Xstreet SL and OnRez to Join Linden Lab!

How odd, that they should make their first change a move to shut down the best exchange competing against them whilst putting the major worries (vendors...pay pal) on the backburner

From the blog... "But like Amazon or Ebay, the core of the experience will always be about efficiency."

I would rather have the core experience be about reliability.

My experience as a merchant and customer with xstreetsl has always been *reliable*, efficiency should simply be a given.

I think, based on LL's track record of messing things up, LL will do a "great" job at breaking both reliability and efficiency. Along with dependability, fast money transfers to Paypal, prompt customer support, and other things already mentioned in the previous pages.

Again from the blog: "new tools (sharable wish lists, anyone? Gifting to non-Residents? "
- The track record also goes with other things such as the viewer, that whenever upgrades are added to add "new tools", something else breaks and existing features take for ever to get fixed.

I would like to think that this move would be different, but I simply don't trust LL to be able to make a such a promise based on past performance.

I am a little upset with this because I am afraid Second Life is going to mess this all up. I have always enjoyed using xstreetsl for years probably same amount of time I have had my Second Life account. I really have never had any problems with xstreetsl, the customer service has always been wonderful and have always gotten answers in a timely manner. However I sit here and am stuck with second life support portal taking over 10 days to even get back to me about a support ticket, not to mention I am a concierge member and supposed to get better service then others. I recently filed a ticket for massive inventory loss. "ISSUE STILL UNRESOLVED" Ticket still has not been answered what did this tell me? They are too busy to even help. So why go and add on another service like this when you don't even have the time to answer my ticket and help me get my second life account back in order? It's really as simple as that.. I am beginning to see that Second Life is no longer about it's residents but it is about MONEY. This is just my opinion and how I feel about it and honestly starting to get sick and tired of it.

Except for the fact that other grids will be able to use it when they get their exchanges/currencies set up.

Also, other 3rd party web shopping sites might offer some unique services which LL's won't, not to mention better service.

I don't think I would say 3rd-party web shopping sites are dead with this move; we'll see.

Needless to say that this situation is not good for the resident but only good for the lining of the pockets of Linden Lab and their shareholders.

Hopefully we might be able to persuade Rezzebles to do something independant for us to buy and sell content and $L on...

As for LL, YOU STINK.

Pol.

Xstreet and Hippo were jointly developing a vendor before the buyout, but it has been canceled.

My thoughts exactly.

First GamingOpenMarket dies because LL decides to start their own currency exchange, and now OnRez and Xstreet?

Precisely! I bow to your succinctness. =] Anyone else smell a Revolution?

Uhh.. maybe you missed it, but they are Lindens now... as part of the acquisition, the SLX "team" took jobs as Lindens.

I have used xstreets for ages now, and had very few problems, and when there was one, it was sorted out in a friendly timely manner, now when I lost money or items in second life, I'm told TUFF its not game money and not there problem.. its not game money its real money. so will this start to happen with xstreets? I hope not, or they will loose alot of custom, the same as what Second life did with the openspace!!

"Independent" Xchange options?? I'm certain it will only be a matter of time before they'd become a TOS violation...



Blind faith, and you would HAVE to be - never righted any wrongs. Like any OTHER "corporation" there is ethical accountability! If MORE people spoke out/took action RL the power would remain where it belongs - in the hands of the service RECIPIENT, not the provider! "The customer is always right..." IF you're prudent and EXPECT return business! THEY are seeking OUR (financial) support! We shouldn't have to kowtow for theirs... When it comes to commercialism, how many people do you think would line up for "Bend over! Shut up! And just TAKE it!!"??? SMH

Meaning that they will even take more of our money then they already do. I already pay them plenty to exchange L$ to US$, now they want a 5% cut of every sale aswell.

I have to sit on my hands now to not start a big rant against LL wich will get me suspended.

I have a feeling the ex-XStreet staff is in for a shock. Gone will be the right way of doing things. Now they will have to do things the big corporation way. Their hands will soon be tied and I doubt they will be able to take it for long.

Is no one else here concerned that this is just the first step towards them going AWAY from user-created content? If they see the lack of a LL supplied vendor as a "hole" in their service, what's next?

After this, I think any user created content that is profitable is fair game for them to take over.

I'd seen several comments to blog posts around the internet that indicated that OnRez/Electric Sheep didn't plan to continue their service after February 9 -- whether or not LL bought them.

Does anyone know anything that either indicates that the rumor was true or false?

How DID OnRez stay in business (with no commissions and seemingly no subscription fees)?

Its 9:30 in California.

Time for LL to start reading this forum and start answering all our concerns.

