Tag: Lab Gab

March 2025 Community Round Table summary with video

Posted on by Inara Pey
March 2025 Community Round Table (l to r): Kyle Linden, Roxie Linden, Patch Linden, Grumpity Linden, Philip (Rosedale) Linden, Sntax Linden and Signal Linden
On Friday, March 14th, 2025, Linden Lab held a Community Round Table event entitled Enhancing Project Zero and the 2025 Roadmap. Attending the event and providing both updates and answering questions (most submitted in advance of the event) were:

  • Philip Rosedale, Linden Lab’s Chief Technology Officer.
  • Grumpity Linden, Senior Vice President, Product and Engineering.
  • Patch Linden, Senior Vice President, Product Operations.
  • Signal Linden, Engineering Director, Second Life Server & Viewer.
  • Sntax Linden, product lead, Project Zero.
  • Roxie Linden, leader developer, Project Zero and WebRTC.
  • Kylie Linden, Product Manager, Second Life Viewer
 Table of Contents

The event was livestreamed, and that video is embedded below. However, this article is not intended to be a full transcript, but a summary of comments / responses. In addition:

  • Notes are not necessarily in chronological order; where it has appeared logical to do so, I have attempted to group comments under common headings.
  • So that the context of questions and answers might be fully understood, links are provided to the specific point in the video where they are made and the question can be heard.

Event Introduction – Philip Rosedale

[Video: 5:20-5:58]

So, what we’re going to do today, as Grumpity said, is we’re going to present a rough roadmap for the software development work we’re doing in 2025 … and after we give that overview, we’re going to respond to both pre-submitted and live questions and discuss it. And, of course, we’re going to change that which we’re about to say based on what we’re going to hear. We will continue to have roadmap session like this on at least a quarterly basis, so you can expect a second one in the second quarter. 

– Philip Rosedale, March 14th, 2025

Project Zero Updates and Discussion

Firestorm Zero

[Video: 6:00-10:05]

  • Firestorm Zero (FS0) is the name given to a collaboration between Linden Lab and the Firestorm team to provision the current release version of Firestorm (7.1.11) as a part of – but separate to – the Project Zero viewer-in-you-browser project.
  • Firestorm Zero is specifically aimed towards existing SL users (and those who have used SL in the past), particularly those on lower specification hardware, allowing them to have richer, ore graphically intense experience without the need for a costly CPU / GPU combination.
  • There is a nominal fee for this – L$250 for a 5-hour pass to access the service.
  • The number of available passes is limited – but the service should scale to meet the demand of passes purchased, with (hopefully) no waiting time beyond the initial log-in and streaming load times.
  • Issues with with service can be reported via the Firestorm Zero category in the Feedback Portal.
  • Related blog posts:

Project Zero Discussion

[Video: 10:06-14:22 + as noted in the bullet points]

Project Approach and Hopes
  • Making Second Life accessible through people’s web browser is a major initiative at Linden Lab.
    • It is recognised that there are many more people wanting to use SL (and see it at its fullest potential) than have the kind of high-end gaming PC set-up required to see SL at its best.
    • There is also the growth of portable devices – tablets etc., by which people prefer to access the web, and which may be seen as a preferable alternative for day-to-day use when updating from lower-specification PCs (unless there is a specific gaming interest, obviously).
  • As already noted, Project Zero now has a two-prolonged approach Zero itself, providing the Second Life Viewer (SLV), which is aimed toward incoming new users (who have an initial 4 hours on the service) and Firestorm Zero, providing streaming access to SL to existing users.
  • As a part of the work for Project Zero is being used to experiment with a number of new ideas around the UI and UI elements  [using, I believe, HTML and React] to help make SL more accessible to new users, whilst keeping the existing UI available.
    • [Video 59:04-1:00:48] The idea here is to offer new users the ability to interact with the viewer UI in new, easier ways, without limiting existing users / forcing them down the same path, as it is recognised that changing the UI and forcing users to re-learn how to use it can be as damaging as making new users learn a complex UI.
    • One such new way is that new users coming into SL via Project Zero current have [a to be expanded] Go menu, recommending around a dozen places for them to possibly visit as the browser is loading – and LL are able to monitor how well this is responded to.
  • [Video: 58:00-58:36] LL have already seen the willingness of new users to complete the sign-up workflow and then access SL through Project Zero is “many times higher” than those signing-up and then being directed to download and install the viewer – which had been expected as Project Zero was being developed.
  • Given the above, expect to see project Zero iterate and grow.
  • Overall, Zero – both the SLV and Firestorm – is aimed towards getting “more and more people” to access SL through their browser, and hopefully expanded the platform’s reach in acquiring new users.
    • Obviously, those already using high-end computers / gaming rigs at home will still be able to run SL locally and obtain all the performance benefits Zero offers to those on lower-specification machines.
  • [Video: 35:45-36:07] Currently there are options in Project Zero / Firestorm Zero which are not available (e.g. uploading textures, etc., saving snapshots to your local disk), hopefully some of these capabilities will become available within the streaming versions of the viewer as the projects are enhanced.
  • [Video: 36:21-37:32] Sntax Linden:
    • Project Zero remains in progress, and can be regarded as a separate project wo Firestorm Zero.
    • Project Zero remains free-to-use, but with limited slots to existing users and sessions limited to 1 hour.
    • The UI work is still in progress.
  • [Video: 38:06-39:09] Can Project Zero / Firestorm Zero be used on mobile devices / tablets? – Roxie Linden:
    • Yes, both will stream to mobile devices, however, given the small screen form, accessing the UI on things like smartphones is not user-friendly.
    • Both will stream to tablets [I’ve accessed Project Zero via an Android Tablet utilising a keyboard and mouse], however, there are some keyboard input issues which may limit this.
    • If there is interest in pursuing such access (allowing for SL Mobile), then then could be looked into.
  • [Video: 39:27-40:46] Requirements for streaming the viewer to a browser – Roxie Linden:
    • A connection suitable for streaming Netflix, Zoom, Google Meet, etc. (e.g. around 3Mbps down).
    • Any system with at least a dual-core CPU and 2Gb RAM, and with the likes of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge installed.
    • Should even work using tethering to a smartphone [data costs allowing!].
  • [Video: 40:50-41:20] Voice support – Roxie Linden:
    • Vivox Voice is supported.
    • There are known issues with using WebRTC Voice, and these are being addressed, and should be fixed ahead of any switch-over to WebRTC.
    • Voice quality and interactions should be the same quality as on a desktop viewer.
  • [Video: 48:33-49:42] Streaming SL (both Project Zero and Firestorm Zero) is currently running out of the West Coast of the United States. However, plans are in-hand to start using other Amazon end-points, most likely staring with Éire (the Republic of Ireland).
  • [Video: 1:17:59-1:18:31] It should be possible to provide support for game controller through Project Zero / Firestorm Zero; support for the likes of the 3D Space Navigator will have to be investigated.
Cost and Fees
  • Currently, use of the official viewer through Project Zero remains free, but is focused on incoming new users over supporting existing users.
  • As I noted in Project Zero Update: Firestorm in your browser as well] Streaming the viewer from Amazon services is currently costing Linden Lab around US $1.75 per user per hour, which is still well above the L$250 for 5 hours initially being charged for Firestorm Zero.
  • This means that the Lab is running both aspects of the streaming service at a loss, and this may come to affect pricing down the road.
  • However, there is confidence that the costs involved in streaming in general can be reduced in a number of ways such that streaming can be an affordable option for those users who wish to use it in preference to their own hardware in order to gain that better experience.
    • [Video 34:45-35:26] One of the reasons streaming SL is so expensive (to LL) right now is because it is being provisioned through Amazon’s high-end GameLift service. Philip noted that other service are available, and this will help reduce pricing.
Data and Content Security

[Video: 1:12:45-1:14:59]

  • Neither Firestorm Zero nor Project Zero place user or other data on the browser which might be accessed by third parties. Both are streamed services, just like Netflix, et al, which means they are essentially a video stream with no useful data to be scraped.
  • The connection between the browser and the server supplying the viewer data is also somewhat more secure that connecting view a desktop viewer, as the connection is more akin to a VPN (e.g. the IP address associated with the viewer instance will be that of a server in Amazon’s cloud).
  • Using the viewer through a browser in this way also means that it is not possible to copybot  / rip content through the streaming viewers, as no object data is actually being downloaded and stored locally, as is the case with the desktop viewer.

