The Chosen Ones Have Been Announced

I trust you'll be following that advice of yours the next time someone attacks me.

Lewis

"You're wrong." is sufficiently different from "STFU".

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There is an inherent assumption though that SL is a mmorpg. We don't really know who LL considers to be their target audience. They keep saying it's a platform, so I expect they're moving in a platform maximizing direction.

The average mmorpg is lucky if it has a lifespan of three years. That has to be a factor they're considering in the game vs. platform debate.

Well it's certainly massive, and multiplayer, online, and for most people some kind of roleplay - even if that roleplay is pretending to be a business owner - so MMORPG is certainly a very good, and a lot more meaningful, title than "platform".

As far as a 'target audience', all the advertising seems to be targetted towards people who want to make money - without actually making it clear how hard it is - pretty much to the exclusion of everything else, everywhere you look on the website.

Diversifying their 'target audience' to appeal to many different groups of people may actually be the single most important move that Linden Labs ever makes.

Lewis

Does it never occur to you that the point of this excersize is that LL makes the platform, and the "content makers" make it appeal to the wider audience?

Lewis, you keep saying that these people are big business and only a tiny percentage and shouldn't be listened to because what they want won't be good for the 99% that isn't big business. Let's say that this group is big business, i wouldn't say so, but for argument sake. Wouldn't it be in their interest to have better rentetion rates? Because that would be mean more customers. It is the goal of every business to have as many happy customers as possible. Who knows, maybe LL is going to ask for suggestions about that as well.
Why do you think these people don't want to improve the experience for new users, offcourse they want to do that. Every new signup is potentional new customer.

You also keep saying that it should be done inworld. But like i said before, SL is not a replacement for all business meetings. And LL doesn't promote it like that. They promote it as a new option, maybe as a replacement for some older tech. But LL is not foolish enough to think that actual meeting with RL people to discuss issues is going to replaced with SL entirely. Why limit themselves to one tool, even though it is a amazing tool they created.

That's bad, and it's not fair. Just like when the city let the housing developers move in. I mean those developers are magical people! They don't live in the same world I do! They're not my neighbors, are they? Because that would be really unfair.

having a beautiful garden is 1000% a prerequisite to qualifying for giving me gardening advice. i do not want gardening advice from people with crabgrass regardless of how well they speak english.

But what if they have crow's feet?

I'm so glad you feel this way, because this is EXCATLY what happened. It doesn't matter how many times you pretend that it didn't, it did.

it was a generalization, a poor one and i freely admit that and apologize.

however you are coming back with just one name out of eight who isnt in this game for money. Admittedly I only know most of these people through forums. Im just wondering how 8 people can speak for ALL the people in SL.

A good note though, I know of one "chosen" (at least, there may be more, im not sure) who has been asking around for other people's concerns so they might bring them to the table. I applaud this person - and any others who are doing the same.

I guess all in all im hopefully cynical about the whole thing.

well... did we at least beat the spread? *hopeful look*

I came back speaking solely about Oz because I know him and am most familiar with him. I didn't want to presume to speak for anyone - once again, you took my just naming one person as meaning the rest are in it for the money, which is incredibly presumptuous.

good point also - i dont even know what to call SL. I just call it a game. Thats what it is to me. Platform sounds... odd. Anyways, the comparison to other MMOs was just an example of past experiences and probably didnt matter any way

I dunno... what do you call it?

What ever gave you the impression that LL is a Democracy?

I have stood up for you before, Lewis. You have been here for long enough that you no longer have an excuse to post from ignorance, yet you still do constantly.

Will you people slow the hell down...I had to sleep and work and it's a bitch trying to catch up.

well of course they want target people with a "get-rich-quick-scheme" ... its the easiest way to draw people in. We've had this conversation plenty of times. It would certainly defeat the purpose to tell people this isnt a kick back and do nothing lazy way to make money on the net.

I agree completely with you that they need to diversify. I can imagine all sorts of ad campaigns that i think might work. Appealing to the artistic nature that we all have for one. *shrug* I dont know... they seem to really like that "make money the easy way" campaign.

No I completely understand that you spoke for someone you knew. I didnt imagine you knew all of the 8, though Im sure its possible

My point: that was only one out of eight. So ... so far we can vouch for 1/8th of the Chosen as having nothing to do with money or business. Is it fair to say that? Im not here to argue... well maybe a little... I kinda enjoy the devil's advocate line

I just dont understand where this presumption came from. Nothing I read from LL lead me to believe this first group was supposed to be representative of anyone at all, other than themselves.

Yet this is not the first mention of it as one of the supposed "failings" of the program.

In fact, I dont know how anyone can have much of an informed opinion about it at all until after something actually happens. Why is there so much energy being invested in labeling something a failure before its even happened?

I am the Nacho Libre of the forums!

NaaaAAAAchhhhhoooooOO!!!!!

I will be the first to admit I know zero about what they are going there for etc. Ive been without net - though thats not an excuse.

My thought is something like this. Lets pretend for awhile. Pretend we discover intelligent life. Said ET wants to have a little talk with us and we send some people. Those people are representing all of earth arent they?

It may be a weak analogy but thats how I was looking at this.

I for one have not said anything about it failing. I said things like I was glad this was happening, I hope it helps and how interesting it is they are doing it at all.