RAC update...

Right, so,college is pounding me into the ground. I don't think there will be a meeting tonight, unless others have industriously set one up. Sorry for the short notice, I haven't had the time to do anything in-world lately.

The Lindens (Robin and Philip to be specific) have agreed to meet with us (the residents, not just RAC members or those who attended) to go over what was brought up at the last RAC meeting.

When: 11am SL time, Monday, Sept 12th

Where: Waterhead conference rooms

What: RAC followup meeting, to discuss the points raised at last Sunday's industrious, huge meeting

Who: Residents and Philip and Robin Linden

How Long: hour or so

I cannot attend, I have class. Hope everyone shows up to discuss SL with the lindens, and all that.

Again, sorry about the late warning... please inform everybody.

LF

No problem Lord, I understand.

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Anyone got an update on the meeting today? WAS THERE a meeting today?

As I said in my post, there was no meeting tonight that I know of... didn't have time to organize one.

The Linden one, as far as I know (they haven't said otherwise) will be Monday at 11 AM PDT at Waterhead.

LF

Bah. How they manage to schedule these things when I have class (almost without fail) is uncanny.

Hope it goes well, though!

Thanks for the heads up LF. I have the day off and will try to attend.

If I'm calculating right, it's less than 2 hours from now. Am I right?



_______________________________________________________
I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Thank you for the heads up Lordfly! Unfortunatly, I'll still be at work during this time and won't be able to make it. Hope someone keeps a copy of the transcript!!

I hope some people can make it.
I'm having dinner with my mom around that time.

I heard that about you, LF. Classy guy.

"And you think you're so clever, and classless, and free / But you're still f-----g peasants as far as I can see..." -- John Lennon



P2

Well I went to this group meeting with Robin and Philip as an observer. While I have not joined the RAC I was at the meeting that took place last week.

If I am not mistaken there was only one person in attendance who was a member. Luckily Prokofy was able to bring out the 3 topics that were discussed in the previous meeting.

All 3 were addressed by Robin and Philip, and a 4th, how to make sure new residents feel welcome, get help, and join SL was also spoken on.

I just made a log of the event so if you want to read that it is here and if someone in the group wants to go through and pull out LL's responce feel free.

Correct log posted with my accidential IM's removed.

Actually, Katt Kongo, who was at the meeting, is a member of the RAC.

I, on the other hand, attended as a journalist, and for the free donuts.

P2

I just wanted to comment ReallyRick on his participation in today's meeting. I felt he did a good job keeping it focused. You made some good points and I was very much impressed.


Forum Siggy
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I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Eeek! I forgot about this. I was busy switching rooms around in my house. I don't usually get on SL during the daytime.

coco

I am glad to hear that an upstanding citizen like RRick was in attendence.

I'm going to have to quit working so that (1) i can attend these meetings and (2) I have time to catch up on my reading. Is Log Reading an olympic sport yet? I'm getting lots of practice and hope it comes in useful sometime.

Philip Linden: "We've found that making a friend in SL is the strongest indicator of success."


That was a quote from the meeting.

From what I've seen in the past month while I've been a live helper is that human contact goes a very,very long way. Even at times when I can't help the person because it's an account issue, the very act of just being there to listen and offer some advice really seems to make a good impression on new players. It makes them feel that SL is a place inhabited by people who care.

I think this is one of the key ways that player retention will be achieved in sl. So how can LL go about facilitating people making friends? The Greeter Program is a good start, Mentors too. Live Helpers to some extent. Sadly the primary function of a Linden Liaison is not to be your friend. So that leaves us. I think LL needs to beef up their volunteer program.

I also think creating new Linden made pubs, lounges, "chill spots" that people can go to will create neutral, club-free spaces (as opposed to player owned) for people to gather and just chit chat.

I agree that real, meaningful personal contact is a cornerstone.

I also agree that new locations/events are a key.

We are trying to organize a way to help people create just this type of thing. Check it out:
/110/ab/58103/1.html

Can I try again with a plea. If enough of you are serious about keeping this group alive, can we please have a Group Forum. So that all group related discussions and reports can be found in one place.

I had considerable difficulty finding this separate, second, group thread in General. Once a thread gets pushed down off the top page (quite fast in General) it is easily lost. And of course, forum will not search for three-letter words like RAC.

To form a Group forum, the only requirement is to have 20 members. To decline to do so, as LF did twice, questions how seriously the group wishes to be taken.

