Category: News-Opinion

Linden Lab: statement on recent allegations

Posted on by Inara Pey
© and ® Linden Lab

In February 2024, an article was published on the social journalism website Medium¹, making various allegations against Linden Lab and some of its employees and contractors together with various users on the Second Life platform, as well as claims relating to some of the services provided to users of the platform.

At the time of the article’s publication, I contacted the Lab concern its claims and allegations, but other than referencing a broad statement being given to those contacting Support on the matter, and an off-the-record comment, there was no official response for the purposes of quoting. As such, I decided not to comment on the claims or the Lab’s response until such time there was any formal statement on the matter, rather than writing on the basis of pure speculation.

Such a statement was made on Wednesday, March 20th, 2024 (when I happened to be away from Second Life entirely, dealing with an exceptionally hectic personal life, hence the somewhat belated nature of this piece). It came from company owner and Executive chairman, Brad Oberwager, who is, as many know, extremely hands-on with Linden Lab and its products.

If you have not already done so, you can read the full statement from Mr. Oberwager here.

For my part, I’ll simply highlight the core part of the statement, coming as it does after numerous in-world and on-line demands that the Lab publicly respond to the piece published via Medium’s website:

I promise you that we are taking this very seriously. Very. Full stop. 
I promise we hear you. We know you’re angry and you’re confused. We are working to do our best to resolve your concerns and restore your trust in us. These are complicated issues and we want to do things right. We will make mistakes along the way. I wish I could say we will not, but we will. 
As owner of Linden Lab, I have initiated a thorough investigation, both internally and with external partners, to review whether or not there have been any violations of our company and community policies by employees, contractors, or community members. While early preliminary internal investigations suggest that some of the accusations are unfounded, I want to make sure that we get additional investigative support externally to ensure that the process is fair and thorough.
One of our top priorities has been to ensure the safety of our residents, moles, employees, and families. There are real people behind the avatars, and it has been important to confirm that nobody was in actual physical danger. 
Additionally, I am taking proactive steps to review and revamp many of our policies, including a comprehensive review of our Community Standards, Content Guidelines, and Ageplay Policy. Any violation detected will be met with swift enforcement actions to protect our community. We’ll be sharing these revised policies in the coming weeks and, critically, we are turning to the community to help us shape the future of how governance operates within Second Life. 

While there were almost immediate calls on on social media and in-world for the Lab to make known its response to the allegations made and provide “full transparency” (or even a basic “we are investigating”), they were perhaps premature.

Given the seriousness of some of the allegations made (including the potential for them to be defamatory towards the company and the individuals named), caution of approach in even the most preliminary investigation was bound to be required, together with legal circumspection on what the Lab might or could say. This is further compounded by the fact the Medium piece brings together numerous different claims and allegations, some of which are perhaps easier to verify (e.g. issues within the Marketplace), others of which are not (including obtaining some veracity concerning the author of the piece, particularly given its pseudonymous nature²). Ergo, any investigation, either preliminary or in-depth, would / will take weeks (even months) to complete.

Nor, frankly, should there be any expectation that – given a statement has now been made – that the results of any investigation will be publicly disclosed in full once completed. There may well be legal or other ramifications which preclude this from happening.

That said, I do welcome the statement by Mr. Oberwager; it actually speaks well of the company that as soon as they have been in a position to respond to user sentiment on the matter, they have done so, and through the voice of their owner .

Footnotes

  1. At the time of writing this piece, the article in question has been found in violation of Medium’s rules of publication, and is subject to further investigation, and thus suspended from being viewed.
  2. The Medium piece was published under the account name “dantesedmond1844”.This appears to be a intentional reference to Edmond Dantès, the protagonist in Alexander Dumas’ 1844 novel of revenge / vengeance, The Count of Monte Cristo. Which, given the overall nature of the article, to me would appear to be a very curiously coincidental choice of account name (or possibly a contextual choice).

Note: as this piece is related to an on-going investigation onto an article containing unproven (and potentially questionable) allegations against specific individuals, it is requested than any comments offered in response to this piece forgo naming or otherwise discussing those individuals.

