Category: News-Opinion

Waiting for the OTHER shoe to drop…

Posted on by Inara Pey

I’ve decided that the first requirement to work at Linden Research is to be able to waffle and obfuscate convincingly.

Katt seems to have gotten the role of “Resident Communications Manager” on the strength that she has this ability down pat; most of her posts are waffling inconsequentialities dressed up as something meaningful.

Jack Linden also seems to have the ability to wear the “emperor’s new clothes” equally well, as his latest post on OpenSpace sims ably demonstrates.

Aside from the 3rd paragraph (“For Openspaces that bill from the 1st to the 4th January, you will be charged as usual at the current level. From the 5th January onwards, Homesteads will bill at the new rate of $95 per month”) and another single line in paragraph 4 (“Please be advised that any conversion requests filed after 22nd December may not be completed ahead of January 5th”), this positing actually doesn’t contain anything remotely newsworthy or which hasn’t been previously stated.

Most tellingly, it still fails to mention what the undefined resource caps (beyond avatar limits) are liable to be – what’s more, it doesn’t even make a single mention of them and how they may affect “Homestead” usage.

Now granted, while there is a resource issue that is affecting SL as a whole, and it might be said that no firm announcement on the subject can be made until those directly involved in the decision-making (Babbage Linden, etc.), have come to a final decision – leave us not forget that the re-definition of OpenSpace sims, together with the price hike were originally dressed-up as being “necessary” to alleviate this resource issue and “restore” grid stability.

Ergo, Jack Linden’s post is an alleged “update” on the situation. As such, one would at least expect some mention of the resource issue and what it potentially means for those currently owning OpenSpace sims in order for them to better assess whether it is in fact worthwhile keeping said sims on beyond January 5th, or simply raising a ticket to get rid of them now.

We have just two weeks to go before the switchover – and a good proportion of those two weeks are taken up but seasonal holidays, leaving Jack and his cohorts precious little time to fulfil their promises of full disclosure of Homestead sim performance levels “well ahead” of January 5th. Certainly, there is little time for Linden Lab to “bring Residents into the dialog [about the OpenSpace switchover] earlier” as promised by Mark Kingdon over a month ago.

Mind you, Kingdon’s and Jack’s keenness to engage with users over the subject was demonstrated in the forums at the time the policy change was announced (one reply posted by Kingdon himself and three or so from Jack), and the fact that this latest blog posts is both closed to comments and has no corresponding discussion thread in the forums certainly speaks volumes about LL’s willingness to “bring Residents into the dialog”.

And even Jack’s utter failure to mention anything about potential caps on “Homesteads” suggests one of two things. Either a) the resource issue is now irrelevant as far as OpenSpace sim issues are concerned now that the tier hike has been determined; or b) he simply expects people to take Linden Lab on trust.

Unfortunately, trust is a commodity in short supply when it comes to user / LL relations, and one is left feeling that we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop in this matter….

Oh dear….

Posted on by Inara Pey

On Monday, Katt Linden issued the latest in what I refer to as KLiPPs (Katt Linden’s Pointless Posts). This one was about the much-vaunted “new” front end to the Second Life website that is being developed with Big Spaceship in order to “draw-in” potential new users.

However, rather than simply announce the fact that a demonstration version of the new site design is available for people to comment on, Katt made an announcement about the fact that some time next week, Linden Lab will be “testing” the new design, and that as such some of us might get to see it.

Thus, the tagged-on request for comments and feedback (coupled with a basic snapshot of the proposed layout), made at this point in time, is utterly pointless – how can one fairly judge what is (apparently) something of an interactive front end (Flash-driven) on the basis of a static snapshot or without actually seeing it in action for oneself?

One can’t.

So why not wait until the new site is ready for a proper look, and then make it available, together with a suitable announcement and request for comments on something that is tangible, rather than wasting our time with more hype?

