I told you so.

watch TV?? NEVER!

It should have told us all something when forum moderation became the issue of importance that it did.

In civil discourse, it is the exception, not the rule, when all words and all movement need be monitored and subject to correction in the name of preserving fundamental manners. We have sometimes suffered misguided correction, assuredly. But we brought it upon ourselves that pressing and encompassing need for it arose at all.

In a workplace, at school, in a public restaurant, we need not generally require monitors to listen to our every word, and stand vigil to quiet us when we become too rowdy. We require these things in bars, where it is safely assumed basic lessons in civility from childhood might go astray. Elsewhere, we are simply terminated, expelled, or asked to leave the premises when we act drunkenly.

A loud neighborhood bar is being closed in this. Not the Senate.

Amazing how this is all our fault, Vestalia.

coco

Indeed.

I particularly enjoyed this bit of LindenSpeak - after lengthy disclosures on what will be closed down and a few vague comments on possible alternatives, there's this:

Dialogue. We love it and our hope is that these changes will help to channel it. Ultimately, we are looking to keep the voices, shout-outs, feedback and diversity of opinion flowing.

Old is new. White is black. The end is the beginning. Dialogue is silence. And "community" is a concept that LL admits that it fails to understand.

Ooo SL NewSpeak!!

War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength...questions are a burden on others and a prison for oneself. We are free of our prisons, brethren! Rejoice!

I hope I don't get in trouble for forgetting if we're at war with Eurasia or Eastasia now...

The same way they organize them in real life? Real Life does not have an official forum, does it?

This is not impossible -- If a particular community felt this was necessary, they could require account registration be initiated in-world, which would fix their forum name to their in-world name.

I'm pretty sure real-life people use online forums all the time to organize real-life events; in fact, I bet lots of real-life folks are really grateful for such a convenient and easily-accessible means of organizing real-life stuff!

And it's just as valid and useful and convenient to organize things in SL via forums.

Flip a coin I guess

I've seen Philip Linden's av inworld. It's *all* points man.

Linden Lab's official forums are not the only forums dedicated to Second Life.

They are the first place users will look, and for many their search will stop there.

I'm the type who will scour the web for something I am interested in. In my experience that is unusual. If people cant find answers or help or a way to voice their opinons on an official forum, most won't bother going any further. Especially if their intent is to get the attention of the company they are trying to communicate with, why do that on some other users blog? Or the announcements of some Linden on their "blog" who doesn't respond to their own blog posts?

There won't be anywhere newbies will be able to post their questions or ask for advice from older residents in a give and take, normal conversation. The design and building forums will be the worst hit, because that is the first place a newbie will go for help, and if they can't find it there, they may not go any further and that is a damn shame.

It is very difficult to have a normal converstaion in SL with all the lag and the chat function. The only way it really works is in IM with people you already know. And even in groups, it isn't the same. Having time to think about what you are going to say, writing long detailed explainations, posting links and such, this isn't done much in SL.

How about actually inside SL? Seems to me aside from being unable to actually launch the software, the support should come from within the platform we're trying to promote.

Build a bulletin board inside the game world then. It can be done.

I'm not a programmer, beyond some necessary web coding, and I don't really think it should be my job to create something that LL should themselves, after removing what it would replace.

How about this: leave the forums up? Especially content creation forums? Problem solved.

yes, I've come out of behind my alt

I agree. The lack of in-world communication between LL and residents is something that I have picked up on a few occasions, something that is very much needed, especially as only a small percentage actually come here. I think it's a shame that the forums are being torn down, but I'm not at all suprised, and expected they would go some time in the second half of this year.

To those who have posted on their little blog & are not seeing an immediate response of what you've posted. I have to chuckle to think that way back when I was a newbie reading the forums, almost any problems residents were having were always directed to this statement. I've bolded the text for my personal amusement.


I am sure that's what is going on there.

