Here is to all the complainers..

I can certainly feel with everyone about how buggy things sneak into the regular grid. It’s a shame when it happens and yes it angers me off as much as anyone but there are some things you have to take into account...

The Preview grid is there for everyone to download and use. Linden Labs tresses as much as they can the fact it is there and encourages you as much as they can to go there and play around. Unfortunately, not many people go there at all and it is these people Linden Lab rely on in telling them things are messed up. "Hey check this out it doesn’t work right." I don’t expect Lindens do actual preview grid testing unless they see that no one is going there to test stuff they put in.

It is up to us as the user base to get into the preview grid and test this stuff. If you are someone complaining today you need to ask yourself, when was I in the preview grid last helping test content going live in the near future?

You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem.

It is YOUR fault the grid is down now. YOU didn’t go test and find this bug. So stop your bitching and get your ass over to the preview grid and help test this stuff out!!!

*huggles*
Sav

Lol

We *have* a preview grid? This is the first I've heard of it.

Everytime we complained en masse they ignore it. Example: resmods.

Its LL's fault, get a clue.

However, its also a matter of scale...
the preview grid is tiny
some problems dont become apparent till the update is run on the full grid.

So this is a complaint?

*claps, applauds, cheers, throws confetti* Now that's telling them!

Too bad its telling the wrong people. She needs to yell a LL for ignoring users complaints about new features and programs.

Yes, it's all our fault. Why play the game when we could be doing LL's job for them and testing it? Marvellous idea..

Hint:

1. Patch
2. Beta test
3. Release.

Too bad they keep forgetting step 2.

Savonah, thanks for the input.

The problem with your ideas is that they are wrong.

The bugs now crippling the grid were not present in the preview grid.

Sit scripts? Worked in the preview.
Poseballs? Worked in the preview.
"Scripted email"? Worked in the preview.

What has happened here is that LL pushed through code that not tested on the preview grid. I was on the preview grid. I tested many things in my inventory. They worked in preview. They didn't work today when the grid came back up.

So don't blame the people who did or didn't go to the preview grid for today's fuck-up downtime -- it's LL's fault.

Considering how many peoples first life profile says "what's that? lol", this little break is probably for the best.

I take it you're joking, as opposed to completely ignorant?

And for the record, every single solitary time they release into preview and I've extensively tested it, a) the same bugs I meticulously reported in preview still exist on the main grid after the actual deployment, and b) some entirely undocumented changes appear that never even made it to preview and a range of new bugs that didnt exist in preview are introduced on deployment.

So frankly, why fucking bother previewing anything?

From how it sometimes reads in LL literature, that might as well be
1.Patch
2.????
3.PROFIT!


Well, at least they're working on the problems... I hope.

Frankly, I think they take the grid down to play laser tag and slingo.

Exactly - LL does not pay me to beta test their preview grid. I pay them to host my content. They have more downtime than any other host I have ever used. That said, I'm happy to try new things in the preview grid. I like seeing what's coming and how it works. I like buying things with money that isn't taken from my main grid balance, so I can try it before I spend the money on the main grid. Unfortunately, all too often (right now, for example), I can't even log into it.

them test grids always work perfectly...im with Frank, i think they have a weekly laser tag party...they are prolly really drunk by now, i think the grid will be open just any minute...oh btw..they are discussing the boob size of female av's a couple doors over...

w000tles! YEAH! Gotta love it.

*giggles*
Sav
p.s. I'm glad someone posted they test on the preview grid. Thanks for your work!

I have been on previews testing since they began, except for a few version, including these recent ones. The Lindens do put up a test site where you can go collect notecards on things to test and then drop your findings on Vektor Linden.

and during the time the preview is up the Lindens do come on and do resident testing. that is they come on the main grid and hollar at everyone to come on the preview and they run tests using all the residents they can get onto the grid to run mega testing of thier own. we test out the tping system, object exchchange and other things. my favorite time was the time that Dan Linden had everyone log into a sim on the preview and make anyting and everything and load the objects up with scrips. to see how many residents can log in at one time before the sim crashed and how many scripted objects could be run simultateously while residents log on to take to crash a sim. yes the Lindens do do their share of testing on the previews. its cool when they do it too.

I do agree with yo more residents should come to test. but do the Lindens take our suggeestons about a version or anyting most likely not. take for instance the recent release of 1.11 with that horrid camera option. We , who did the testing of it in the preview said it was bad and the version was unstable but did the Linden's listen nope they released it anways and look what headaches that is.

but do wish more residents would come on to test then they cant say they havnet been prewarned about the new features.
the bottom line is really sl should never go down unless it is crashed itself. the Lindens should use the same SL version and give us patches for the new features or upgrades. then maybe some of the old bugs could be worked out. also the scripts and building projects would nto be messed up as wtih each version a brand new program we have to upload each time. i know its a brand new program as my zone alarm say it is brand new so it has to reconfigure its options for it every time.

but do come on the preview its a lot of fun. plus a time to meet other residents you many never meet on the main grid.

lol!! like those beer commercials on the radio...

