology development always struck me as simply ludicrous.

Yet it became a major mainstay of LL’s strategic development. But beyond a few “case studies” and the dozen-or-so companies using SLW just what – as Gwyn asks – has it actually achieved?

SLE remains in beta. While there has been some take-up of it (the US Navy, for example, appears to have pulled most of it in-world studies back behind their own firewalls where they use SLE), all news relating to it has dried up. There has been no move to move it out of beta; there have been no really big corporate fish hooked by the “promise” of SLE.

Even Justin Bovington has gone quiet.

So one cannot help but wonder if this might not be the reason behind the current situation. Was someone rash enough to pin LL’s future cashflow and turnover largely on the SLE / SLW tool and environment? Where the rose-tinted business glasses worn to the degree that projections were based around the $55K-a-pop sales of SLE and the ability for LL to pull in even more revenue via business “consulting”, rather than through resident tiers, and the chicken is now home to roost?

So what of the future? Does this all point towards LL going “solely” web?

It really is hard to judge – but I do remain of the opinion that those who are condemning SL’s future are speaking prematurely. While new user numbers have not skyrocketed – they haven’t actually fallen. As a recreational platform, SL remains viable and afloat. It is also going through a series of upgrades that point – if anything – not towards a flat browser experience, but rather towards a more immersive experience: we have Havoc 7 about to be finally rolled out; later in the year full mesh capabilities are arriving. While the latter brings with it a host of other issues, it bodes well overall for SL’s ability to remain competitive and engaging.

The virtual web?

Posted on by Inara Pey

This popped its head up today – and is now being reported on in the blogrum. And it sent some familiar alarm bells clanging.

The 30% staffing reductions aren’t surprising – worrying yes, but not surprising – given the recent high degree of staff “bleed” right across all levels of the organisation, as anyone who track these things will be only too aware.

The two core elements of the announcement that have everyone a-lather are cited together: First, the company aims to create a browser-based virtual world experience, eliminating the need to download software. Secondly, Linden Lab will look to extend the Second Life experience into popular social networks.

Both statements are indeed worrying on a first read. But are they indicative of anything that traumatic? I’m actually going to remain somewhat positive on both at this point – although with the caveat that this just could finally be the tip of the iceberg breaking the surface.

First off, the company aims to create a browser-based virtual word experience, eliminating the need to download software. Note the emphasis. This is not saying that Linden Lab are eliminating downloadable viewers (such as TPVs or the new Viewer 2). Rather, it is stating they are looking to develop the means to access Second Life through means that do not require people to download dedicated software in order to access the world if they themselves do not wish to.

This is  an important distinction; one I would respectfully suggest those already rending their garments would well to consider. Far from forcing everyone to move to some kind of browser-based means of accessing Second Life, this statement suggests that LL will be developing such a mode of access to work alongside the existing Viewer iterations.

Why do this? Simply because there are doubtless many people who are put off from using Second Life simply because it does require them to download, install and maintain a local client – and like it or not, there is a huge potential audience for Second Life out there who a) are not games players; and / or b) are dubious about downloading software who might very well leap at the opportunity to at least try this wonderful “new” medium if it can be accessed directly from their favourite web browser.

Of course, this does open the debate as to exactly what their in-world experience would be, whether they’d be able to create rich content through the browser (or browser applet?), etc., – but if it can be done, and achieve a further influx of users who can at least explore and potential invest in SL monetarily – that could be a very good thing.

And if the world can be made to function as it does now, but through a browser interface, is that such a bad thing? As long as we can readily access the tools we need to interact, to build, to play, to do business, etc., without having to mentally pretzel our thinking processes or risk carpel tunnel syndrome attempting to defeat an interface better suited to someone with four tentacles and three eyes – then surely moving the interface to the web might at some point benefit us all. (I readily and freely admit that this particular *if* is a whopper, so don’t beat me up about it, as I for one am actually not holding my breath on it.)

Further, browser-based access likely equally applies to mobile devices. Again, LL haven’t exactly hidden the desire to make SL accessible from such devices in some dank cupboard under the proverbial staircase to the basement. While SLIM may have gone (and the dressing-up of its departure the butt of deserved jokes) – the fact is there were and are better tools available from TPVs to access SL via mobile devices and indeed, there is something of a demand for such tools. Ergo, it makes perfect sense for LL to start looking to develop tools for themselves – or at least in cooperation with others (Judy Wade’s Hands-On, anyone?).