Because let’s face it showing a static photo of what is supposedly a dynamic web front-end gives about as much idea of the appeal & actual usability of that front end as does sticking a penguin on a pair of rollerskates and using it as a demonstration of flying (it’s got wings, it moves – but it ain’t airbourne).

…Although in making the above comment, I do acknowledge the fact that I’m assuming the pictures within the new web front end are dynamic, rather than themselves being basic snapshots….

That said, there is one aspect of the new design that does deserve comment. That aspect is the use of Flash as the presentation medium. And the comment is, “Oh dear…”

Ostensibly, the idea behind the new design is to encourage potential new users into Second Life, and remove barriers to them getting in-world ASAP. This being the case, one cannot help but ask, “So what on Earth went wrong between coming up with this Big Idea and handing the assignment to Big Spaceship?”

Lets face it. Flash is not exactly the most popular browser plugin in the world. For a start, the fact that it is a plugin presupposes people have Flash installed on their computers (many don’t) or that they will be suddenly willing to install it in order to see the “exciting new medium” LL claims Second Life to be (they won’t).

And even where people do have it installed, coming across a website front-ended by Flash tends to provoke one of two reactions:

  1. Either people get hacked off waiting for everything to load and initiate and go off elsewhere before the “exciting stuff” begins, or
  2. People immediately hit the “Skip intro” link in the hope of getting to something more meaningful.

Thus, however you look at it – it is really hard to see how this new design is going to win over new users any more than the current (admittedly hideous) website – or even be seen, given point (2.) above…

Even Jamie Linden’s attempts to reassure people over the use of Flash stand as a damning indictment of the whole approach. “During the test,” he announces in the forum discussion on the subject, “for those that do not have Flash, we have a detection script which then serves those people a non-Flash homepage, similar to the homepage we have now.”

In other words Linden Lab is aware the Flash isn’t exactly highly regarded from a user perspective….

….so why even bother investing the time and effort into such a lame duck approach? Flash is not the sole media management technology that is out there. There are better ways of attracting new users without trying to be so – and pardon the unintentional pun – flashy; ways and technologies that are far less alienating than Flash. So why not cut to the quick and simply use those technologies instead, and avoid all the rigmrole of providing “alternative” sites and links and all the maintenance headaches that involves?

Could it be that at the end of the day the choice of Flash was not driven so much by the need for accessibility than it was by the fact that it appears to be the only medium Big Spaceship understands? If so, then a) Linden Lab has again managed to suck on alemon while trying for an orange, and b) the alternative meaning often applied when Big Spaceship’s initials are paired together may well be richly deserved….

tao-ing the line

Posted on by Inara Pey

On Monday, Linden Lab saw fit to publish an updated version of their Company Principles, which they opt to call (in a manner that sets many teeth grinding at the sheer hippiness of it) The Tao of Linden.

The new Tao differs quite a lot from the previous version – which has given a number of people cause to comment, both neutrally and somewhat more negatively, albeit in a wider context.

I’ve now read the Tao several times, and I have to say that it reveals more about Linden Lab than perhaps was intended – and not in a good way.

What is most striking is that of the five principles, only one actually addresses Linden Lab’s user base (“walk in our residents’ shoes”). Even then, one cannot help but look at this as a sinecure to pat SL users on the head rather than a genuine exhortation to the staff. After all, the policy to date with Linden Lab has been to increasingly distance themselves from their user base and systematically cut-off / control whatever voice their users have (restrictions of Linden Office hours, restrictions on what “residents” can discuss when meeting with Lindens, removal of blog comments; new rules relating to forum postings & the threat of account suspension, etc.).

As to the rest of the principles, it is a sad fact that they are suggestive of an increasiongly Orwellian leadership within the company. Of the remaining four principles, three (“work together”, “good people make good choices”, and “no politics”) could easily be interpreted (once the fluffy-feely text in the explanatory paragraphs is brushed aside) as saying, “the company is always right”.

