Category: Web User Group

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the SL public calendar.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

• This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
• Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract.

Web Properties Updates

• General post-Uplift work is continuing, much of it internal to the Lab. This means that it is likely to still be a while before new features and capabilities (including the Marketplace) start to be worked on again, although issues will continue to be addressed.
• Name Changes: the next refresh of Last Name options will likely be in June 2021, around the time of the Second Life birthday. This should also see the list of last names put into alphabetical order.
• As noted in my UG meeting summaries in week 8, the Land Store was re-enabled after encountering post-AWS transition issues. Further problems were encountered over the last weekend of February 2021, but is believed these have now been fully resolved.
• A new link has been added to the secondlife.com home age + related pages. T-shirts and Gifts will take people directly to the Lab’s physical world merchandise store hosted by Red Bubble.

• There have been non-user visible updates to the back-end of the communities services pages, and the World API has been updated to correct an issue with information being fed to the viewer splash screen.

Marketplace

• A lot of work has been put into the Marketplace back-end systems.
• This work includes:
  • Correcting the delivery delay issues that were being encountered.
  • Fixing a 404 error appearing on some pages.
  • Fixing a error with store managers being unable to open the correct management page.
  • Correcting the need for Support to clear Unavailable Item errors.
  • Updates to the French language pages.
  • Fixing an issue with new users being unable to log-in to the MP.
• MP updates used to be published to the forums, but it has been suggested making them available more as release notes might be beneficial. This will be looked into.
• BUG-230262 “Marketplace Website Bug/Error” causes people to be randomly logged-out of various web properties (notably the Marketplace). It is not clear if this is related to single sign-on confusion or a problem that is more generic or browser-specific.
• It has been suggested that reviews on MP purchases be subject to a timed delay (e.g. you cannot leave a review for, say 24 or 48 hours following an MP purchase), to allow the purchaser time to contact the creator in the event of problems / confusion, etc., and act as a deterrent against bad reviews airing from simply misunderstandings, etc. The Lab have requested this be made as a formal feature request so that it can be properly reviewed / considered.

Single Sign-On

• Single sign-on is now in place across many of the Lab’s web properties.
• This means users with multiple accounts cannot have different accounts signed-on to these pages at the same time.
• See Single Sign On, Coming Soon for more.
• This should not be confused with Two-Factor Authentication (2 FA), which is still in development / discussion and no deployment date is currently available.

Premium Plus

• Roll-out of Premium Plus was delayed in 2020 for a number of reasons, including the AWS migration work and the impact on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
• The feature is currently being re-evaluated, including whether it should be rolled-out as originally planned.
• In addition, further work may be required as a result of the migration work.
• In short:
  • Work on the feature will be resumed in due course.
  • There is no identified date for when this might be, or when roll-out may commence.

Mobile Client

• iOS Version:
  • Issues resulting from the last round of Apple Store testing (apparently related to how chat / communications are handled) have been addressed.
  • These fixes are currently subject to internal testing at the Lab. Providing this is successful, the app will be passed back to Apple for further testing at their end.
  • It is hoped the latter will occur towards the end of March 2021.
• Android:
  • Development is still behind that of iOS.
  • However, the Lab now has devices to allow internal testing of the Android flavour of the app, although it will still be a while before anything becomes visible for users to test.

In Brief

• User-created grid-wide experiences are still on the cards, but again, the capability is not being worked on at present, and there is no available time frame on when work will resume nor any indication of potential deployment.

Next Meeting

• Wednesday, April 7th, 14:00 SLT.

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the SL public calendar.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

• This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
• Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract.

Web Properties Updates

• Core work remains clean-up post the transition to services to AWS.
  • Most of the issues arising from the Uplift project for the various web properties (e.g. Marketplace, Destination Guide, etc), appear to have been resolved, although the destination Guide still has a couple of issues to be fully resolved.
• Once this has been completed, work will resume on sorting through the web “to do”list (which includes incoming bug reports and feature requests in readiness to start working through items.
• There have been some additional non-user visible updates to some web properties.
• As of the end of December 2020, there were three software toolsets LL use in relation Second life (none of them user-facing) awaiting a transition to AWS, as of the start of February, one of these has yet to be transitioned.

