SLExchange Joint Statement - APO & MER

We, Apotheus & Merwan, are involved in fruitful discussions about the
future of SL Exchange and we ask everyone to be patient and not jump
to uninformed conclusions. A lot has happened in private since our
last public statements and we are now confident a mutual agreement
will be reached regarding our partnership.

We both remain committed to the future success of SLExchange.com, its
Merchants, and its Customers. In the interest of fairness we ask the
boycott efforts to end to allow for a cooling off period.

Thank you.




_/_/_/

We, Merwan & Apotheus, are involved in fruitful discussions about the future of SL Exchange and we ask everyone to be patient and not jump to uninformed conclusions. A lot has happened in private since our last public statements and we are now confident a mutual agreement will be reached regarding our partnership.

We both remain committed to the future success of SLExchange.com, its Merchants, and its Customers. In the interest of fairness we ask the boycott efforts to end to allow for a cooling off period.

Thank you.

I shall certainly draw my own conclusions. Good luck with your discussions.

Cali

I have always made up my own mind about such things - and never jumped to conclusions. However, the events that have led up to this still make me worry about the way that SL Exchange is managed. I wish you the best of luck with your business but will continue to sell my items in world only.

Thank you!

I really appreciate the public announcement and am satisfied enough with it that I no longer think an educational campaign or boycott is necessary. However, personally, I still will not feel comfortable selling wares with your service until a complete resolution is reached. I encourage you to keep your customers and the SL public informed of your progress.

~Ulrika~

Needs less Ulrika.

Good statement guys, glad to see you're talking.

Needs more cowbell, however.

Has cowbell finally been listed on SLX? I have been waiting ! Good to see this guys, I hope it all sorts out well real soon.

so we should boycott then? got it.

Boycotting cowbell would only result in the same amount of cowbell.

I'm talking about it needing *more* cowbell.

i thought cowbell and boycotting were the same. i'm so confused.

why anyone not directly involved feels this effected them enough to boycot is beyond me. It just proves how many people in SecondLife enjoy and search for reasons to get angry.

As a disclaimer, you should have stated that you have many (if not the most) animations for sale on SLEX.

When coming out against an opposition group it's important to provide disclosure. If you don't, you risk embarrassment when the opposition does it for you.

~Ulrika~

I thought it was a nice touch how both Mer and Apoth posted their statements in almost-synchronicity at the beginning of this thread. I hope that things work out well.

Time will show . . .

Yah, it's almost like they were on AIM together, timing when to press the "submit" button

Maybe with a cowbell.

And ah-one and ah-two and ah-three.......

el oh el !!! Bubbles wheeeeeeeeeeee

Or just get subsequently embarrassed as you keep spamming the forums about it. Either way is good.

Still needs more cowbell.

I was approached to stop my educational campaign and boycott by a member of SLEX yesterday. I replied that if they made a joint public statement to their customers and the public, I would do so. I am optimistic that a resolution is close.

Remember, the goal is for us as a group to try and improve the quality of SL business by holding them to high standards. In the end it benefits us all.

~Ulrika~

Ulrika, what I sell on SLExchange has nothing to do with my statement. The fact I list all my animations there does not change the fact that a boycott was a silly idea. Until anyone of the customers or vendors got screwed over because of this, it should have remained between them. Your boycott did not effect my sales there in any way so my statement and the inventory have nothing to do with each other.

Edit

Want to add that if anyone is really serious about putting a standard of intergrity in SL business, please contact me. I am developing a website for customers to rate products and vendors. I need help in many areas including the back end code. If interested please contact me.

Thanks.

Well, I wish Merwan good luck with this, but I am sorry, Apo, but I could never trust you after your previous actions.

This also applies to undisclosed praise bias.

For example, if I were a journalist who wrote an article making snide remarks that undermined the credibility of one person, and showered another with praise and attention, then ethically I should disclose that the one praised is my cyber lover and the one derided had turned me down.

Who do we know like that?

Oh well, this assumes the author has ethics. Capische?

Actually, the goal seems to be you involving yourself in any possible way with the current drama dujour, especially in light of you considering/collaborating to launch a competitive service.

Slick!

If only McDonalds and Burger King could go head-to-head the same way.
Something to consider! Just think of the money they'd pay you to shut your yap!

It certainly worked here. I don't blame them telling you to stop, it really was a dedicated spam-a-thon. Really, you should put that effort to actual use in RL, instead of annoying everyone here with it.

But, as usual, you'll continue. Wind-up-boycott-bot, watch 'er go!!

Unless you're saying that I have dated members of SLEX, I have no idea what you're talking about.

Feel free to IM or PM me, if there's something you want to talk about.

~Ulrika~

Of course it works. Directed grass-roots efforts always have an impact. Whether it's in a game (educational campaign), in a factory (workers strike), or around the world (antiwar protests). It's the fundamental method by which the common person can affect change. It is one of the great treasures of a free society and it should be exercised.

Speaking of RL, I was going into a grocery store outside of San Francisco and there was a man standing out front handing out flyers. He was trying to educate people about an impending development project coming to a community that would transform hundreds of acres of vineyards and open space into suburban sprawl. We spoke at length about my RL and SL activities and the positive and negative responses we get from people, agreeing that the thing that troubled us the most was selfishness. Specifically, those who seek personal gain above that of the greater society (see the Tragedy of the Commons).

If you would like to understand why I do what I do, please send me a PM, IM, or email. Although, it's my guess that posts like that are more about expressing anger than the desire to exchange ideas. Tsk.

~Ulrika~

Last Word v.1.3.26.74

Initializing.....checking protest flags......updating boycott datbase.....generating random reply phrase-engine....checking ego-level....

Directives:

#include boycott.h
#include mindlessblather.h
#include fuh-fuh-fuh.h

Compiled and ready, please initiate command.

UlrikaWhinev1.0> Boycott $var
UlrikaWhinev1.0> IF $pointless_demands == $ego_satisfactionIndex THEN $post_SelfCongratulatoryReply+$SeqNum

System Initialized, auto-whine in progress. Use 'show whine stat' to see updates.

UlrikaWhinev1.0> logout

+++====

You have been disconnected by the remote host.

I too wish you good luck in this Merwan but am still going to wait a while before I buy on SLExchange again, I've been turning things down constantly when I see they're being sold on the exchange. This is my personal decision and what I'm comfortable with for right now. Hang in there Merwan, you're a great guy.