SL Mobile

Notes:

  • The Mobile User Group meeting is generally held on last Thursday of every month at 12:00 noon SLT (Voice and text) at Campwich Forest.
  • I provide meeting summaries in this blog.

[Video: 15:19-17:49]

  • The interest in SL Mobile from existing users has been high. However, thee has been an organic increase in interest with SL Mobile from new users.
  • The interest from new users has been something of a surprise, as SL Mobile hasn’t been developed with new users primarily in mind – those who have followed the project know that it has been developed along the lines of being more of a companion app for existing users / returning users to use alongside the viewer as a means to access SL when away from the latter.
  • The focus remains on trying to provide existing users with as much access to Second Life as possible through the Mobile app, but at the same time, there has been a swing towards helping new news to engage with SL through the app as well [hence why the early addition of the new user workflow in January 2025?].
  • Bug fixing and feature building are being processed as quickly as possible.
  • Mention of the current (at the time of writing) Mobile Millions challenges and log-in Streaks rewards.

Server and Viewer Updates

Notes:

  • Simulator User Group meetings are generally held very Tuesday at 12:00 noon SLT (text only), and at this location. I offer summaries of these meetings (together with videos by Pantera Północy).
  • Viewer development is discussed at the Third Party Developer (TPVD) meetings  (Voice + text), the Open Source Developer meetings (text only) and at the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) meetings (Voice and text).
    • I provide summaries of the TPVD meetings and CCUG meetings together with videos by Pantera Północy.
    • Dates and times for meetings are available through the SL calendar.
    • Note that the Open Source Developer meeting and the TPVD meeting might be merging, and the venue / time / frequency of one or both change as a result.

General Discussion

[Video: 17:59-22:05]

  • The Lab is attempting to move both simulator and viewer updates to a monthly release cadence.
    • For the simulator code, this includes moving a release through the Release Candidate channels are required, through the a release on the Main channel.
    • For the viewer this includes taking each release through the familiar iterative release candidate process prior to promoting it as the de facto release viewer. However, this will generally be on a per viewer release, rather than having multiple release candidates in flight as has been the case in the past.
  • The idea is to have each release focused on a usability improvement and and “major initiative” [feature, etc.].
  • Currently the three core areas of usability issues are seen as being:
    • Avatar loading (without issues of items failing to load, meshes flapping around in the air prior to being correctly rigged, etc.).
    • The viewer start-up and world loading time overall.
    • Smoother regions crossings (particularly in vehicles).
  • Additionally, releases will also be focused on addressing issues, etc., raised through the Feedback Portal and which receive user upvoting.
    • Part of this work will involve more regular updates to the Roadmap section of the Feedback Portal.

WebRTC

Note: officially announced in March 2024, WebRTC (RTC=”real-time communication”), is the replacement for the Vivox Voice component of Second Life.

[Video: 22:19-24:42]

  • Work has been stalled in completing the roll-out for two reasons:
    • Getting a critical mass of users onto versions of the viewer supporting WebRTC functionality [essentially getting users to run a PBR-enabled version of the viewer].
    • As the lead developer on the project, Roxie Linden has been heavily involved in the Project Zero work over that last couple of months, and so has not been able to focus on WebRTC.
  • [Stats from Linden Lab and published by Firestorm, indications are that overall, given that Firestorm has the largest percentage of Second Life viewer users, that critical mass of users on WebRTC supporting viewers is fast being reached.]
Breakdown of Firestorm users by viewer version. note the 70%+ now on WebRTC-supporting versions. Credit: Linden Lab / Firestorm viewer
  • As it is, multiple regions on the Main grid (Agni) are supporting WebRTC, and support tickets can be filed by region holders wishing to have WebRTC enabled on their regions.
  • WebRTC should provide a much higher fidelity Voice service  compared to Vivox [and will end the viewer’s reliance of a third-party “black box” plug-in to run Voice].
  • As it is directly supplied by the Lab, WebRTC will also allow rapid iteration of voice-related capabilities, such as:
    • Voice captioning – see what people are saying in Voice as closed captions a-la you tube.
    • Improved translation capabilities.
    • New voice changing / morphing options.
    • Better voice moderation / control at the parcel level.
  • There is no set time frame for switching solely to WebRTC support on the back-end. However, in the March 14th, 2025 TPVD meeting, Signal Linden indicated LL hope to get to it sooner rather than later.

Viewer Updates

[Video: 26:05-27:08]

  • Recap on the promotion of the ForeverFPS viewer, with its focus on performance improvements to de facto release status, with the following noted:
    • Water Exclusion Surfaces which allow Linden Water to be “hidden”. At the time of writing, WES can only be enabled via scripted means (and support legacy invisiprim scripts insofar as “hiding” Linden Water is concerned), but but new UI elements are coming to the viewer to allow them to be created from there. See my summary on WES functionality.
A very(, very) basic example of a Water Exclusion Surface hiding Linden Water
    • Improvements to managing VRAM use in the viewer (e.g. be fixing the maximum resolution of the in-world view).
  • [Video 29:19-31:50] Signal Linden:
    • The faster release cadence is seen as important in ensuring Second life receives regular updates and to support code contributions from the open source community, rather than having them languishing for months or years. It does not mean that LL will no longer be taking on large projects, but rather will be developing them more responsively.
      • One example of this is the re-focusing of efforts within the glTF project to provide a means to upload glTF mesh model using the existing mesh upload floater in the viewer in order to counter Blender announcing the deprecation of COLLDA mesh support.  – see my summary of the Thursday, March 6th, 2025 CCUG meeting for more.
    • To further support contributions from the opensource community, there is a proposal for revamping the open source programme to make it more streamlined, accessible and responsive.
  • [Video: 53:50-56:31] Further performance improvements – Signal Linden:
    • The (at the time of writing) current viewer release – ForeverFPS – has numerous performance improvements.
    • The next release [viewer 2025.03, still in development] will have further performance improvements within it .
    • There is also an internal (to LL) version of the viewer for native support of Apple Silicon which significantly improves viewer performance on that chipset. This viewer is likely to go to Project Viewer status, but will have limited functionality initially, due to the need to rebuild many of the third-party libraries used to build the viewer, together with issues around the viewer being able to recognise navmesh.

SLua – SL Lua Scripting

[Video: 27:15-29:09]

Promoting Second Life to Creators as a Revenue Earning Platform

[Video: 1:06:30-1:09:05]

  • SL is one of the most capable platforms for revenue generation among content creators, offering much lower costs to creator in terms of fees etc., when compared to other platforms such a Fortnite and Roblox. will it be promoted as such?
  • Yes. Marketing efforts have restarted, and one aspect of this is on the subject of content creation and revenue earning.
  • In December 2024, VenturBeat published Linden Lab has spent $1.3B building Second Life and paid $1.1B to creators (which I summarised here), in which it was noted creators have a greater chance of earning more through SL than Roblox, despite the latter’s much larger user base.
  • Linden Lab is also attending the 2025 Game Developer Conference (March 17th-21st, 2025) in San Francisco to promote Second Life and the ability for content creators to earn money through the platform.

In Brief

  • [Video 4:08-5:19] The meeting was attended by those protesting the use of AI in Second Life, both in terms of AI generated / modified advert (e.g. for products listed on the MP), art, and LL’s introduction of the AI character generations project.
    • There is a document outlining objections to AI on the Feedback Portal.
    • Philip Rosedale indicated he will look to hold an open forum / debate on the use of artificial intelligence within Second Life, at which the pros and cons – and user concerns – can be discussed. He urged those with concerns to formulate their thoughts – including constructive recommendations on how AI should be handled within SL – and attend that event, when announced.
    • [42:22-44:24] Philip additionally noted that there are a range of aspects to the use of AI within second Life – such as the use of AI toolset in support of SL, such as with re-time translation – which are beneficial; but there are broader issues to address (through the proposed “AI Town Hall”) on the use of AI in-world. He also acknowledged there a multiple questions around AI that need to be address more broadly.
  • [Video: 24:56-25:40] Second Life Community Discord Server will be opened to all users, most likely during the week commencing Monday, March 17th, 2025. User will be able to use Discord Connect to link their SL accounts to the server and access all of the available channels.
  • [Video: 44:48-46:44] After the contraction of the Support and Trust & Safety teams late in 2024, these are again being expanded, with new hires coming-in. As this happens, support hours should again be increased to provide weekend support.
  • [Video: 51:23-53:30] Multi-factor authentication (MFA):
    • A reminder that MFA has been implemented across all of LL’s web services (Dashboard, Marketplace, Project Zero or Firestorm Zero web pages) for those opting-in to the capability.
    • Encouragement was given to make use of MFA as an added layer of account protection for all those currently not using it.
  • [Video: 53:53-54:35] What happens to a Second Life Business if it is cleared of DMCA wrongdoing?
    • Once the legal team has completed investigations and made a determination they there is no infringement, then the business and the associated account is “cleared”, with the case closed.
  • [Video: 1:09:10-1:10:54] Chat and Message Persistence Between Viewer and App:
    • Messages received on SL mobile are not carried over to the viewer (and vice versa), which can limit usage of the Mobile app in favour of the viewer providing a single place for message receipt and recall.
    • LL are working on better Chat persistence across the various platforms, which should allow for this to happen in a number of ways (Push notification, IMs, chat history).
    • One reason for this taking time to implement is due consideration of security, encryption, and protection of chat and messages in the cloud.
  • [Video: 1:11:24-1:12:14] Linden Homes:
    • The next Linden Home theme – “Alpine” – will be for Premium subscribers and will feature options “never seen before”.
    • A reminder that a selection of 512 sq m Linden Home styles are now available to Plus subscribers (see here for more on this).