Linden Lab departures: Mojo and Styfy Linden

Posted on by Inara Pey
Andrew Kertesz (l) and Steven Feuling (r) – formerly Mojo and Styfy Linden, both of whom departed Linden Lab earlier in 2024.

Update: March 10th, 2024: The management team list is back up on the corporate About page.

In 2021 and 2022, Linden Lab made two fairly high-profile – in terms of the company’s management team – hirings; both of whom recently departed the company within the same time frame.

To take them in order of joining the company, Andrew Kertesz, a 20-year veteran of the gaming industry, arrived at the Lab as the new VP of Engineering in July 2021 to replace Scott Lawrence (Oz Linden). In doing so, he took the name Mojo Linden.

It is not unreasonable to say his impact was immediate and positive. Openly engaging with user through the various user groups – notably the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) and Third Party Viewer Developer (TPVD) meetings, as well as popping up from time-to-time at Simulator User Groups.

Three of his major user-facing contributions to the platform comprised a push to overhaul and improve the viewer’s performance; encouraging the adoption of industry-recognised standards (the Khronos glTF 2.0 specification); and pausing the development of the Lab’s efforts to develop an initially limited (“chat centric”) mobile app, in order to determine if a more comprehensive mobile solution might be developed (what we now know as SL Mobile). He was also keen to eliminate much of the platform’s technical debt – such as moving the simulator code to 64-bit architecture and to try to leverage technical options that hadn’t actually been around when SL first opened its doors.

The other hiring was that of Steven Feuling, who joined the company in May 2022 as Linden Lab’s first ever Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), alongside of Peter Capraro, who became the company’s first  Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

Taking the name Styfy Linden, a major part of Mr. Fueling’s focus was, according to Business Insider, to help Second Life to start to expand its user-base once more. In this he worked closely with Brett Linden, the Lab’s VP of Marketing. He also saw his role not only in marketing and promoting Second Life within market sectors relevant to the platform (e.g. the content creation sector) to b ring new users in, but also in trying to both enhance the events-driven appeal of SL through partnerships with external organisations and through direct engagement with existing users to encourage their ongoing retention.

Styfy certainly wasn’t as much a “public” figure as Mojo in terms of user visibility – he did appear in a Lab Gab session for 2022’s SL20B celebrations (which I summarised here); however, his influence – alongside of that from Brett – would seem to have been key in the formulation of projects such as the Motown Experience and Welcome Hub.

While the Lab may have something of a bumpy reputation as an employer in some quarters, it is true that a lot of the staff there – particularly among the management team and who are directly responsible for the platform’s operation and services – tend to be with the company for years at a stretch. As such, I was particularly surprised to find Mojo Linden was no longer listed as part of the company’s management team, and nor was Styfy.

Linden Lab Management Team, as listed on the company’s About page in December 2023 (via the Wayback Machine)

Admittedly, it took a big of digging to find this out; some time between January 15th, 2024 and now, information on the Lab’s board and management team has been removed from the company’s About page (or at least, that’s been the case while I’ve been poking at things over the last couple of days; maybe there’s just been a bit of a SNAFU and said information will reappear).

Anyway, using the Wayback Machine, I was able to confirm that both Mr. Kertesz and Mr. Feuling were listed as a part of the management team on December 25th, 2023, but by January 15th, 2024 their names had been removed. On discovering this, I ran a check on their in-world Linden accounts, and both have been deactivated (as is the company’s policy when personnel depart).

If I’m honest, I had wondered as to Mojo’s whereabouts a couple of times of late; his absence from the CCUG meetings had become sufficient enough for me to notice (he was by no means at every meeting, but had a habit of dropping in perhaps once and month – or close to that). However, I just assumed he was focused on other projects, and its not as if his departure has caused the wheels he helped set in motion seize up.

Linden Lab Management Team, as listed on the company’s About page, January 15th, 2024 (via the Wayback Machine)

Obviously, people and roles do not always work out; the CMO role at the Lab was brand new to the company, and it is possible that given LL’s size, it became recognised as a square peg / round hole situation. Similarly, leading figures within organisations can be poached away / become tempted by opportunities they spot elsewhere. As such, the departure of two senior staff from the Lab in what appears to be fairly close order might be coincidence more than a sign of Something Going On, even if finding out did cause an eyebrow to do a Spock.