Of course, there could be some madcap desire to simply do away with the Viewer completely; but when one steps back an looks at things objectively, such a move wouldn’t make sense. Not yet. LL have made a massive investment in Viewer 2. I’m not saying they got it right – but it is an investment, and I cannot see them simply throwing it over the parapet. And if rich content is not on the cards (as in all the speculation that they wish to reduce SL to a simplistic web-based “world”) – why all the effort to finally get full mesh support up and running, etc?

So, while it is true this goal needs to be looked at cautiously, I really don’t think it is indicative that LL are planning something overly “nasty”.

Which brings me to Linden Lab will look to extend the Second Life experience into popular social networks. Again, why all the wailing? This is hardly new. Linking SL to social network environments has been on the card since last year. Am I in favour? No, not entirely; not at all if it means that SL is going to be steadily sanitised and watered down to the point where it is a pale. bland shadow of its former self.

But again, I don’t think that is what is meant here. Mark Kingdon is already on record as stating (several times each) that a) social network environments again offer a potentially massive audience for SL and the means to both increase user levels and user involvement in SL. He’s also made it clear that links with social networking sites will not automatically lead to the “outing” of human identities behind avatars; nor will it require the loss of anonymity for those who do not wish it. So again, while I may not like it, so long as it doesn’t infringe on the freedoms we all take for granted within SL – I really don’t see the point of getting worked up about it. And I’ve yet to see anything from the likes of Kingdon himself that suggests any of the nightmare scenarios of avatar outing, etc., are anything more than speculation.

This move will continue to be the subject of much debate for a while to come. And while I may well be proven wrong down the road, right now I don’t feel it is the Portent of Doom some are claiming. What, to me at least, is of greater interest is whether the two stated goals of the release (browser-based option for accessing SL and links with social networks) justify the degree of change  / cutbacks that are being implied within the announcement.

As I said earlier, staff cutbacks have been going on for the last two or three months with both notables and not-so-notables vanishing, seemingly without replacement. Whether the mentioned figure of 30% includes those already gone or not is unclear (and this announcement was coupled with the departure of several more “leading Lindens” – including none other than the former head of commerce, Pink Linden). BUT…”strategic restructures” and “staffing cutbacks”, however they are dressed up, tend to be indicative of one things no matter what business one is in: the need to save money. Fast.

If fiscal issues should lie (in part) behind staff cutbacks, the closure of the Singapore office, the apparent re-trenchment away from Europe at the moment; then one has to ask is it because LL are, like everyone else, feeling the economic pinch. Or is it because of something possibly deeper within the organisation that may be in part connected to why the senior management don’t always appear to understand their own customers.

So I do indeed wonder if there is more going on here than meets the eye – although not in the way others might be questioning things.

ADDNDUM

After writing this, the official word finally popped up in the LL blog for me….

1.23.5 – the long goodbye starts

Posted on by Inara Pey

I admit this one slipped past me (I blame my cold, etc., from earlier in the week…again…).

Hello everyone,

Today, the Second Life Viewer 1.23.5 Release Candidate was deprecated.  It is important to note that this deprecation impacts only the Release Candidate version of Viewer 1.23.5, and that we will continue to support the official Viewer 1.23.5 Release.  If you are still running the 1.23.5 release Candidate, you will see the ‘Viewer  Update Required’ splash on your login screen.  If you click ‘Login’ before the login screen fully loads, then you will be prompted to complete the required update during the login process.  Both of these paths will take you to the official Viewer 1.23.5 release.

During the development of Second Life Viewer 2, you may have noticed that we made a small change to the way early releases were handled.  Instead of calling the Viewer 2 early releases “Release Candidates,” as was done with the 1.xx Viewers, we began using the term “Beta” to more accurately  represent these early releases.  If you were among those who installed  and tested one or more Viewer 2Betas, then you might have noticed that we did not  release a Viewer 2 Release Candidate; Viewer 2 stayed in the Beta channel all the way up to the final release.  Now, in keeping with the Viewer Support policy stated in T’s March 9th, 2009 blog post, we’re now supporting the last two official Viewer releases (2.0.1 and 1.23.5) and the most recent Viewer 2.0.1 Beta.  Also in line with Linden Lab’s stated policy, we will be deprecating Viewer 1.22.11 on June 1.

