Category: News-Opinion

How to lose merchants and alienate people

Posted on by Inara Pey

Linden Lab seem hell bent on making XStreet as merchant-unfriendly as possible.

First we had the Freebie and listing commission debacle. Yes, freebies can be a nuisance – but no more so that low-priced goods, and freebies all too frequently serve a constructive purpose. However, the issue here was not so much the road LL decided to take in order to “handle” freebies and “reduce clutter” on Xstreet, but in the fact that any attempts to discuss the matter was met with a flat-out “no” from the likes of Pink and Colossus Linden (both going so far as to warn people attending Commerce Office hours that attempts to raise the issue of listing fees, etc., could lead to people being ejected from said meetings…).

Then we started having issues around customer service – this is one among many complaints.

Most recently, we had the stunning situation where ripped content (animations) not only got to the number 1 sales ranking on XStreet – but LL allowed the goods to stay on sale for several days (including a weekend), despite protests.

None of the above are liable to inspire trust or confidence.

Now it seems as if one of the most useful tools at a merchant’s disposal has gone: the ability to send your own items as gifts.

Why was this useful? Simply because it presented a merchant with the ability to deal with customer issues quickly and easily when unable to get in-world to handle problems. Customer failed to receive an item purchased via an in-world vendor? Send it to them via XSL. Customer has problems with an item received? Send them a replacement via XSL….

And now the function is gone. What is more, it has gone without any warning or discussion.

Surely LL cannot be so desperate for income they begrudge merchants occasionally slipping an item out of XSL that avoids the commission it would otherwise have earned LL had it been purchased?

A jira has been started to get the function restored. Merchants and customers should vote for this. LL should consider it carefully and ensure the function is returned.

Either that, or face the fact that this move give us all yet another reason to simply drop XSL altogether in favour of Metaverse Exxhange, Apez, Slapt.Me and the rest.

LL, you ARE kidding, right?

Posted on by Inara Pey

William Linden posts today about Viewer 2.0 and the SLE product in what I can only assume is a piece intended as light relief. Our announcement last week of the Second Life Viewer 2 Beta marks a significant evolutionary step on many fronts he gushes in the opening sentence before going on to give us some real corkers.

Like many other technologies, the value of Second Life derived from within the organization increases with adoption, for many reasons: shared learning, reduced setup times, more productive time spent on the tasks at hand, resulting in more in-depth, creative and productive uses of the product.

No shit, Sherlock. One might also say that the value of a Nintendo Wii or an XBox 360 “increases with adoption, for many reasons: shared learn, reduced setup times…” and so on. However, that doesn’t mean either the Wii or the XBox 360 are going to be valid corporate tools. This goes for Second Life as well.

However, stating the bleedin’ obvious is still only the tip of the iceberg as William pulls up an impressive table of Things You Can Do With Second Life… document sharing! Whiteboard collaboration! *gasp* video sharing! Document collaboration! OMG!!: web conferencing!!!

Wow! Amazing! Brilliant! Fabulo….err, hang on a minute….aren’t these all things most self-respecting corporate entities can already do through that thing, oh what is it called? Oh, yes the, umm “corporate Intranet” via something called the “web browser”, as well as other tools they already have at their fingertips? And, umm… can’t they already do these these things without having to fork out $55K a pop to support up to 100 staff, all of whom will need to have their moderate business desktops replaced with pretty high-end graphics / gaming machines?

No….William must be pulling our collective leg. Kingdon et al at LL must be playing an early April fool on us.

I mean, it’s obvious they’re not serious, isn’t it? Just look at this from William: Further, because some of the most valuable media content is secure behind your firewall, SLE will be the go-to solution for easily sharing this secure data in private workspaces. This includes things like company Intranet pages, internal wikis, SharePoint pages, project planning output, and any number of common web-based workgroup mediums.

This really has to be a joke, doesn’t it?