User Group Meetings

There are numerous User Group meetings held in-world each month by Linden Lab, which focus on a range of subjects – simulator development, viewer development, Marketplace and web services, land, content creation, skill gaming, etc. The meeting are open to anyone to attend, with some held in text, some in Voice and some a mix of both. Questions on the topics they cover are welcome, and further details can be found as follows:

Linden Lab announces March 2025 Community Round Table

Posted on by Inara Pey
Adapted from Linden Lab

Updated, March 12th: The venue for the Round Table has changed, and the venue details below have been updated to reflect this.

After a recent pause in holding them, Linden Lab has announced the date and subjects for the their next in-world Community Round Table meeting.

From the official blog post:

Project Zero is a significant step towards making Second Life accessible directly through web browsers. Following your feedback, we’ve made substantial progress in enhancing the platform’s performance and usability. During the upcoming Community Roundtable, Philip Rosedale will share some news about these developments and the project roadmap. The Product and Engineering teams will also talk about the overall Roadmap and strategic vision for Second Life in 2025. 

Question from user are invited on the subject, and those wishing to submit a question in advance can still do so via this anonymous form. As usual, I will endeavour to provide a written summary† of the event as soon as I’ve collated notes and quotes following the event.

via Linden Lab

†While they are not officially representative of the Lab or these meetings, please note that I attempt to provide summaries of meeting such as this, and for a number of user group session within these pages.

Philip Rosedale Community Round Table, Nov 2024, with videos + Audio

Posted on by Inara Pey
Philip Liden (Rosedale) at the Community Round Table, November 1st, 2024
On Friday, November 1st, 2024, Linden Lab held a Community Round Table event featuring Philip Rosedale, the co-founder of Second Life, and new-appointed Chief Technology Officer and returning member of the board of Linden Lab.

The session comprises two parts:

  • A  main session addressing questions submitted in advance and questions from the audience.
  • An additional session with Philip Rosedale, but which was not part of the official recording.

The main session lasted just over an hour, the official video for which is embedded below. However, this is not intended to be a full transcript, but a summary of comments / responses. In addition:

  • Notes are not necessarily in chronological order; where it has appeared logical to do so, I have attempted to group comments under common headings.
  • So that the context of questions and answers might be fully understood, links are provided to the specific point in the video where they are made and the question can be heard.
  • Audio extracts have been edited to remove pauses, incomplete or self-corrected comments/ sentences, and/or repetition, and that care has been taken to ensure said edits do not alter the overall context and meaning expressed.
 Table of Contents

Further, as the session continued after the official video had ceased recording. I have also included Pantera Północy’s video, which is set to start at the point at which the official video ends. However, given the informal nature of the discussion, I have not includes any form of transcript for this section.

Who Is Philip Rosedale?

Just for those who may not be fully familiar with Philip Rosedale’s name / past.

  • Came to prominence in 1995 as the creator of FreeVue, an Internet video conferencing product, and acquired by RealNetworks, with Rosedale becoming RealNetwork’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in 1996.
  • Departing RealNetworks in 1999, he founded Linden Research Inc. (operating as Linden Lab), a company initially focused on the potential of virtual reality.
  • As a part of this work, Linden Lab created LindenWorld, and the company pivoted to a focus on the idea of creating an open-ended, Internet-connected virtual world – Second Life.
  • Departing Linden Lab in 2010, Rosedale worked on a number of projects, including Love Machine, Coffee and Power and, from 2013 onwards, High Fidelity, a VR-centric, distributed virtual environment.
  • High Fidelity shuttered it VR-focused work in 2019, pivoting to spatial audio product and patent development.
  • In 2022, High Fidelity became an investor in Linden Lab in a move which saw a transfer of personnel and patents to Linden Lab, with Rosedale taking on a (not full-time) role of Technical Advisor.
  • In 2023, Rosedale founder In Reality Lab (IRL415), ” a lab and community in San Francisco working on hard tech to improve the human condition by increasing trust and coordination between individuals and groups.”
  • On October 30th, 2024, it was announced that Rosedale had been appointed to the role of CTO at Linden Lab and would be resuming a seat on the board. He has effectively been in the CTO full-time since the start of October 2024.
  • He holds a B.S. in physics from University of California, San Diego.

Initial Comments

[Video: 2:08-7:27]

  • Notes that he is back at the Lab full-time as CTO and on the board, and has been so since the start of October.
  • Acknowledges the work of Brad Oberwager and the other investors in acquiring Linden Lab and in working to revitalise and update Second Life.
  • Comments that the company is “again” successful as a business and has  “extra money” to hire people, and the ability to pursue projects.
  • Confirms that IRL415 has been quite successful in its own right, and is now operating as something of a “sub-project” based in the same building in San Francisco as Linden Lab [Battery Street, presumably].
  • Indicates he is happy to be back, and acknowledges all the warm messages he received following the announcement.
  • Hopes that in addition to the Community Round Table event, he hopes that this event marks the start of a broader conversation between Linden Lab and its users in Second Life.
  • References he has been active WRT Second Life on various social media channels, and has formed an in-world group – Friends of Philip – which he encourages people to join as a means of communicating with him.

On Second Life and  Technology

On Keeping Pace with Hardware Development

[Video: 7:54-10:16]

  • Notes that many SL users have been engaged in Second life for more than 10 years.
  • Many people using SL depend on it in a manner unlike MMOs or on-line games, and to them it is more like a necessity like a cell phone than a “game”.
  • As such, believes that only support the most recent generations of home computer hardware is far more ethically fraught for Second Life than for MMOs and games, as it comes with far greater risk in impacting people’s lives and ability to connect with other to a far greater degree.
  • In this, notes that this is why LL has been so focused on recovering viewer performance across the board following the recent impact of issues associated with [but not necessarily all the result of] the deployment of PBR Materials support in SL.
  • Thus, as much as it is important to keep improving things like the graphics fidelity of SL, Linden Lab has to recognise who is actually using the platform across the board, and not “cut off” large swaths of the user community as has been the case recently, to whom LL apologies.

On VR and Second Life

[Video: 10:19-11:30]

  • Believes one of the most mind-blowing things about VR Chat is being able to see your own avatar from a first-person perspective; “wearing” your avatar.
  • The challenge here is that VR headset [usage?] is growing far too slowly. Would love to find a way to Second Life in VR, but LL does not have the resources to write a VR viewer from scratch.
  • LL are thinking about VR in terms of the more distant future, but not thinking about it right now.

On AI and Second Life

[Video: 11:32-14:12]

  • Notes that LL has been carrying out a number of “alpha tests” of AI bots [such as the one at the Welcome Hub]  acting as greeters and trying to provide help to new users.
  • States that “one of our companies here in the office” [IRL415?] has worked on some interesting back-end deployments of AI technology for SL, such as assisting with the Canny reports triage process.
  • Overall notes that the application of AI within Second Life is something LL has to be careful about, particularly with the use of AI with in-world characters – NPCs, bots, companions, etc. It’s important that AI is used – as SL is used – to bring people together, rather than a means to provide substitutes for each other.
  • Hopes that LL’s focus will continue to be in bringing people together.
  • [Video: 42:02-42:39 – whilst discussing preserving SL’s history]:
    • Notes that he is a huge fan of artificial life, and thinks “AI will get really unusual when you get actual living things moving around in an environment.”
    • Describes some of the work at IRL415 [?] in attempting to use AI create conscious, living things,”  rather than text prediction machines, etc. It’s not clear if he feels these might have future application in SL.