We are always grateful for your help testing upcoming releases, whether they be Release Candidates or Betas.  Keep up the great work and we look forward to working with you on Viewer 2.1!

Kindest Regards,

Dessie  Linden

As posted on the technology blog. So this is now it…the beginning of the end for official support of 1.23.5.

Yes, I know that the missive says it is because “Release Candidate” is no longer the correct term…but don’t expect to see a 1.23.6 Beta slipping out of the LL gates any time soon. We have the shiny new toy – flaws and all – so the push has started to end support for 1.23.5 through official channels.

I’m actually pretty sanguine over this: I’m not really a fan of Viewer 2.0; few of the whizzy things in it raise more than a “meh,” in me: I’m no media guru, so media-on-a-prim doesn’t excite me overly much. Let’s face it, if I want to watch something on You Tube, I’ll, um, open my browser (and yes, I know that’s a gross over-simplification of Grandad’s new trousers, but it’s about as excited as I can personally get over it). The potential (and pointed-out security vulnerabilities around it also leave me somewhat cool towards it. Similarly, alpha masks don’t excite me greatly (they pretty much strike me as nice, in a missed opportunity kind of way). I certainly don’t like elements of the Viewer 2.0 interface, as I’ve previously noted. BUT…the flipside is, as I’ve also said, I really like KirstenLee Cinquetti’s S20 Viewer which genuinely shows what could be achieved with the new Viewer (and it is interesting to see than many of her innovations are pushing (directly or otherwise) Viewer 2.0 in something of the right direction. If 2.1 and beyond continue in the same manner, I could be persuaded to make the jump in the future.

But, for 1.23.5 lovers, we’re now at the stage where everyone is going to have to climb into the boats provided by third party developers if they wish to enjoy the same levels of functionality afforded to users of Viewer 2 and its derivatives /hybrids.

But even this isn’t without issues. Again, I really enjoy using Emerald, and have yet to see a single negative claim made against the Viewer in terms of data scraping, ToS violations and whatnot actually demonstrated to be fact. I mean, the code is out there to review yet, (and leaving aside the cry of “well the source you see may not be the code used to compile the .EXE you install”), I’ve yet to see a single claim made against Emerald supported by a slice of code, rather than the more common innuendo.

BUT…the Viewer aside, it cannot be denied that there is much that whiffs somewhat unpleasantly over at the Emerald Point sim (and other sims run by the more notorious “Emerald devs”) ad well as, it appears, within the Oynx project itself. While it cannot be denied that some posting in these SLU threads have themselves one or more axes to grind where Modular Systems are concerned, as other are far from being white hats themselves…the fact remains that as long as the more reputable members of the Emerald Viewer development team retain their association with Modular Systems, the more they run the risk of crippling their own credibility.

This is one reason why I’m genuinely pleased to see the likes of Imprudence return to supporting SL and continuing to develop a 1.23.5-based Viewer. They’ve incorporated many of the positive features contained in Emerald while avoiding the more intrusive tools (such as being able to see if someone on your Friend’s list is hiding their online status from you). There are one or two more features I’d like to see added – a wider choice of skins, the inclusion of MU and OOC indicators; a direct double-click tp function (a wonderful boon when hoping around a sim looking after things)…but the current release is very much a breath of fresh air compared to the increasingly vitriolic / smug name-calling that surrounds Emerald.

Personally, I’d like to see a few more 1.23.5-based TPVs out there. I doubt whether it will happen; those who matter seem to be determined to continue down the road of cutting their noses to spite their faces.

In the meantime, those of you currently using the official 1.23.5 might want to start savouring the time you have left with it. 1.22 is now gone, support-wise, alongside the 1.23.5 RC – doubtless someone at LL has a date firmly ringed whereupon the official 1.23.5 will be officially tossed aside to age gracelessly.