Then there is the remaining principle, “be thoughtful and transparent”. Now this sounds great to the casual reader; a dose of something that is very much needed where Linden Lab is concerned: transparency. But then comes the follow-up explanation, which makes it totally clear that such “transparency” is restricted to dealings within the company – colleague to colleague – and has absolutely nothing to do with dealing with you or me – LL’s customers.

And this is perhaps the saddest fact behind LL’s new Tao. Where other service / customer-oriented companies at least try to address the needs and hopes of their customers when defining and publishing their core values, Linden Lab simply bins them, once and for all.

But then, another meaning for Tao is doctrine (in the sense of a dogma) – and the new management at Linden Research Inc., seems very focused on establishing a dogmatic* approach to the company’s activities.

—-
* “asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated” (dictonary.com); “said of an opinion: forcefully and arrogantly stated as if unquestionable” (Chambers English Dictionary); “firmly asserting personal opinions as true” (OED online).

Bloodlines: more than a nuisance

Posted on by Inara Pey

First, I’ll (like others) pre-empt this by saying I’m not against vampiric role-play in SL per se. It’s not my cup of tea – but then, there are probably a lot of vampire players out there who don’t find my D/s preferences to their liking. However, SL is a big place to rattle around in, so as long as we all acknowledge one another’s right to hold individual views and interests, and not impinge our own on those around us – then we can all enjoy this metaverse to our hearts’ content.

That said…there is one aspect of vampire “gaming” that has, over the last several months, increasingly climbed up my left nostril, where it has smelt increasingly bad. That aspect is Bloodlines.

Why?

Well, first and foremost because it is intrusive – thus breaking the second half of my “live and let live” statement above. I’m frankly sick to death (no pun intended) of Tp’ing somewhere and getting hit with 1, 2, 3 – sometimes even 4 – pop-ups from people wanting to “bite” me. OK. So it is easy enough to click these requests away by hitting IGNORE – but this doesn’t prevent the whole thing becoming an annoyance very quickly. And the whole thing is far, far more insidious than this.

But rather than rattle on about it myself, I’ll direct you over to Boy Lane’s blog, where she has given a very eloquent post on why we should all treat Bloodlines in a very circumspect manner.

Again, to make this clear – I’m not having a bash at vampire players in SL; nor am I hitting out at those who enter Bloodlines with a sincere desire to extend their roleplay enjoyment. What I am doing is – like Boy – highlighting the more insidious aspects of this particular “game” and the manner in which the organisers target the unwary for their own gain.

Certainly, given the sheer nuisance aspect of bite requests landing on people Tp’ing to a new location, rest assured that anyone spamming visitors to i-Squared stores and properties in this manner will be summarily ejected and banned.

Premium Accounts – why bother?

Posted on by Inara Pey

I wasn’t going to comment… Honest.

But the (relatively) recent blog posting by Tom Hale (another recent Linden joinee demonstrating an unhealthly Bond fetish streak by adopting the sobriquet “T” Linden) raised the question, after a long-winded piece of marketing ploy, “But what could make a premium subscription truly premium?”

On cue, a load of suggestions followed. Some seemed quite reasonable, almost all are well-intentioned.

And all miss the one essential rejoinder Hale’s question actually deserves, which is: “Why bother?”

Leave aside the classic piece of mis-direction inherent in Hale’s blog, which like Katt’s (un)memorable first posting, comes at a time when there is a real crisis within SL (back then it was overall product stability and LL’s unwillingness to provide even the most basic comminications with users; this time it is something more endemic: a systematic loss of trust from users to Linden Lab due to the latter’s recent actions vis-a-vis OpenSpace sims). Back in April, rather than deal proactively with the core concerns of users, Katt elected to put her efforts into….obfusticating what few clear lines of communication were left from users to Lab (the blog and forums).

Similarly, when trust in LL is at an all-time low, and when many are actively engaged in looking elsewhere to continue their virtual lives, Hale’s first act is not to address the loss of trust and faith, but rather to fiddle about with premium subscriptions – the very same thing his boss, the CEO of Linden Lab, dismissed as being “immaterial to [LL’s] business, at the start of the month.

