Open apology to Merwan Marker and the Second Life community

*hits John with a stick* do you REALLY expect him to have a board of directors?! Jeez... come on and think a bit before you post!

I am reserving judgement until I find out more details.
I signed up for slexchange.com because of Merwan, and believe most of your success is due to his promotion. I truley hope this is not a greed motivated decision.

As a customer who entrusts you to distribution of my product and money, I feel I am entitled to a better explaination as to what is going on.

No, I didn't expect him to (and yes, I thought a lot before I posted). That's what I was trying to make clear. If you are incorporated, you typically have a board of directors. People on the board oversee the operations of the corporation. The board gives people faith in the company, since board members are carefully chosen to be people that can be trusted.

SLexchange is not incorporated. It is operating as a sole proprietorship. I was making the point that with SLexchange, all we have in terms of trusting the operation of the business is the word of the sole proprietor. Which was why I was asking Apotheus to simply be more open about what happened.

(And yes, I have some experience with all this. I run my own non-profit corporation, with it's own board of directors.)

Schwan says it all. I think the world of Merwan and signed up because he thought it was a worthy enterprise. Before I decide, I'd like to speak with Merwan.

*points up*

What Rose said.

I must be immersed in my own second world more than I thought because I didn't even know Apotheus Silverman was involved with slexchange. The only one I saw promoting and discussing the site was Merwan. I don't know what happened, and actually it's none of my business, but I want to state that Merwan is one of the most caring, thoughtful people I have met in SL.

Are we so jaded and cynical that we can't deal with a positive outlook and have to suspect the motives of a cheerful person!?

The sole proprietorship bit is absolutely true. The reason I mentioned it is to illustrate that I think of and treat SL Exchange as a formal business entity all its own. I am currently working to formalize this entity by forming a corporation which will own and operate the service.



John, I understand and appreciate your intelligent post. I agree that my original post does not answer all the questions people will have, however I am unable to give all the information regarding how and why this happened without compromising Merwan's personal privacy and possibly subjecting myself to accusations of libel.

I can give a little more information however.

Merwan and I did not agree on a number of issues relating to the operation of SL Exchange, its development path, and how to go about promoting its services. These disagreements were on such fundamental topics that I did not believe any reconciliation was possible.

I believe I made a mistake in judgement in that I let my disagreement continue as long as it did. I had been skirting the issue of severing ties well before we even launched the Marketplace on Thanksgiving weekend. My optimism for and avoidance of the issue for all this time was probably my biggest mistake of all, as I do not believe there would have been such a furor or bad feelings had this happened before the launch of the Marketplace. For this also, I apologize to Merwan and the Second Life community at large.

Regarding the future and the chances of this happening again, I must again mention that Cubey Terra will be filling some of the role Merwan had. Cubey and I have worked together on multiple large, joint projects for over a year. He and I have both been tested "in the heat of battle" and we have worked very well together in both the decision-making and implementation aspects of all the projects we have collaborated on. It is my sincere hope that the service flourishes and grows with Second Life under the direction of our combined skills -- that is, if he is still willing to work with me after this episode.

D&D Dogs got involved with SLExchange because of Merwan. I always thought of SLExchange as Merwan since he is the one I always dealt with to get setup, get our own ATM on our land, etc.

I too would like to know what really happened, but it is up to Merwan to speak up. I did think it showed great character that when all this happened, he took the time to send out a notecard explaining that something was going on. He does care about his customers.

Apotheus, I hope you realize that you are losing the perceived voice of SLExchange. Let's hope we all get the full story so we can make an informed decision about staying with this service.

D&D Dogs will remain on SLExchange for now.

I would like to apologize for littering the grounds of SLExchange with tons of dirty diapers. I haven't actually gotten around to doing it yet, but I would like to apologize anyway.

Well, hopefully Merwan at least lets us know if he is happy or unhappy.

I have been a customer of SLexchange and will add that I will, like the others, first check with my friend Merwan before I shop there again. I, too, think the world of him and will trust his judgement here.

I think some of the surprise here today is because nobody knew that Apotheus was the sole proprietor of SL Exchange. I'd like to take a moment to introduce him to everyone.

Apotheus and I first teamed up in November 2003 to build Zoe Airfield. As he tells anyone, he writes code. Seriously, this guy is so focused on writing programming that few people even know he's there.

It's because of that positive experience of Zoe Airfield that we started a new and much bigger project -- Abbotts Aerodrome. Although most people think that I'm the owner and operator of the aerodrome, the truth is that the aerodrome wouldn't exist today without the support of Apotheus. He's the hard-working guy in the background, and he never once complained when I was hogging the spotlight.

Anyway, I know Apoth as a solid, upstanding guy, and although I don't know Merwan personally, I know his reputation of also being a solid, upstanding guy. I can only assume that this is one of those instances where two solid, upstanding guys disagree. I don't know the details... and to be honest, I don't need to know the details.

All I know at this point is that I think that SL Exchange has revolutionized shopping in SL. I have the fullest confidence that SL Exchange will prove to be a stunning success, and an invaluable resource for both designers and shoppers alike. For that, the project has my full support.

Wow, that's one heck of a "mistake in judgement". Launch by far the highest-impact service in the slexchange.com locker, allowing Merwan to be the energetic spokesperson for it, getting people involved, getting the interest and "column inches" so to speak and then drop him in favour of your good ole', long time buddy. I'm actually suprised that Cubey's taken the position filling the role of somebody who's so callously been left out to dry.