Single Sign-On

• Linden Lab is starting to roll-out single sign-on for web properties (not to be confused with two-factor authentication, which is still being planned, but is not ready for deployment).
• This will mean that users with multiple accounts will only be able to sign-in to different properties on a per account basis.
• There will be a formal LL blog post to explain this further in due course.

Mobile Client

• Linden Lab is dealing with some bugs, so no significant news arising from the past month.

Last Names

• The Lab is hoping to have a new batch of Last Names available for around Valentine’s Day, which will include Valentine’s-themed last names.
• There is some talk of also providing “normal” last names (for some definition of “normal”, given the likes of  “Aphelion”, “Birdwhistle”, “Dankworth”, “Izzard” and “Posey”, among many others are all considered “normal” where I come from!).
• For new batches of Last Names, LL tend to select from the list of suggestions that came about from the 2019 Last Names competition, then add a mix of names they’ve selected.
• It is also hoped that Last Name updates will happen more “regularly” in the future.

In Brief

• There has been intermittent delays in getting items delivered from the Marketplace ( which can last up to several minutes) over the last week(ish). The issue has been hard for LL to reproduce, although they have been aware of it and had tried to make adjustments.
• BUG-229713 “Marketplace listing status updates are not being updated between the web and the viewer” and BUG-230107 “Marketplace Listings window in the viewer does not update” have been confirmed by LL as an issue, and the issue is to be investigated.
• Profile feed: there had been a series of issues of late (images failing to upload, posts failing to appear, etc.), but as of February 2nd, these should have been resolved. Anyone still experiencing problems should contact support / raise a bug report.
• LL are continuing to consider how to improve the new user experience, and have been seeking feedback on what established users see as the “main” problem new users face. In addition, it was notes that in order to better understand new user problems when on-boarding, the Lab:
  • Has regular internal workshops where staff go through various aspects of being a new users (e.g.building an entire mesh-based avatar from scratch) to better understand the complexities lies, and where particular pain point might be.
  • Has staff spend time within new user environments (the learning / social islands, etc.)..
  • Has some of the user-led mentor groups to assist with the on-boarding process through the social and learning islands.

Next Meeting

• Wednesday, March 3rd, 14:00 SLT.

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, November 4th, 2020. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the Web User Group wiki page.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

• This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
• Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract.

Web Properties Updates

• The SL Marketplace is again being transitioned back to AWS services, having been rolled back the the Lab’s co-lo after the initial migration. This work has been causing some hiccups in Marketplace service delivery.
• For those will using the old style Linden Homes, the web-based control panel pages for these (controlling decoration, door locks, window blinds,, etc.), have now been transitioned to AWS.
• The Destination Guide pages (world.secondlife.com) have been transitioned to AWS.
• Tools and web pages related to the support teams have been migrated to AWS.
• It is possible that by the next WUG meeting, all Uplift work related to the Lab’s web properties will have been completed.
• Once the migration work has been completed the web teams will start reviewing their backlog of work and prioritising items for actioning.

Mobile Client

• The iOS version of the mobile client is now with the Lab’s QA team who are testing the changes made following the initial rejection by Apple.
• Once QA are satisfied, the app will be re-submitted to Apple for acceptance into their app store.
• The Android version remains under development, but still “some way” behind the iOS version.

Please also refer to my periodic SL Mobile updates, which are made as and when there are significant updates in the status of the client.)

As an aside, for those who point to the likes of Lumiya and its capabilities and ask why the LL client isn’t offering the same right from launch, it’s worth remembering that Lumiya took several years to develop its capabilities  iteratively – it wasn’t launched with all of its features fully-fledged.  This is the route the Lab is trying to take with their mobile client.

Marketplace

• Some have noticed that they are no longer receiving e-ail notifications when they have a sale on the Marketplace. The Marketplace team are aware of this issue and are investigating.
  • Those who do encounter the issue are asked to contact support and let them know, and the details will be passed to the MP team.
  • Re-verifying your e-mail address is also suggested, just in case.

