Have you seen Philip's quotes in the new Reuter's piece?

Bad Weather...
Opressive Regimes...
Poor Economic Conditions...

Was he describing some third world country? or the USA?

While we're at it.. that seems like a pretty good description of SL/LL over the last year.

Uninformed? He's making a generality but he's probably right. He's the one tracking user hours. Though they don't publish it in fine detail, he's got every zip code and can see how much time is spent. Busy professionals = very little time to spend in SL unless they deprive themselves of sleep or are in IT and have fat pipes to sit on SL all day.

I don't get it. Are people simply looking to be offended?

I'm going through reading the article for the third time. I certainly see some misjudgements about technology - but I don't see where Phil is saying anything shocking or offensive to the SL community.


Really, you could say that one thing players of MMPORGs have in common is that they have a lot of time.

Ask yourself how many hours you spend in SL each day. If your answer is more than 2 hours - guess what? You've got a lot of free time! Considering SL Users spent over 350 million hours online last quarter, I just don't see this statement as that far off the mark.



/shrug - I'm reading this as: These are the situations that make people ripe for SL (or any virtual world for that matter). Its an acknowledgement that SL will never compete with Real Life™, except in the cases where one's RL has some limitations - whether those reasons are personal, political, or environmental.

I was trying to figure out the best way to say basically the same thing. You said it better than I could have though.

While I think Phil needs to hire a writer to 'help' him with his interviews (or shock-collar linked to a PR person).. I think he's right. We do have a lot of time, which is exactly what is needed to learn to farking use SL. We also need a saintly amount of patience too.

Example: Yesterday I spent nearly 5 hours building a new shop to lower to the old shop's level. That whole time was spent cursing as changes I made reverted back to former stages and textures refused to take. I'm afraid to try doing a dress or much of anything else right now, because I might actually manage to break my keyboard.

The problem I see with Phil is the exact same problem that I saw when the flood gates were opened for registering. Not enough forethought from the big-wig. It's like he sees the future.. but doesn't plan for the steps in between now and then. Thus the need for a new CEO, someone who can see the steps and TAKE THEM.

Doesn't the U.S. make up about 30% of the SL population? Add Australia, Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, etc. Are these countries considered places where you find,

"Bad Weather...
Opressive Regimes...
Poor Economic Conditions..."

SL gives people living in these environments a wonderful opportunity, but do they really make up most of the user base? Maybe the part about 'bad weather' could be associated Canada, lol. But not many countries have perfect weather. Canada only makes up for about 3%, anyway.

Again, I don't find the comments to be particularly insulting, just strange and very surprising.

I think the wifi issue isn't with regards to bandwidth, it's to do with the growth of wifi encouraging the growth of laptop sales.

One thing's certain, Phil never did take Diplomacy 101.

Besides, with Hipihi going open beta, folks in a truly oppressive regime now have their very own little virtual world and don't need SL anymore.

Asked to explain the appeal of Second Life — which has no game-like aspects such as points-scoring, winners or losers — Rosedale said: “The only thing that SL users have in common is that they have a lot of time.”

Users in big cities such as New York or Los Angeles were least likely to spend time in Second Life, not only because they were busy but because they had less need to escape to an alternative, anonymous world, he said.

“Bad weather, oppressive regimes, poor economic conditions — that’s what makes an SL user.”

I HIGHLY doubt all this is true, yes, that is part of it, some people have a lot of time & spend it on SL. But many people work and still make the time. And yes the weather, location, econ. conditions have something to do with it but that's not the whole picture. SL is a way of doing crazy things, exploring things you wouldn't do in RL, for example being in Gor, becoming a furry, neko, vamp, etc, that is appealing to a wide variety of people. I know many people who work, go to school or even do both and still make time for SL. I do not think the Lindens are aware of the appeal SL holds for many of its users. Geesh just look at the name list and you can pretty much figure that out.

Hmm....


"Bad Weather...
Opressive Regimes...
Poor Economic Conditions..."

This reminds me of something......

Fade to a Quite english countryside Sim.....


Philip Linden: Old woman! I am on a Quest to Find a new CEO for Linden Labs!

Male_SL_user_01: Man!

Philip Linden: Old Man, sorry. What CEO live’s in that castle over there?

Male_SL_Avatar: I'm thirty seven.

Philip Linden: What?

Male_SL_Avatar: I'm thirty seven -- I'm not old!

Philip Linden: Well, I can't just call you `Man'.

Male_SL_Avatar: Well, you could say `Dennis'.

Philip Linden: Well, I didn't know you were called `Dennis in RL!'

Male_SL_Avatar: Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?

Philip Linden: I did say sorry about the `old woman,' but from the behind your Avatar looked--

Male_SL_Avatar: What I object to is you automatically treat me like an inferior just because I have a Freebie Skin!

Philip Linden: Well, I AM the Ex-CEO!...

Male_SL_Avatar: Oh Ex-CEO, eh, very nice. An' how'd you get that, eh? By exploitin' the users -- by 'angin' on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic an' social differences in our society! If there's ever going to be any progress--

Female_SL_Avatar: Dennis, there's some lovely Cyber Pose Balls down here. Oh -- how d'you do?