I mean, no-one in their right mind would sit down and suggest to a corporate executive that they should encourage their staff to stop viewing the corporate Internet, internal wiki pages or SharePoint site directly on their desktop / laptop browser and should instead:

  • Log into to some upmarket game-like thing
  • Create something called a “prim”
  • Play around it to size it etc.
  • Then go to their web browser, pull up what they want to see and copy the URL before closing their browser
  • Then paste said URL into the properties of this “prim” thing
  • Then view the information they were seeking?

Surely William isn’t seriously suggesting companies throw out the means to let those engaged in meetings or collaborative efforts fart around in a game to shar what can be shared quickly and easily, desktop-to-desktop, meeting room to meeting room directly via a web browser…..?

No – it has to be one big joke, doesn’t it!

Doesn’t it……?

Sadly, no. And that’s where the comedy turns to tragedy.

SEARCHing for the right words…

Posted on by Inara Pey

From reading this about search, I can only assume LL have hired spinmeister Alastair Campbell to handle their PR.I’m really having trouble coming up with an adjective that expresses my reaction.

Talk about spin – I was doing about 2,000 rpm myself just reading it!

There are many things allegedly “wrong” with Viewer 2.0. If I’m brutally honest, many of them boil down to inertia – people don’t want to change. Well, tough on them. But…it has to be said, there are some glaring issues with Viewer 2.0 that really do need to be addressed. One of them is the Sidebar. Another is Search.

Let’s not fiddle fart here. Search has always ben an issue in Second Life – we all use it in different ways, and what is “good” or “popular” for one set of residents is going to be scorned by others. Ergo, getting a tool that can successfully mix the concepts of searching, filtering, calculating and displaying results in a manner that pleases everyone is going to be hard.

But that’s really no excuse for a) pumping out something that is almost entirely inappropriate for Second Life; and b) trying to pass it off as the proverbial best thing since sliced bread.

I’m very happy to announce that, as a core feature of the new Viewer 2 Beta, Second Life Search has been redesigned inside and out to make finding the people, places and content you’re looking for easier than ever before. Liana Linden gushes, before spelling out why the new engine is so wonderful, and then concluding. The bottom line is that the new Second Life Search benefits everyone within the Second Life economic ecosystem–most importantly business and Residents–as it plays a crucial role connecting inworld buyers and sellers.

Well great. Only one problem. Search isn’t necessarily “all about” the buying / selling of goods. And eve if it was, this new tool leaves much to be desired.Let’s look at just some of the issues:

  • You cannot filter searches in terms of overall category. No matter what you’re looking for, whether you use the navigation bar shortcut or the main Search window, you have to enter your search keyword / phrase and hit return first. Only when you have a set of results can you then filter down.
    • So you cannot, for example, select PEOPLE and then search on an avatar’s full name or a first / last name. You have to run a default search of ALL categories first.
    • So cannot search for a specific place, as PLACES will not be available until after your initial search has been run.
  • If you’re searching for an event, you’d best know where it is, rather than what it is, or you’re initially stuffed.
  • Searches that originally took 3 or 4 clicks of the mouse now seem to take forever – both in terms of mouse clicks and (all too often) having to mentally filter results as well as scroll endlessly
  • Land search is borked to the nth degree. Again, great if you know the name of a parcel / region, otherwise not so hot
  • The window does not retain information from previous searches. Close it, and the results and keyword(s) / phrase entered are gone – not great if you want to use Search as a reference aid, but need it out of the way for extended periods (yes, you can minimise and retain information – but that’s at the expense of screen space)
  • Too much space is wasted on irrelevant information, leading to the need to repeatedly click through pages of around 3 result each
  • Sorting is hit-and-miss
  • There is no convenience usage in the new interface. As I’ve previously noted, on of the beauties of the old Search was the ease with which you could view results: a nice two-pane window in which you’d get a list of results on the left, which you could then click on individual items, and display more information on them in the right pane. Simple, direct and easy. Now Search is frequently a matter of two PAINS:
    • A somewhat counter-intuitive interface window that wastes time and effort both in terms of usability and in the eay in which information is presented
    • The need to go to the Sidebar to get detailed information on a selected item appearing in Search – thus generating a further unwelcome intrusion into the sol-called “immersive experience” Second Life is allegedly supposed to be.

