Xstreet SL and OnRez to Join Linden Lab!

OnRez has options that are so much more convenient than XStreet. At the very least, you need to introduce OnRez Wallets and the OnRez syncronized vendors to XStreet. And while you're at it, get rid of XStreet's personal online deposit objects. They make it way too easy for a hacker to get access to someone's Linden Balance from the Internet, and people who don't realize the risk could see their finances wiped out.

I'm still very, very disappointed that the Lindens have done this. It was a check on their power that someone else had a toe into Second Life finances. This has set up a situation that is rife for exploitation.

Why bother...they dont listen anyway. Hell anyone who has been in SL since even early 2006 or before can vouch for that. WTF is the point. Good for LL...monopolizing. I just wait for the day when it bites you in the ass. Karma is a SOAB...remember that...


Edited-typo

I have one questions for LL that should not be possible to answer in a deprecating way:

WILL Linden Lab kill the HTTP and/or XML-RPC communication protocles to and from the world for content creators?

Unless I am missing something, as far as I can see the ONLY possible reason for buying onrez is to get rid of it as competition, given that LL appear to not be planning to use any part of it at all.
This means that something that worked very well, that is the product of people's time and energy and talent is being thrown away for no reason at all. I find this appalling. If LL didn't want any part of it they should not have bought it, I am actually disgusted by this.

I don't know how the acquisition happened but I am surprised onrez sold it under these circumstances, I really really wish they had not

I use both sites, and whilst from the websites I get more sales from xstreet, the onrez site is much smoother to set-up and most importantly it has an integrated vendor system that is very easy to use, easy to monitor and easy to change, I use that vendor system very happily, it is stable and useful.
I am appalled that this is just going to vanish and that one day somewhere down the road there might or might not be a vendor system attached to xstreet.

It may be that LL will integrate some search thing into SL that will be cool and helpful for xstreetsl and that's great but there was no reason to take onrez away and I am deeply unhappy and angered by this.

I suppose with this acquisition by LL, that Xstreet support will only be provided to those with LL concierge-level support, much like the rest of LL support.

Reading your e-mail you invited us to come and give our thoughts as to how LL could improve SLX and OnRez. Well, my thoughts on this are that the only way LL can improve these is to stay AWAY. Give the sites back. You are trying to have a monopoly over everything Second Life. I find these sites a convenience when I cannot find what I need in world. Sometimes there is also a nicer price to go along with it. If Linden Labs takes over it will be like the other experiences on Second Life - messed up too often. they will also make sure their is a nice sized price increase both to the merchant and the customer. If LL takes over SLX and OnRez, I will do ALL my shopping in world and if I cannot find it, I won't buy it. LL stay out of a good thing. It isn't broken and doesn't need to be fixed and most definitely it does not need to be fixed by LL.

As a TG estate owner, I would like to be able to purchase items for the TG while not on the TG.

From the FAQ:

"In the next few months, we will be working to integrate Xstreet into the Second Life experience. One of the biggest changes planned is to merge Xstreet accounts with their associated Second Life accounts, combining the US Dollar and Linden Dollar (L$) balances of each. "


Sounds like they will merge with SL's PayPal issue too.


I liked being able to keep a separate balance in SLX - something set aside for purchases there, an independent resource, a pleasant surprise sometimes when funds were getting low in SL - and the reassurance that currency transfers were as efficient as one ought to expect in the real world today.

I really regret that it will all now be incorporated into my SL account.

Aslong as they actually improve the product registration/management process its fine by me, but for gods sake, KEEP LINDEX OUT OF THIS!! I dont want to deal with the rusty lindenlabs currency machine I fled from years go, Xstreet is just quick and easy, the way it should work.

### The SLX/Xstreet currency exchange is working. DONT FIX IT. ###

Dont slap on extra nonsence taxes, dont increase comission, and everything will be fine..
But I have a gut feeling the LL bloodhounds already smelled the free hotdogs though...

Amen to that...

hmmm Onrez has better features... LL has substandard support.... xstreet bans for no reason... either i'm going loopy, or there's an echo in this thread

I rather OnRez for several reason that have already been stated
1 the ease of the interface
2 the ability to add L$ to my OnRez account without having to go to some place, look for the "teller" hope it is rezzed and then hope it works
3 not having to use pay pal
I doubt ill be using the new site if i have to hunt down a place to add my funds and i WONT use pay pal

sad to see onrez go -
not in terms of sales made there,
but you could actually FIND stuff there you were looking for. don't know if it was the fact you could add tags to the products or if they just have the better search ... but for shopping it was always where i looked first.

Hey at all....

Wow wow some people seem kind of pissed. Keep cool

so well i think its very interesting - also nice when the customers dont have any problems by doing that change.
Xstreet is a very nice Site and - i think - even more known by residents than Onrez.
Also i think onrez has the pretty nice vendor system - for sure.

But well when onrez, Xstreet and LL cooperate then they will have a good reason for that, so i am sure that they will keep the advantages of both.
At least i hope so

I'm pretty excited to see, try and use it and to get all the features we may have then.

Actually i think tho, that the "old members" use more the xtreet or onrez than shopping ingame. We all know, the really nice shopping places often are full or laggy so its much easier to shop by window

LL --> Good Luck im sure it will be a big step.

Soooo well have fun and take care @ all

Thank you, Siggy, for understanding. This is exactly the problem, as I see it. Not as financial, or technical, or even mechanical... But simply ethical. Basic, common ethics.

If a company will willingly and gladly screw over a friend that helped to start that company, then what would they be willing to do to me, a total stranger? How could I possibly matter to them if their own employees don't, and if their own reputation doesn't? No way will I ever trust that company. (And if SL/LL deletes this post for a SECOND time, then maybe you should wonder why they would do that to.)