In Brief

• LL is liable to release a new batch of last names for Premium Name Changes during the winter months. this will likely see the removal of some of the lesser-used last names that are currently in the list, as happened with the first set of updates, as well as the “limited offer” SL birthday related last names.
• There are currently 11 themes for the “new” Linden Homes that are either available or in planning, with a possibly farm-ish teaser  (note the hay bales) of the theme that will follow the Stilt Homes.
• Premium Plus remains under discussion internally at the Lab, but no information on possible deployment dates or fees, etc., are available at this time.

Next Meeting

• Wednesday, December 2nd, 14:00 SLT.

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, October 7th, 2020. These meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of the month, with dates and venue details available via the Web User Group wiki page.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

• This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
• Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract.

Web Properties Updates

The primary focus remains on uplift work, and while there have been updates to some of the user-facing web properties and image updates for web pages to reflect the season, and some new pages for events such as the September Titmouse event (see: Second Life to have a smashing time with Titmouse) there was not much to report.

There should be more news on web updates available at the next WUG meeting in November.

General Uplift Notes

See also my recent TPV Developer meeting and CCUG meeting notes.

In general, the Lab’s aim is to have all uplift work completed by the year-end.

• This is getting all services and properties running via cloud services without additional work on making improvements (unless it makes specific sense to make changes as a part of the uplift process, as we saw with region crossings recently).
• Improvements will follow-on from the initial uplift work as the Lab gains greater familiarity with running services in the cloud.
• Similarly, there are no plans to offer new land products or alter the capabilities of the existing region types on completion of the uplift (although it has been indicated elsewhere these may come over time in the future).
• There will obviously be a resumption in region availability once the uplift work has been completed.
• The end-of-year target is a fairly “hard” target, with the caveat that the unexpected can happen to delay things – although that doesn’t appear to have happened thus far.

Mobile Client

iOS

• The iOS version of the mobile client was submitted to Apple for review – and was rejected. LL is currently working to address the issues as a part of Apple’s review.
• Once this has been done, the app will again go through LL’s QA process and then be re-submitted to Apple for evaluation / App Store listing,
• The version currently remains available to those on the closed Alpha only.
• Interestingly, the Lab’s data suggests to them that the number of users with iOS is slightly greater than those with Android, although it’s not clear had this data is derived.

Android

• The android version is still being developed, but remains “some way” behind the iOS version.
• Currently it is not ready for any user-based testing.

General Points of Note

Please also refer to my periodic SL Mobile updates, which are made as and when there are significant updates in the status of the client.)

• It is initially intended to be a communications app, aimed at allowing those who are away from their their usual means of access Second Life to communicate with friends via IM.
• This means that the initial release will not have capabilities such as world rendering, support for making sales / purchases through it, etc.
• However, the client will be enhanced over time.
  • Group and group chat functionally were specifically mentioned, so might be the first set of enhancements.
  • Inventory management was also mentioned, as is apparently being considered, but is described as having its own “own bucket or twelve of worms”, so no decision on if / when it may appear has as yet been made.

As an aside, for those who point to the likes of Lumiya and its capabilities and ask why the LL client isn’t offering the same right from launch, it’s worth remembering that Lumiya took several years to develop its capabilities  iteratively – it wasn’t launched with all of its features fully-fledged.  This is the route the Lab is trying to take with their mobile client.

Marketplace

Demos

• In general, demo version of items on the Marketplace should be linked to the full version.
• There are reports that since making demo items filterable in search, there has been an increase in unlinked demo items
• It’s not clear if this is because people are trying to avoid the filter, or that incoming new merchants simply don’t understand they can link demos to full versions, or even if it is a functional limitation of the filter to pick-up all demo items.
• The Lab will take a look at this, and ideas on how to improve the information given on creating listing are requested via feature request.

Suggestions

A number of suggestions for the MP were put forward at the meeting:

• Add a feature similar to see on the old XStreetSL marketplace: a request for purchasers of items to provide a review.
• Provide a means by which creators can enable a report their last log-in date on their stores / listings. The idea here is to increase the confidence of purchasers that they will receive after-sales support, etc., should it be required.
• An option for a “Show Only # Star Reviews” (where # is the number of stars) and / or to show a summary of star reviews by #of stars (as with Amazon product listings).
• LL have requested these all be submitted as feature requests.

