PLEASE!? Better Buisness Bureau?

Please can someone start a better buisness bureau? Atleast a place where names can be saved and categorised and filed of buisness owners and SIMs who particpate in crimes against women..crimes against children....Wire fraud etc?. Also Bade buisness practices..those who dont have good customer support get one start out of 5..if even that one?

Can it be done?

~Lana....Please?

No, it can't. There's no way to do it and have it be reputable. There's no way to sue someone for making a false claim, and no way to get your reputation back once the false claim is out there.

Name: Linden Lab
Phone: (415) 243-9000
Fax: (415) 243-9045
Address: 1100 Sansome St
San Francisco, CA 94111-1205
Original Business Start Date: November 1999
Principal: Kelly Jo MacArthur, General Counsel
Customer Contact: Kelly Jo MacArthur, General Counsel
Email Address: [email]contact@lindenlab.com[/email]
TOB Classification: Video Games-Wholesale & Manufacturers

**BBB Accreditation: This organization is not a BBB Accredited business.**

------------------------------------------

From http://goldengate.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=99&bbb=1116&firm=57373

There was one, about a year ago or so. Don't know if it still exists. Problem with a resident-run operation like that is it's only as good as the people running it - and some of the people involved in it were of questionable reputation/motives. Besides, even though it was started with good intentions, it was all just "he said/she said" - they didn't have the power to find out what actually happened, like the Lindens can.

Edit: Just to clarify, the SLBB was NOT affiliated with the Real Life Better Business Bureau. I doubt the real BBB would want to get involved in this mess.

You're hired!

Like Puppet said, I remember one when I first arrived in SL a year ago. There were signs in stores supporting it and I thought it was a great idea.

If one was started there would be a lot of he said she said. No real way to follow up on what transacted. You could start a list with friends you trust, but if it goes beyond that then businesses would just be putting false information about each other, and having friends say how great they are.

Great idea...not possible that I can see.

One old Second Life Better Business Bureau was created in April 2006. There is a post about it at /128/dd/98202/1.html

That thread was locked. That thread contains a link to the original thread announcing the group's formation. That original thread was deleted. The website of the group, which was slbbb.com, is long gone.

There is another inworld group, still in existence, called the SL Better Business Bureau. That group has a website at httpslbbb.info. That site has links for Home, About, FAQ, Mission, Members, Directors, Policies, Claims, News, Contact. Only the FAQ link goes anywhere other than the homepage. There aren't any claims or news listed. The inworld group has only 16 members.


There's a group called Second Life Bureau of Business, founded by "Spaghetti Oh" who is apparently the only member.

If one is started... please let me know so I can avoid it.

Seriously I do not mean to sound horrible.. but this would be abused so badly by an army of alts. If for instance someone felt short changed by a person for whatever reason... bring in the friends..alts and whoever else will listen and watch that rating slide.

How does that help the genuine end user with only fake reports to go on?

Unscrupulous competitors could do the same thing too.

just something..a secret shopper system if trusted individuals within SL to go 9in and see wether or not accusations are founded?

Im sure theres a way

~Lana

Lana, I officially offer myself to be the founding head of a new SL Department of Best Business Practices and Ethics. My offer is contingent on your willingness to pay me what I make now in rl and that you let me work from home. Please send me a note if you are interested.

Sincerely,

James

Exactly the problem with this and any other ban/rate/black list system for Second Life.

if 5 respected buisness owners..who are objective and refuse to place their own stores with the BBBSL seal of approval(proving they have nothing to gain) were willing to make alts that went in and investigated complaints..Im sure the process could be transparent and quite effective and "honest".

~Lana

Not at all.... respected business owners did not get to be respected in SL without being around for a while.. in that time not only did they pick up those that respected them but they also would of happened across a few enemies

I have worked damn hard on my little store a lot of my buyers are repeat buyers...if a customer happened across my store and had an issue with the way I do business for whatever reason... all the hard work I have put in, all the money and time invested will be subjected to watching a so called rating slide? Not on your nelly!