Or, they are in shock by the response and are have a brainstorming session saying, "Oh shoot, we forgot to consider the Merchants, what are we going to do NOW?"

"Sencing a panic on the West Coast - as all its merchants remove all their money!!!!"

It would hurt LL even more if all us merchants removed our CONTENT.........

http://www.lindman-design.com is where I am moving to...

1. Publish a blog post about the changes you intend to make.
2. Refer the customers to the forums and assure them that their feedback is highy appreciated.
3. Tell a couple of desk clerks to keep an eye on the forum thread and reply to a couple of posts. Make sure they don't get too corporate on the customers - it's imperative that the desk clerks stay human! This is very easily done by having them mention that it's time to go to bed, or something like that.
4. Give the customers some time to start yelling at each other.
5. Thank everyone for their contributions and promise them you will take every suggestion into consideration.
6. Close the forum thread.

Thought about it...but if i changed my mind would get banned for reposting

I was afraid if I put that I'd get banned. LOL

7. Disregard public "input", and proceed as planned...

Repetitive message removed.

Imho its not that bad, if they do some effort to really improve it and integrated it into the grid.

It would be pretty nice, if the should could be integrated into your account, so you could directly create a shop/put items for sale w/o having to buy or rent a piece of land. I think this is one of the many things which stops some people from making and selling content, because they have no land to sell it.

With the aquisition of Xstreet SL and OnRez, LL could make this an integral part of Second Life and implement it into the Viewer, so we could put items for sale w/o being forced to rent land to place the vendor on it which of course will increase the diversity of items offered on this new plattforms.

Would be nice if someone from LL could post here if there are such current plans to allow direct sales via SL Viewer w/o vending machines and land rental/buy?

The reason SL money transactions are so slow, if I understood it correctly back when I sold lindens, is because lindens we sell through SL have to sit there till a resident puts in an order for lindens. Therefore it's another seller's RL money buying the seller's lindens. So yeah, would be nice if SL could eliminate that step altogether since it creates such a long wait at times. I haven't transferred lindens in over a year, but that's what the procedure was back then. Maybe the LL/Xstreet platform will still have enough in the "kitty", from all the commerce, to fund the fast transactions to Paypal that Xstreet has been able to handle all this time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FlameRose Dagger
The reason I never used Xstreet was becuase they charge a comission and onrez didn't. Are they still going to do this? thats what I want to know




Well that is a darn shame, Colossus. I could see a resident run website wanting to make money with the the system they created - but you are a corporate entity, and the value of goodwill, PR, word of mouth and oh I do not know what else - would be far higher to you if you abolished the fees.

Which was one of the reasons I loved OnRez that I forgot to mention that in my original post.

How you can make this really really work for you and the residents both consumers and content creator alike (many of us are both!):

1. Make the OnRez vendor pack system a priority. You have collaborated rather poorly with the brilliant innovaters at the Electric Sheep in the past (I mean you could have taken a page from their SL viewer alone ~ everyone knows this)

This system of creating vendors/packs online and having them connected to inworld: brilliant. If you put this on the back burner, I am afraid you will lose out major.

2. Scrap the fees. LL makes enough money through sinks in extant systems throughout SL, (not to mention sim and land sales, tier fees etc etc) and this pocket change income is not needed for you to continue to function.

From what I can tell already you have gone about this backwards (no surprise from me and many of us as you can tell already). I am no techy, but it seems to me, that adding in the richer item categories a la XStreet is easier than trying to create a vendor pack system from scratch: when one already exists and works amazing.

You should have grabbed OnRez instead, and scrapped out XStreet.
However the deed is done i suppose, and I like many are concerned about issues of customer service, streamlined transition on this endeavor and how it will effect us as content creaters.

Times are hard, and I have networked with many designers across the grid, and this news of acquisition comes at a delicate time.

Things to keep in mind:
(a) User friendly from both ends ~ consumer and content creator
(b) Create more of a grace period for people's funds in OnRez. Even past your intended deadling of site closure. Perhaps some sort of autoreturn on funds still in the database?
(c) Use the minds and talents of those who have already proved they know how to create systems that WORK for both parties.

In the meantime, I am going to ditch my awesome OnRez vendors because I have been around for years, and I know LL's track record, and while I appreciate the lip service given to us here on the forums, it would surprise me greatly if you actually did this without screwing things up.

again, thanks for listening
~Amber
*high fives FlameRose on the way out*

I'm sorry but this isn't exciting. Onrez was easier to use, less complicated and much easier to add money to. I don't want to have to go to another sim to put money into my account so I can shop. If I wanted to do that I'd just go out shopping. Onrez needs to just stay onrez. Why mess up a good thing?

Hazey Cuddihy