On Upgrading SL’s Underpinning Engine and The Viewer

[Video: 15:20-16:00]

  • SL has a complex user experience, and people need to be able to help one another in using it, and so requires a common, if  complex, user interface (UI).
  • Because of the complexities involved, LL has to plan on utilising that user experience for a long time / indefinitely, and most likely on the same engine.
  • Also because of this complexity, simply swapping out the underpinning engine is not something that can feasibly be undertaking.
  • However, that said, based on experience gain in developing Mobile, LL are evaluating the potential of building a new viewer to make SL more accessible to people who either don’t have higher-specification home computer hardware or have difficulties in understanding the UI.

On Updating  SL’s Scripting Engine

[Video: 23:09-23:42]

  • Work is in progress to enhance SL’s scripting through the use of Luau, as used by Roblox.
  • Part of this is aimed at enhancing SL’s existing scripting capability and make it easier for content creators to script in SL.
  • This is not ready for release, but is being worked on.
  • [Note: the Luau work is two distinct projects: a client-side implementation of Luau (e.g. viewer-side only); and the above work mentioned by Philip, which will allow Luau interpretation of LSL / Luau support for server-side scripting. I attempt to provide updates on both of these projects through the likes of my Content Creation, Simulator, and TPV Developer User Group Meeting summaries, as updates on the work are offered by LL.]

On the SL Mobile App

[Video: 29:45-30:55]

  • Does not believe the Mobile app will become the sole means of accessing SL; the deepest and most immersive uses of SL probably cannot be translated completely for use on mobile devices. Rather, the hope is that at some point, a new user will be able to access SL entirely via the Mobile App, but “we’re not there yet”.
  • The current focus is on getting the App to a place where it is “a little helpful for everyone”, and then maybe a “fun way to get started, even.”
  • Ultimately, Desktop will always be available, as some aspects don’t work on small screens.
  • As such believes that the Mobile App, working in concert with the Desktop viewer will help SL grow.
  • [Video: 51:42-52:25] When will SL Mobile be made available to all users?
    • LL think it is time to allow everyone to be able to try the Mobile App.
    • Expects it to be made available to all some time in the next month.
    • Reiterates that SL Mobile is not ready for people to switch over to using it in preference to the viewer.
SL Mobile – via Linden Lab

On Puppetry

[Video: 46:59-50:34]

  • [Note, whilst currently suspended, information on the Puppetry Project can be found in my Puppetry User Group meeting summaries].
  • Did follow and contribute to the Puppetry Project, but felt it might have been too biased towards content creation use cases at the expense of communications use cases.
  • Feels [as statement throughout the session] that LL needs to be more broadly focused on advances on communications capabilities such as accessibility, discovery, search, in concert with the more technical advances within the platform.
  • Sees the above approach specifically relevant to puppetry, in moving the avatar’s body more capably, rather than continuing to rely purely on animations, and cites the way his avatar moves during the session as being something of a move in that direction.
  • Certainly sees better ability to control avatar movement as a “hard” requirement for VR utilisation in SL, and puppeteering is a “big part” of that.
  • Reiterates that currently, LL is not working on puppetry at present, as to develop an implement puppetry capabilities requires a better redevelopment / use of available resources.
  • Goes on to note he’s aware this applies to a lot of SL capabilities that are “80%”, and he would like to get those to “100%”, and in this as CTO he is being more “hardcore” about better reflecting the majority of users LL is serving, not talking about features / capabilities until they are more rounded and ready.

On the User Experience

On Attracting Younger Users (e.g. from Roblox)

[Video:14:13-15:16]

  • In general, LL does not have, nor does it want, kids using Second Life.
  • Youngsters from 16 and up are allowed to use the platform, but with restricted maturity settings [13-16 years can access the platform, but only for educational purposes (e.g. associated with a school) and whilst restricted to the region hosting their educational institution(s)].
  • The worry is risk of harm for kids “on multiple levels”, such as financial exploitation, and if adults in a region do not want kids there, then there is a potential for harm to the kids.
  • Hence why LL has not made attempts to make SL appealing to younger people – but are interested in hearing viewpoints on the matter from users.

On Users / Creators Helping to Grow Second Life

[Video: 20:57-23:00]

  • Notes that we all have a role to play – as some already do through mentoring, etc.
  • Further notes that if all those engaged in Second Life were to bring-in one new person to SL every 6 months and gives them the essential one-on-one help required to get them engaged in the platform, that would bring about a sustained growth for SL.
  • As such, LL needs to design – with the help of users – the best means to enable this to happen.
  • Deeply believes that there are people in the world right now who would greatly benefit from Second Life, and that world-wide they represent far more than the current user base.

On People Using SL at the Expense of their First Life Interactions (“SL Addiction”)

[Video 17:04-18:41]

  • Whether taking about social media, apps or gaming, there is tremendous danger of addiction. However, most of the time in talking about addiction, it is in terms of exploitative dopamine loops that keep you drawn into game or behaviour mechanism.
  • SL is perhaps different in that the addictive element is having friends in-world, and those friendships are / can be as real and as meaningful as physical world friendships. Having friends in Second Life is not like having followers on Twitter/X.com; they are much closer and can be better.
  • So in many cases, SL is providing a genuine reduction in loneliness and access to friends, and there is little else on-line which enables such friendship in the same way.
  • LL therefore needs to be careful [to maintain this], and also need to be careful that they don’t cause harm.

On The Benefits of SL Use

[Video: 30:58-34:30]

  • Reads a statement from a user as to how effective Second Life can be such a beneficial medium for helping people  – notably those with disabilities, long-term illness, the elderly and similar – gain new opportunities for expression, enjoyment, finding friends, etc.
  • Sees this statement as demonstration of the need for LL to “better and better and better” who the people using SL are, and whom LL are serving, and make changes based on that (e.g. in terms of accessibility – captions, sound, text size changes, etc.).

On Avatars Appearing Naked When Rezzing / in the MP (the “Boob Problem”)

[Video 18:47-20:55]

  • Acknowledges that he made a fundamental mistake in allowing the issue of avatars appearing naked when rezzing to pass unchecked in the early days of SL, rather than making it a “P(riority) 1” issue to fix.
  • Feels it is still too easy for anyone to encounter Second Life content they may find offensive, and agrees that fixing this is something that needs to be properly considered; people should be able to come into Second Life from variety of use-cases, cultural backgrounds, etc., without being easily exposed to content that deeply offends them.
  • However, this needs to be balanced again giving people the freedom to do what they want in acceptable environments (e.g. the privacy of their own homes).
  • This balance is difficult to achieve, but also thinks it is “doable”, and users will hopefully see LL move forward over time in that regard, including further discussions on the subject.

On Second Life Payment Options

On the Use of Crypto with SL

[Video 23:44-25:00]

  • Believes that with the expansion of payment system / choices (including crypto, Zelle, etc.), LL should grow to accommodate more ways in which people can pay them for services.
  • However, there are legal and regulatory complexities involved in doing this, particularly the purchase of Linden Dollars which need to be considered.
  • States that crypto should be one of the options to be considered, if not by going “all in” (where there are considerable negatives), but rather as a further option for making payments to LL “makes a tonne of sense”.

On the Announced Suspension of Skrill as a Payment Option

[Video: 27:39-28:11]

  • LL is aware that Skrill presents the only payment option available to many Second Life users.
  • The ability to use Skrill will not be shut down until there is an available alternative.

On Second Life and Education

[Video: 44:58-46:56]

  • Believes that education is an excellent use case for VR. If people can be educated in a virtual world using VR capably, it potentially reduces the on-going cost of education as a whole, whilst greatly expanding its accessibly to all.
  • Caveats this with the need to understand VR devices, communication modality of use, non-verbal communication, in presenting education virtually.
  • Believes there are areas in which Second Life is, and always has been, effective, and hopes that this will continue, including in making SL more generally accessible with the proper safeguards against viewing potentially inappropriate content.