So, if premium subscriptions are “immaterial” to LL’s business – that is, they neither generate quantifiable revenue or advance any of LL’s palns for SL – then it is fair to say LL are hardly likely to devote substantial time, resources and money to “improving” them. This being the case, Hale’s question is perhaps purely rhetorical.

Frankly the best thing that could be done is to disband premium subscriptions completely. They simply are not necessary, given Kingdon’s comment. Yes, it it true that they enable people to “purchase” land from Linden Lab & ostensibly get preferential support for their land holdings (if nothing else) – but this hardly justifies having them. The fact is land holders could still get the preferential support via Concierge, etc., without the need to hold a “premium” account.

And opening out land “purchases” to the entire community could be beneficial in revitalising SL’s ailing economy – particularly after the OpenSpace farago.

Some have suggested that rather than “upping” premium accounts, LL should consider restricting free accounts. While on the surface their ideas seem to have merit, they simply don’t stack up against the facts which (in an abbreviated form) are:

  • Premium subscriptions account for less than 17% of SL’s “resident” community – a figure that is dropping month-on-month
  • The vast majority of “free” account holders are as dedicated to their time in SL as any premium account holder
  • The majority of commerce within SL is driven by non-premium account holders through their “purchase” or “rental” of land, through their consumer buying of other content: skins, shapes, hair, clothes, shoes, attachments, houses, furniture, toys, gifts, equipment, pets, transportation, etc.

Thus, to apply crippling limitations on such accounts, such as 24-hour inventory sweeps, as River Ely suggests would be grossly unfair to the majority of free account holders who use their accounts fairly and wisely – to say nothing of the overwhelming damage it would do to SL’s user base.

Certainly it would do nothing to stem the tide of campers and bots in SL as River naively suggests. Such avatars have no need of inventory, and thus would be unaffected by routine inventory sweeps.

Again, if there was a compelling reason for maintaining premium accounts, such as the income generated helping to support LL’s investment in SL and the grid, then River’s ideas might have some merit – but as we’ve heard from Mark Kingdon himself, this is simply not the case. Premium subscriptions are immaterial to Linden Lab’s business focus and revenue generation.

So it remains that the best thing that could be done with premium susbscriptions is to simply abandon them. At a stroke this would end the artificial view of a “two tier” Second Life while, with the attendant revamp of policy around land “ownership”, could do much to inject new life (and money) into SL as a whole. It would also end the ridiculous tiering of user susport (itself only introduced last year in a lame attempt to “justify” the existence of “premium” accounts).

So Tom, “T” or however you wish to be addressed, if you’re reading this – give us all a break and be the first senior manager in Linden Lab to do something sensible in an awfully long time, and just get rid of them once and for all.

Script capping

Posted on by Inara Pey

During an Office Hours discussion, Babbage Linden laid out what appears to be the future for managing scripts in SL. From this and other discussions, it is evident that the issue has been causing concern within Linden Lab for some time now, and was likely to have been the kick-off point for the recent OpenSpace sim debacle – even if they opted to “leverage” that situation for different purposes…

In a nutshell, and bearing in mind I’m not a techie – the problem is that there is obviously finite memory available on each server that runs SL sims (4 sims per server in the case of “full” island sims; 16 in the case of the current OpenSpace sims). This means that each sim gets around 800Mb of memory in which to run residents’ scripts. Up until now, if there are more scripts on a sim than available memory, the sim has “swapped” memory with the other sims on the server in order to meet the needs of all the scripts it has running.

While this hasn’t been a “major” problem in the past, it has impacted performance (lag). However, because we are all natural script hogs (in the same way we are all prim hogs), the memory swapping situation is approaching epidemic proportions and seriously impacting overall grid performance. Thus, it is fairly evident something must be done.