I could go on – but enough points are being made over at the discussion group. And as per usuall, seem to be getting little or nothing in the way of any response from Liana….or anyone else for that matter.

Issues with Serach are not new. It has been the subject of intense debate and upset for years. Yet with each iteration, it seems to get worse and worse when it comes to functionality, ease of use and relevance of results. Add to this the amount of negative feeback that was apparently received during the closed Alpha testing of Viewer 2.0 and the fact that  – by their own admission – most of Linden Lab’s own staff “hated” the new Viewer (but were, it seems, nevertheless forced to endure), I think I’ve come up with a new byline to replace the much-missed Your World, Your imagination. It’s this (with apologies to Paramount TV and the makers of “Frasier”): We’re not listening.

Mixed messages

Posted on by Inara Pey

The release of the Viewer 2.0 BETA (caps deliberate, as some in the official SL forums seem to be missing that part) has generated a lot of debate, discussion, teeth gnashing, cloth rending and….feedback from Linden Lab.

Most of the feedback from the Lab has been positive – they’ve recognised issues, admitted errors (e.g. the removal of a lot of the INSPECT tool functionality) and have promised to tweak and improve in several areas.

This is all excellent stuff – and what we need to see and hear. If Viewer 2.0 is the way of the future for both the Official Viewer and all future Third Party Viewers (given the codebase is now in Snowglobe), then the Lab needs to listen and take on constructive and genuine critiques and concerns.

That they are already deserves some recognition – although what comes out the other end in terms of a “polished” version 1.0.0.0 of the Viewer will be the proof of the pudding.

However, while the dev tem are busy responding and taking note, across the room we have Amanda Linden and her “Viewer 2.0 poll” – and once again we’re plunged back into “oh dear, oh dear, oh dear” land, and much shaking of heads.

This, um, “poll” asks one question: “Do you like Viewer 2.0” and gives only 4 options to reply:

  • “I love it!”
  • “I like most of it.”
  • “I’m indifferent.”
  • “I don’t like it.”

The marketing spin here is so intense, I got dizzy just looking at the screen.

Come ON, Amanda! If you really want to get solid user feedback, then at least produce a decent poll, one than offers granularity, that asks pertinent questions, that is, in a word, useful.

One like this, in fact.

Yes, the results you get may not stack up against the heavily biased item you put forward, or provide you with the flag-waving worthy of a PR release – but it would provide invaluable feedback to your developers, helping pinpoint clearly (and without all the angst and shouting in the forums) where there are issues with the Viewer.

I appreciate you’ve probably realised the poll is tilted – hence the rapid closure. However, just by putting it up in the first place sends out the message that you and the marketing team are more concerned with fluff rather than substance. Worse, you make yourselves the butt of considerable resident derision.

Redefining the message

Posted on by Inara Pey

Back at the turn of the year, Mark Kingdon posted a piece on his vision for the future – near and far. The piece received much discussion and critical feedback. As a result, Kingdon promised to hold a series of in world meetings with all who responded to his post through the discussion thread.

The first of those meetings has just been held – and to be honest, it is a real eye-opener.

Sadly, Linden Lab themselves, in what can only be described as a completely myopic view of the meeting – failed to even consider recording the event and making it available for wider consumption than the invited audience. This is because may of the issues raised have themselves been the subject of heated debate, angry forum postings and outright rumours over the last several months. This being the case – any opportunity to deal with them head-on should have been aggressively grabbed by Kingdon’s team, and every effort made to ensure what was said is communicated more widely to the community as a whole.

Fortunately, Angela Talamasca was not so short-sighted, and she recorded the event for playback – and it makes fascinating listening. Admittedly, the audio commentary isn’t always brilliant – but it is worth sticking with.