Last Names

• Last Names are still seeing a good response from Premium users.
• LL might opt to offer a new selection of names to reflect the time of year – but again, this would be dependent upon the current volume of uplift work.
• Currently, the Lab has around 10,277 names that could potentially be used over time.

Next Meeting

• Wednesday, November 4th, 14:00 SLT.

The following notes are taken from my recording of the Web User Group (WUG) meeting, held on Wednesday, August 5th, 2020. These meetings are held monthly, generally on the first Wednesdays of the month, with dates and details of the meetings available via the Web User Group wiki page.

When reading these notes, please keep in mind:

• This is not intended as a chronological transcript of the meeting. Items are drawn together by topic, although they may have been discussed at different points in the meeting.
• Similarly, and if included, any audio extracts appearing in these summaries are presented by topic heading, rather than any chronological order in which they may have been raised during the meeting (e.g. if “topic X” is mentioned early in a meeting and then again half-way through a meeting, any audio comments related to that topic that might be included in these reports will be concatenated into a single audio extract).

Web Properties Updates

The primary focus for the web teams remains the transitioning of services from the Lab’s own servers to AWS servers as a part of the Uplift project. However, other work is continuing as an when possible, and in the last month this has meant:

• The new Second Life logo (see: Out with the green, in with the blue) continues to be rolled out across the various services – in this case, notably the Cashier pages – as the team get to them. This is a relatively low priority item so it will still be a while before the logo is consistent across all properties.
• UTF-8 will now be accepted in response to security questions.
• Additional back-end work on Name Changes was implemented, mainly tools used by the Lab but also some changes that may allow for some possible future features related to the capability.
• The secondlife.com log-in page images received a refresh.
• Fixes:
  • Marketplace: received a fix for images not showing correctly.
  • Events: fixes for images not showing with posted events; for multiple pages of hosted events not working and for the language picker drop-down not working on exiting events pages.
  • Place Pages received a number of fixes.
  • Land Auctions received a fix for beta lifetime users being unable to bid on auctions.
  • A back-end issue with Premium acquisition was fixed.
  • Viewer download page: now includes a link for Mac OS X Catalina (and later) users experiencing problems installing the Mac flavour of the viewer, and that takes them to the Troubleshooting Second Life Installation on Mac OS X page.

Mobile Client

• The iOS version has been in a closed alpha for 2+ months. These is now a build destined to go to Apple’s App Store.
• Work continues on the Android version, but is currently some way behind the iOS work.
• See for more.

Post-Uplift Work

Note: the following is a general list of work LL are looking at, post-Uplift to the cloud, however, it is still subject to change, and none of it should be taken as a firm commitment for carrying out the work or any indication of the order in which it might be carried out:

• Marketplace: variances for listings (e.g. one listing for an item offering it in different colours).
• Events: bug fixes, category  and search refinements.
• Names Changes: further tweaks.
• Web properties in general: better optimisation for display on mobile properties.
• Further work still to be added to the list.

Marketing Brief

• Following the presence of Gen Con in Second Life (see: Coming to Second Life: Gen Con “the best four days in gaming”, Gen Con: sneaking a peek in Second Life and Gen Con in Second Life: let the games begin!), LL have had a debriefing with the VRazeTheBar team, and the hope is it will pave the way for further displaced conferences to be held within Second Life.
• There are potential opportunities in the offing for a further media presence for Second Life which may be akin to the CSI:NY episode Down the Rabbit Hole (2007), or SL’s appearance in the US version of The Office. Details still TBA.
• There is also an upcoming partnership with the Peale Museum in Baltimore, so the latter can bring their exhibits and events in-world with a reproduction of the museum building (itself a National Historic Landmark in the United States) and special virtual open house as part as the museum’s August 15rh Founder’s Day event.
• These styles of events are seen as a way to broaden awareness of Scone Life and its potential.

Premium Plus

• Still on hold.
• May be revisited at some point.
• May also be revised before being released.

Next Meeting

Wednesday, September 2nd, 14:00 SLT.