"here's to ya - the massive-multiplayer online role-gamer... with the guts to go complain in the forum - when the GRID GOES DOWN!! after all, you're no wimpy BETA-TESTER!! (maaassive-multiplayer online role-gamer...)"

lol!! so crack open a cold one - pass out, and check back in a few hours

I think as a paying customers, those of us who paid anyways, have a right to complain about a unfinished product. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and while I understand that LL works hard to release these "updates" but a thought occured to me, couldn't they just cram them all together bi-monthly instead of releasing multiple touchups which almost always causes errors within the game upon release? Most of these updates are incredibly minor and really should be with-held until a later date when they have more content

for example this update did a lot with snapshots... great, last update showed resident payment info, i really don't feel like sitting on my hands while the game I pay money into is down, just so people can snoop about to see if the person they're sleeping with has payment info and use that to judge their age

I also don't enjoy waiting all day for better snapshot control, or teh other latest 12 minor updates, should they have bundled all of these together and released it after working the kinks out, even than if it were to go down I feel it would be a better trade off

You know... None of the Bug Reports i filed in the preview grid even got looked at. They totally don't give a shit. And Yes YES i did test it... I tested it all the time it's been here. The screenshots are stil how THEY want them instead of the popular demand. The ban list doesnt even effect estates, making it completely USELESS for me. And things that worked fine during preview are causing problems now that its part of the main grid... So placing the blame on me is not a good idea right now.

I have had bugs that I reported in preview responded to by Linden staffers and fixed before they hit the main grid, so I know from experience that this does occur.

There was very little comment about the snapshot system in the forums. Not none, but not not much. Unfiortunately, when people complain about a new feature while it's in preview, there seems to be a greater tendency for others to respond with insults about the person being a complainer than there is an attempt to understand what they are saying, go to preview, try out the new feature, and respond to the criticism based on observation.

The bug report system does not provide a place for people to say "This feature sucks!". The bug report system is for bugs, not for bad design; comments about bad design sent in a bug report probably go to the round file. We have been asked not to send feature requests in bug reports. Perhaps there should be a "This feature sucks!" reporter for use in the preview grids. Sucks! reports are just as important as bug reports.

It would be nice if there was a way of seeing how many user-hours have been spent in a preview, some way to have some idea of how many people spent how much time there.

-----------------------

On a less serious note, instead of filing bug reports, sending in perfected code, heavily commented, highly modular and well encapsulated, would probably be more valuable.

Seriously, playtesting is a full time job for some people. Why should LL expect us to do it for free?

If they want to employ us as playetesters, fine, they should give us some incentive to do so. But they have no reason to expect us not to complain about a product where there is no proper playtesting done.

I don't have to pay to use the program, why should I expect them to pay me for using the preview grid?

I have certainly not intended to convey the impression that one should not complain about the program's performance.

Quite the opposite, in fact. I recommend more complaints. Complaints about new features are more valuable the earlier they can be made before the new features get put on the main grid - the less time they have invested in them, the longer they have before the new version get put one the main grid, the better the chance of getting them to change things. Hence, go to the preview grids as soon as they first appear. Determine which new features you'd rather not have, and complain loud and long.

The OP may be saying we shouldn't complain about bugs and unwanted features and left out features, but not me.

The road to improvement is built on the detection and reporting of problems.

It is all well and good saying there is a test grid, but there is insufficient reference to it on the site, and quite how I stumbled over it I can not say, I just strayed across the link somehow. I looked at the information for DLing and accessing the test grid and found that access is restricted based on a users join date, which I feel is absurd. If they want features tested rigourously access to the test grid needs to be open to all people. I myself have been in several beta's of MMOGs (I was among the first wave of beta players on Puzzle Pirates back in 2003, same again on Astonia 3 in about 2002, also beta'ed and Helbreath International and more besides), and indeed still do beta on one that I subscribe to with hard cash, Puzzle Pirates used to have the problem of testing a patch in house, finding it worked okay for them, then as soon as it hit Midnight (the only mainline server they had at that time) bugs a plenty were found and patches had to be ruched in within 2 hours. The result of this was prior to the release of Cobalt and Viridian oceans they came up with Ice, a small ocean by comparison to its (now) 5 sisters, for the sole purpose of allowing us to really hammer the crap out of the patches. In turn the result of this was that it effectively put an end to exactly the kind of problem we saw yesterday.

Because the program, the main grid/teen grid if you will, is teh service they provide, and that is meant to be the main use version for paying and non-paying customers alike.

The preview grid *should* be there so end users (us) can see what's coming and say yay or nay on the concepts behind new features. For that, I'd happily go there.

Unfortunately, more and more it is beingused as a primary debug zone, with frequent requests for end users to go there to help debug the new features. This is the area I have an issue with being asked to do it for no compensation.