Certainly, I’m not going to speculate on the ins and outs because I don’t want to feed into any conspiracy theories that might be doing the rounds (in relation to this or anything else). It will be interesting to see  – if possible, assuming the management team info doesn’t reappear on the corporate website – if either post (particularly that of VP of Engineering) gains a new face (again, assuming there has not been any internal promotion to the position in the interim).

Instead, I’ll simply wish both gentlemen well in their respective futures, and also thank Mojo (should he ever read this!) for taking the time to engage with users and in responding to nagging enquiries from the likes of myself.

Second Life Combat User Group: February 22nd, 2024 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Credit: Rider Linden

The following notes were taken from the Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 Combat User Group meeting (also referred to as the Combat Committee User Group or CCUG, an abbreviation also used by the Content Creation User Group, and which I’ll not be using in these summaries to reduce the risk of confusion between the two). They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript.

Meeting Overview

  • The Combat User Group exists as a forum to discuss improvements to the Linden Lab Combat System or LLCS to better support combat in Second Life.
    • The core idea is to provide additional events and capabilities which sit on top of LLCS to provide combat creators with better tools with which to create better combat systems for their specific scenarios.
  • The meetings are the result of a proposal document on improving the native damage system in SL, written by Rider Linden, and which is the focus for both the meeting and any work arising from them.
  • These meetings are conducted (as a rule):
    • By Rider Linden, with the support of Kyle Linden.
    • On alternating Thursdays (rotating with the Content Creation User Group) at 13:00 SLT. Meeting dates are recorded in the Second Life Public Calendar.
    • Initially in text, although voice might be included in the future depending on feedback from those attending.
    • At this location.
  • Additional details are available via the SL wiki.

Work In Progress

  • Feedback from the previous meeting has been written-up in the form of Github / Canny items by Rider Linden. However, they are not open to public viewing, due to being part of the server repo.
  • However, general feedback on Combat 2.0 can be found in this Canny board. This is seen as the place to raise any issues or suggestions as we go on, as Rider can monitor it pretty.
  • Rider proposes setting up two combat-specific region on Aditi (the Beta grid), specifically for testing output from this work / project.
    • Names are TBC, but will likely be something along the lines of “Waterloo”.
    • These will hopefully be up and running in about a week.
  • In terms of initial work, Rider is looking to “knock off” the low-hanging fruit:
    • First will be llGetHealth.
    • Second will be damage transfer across regions (e.g. damage transfer is not going to 100% when you cross a region boundary).
  • The above will be followed by work on the on_damage() event, key to much of the rest of the work.
  • New documentation accompanying the events and capabilities will be posted the to LSL Wiki.

Comments and Requests

  • A request was made on whether combat capabilities could be made so unobtrusive, they could be “always on” unless specifically disabled through region / parcel setting.
    • This was seen as a non-starter on a grid-wide basis, due to the diversity of uses to which SL is put, and the need for combat to be opt-in, not opt out as a result.
    • In terms of Mainland, any such arrangement would be under the remit of the Product Operations group under Patch Linden.
  • A user proposal has also bee submitted to the Combat 2.0 section of Canny to address damage caused by physical collisions, for review.
  • It was suggested that there should be some permanent regions set up to demonstrate combat in SL, as these could be useful for demonstrating to new users what sort of experiences are out there, as well as showing off how the combat features can work.
    • An adjunct to this was a suggestion the the SL Combat Communit(y/ies) get(s) totgether and promotes activities via the Second Life Community Exhibition at the Welcome / Motown Experience gateway.
  • There was a general discussion about having the ability to parcel region vertically (e.g. by altitude). However, this is not a part of this project – or something the Lab has on its roadmap, as it raises a lot of complications.
  • More discussion on teleporting on death / respawning and allowing defined re-spawns by group or similar, along much the same lines as the previous meeting.
    • Rider indicated that he is not going to tie spawning (or combat capabilities) to the SL Experience system, BUT existing experience functionality can be used to extend them.