Much of what Kingdon says puts a lot of what has been going on recently into a more balanced perspective. Not only does it help allay some fears, it also clarifies a lot of thinking going on at Board / executive level within Linden Lab and gives one some encouragement that those in charge at the lab are not so divorced from the realities of Second Life as recent blog posts and activities may imply. Indeed, Kingdon goes so far to acknowledge that the choice of words and the phrasing of messages have both been poor. While this is not something that is going to go away overnight (indeed, his choice of words during the meeting was in places poorly considered, and gave rise to a lot of gnashing of teeth within the forum thread on the meeting). But, given the fact that this is not the first time LL have admitted their failure to communicate what they actually mean – that they are aware of the problem may hopefully see them take steps to improve the situation.

Of course, there will be those who continue to nay-say this (and future) meetings as little more than an exercise in PR. I’m certainly not swallowing all the reassurances lock, stock and barrel – at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. However, It is worth giving Kingdon a listening to free of any preconceptions; the results might be surprising.

It’ll be interesting to see how SL develops against the backdrop of these discussions, and I very much hope that the remaining meetings in this series are also recorded and published for posterity.

If nothing else, the last five minutes lays to rest the completely unfounded rumour (seemingly started by one resident – who has previously demonstrated a sizeable personal bias against Linden Lab) that Viewer 2.0 will not include the in world building tools: Kingdon is most emphatic in stating the tools will be in the viewer, and that user generated content is very key to Second Life.

Addendum

Sice posting this, it has emerged that Blue Linden tried to record the session, but had an eleventh hour software issue that prevented this from happening. In the interests of fairness, I’m only too happy to correct this point.

Shhhh….not in front of the kids

Posted on by Inara Pey

One of the most lucid Second Life bloggers around is Ciaran Laval. His posts are intelligent, insightful, and entirely devoid of the drama and rambling vitriol that so often undermines whatever point an author wishes to make. I’ve taken to dropping into his blog regularly throughout the week as he does ferret out things many of us miss.

An example of this is his commentary on a possible merging of the main and teen grids. Ciaran raises the question as a result of noticing some interesting trends around the “new” forums, as his post indicated. Without wishing to steal any of his thunder, I had noticed the thread he gives as “exhibit 3” – but unlike Ciaran, I’d failed to see it in a wider context. Kudos to Ciaran for putting things in perspective and raising the flag on matters.

While this apparent trend towards merger within the forums is indeed worrying, I have to admit the most surprising thing about Ciaran’s post are the replies given – people expressing surprise or smug “well, I’ve been predicting this”.

The fact of the matter is that the merger – despite commentary otherwise from LL – has been openly on the roadmap (to use a favourite LL buzzword) since the end of 08/ start of 09, when Philip Rosedale went on record in an interview vis:

Generally, I think that the future of Second Life needs to be one where people of all ages can use Second Life together, and that’s the direction that we’re taking in our planning and our work……if you look at the problems with having a teenaged area, which is itself so isolated from the rest of the World, they’re substantial. There’s an inability for educators to easily interact with people in there because we’ve made it an exclusively teen only area. Parents can’t join their kids in Second Life so problems like that are ones that we think are pretty fundamental and need to be fixed. We need to stop creating isolated areas that are age specific and, instead, look at how we can make the overall experience appropriately safe and controlled for everybody. So that’s the general direction that we’re taking there.

[My emphasis at the end]

This view was openly stated in an interview with Robert Bloomfield at Metamonics 09. At the time, it passed with barely a raised eyebrow within the community as a whole – those that did question Rosedale seemed to accept the brush-off that he was talking about something “off in the future”.

It matters not who has been predicting it or since when. No, if there is any surprise at all, it as that we’ve all – myself included – been far too complacent when it has come to the issue of mergers. Hopefully, Ciaran’s analysis and flags will help change this. Assuming LL will even listen.