Philip Linden: How do you do, good lady. I am Philip Linden, Ex-CEO of Linden Labs. Who's castle is that?

Female_SL_Avatar: Ex-CEO of the who?

Philip Linden: Linden Labs.

Female_SL_Avatar: What is Linden Labs?

Philip Linden: Well, we're all in Second Life, which is run by Linden Labs and I am your Ex-CEO.

Female_SL_Avatar: I didn't know we had a CEO. I thought we were an autonomous collective Sim.

Male_SL_Avatar: You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship. A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the Basic Account users—

Female_SL_Avatar: Oh there you go, bringing Premium and Basic Accounts into it again.

Male_SL_Avatar: That's what it's all about if only people would--

Philip Linden: Please, please good people. I am in haste. Who lives in that castle?

Female_SL_Avatar: No one live there.

Philip Linden: Then who is your CEO?

Female_SL_Avatar: We don't have a CEO.

Philip Linden: What?

Male_SL_Avatar: I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist Sim. We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.

Philip Linden: Yes.

Male_SL_Avatar: But all the decision of that officer have to be ratified at a special biweekly meeting.

Philip Linden: Yes, I see.

Male_SL_Avatar: By a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,--

Philip Linden: Be quiet!

Male_SL_Avatar: --but by a two-thirds majority in the case of more--

Philip Linden: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!

Female_SL_Avatar: Order, eh -- who does he think he is?

Philip Linden: I am your Ex-CEO!

Female_SL_Avatar: Well, I didn't vote for you.

Philip Linden: You don't vote for CEO’s.

Female_SL_Avatar: Well, 'ow did you become a CEO then?

Philip Linden: The Lady of the Lake, [angels sing] her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur, the Key to the Executive washroom! from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Philip Linden, was to carry this Key.[singing stops] That is why I am your EX-CEO!

Male_SL_Avatar: Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing washroom keys is no basis for a system of Management. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Philip Linden: Be quiet!

Male_SL_Avatar: Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a key to the Loo at you!

Philip Linden: Shut up!

Male_SL_Avatar: I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an CEO just because some moistened bint had lobbed a Boys room key at me they'd put me away!

Philip Linden: Shut up! Will you shut up! Or I will Ban You!

Male_SL_Avatar: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

Philip Linden: Shut up!

Male_SL_Avatar: Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!
HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed!

Philip Linden: Bloody Basic Account user!

Male_SL_Avatar: Oh, what a give away. Did you here that, did you here that, eh? That's what I'm on about -- did you see him repressing me, you saw it didn't you?

The United States?

I IMed phil about that reuters article...

here's his reply:
[12:13] Philip Linden: I apologize for that, I was badly misquoted. I have complained!
[12:14] Lance Corrimal: you should consider putting the apology prominently on the front page of www.secondlife.com, i'm not the only one who took that statement badly... read the forums
[12:15] Philip Linden: OK let me think about that.

I dunno, the weather sucks here. I feel economically repressed. Oh wait, that's because I don't have a job right now. Oppresive regime? Isn't that a detox diet?

Which part though, Reuters aren't valleywag. Part of it was in quotes, part of it wasn't, the part that wasn't is probably paraphrased and cause for complaint but it would be interesting to see if parts of the quoted text were taken out of context.

One of the reasons he is getting "resigned" as the face of Second Life.

*laughs* I can see it now. Phil is talking to the the new PR guru. "Dammit, I've f***ed it up again opening my big mouth and saying what I -really- mean (kinda like Bill Clinton at times) Can you try and fix this fiasco before they realize this is what I truly think of them and stop sending us money?"

The thought crossed my mind that the interviewer could have taken his words out of context and distorted the meaning. It just did not sound like the Philip Rosedale I have watched in many interviews and heard speak at SLCC.

Hmm.. two possible scenarios for this is:

1. He completely places the blame on Reuters, thus apologizes for nothing,

or

2. He'll have forgotten by now.

I will gladly apologize if he actually does apologize! I don't mind being proven wrong on something like this. But honestly, I don't think he intended any insult, because he's renowned for not engaging the brain before saying something. (Pot meet kettle.. I'm bad about it too.)

No. He's just trying to sound presidential.

Really though, nothing here was out of context. It's just elitest snobbery.

waaaaaa waaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaa

I must join the chorus here, and insist that Philip's comments are wholly inaccurate.

Take me, for instance. I don't have "a lot of time". In point of fact, I have hardly ANY time.

...because I spend every spare minute on SL.

Thank you, Lance. I will be glad to hear Philip's response to this.

coco

I will be surprised to hear Philip's response to this.













*Edit for spelling oops*

I will watch for Philip's response to this on Reuters. Incidently, comments made on their web site to the story (yes, comments are open there) may have more impact than comments here.
.

I read the article and wasn't offended at all. If I had less free time in RL, I'd certainly spend less time in SL. Big deal.