Forums getting a new "Conversation Manager"?

Heard it too many times before to believe anything LL says about this forum. It doesn't need a Conversation Manager/Hall Monitor. It needs a "Intsall updated software and get the Hell out of the way" manager. The forum manages itself quite well in my opinion.

1 User agrees

I suppose I can accept that, so long as there is then a NEW channel for effectively communicating with LL. I think this forum does serve a valuable role, both as a sort of general "discussion" area, and as a place to let off steam about SL.

But I DO want to see a new effective channel for communicating with LL opened up, whether it is here, or in something new.

It was a paly on her comment that she hoped he was a Manly Man - as she has billed Montana Man as a manly man - therefore---

I wondered about that too, and almost posted here with a new thread about it. Over on those other blogs, I saw a post from Lexie Linden, who stopped a thread that was getting out of control:

"Thread locked. Please follow the guidelines for posting in Second Life Answers. Long debates or discussions are better suited for the Second Life Forums. Thank you!"

If she's directing people over here for discussion, my first thought was that they have realized the value of both venues. You can read it here:

https://blogs.secondlife.com/thread/7035?start=75&tstart=0

The problem with communicating with LL is that 'communication' implies dialogue- not monologue. LL 'listens'... then does what they already determined they would do. You don't believe me or you haven't attended enough office hours recently to see the pattern, then join the SecondLife Merchants Group and wait for Pink to toss out a question- people answer, suggest- and hey guess what- it doesnt matter-.

And I think all Lindens as individuals have crappy jobs- I bet Pink doesnt particularly want to be the whipping boy for the idiocy that they have perpetrated on us with the recent XStreet BS - but she gets dumped on big time for it and then has to sit there and pretend she thinks it's all cake. Unless of course she does agree in which case the BS runs far and deep -

But what it all comes down to it is that this is the only party in town- you live with it 'cause there is no other viable choice.

Yeah, I get this. I've been to enough office hours myself that I've seen this process at work.

But I am hoping -- hoping, NOT predicting -- that M.'s blog post, and the appointment of this new CM represents a real attempt to change the corporate culture of LL, and make it more sensitive to input from residents. This could be nothing more than window dressing. But it's just possible that it might represent a real move towards better communication.

I'm sitting back and being as optimistic as possible, along with Scylla. But I'm all too aware that corporate culture does not change easily or quickly, and it must start at the top.

Mark has been here long enough that if he really meant to, or knew how to, change the corporate culture, we'd have seen some results by now. But if anything, the culture at LL has become even MORE antagonistic toward the customer.

I really, really wish that I didn't agree with this.

Make that two of us.

I get the feeling that they actually do know what they are doing and who they are marketing to. The problem is that the existing resident base doesn't fit this "ideal customer" template they have.

As for the new "manager," I'll take the wait and see.

Wake me when something actually happens here, other than the lights going out, of course.

Untrue!! Since he came on board, LL has become more detached and less transparent - certainly changes from how I remember the LL of my youth!

Yay, more LL Vague ftw!

So, will it be another Katt?

We should get a pool going on how long they hold up before we make them "sad" and they vanish.

Katt's job title was "Community Manager", and her job description was astoundingly broad. So broad that, imho, it was impossible for her to succeed. It included some degree of responsibility for all forms of resident-targeted online communication, including podcasts, blogs, forums, wikis and videos. It was an astounding job, and, predictably, she ended up dashing unfocusedly from project to project. I hope that Wallace can be spared that fate.

"Conversation Manager" could mean anything, but I hope his sphere is limited to the ephemeral, real-time forms of 2-way non-inworld online communications ... including these forums, the blogrum "Discussion" threads, and Twitter. That would at least be a sensible sphere of responsibility.

A few reminders:

According to Blue Linden, the "New Forums" were to be a set of blogrum areas like the new Commerce forum, essentially just a set of places where Residents could start Discussion threads, just like M did at the end of his Looking Forward post. (Outside of the Commerce forum and SL Answers, there are no blogrum areas where we can now originate a "Discussion".

As M did, Lindens commonly call these Linden-originated Discussion threads "the Forums". Anyone discussing THESE forums with him must therefore be explicit, perhaps calling them "the resident Forums" or "the VB forums".
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It's nice to know "they" are out there but I just dont want them trying to be palzy-walleye with me. If forums become a conversation managed site (coz that what a conversation manager does - and there's prolly about 3 of them acting under the same Linden name) then I am off forum until I see how its gonna be run.

This place will become dehydrated of ideas and all that will happen will be neat critiques and glowing reports and tut tuts if anyone crosses swords.

I think they know this will kill the forum format.

Corporate Culture is an oxymoron.

This new person, in my opinion, is more likely the hatchet man. They will tool around a bit, pay a little lip service and then decide that closing this forum is the best idea and that will be it.

It's the flog or nothing , kids.

Haha! I think you're mistaken if you believe they would hire anybody to be the 'hatchet man' ... oh excuse me, 'eliminate the duplication of resources between legacy VB forums and Jive Discussions'.

All Blue has to do is say "Hey, we're done evaluating. Here are your new Discussion categories. Have Fun!" I don't know why it hasn't been done yet, unless of course they think current Resident Forum participants would ruin the ambiance on the Blogrum.

If so, doubtless that fear is well grounded.

He's being hired for something much shinier - e.g. creating a coherent Twitter presence. He will have little time for this place ... which, incidently, I hereby dub:

THE RESIDENT FORUMS

as opposed to blogrum discussion threads, which I will refer to as:

The Linden Forums.

There. We have claimed our turf.

Another Oxymoron.

I don't think they were hired specifically to whack the forums per se, I just think they will let the new guy be the black hat, so the others can keep the Residents' ire off them. Bottom man on the totem pole and all that.

I wonder how long it would be before we made him cry, like we apparently do to all Lindens?

This is a good point. While some here have stated they wil not go near the blogorum if this place closes, myslf included, a lot o people may. I bet that is weighing on the lindens' minds. they probably aren't keen on "those people" dirtying up their shiny, happy, feelgood space. What LL dislikes about this forum may be the one thing that will keep it alive.

So, if this is true (and it seems plausible), then the new Conversation Manager really should have taken the name "Irony Linden"...

Well, we are sorta jerks sometimes. I work in a dev group and if I came by our forums and got treated like some people treat LL, I'd walk away and let service deal with the loonies. And I wouldn't feel too badly if service said "approved channels only" and walked away from the forums for a bit. I don't mind giving LL crap when they screw up but it's always seemed like residents are a bit too eager...

(above not directed at you, Raudf!! you just gave me an opening)

You go furry and start marking spots around here and I'll AR you!

Or how long before Brenda has him bound with duct tape and stored in the closet.

Conversation doesn't need to be managed.

I think the term "Conversation Manager" is quite telling. The conversation needs to be managed. Not initiated; not moderated; but managed. Whoever came up with the title did it by describe exactly what they thought needed to be done.

Since Linden Lab has not shown an interest over the past two years in having a conversation with residents, I suspect the conversation to be managed is not conversation between Linden Lab and residents, but the conversation to be managed is between residents. And this is not a moderator (who might enforce forum rules, for example); this is a manger. My guess is that Linden Lab isn't tired of hosting a place for resident dissent, and is going to manage the types of conversation we are allowed to have.