Having finally found it, I am now reading the Philip meeting transcript. I find several elements quite disturbing. I don't know whether I will find the time to post in any detail about them. I don't like SL, or the forums, to become hard work or boring, and this sort of stuff does verge on that.

It is ludicrous that Prok, who was only there part-time, nevertheless dominated most of the discussion whilst present, though he admitted that he was not even a member of the group, and had only put an alt in to keep himself informed. On the other hand, greatly to his credit, he was openly doubtful about being pushed towards a lead role, and pointed out himself how inappropriate that was. And made a valiant shot at representing the groups views and concerns while he was present, if limited to Bluemans report, complete with its omissions.

And of course, as usual, his contributions were mostly coherent and intelligent. Philip must be getting used to seeing him. But both Prok and Philip must find it very pathetic that a group set up partly in opposition to Prok's special interests is so weak and apathetic that it actually begs him to speak for it.

On the other hand, once he was (temporarily) absent, other people had to take a bigger role, and made a decent job of it.

But for Prok to be accepted into, let alone pushed into, such a role in a group set up largely to counterbalance his own activities is truly ludicrous. A profound indictment of everyone else's apathy, and perhaps of the whole idea of representative democracy or representative lobbying in SL.

Still, how can I complain ? I didn't post to correct Bluemans omission of any mention of my own contribution to the initial meeting (on the "compensation" issue). I didn't manage to attend the Philip meeting. I could hardly expect Prok to raise something so directly opposed to his own interests and viewpoint, nor should it have been expected of him.

This is why my conclusions relate mainly to the viability of this sort of process, rather than to anybody having failed, or behaved unsuitably, which I am not suggesting.

Perhaps the real lesson, stating which will increase my unpopularity, is this:

Do not take a leadership role in setting up a representative group unless you are both willing and capable to take a strong leadership role in organising it, structuring it, and attending its critical meetings. To do otherwise is to risk squandering the motivational capital of those who involve themselves. It teaches them that this process is useless, and damages the prospects for future more potentially valuable groups.

How rotten, and mean of me is that, all you "mutual congratulation" enthusiasts ?
But does it hold a grain of truth ?

Whether RAC can recover from what looks to me suspiciously like a humiliation remains to be seen.

Worst of all, has this reduced Philips willingness to meet other groups in the future? He would of course never say so. It seems, unless I have misunderstood, that we couldn't come up with a crisp, prepared report and agenda on notecard, as we had promised. We couldn't put more than two (or was it three) full dedicated members into the field, and we begged someone not in that category, and hugely inappropriate by his own admission, to do most of the speaking for us.

Not very impressive for Philip to encounter, is it ? Lucky he is so polite.

And don't accuse me of not acting myself. I express my own opinions, but I deliberately decline to formally represent others, and I don't take on the burden of organising others either. From long experience I know how much energy it takes, and it's not what I come here for. Doesn't mean I have no right to comment.

Prok and Anshe can and will lead and organise such things. But can/will anyone else ?

I'm on vacation right now. This will be quick.

I wasn't able to organize the meeting properly, I apologize. School has swamped me from the getgo, so the turnout was horrible (only 15 people or so). Prok of course stole the show, as he's apt to do.

I dunno when i'll be able to host another meeting, probably not until school's out for the semester.

So... yeah, i dunno. Discuss.

It seems the answer is no, unless there is very specific motivation to do so.

That said, I thought the meeting (having just read the transcript) went fairly well and would like to say that some attendees did quite well in keeping things on-target.

I was a little disturbed by the discussion of how to retain new SL residents. It seemed fueled by, as yet, unfounded assumptions and a lack of true understanding of where the new user is coming from. How about some exit surveys?

I would also like to point out that for many people, the lack of attendance is not the result of apathy. Rather, it is the result of RL commitments making it hard to fit these meetings into an already busy schedule.

I would be willing to help out Lord. Would you like to get together in world to discuss?



For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
Robert Louis Stevenson

In my opinion, he may have been most vocal and most transparent in his motivations, but the GL Performance Review gave highest marks to ReallyRick (bonus points for smooth leadership) followed closely by Hiro and Ingrid.

I would have to concur.


For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
Robert Louis Stevenson

It is funny, isn't it. But though RAC may have been set up to counteract Prok himself (and/or Anshe herself), I don't think the things RAC has talked about so far are directly against Prok's (or Anshe's) own interests and/or viewpoints.

coco