Miscellaneous Questions

On Paying You Tube “Influencers” to “Promote” SL

[Video 25:02-27:35]

  • In terms of general marketing, LL is going to start efforts to market the platform for growth “soon” (and re-iterates the point of users brining friends into SL).
  • States the company is very well equipped to handle marketing , and to do so in “lots of ways”.
  • However, marketing into channels like You Tube, where the audience is fairly random, is not seen as effective for a platform like Second Life, because 95% of them have no interest in becoming avatars and enter virtual worlds.
  • Has a personal belief that most people are uncomfortable with avatars due to their lack of  facial expressions / ability to use non-verbal communication cues like body language, and that until this can be overcome, SL cannot be easily offered to “anyone”.
  • As such, marketing needs to be focused, and welcomes idea from users on how such marketing might be focused onto the kinds of people who would be interested in using Second Life today.

On the Future of Mainland / Community Building

[Video: 28:13-29:41]

  • Believes that SL is unique in the way it allows people to come together and develop communities in bot the Mainland and with private islands / estates.
  • As such believes that matters like improving region crossings and governance should be prioritised.
  • In terms of governance and community building, invites people to join Friends of Philip, where he’ll be discussing possible ideas.

On Governance and Account Banning

[Video: 34:41-36:42]

  • States that given the nature of SL as an on-line community, banning should be a tool of last resort and should only happen under the most “desperate” of conditions, and believes that LL have done the “very best job” that they can in this regard.
  • Given the benefits gained to many through the use of SL and the implications of banning, wonders if there are “judicial processes” that can make things work better / provide alternatives to banning.
  • Has no answers to this [but has perhaps been asking questions relating to it], other than noting SL is a “precious thing” and the focus must be on those who hold it as precious, building their homes and communities, given to the matter of governance, where appropriate: “When someone has to leave Second Life, they should have to leave in broad agreement with their community.”

On Digital History and Preserving Builds / Locations in Second Life

[Video:38:54-42:40]

  • While it would be nice to preserve elements of Second Life as points in time and be able to re-visit them in that state (a kind of Wayback Machine for SL, allowing users to visit a location as it was on a given date / time), there is obviously expense involved in storing all the data regions to Second Life and regions within it.
  • Does feel it would be good to come up with a “collective means” of “celebrating old builds” – and links this back to the idea of “governance” in terms of using the community through voting or other mechanisms as to what should be preserved in cases where the creators can not longer pay for them to be in-world.
  • Uses this opportunity to tangentially discuss AI further, as noted in the section on AI above.
Mont Saint Michel - once again back in Second Life
Mont Saint Michel – a region preserved via the Second Life Region Preservation Society, currently run by LL

On Second Life and Twitch

[Video: 43:47-44:57]

  • LL has tried on numerous occasions to get Second Life unbanned from Twitch (which has a high sensitivity to adult-themed content), and will continue to make the argument that SL should be allowed.
  • Indicated that doing so may also require changes being made to the accessibility of Adult content in Second Life in a way that works for the majority of SL users and works for Twitch.
  • In terms of Twitch s a “marketing tool” re-iterates the points that:
    • Second Life is not necessarily for “everybody”, so broadcasting it on Twitch might not be beneficial in that sense.
    • Does not think it would be good for SL to be directly appealing to younger audiences.

On Bringing Back the Second Life Community Convention (SLCC)

[Video: 50:43-51:29]

  • [Background: the SLCC was run from 2005 through 2011 by AvaCon on behalf of Linden Lab and alternating between the west and east coasts of the USA. The events allowed Lindens and SL users come together and discuss the platform, make presentations, etc.]
  • Would be interested in knowing how many SL users would be interested in participating in some form of physical world convention, and what form it should take, and suggesting his Friends of Philip group might be an initial place in which ideas might be put forward / discussed.

Closing Comments

[Video: 55:40-]

  • Is back at the Lab full time in the CTO role.
  • Part of his focus is figuring out how to better communicate with everyone.
  • Specifically as CTO is looking at what, how and why technologies changes should be made, and more broadly focused on strategy and product.
  • Notes that of late, the comments from outside of SL have not been so much phrased in the past tense and in terms of acknowledging it is still going and available, and that this could be beneficial as LL starts marketing SL more.
  • Expresses confidence that SL will start growing again, and reiterates that user can help in this.
  • Does feel that in a time when technology and the Internet have done much to endanger democratic expression and the polarising of views, Second Life demonstrates there is a much more positive way for people to connect using technology, and how it can have a depolarising effect, allowing people who might not otherwise, become friends.
  • In this, sees the opportunity to promote virtual worlds as beneficial environments for people to use, and which can be respected as such, and can help us face some of the broader challenges we face as a human society.

Videos of the Session

Linden Lab Official Video

Pantera’s Recording

Note this is set to start from the point at which the official video ends.

SL21B Town Hall Summary: Product Operations (audio + video)

Posted on by Inara Pey
SL21B Product Operations Town Hall (l to r): Missy Mole (host); Patch Linden; Keira Linden, Derrick Linden and Izzy Linden
On Wednesday, June 26th, 2024, Linden Lab held special Town Hall Meeting of the Product and Engineering team, featuring the following personnel:

  • Patch Linden – Senior VP of Product Operations & Marketing.
  • Keira Linden – Support Operations Manager.
  • Derrick Linden – Product Operations Manager.
  • Izzy Linden – Creative Producer.

This is a summary of the topics discussed at the session. Audio extracts are included were appropriate, and a video of the session is embedded at the end of this article – my thanks to Pantera for providing it.

 Table of Contents

For ease of reference, timestamps are provided to the relative points within the video where specific topics are discussed, allowing readers who prefer to listen to the comments directly to be able to do so. Note this is not intended to be a full transcript, but rather covers those items discussed which are liable to be of the most interest.

A Little Background

[Video: 2:02-8:27]

A brief introduction to each of the people participating:

  • Patch Linden: joined the company in 2007 as a support agent. He later became Support Operations  Manager time and then he established the Land Operations Team (then within the Product Team), which became the nucleus of Product Operations. As a senior VP alongside Grumpity, he is responsible for the development and operation of Second Life.
  • Keira Linden: joined the Lab in 2008 working in the Concierge Team. Currently manages all the various support teams for Second Life and also the Governance Team.
  • Derrick Linden: as the Product Operations Manager: joined LL in 2011 and wears many hats – including overseeing the Land Operations Team, the Skill Gaming Team and co-running the Linden Department of Public Works (the Moles) alongside of Patch Linden.
  • Izzy Linden: joined LL in 2007. As the Creative Director works on a range of projects, including with the Moles.

Linden Homes, Land and Mainland

Linden Homes – Patch Linden

[Video: 9:40-17:45]

  • Currently planning for Linden Homes includes:
    • An update to the Premium Log Cabin theme floorplans.
    • A new mixed parcel-size (512 sq m and 1024 sq m) Premium theme with multiple floor plans.
    • A new Premium Plus theme with multiple floor plans.
    • This work is all in the planning / scoping phase; there is also some polling for possible themes to go with it, and maybe an idea from this might be implemented.
    • These ideas are likely to be in development for the next 6-12 months.
  • Transitioning off the Old Linden Homes [the original 512 sq m mini-continents] remains under consideration / evaluation.
    • The longer time goes by, the more likely it is to happen, but there is no firm timeline or date as to when this might start.
    • However, were it to seem possible that the old homes could be retired as the above new selections of homes are rolled-out, then this “might be a likely scenario”.
  • On Premium Plus being allowed two Premium Homes on a single account:
    • Has been thought about. However, doing so would impact available inventory of homes: there are only so many Linden Homes available as any given time, and people taking two diminishes the availability for others.
    • The current mechanism for managing Linden Homes and ownership isn’t geared for single accounts owning multiple homes.
    • It’s acknowledged that the above mechanism needs to by updated for other reasons, so it is possible when this work is carried out, that the idea of multi-Linen Home ownership (and “mix-and-match” ownership of different parcel sizes of Linden Homes) might being looked at. However, updating the system is a significant technical project, and not something currently in the works.
  • On mixing different plot sizes / themes [e.g. a 2048 tree house amidst 1024 Victorian homes]:
    • It’s always been implied that house selection is based on subscription level, theme and floorplan, with the location then based on that rather than being based on location, parcel size, etc.
    • The above approach keeps the system clean and easy to manage, given regions can be defined in terms of intended use  allowing the land to be planned accordingly. Trying to mix all parcel sizes and themes could make things confusing and hard to implement, so LL is wary of introducing too many options into a single selection process.
  • [Video: 58:15-59:12] On providing 512 sq m Linden Homes on Premium Plus 2048 parcels:
    • Has been considered, but it is unlikely to be considered for the foreseeable future.
    • Might be something that gets revisited after the old linden Homes have been retired.