Lab announces Second Life transitioning from Jira for bug reporting, etc.

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

As I noted in my January 9th Simulator User Group notes, Linden Lab is in the process of moving Second Life away from using Atlassian’s Jira for bug reporting / tracking and filing feature requests, and on January 12th, this was confirmed in the first of a series of official blog posts on the transition.

The decision to move away from Jira is due to Atlassian changing their licensing model; traditionally, Linden Lab has been able to offer Jira on an unlimited basis to all SL users, leveraging the Atlassian Jira Server licence. That licence is being discontinued by Atlassian, making it fiscally impossible for Linden Lab to pay the licence fees associated with its many thousands of individual users who regularly access Jira. Therefore, a move to an alternate platform or platforms is required.

This being the case, going forward Jira will be replaced by what has been called a two-pronged approach to issue reporting and feature requests:

  • Github will form the new back-end for tracking and managing issues and requests (and is already being used for this purpose by LL), with all current Jira issues being migrated to it. In addition, technical users (such as TPV viewer developers, open-source contributors, etc.) who have accounts with Github, will be able to file ticket through it as well.
  • More generally, a new front-end feedback portal has been created for filing bug reports and feature requests by users at large.
Second Life Feedback Portal – current bug report form (l) and list of current bugs with search filters (top)

The latter is powered by Canny customer feedback software and tools. It was selected for a number of reasons, as the Lab note in their official blog post, not the least of which is the fact that Canny offers integration with Github, allowing requests and issues raised within it to be imported into the Github repositories (removing the need for cloning issues as is currently the case with Jira), combined with an improved set of triage tools. Other advantages with Canny are given as:

  • The ability to log-into the Canny tracking system via a user’s Second Life log-in credentials (as is the case with Jira now), thus maintaining its convenience of access / use.
  • Simpler forms for bug reports and feature requests, which may encourage more users to file issues / ideas.
  • Clearer navigation for non-technical users, making finding issues, etc., easier.
  • The use of multiple Boards to help categorise submissions and information.
Canny boards make navigation to specific subject areas – bug reports, feature requests, et. – easier
  • The ability to view a roadmap of activities and priorities.
  • Other advantages as noted by the Lab can be found in the official blog post.

The system has been undergoing testing, which has involved selected users, and feedback on it has been provided – although not all of it is particularly favourable. Some of the issued raised (such as the lack of file format options for attachments with only jpg, png, gif and webp supported) are understandable, particularly given these are unlikely to change in the near-future (if at all); others might simply be the result of a natural reluctance to enforced change. In this respect, the Lab is at pains to note that Canny is not a one-to-one replacement for Jira, and will require changes to established behaviours; how people adapt to this in practice is only something time will demonstrate.

Second Life Feedback Portal – current feature request form (l) and list of open requests with search filters (top)

The switch-over to Canny / Github will now be rapid (by SL standards). The new Jira licensing is due to come into force in March 2024, and so the Lab has published the following timeframe for the transition away from it:

  • December 2023: generate a full archive of Jira and maintain until shutdown.
  • December 2023 / January 2024: migrate Jira reports to Github repositories. Soft launch of Canny and accept tickets via both Canny and Jira.
  • February 2024: provide information on accessing the Jira archive;  shutdown Jira access and complete switch to Canny / Github.

Finally, as noted in the official blog post – these changes do not impact general Support / personal issues. These should still be reported to support.secondlife.com.

For my part, I have previously – with the Lab’s help – provided tutorials on filing both bug reports and feature requests. The not As the Canny front-end for filing either is considerably more straight-froward to use (and / or may be further enhanced based on user feedback), I will a) be disabling access to the Jira tutorials on this blog from mid-February; b) may provide a tutorial on using Canny, if this is found to be worthwhile.

Related Links

Second Life Mobile App enters “private” Alpha testing for Premium Plus users

Posted on by Inara Pey
SL Mobile, December 2023 – screen cap via Linden Lab

Update, December 13th: – the Lab now has an official blog post on the Alpha.