Being the cynic that I am I would think that you've used Merwan here, knowing full well that you did not want the business relationship to continue (by your own admission, well before the Marketplace was launched!), you still used his leverage, contacts and enthusiasm to get the Marketplace launched and in-front of the SL public in a big way.

You say that one of the disagreements was on how to promote the service. Strange, I thought Merwan was going a bang-up job there. It looks like many of the merchants were brought in because of Merwan.

Is Merwan happy about this I wonder? I get the feeling not, but then he's so non-controversial I don't suspect he's going to make a big fuss in public about it. You probably realised that as well, thinking that it would blow over quicker.

Would this be an INC., one that reports its earnings to its registered state annually? I'd be interesting in seeing your numbers, as would a lot of people here it seems.

Cubey, it doesn't matter if it's a sole propietorship. Unless there are some really tight contracts written up, in which case Merwan screwed up big time, then Apotheus is totally in the wrong.

You can not go around getting people to sacrifice risk capital (which is what Merwan most definitely did here) and then toss them out in the wind without a lot of legalese to back it up.

Simple business licenses and what not will not do it. Merwan needed to know full and clear in documented language that he could be tossed on the whim of Apotheus.

This is why you have to sign extensive employment contracts before worknig for someone. That stuff isn't just filler, you know.

Unless Merwan says otherwise, I think this is a very very bad business decision done in a very poor ethical way.

Wackiness? The concerns expressed by many are real and valid and to call them "wackiness" is rather insulting to your depositors. But alas, more hand-waving instead of information.

You don't know what transpired between Merwan and Apotheus but you have full faith that all will be well? That's rather cavalier; as Baccarra said, watch your back.

I really don't know Merwan that well, although the posts I've seen on the forum from him portray a pretty nice person, IMHO...

However, I don't shop on SLExchange because I trust Merwan's name...I shop there because I think its a conveinent online way of getting interesting goodies when I can't log onto SL. I really don't believe the concept of SLExchange is that flimsy that a change in perceived management could make it unsound.

I'll still shop at SLExchange, regardless of what drama occurs backstage. It's an awesome showcase for some of SL's most talented designers, if you ask me.

Here is a typical statement that you'd put in an employment contract:

"Our firm adheres to the policy of employment-at-will, which enables the firm or the employee to terminate the employment at any time with or without cause. "

Unless Merwan signed and acknowledged that kind of language, Apotheus is in for a very very harsh wake up call.

And hopefully he gets it. Unless merwan says otherwise, I think what he did is just terrible.

The fact is the underlyng assumption Merwan was probably working under that he was a partner of sorts which lead him to enthusiastically pronounce the business under his good name.

Does Apotheus really think Merwan would have done what he did if he thought he was just some peon that could be disposed of?

Apotheus subconciously or conciously knew that and used and abused it. His complete lack of self recognition is really going to screw him here.

This isn't actually about a "change in perceived management", it's actually more about the trustworthyness, scruples and ethics of the people behind it. If this can happen, and make no mistake about it it is premeditated by Apotheus' own admission, it doesn't say much for those in charge.

No kidding! I'm a running dog capitalist like the rest, but you treat your fellow man with a certain level of respect and consideration.

Merwan and I have had our differences over time, but it does sadden me to see him tossed aside like this, and apologized to in what seems more like an attempt to cover one's ass/PR move than any kind of true mea culpa or sincere apology for damage done. Any business is based upon the reputation of those involved in it, and as fond as I have always been of Cubey, it is not enough to overcome the severe misgivings I have for Apotheus.

I was ambivalent about SLExchange in the past - annoyed by Merwan's spam but had nothing against the site and have used it, but it was Apotheus's sleazy "well they never asked us not to take out a comission on charity items" answer in regards to VERTU that first made me see his true colors. Merwan's treatment in this situation just adds to an overall negative impression exponentially. I may not always agree with Merwan, but he has always been professional, well spoken, and kind, and deserves a lot better than to be tossed aside as a site becomes a success on his coattails.

No it will not be incorporated.

Apotheus said:



Apotheus then posted a spreadsheet with the earnings in hopes to show that he wasn't making any money and then promptly deleted it because he obviously realised he made a mistake in trying his little propaganda tactic:

Since it was posted to the public domain, here's what it said:

Week Ending     Number of Sales	Sales Revenue  Commissions  Advertising Income
12/4/2004       114                   17753         803          0
12/11/2004      333                   121119        2798         0
12/18/2004      494                   99937         6807         4640
12/25/2004      923                   139439        9202         4000
1/1/2005        696                   124390        11033        3100
1/8/2005        1065                  184073        15019        3625
1/15/2005       944                   150313        14305        1955

Here was my reply:


What do you take us for? Morons?

The growth curve on that is obvious to a two year old. In one month your earnings have increased 10 fold.

One just has to look at the spreadsheets that Philip produces to see that this is going to be a $10,000 USD / month business in six months time, and that's assuming about a 40% market penetration.

That means it's a $120,000 USD-$240,000 USD business, given that small business usually can be bought at 1-2x annual earnings (versus public companies, which are 10-20x annual earnings).

What a joke. You're just digging yourself in deeper.

I have some questions, why Apotheus, you refused to meet with Merwan with an SL representative to smooth over some of the problems?

Why, without warning was Merwan locked out of SLexchange?

Merwan got broadsided from what I am understanding, as Baccara said.. Shame on YOU.

He was your spokeman with your "Partnership", it takes more than just being a good scripter, it takes a person that can get the service out there. I'm sorry but how I see it, Merwan was the drive behind SLexchange. Merwan did this, once SLexchange started taking off, you lock him out, used him then left him. (did you smoke a cigerette afterwards?)