10K Land Capacity Region Product – Patch Linden

[Video:  18:01-20:40]

  • It has often been requested than LL should offer an additional region land product with a 10K Land Capacity, to sit between Homesteads and Full private regions.
  • The idea has been discussed numerous times within the Land Team – but this does not mean anything is necessarily going to be offered, nor should it be inferred that it will be.
  • Any new region product can have the potential to be highly disruptive to Second Life and the platform’s economy, and needs careful consideration.
    • [Side note: evidence of this can be seen in the 2008/2009 OpenSpace region update & transition to the Homestead product. This caused major disruption in terms of pricing and impact on users, and led to a false sense of SL growth. In a period of some 6-8 months, the number of regions on the grid almost doubled (18K to around 32K, and as the expense of Full regions) with no actual increase in the number of active users. This in turn lead to the false sense that Second Life was “failing” in the years following, as the region count declined year-on-year, even though active user numbers remained relatively stable by comparison.]
  • As such, the risk / rewards to everyone involved in SL – the Lab as a business that needs to turn a profit, through the wishes of those who would like to hold a more capable region, to the potential impact on the existing land rental businesses operating across Second Life and there revenue models – need to be carefully assists (and often reassessed).

Mainland and PBR – Derrick Linden

[Video: 20:52-23:24]

  • Addressing Mainland appearing darker under PBR rendering:
    • Yes, a resolution in being developed.
    • The time frame for implementing it is liable to be in the short-term rather than people have to wait for an extended period for it to be deployed.
  • 2K Textures / PBR Materials on Mainland terrain:
    • This is a significant undertaking, but is under active discussion – just no time frame as yet.
    • There are technical / implementation issues that need to be addressed:
      • An automated system of mass update would be the simplest, but might not produce the most satisfactory result.
      • A semi-automated update process would offer greater flexibility of application, but would be far more time and resource intensive.
    • The aim is to try to determine an approach which balances the above and which also has the least direct impact on Mainland residents and users.

Zindra (the Adult Continent) and Adult Initiatives

Zindra – Derrick Linden

[Video: 24:06-25:27]

  • On connecting Zindra to the rest of the Mainland through relocation & a water channel:
    • Has not been considered – but this does not mean it could not be considered.
  • On expanding the Zindra continent:
    • No plans to expand Zindra at present.

Adult Initiatives – Patch Linden

[Video: 25:33-28:45]

  • As hinted at in the December 2023 annual review, the Lab has been considering more Adult-oriented initiatives [which was not, as was subsequently reported / claimed, anything to do with the theme for SL21B].
  • One specific new project in development is a streamlined on-boarding process for new users specifically interested in the more adult / spicier side of SL. It will include:
    • A new Adult-oriented Welcome hub / experience.
    • Provide information on more mature content.
    • Provide the means for them to acclimate to the platform.
    • And more.
This image was part of the December 2023 annual review blog post by Linden Lab, which might show an aspect of the new Adult-centre user onboarding hub / experience
  • This is part of a broader initiative that includes elements such as fostering community, offering living spaces, commercial environments, continental-sized land masses.
  • It is regarded as a “whole new way and approach” to having Adult communities in Second Life, and will be worked on over the next 6-8 months as a background project. More details will be made available in the future.
  • It will hopefully be an environment wherein established and new users within Adult-oriented interests can enjoy and appreciate SL’s Adult content in a setting that will be “very fitting for it”.

Governance and Support

General – Keira Linden

  • [Video: 29:46-32:03] Increasing Governance Awareness of hate speech:
    • The Governance team does all it can to remain abreast of global trends in hate speech, symbols used, etc., which could potential violate SL’s Terms of Service & Community Standards. This is through a mix of research, collaboration with subject matter experts through seminars, etc.
    • Obviously, Governance is also reliant on Abuse Reports filed by users when they encounter hate speech / imagery / symbols, etc., and this can also be used to expand awareness in the team as well as being responded to.
    • It is acknowledged that saying on top of things can be difficult, and factor such as cultural differences at times can come into play, hence why investigations take into consideration context.
  • [Video: 32:24-33:06] On providing insight into the tools and techniques Governance uses:
    • The team and the Lab does not publicly comment on the tools and techniques used during investigations.
    • One simple reason for this is that if those determined to make mischief know of the techniques and tools used by Governance, they would seek to find ways around them and try to avoid discovery, etc.
  • [Video: 33:14-34:18] On automated moderation tools:
    • [see also: 2024 SL Governance meeting week #19: Child Avatar Policy]
    • LL is looking at companies and products in the content moderation space.
    • The aim is to try to make the moderation of egregious content which clearly violates the SL Terms of Service and which could potentially violate laws outside of Second Life, as automated as possible.
    • Evaluation of these tools for suitability is still in progress, but the aim is that should they prove to be on use, to add them to the Governance toolkit and make the removal of offensive content on the platform faster.
  • [Video: 34:38-37:35] On Private Island tenant / land holder disputes:
    • This is not something the Lab can easily involve itself: sub-leasing land from another resident comes down to an agreement between to SL residents to which LL is not a party.
    • As such, and unless there is a clear violation of the SL Terms of Service involved in the situation, there is very little Governance can do.
    • That said, it can be good for Governance to received ARs on situations like this, as it can help to determine if there is a pattern of behaviour or similar, and whether it might be necessary to reach out to someone to discuss matters further.
  •  [Video: 37:44-39:34] On the value of Abuse Reports:
    • Abuse Reports are often the start of any investigation, and so submitting one with as much information as possible is always of value.
    • Without any Abuse Report, Governance has no visibility of any issue or potential issue, whether or not they can act upon it.
  • [Video: 46:53-48:42] On providing 24/7 support to a global user base:
    • Tickets can be submitted 24/7, even if not responded to on a 24/7 basis.
    • The is the support chatbot, which is available 24/7 and can deal with basic support requests.
    • Live chat support works to hours that have been determined to be the most effective for dealing with most types of enquiry, and as the platform has been improved, LL have seen a global reduction in the need to provide global 24/7 support.
    • Support observes US holidays, as that is where it is now based, and staff deserve the opportunity to spend time with their families, as such, all all of support is staffed during such holidays – but this does not necessarily mean there are no support staff.

Account Sharing and Business Use

[Background see: Allow Business Accounts to Share Access Responsibly (Feedback Portal) and DRD Facing Unfair TOS Enforcement (Forums).]

[Video: 39:39-42:30] – Patch Linden
  • On a simplified level, the Terms of Service and related policy specifies that account details should not be shared with another individual, and while often complicated, LL has tried to adhere to that.
  • LL look upon users’ accounts akin to a financial instrument – accounts have financial information on them and provide access to billing and payment methods and includes the ability to spend money.
  • Account access gives opportunities for irreparable damage to be done, such as deleting and purging a person’s entire inventory.
  • It is also true that relationships can and do go wrong, and can be seen to go wrong . Therefore, LL is protective as protective as possible about people’s accounts.
  • That said, LL has “heard the call”, and recognise that perhaps times have changed, and so might be amenable to change.

[Video: 42:30-44:32] – Keira Linden
  • Changes to process and policy can take time, particularly when it touches on multiples teams / departments (as this does).
  • However, this request / issue is actively being worked on in order to come up with an approach / solution that meets everyone’s interests.
  • Biggest concern is fraud / the need to protect people’s financial interest, simply because relationship can break down / things go wrong between people.
  • As such, it will take time to work out and produce something, but the issue is being worked on.

Content Theft & Sale: Setting a Policy Outside of DMCA – Keira Linden

[Video: 44:36-46:46]

  • It is “tricky” determining who is the rightful owner when two people claim to be the originators of content in SL.
  • As Intellectual Property (IP) is protected by international laws, via the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), LL must adhere to DMCA provision in order to be covered by it.
  • Therefore, in all matters of potential content theft, creators must submit a duly-completed DMCA form, and the team responsible will help guide people through the process.
    • Filing the DMCA form starts a creator on the legal process of protecting their named content not only in Second Life, but in the digital ecosphere as a whole.
    • While there may be very occasional situations where the IP violation is so obvious, LL might be able to take direct action, these instances are seen as very rare, and creators should not rely on fitting into this category.

