Xstreet SL and OnRez to Join Linden Lab!

As someone who's "alt" uses SLx I have 2 main concerns.

1. This topic of "integration" I have little faith that it will be done properly; The first time. Meaning downtime for my products and/or services. Downtime costs money.
2. Customer Service/The service I have come to expect with SLx. The history of SL speaks volumes on that subject; and I have every right to be concerned.

Perhaps this will all work out and ppl will manage to find my things more often. Perhaps they will then line my pockets with cold hard cash.

A lot of ppl seem very much against this; but I don't know it might be a good thing. After all it's a done deal; wasting my energy fighting "the machine" does no good.

Good luck.

Mar

SO you ARE going to compete with existing vendor creators. Thanks for that answer. We are alot who like to know that. Screwing ower the people who have provided the merchants what you havent been able to for years is such a good idea.

No, I don't think there will be any competition involved. Once their vendor is released it will soon afterwards be *required* in order to sell on SL.

I can easily see that.

very interesting.

my guess is that they plan to utilize the look of onrez, the onrez ease of vendors but the Xstreet sites basic premise and reach --- but that is just a guess.

onrez was less techy looking, more retro slick and probably what they would consider more marketable and mainstream. plus, their vendors were easy ! i would guess that is why the xstreet vendor system is byebye why redo what is already doneÉ Kind of like LL decidingthey should be making money in sales on the web -- why create your own version when you can swallow xstreetÉ

I am not judging if its good or bad, just watching with interest hoping it plays out well.

i did have a wonder at whether this is what ll has been working on, because it hasnt been grid maintenance

As I said, we are looking at the best approach to a networked vendor solution. The best approach may very well be *not* to offer one. We are sensitive to the issue of competition with existing vendor creators.

Reviewing the forum thread, there are clearly several sides to this issue. Many Residents are giving us feedback that the Onrez Vendor will be missed.

We are going to seek more resident feedback before we decide next steps.

If I were trying to buy out a business, I would never tell the public of my intentions unless I had to do so legally or someone was pointing a gun at me. I don't blame LL for doing any differently here. I'm sure the NDA's were all in place too.

Grant,

Are you intentionally avoiding answering my question about cleaning up the extensive volume of stolen content currently being sold on XstreetSL? Surely you have become aware that there is a wealth of content "ripped" from within Second Life and resold, in violation of creators IP rights, on XstreetSL. You stated that XstreetSL will now abide by DMCA regulations that the rest of SL currently adheres to, but will Linden Lab become ACTIVE in the cleaning up of all the stolen, illegal content on XstreetSL?

I'd like an answer, please. Thank you.

Personally, I used Onrez vendors for a few select items that I'd sell in clubs and such. Since they tended to be fairly laggy on product display, I only put 5 - 6 items in them. They were no substitute for boxed inworld product but they were convenient. I had hoped XStreetSL would finish their linked vendors but they never did.

I'm not sure what to think about competing with vendors like Hippo and such. Basically, an Onrez vendor would already have been competition to that. The biggest issues are speed of product display and timely delivery.

Wouldn't it make more sense for them to start with SL first, and THEN X-street?

or:

Aren't they already as "active" as they are in SL with it?


- Newfie

I can view it with Safari too. If I can view it. I have the same issue with Firefox. The site is currently so unresponsive that it is nearly unaccessable.

And if alot of residenst also wants a build in sculpty creator will you then also concider that. And then compete with the sculpty business ? Or if alot of residents want a prim clothes creator build into the appearance system - will you also then concider that ?

I have not problems with competition. From other residents. But if LL starts being content creators themself of an item that some of us has spend years of our life to make, then you are very much showing ANY content creator in sl that our business is always in danger of LL will steal it from us. I recently heard Philip Rosedales's interview on Metanomics where here says somehing like "and the resident to make a living....". How are we supposed to do that when our platform provider is going to take over our work ?

The only decent solution is to open up for better SCRIPTING solutions for us vendor creators so that we have better options in our creation process.

Umbra, I've found that the XStreet folks have been pretty damn aggressive on DMCA actions including going after me for totally original content of mine that was possibly ever so lightly stepping on the toes of another trademark (since corrected so all are happy). I think if you are concerned about a particular item, you can probably bring it to XLStreet's attention and they'll look into it. Or maybe not now that they are part of LL. Who knows??

XstreetSL & Onrez owners/designers –

What was the reasoning behind your decision to “merge” with LL? We see the messages from LL, and their reasoning; and their, once again, lack of fully explaining to anyone, in FULL detail, will happen with this…but we have yet to see anything from Electric Sheep, or whomever else owns / operates the two sites. Why no word from anyone representing XstreetSL, or Onrez? I’m sure just about every last one of us would love to know what these companies gained, or hope to gain with this decision.

While I do not want to be the one running around screaming ‘the sky is falling’, I do not have a good feeling about this merge, and I am certainly not looking forward to seeing a beautiful website and seller tools that Onrez offers, having to go (and not only because it is free to sell on that site, b/c I also sell on XstreetsSL). I am also not comfortable thinking of the hours, and days worth of uploading textures, setting up servers, and listing each and every item, etc. that will be lost, and the loss of hours and days of possibly having to setting up new servers, and re-posting items on the site again.