Linden Lab have announced – by way of a You Tube video (at the time of writing, I’ve not seen any official blog or forum post commentary  to accompany it) – the launch of a Second Life Mobile “Private Alpha” allowing Premium Plus subscribers to sign-up for the opportunity to take the app for a test drive and provide feedback to help with development.

Narrated by – I believe – user Boston Blaisdale, the short video (just over a minute in length) introduces the features and capabilities those accepted into the alpha will be able to try. These include:

  • See your avatar & edit appearance / change outfits.
  • Explore the world via the Destination Guide, mobile showcase, teleport, deep links, TP offers.
  • Interact with the world through a limited set of movements (walk, run, fly, sit, stand) and object interactions (touch, sit) – or park your avatar and explore via flycam.
  • Socialise and stay connected (nearby chat, group chat, IM, group notices, find contacts, inspect profiles).
  • Create and log in with a new account.

The app is currently available on the following platforms:

  •  iOS (minimum: iPhone X running iOS 16.6.1).
  • Android: mid-to-high-end Android device (comparable to Google Pixel 6 or higher) running Android OS 13 or higher.

Those participating on iOS will also require the TestFlight app for testing and feedback, whilst Android users will need to provide feedback through Google Play.

Premium Plus subscribers can find out more by following this Support Page link and (I believe) submitting a support ticket. There is also a link on this page to a FAQ  on the Mobile app. It is not clear if this testing is subject to any form of NDA.

SL Mobile, December 2023 – screen cap via Linden Lab

Commenting on more general availability for the app, Linden Lab state:

It’s still early days for our mobile app. Our mobile team has been hard at work building a mobile-centred design and foundational features so that we can all enjoy Second Life anywhere we want. We’re ready to share what we’ve built so far with our most dedicated residents and we ask for your help as we continue to develop this project through this early Alpha stage, but we do not have a date for the next phase of testing or full release at this time.

Using Premium Plus members for initial feedback is an interesting choice. On the one hand, it would appear to greatly limit the potential resource pool of people willing to work on the app and give objective feedback; on the other it does allow Linden Lab to manage the size of the pool of likely applications at this point in time. Whilst some might feel snubbed at the restrictive nature of this initial Alpha, it is probably worthwhile noting that the SL Mobile app has already had input from users and will continue to do so; so will hopefully include more broad-based Alpha and Beta testing using an expanded pool of users in 2024, as LL continue to develop the app.

In the meantime, here’s the video.

Seventeen years in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
 My SL island home, as rendered on the PBR Materials viewer

So it’s another year and another pair of birthdays, physical and virtual – although I admit as the time passes, I get more and more envious of my avatar’s youth; she remains eternally young, trim and fit. Me? While I admit to still being vain enough to work out and maintain something of a trim figure (home rowing machines and exercise mats are both a godsend and a means of home torture), I have to admit that each year I find the back complaining a little more, the feet and knees getting more resentful when I go for walks or spend 20 minutes on the rowing machine…

However, be that as it may, December 5th saw my avatar reach 17 years of age. I actually had to be reminded of this by Johann Neddings (who always sends rezday greetings, bless him!), as I’d totally missed the fact for myself. I guess that as with the physical world, the older you get the harder it is to mark the passing birthdays with any enthusiasm!

2023 has been an interesting year; events in the physical world have – and continue – to mean that my ability to spend time in-world has become choppy. This is somewhat reflected in the number and frequency of posts appearing in this blog decreasing through the year as I’m just not had time to even begin to keep on top of things in Second Life. Sadly, this is likely to continue through the first part of 2024, largely as a result of one set of contractors messing a project up so badly, another project had to be postponed and cannot now commence until the end of January / start of February 2024. However, on the positive side, the project to switch to solar for the bulk of the house’s electricity requirements did go ahead without fuss or bother (although very nearly derailed by the aforementioned mess-up), and in the last 2 months alone has seen a reliance on the national grid for electricity drop by some 40%.