Dealing with Charitable Organisation & Events & Disbursement of Funds Raised – Derrick Linden

[Video: 49:00-52:24]

  • Linden Lab has two levels of relationship with those raising funds through Second Life.
    • The highest is with established fund-raising partners in Second Life (e.g. the American Cancer Society; Team Fox / The Michael J. Fox Foundation, etc.). This level includes agreements in place for how they operate and how the Lab supports them.
    • The lower level and individuals and organisations raising money through SL, but where there is no formal partnership with LL. Here’ the Lab is more limited in what it can do in support of such events.
  • Working with those in the latter option tends to be limited to assisting them with listing their event(s) in the Destination Guide, verifying any past fund-raisers the individual / group has done, and, if the individual / group is working directly with a charitable organisation, getting verification that they are authorised to to so.
  • Ergo, if an event is listed in the Destination Guide, it has gone through verification as a legitimate fund-raiser, and the money raised will make its way to the intended recipient party/ies, with verification this as happened after the event.
  • This does not mean charity events which are not listed in the Destination Guide are someone “false” or not really raising funds as stated – it simply means that the event has not gone through any process + verification in order to be listed.

In Brief

Second Life Community Exhibition – Izzy Linden

[Video: 55:20-56:44]

  • Located at the Welcome Hub.
  • Is a three-phase development:
    • Phase One – initial opening with selected communities – completed.
    • Phase Two: initial expansion with submissions from communities – completed.
    • Phase Thee: final build-out of available exhibitor areas, with submissions from communities.
  • Once the available space has been built-out, LL plans to start rotating community displays in and out of the exhibition space so that all participating communities have exposure.
Second Life Community Exhibition (SLCE), at its opening in January 2024
  • Also included in Phase Three will be a gift spire, where all participating communities can place gifts if they so wish.
  • Communities wishing to join the Exhibition can do so via the SLCE application form,

Second Lifetime Premium and Premium Plus Subscriptions – Patch Linden

[Video: 57:24-57:51]

Will SL Support Multi-Partnering? – Patch Linden

[Video: 1:02:17-1:03:25]

  • Has been discussed, and a project to allow for multiple partners (including listed in profiles) is in development.
  • No time frame as to when it will be released – the design work has been done, and it is hoped that Engineering and Product will be able to work on in Soon™.

General Questions

Please refer to the video from 1:03:28 onwards.

SL21B Town Hall Summary: Product and Engineering (audio +video)

Posted on by Inara Pey
SL21B Product and Engineering Town Hall (l to r): Kali Linden, Signal Linden, Missy Mole (host), Grumpity Linden, Sntax Linden, Kyle Linden

 

On Tuesday, June 25th, 2024, Linden Lab held special Town Hall Meeting of the Product and Engineering team, featuring the following personnel:

  • Grumpity Linden – Senior VP of Product & Engineering.
  • Signal Linden – Director of Engineering Second Life Server & Viewer.
  • Kali Linden – Director of Engineering Web & Platform.
  • Sntax Linden – Senior Product Manager.
  • Kyle Linden –  Product Manager.

This is a summary of the topics discussed at the session. Audio extracts are included were appropriate, and a video of the session is embedded at the end of this article – my thanks to Pantera for providing it.

 Table of Contents

For ease of reference, timestamps are provided to the relative points within the video where specific topics are discussed, allowing readers who prefer to listen to the comments directly to be able to do so.

A Little Background

[Video: 2:37-8:48]

A brief introduction to each of the people participating:

  • Kali Linden: has been with Linden Lab for nine years and heads-up the teams responsible for the Lab’s web properties (Marketplace, Secondlife.com, etc., the account management and log-in services, etc.
  • Signal Linden: a software engineer with a long history with virtual environments (MU* platforms, etc.), and started using SL as as high school student. He joined LL in 2015, initially working on Sansar. His background is software engineering, and he now leads both the viewer and server engineering teams.
  • Grumpity Linden: joined SL as a contractor with The Product Engine and helping with the development of (the then) Viewer 2.0, and formally joined LL in 2014. As the Senior VP of Product and Engineering she is responsible for coordinating both teams and overseeing their various projects, often in a hands-on capacity (as with SL Mobile).
  • Sntax Linden: manages the Lab’s web properties under Kali Linden (as he leads the monthly Web User Group meetings), and currently has a specific focus on the Marketplace and improving Second Life’s commerce environment.
  • Kyle Linden: as a product manager, is focused on creator tools within the platform. He is a 17-year veteran of Second Life and has worked in most areas of the Linden Lab / the platform in that time.

Major Announcements

SL Mobile

[Video: 1:09:25-1:16:34]

The SL Mobile log-in screen (splash image changes with each log-in), the connecting screen giving destination, and the in-world view with drop-down menu active
  • The App is not currently visible on  Google Play, as new apps take up to 7 days to become searchable there.
  • It is hoped the Beta can open out more widely Soon™.
  • As a Beta product, there is still much more work to do – but a lot has been achieved with the assistance of the closed alpha users / testers.
    • However, SL Mobile will never provide all of the features found in the viewer, as it is impractical to do so (e.g. in-depth content creation is unlikely to be a part of the app).
  • In keeping with the above, feedback from those trying the Beta is welcomed – refer to the link to the official blog post above for details.
  • Feedback is requested through the SL channels, not through either the Apple Store or Google Play, as the latter could unbalance the app’s ratings unfairly, given it is only a Beta product, not a released product.
  • LL are still in consultation with Apple over the issue of the iOS version of the app not being allowed to access Adult rated regions.
  • LL have been in discussions with Unity (as the app is built on that engine) over Unity’s sudden licensing changes earlier in 2024, and the belief is that this will not be an issue for SL mobile in the future.

Scripting and Lua(u)

[Video: 26:31-31:17] – Signal Linden

[Background: In February 2024 it was confirmed LL is looking to natively adopt Luau, a Lua VM implementation viewer-side as a means of providing better support for, and control of, scripted agents (including automated testing capabilities using such agents; providing a means of supporting custom UI extensions / plug-ins without having to resort to C++ and adding custom displays to present exiting information in the viewer. See here and here for more on the initial announcement. The following is in addition to that work.]

  • Signal indicated at as well as running Lua natively on the client-side, LL is now looking to replace the Mono VM runtime engine with Luau’s runtime engine on the back-end.
  • This means that scripts should be more efficient in their memory use and execute faster.
  • The work is still in the benchmarking / development phase, and more information will be provided as work progresses.
  • As this is now a viewer / server project, it is liable that information will be made available through both the Simulator User Group meetings and the TPV Developer meetings, as it become prescient.

  • Rider Linden added further context to the above in local chat:
The project will end up swapping the underlying Mono VM out for a Lua VM under the hood … Our plan is to support both [LSL and lua]. We will end up compiling the LSL down to the Lua bytecode. [So essentially] 2 VMs. LSO (the old stuff) and ultimately the Lua VM. The Mono -> Lua bytecode change should be invisible.

Content Creation

Educating Creators (Best Practices, Content Optimisation, etc) – Kyle Linden

[Video: 10:00-11:42]

  • The existing community of Second life creators as their greatest educational asset, and so are thinking about ways to spotlight creators who provide videos, guides, tutorials, and / or by teaching in-world, etc., on a “best practice” basis.
  • That said, LL acknowledge their own documentation is often poor – much is out-of-date, features are often released without full documentation [which also might never follow as a result], and focus needs to be placed on this.
  • Believes that LL are going to try to build a better repository / resource creators and users can use to find the kinds of tutorials / class / video guides mentioned above.

Improvements to Mesh Rigging and the Avatar Skeleton – Signal Linden

[Video: 12:07-15:31]

  • LL is aware the current approach to rigging mesh and attachments to the avatar is a non-trivial task is is looking to ways to improve the workflow for creators so that content built outside of SL can be more directly imported and “work”.
  • This involved moving to modern content creation standards [i.e. the glTF 2.0 specification, as frequently referenced in this blog].
  • First phase of this work currently in development with glTF scene import, which will prototype a “drag and drop” approach to taking content from Blender and dropping it into Second Life [details on the glTF import / export work can be found in my CCUG summaries].
  • One outcome of this work will be the ability to have more “local mesh preview” capabilities, where content can be temporarily displayed in the viewer exactly as it appears in the tool used to create it (e.g. Substance Painter, Blender), without having to go through any form of upload conversion (somewhat like the Local Textures capability).
  • Further into the future, this work will mean SL can support custom armatures (rigs / skeletons).