(end sarcasim)

I do miss Lee Linden chimming in for those repetitve end all fix all answers of our beloved firewall's. Seeing the constant, "but it's not my firewall" & the response of, "but it is your firewall" cracks me up. He is the firewall king.

As for the forums closing down? I found the forums to be helpful when I had issues with different things & appreciated the efforts the Linden's try to give but simply are understaffed as far as answering every question posted.

In the Second Life Answer section, Torley has done an outstanding job trying to get an answer as quickly as possible.

Seeing the Announcements & News of what's going on posted by a Linden meant it was reliable information to read.

Reading the interesting topics that come up in the Scripting Tips section helped me understand more of what can be done. It's great reading as for do's & dont's.

The Technical Issues makes a person who's not sure if they're having a problem realize that, "Hey? This resident is having the same issue's as me. I'm not alone in this."

The General Topics area is great for laughs & will miss some of the funny bs that get's thrown around. Got to love the ones where the topic is something like, "Is the sun going up?" then a few threads above that is a completely different thread asking, "Is the sun going down?" then to someone who decides to ask, "Is it really necessary to ask about the sun?" I never really understood the mentality that went behind some of the threads other then, the person felt as if they needed to be heard.

That to me is what the forums is. A place to get answers, voice your opinion & interact as a community. I'm not interested in choosing which Resident's Blog is the most popular one & go to it for information. That is great for resident's to create that option but I feel that the information I am receiving from the Linden's in the SL Forums, whether bs or straight forward, is at least communicating to the community.

Anyway's, I've rambled on long enough here. I felt like jumping in before the end of the Forums. Thanks for the memories, laughter, frustration, useful information, newsworthy, sometimes useless information & so much more. It was an enjoyable ride to experience.

BZ

This was my post at this time -- it is still awaiting moderation. Others have posted at later times and are not waiting.

"August 10th, 2006 at 11:33 am
These forums have offered SL the opportunity for everyone to have a voice. There was no requirement for one’s own website to express yourself. There was the open opportunity for New residents to proclaim their wares or news or well wishes or thoughts equally with long term members. Now that is being taken away.
Linden blogs, resident blogs — all very nice, but with a major drawback. These sites will voice the views, opinions, and thoughts of their owners and creators. Saying that there will be an opportunity to respond does not and will not negate that basic fact.
I seldom post, but often read. The forums have made me laugh, think, and feel. They have also taught me much. Through the forums I have gotten a chance to know others in a way that is not possible in such a vast world. Yes, at times, the forums could be nasty and/or silly; however, there has always been, even within those, voices of calm and reason.
The decision to remove the classified is beneficial to only those with the Lindens to spend. Perhaps these decisons might be revisited. I DO know I will not be reading blogs. "

This delay is a perfect example why the forums should not be removed in favor of blogs. In the forum one may post and receive a quick reply, either positive or negative or totally offbase. But at least one is rarely ignored or put on hold. A blog does not give you that freedom.

I have shared my post here so that my voice, however small, may be heard.

That`s so ghey.


Jus sayin`

Great post Brock.

I see this move largely as a good thing. The forums would keep expanding as the world keeps growing and since there seems to be an issue with resmods not always responding as professionally as they should, this means that more Lindens would be needed to police the forums.

I look forward to seeing how the new system works out and what channels will be created or kept for us to share our technical problems and solutions. That's really what the official forums should be used for anyway. There are plenty of third party sites for drama upkeep.

By the way, the only thing moderated at forums.secondcitizen.com is SPAM.

Come join the drama!

Wow LL have just killed off a major part of my enjoyment of SL, plus my only way to interact for large periods of the day when I can read the forums but not actually enter the world.

I won't be zooming around reading 100s of resident blogs instead, thats just a stupid suggestion.

Welcome to 1984 I guess, our Overlords have decided that free speech (along with age verification) can't stand in the way of that million avie target.

Good bye bouncing boobie girl. I'll miss you most of all.

I think they are just afraid that their investors will see the forums, and pull out.