Linden Lab’s preferred approach to solving this problem is to allocate memory space to sims in much the same way as prims are currently allocated: a finite amount of memory is “given” with the sim, and (like prims) this is divided across the sim in accordance with how the sim is parcelled. Therefore, if you own a sim and divide it into two parcels, each parcel gets roughly 50% of the memory space available to the sim. Divide the sim into 4 parcels, and each parcel gets roughly 1/4 of the memory allocation…and so on.

I say roughly, because at the same time, a “resource pool” on each sim is set aside for Avatars that will enable all the myraid of in-world attachments we all tend to carry around to work.

On the surface, both of these apporaches do actually seem reasonable, although it has to be said – as in the comments given by those quoted in the extracts published by Dari – that there are potentially better solutions. Further, this whole idea raises a plethora of questions, many of which LL have yet to answer – of which by far the most important is how will user awareness be handled?

Right now, we all expect that, no matter what we purchase, when we get it home, it will work. OK, so sometimes it may run a little slowly, but it will work. With the new limitations, this will no longer be the case…if you’re on a 1024 sq m parcel and your new left-hand widget wongler takes you over your resource allocation it won’t work until you sort out which items you currently have rezzed must be returned to your Inventory in order to “make room” for the widget wongler….

It gets worse. Prims are relatively easy to understand. They are finite units, irrespective of their relative size. Thus a prim is a prim whether it is 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 or 10 x10 10. Scripts (in terms of memory use are not. Some scripts run in a few Kb of memory space, other require the (current) maximum of 64Kb (thus gobbling more memory). Therefore, thus judging whether the next purchase will work at home or require other things get “put away” to “make room” for it is not simply a matter of counting the number of scripts it contains…

And what about those already exceeding the (currently unspecified) limits on resources? The day before the caps are implemented, they’ll see everything running fine. The day after, there is a good chance they’ll find things are not working at all, leading to a potential outcry as beloved household items suddenly have to returned to Inventory or swapped back and forth with other items, thus making a mockery of having a “home” (when was the last time you had to put the sofa into storage to make way for the television set in rl?).

Unless communications prior to the event are handled clearly and passed to ALL members of the SL community, there is a danger that those getting lambasted for perceived failures with objects will not be Linden Lab….but the creators of the objects themselves. This would be grossly unfair on content creators.

There are many other questions that need to be addressed on the issue – how will protected land work for example (particularly where it is protected to provide prim bonuses to other parcels – will the memory allocation be available to provide a similar “memory bonus”); how will malls work, if memory is not only tied to land size, but land ownership?

Then there is the potential impact of the “resource pool” for Avatars. Again, at the moment it makes no difference memory-wise as to how many agents (Avatars) are on a sim – the CPU will simply start memory-swapping to accommodate until the nominal Agent Limit is reached. Practically this does mean that where the limit is being approached, things get bad on the sim in terms of lag (and on the other 4 sims sharing the server for than matter).

While a resource pool may prevent the latter problem of the other 3 sims on a server being impacted, the fact that resources available to Avatars will be capped means that the numbers of Avatars able to enter popular venues in future could be seriously impacted: get a dozen Avatars on-sim blinged up to their eyeballs, all wearing (God-awful) “clickety” shoes and scripted hair with Chimeras attached to heads / shoulders / butts, as well as two or three other “heavy” attachments – and one can see a sim’s “pool” of Avatar resources quickly drying up, with the result that while others may be able to Tp into a sim, they’ll find that “nothing works” when they get there.

No-one can doubt that when we have finite resources available to all of us, then something must be done to ensure those resources are fairly managed and distributed – and that the reasons for such controls, how they will work and what it will mean to SL users is clearly communicated. Further, it is also necessary to ensure that reasonable tools / facilities are put in place to enable people to husband their available resources wisely.

But given LL’s inability to keep its left hand informed about what its right hand is doing, let alone actually communcate with its user base clearly, concisely and openly, can we really believe they’ll shoulder the responsibilities inherent in introducing such fundamental changes to SL wisely or constructively?

If things do go in this direction, then I, for one, will not be holding my breath.