Animation Improvements – Priorities and Editing – Signal Linden

[Video 15:38-17:08]

  • This is seen as an important capability by many, both for helping to improve the smoothness of things like Animation Override systems and in avoiding potential conflicts between animations.
  • It has often been requested and is something the Lab would like to tackle. There are requests on the Feedback Portal, and people are asked to vote on them to indicate how important they think this is, and new ideas should be submitted there.
  • Sees the issue potentially being tackled in a number of ways (e.g. better scripted support, supporting different animation formats, etc.).

2K PBR Terrain on Mainland / Support for PBR and 2K textures on Avatars -Signal Linden

[Video: 19:12-21:16]

  • 2K PBR terrain on Mainland more a Product Operations question than an engineering question.
  • 2K textures + PBR support for Avatar Appearance [Bakes on Mesh/Bake Service; wearables assets (inventory), appearance editing, etc.]: No 1 most voted request on the Feedback Portal and is currently being planned. Deployment should eventually be a combination of both at the same time, once ready.
PBR terrain. Credit: Linden Lab

PBR and Improvements – Signal Linden

[Video: 32:53-40:39]

  • The graphics team is continuing to work on optimising PBR performance, including fixing redraw bugs, memory use, etc.
  • This work is in part focused on optimisations for mid-range hardware (e.g. around US $800 brand-new).
  • With regards to MacOS, there is a focus on the current memory issues
  • LL recognise that the introduction is a world-changer in terms of SLs visuals – but it is also a world-changer in allowing content creators to more readily use their tools to produce good content for Second Life without having to resort to arcane measures.
  • Appreciate the change can be painful for some, and are trying to respond where possible with updates and improvements.
  • Pointed out (again) that the arrival of PBR is just one step in the overall plan for enhancing Second Life’s capabilities and full leverage modern content creation tools and techniques.

WebRTC

[Video: 45:48-50:00] – Signal Linden

[Background: WebRTC (RTC=”real-time communication”) is bing implemented to replace Vivox as the Voice component in Second Life. It is both a viewer and server project, with the viewer code supplied as a library with a wrapper, so there will no longer be a separate 3rd party Voice .EXE plug-in. It will offer a more extensible, “industry standard” approach to voice in SL, with better fidelity and sound quality. Initial deployment will see it work alongside Vivox (with some limitations).]

  • The release candidate viewer can be found on the Alternate Viewers web page.
  • The switch-over will be carried out in collaboration  / cooperation with TPVs.
  • Work has been put into securing the use of WebRTC Voice against attempts to eavesdrop, obtain people’s IP addresses, etc., by routing peer-to-peer communications via an internal server using a Lab proxy IP.

Commerce

  • [Video: 58:11-1:00:33] Mult-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Kali Linden
    • Will be added to the Marketplace.
    • It will be opt-in, as per the viewer / SL dashboard.
    • The overall goal is to have MFA applied to all points of entry to SL for those using it.
  • [Video: 1:00:59-1:03:01] Marketplace questions – Sntax Linden
    • Marketplace Search has been undergoing improvements and will continue to do so, all the the aim of improving the ability of content creators to promote their content and buyers get to the content they want to see.
    • Marketplace on mobile devices: There is a project underway to update the Marketplace design and UI which it is hoped will make it more accessible to smaller screens, and when using the in-viewer web browser.
    • Feedback on these welcome through the Feedback Portal and at the monthly Web User Group meetings.
  • [Video: 1:03:05-1:04:16] CasperVend / Marketplace integration – Kali Linden
    • A road map is being developed as to what makes the most sense to do first with CasperVend integration in general.
    • Again the onus is on making the general shopping and merchant experience better across the Marketplace and when using / interacting with CasperVend products.
    • It is likely one of the first areas for integration will be having CasperVend delivering go through the same mechanism as Marketplace deliveries, simplifying CasperVend redeliveries.
    • Longer-term going is to have things integrated so that Merchants can manage their activities through a single point, whether selling through CasperVend or / and via the MP.

In Brief

Upcoming Initiatives – Kyle Linden

[Video: 24:40-26:20]

  • Combat 2.0 [ first tranche of work updating the Second Life Combat system (SLCS – see my Combat User Group summaries).
  • Implementation of game controller support (e.g X-Box game pads).
  • Introduction of WebRTC Voice.

Additional Viewer Updates – Kyle Linden

[Video: 42:15-45:29]

  • As well as those mentioned (glTF scene import, WebRTC, etc):
    • More sample content to the Library (e.g. mirrors).
    • HDRI support for skies, etc.
    • Possible updates to the library EEP settings to HDR.
    • Possibly extending the use of emojis in Display Names (this is problematic as it requires Unicode data to be stored, and so is only being explored at this time and many not make it to feature release).
Emojis in the viewer (and most / all TPVs)

Accessibility Initiative – Kyle Linden

[Video: 51:45-54:50]

  • Some of work going into SL over the last few years has been focused on laying the foundations for improved accessibility options.
  • One of the first elements of this work to surface will be server-side translation for text.
  • In the future, the deployment of WebRTC could potentially allow for direct text-to-speech / speech to text.
  • AI tools might be considered for giving access assistance to SL.
  • Those with ideas for making SL more accessible to all should file feature requests via the Feedback Portal.
  • It was pointed out that creators could help with accessibility by giving their creations meaningful names where appropriate, rather than leaving them as the default “Object”.

The future of Mesh Upload Prices – Grumpity Linden

[1:05-06-1:05:58]

  • With the work on glTF mesh uploads and scene imports, LL will be re-evaluating the cost of mesh uploads across all membership levels.
  • In the interim, the change to make 2K texture uploads  free for Premium Plus subscribers is now live.

General Questions in Last 15 Minutes

Please refer to the video from 1:16:53 onwards.

 

SL21B: Linden Town Hall Meetings and the Live Music Events

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

During the Second Life birthday celebrations over the last few years, there have been sessions referred to as Meet the Lindens. Held daily, these provided opportunities for people to hear from and put questions to Linden Lab personnel, generally with questions submitted beforehand.

For 2024, these sessions will be replaced by series of special Town Hall sessions, and the second of their new Community Round Table events, featuring members of the Lab’ senior management team. On Tuesday, June 19th, the Lab provided details of these events, together with information on the SL21B live music events and performances, and I’m combining the information here for ease of reference.

Community Round Table and Town Halls Sessions

All events at the SL21B Aquatorium.

Date and Time Event
Tuesday June 25th 13:30 SLT Town Hall: Product and Engineering:

  • Senior VP of Product & Engineering Grumpity Linden.
  • Director of Engineering Second Life Server & Viewer Signal Linden.
  • Director of Engineering Web & Platform Kali Linden.
  • Senior Product Manager Sntax Linden.
  • Product Manager Kyle Linden.
Wednesday June 26th 13:30 SLT Town Hall: Product Operations:

  • Senior VP of Product Operations & Marketing Patch Linden.
  • Support Operations Manager Keira Linden.
  • Product Operations Manager Derrick Linden.
  • Creative Producer Izzy Linden.
Thursday June 27th 13:30 SLT Town Hall: Philip Rosedale interviewed by Brett Linden.
Friday June 28th 13:30 SLT Town Hall: Meet the Moles of the Linden Department of Public Works.
Monday, July 1st 11:30 SLT Community Round Table with Linden Lab Executive Chairman Oberwolf Linden and Senior VP of Product Operations & Marketing Patch Linden.

Questions for any of the above events can still be submitted through until Friday, June 21st, 2024.

Live Music Events and Performances

Over 500 live performers are lined-up to perform across  four stages at SL21B between Friday, June 21st and July 1st. The complete schedule can be seen below.

SL21B Dates and Theme

June 2024 will mark the 21st anniversary of Second Life opening to public access – and to mark it, Linden Lab has announced the 2024 Birthday celebrations as being marked across an entire month – from Friday, June 21st through until  Sunday July 21st, 2024.

Dates

Friday, June 21st through until  Sunday July 21st, 2024.

Theme

This theme for Second Life’s 21st birthday (SL21B) has been given as Elements, which the Lab describes thus:

This theme invites us to explore the fundamental components that make up our vast virtual landscape and the diverse communities within it. From the fiery passion of creators and artists to the fluid adaptability of our social environments, from the solid bonds within our communities to the fresh breezes of innovation that propel us forward, “Elements” is a celebration of the core forces that shape our experiences in Second Life.

– From the official SL21B announcement blog post

Links