Everyone who has ever had cause to contact me regarding any purchase (about 2! ) I have made sure has gone away happy... Though I do know of a few psycho ex's (not mine I may add!) that would love such a list...

I don't know what the answer is, and I commend you for trying to think outside the box... but I don't think this is it.

I agree..therefore no acting board member can actually file a complaint...maybe make it ten board members with a majority vote..If someone complains too many times about a buisness and the complaints about that buisness aren't founded and proven to be true then the person who filed the complaint will also be recorded as having an official complaint..so..in the future we can know wether or not there seems to be a witch hunt on this buisness..Im sure theres an honest way to run something like this.(( I mean.... if ten board members try on numerous occasions to secret shopper a buisness and find nothing wrong..there will be something in place to red flag them(The buisness) as a possible griefers "target")

~Lana

Even in RL the BBB is a scam. They only accept complaints against non-BBB members. If you join the BBB you automatically get a good ranking.

Several methods could be put in place to determine the authenticity of claims. If a hundred AVIs all show up with the same complaint and they all have the same rez day that would be a clue to someone running a scam.

It would have to be a team of folks just to sort through everything.

"CX"

True enough; however, a hundred avis with differing complaints about the same company with vastly different rez days is -not- necessarily a clue that the whole thing is NOT a scam.

"Atleast a place where names can be saved and categorised and filed of buisness owners and SIMs who particpate in crimes against women..crimes against children...."

Are you talking about fraudulent business practices, or are you talking about roleplay which is not to your taste?

something like that in here ran by people in here would only become corrupt over time then before you know it we have a one world order!!!Oh wait.............we do have a one world order here lol

*nods*

Heck, why don't we throw in all BDSM players (including Goreans), Furries, Ad Farmers, and Non-Christians?

You simply can't say that someone is a "good" merchant because they don't belong to groups that you don't approve...

why is it they always use women and children for the examples..it sounds like a politician running for votes..
we are on a no children grid! this is the internet..if you wish to have safe white picket fence type life styles you need to buy the following..1!! a big man eating dog.. because we all know men are the ones that commit those evil crimes against women and children atleast thats what all those talk shows say..3!!!and a big gun.because those who have the big gun can make anyone silent aslong as they don't have a big gun too..then it is who shoots first who has the say..and 6!! lots to drink!!! and last but not least 4!!! i mean 7!!! alot of asprin for the next day cause you accidently passed a law and your hubby got eaten by a man eating dog and shot walking past the house down the street and you ended up regreting getting the law past because you found out in getting some crazy law or something passed it ended up affecting something you never saw in the bigger picture that you may enjoy in sl..

becarful what you wish for you may just get it..

I wondered about that also, so if they only target men, they mantain a stellar rating?

It's all too easy for a "certification" organization like this to become corrupted. Pretty soon, it's blackmailing people. "Join us, or find yourself on our blacklist." What you're proposing would be a business-oriented version of the various SL "police" organizations.

Your intentions are pure, Lana, but I don't see a way to make it work.

*headscratch* Crimes against women and children?

I'm going to start a "Crimes against Men" business. Looking for a loan of 50,000L to get me started. IM me inworld to apply or, better yet, don't bother talking to me, just hit the "Pay" slice on my pie



While it would be helpful to get a heads-up about unscrupulous merchants, I also can't see this sort of thing working.

Bad or unethical business practices are self-defeating in the long. As in many RL cases, good business practices usually ensure that a merchant sticks around, supported by loyal customers who recommend their business. Those without happy customers aren't going to get recommendations.
Since the search feature is about as useful as leg wax in SL, word of mouth is pretty much the best way of building your business, even if it's a slow process.

I dont' suppose anything can stop you from TALKING to your friends about places you feel are unethical. That word gets around, too.

B.