Anyway, what time I have had in-world has largely been devoted to various personal projects and following the ongoing updates to the platform  – particularly that of PBR Materials and the Lab’s work to adopt the Khronos glTF 2.0 specification. With the first phase of the PBR Materials work now live across the grid (see: A simple introduction to PBR materials, reflection probes & glTF in Second Life), I’m looking forward to getting the home island updated with reflection probes. I’m also eagerly awaiting the availability of the PBR Materials terrain work Cosmic Linden is working on, to see what that allows.

Another view of the island home, with two copies of the No Cottage Bazar used to form the “pool house” (lower left) ad “main house” (behind it, upper left) overlooking the old “castle courtyard”, the two linked via a small walled inner courtyard and be dint of swapping out windows on the upper level of the “pool house” for a door

In terms of the home island, Second Norway remains my “home” estate, but time being what it has been, I’ve not had the ability to fiddle-fart around with trying out new island designs and kitbashing houses as frequently as I’ve been known to do in the past. There are certainly a lot of house designs I’ve encountered whilst wandering SL and reporting on public regions, but even if I’d had the time to start playing with ideas, I’m not sure I would; a good deal of available effort this year has been in putting together a home design based on what remains one of my favourite models to be offered with Second Life: Marcthur Goosson’s NO Cottage Bizar, which I first obtained in January and initially kitbashed into – of all things – a home swimming pool and lounge area (see The NO Cottage Bizar in Second Life).

Since then, that build has gone through a couple of iterations, but remains very much in use, becoming the nucleus for a scratch-build home design using renovated ruins as a theme before I finally opted to simply bring two copies of the model together to form a single extended home. Although me being me does mean the layout has had a couple of updates since I originally blogged about it (notably swapping the positions of the “house” and the “swimming pool” with one another).

Under full sail

Due to the lack of time, sailing & boating – a particular pastime I enjoy in SL – has also taken a back seat in 2023, whilst flying has been almost totally absent my SL. However, I would like to again thank Spartaco Zemenis and Analyse Dean for their individual generosity in supplying me with versions of the ’86 Domino cruiser and Skûtsje Barge respectively. I’ve enjoyed taken both out on the water (even if the ’86 Domino is by far the largest vessel I’ve operated in SL!) and equally enjoyed modding them to suit my needs.

The other thing I’ve continued to enjoy / appreciate is Second Life is the art exhibitions and installations I’ve been privileged to be invited to view. I haven’t always been able to make every invite  – and certainly not every exhibit or installation; but the fact that my opinion is actively sought and artists and gallery owners take the time to write to me either via the blog comments or directly after I have written a review, is both greatly appreciated and genuinely humbling. Thank you to all of you for this – it genuinely keeps me engaged in SL and wanting to see (and often learn about) more art and expressionism in SL.

And, of course, there are all the marvellous public builds across the grid I’ve been invited to visit. Again, apologies to those who have sent an invite I’ve been unable to follow-up on for one reason or another; as noted already, time has often and quite genuinely often been against me. However, the fact that folk do take the time to offer a personal invitation is deeply appreciated, and I do try to respond whenever I can by paying a visit, even if time later conspires to prevent me from offering a writing-up.

A final but by no means lesser thank you to everyone who does continue to read this blog, comment on articles and who suggest ideas for articles and / or pass on news and pointers; all of you genuinely make these pages what they are as much as I (only with fewer typos! – I’m still exceedingly lazy in checking my own pieces after a day of checking other people’s written work; my apologies again for that).

Each time my rezday rolls around, I tend to wonder about the portion of my life spent in Second Life, and whether it has been a meaningful, worthwhile effort, and whether or not I should continue to devote time to it. But the flipside to this is just where else is it possible to see such a rich and diverse gathering of creativity, companionship and artistic outreach and expression from the comfort of an armchair and in the company of your own cats (yes, both of mine will actually sit on my lap / on the desk and watch SL on the screen in fascination – and occasionally try to paw something so it will stop moving!)? As long as all of that remains available, it’s kind-of hard to imagine stopping altogether.

Besides, next year my avatar will be old enough to vote! 😀