I didn't mention any names... but seriously, give it some thought.

LL co-opts another resident business.

Why would anyone in their right mind develop an innovative idea in SL nowadays, for this very reason?

LL stuck it to us. Say goodbye to Paypal mass pay as we knew it.

GOM'd again.

Well... The way I see it, Linden Labs is slowly stripping its residents of their rights and power, and monopolizing on anything they can to make a buck. And when an entity has that much power, there's only one thing you can do... PRAY. So.....

Our Lindens, who art in the Labs,
Hallowed be thy prims.
Thy Grid-dom come, thy will be done,
On sims, as it is in The Preview.
Give us this day our daily crash,
And forgive us our Spammery.
As we forgive those, who greif against us
And lead us not, into private parcels,
But deliver us from region resets.
For thine is the server and code
forever and ever.
Amen.

I am a frequent SLX/Xstreet shopper, the only down side is the trouble I have teleporting all the time, so it makes it a pain to find a SLX terminal to be able to add money to my SLX account. I think a HUD of some sort, linked to our SLX accounts would be an awesome addition, so you truely can shop from the comfort of your own home.

Oh goodlord no!
This is EXACTLY what made me seek refuge with Xstreet.
The LL money machine is creeking and rattling on all fronts while all capital passing through their painstakingly slow burocratic beast is getting mangled with fees and really ugly exchange rates.

Why does LL have to keep hounding my little nooks and save havens like this?
LEAVE ME ALONE!

I think most people just whine about nothing... Why do so many people sta yin SL while they think Linden Lab is the Beelzebub??? RUN FOREST RUN

Stop whining about nothing. This is not going to destroy economics nor will it destroy SLX. Maybe it improves the whole sale stuff and if they add a vendor system to SLX I would appreciate this...

So I'd say the glass is half full lets see how it works out but all the whining and bitchin about everything Lindens do gets lame at one point...

I don't really agree with linden labs shutting down onrez...I liked onrez better, it was just less popular. I also don't agree with the monopoly they're pulling, either....

In any case, I'd like x-streets to have the same posting features that onrez does...

Being able to chose a box name and edit multiple items at the same time the way onrez does is far better then having to find " add item " with difficulty on x-street.

So:

* Please transfer over the upload system and being able to edit multiple items at once.
* Also, Do NOT add my SLX balance to In world SL. I love having to have a seperate balance on SL... That would NOT help in the least bit.

An option to generate payment button codes for use on your own web sites,
Just like you might with many of the other payment systems out there.
Then you could sell your products from your own site.
Whether it be a single purchase or subscription.

This is great news, i look forwward to that!

I used to ask the same thing Horny. The fact is the friends made here far outweigh the damage done by LL. I would suffer through a hundred crashes just to see some friends that i would have no other way to contact

Hi ... Umm... "Horny" is it?

Well... Nevermind. Enough said with the name, right?

Good luck with the vaginal cravings!

I'm not surprised by this in the slightest, although disappointed, without a doubt. The ramifications of this are huge:

1. As LL have already said they will still be taking commissions on the sales from XStreetSL it does beg the question as to whether this is a stepping stone towards LL taking a % from all in-world SL transactions as well - I see no obvious reason long-term why they would be treated differently. I think we're seeing the beginnings of a more comprehensive sales tax from LL.

2. Having read this thread it seems that there hasn't been a definite 'no' on an in-world vendor system following on from this, further impacting on those who currently produce in-world vending systems. I'm not too concerned for myself (yes I sell vending machines, but I don't really push them like I used to), but there are businesses such as Apez that this could impact greatly.

3. In obtaining both XStreetSL and onrez, they have essentially tied up the web shopping market, bringing this in-house. I'm afraid that this is a further example of LL stepping over from production of the core service to impinging and taking over resident created solutions. They obviously do want a monopoly - as it appears they plan on doing nothing with the onrez system and are just closing it, a monopoly is the only obvious reason for this. If they were leveraging the technology (which I believe is better built that XStreetSL behind the scenes) my feelings would be different.

4. Revenue streams. I believe LL are in a position where SL is realistically shrinking, leading to lower revenues and, doing this wholesale, is potentially a way for them to create additional revenue streams. Even though they're taking L$ on comissions, these are can funnelled back through the currency exchange to generate revenue, for instance, further increasing the amount that they sell directly, potentially impacting the creators who also sell.

The notion of Second Life being about the residents, what they create, about it being our world, are well and truly dead, and have been for a while. LL are interested only in themselves and have no problem in competing directly with residents, and wish to leverage all means to bolster their bottom line, even if it goes against what used to be the basic thrust of Second Life - letting the residents do the cool stuff and not competing with them. But LL see success from their residents and decide they want that pie for themselves.

I've always tried to roll with the changes in SL in the many years I've been here, but having become increasingly disollusioned with LL in the last year or so, I can honestly say that I increasingly think that I was mistaken. It's an expensive, unstable, poorly supported shadow of what it should have been.

Linden controlling the platform, the hardware, the economy and now becoming a monopolist, right in the middle of demonstrating that (1) they are incompetent at understanding that economy (the Open Space debacle), (2) their technical resources are overstretched and (3) they can't afford to use a more expensive database system... so now they've spent more money on something else? I can't applaud. In the midst of the talent, intelligence and goodwill of LL there is an immovable lump of insensitive unconsciousness which goes on manifesting itself again and again.

We need Second Life to be "Web-like"... it's too big to remain the property of a private company. The time will come when it will emerge into the daylight, but does it have to be a last-moment emergency Caesarian birth when everything's stretched to death? Someone needs to start letting the baby out now.

But Linden are still busy acquiring.

Got a bad feeling, sorry. Hope it goes well.