So the ultimate questions are:
-Why did this have to happen?
-What (in FULL detail) can we expect from here on out by using XstreetSL? (extra fees, having to set up new servers, or re-list all our items being sold now, stolen content, etc)
-What can we expect now with XstreetSL customer service?
-Will the forums still be open, and monitored on XstreetSL?
(and the many other questions that have been brought to your attention through this thread)

LL has always LOVED competing with the residents for areas they think they can make $.

Luna Galleria was the start.

Pfft. That's like saying Microsoft, Apple, Google etc. should have never built browsers, email packages, word processors, spreadsheets, phones, etc.

Change happens. Oh and as a designer, I wouldn't mind if LL figures out something other than repeating prims for making dresses. No doubt flexi-sculpties but then I'd be totally over my head.

And continued with GOM

If you are AGGRESSIVE about looking for stolen merchandise on XstreetSL and THEN filing DMCA about an issue, they will deal with it quickly, its true. But most creators don't KNOW their goods are being stolen and resold! That's all fine and dandy except that there is still a HUGE volume of stolen content for sale on XstreetSL that apparently most people don't know about and haven't filed DMCA over. Doesn't that suggest that there is some level of responsibility on the part of the company providing the service of marketing stolen goods? I think you will find there are cases where companies HAVE been held accountable for providing a way for its users to distribute materials that violate IP rights.

Why should creators have to police a venue like XstreetSL and browse millions of products to find possible instances of theft of their IP?? I understand that requiring the service provider police all content their customers offer is not entirely realistic, but neither is telling legit creators to hunt down instances of content theft among the millions of items XstreetSL offers. Surely there is something better?

I certainly hope your first statement about "NOT to offer one, was just that sensitivity. I hope you have the same sensitivty to the small business owners who cannot afford a high priced vendor system.

The last thing I want to do is speak for any users, so I can only state my own opinion. It is an understatement that the Onrez vendor will be missed. You have purchased On-Rez and all its contents, till such time that you have R&D'd a network Solution, pls continue to use the vendor system just link it to XStreet and issue a new vendor with a new logo.

I know that may be easier said then done - but to completly eliminate the vendors is my biggest issues. Frankly I really hope that you can makes XStreet the ultimate commerce site for all SL users, just as I hope you are able to solve all your cross the grid issues. Too many to mention here.

Just get it right this time and restore the faith, thats all we ask, and TALK to us PLS>

The only reason you feel that way is because this bomb landed well away from you. As a scripter of high value items (such as vendors) this bomb landed close enough to me to wake me up.

Lets say you made and sold prefabs for your business. Then you wake up one day to find an announcement saying that LL has decided to cleanup the look of SL so they will now be supplying all the buildings. Everyone has 30 days before all existing prefabs are wiped from the landscape. I doubt you would be saying pfft then.

I know that sounds far fetched. But taking over SL vendors is just one more step down that (slippery) slope.

I'm very very very SAD
I had ever use xstreet services happy because there is not a VAT charge, now I will sure lost this great thing...
I'm Italian and I'm a SL merchant, half of my poor montly salary(I have a real part-time job) comes from second life, I can't spend all this money with a 20% VAT charge...
Not worth it... Better downgrade my account, stop to create and sell and go to search another part-time job.... ((

The Italian peaple buy from other countries and search a online job abroad to have less charges, we are submerged from taxes....

LL you have break my heart when you have added a 20% VAT charge at my account... If the Italian Government is crazy and expensive do you want to be so too? -__-''

Ok...I got a half hearted answer from the Lindens on this. What is 'we will be looking into this" means exactly. If anyone like me has had the UNPLEASANT dealings with that TIGRESS woman, they will know...that woman needs some SERIOUS customer relations skills. the outrageous screams of countless of members who have been banned from SL exchange by this..person...hasnt been addressed properly. It is my greatest hope that she will NOT be a staff of Linden Labs. What will be done with the accounts that have been banned.....how many times must this question be asked before we get a proper answer. An INworld discussion needs to happen...it cant be everyone else!!!??!?!

Onrez has a better search feature, and the ability to send L$0 items as gifts, which is very helpful for assisting newbies, I would like to see that integrated into XStreetSL. I would also love to see an easier to browse, more customizable "My Store" feature integrated into XStreetSL, like on eBay, for merchants.

Thanks. And exactly my point. This can be just the start of LL taking over what content creators has made popular item categories.

The only reason people wont see this is becuase as you say.....right now THEY are not the ones who are getting their financial basis wiped by unfair competition from LL.

I actually DO understand that OnRez users want a replacement for the vendors they had there. A very nice solution from OnRez btw. But since LL dont wanna let OnRez continue then the only decent way to deal with this is to make it possible for the existing vendor creators to make those vendors for that.

I don't "feel" any particular way. It's just a reality. You have to figure that things like this will happen. I expect in a few years, if not sooner, all my clothing will obsolete because LL have (hopefully) redefined the avatar mesh. I won't complain. It's needed to make SL a better experience -- but it would effectively render my existing clothing obsolete. And I won't have the energy to redesign it. :/